Looking back on 2015, it's been a whirlwind journey since we published our first food guide on halal food in Hong Kong in February. Since the end of the year is here, and we’re at the start of another amazing year ahead (inshaAllah!), here are a few thoughts we’d like to share with you before we bid adieu to 2015!
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1. Never stop learning and improving
We have a core team of 4 members and growing (hopefully!) and we’re always trying our best to improve our travel and halal food guides (because we personally know how hard it is to find yummy and halal authentic local food when we travel), but sometimes, we make mistakes ?
We’re so grateful for the amazing HHWT community because you share with us what you’ve experienced during your travels, you give us recommendations, and we've received constructive feedback when we’ve made any errors. This encourages us to strive even harder to ensure that the work we do helps the Muslim community ??
2. Travelling is more important now than ever
The beautiful thing about travelling is that we’re able to show people that we're not really that different, and that there’s a lot to learn from each other ? Travelling opens up new horizons (cliché but true!) and allows us to understand people of different backgrounds and ourselves better too!
3. There's a lot of good in the world
Although there have been many tragedies that have happened this year, it has also united the world in many ways, and there are many instances of people helping others that gives us so much hope for humanity ?
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4. There’s also a lot of good FOOD in the world!
We’re constantly on the lookout for delicious halal local food around the world and we’ll try our best to update you guys when we find it!
Since we’ve started HHWT, we’re floored that there are more and more halal food places to explore, in places we never really knew had good halal options (besides kebabs of course…hehehe). Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and more…we’re coming for you!
The governments of countries like Japan and Korea are also pushing for more Muslim-friendly services. We’re excited to see the growth in these countries, and look forward to being a part of it too! ?
5. Gaining sound knowledge is so important, especially in this day and age
On the note of learning and improving, gaining knowledge is on top of our list too, especially when there are so many opinions out there regarding Muslims and Islam.
(Also, the first ayat of the Quran that came down was to Read! That should definitely be reason enough ?)
6. We’ve learned how to travel on a budget
With rising prices everywhere and fluctuating currencies, we admit that it has been quite a stretch to be able to afford to see the world.
We’ve definitely learned how to tighten our purse strings and save money so that we do get to travel, and share with you guys more awesome adventures in the process!
7. Do something you love every day
Life’s too short for regrets…and that’s why we started HHWT! We wanted to do something that we truly believe will be of benefit to Muslims around the world.
The new year is a good time as any to get out there and do what you love!
8. Our readers are awesome!!!
We’re glad that our guides have been helping you with your travels. Through your wonderful feedback and messages (you have no idea how happy we are whenever we receive a sweet message!), we’re encouraged to keep on doing what we do and work even harder at it, to help the HHWT community see more of the world and enjoy local cultures ? You're the reason why we're here in the first place!
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We're definitely looking forward to what 2016 will bring. Team HHWT, to infinity and beyond!