It started back in 2015 if I’m being really honest. I went through a pretty dark time in Hong Kong after losing my job and feeling the weight of responsibility to pay for my daughter’s uni and accommodation fees alone because my ex-husband never paid child support or helped with…
The first time I moved abroad I simply drove across the border from southern California on down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was exciting, life changing, and it turns out … a really bad idea as a single, young 20 year old girl. From there it was Barcelona, then Bangalore,…
If you have been looking to ‘find yourself again’ or rejuvenate your soul … solo travel is one of the best ways to do it. Any time I’ve needed to escape ‘real life’ in order to move beyond times when I was feeling low (a bit like right now so…
I’ve lived in 9 countries and have rented apartments in all of them, including in Pakistan. But nothing prepared me for what I would experience when I moved from my apartment at One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad to Emaar in Karachi. It was ROUGH! The patriarchy didn’t touch my life…
I’m currently planning a fun road trip with my sweet Mommy for when I visit next, so I have USA on my brain. It’s making me think of “what ifs”, like what if I never divorced, never left the U.S., chose a different career, etc. Being able to work from…
If 2 people were ever more opposite, it would be me and my sweet Mommy. This is true down to the base core of who we are. And it’s been our greatest challenge to overcome. The obvious is that I am tall and she is petite or she was born…
I was 20 my first solo trip, road-tripping Mexico. My Mom, in her 70s, recently started solo travelling after my father’s passing and is addicted to it now, too. In fact, she just set sail on another month-long solo cruise today, owning this next stage of her life — living…
You don’t have to be fearless or daring to be a solo female traveller. It doesn’t require any special confidence or skill set. And it isn’t scary or dangerous with just a dash of common sense sprinkled in. Solo travel builds confidence and self-esteem, especially for girls and women who…
While trying to secure funding for a project that was approved by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) last year, I was almost raped by a man pretending to be Balochistan Chief Minister Bugti’s coordinator, a secretary to the Chief Minister tried to extort me for sex, a female politician victim-blamed…
VIEW GUILTY DECISION HERE Since 9/11, I’m the foreigner to explore Balochistan, Pakistan the longest, 50+ days across 10 districts in 2021 (+ 20 days in 2024 = 72 days total). Travelling there was the most fun I’d had in decades and the closest I felt to a proper explorer…
You might think the biggest cultural difference a liberal Californian in Pakistan would experience is around religion but that’s not the case (this is the 3rd Muslim-majority country I’ve lived in, I love them). Where I struggle is around dealing with men. Western women are accustomed to having close relationships…
I was deported & blacklisted from a country once. I had relocated for a chief marketing officer job but ended up striking out on my own, exactly like what I’m doing here in Pakistan. I set up my own company, hired staff, and landed Samsung as my first client. The…
Last week I was talking with a friend about solo travel on our weekly Malaysia travel radio show and his answer was a common one: that as someone in a relationship (married), he doesn’t feel that solo travel is for him. And that makes sense. It could feel hurtful to…
It wasn’t long after my daughter left the nest (and I was deep in empty nest syndrome) that I genuinely – HONESTLY – put thought into a Zombie Apocalypse Plan. Well, for comedic effect, that’s what I called it anyway. It was more like: if the world falls apart, how…
Last week I spent 4 days in a lush Malaysian rainforest, experiencing the first meaningful DIGITAL DETOX of my life. My days were spent between fighting an involuntary reflex to reach for my mobile, heading out on adventures, or enjoying long hours of stillness … and it was great. Mostly.…
It’s not often I feel both PURE JOY & ANGUISH so raw. Today I’m the happiest in years, with my life “uncharacteristically responsible” and re-established in my favourite Asian city, Kuala Lumpur. Wonderful clients and (starting next week!) travel adventures that enrich my days. A new radio gig every Friday…
I moved out of Pakistan months ago but still – even TODAY – I’ve had to ban and block 3 men on social media 😡 If you follow my channel, you know I LOVE Pakistan. Pakistan was my favourite adventure I’ve lived in decades. I have only good things to…
It’s 6pm and yes those are pyjamas – the official uniform of many working from home! That’s also a vodka soda with a splash of some yummy Malaysian berry something or other, not tea. I’ve been packing up my temporary condo ‘cuz tomorrow’s a big day. Well, I suppose today…
Wandering. Adventuring. Exploring. That’s the aspirational way I’d categorise the nomadic lifestyle that I’ve just left behind. On paper (or I guess on Instagram) it looks tempting to live it. Seems like it’s full of mostly highs, which like any life it is not. But that life is addictive and…
SHUT UP & GO BACK HOME 😡 Go back to the U.S. Go back to your loved ones Go back to your homeland where you belong This post isn’t about racism yet I am receiving comments like these daily since deciding to share (confess?) more honestly on social media again.…
I left home the first time at 20 to travel solo and live in Mexico. From there life has been about exploration, discovery, and living in a way that drove my parents crazy and is far from conventional. Well, now my nomadic lifestyle is in true danger. I’m currently living…
The Attack: 6 April 2020 at 3:45am Today’s #lockdown video is not a fun one. I was woken up this morning at 3:45am by a man in my room wearing a hoodie, mask, and gloves and wielding a machete. Screaming HELP at the top of my lungs woke my neighbours…
I’ve started writing this blog post 10 times, 15 maybe. I’ve even finished it. But that was when I didn’t feel much positivity and those posts were DEPRESSING AS HELL. But that’s changed now so I’m going to try again. The reason I never launched the blog posts I wrote…
When she first left the nest, I had no idea what I was going to feel or ultimately go through. I knew that I’d miss my daughter but … nothing prepared me for the almost literal hell that consumed me after she left. I never understood women who had postpartum…
In this VLOG: How to identify if you have Empty Nest Syndrome How to deal with it as a single mom How NOT to behave with your child because of it I first wrote about the challenges of empty nest syndrome for a single mom when I was living in…
I’m not proud of it, necessarily. It is what it is and I can’t change it. But the fact is that the life I lead today began with me living as an illegal immigrant, or at least illegally. Not in one country or two … but three! Most of the…
I don’t want to wake up one day and regret not taking this chance so the security of my parachute aside, I won’t let fear stop me from living life as an adventure. Who says Gypsies didn’t it right when they embraced a culture of constant change and uncertainty? I’m…
I’ve been an expat, an immigrant, a digital nomad, and location independent. The first time I moved abroad was 28 years ago. The year was 1991 and I dropped out of the University of Irvine in California and drove my Jeep Wrangler down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I had a…
I didn’t realise it at the time that I wasn’t really free in India. During the (almost) three years I lived there, I truly thought I was happy. It was a wild time, with a life full of contrasts and amazing opportunities. Yet it was simultaneously the only time when…
Knowing she was leaving didn’t make dealing with Empty Nest Syndrome any easier. It had been just my daughter and I – for the most part – from the time she was one year old. We had lived in Spain, the U.S., and ultimately India, which is where she flew…