On Writer’s Block and Five Beautiful Months of Travel

It sounded like false humility, but it was genuine surprise.

“You haven’t written much lately! I haven’t read anything by you for a while!” noted a good friend of mine.

I was taken aback – she was right. I hadn’t written anything for a long time. However what surprised me was that she (or anyone) had noticed – I apparently have a captive audience! I usually write my articles in quick spurts of inspiration, and publish them straight away from what I’m feeling at that moment, with little thought of who or how many people read them. Unless they’re going to be sent off to some publication which has a brief (my favourite Prism, for example), articles tend to pass through my mind, and fingertips, in the space of an afternoon.

But she was right – it had been a very long time since I last posted. Having recently arrived back in Australia after five months of almost non-stop travel, I have had no shortage of time to reflect on what has transpired in these months, and why I’ve been so distant from the keyboard.

There’s a certain writers block that I’ve experienced for the past week – not that I have nothing to write about, but that there’s so much, and where to begin? I find this often happens to me when I haven’t written for quite some time. I’m also currently experiencing a bit of it with the third edition of Pakistan Traveller, which I really need to work on before an anticipated release date next year.

And then there’s the story of what I’ve been up to over the past five months. Over the past week, while pondering where to begin, I’ve been flicking through my pictures of my recent travels, and it has felt like a nostalgic recounting of a dream trip, like enviously looking at some other traveller’s Instagram feed before reminding myself that it was, in fact, mine.

Sometimes us travel bloggers get so caught up in trying to record every detail, every feeling, every nuance, that we turn every move we make into a work-related task. I am as guilty of this as any other, and until last year I was starting to feel that my travels were perhaps being hijacked by my commitment to this blog. This year, I haven’t – I’ve photographed and made notes, but above all, I have let go and experienced, and the vivid memories are what I carry with me today and what will inspire me for the next year and beyond.

So here, to mark the start of my writing again, are the highlights of a filtered Instagram-feed worthy five months of passionate, colourful, exciting and memorable travels!

March

April

May

June

July

August

I’ve appeared on television…

…been inspired by some incredible sights…

…and collaborated on several interesting projects with some amazing people…

…I’ve met lots of new friends…

…and reunited with some old ones.

…and now it’s time to start writing about all of these adventures. Thanks for your patience, if you’ve been waiting <3