Utter Failure: Revisiting My 2019 Travel Goals

So much for my grand plans for travel in 2019…

I flew over 200,000 miles in 2019 and visited dozens of countries. In that sense, it was another great year of travel.

But in reviewing two posts I wrote last January, 10 Flights I Look Forward To In 2019 and Five New Countries I Hope To Visit In 2019, I realize how little I actually accomplished my travel goals.

It has been more than two years since I set foot in a new country. For someone who has visited more than 130 countries and was on a tear for a decade and even in the first couple years after I got married, this has been a huge personal setback. And I cannot even blame my commitments as a husband and father…it has been my other work.

One thing that has always, at least historically, set my blog apart, is my adventure travels. Who else flies in first class and stays in five-star hotels, but heads to Cuba, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan? That’s a combination that I hope to restart this year.

Last January, I set out to visit these five new countries:

• Algeria
• Bhutan
• Mongolia
• Nepal
• Syria

To challenge myself, I’m going to renew this list and set out five additional countries I hope to visit (in a separate post). 10 is hardly a stretch if spaced out wisely and I hope to have more time this year to plan travel in advance.

Last January I also set out to try 10 new premium cabin products. Those included:

• American Airlines 777-3000ER First Class
• WestJet 787-9 Business Class
• Air Canada 787-9 Business Class
• Korean Airlines A380 + 747-8 First Class
• Air Algerie A330 Business Class
• Virgin Australia 777-300ER Business Class
• Air Italy A330-200 Business Class
• TAP Portugal A330neo Business Class
• Singapore Airlines A380 New Suites
• Air Greenland A330 Business Class

I scored 2/10…I only flew Virgin Australia’s 777 business class and Air Italy A330 business class.

Surely, I can do better than that. It is my sincere hope to add more diversity to my blog content this year.

CONCLUSION

Ultimately, I am writing this “progress report” post to myself and letting y’all look over my shoulder. I publish it to hold myself accountable. But I do welcome your suggestions on how you broke out of your own travel funks or made the time to visit new lands and fly new airlines.