New Year, New Intentions

5 Jan 2024 | Advice, Personal, Random

It has been a while since I’ve published anything on here; not since July 2021 to be exact. So much has happened since then. I bought a house with my partner, got engaged, got married, and had lots of amazing trips to places including French Polynesia,...

A Year In The Making

22 Jan 2021 | Personal

A year ago today I left Shenzhen for a 3 week holiday in India, never having even an inkling that I wouldn’t be able to go back to my home of 9 years. So many things have happened since then – some good, some bad, and pretty much all of them emotional in...

Pandemic Adventures part 2: Stuck in Limbo

21 Apr 2020 | Asia, Personal, Travel

My last post about my pandemic adventures ended with my stay at a hotel near Bangkok airport, waiting for my flight back to Shenzhen (well, back to Guangzhou, as there weren’t any flights to Shenzhen and Guangzhou is the next closest city). The night before my...

A Year of No Shopping

28 Dec 2017 | No Shopping Challenge, Personal

After reading a New York Times article ‘My Year of No Shopping’ I’ve been inspired to attempt my own ‘Year of No Shopping’. The main aim of this is, of course, to cut down on costs, but it is also to cut down on waste, cut down the...

Exciting News!

5 Oct 2015 | Asia, Personal, Travel

I’d like to start with a non-apology! I haven’t posted anything on here for a while, and there’s a good reason for that… I’ve been contracted as a writer! So exciting! My new website has just gone live: www.BASEDtravelershenzhen.com I’m working for a company called...

Feeling a Fool

14 May 2015 | Personal, Random

I’ve lived in China for almost four years. At times I think I’ve got the hang of how this country works, what the people are like and generally how to get by. However, there are still occasional days that make me feel like a complete idiot who has been...

Words versus Feelings

3 May 2015 | Personal

Having recently written a post about how compliments can have a really positive effect on a person, I now have the (kind of) opposite to write about. Words, or sometimes even the lack of them, can make all the difference in how someone is feeling. I know it’s...

Compliments

1 May 2015 | Personal

It’s amazing the effect a few compliments can have. I recently had a conversation with someone during which they gave me some genuine compliments.  It made me feel so much happier about myself, made me think that actually maybe people do like me, maybe some...

Many Faces

18 Apr 2015 | Personal

Do you ever get that feeling where you don’t know what to do with yourself? Every movement feels almost delicate, fragile, like you’re not sure that’s what you should be doing or if you’re doing it right – even if it’s something...