Celebrating My Birthday Across the Globe

Six of my favorite global birthday celebrations and the memories I made along the way.

Do you know someone who has their birthday in the summer? The chances are high. And if you know me - Hannah - the chances are 100%.

In that case, you might also know that this can be quite a tricky period for birthday celebrations. Most friends and family aren’t around for tea and cake, they’re off exploring the world or chilling at a pool somewhere. Anywhere but at home in The Netherlands. And my parents followed this summer migration and gave me the best present of all: the opportunity to celebrate across the globe.

As a result, it became something Mike and I plan our holidays around. Where shall we be on my birthday? Such a fun way to explore new countries and celebrate another year around the sun! In this post, I want to reflect on some of the amazing birthdays I’ve been lucky enough to have. Brace yourself though, Facebook-quality photos and young Hannah are incoming. I say we call it a vibe so it’s trendy again.

Las Vegas - 2012, 14th birthday

Let’s start with the one where I felt really cool. Entering at 13 and leaving as a 14-year-old? Wow. And that in the city of lights. It truly didn’t matter to me that I couldn’t gamble or do what people usually came to do here. I felt grown up and part of the excitement.

I got to choose our activity for the day and we went to a Jabbawockeez dance performance. It’s a real throwback to the OG YouTube days. If you know, you know.

I clearly remember this being the first year that I started loving my summer birthday and getting to fill it with fun activities abroad. A special memory for sure and the start of a new tradition that I’ve come to cherish a lot.

Disneyland, Paris - 2013, 15th birthday

We’re on a roll here because the year after we went to Disneyland ?! I mean will there ever be a better way to spend your birthday? I doubt it.

We were on our way home from a 2-week holiday in Italy where we celebrated the 25th wedding anniversary of my parents. And Disneyland was en route. We slept in a themed hotel the night before and I woke up in a - wait for it - b u n k b e d. I know. It doesn’t really get better than this for a 15-year-old. Except for a whole day wearing Minnie Mouse ears and going to the new Buzzlightyear attraction. What a day. I think the timed jump photo says it all.

Vienna - 2017, 19th birthday

Then we jump to independent Hannah who starts traveling on her own (with Mike). This was our first big summer trip together and we went on a road trip through Europe. Here the question “Where do you want to be on your birthday?” became a logistical question as well. We ended up in Vienna and explored the city through a lovely guided bike tour. Kudos to Mike for being saddled with planning both a holiday and a birthday at the same time. He passed the test hehe.

At least I can easily identify my birthday in thousands of photos due to the annual Snapchat confetti filter. It’s a blessing and a curse I guess.

Korea, 2018, 20th birthday

After years of loving this tradition and having dopamine-filled days, I ended up putting quite some pressure on this particular day of the year. In 2018 Mike and I were in Korea, something I had dreamed of since I was 12 years old and obsessed with Korean music and culture. (Another, IFKYK).

Mike had planned great things for the day. And it was supposed to start with a relaxing massage. It was booked and scheduled. But when we got to the massage parlour it turned out that not everyone was having a great day. A stressed receptionist told us that her colleagues hadn’t shown up for work because they’d argued the night before. Okay. What can we do about it? Nothing really, so we changed plans and went to a mall because it was kind of a rainy day. A bummer and the next item on the agenda was in the evening, which I wasn’t aware of. I’m not proud to admit that I was a bit sad that day because we hadn’t done “something” yet. Luckily, the wait was 100% worth it.

We arrived at the Han River in Seoul after sunset and we were sitting along the water’s edge looking at loads of boats and ferries. Turns out we were getting on one of them for a night tour on the water, with fireworks. Yup. It was as great as it sounds for a birthday present. The Seoul skyline looks even better with fireworks. We ended the day at the top of Namsan (the mountain in the middle of Seoul’s city center) and looked out over the beautiful city with its flashing lights.

Malaysia, 2019, 21st birthday

Here we have one of my absolute favorites. On our way over to Malaysia, we actually missed our connecting flight due to delays. This resulted in us arriving on the evening before my birthday. After dropping our stuff off at the Airbnb, we headed out to a bustling area for food & drinks. We met up with a friend of mine here for a drink and I got to celebrate as the clock struck midnight

We then went to explore The Batu Caves Temple, which features the iconic rainbow staircase. Walking on such a beautiful and colorful display on a day like that was a special experience. Although the stairs were - obviously - not painted for me, it still felt celebratory. We concluded the day with a lovely dinner in KL Tower, where we enjoyed the city skyline at night. (Can you tell we're suckers for a nighttime skyline?). The dinner was on a floor that turns 360 degrees in 1 hour, so we were able to admire each part of Kuala Lumpur by night. Overall, it was a relaxing and fun-filled day exploring a beautiful city with a special someone. I feel very grateful to have such wonderful experiences and memories from around the world.

Amsterdam, 2021, 23rd birthday

After celebrating numerous amazing birthdays abroad, it was finally time to see what Amsterdam had to offer for a summer birthday. Despite having lived in Amsterdam for four years at that point (and living less than an hour away before that), I had never been on a small, private boat on the Amsterdam canals. And I’d say that’s an achievement seeing how common it is. But luckily, that all changed in 2021.

There was one problem, though: Dutch summers don't guarantee nice weather. It was pouring down the whole day leading up to the open-boat celebrations. Even whilst we were waiting on the dock 15 minutes before our start time, it was still raining. I just needed it to stay dry during the 4-hour window of our boat reservation. And guess what? It did!

It ended up being a lovely evening with a small group of my closest friends, cruising through the canals of Amsterdam. This festivity was also dubbed as my going away party before I moved to Sweden for a year, but that’s a story for a different post. For now, I realized that birthdays back home in The Netherlands aren’t too bad either.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Mapping Memories is our shared passion project and we’d love it if you kept tagging along in the future.

Now, over to you. Have you ever celebrated your birthday abroad? I'd love to hear about your experiences. Leave a comment below, and let's swap stories of birthday excitement and adventure. Until next week, keep exploring and we’ll keep Mapping Memories!