Thou shall not get attached to material belongings 

I’m at the point where I’ve given most of my things away and the stuff that I’m keeping is in boxes/suitcases. I will admit that I shed a tear when I said goodbye to my car – I had her for four years and I’m not ashamed to say she was my baby. My 2513 lbs, red baby.

However, I’m already over it. Physical belongings only serve to tie us down to a place. When I first started selling everything it was traumatic, but now I just find it liberating. As I shed my belongings piece by piece, I find myself one step closer to realising my dream of travelling the world.

Thou shall use shampoo as shower gel and vice versa 

When I ran out of shower gel the other day I remembered reading on another travel blog that shampoo can double up as shower gel when you’re on the road. This means that you save on space in your backpack for that all important bottle of Smirnoff (not quite sure that’s how they explained it, but I’m sure that’s what they meant). So I thought I may as well give it a try and it seems to be working a treat – plus, I’ll be saving some more pennies!

Thou shall learn how to sleep in dinge holes 

Dubai is the city where you dine and drink in five-star hotels, live in apartment buildings that have their own pools and gyms, and shop in malls that come complete with aquariums and indoor skiing slopes. It’s a shiny new place with pretty, shiny new buildings, and I have gotten used to living in the lap of luxury. And, thanks to media freebies, I’ve also grown accustomed to staying in hotels that I definitely could not afford to stay in ordinarily.

However, it’s time to shun luxury in favour of budget accommodation. If you could to see my apartment right now, you would be able to understand why I’m already getting used to living in a dump.

Thou shall learn to smile and be happy 

Moving is stressful. I’ve had to sell my car, sort through five years’ worth of belongings, do a flea market, sell my furniture, arrange shipping for the few things I’m taking home, settle loans and credit cards, deal with the bank, deal with my landlord and make sure that logistically it comes together in some way. And all this while still freelancing. Phew!

Once on the road and I have a beer in my hand all of my worries will melt away. However, that’s not to say that it won’t be stressful at times, especially having to move accommodation every few days and arrange transportation to the next stop, whilst continuously ensuring I’m on budget.

So what the last few weeks have taught me is to just smile, relax and be happy. Everything comes together in the end.

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