I met another solo female traveller / L.A. native yesterday and it was FUN! She’s a young woman who came to Pakistan on her own and did it “her way” … not going only to the most popular area (“The North”) but also spending WEEKS in one of the least…
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Update: Ali Medical Islamabad Overcharged Me (up to 4,400% more!)
I had no idea that Ali Medical charged me 4,400% more without telling me I had choices.
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Attacked & Shot At in Mexico: 1st country I lived in abroad
At 21, I dropped out of uni and drove my Jeep from California down to live in Puerto Vallarta — lulled by its beauty & warm people … and an ABSOLUTE HUNGER for a different kind of life. A quieter, simpler life. One that filled each day with new sights,…
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Living or Travelling Abroad: Establish a Distress Code Word w Family
Yesterday more details emerged of the story of two women (one Dutch, one Venezuelan) lured to Lahore, Pakistan under false pretences by business associates they knew, who ultimately kidnapped and tortured them. The intent was to extort the women for money and drain their crypto-wallets. What transpired was much darker,…
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Living in Islamabad, Pakistan Again: Month One
Absolutely NOTHING has gone to plan since relocating from an amazingly chilled island in Indonesia back to Islamabad in mid-June. I mean nothing! But it’s both fun and kinda funny. So here’s a very unexciting roundup of month one. FORBIDDEN TO ENTER KP The whole reason I flew to Pakistan…
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What is wrong with Pakistanis?
I mean it in the sweetest way possible but … seriously, what is wrong with Pakistanis!?!? Before you hate on me, please know that I love Pakistan. I have spent over two years travelling & working here (I’m in Islamabad now, my 3rd time in Pakistan) and I have a…
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Life Abroad: Choosing the Best Country For You
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,…
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Needing a Penis to Rent an Apartment in Karachi, Pakistan
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…
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Choosing an Unconventional [Digital Nomad] 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…
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Comparing Ramadan in Malaysia, Pakistan & Indonesia 🌙
Experiencing the beauty of Ramadan & the joyfulness of Eid is a treat … & extra fun in a foreign country where things are next-level different. Like here. Behind me, there are 10 Muslim families celebrating Eid at a beach bar! I’ve lived in 3 Muslim-majority countries. And it always…
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I Was 40 When I Made My 1st Muslim Friend (in Bangalore, India)
A Story for Ramadan 🌙 I made my 1st Muslim friend in 2011 when I moved to India. She was a co-worker who helped me see the truth of her beautiful religion, and helped me to realign decades of misinformation I had in my head. You see, in the U.S.,…
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I Was Found Guilty of Cybercrimes in Pakistan (PECA Blasphemy Laws)
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…
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My Story of Abuse of Power Working in Pakistan
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’ve had in decades and the closest I felt to a proper explorer…
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Having Male Friends in Pakistan is Complicated
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…
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Why I’m Silent on Pakistan Politics & Injustice
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…
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Have a Zombie Apocalypse Plan if You Live Abroad
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…
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Every Day I Ban & Block Pakistani Men Online
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…
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My Last Day as a Digital Nomad
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…
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Living Abroad is Just More Exotic! (PS. I Miss Nomad Life)
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…
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Being Told to “Shut Up & Go Back Home” in Pakistan
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.…
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Covid-19 Expat Life: I Want To Stay In Asia
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…
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I Was Attacked By Man With Machete in Indonesia During Pandemic
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…
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Expat Life: Lack of Friends Causes Mental Health Issues
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…
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Being A White Illegal Immigrant Has (Unfair) Benefits
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…
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Being a Digital Nomad at 48 Is Scary & Exciting
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…
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What’s the Difference: Expat, Digital Nomad & Location Independent
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…
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I’ll Never Live in India Again, Here’s Why
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…
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Hong Kong: Dressing Up as a Traditional Chinese Opera Singer
Actually living in a foreign country instead of just visiting it paves the way for a whole slew of fabulous ‘local’ experiences that one wouldn’t normally be able to experience. Like that time I dressed up and performed in traditional Chinese opera makeup and costume! This was a treasured experience…
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Starting Life Over Again in Hong Kong – Day 1
It seems blissfully fitting that today is now officially the first day of the rest of my life because today is the day that the greatest joy in my life arrived 19 years ago when my daughter was born. While she has been enjoying her very first house party in…
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Living in India Left a Mark on My Daughter That Will Never Go Away
By the time my daughter finished up the final term of her iGCSEs and enjoyed her summer break on the beach in Barcelona in 2011, the cats and I had been settled into life in Bangalore for over four months. The blog I started the first day I moved to…