Round Off 2016: The Best Adventures This Year

Rounding off my favorite adventures of 2016!

1. HangGliding in Interlaken, Switzerland

Definitely deserved to Top my list! 
Voted as number 2 among Trip Advisor’s World Best Adventure tours, all the hype I read online was proven to be true. Flying like a bird has always been human’s wildest dream. And Hang Gliding in Interlaken with Bernie the Birdman from Hangglidinginterlaken.com is truly the coolest thing I’ve done up to date! 

2. Kayaking in Procida, Italy

Totally wonderstruck, I shall make this statement at the top of my lungs: Joining a kayaking adventure with ASD Kayak Procida was the best decision I’ve made in the Gulf of Naples.

3. Flying over Reykjavik, Iceland

I had a couple of things in mind that I have always wanted to do but have been postponing due to reason(s). However,  I figured that I was going to cross this one out of the list now— a helicopter ride. Because where else could be a better place than Iceland to have my first ever helicopter ride? I booked my helicopter tour with Nordurflug Helicopter Tours due to their number one ranking on TripAdvisor (Helicopter Tours In Iceland) . 

4. Paragliding in Chamonix, France

After a sumptuous breakfast buffet at Hotel Mont Blanc, we walked to the flying school of Air Sports Chamonix, looking forward to the most anticipated paragliding experience. It was our first time flying in the air, and I am not talking about sitting securely on a plane. We both opted for the tandem flight experience and the pilots assigned to us were professional and caring (plus, loving their sense of humor!). We never at one point felt unsafe while flying! The pilots are able to customize the paragliding experiences according to our requests and adventure levels. The only thing I regretted is I should ask for freestyle flight.

5. Interrailing in Europe

Have you heard about Interrail or Eurail? When I was globetrotting across the Europe continent, I was quite surprised at the number of people who doesn't know about these train pass, including Europeans themselves! Hence, today I decided to write a complete (or almost complete) guide about it, from "how to buy a pass" to "how to return the pass" at the end of your journey!    

6. Hitchhiking in Central Europe

Hitchhiking？ Are you crazy? 
True enough, hitchhiking is said to be a risky act. Although I was afraid as well, I finally tried hitchhiking during my trip in Central Europe… of course, I always put safety first, by applying a few rules. 

7. Dog Sleeding in Lovozero, Russia

Riding on a husky-sleigh is definitely an at-least-once-in-a-lifetime must-do! When we were on the sleigh, the owner did not once hit them. All he did was commanding the leader of the troop, "Alpha" to "go forward", and the rest depended on Alpha. When they were commanded to stop, they kept making noises, wanting to run more.

@littlemisshappyfeet: Look at their eyes, does it mean that
Huskies have 2 souls in them?

8. Reindeer Sleeding in Lovozero, Russia

With a small additional fee, we had the privilege to ride a reindeer sleigh. Have you seen Rudolph? Fly us over the moon in search of Santa Clause, please!

9. Walking, Tilting, Troting, Pacing, Galloping through a Lava Field, Iceland

I wasn’t really a big fan of horse riding due to a damaging childhood experience— falling down from the back of a horse (an fully grown, adult horse!) at the age of 9. I heard that Icelandic horses are different from regular horses, most importantly their size and personality and I've seen pictures of them, so I was convinced to give horseback riding another chance. and I am glad I did it. 

10. Skiing in Pre Elbrus, Russia

Tucked in the most rugged mountain ranges of Caucasus, Mt. Elbrus represents Europe in the Seven Summits (highest mountains on each of the seven continents). That being said, it is the highest peak in Europe, not Mount Blanc as most people believed it to be. Situated between the Black sea and the Caspian sea, it is a dormant volcano with 2 summits, West and East, standing proudly at 5,642 meters and 5,621 meters.  

11. Traveling Solo

I used to be intimidated by the idea of solo-traveling. Now that I've discovered the beauty of it, I encourage everyone to try it at least once. There will be ups and downs, true enough, we have to be aware that solo-traveling is not all unicorns and rainbows. I agree that some bloggers (including me) do unintentionally makes solo-traveling seems too easy to be true (which is far from reality). Solo-traveling mean you are on your own from prepping to trip planning to maps reading, it requires hard work but it IS possibleand it will most certainly be one of your fondest memories to look back at and proudly proclaim “Been there done that”! These are some common misconception about solo-traveling, especially when the traveler is a girl.