2021 and 2022 review – after 6.5 years of round-the-world travel

I only realize in 2023 that I completely forgot to write my 2021 review. So I’ll combine the two reviews into one (2021 and 2022), even though these years couldn’t be more different.

2021

• Montenegro : I think it’s been the best period of my life since Covid. Everything that happened in Montenegro was extraordinary. We not only got to enjoy the best accommodations in the country (comfort and location) but also the ski slopes !!! I really pushed my limits and overcame my fear by taking ski lessons every day for about ten days. I still can’t believe it: I can ski now, albeit only on green runs, but I never thought I’d be able to do it. Then, we went on little road trips, which resulted in the incredible photo you now see on the blog’s homepage. Montenegro was a huge crush—it is and will remain my favorite winter destination.

• However, I must mention one event. I think I need to note it because it’s something important even if the impact isn’t visible right now. On December 21, 2020, an incredible event happened: the “great conjunction” between Saturn and Jupiter. The two planets were less than 0.1 degrees apart (as seen from Earth). While conjunctions (1 degree or more) aren’t that rare (about every 20 years), the fact that it was a “great conjunction” is a rare phenomenon and hasn’t happened in 400 years. Because of this great event, I got interested in astrology from January 2021 and spent several months studying it day and night. With my new knowledge, I was able to understand prediction videos, verify the information myself, and thanks to my calculations, we were able to move from one country to another without any lockdowns (even though countries occasionally imposed new ones).

• Albania: Things are less exciting in Albania, even though overall we really like this country. It’s very calm, perhaps too calm for it to be super exciting, but it’s a period where well-being and good weather are on the agenda. A few road trips here and there. I think we’ll come back. It’s a bit like Greece, I think, but without the tourists.

• During my stay in Albania, I remember that what bothered me the most was not knowing how to get to Vietnam. When I learned that Thailand was open again, it was an opportunity for me to work around the problem and get a little closer to Vietnam. I don’t know why, but I knew I had to go back as soon as possible.
• With all the constraints imposed by the Thai government, the cost of the mandatory quarantine in a Bangkok hotel, the risk of staying 14 more days if a Covid test came back positive, and all the painful PCR tests to endure, we indeed spent 14 days locked in two connected hotel rooms.
• May : The plane to Bangkok was almost empty: each of us had several rows of seats to ourselves on the plane. At the quarantine hotel, we were fed three times a day and, like prisoners, we waited for the staff to pass by (and the PCR tests, the only moments when we breathe fresh air on the rooftop).
• June : Once again, I calculated the dates carefully: due to a new Covid wave, Thai regions were changing their Covid risk “color,” and Koh Samui (our final destination) closed its doors to people coming from Bangkok and wanted to impose an additional 14 days of quarantine. We arrived just as they changed their minds, and our complete freedom in Thailand began from that moment on. With five-star hotels, dream residences, deserted beaches, it’s paradise!

• New sport learned in Thailand: e-foiling ! New friendship with the French 5-star chef in Chaloklum who became a true friend, to whom I gave my mother’s nem recipe 😀 since then, nems have been on the menu, proof of my time at his restaurant

• We are safe on our little island. There are a few small restrictions from time to time, but no movement restrictions. We even got vaccinated by the French consulate in Thailand while vaccines were scarce for locals.
• We only leave Thailand in November, when it’s pouring rain and we can’t set foot outside.

• We spend two extraordinary weeks in Dubai to enjoy the World Expo (another dream come true), visiting the 7-star hotel and its suite.
• And then, we come back to Istanbul (it’s only our 2nd time) and stay there until January 2022

• JB has been enrolled in law school since September 2021, and while conditions in Thailand are ideal for working and studying at the same time, from Dubai onward, everything becomes much harder for him because we move around too often.
• December 2021: I look after the cats for my sister at Christmas while JB joins his family. One day, Rosalie escapes during a walk in the garden. Desperate, I climb the wall and land in the neighbor’s garden. Luckily her dog is tiny, otherwise Rosalie and I would have suffered. It will be the last time I sleep with Rosalie, as she will leave us in July 2022

2022

• January 2022: Despite everything, JB returns to Paris to take his exams and passes them.
• We take the opportunity to apply for the 5-year Vietnam visa for JB, without much hope, but he gets it, to our great surprise. Even the agency we used didn’t know the embassy was offering them again.
• Mars : I see Rosalie for the last time, and I don’t know why I insist that JB come to see her too. So, JB got to see her and walk her in the garden one last time. No regrets, then.

• Vietnam opens its doors in Mars and we jump on a plane ASAP to head back.
• Then comes a string of extremely joyful, then extremely stressful events. Between the road trips with our friend A. and my parents, part Ha Long Bay, F.’s visit to Vietnam, weekends in increasingly luxurious hotels …

• loads of stressful little things happen : something breaks, the war in Ukraine affects work, making it harder and harder…
• I feel stressed and exhausted in my own country, and we decide to go to Bali
• One day, while reading in bed, I have a kind of message/revelation: Rosalie won’t survive this year. I have no idea how she’ll go; I have 10,000 scenarios running through my head…
• In Bali, things don’t get better. I constantly feel stressed and in mortal danger. I also feel chased out of Bali. Honestly, it was a very tough period where I expected to die every day, wondering when it would happen.

• July 1st: My sister, who’s watching my cat Rosalie, tells me that Rosalie is suddenly paralyzed in her hind legs. There it is, the moment has come; this is how Rosalie plans to go. Since I was forewarned, I was able to let her go. She was dignified all her life, and her death was just as dignified. You couldn’t ask for a better scenario. Rosalie would surely want it to be quick and painless, which is why I was given a heads-up months in advance, so I could make the right decision. It must have been hard for my sister to handle, but she stayed with Rosalie to the very end, and I thank her for having the courage to do so.

• The last moments in Bali are amazing, what with the wild dolphins, island hopping Nusa Penida… and JB seems to want to stay a few more weeks. But something pushes me to go back to Vietnam, no matter what, because I still have that fear of dying in Bali.
• August : We’re in a small fishing village in Ninh Hoa (Vietnam) for a week. At 1 a.m., JB wakes me up and says we need to go to the emergency room. It turns out he needs immediate surgery for a gallbladder stone. If we were still in Bali, it would have been much worse. In Vietnam, I can handle a situation like this, but not in Bali. Right after his surgery, my parents land in Nha Trang and join me at the hospital. I think it’s from that day on that all the energy left my body.
• I only realize later that a year of memories has been wiped from my brain. I only retain the most important information, but it’s nothing compared to the memory I had before. I’m constantly tired, sad, and lacking energy. It will take me a long time to recover.
• JB, recovering throughout August and September, recovers much faster than I do. Plus, my parents (whom we’re very grateful to) took care of him during the 2 weeks of recovery right after the surgery, with all the home-cooked meals, in an extraordinary apartment with a sea view. So it’s no wonder he bounced back so quickly.
• Spending 2 months constantly wondering what day you’re going to die is really not pleasant. In the end, I tell myself that without that stress, we would have spent more time in Bali and JB’s life would have been in danger. Something pushed me to return to Vietnam.
• September : JB managed to pass into his 2nd year of law, but given the circumstances, it’ll be a gap year for him: he won’t sit for the exams and will repeat the year.
• Meanwhile, I’m learning leatherworking from a Vietnamese artisan and finishing two custom leather bags. I’m slowly getting my life back on track.
• October : My sister gives birth to a baby girl. She’s the cutest baby in the universe. We stay near my sister’s place for 2 months, in case she needs us, and also to attend her wedding!
• December : We’re leaving for Malta. It’s total freedom, good weather, and I’m finally getting some energy back.

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In short, 2022 was one of the hardest years I’ve ever known. But I’m taking it well. JB is still here with me, Rosalie passed away peacefully, and I’ve become an aunt. Honestly. The years 2022, 2023, and 2024 are transitional years, they are and will be difficult but that’s how great progress and change happen. Without a bit of hardship and hope, we’d never be pushed to change.

Anyway, despite the difficulties, having knowledge of astrology (and gaining intuition) has helped me a lot to keep things in perspective, because when you clearly see that certain events must and are meant to happen, it’s like karma coming back in full force—what can you do but accept it, and accept it gladly? Of course, you should always give your best, but accepting things as they come, without constantly trying to exert control over them, seeing what life has to offer—that’s also a life lesson.

Social media

I’ve been quite active on Instagram since my forties in Thailand. I was especially proud of the book summaries I did on Instagram. They helped me keep track of the books I’d read, but also encouraged me to read more. Between 2021 and 2022, I read about 70 books in full. I’m very proud of that because usually I only read 10 a year. But from 2023, I think I’ll be stepping away from Instagram.

Due to exceptional circumstances, I know I’ve posted less on the blog. Since 2021, we’ve had over 1 million annual visitors!! Thank you for being so many on this blog and for continuing to follow us despite a more spaced-out pace. I’ll gradually get back to the blog, don’t worry—the 2022 travel journals that weren’t written will be written in 2023, and I’ll catch up as I go.

Top 5

During these two years 2021-2022, there were highs (very high) and lows (very low), but if I had to name the 5 best moments, I’d say:

1. The birth of my niece: I think it’s only when you have a baby (or see a baby in your close circle) that you truly understand what unconditional love is.
2. Our boat trip to see the dolphins in Lovina (Bali): we followed a group of 30-40 dolphins playing and jumping non-stop for long minutes.
3. Montenegro : Everything we did in Montenegro pleased me. The landscapes were stunning and varied. I especially loved the view from my window on the day it snowed non-stop for hours, forming 40cm of snow on the roof of our car.
4. The day we managed to master e-foiling and fly over the water. It was an indescribable feeling.
5. Blue Eye in Albania: seeing the source of a river! It’s not something you see every day. I’ve always loved river sources, and they always leave a lasting impression on me.

What’s next?

After 5.5 years of freelancing, we want even more freedom, meaning not being dependent on the internet or time zones. When we have clients with whom we need regular calls, the destination must take into account criteria like fast internet, a max time difference of 6 hours from France, etc.

It won’t happen right away, but in the near future, this is what we want: no more calls, being completely free to move around, and if possible, living 100% off passive income. I hope to be able to tell you we’ve achieved it in the next review (2023?).