Photo of the Week 225: Phuket

Inertia. An object in motion tends to stay in motion, and a blogger not blogging tends to stay not blogging. That’s how I’ve felt this week… this month? September was one of my lightest posting months ever (tied with December 2014, for my fellow useless information hoarders) since I launched Alex in Wanderland, and October’s not off to a rocking start either. So what gives? I’m not burnt out — no, I’m chomping at the bit to get back to my content grinding days! I’m not hurting for content — in fact, my drafts folder is overflowing with travel tales I’ve yet to share. Frankly, I think I’ve just dropped the ball and am struggling to pick it back up again. I recently went through a crazy busy (even for me) personal period of travel/friends/family/non-content-creating-work/moving-across-the-world overload and it’s hard to get back into a routine of putting posting first again. And the truth is that the longer I go without blogging, the more overwhelming the next time pressing publish feels. Every morning I wake up and tell myself I will not allow myself to sleep again until I’ve posted, and yet night after night I weakly succumb to the pillow. This pit of self-loathing is a deep one, guys! Watch your step.

But it ends today. This afternoon, I loaded up my editorial calendar with posts for the upcoming week — almost one every single day — in order to break my blogging fast with a bang. I’ve missed you.

One thing that will make that easier? I’m finally back on Koh Tao. After leaving Bangkok, BB and I hopped to Phuket for five more days of my #ClubCarlsonAmbassador campaign. Despite the unrelenting rainfall we had a beautiful stay exploring Cape Panwa and and reveling in alone time after a crazy summer of meeting each others’ family and friends. We ate amazing food, we had an unbelievable spa day, we learned to make kratongs in Phang Nga bay, and we watched the sunrise over the ocean from our dream-like balcony. On our final day (with the sun taunting us from its first appearance in the sky, of course) we hopped a cab, plane, shuttle bus, ferry, and pickup truck back to our beloved Koh Tao… for the next six months. Six months! It’s been a long time since I could call a place home for such a long time.

There’s still plenty of work to be done, from finding an apartment to buying a motorbike to joining a gym to squeezing the faces off all the friends I’ve missed so dearly. And, oh, you know, catching up on that blog posting thing I mentioned. But for now, here’s a peek at what I got up to for the last seven days with Photo of the Week….

Photo A

A hazy morning at the Radisson Blu Phuket

Photo B

A cloudy yet colorful afternoon kayaking in Phang Nga Bay with Viator

Photo C

Thailand! This flag makes my heart swell

Photo D

Saying “sawasdee ka” to the Big Buddha while in transit on Koh Samui

Photo E

Finally, Koh Tao on the horizon again…

Which photo is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

.

Looking for new travel sites to trawl now that I’ve dropped the ball? Curious about new content? Searching for the perfect gift for the wanderluster in your life? Each month, I’m sharing an inspiring selection of travel blogs, travel projects and travel shops right here! Not only are these fellow entrepreneurs following their passions and creating beautiful content, they’re also supporting Alex in Wanderland by advertising in my sidebar this month — please support them back by checking out their sites and cheering them along.

Introducing Alex in Wanderland’s featured bloggers for October!

Angie Away is one of my favorite travel blogs on the entire interwebs — and that’s not just because I occasionally appear on it. Angie and I went from being online peers to real-life pals a few years ago when I crashed her trip to Kauai, and we’ve since becoming fairly regular travel buddies. Angie’s tagline is “travel the world with the girl next door,” and reading her blog, you will!

Why I Love This Blog: Before Angie went Away, she was a big shot in the world of travel PR. In 2010, she quit her job to travel, but she’s still spinning gold from the lessons she learned there. Her PR and Social Media category is a hit factory of hilarity — I’ve snorted Diet Coke up my nose while reading posts like this one.

Cheskie — short for Francesa, if she doesn’t mind me telling you so! — asks a pretty good questions in her tagline. Why should we only get one year? She decided to turn her gap year into a Gap Life, and has been living and working in Australia ever since.

Why I Love This Blog: Right now, because Cheskie just started her Divemaster in Gili Air, just a stone’s throw — literally — from where I completed mine in Gili Trawangan. And I’m green with envy over her clever series name, the Divemaster Diaries (why didn’t I think of that?!)

The Southern California duo that makes up Surf Sea You & Me are living the adorable couple dream — surfing, scuba diving, and taking a year off to travel New Zealand and its surrounds. Best part? They’ve just kicked off their journey, so you can follow from start to finish.

Why I Love This Blog: You know I’m always on that cute graphics grind, and Kimberly and Tyler have that aesthetic nailed. Not to mention, a damn cute blog name!

This American couple packed up and moved across the pond to London, where they now spend their free time exploring in Britain and beyond. But that doesn’t mean Drive on The Left is limited to Europe – one peek at their destination page will show you they’ve been driving down all kinds of roads.

Why I Love This Blog: They still take the time to reply to every comment, a rarity in blogging these days. Oh, and I did I mention we have the same blog designer? (The answer is yes, yes I did.)

A born and bred New Englander, Mary travels the world taking gorgeous photos and collecting travel tales to share on her blog, Nomadic Elephant. Currently based in Maine, her weekend getaways come with a side serving of quaint.

Why I Love This Blog: The girl shares my love for both Bermuda and New Orleans, as well as naming her blog after an animal (the first iteration of this site was The Traveling Turtle, holler in the comments if you’ve been reading since those days!) and letting her readers chose her travel destinations — we’re off to a great start already.

Richelle is the go-to girl for information on teaching and studying abroad, specifically in China — the country she’s called home for the past couple years. Her blog Adventures Around Asia follows her extensive travels around Asia as well as her adventures in her new home away from home.

Why I Love This Blog: This chick knows her stuff — and you can know it too. Richelle offers travel planning services to those heading to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Interested in becoming a featured blogger or shop? Read more here. Limited spots still remaining for February and beyond.

I visited the Radison Blu Phuket as part of the #ClubCarlsonAmbassador initiative, and was compensated for my time in doing so. More on my stay here coming up soon!