Chapters in our lives don’t usually fall according to dates on the calendar, however the finish of a 12 months is at all times a superb time to mirror.
For me, 2024 (and far of 2023) have been all about one nation – this isn’t a brand new love affair however one which simply bought critical…
The final 18 months have been all about rediscovering Thailand, a rustic I’ve visited a number of instances over the past 12 years. It was my first solo backpacking journey again in 2013 and I’ve returned many instances through the years and at all times discover one thing new to take pleasure in.
Looking for a brand new dwelling base
My old flame, India, lately modified its visa guidelines so, after spending a few years in Goa, I wanted to search for a brand new dwelling base and Thailand was the plain alternative for an inexpensive, enjoyable and simple digital nomad life-style.
It’s been nice rediscovering Thailand, I’ve spent plenty of time in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Pai and there’s nonetheless far more I need to discover.
Thailand is such a gorgeous nation, I like the gorgeous temples, seashores, islands and nationwide parks, the vigorous night time markets, scrumptious Thai meals and the pleasant folks.
I like to remain in every metropolis or island for a minimum of 1 month – this manner I can discover past the vacationer path to essentially get to know the place and think about if it’s someplace I need to stay for an extended time. Getting into-depth to every vacation spot additionally means I can write actually detailed and helpful weblog posts to assist different travellers.
I’ve additionally been capable of revisit a few of my favorite locations in Southeast Asia from my backpacking days, seeing how they’ve modified and experiencing them in a brand new method – this time as a digital nomad couple with a bit more cash to spend on the distinctive experiences and nicer motels that I couldn’t afford earlier than.
I like seashores and have been capable of fulfil my long-time dream of visiting the Maldives (btw, it doesn’t should be costly!) I additionally revisited Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Penang and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Vietnam. I used to be additionally capable of return to Goa and the UK to go to household and associates.
And I completed off 2024 with a really particular journey! After 4 years I lastly returned to Sri Lanka and this time with – the perfect journey buddy – my Mum! It was the primary time we travelled collectively since our South India journey in 2019. We each actually loved our journey across the island and I can’t wait to share my Sri Lanka itinerary and ideas with you.
The fact of being a journey blogger and digital nomad
I actually take pleasure in exploring lovely locations, studying about totally different cultures, and sharing my experiences by writing helpful weblog posts, journey guides and itineraries which I hope assist different travellers plan their journeys too.
It would seem to be I’m at all times on trip however being a journey author and blogger is far more durable work than it seems. With the explosion of AI, freelance journey writing jobs aren’t so widespread and the frequent social media and Google search algorithm updates have made running a blog a wild trip!
I’m so grateful that I can nonetheless afford to journey and assist myself doing what I like in a time when many blogs and small web sites have been killed off by the Google updates.
So if you happen to’ve discovered my suggestions helpful and booked a resort or journey via my weblog, thanks! It’s nice to know my ideas are helpful and actually helps me to maintain me touring and writing.
Regardless that there are significantly better methods to make a dwelling on-line today, I like to journey and I like to share my experiences and assist others, so I don’t need to cease!
I really feel extraordinarily fortunate to be dwelling on this time and to have the ability to expertise the liberty of the digital nomad life-style but it surely’s not at all times simple and there are downsides to it too.
The reality is, whereas at first it’s enjoyable and thrilling to journey on a regular basis, it might get hectic, lonely and exhausting making an attempt to juggle work and on a regular basis life with journey and life is basically dominated by visa expiry dates. Being a digital nomad could be very totally different from being on trip and most nomads burnout after a number of years and wish a dwelling base.
I don’t need to surrender touring, however I do want someplace the place I’ve time to relaxation, work, and have long run friendships.
Plans for 2025
So what is going to 2025 convey?
Properly, with the current introduction of the 5 12 months Vacation spot Thailand Visa (aka DTV) hopefully I can take my relationship with Thailand to the subsequent stage! I’d like to calm down a bit extra and discover a long run dwelling base within the Land of Smiles.
I additionally need to discover extra of Asia – I’ve seen a lot of South and Southeast Asia now I need to head to the Far East – Hong Kong, Korea, Japan!
In any case, visiting Shanghai in China on a college research journey in 2010 was what first opened my eyes to Asia and I’ve gone on to spend a lot of the final decade right here. I like Asia, the tradition, spirituality, meals, folks, nature – I need to see and expertise all of it!
So, till AI takes over the world or Google kills my weblog, I’ll preserve sharing my travels with you!
Thanks for studying! Completely happy 2025 and Completely happy Travels!
The place will 2025 take you? Do you might have any journeys already deliberate?