I have been a bad bad blogger! Yes I am well aware, that it has been over a month since I last posted, and my goal of posting a new location a week has gone out the window recently.
I can explain though. Quite simply I had to earn some money!
I have a couple of start-up businesses that are still getting off the ground, which means at the moment they are incurring costs and not earning much (or any) revenue. On top of that, I freelance for a living, doing a range of things from business consulting as well as writing. Writing isn’t a well paid profession in India unfortunately. Consulting is better, but I have to get out and network to find work, and quite frankly my introverted side makes me a not so great networker.
So some unfortunate circumstances in late October saw me earning enough money to cover my rent, but not enough to cover any of the other basic needs (ie. food etc). I have money saved up in Australia, so I wasn’t a pauper, but I believe that I should be able to earn enough to cover my lifestyle. I don’t have lavish needs, I take local transport, eat fresh local food, and can easily curb my love of wine and eating out by simply not doing it.
Anyway, I found myself needing to network, so I did. I put myself out there and really looked for good quality work and people that valued what I did. As luck would have it, my friends also helped me out and put me in touch with their networks, and before I knew it, I had plenty of work. I took on a few new and interesting consulting assignments, started writing for an Australian publication and also did some publishing assignments in India. On top of that, one of my start-ups that hasn’t launched yet gained momentum, and time was spent photographing the product and getting ready for our launch next year.
So the end of 2013 has been crazy for me. All good, but insanely busy. I have worked 7 days a week, mostly 12-15 hour days, but have thankfully got myself back on track financially and professionally. To reward myself, I have also been able to afford to take a holiday. So right now I am in northern Thailand, staying in a gorgeous remote town called Mae Sariang, about 45 kilometres from the Myanmar (Burma) border. A friend of mine lives her with her young son, and I am fortunate enough to be able to stay with her for about 10 days.
After the new year I then head to Myanmar, where I will travel for 10 days. I can’t wait! It has been about 20 months since I travelled solo, with just my trusty backpack for company. Myanmar has been on my bucket list for quite some time, so not doubt I will return with plenty of tales to tell.
I do have a very long list of blog topics that I have wanted to write in the past couple of months, along with my weekly country blog. I plan on writing these in the new year and being a much better blogger in 2014. I promise!
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