So the question is… “Why now?”
It danced around my brain as I literally googled, “How to start a blog,” elected a domain name and navigated my way around WordPress. It repeated itself like a catchy jingle as I opened a new Word document to draft the first post and – for once – didn’t just stare at the blank white screen.
I actually started typing…
Why Now?
I’ve been living in Hong Kong for four years, and I know I’ve always said that I’d write a travel / lifestyle / book / other blog and never quite got round to it… so… why have I finally got round to it?
Maybe it’s a classic New Year’s resolution that I’m going to make with all the festive good intentions, only to slowly forget about and not be bothered with come February and March.
Maybe it’s because 2015 was filled with fantastic travel and writing adventures, and I don’t want to forget a single moment. I finally feel ready to start documenting all the past years’ memories as well as the adventures to come.
Maybe it’s my quarter-life crisis kicking in.
Maybe it’s because I’m just a little bit older, wiser and better organised (ish) with my time than I used to be. I’ve started carving out some ‘me time’ somewhere in the intense work-obsessed culture of Hong Kong and found, more often than not, that I am using that “me time” to write.
Maybe it’s because the grace period of my early twenties is over. I’ve survived the “figuring out what I want to do” years. Now, I’ve moved into the scary “figuring out how to make what I want to do a reality” years.
Why Not?
So “Why now?” Well, it’s because the clock has struck Do Something o’clock, and it’s already the second Thursday of Get Your Act Together in the year of What Are You Waiting For?
In other words, I stopped asking “Why now?” and started asking “Why not?” I pushed aside feelings of self-doubt. My fingertips claimed their rightful place on the keyboard.
What if I write a blog and no one reads it? At least you’re writing. What if I run out of things to say? Then you’ll just have to blog about that too. What will people think? They think you’re an idiot anyway. What if I say something stupid and then years later when I’m rich and famous it comes back to haunt me and ends up in the Daily Mail’s sidebar of shame? Well, then you know you’ve made it.
So, although it may surprise some people (most notably myself), here I am hitting the 400-word mark as well as the Save button on my brand new blog, Page Traveller.
Travel Essentials
Here are the websites and services I personally use and recommend.
FLIGHTS: The best deals can be found on Skyscanner, Google Flights and Kiwi (learn more about Kiwi travel hacking here).
TRAVEL INSURANCE: I recommend World Nomads for travel insurance because you can purchase once you’re already overseas and you can easily extend your policy. For digital nomads, I recommend and personally use Genki (learn more about Genki digital nomad health insurance here).
E-SIM: For travel in Europe, I use an e-sim with GoMobile, which is a provider based in Malta, but you need to be there to set it up.
ACCOMMODATION: I use Booking.com for hotels and Airbnb for apartments. For Colivings, I usually book privately, but Coliving.com is a good place to start.
THINGS TO DO: I use Viator or Get Your Guide for booking day trips, city tours and other activities, though I often check reviews on TripAdvisor too.
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