I’ve been pretty quiet on the blogging front recently for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I’ve been having a pretty rough time of it for personal reasons which my friends and family will know about. I won’t go into it here, as anyone who has me on Facebook or Twitter etc will know what I’m referring to.

Secondly, there’s not really been a great deal to write about on the travel front unless you count boozy nights out in Blackpool and Liverpool as blog-worthy. Then again my memory from those nights is sketchy at best, so I’d struggle to put it into words!

Anyway, seeing as it’s the New Year I’ve decided to make myself some travel related resolutions. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have the smallest amount of willpower humanly possible, which may explain why I’ve been trying to stop biting my nails since I was about eight years old…

I’m resigned to having short, grubby nails…

I figured that if I set myself some resolutions that I will enjoy completing I may actually bother to carry them out. I enjoy biting my nails, as strange as it is, so I’ve no real intention of packing that in (although I do have one nail which I seem to be letting grow more than the others…baby steps). Maybe cutting down on going off-topic could be another one…

Anyway, in no particular order, here are my New Year’s travel resolutions for 2014!

Visit five new countries

Last year I got to visit two new countries (three if you count a four hour stopover in Abu Dhabi on the way home!) in Singapore and Australia. Had all gone to plan, I’d have easily ticked off quite a few more countries, but sadly I had to return home early.

I’d quite like to return to both Singapore and Australia, but for now the aim is to see as much of the world as I can. I guess that’d be like finding your favourite beach holiday destination and going back every year. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but I’d like to see more of what’s out there.

Loved every minute of Singapore!

High on my list for this year is to visit a lot more of Asia. My two visits so far to Singapore and India have given me some of the best times of my life and I’m sure plenty more are to come. What’s more, on one of my random SkyScanner browses the other day I found a flight to Shanghai for £280…tempting or what?

Spend some time teaching English abroad

I’ve spent quite a bit of time gaining TEFL qualifications, so now seems as good a time as any to put them to use. It’s been on my bucket list for some time, and as I’m planning on visiting Asia this year it seems there hasn’t been a better opportunity to get some TEFL experience.

Hard graft this…

The big thing I guess will be finding a country that I feel comfortable settling in, and of course finding an employer who will take me! I have a number of friends spread out over Asia who are currently teaching in countries such as China and Vietnam, and they seem to be having a great time whilst making me insanely jealous in the process!

Another aspect I’ll have to bear in mind is that some schools in Asia tend to come with something of a bad rep. The internet is full of horror stories, although I’m not sure how many are exaggerations. I suppose this means another resolution would be for me to improve my research skills!

Tick five items off my bucket list

In addition to the TEFL bucket list point, I’d like to tick five more items off this year. I have absolutely no idea if this is optimistic or I’m setting my targets a little too low. By travelling Asia I should have quite a good head start, as a number of items on there are specific to that part of the world such as hiking the Leaping Tiger Gorge and seeing the Great Wall of China. The Korean Mud Festival looks pretty awesome too.

The Great Wall of China – desperate to see this!

Photo courtesy of Archaeology News Network.

As an aside, I’ve only just noticed how much of my bucket list is lifted from other people’s lists. If you’re reading this and thinking I’m talking about you, you’re probably right.

Blog more!

As I mentioned above, I’ve had a pretty quiet few months. 2013 was a strange year for me. It started out brilliantly, I quit my job excited at the prospect of not knowing what was coming with a whole world to see, and was brought down to Earth with a bump at the end of May with a largely unpleasant seven months to follow.

I’m hugely confident 2014 will be a much better year for me and my travels. Let’s be honest, it’ll have to be a real bitch to be any worse than the second half of 2013. What this means for you lucky people is that I’ll hopefully be bombarding you with more inane ramblings and moans throughout the year, maybe even with the odd piece of helpful advice in there. You don’t have to thank me – I can sense your excitement already.

Do any of you have any New Years resolutions? Travel or not – drop me a comment below!

Edited with BlogPad Pro