>> Please click play and watch the first video (you get two this time):

At the end of last year I was pretty knackered.

Yep. Knackered.
That’s an expression we like to use in Australia to describe being tired, as in;
‘I’ve been hitchhiking across America, Europe and Asia all year, and I’m fucking knackered.’

Visiting dozens of amazing foreign cities, making new friends, sleeping every other night in my tent, couch-surfing, tramping, and making heaps of blog posts – 2016 was an exciting, intense year – but when November arrived I just felt burnt out.

I needed to be in a place I felt safe and comfortable. So I came here: to Chiang Mai. I shacked up in my favourite hostel, ate good Thai food, slept long and deep.
December slipped by and gradually my sense of weariness went away but it was replaced by a big greasy blob of depression. It was the most brutal episode I’ve experienced in years. I can’t remember feeling that shitty since about 2003.

If you’ve been reading Raw Safari for a while you already know that managing and healing my mental illness is one of the reasons I travel. This adventurous nomadic sort of life inspires and motivates me really powerfully. In some odd way my random, uncertain, always unpredictable life keeps my mind in a healthier state. So I guess it makes sense that as soon as I decided to stop in one place for a moment and rest, the blackness grabbed me.

So, December was a bit of a wash out. But I’m feeling like my normal self again now. Three days ago, the curtain just lifted. It’s like that. A month of utterly debilitating depression, and then ‘click’… I’m OK again.

Thanks for traveling with me in 2016. Thanks for reading and watching my stuff. Thanks for emailing me and chatting with me on FB. It’s really great talking to you. It’s the best part of being a blogger, dialoguing with you guys. I’ve made so many friends through this blog. Your support and encouragement is powerful. Talking to you is always great but I especially appreciated you in December, when I was feeling sad and isolated.

Sometimes life gets on top of us all. It feels like it’s too fucking hard sometimes. Sometimes we gotta drop our bags, be still and just rest – it’s a fact of life. Don’t put your backpack away though.
Plonk yourself down on the grass. Get close to the fire and have a chat. Wash your filthy clothes. Get a haircut. Eat some curry. Have a coffee. Get high with your friends. Patch your tent. Air out your sleeping bag.
The road is always going to be there. When we’re ready we’ll dust ourselves off, sling our bags on our shoulders and look to the horizon again.
I know 2017 is going to be a lot of fun. I hope it’s amazing for you, whatever you’re doing.
If you feel like packing a bag and hitting the road, don’t think twice. You won’t regret it, I promise.
I think that sometimes diving into the unknown is exactly what we need to do to understand ourselves better.
Nothing is for certain in this strange, bewildering world, but you can bet your life that every day you spend wandering will make you stronger, braver and hungrier.
I’ll see you out there on the track.

BTW:

The Chiang Mai Tattoo Convention is on this weekend (07 – 08 Jan 2016). If you’re in town and into tat’s its def’ worth checking out. It’s only been going a couple of years but there’s a lot of talent there this weekend.

Click on the video:

>> To get all the details about the Tattoo Convention click here.

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Hi!
Manny here, the guy who makes this blog.

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