One of the fun things about running a blog is that you get to read all the site statistics, see where your readers come from, and more importantly, how they find your blog in the first place. I love seeing the weird and random search inputs that somehow landed an unsuspecting reader on The Travelling Trini, and how many times people searched for this phrase. So to do a Year in Review, here are the Top 10 Searches that brought people to this blog:

Snorkelling Boracay — A Trip Report about a tiny island in the Philippines that was rated the Best Beach In The World a few years ago. Perfect beaches lined with bars and cafes and massage parlours, Boracay is a hot spot in Asia and famous for diving, kite surfing and snorkelling.

Herbert Visa Run Koh Samui — When I lived in Thailand I embarked on a “visa run” whereby you cross the border into Malaysia/Cambodia and then re-enter with a renewed Thai visa, thus extending your stay. Many tourists who try to live in Thailand do this indefinitely, or at least until they get caught. I’ll certainly never forget my visa run with the notorious Herbert, a crazy German who has the run down to a T.

Pulau Bintan — Another isolated little spot in Asia, Bintan is a tiny, quiet island off of Indonesia but closer to Singapore than anything else. I spent new years here a few years ago in some very quaint water bungalows.

Curfew Pass Trinidad — Ah the joy of being in Trinidad during the SOE and the days of curfew passes. After posting this story, my site visits went up dramatically and in fact it was the busiest month of the entire year!

Rapid Penang — I don’t know why this is such a hot search, I simply mentioned the Rapid Penang bus during a Trip Report to say that it is easy for tourists to get around in Penang. I guess a lot of tourists are concerned about public transport in Malaysia?

Wreck Diving — Again something I’ve never actually done, though I did go diving and SEE some wrecks. I however did not have the cajones to swim through the wreck, and I am not certified to dive on wrecks.

Mount Emei — Not surprised many people looked for this one, as this giant mountain in China has pretty much no information in English, other than that provided by tourists who have been there. Located in Sichuan province, Mt. Emei is a World Heritage Site and one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. The climb almost killed me but it was worth it.

Dim Sum Pictures — Yum! Yes, pictures of dim sum. I have many of them.

Trinis in Hong Kong/Singapore/Thailand/Dubai/Japan — Oh Trinis, how we love to travel. I guess there are a lot of Trinis out there in faraway places wondering if any of their kin are also out there. I also got a lot of searches for ‘Shipmate Services’ from people interested in working on a cruise ship, ‘Can Trinis Work in  (Fill in country here)’, and ‘How to Teach in Japan’.

Why Do Thai People Want White Skin — Haha, another weird top search. It is true, Thai people put ‘whitening agent’ in damn near anything that you can rub on your skin… soaps, creams, moisturisers, face masks, sun block, and so on.

And here are some other weird search terms that I have no idea about:

• Your head looks weird turned like that
• Onsen boys naked
• Funny pictures of Kamla   (of which I have none)
• Japanese men in onsen
• Housewife happy
• Asian girls squatting
• Island girl Philippines thick ass

Okay, so all you perverts out there — I may write about travel in Asia, but I am not promoting any kind of sex tourism okay! And please stop looking for naked Japanese boys in hot tubs because it’s GROSS! Get some help will you?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!