I did not know I would still come back to travel blogging again after such a long hiatus. My last post was in 2021. There were many things going on in our lives – pandemic, no travel, moved house, changed school, sickness, changed jobs etc.

Getting back my URL when I thought it was lost forever

Due to a miscommunication, I lost the blog URL in 2021 when all I intended to do was to take a break during pandemic times. A company bought it after it was not renewed. Thus, with the URL gone, I decided to close it for good. As time went by, I realised I still enjoyed writing about my travels even if there might be no other reader. I enjoyed reading our thoughts which were preserved in those moments of travel.

The opportunity came when after checking multiple times, I discovered that it was available for purchase again in early October 2024. Quickly, I snatched it up and took up a hosting plan with WordPress. I had always saved all my contents on a free WordPress.com site with the Travelsnapstories name, thus it was easy to just purchase the domain for it.

With a swipe of the credit card, I’m back here again! The feeling of getting something back after losing it was so great! I kept blinking my eyes to make sure it really was mine now…Then, it came to… NOW what?

Alas, it was the exam season when I did this (I’m a home tutor) and thus, I had no time to do anything for Travelsnapstories blog.

Now that end of year exams are over, I finally had time to start going through all the contents of the travel blog. I have to select a new theme and that took a while to customise into the style I want. Thereafter, I found quite a number of broken links and lost pictures. Some information is outdated on the travel blogs and some colour choices for headings are not so good anymore.

To Fix The Broken Bits of the Blog

Now, I’m trying to fix them all up.

Please be patient with me if some posts are not up as I am working on getting back the missing pictures and information.

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Updates in our lives (2021 – 2024)

The little boy that loves transportation has now grown into a 16 year old and ready to embark on his next phrase of the journey in high school. He took the “O” Level Cambridge examination this year.

Our girl turned 9 years old and will be in Primary 4 next year. How time flies!

I am still teaching but has reduced my workload, taking on less students. In the future, I want to go back to focus more on my interest in travel and work on photographs and videos of our outings.

We got a new family member in Mar 2023 – a little maltipoo [ Maltese + poodle mix ] who is turning 2 years old. In a blink of the eye, she is already an “adult” in dog years. Lots of daily care is needed for the dog and thus, I am squeezing time always, juggling between family, dog and teaching.

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Travels in 2021 – 2024

1. 2022 Dec – We travelled to Tokyo after a belated trip due to the pandemic
2. 2023 June- We went to Jeju Island again, visiting places we did not get to go the last time. It was a nice nature trip!
3. 2024 June – We went Penang for a short resort and sight-seeing trip.

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Where Are We Going? Our Next Trip (2024 – 2025)

We will be heading to Japan in end November 2024. It will be a relaxing trip combining Tokyo city sights with a few days in nature. This will be our third time to Japan Tokyo. However, it will be our first time there to Fujikawaguchiko, a Japanese resort town in the northern foothills of Mount Fuji. Let’s hope everything will turn out well!

[ update in 2025: Yes, this trip was memorably fun! We enjoyed it. Read our Japan Tokyo and Fujikawaguchiko 2024 Itinerary for the places we visited]

Next year in June 2025, we would be going to China Xian and probably Chengdu. It was supposed to be a trip this year but we postponed it and changed to Japan, resulting in two booked trips. There will be lots to do in preparation and I will try my best to update as soon as possible this time.

[update in 2025: This trip was just “okay”, was a relaxing trip where we stayed in one city most of the time and did not travel to other states.

Follow our adventures on instagram@travelsnapstories as I will update there during the trip.