Life in Chiang Mai this week has been full of work and not much else. As our daily routine solidifies, the hours just melt away as we toil silently in front of our laptops while the city swirls on below us. So in this week’s life update I’m going to share some of the challenges we’ve been facing as we navigate our way towards becoming digital nomads. Do you work remotely? Are you a freelancer? Perhaps you can identify with some of these challenges.
We’ve been in Thailand less than two weeks and already we’ve made big steps towards establishing our new life in Chiang Mai. Despite grappling with illness this week we’ve managed to move into an apartment, set up a wifi connection and make the place feel like home. So, ready for a peek at our new Chiang Mai apartment?
Everything was at once familiar; the hot slap of humid air, the lemon-and-lime coloured taxis with tiny Buddha statues perched on the dashboards, the sparkling spikes of temple tops poking out amongst the malls and city blocks and the occasional orange-robed monk padding down the pavement. After over a year, we were finally back in Thailand.
This week we’re back in the UK preparing for our big move to Thailand this Saturday! I’m ridiculously behind with sharing our European adventures on the blog but posts are coming soon about our time in Bratislava, our family holidays in Italy and Spain and my favourite city of the year: Prague. Right now though, it’s all about getting ready to head back to Thailand – here’s a look at how we’re preparing to start our new life in Chiang Mai.
When we left to travel the world, I never imagined we’d spend the first two years of our trip in Asia. After all, there are plenty more continents to explore, right? We became addicted to Asia though and spent months backpacking in the region before settling in Vietnam to teach. When we finally flew back to London last June, ready for new adventures in the USA and Europe, I certainly didn’t think we’d be returning to Asia anytime soon.  So, why are we flying back to Thailand in August?

Despite having spent over two years in South-East Asia, I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface of many countries in the region, especially Malaysia. We spent just three weeks in the country back in 2013 and most of that trip was spent watching wildlife in Malaysian Borneo rather than exploring the mainland. Now that we’re returning to Thailand to live, we’re hoping to explore Malaysia and its treasures in more depth on a return visit and visa run.

As Andrew and I search for teaching work in Madrid, I can't help thinking back to our first experience of teaching abroad in Hanoi. I'm hoping the lessons I learned from those exciting, turbulent months in Vietnam's crazy capital city will help me cope with the challenge of starting afresh in Spain. Are you thinking of looking for jobs in Vietnam? Asia is a great place to cut your teeth as an English teacher; in this post I talk to British couple Hannah and Ben about their experiences of teaching at a language centre and an international school in Hanoi.
Are you considering teaching English in Vietnam? I remember well from my own experiences in Hanoi just how daunting the whole process can be. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a million questions about everything from finding jobs in Vietnam to deciding which city and area to live in, how much money you can earn and what kind of qualifications you need. To help you figure things out, I’ve put together this series of Q&As with teachers currently living in Hanoi, Vietnam.