Happy Nomad Tour Update: The Start Of A New Era

That’s kind of a bold title, but in many ways this is the start of a new era for me and for The Happy Nomad Tour. I keep everything in chronological order on the website, but on a handful of occasions I break in with a real-time update.

Yesterday I arrived on the island of Cyprus. At any other time, I’d probably have to talk a bit about the island, but you’ve probably heard way too much about Cyprus on the news recently.

In reality, they were only talking about the southern part of the island, the Republic of Cyprus. At the present moment I’m in the Turkish Republic of Cyprus, the northern part of the island. It’s a self-declared sovereign republic though only Turkey recognizes them. As a self-described “happy and homeless” nomad, being in a breakaway republic kind of feels just right, right at home.

I visited both sides of the island in 2006. I was here visiting Adil, my roommate from college and one of my best friends. He is from North Cyprus. I came here for a week of vacation in 2006. I kind of fell in love with the place and always saw it as a place I could happily live someday. Well… given the decisions I’ve made in life so far I figured now was as good a time to try it out as any!

Taking A Break

There are many reasons I’m taking a break at this point, 615 days into this adventure. Apart from two short stints at home, I’ve been on the road for a long time now. Between no internet access and painfully slow internet access most of the time, the stress of traveling (on my body, not my mind), the planning required for forthcoming destinations and experiences, and the need to live in the moment, I just haven’t had the time to do a lot of the things I need to be doing.

In some respects I got ahead, in areas like personal development and all the wonderful things I have experienced on the road. But in others, like the dark financial cloud hanging over my head if I don’t start earning money somehow soon, I’ve fallen far behind. Oh, and my intestines demanded I take a break. It was either take a break or they were going on strike. I had no choice.

Goals during this break

I’ll be in my version of a Mediterranean paradise paradise, but in reality I’ll probably be “working” seven days per week just as I always do. Here are the goals I have during this two to three month break.

• Writing – I want to catch up on writing for this site, doing guest pieces for other sites, and trying to line up paid writing opportunities, though those are harder and harder to find nowadays
• Book – I have lots of thoughts swirling around my head. I need to start getting them down on paper and get a narrative going for sharing my thoughts and experiences with a larger audience.
• Find my center again – While in Southeast Asia I was in a really good place mentally, physically, and spiritually. India hardened me up more than I could have imagined and I got really off balance as I’ll write about eventually. I need to work toward getting back to being a more centered, loving, positive person and I plan to do this through meditation and contributing in some way here.
• Marketing – I have a positive message and I need to do some marketing to get it out there. In the end, all I want is for people to pursue their passions and lead a more conscious and happiness-driven life. I know some of the experiences and realizations I’ve had can help others and it’s a big weight on my shoulders trying to find them. I also need to market myself to find opportunities since I need an income, which leads to the next point..
• Income – Apart from marketing myself, trying to figure out how to make money is what I like doing least. I feel like it’s the least useful use of my time. But while at home this past time I came up with an idea for a business. It requires almost no upfront investment, doesn’t hurt any existing players in the market (I’d be the only one providing this service that I know of), and spreads joy, happiness, and positivity. So, if I am going to pour my energy, sweat, and love into a business to help me achieve financial sustainability, this seems sufficiently non-corporate-tool-like to keep me happy and motivated. 🙂

I wouldn’t say this is “do or die” for me, but if financial sustainability is not achieved then I’ll have some tough decisions to make in the future. Any help or assistance you may be able to provide in any of the bullet points above would be greatly valued and appreciated.

After Cyprus I’m not sure what I’ll do. I might spend three months in Turkey working/volunteering/traveling slowly there. I might stop in Lebanon for a while between Cyprus and Turkey. After Turkey I may head toward the Caucuses, though I’d hit a dead end of I can’t enter Iran. For sure I want to visit more of the Middle East though. So, we’ll see. It’s a ways off from now, but the volunteering is by no means a relic of the past. It’s still what drives my trip.

If I have an income I can change how I travel, spending more time in each place, renting my own apartment, digging deeper into the local culture, and volunteering more. Now, as a nomad with outsourced housing, I’m limited in many ways as I operate this trip on the slimmest of shoestring budgets.

In the meantime, there are lots of articles about my time at home, my truly wonderful experience in Myanmar, and my return to India.  So, the blog now resumes in chronological order. Thanks 🙂