At the beginning of May, I set out to burn 31,000 calories throughout the month, equating to burning 1,000 calories per day. Despite my optimism going into the month and plans for some mammoth workouts, often with these sorts of challenges, life gets in the way. Well I say life, but I suppose it’s a combination of life in addition to a good dose of laziness!
As you can see from the results below, I fell some 10,492 calories short of my goal of burning 31,000 calories. All in all, I’m a bit disappointed with my results. Whilst I was a bit more active throughout the month than usual, I undoubtedly lacked consistency. Granted, May was surprisingly wetter than usual and there were a few days in which I forgot to charge my Apple Watch fully (doh!), but that doesn’t excuse for the overall inconsistencies throughout the month.
If we look at the individual days in which I burned calories, the period from 15th May to 17th May was where I burnt the most calories and this can be pinpointed to a trip to Scotland. Prior to going to Scotland, I knew I was going to hit at least 1,000 calories a day as this was a primarily a hiking trip in which we were taking our full-of-energy Border Collie. Regardless, the sense of achievement on the 17th when I checked my Apple Watch felt great and definitely emphasised the feeling of accomplishment you can get from exercise.
On the flip side, if we look at some of the worst calorie burning days in the month, the 22nd and 23rd of May were simply awful. I took my Apple Watch off early in the day of the 22nd as I was going out with friends for a few drinks, hence the low-calorie burning count. On the 23rd, I was sporting a rather painful self-inflected hangover, so the only real exercise I did was getting up from the sofa and walking to the fridge!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, consistency is key when it comes to these sorts of challenges. You need to get off on the front foot right at the beginning of the month and have a dedicated workout regime and not take the “oh the weather looks nice, let’s go for a run” technique which I adopted. I’m frustrated at my overall lack of urgency for the challenge as prior to starting it, I was quietly confident.
Despite falling so short on my calorie burning goal, I still enjoyed the challenge and those moments of satisfaction like checking my watch during the day and seeing that I wasn’t a million miles away from my daily goal, felt great. I think if I was to do this challenge again, I would certainly formulate a manageable routine and maybe not set the bar so high!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my calorie burning challenge! Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever tried anything like this before and how you got on.
We’re over halfway through May and over halfway through my challenge of burning 31,000 calories through the calendar month of May. After a decent start to the month where I went on a few lengthy bike rides and dog walks, my activity did being to tail off up until last week.
As of yesterday (19th May), to be on target with my goal of 31,000 calories burnt by the end of the month, I should have burnt 19,000 calories. Now, I’m some way off where I should be, some 4,726 calories to be precise, but that being said, I’ve just come back from a pretty active few days in Scotland and it’s inspired me to really push on with my challenge and achieve my calorie goal.
Thus far in May (as of yesterday), I’ve burnt 14,274 calories, meaning I have 16,726 calories left to burn in the 12 days which remain in May. This equates to burning approximately 1,394 calories per day, a number which I have only surpassed once so far in the month of May. It’s going to be easy and I do really need to commit to planning some big workouts to hit the target, but the added challenge is all part of the fun!
If we look at my stats so far in the month of May, undoubtedly my best day for calories burnt was the 17th May which unsurprisingly, was the day I climbed the Scottish mountain of Ben Vrackie! Ben Vrackie is an 841m tall mountain located north of the town of Pitlochry and took around 2 and a half hours for us to complete. Despite not taking a hugely significant amount of time to complete, the final half an hour climbing Ben Vrackie is outrageously steep and this steep incline definitely helped contribute to burning many calories!
My worst day in May for burning calories was the 13th May, burning only 306 calories, closely followed by the 9th May, where I burnt a meagre 378 calories. In fairness, on the 13th my Apple Watch did decide to run out of battery half way through the day, although this was partially my fault for not charging it properly the night before! Regardless, it’s somewhat disappointing that I’ve only burnt over 1,000 calories on 4 out of the 19 days, with 3 of which coming when I was adventuring in Scotland.
If I’m to reach my target of burning 31,000 calories by the end of May, then there’s nothing else I can do other than pull my finger out and get exercising!
I love a challenge and despite often not always completing every challenge I set for myself, I do love giving them a good go! It’s been a while since I’ve set up a proper challenge for myself and what better way to do it than trying to burn a buttload of calories?!
Why 31,000 you ask? As you may very well be aware, there are 31 days in May, so the target equates to burning 1,000 calories per day. 31,000 calories equate to approximately 584 Oreo cookies, 221 cans of full fat coke, 61 McDonald’s Big Macs or 13 large Pepperoni Passion pizzas from Dominos!
In terms of difficulty, I don’t think the challenge will be overly difficult to complete, it will just require dedication and consistency to tally up the calories burnt. To help me in my challenge, I will be using my trusty Apple Watch to count the calories and utilising the useful Activity app which comes pre-installed on all iPhones.
If we look at how many calories I burnt in April, in total I burnt 17,054 calories, some 13,946 shy of my target of 31,000 for May. Granted, April does contain a day less than May, but if I am going to succeed I need to consistently burn a high number of calories per day.
As you can see above, I only burnt over 1,000 calories on two days, both at the beginning of the month. In contrast to this, one of my worst days was earlier this week, where I only managed to burn 127 calories in the day – although I do think I forgot to wear my watch for the majority of the day!
The challenge is going to require lots of dog walks, bike rides and runs but I’m up for the challenge and confident I can achieve my goal.
After the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, it was time for a little bit of relaxation! After checking out of our hotel in Bangkok, we headed to the airport and took a short, 1 hour flight to Phuket. We flew with Air Asia who were a fantastic airline and considering we were only on a one hour flight, an in-flight meal was a welcome surprise! The flight was brilliant and with clear skies we could actually look down and see the east coast of Thailand with its golden sands and crystal clear sea.
We arranged a transfer through our hotel to pick us up from Phuket airport and take us straight to our hotel. If heading to Khao Lak, I’d recommend trying to arrange a transfer as once you’ve got through the main built up area of Phuket, the surrounding environment soon becomes pretty bare. The journey to Khao Lak takes around an hour and a half via car and whilst it is possible to take a bus, we opted for the quick and easy.
Khao Lak suffered major devastation following the 2004 tsunami with over 4,000 people dying (with local unofficial estimates topping 10,000), as well as destroying most of the coastal landscape. The 2012 film, The Impossible, is based on the true story of the family of María Belón who survived the 2004 tsunami, with the film actually being shot in Khao Lak.
Despite the devastation, Khao Lak has recovered phenomenally and if it weren’t for a few stark reminders around the area, you wouldn’t have known the ruin that the tsunami caused less than 20 years ago. Khao Lak has undergone huge redevelopment and is still a hugely popular tourist destination. The area is also now much more well equipped to deal with any future natural disasters, with the implementation of an early warning system to alert locals to the possibility of any potential tsunamis.
We stayed at The Haven Khao Lak, for 5 nights whilst in Khao Lak. The Haven Khao Lak is an adults only resort, nestled between lavish gardens and a sparkling sandy beach. We booked a standard deluxe room and amazingly as we were staying for my partners birthday, the resort actually upgraded us on our last night to an oceanfront villa – complete with a private jacuzzi! Whilst the deluxe room was more than satisfactory, the opportunity to experience the oceanfront villa on our last night made the stay even more special and I would highly recommend upgrading if you get the chance!
We couldn’t fault the resort at all, the staff were some of the friendliest we met whilst in Thailand and the setting was just perfect. The pool main pool is actually a saltwater pool and was so spacious and clean and with the resort practically on the beach, there was a great variety of options. We made the most of all the free activities at the resort, including kayaking on the resorts private lagoon and playing table tennis and pool in the evenings.
It wasn’t all relaxation in Khao Lak however! As always, we kept ourselves busy and explored the best of what Khao Lak had to offer. Some of our favourite activities included:
Similan Islands – Approximately 70km west of Khao Lak and only accessible via boat, The Similan Islands are one of Thailand’s most popular snorkelling destinations. The Similan Islands were most definitely one of our highlights whilst we were in Khao Lak. Its crystal clear waters and beautiful sandy beaches make this place so idyllic! We visited the Similan Islands as part of our snorkelling tour as there is an absolute abundance of marine life there. With stunning coral reefs and a plethora of beautifully coloured fish, you could literally spend hours there!
Boats depart daily from Khao Lak and Phuket and take tourists to all of the major points of interest across the islands. Due to the popularity of the islands, a cap has been put on the amount of visitors allowed on the islands per day, so it’s best to book your trip in advance! Likewise, all overnight accommodation on the islands has been demolished as part of the islands rehabilitation programme, meaning the islands are only accessible via day trips.
Khao Lak–Lum Ru National Park – Khao Lak-Lum Ru National Park is a fairly small national park made up of beaches and forests. A lot of the park is inaccessible, but there are a number of different paths which allow you to explore the jungle. The nature trails do require you to climb over fallen trees and navigate round obtrusive tree roots, so I would recommend wearing sturdy shoes (not flip-flops like I wore!). Alternatively, you can access the national park via the beach, which when we visited was fairly quiet and actually had a little hut to purchase drinks and snacks from!
The nature trail follows the coastline but the majority of it delves through thick rainforest. We really enjoyed walking the trail and absorbing all the sights and sounds of the forest. We did the trail in the afternoon but I’d recommend going early in the morning to have the best chance of spotting any wildlife – it’s been reported that Malayan tapir and binturong have actually been spotted along the trail!
Bang Niang market – Khao Lak village mainly comprises of local shops and restaurants located along the main road. Whilst a little touristy, the main ‘strip’ is a really nice laid back environment and we visited a few times during our stay in Khao Lak. The Bang Niang market can be found opposite the International Tsunami Museum and the market is a great place to pick up some souvenirs! The main ‘strip’ is generally walkable from most of the popular hotels but the majority of hotels also offer free shuttles to the market.
Sea Turtle Conservation Center – The Sea Turtle Conservation Center is less than a 20 minute drive from Khao Lak and is one of the most interesting places to visit in the area! Located on the Royal Naval Base, the Conservation Center is home to a vast number of baby sea turtles as well as a temporary home for sick and injured turtles. Whilst the actual Conservation Center is nothing special, the opportunity to see so many sea turtles, particularly babies, was unforgettable.
The sanctuary brings in baby turtles hatched on the Similan Islands and these are reared and cared for until they are released back into the ocean. Providing this sanctuary is said to increase their survival rates by about 80%, which is truly phenomenal. We were fortunate enough to be at the Conservation Center at feeding time and we had the chance to feed some hungry sea turtles!
As well as making the most of all the fun activities and sights in and around Khao Lak, it is just a great place to sit back and relax!
Top Tips for Khao Lak:
The two closest airports to Khao Lak are Phuket and Krabi, with Phuket being the closer of the two. The best way to get from the airport to Khao Lak is via a shuttle arranged through your hotel. This is the easiest way to get to Khao Lak, particularly if carrying a lot of luggage and you’re not comfortable with hiring a car and driving yourself. A much cheaper option would be to get the public bus from Phuket to Khao Lak, which I believe does go direct from Phuket to Khao Lak.
Navigating round Khao Lak couldn’t be easier! Whilst there are a number of tuk-tuks scattered around the area, your best option is generally to use a taxi. All of the taxi drivers we spoke to were super friendly and if you can agree a price, you can actually get your driver to take you to multiple destinations and he will wait for you until you are finished. We actually visited the Sea Turtle Conservation Center and Khao Lak-Lum Ru National Park all in the same day whilst our taxi driver waited for us. This meant we didn’t have to worry about trying to arrange a taxi when we were in remote locations such as the Royal Naval Base (which houses the Sea Turtle Conservation Center).
We stayed in Khao Lak for a total of 5 nights and we could have easily stayed for longer! If you are planning on staying in Khao Lak for a few nights, I would recommend booking a good hotel/resort like The Haven Khao Lak for ultimate rest and recuperation.
After Khao Lak, the final stop on our adventure was Koh Lanta. To check out the overview of our trip, go here or to check out what we did in Bangkok, go here.
Looking for a good travel guide to read before your trip to Thailand? I recommend Lonely Planet’s Thailand Book – you can purchase it here on Amazon (as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases).
We were eager to visit the capital of Bangkok to see some of its infamous temples and soak in the culture of a bustling Asian city, so we made this our first stop on our Thailand adventure. We flew with Emirates, flying out of Manchester, with a 3 hour stopover in Dubai. Dubai airport was mightily impressive and despite the mind-boggling £10 I paid for a pint, we still had great fun passing the time, exploring all of the luxury shops and ogling at the gold-plated iPhone’s on display.
The total travel time was just under 16 hours and whilst the flights themselves weren’t too bad, unsurprisingly when we arrived in Bangkok, we both could have passed as extras from The Walking Dead we were that tired! Despite our tiredness, nothing was going to stop us from making the most of our time in Bangkok.
We stayed in Bangkok for 4 nights at the hotel, Tower Club at Lebua. Tower Club at Lebua is a huge five-star all-suite hotel with suites on the 51st through to 59th floors. The hotel has actually featured in the film, The Hangover Part II as well as the Netflix series Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father. Despite all the glitz and glam, prices for the hotel are actually very reasonable given the quality! We managed to combine the price of the hotel with our flights as part of a package deal, which helped us to secure an even better rate.
The hotel really was faultless, the rooms were huge and came complete with lounge area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, plus the views from the balcony of Bangkok were sensational. Staying at the hotel also offered access to the hotel lounge, where for a few hours each day you can access a selection of complimentary drinks and snacks. This was a god send after a tiring day exploring busy Bangkok, being able to retreat back to the lounge for a free beer and sandwich whilst look out at the stunning views of the bustling city justified our decision to choose the hotel.
When we weren’t admiring the view from the Sky Bar at Lebua, we were busy exploring the city! Literally from the journey out of the airport to our hotel, it didn’t take long for it to hit us that we were on the other side of the world. Immediately we could see the difference in culture and lifestyle as we drove past bustling street markets and watched people go about their daily lives.
The best way to experience the Thai culture is getting out and exploring Bangkok! Bangkok is a huge, vast city with plenty of activities to keep you busy. We crammed so much in during our stay here before moving on to Khao Lak. Some of our favourite activities, not to be missed, included:
Wat Pho – Wat Pho is a 16th century Buddhist temple complex, right in the heart of Bangkok. We visited a few temples during out time in Thailand but Wat Pho was undoubtedly our favourite! The temple is also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha and actually features a mammoth 46m long golden Buddha which is truly phenomenal to behold. We also visited Grand Palace which is another temple complex and was fascinating to explore. If you can only fit one temple visit in during your time in Bangkok, I would recommend Wat Pho as this was our favourite of the two.
Jim Thompson House – The Jim Thompson house is a museum dedicated to the American Business man and architect, Jim Thompson. We really didn’t know what to expect with the Jim Thompson House but it actually turned out to be one of our favourite things to see in Bangkok! Guided tours are included in the entry fee and are highly informative about a man who contributed so much to the silk industry in Thailand. The house itself is beautiful and if you do visit, make sure you listen to the story of his disappearance in 1967 which is absolutely fascinating.
Khao San Road – Khao San Road is the place to go in Bangkok if you’re looking to party! During the day Khao San Road is a road packed with vendors selling various things like DVDs and clothing, but come dark it turns into party central! Bars open, music begins blasting and street vendors roam the streets selling barbecued insects on sticks! Whilst the area is a bit of a tourist hotspot and not exactly the main reason you’re going to want to visit Bangkok, it’s still a great place to go to blow off some steam! We had a brilliant night there (despite waking up with very sore heads the following morning) and made friends with plenty of other travellers as well as a few locals!
Soi Cowboy – Soi Cowboy is a short 150m street in the heart of Bangkok and is one of the capitals most popular red-light districts. Soi Cowboy is undeniably seedy, but like Amsterdam’s red-light district, its bright neon lights and shady go-go bars peak the curiosity of thousands of visitors every year. We didn’t stay for long but it’s a fascinatingly surreal place to have a beer and people watch. If you are easily offended or travelling with children, I do not recommend visiting for obvious reasons!
Terminal 21 – If Soi Cowboy isn’t your thing, a 2 minute walk away is one of the most amazing shopping centres I’ve ever visited! Terminal 21 is 10 story shopping centre with each floor decorated in the theme of various cities around the world. Even if you’re not planning on shopping, it’s worth visiting just to check out the awesome designs of each floor.
Asiatique The Riverfront – Asiatique is another outdoor shopping mall come outlet featuring restaurants, markets, boutique shops and even showcases live Muay Thai performances. Once you’ve navigated through all of the fake Rolex’s and designer handbags, it’s a good place to explore some authentic Thai markets, albeit if it is a little bit more expensive than other places in the city. As the name suggest, Asiatique is located on the riverfront and makes for a perfect setting for a meal in the evening. Plus you can even take a free Asiatique river ferry from various docks in the city, meaning it’s easily accessible. Asiatique is also home to the tallest Ferris wheel in Bangkok!
There is so much more to do in Bangkok that I haven’t even mentioned, from riding in a Tuk Tuk around the city to simply sampling the delicious street food on every corner. Whatever you spend your time doing in Bangkok, it’s safe to say you’ll leave feeling knackered!
Top Tips for Bangkok:
The easiest way to travel around Bangkok is via Tuk Tuk and there are literally hundreds lined up on the streets waiting to take you to wherever you desire. All of the drivers we went with were friendly and spoke good English, just be sure to negotiate a price before setting off!
A more cost effective method of travel around Bangkok is via the BTS Skytrain. The Skytrain is effectively a tram elevated high above the traffic and is by far the locals most popular way of getting around. The Skytrain can be extremely busy at times and a little overwhelming at first, but it has air conditioned carriages which is a god send on those hot, sticky days!
For entering any of the temples in Thailand, you must respect the dress code! Whilst some temples are stricter than others, its generally best practice to wear a long sleeved top (shoulders covered) and trousers or a long skirt. If you do forget, you don’t have to look too far to find vendors selling dozens of pairs of funky harem pants.
Lastly, beware of tourist traps! Tourist traps are very common in Thailand and whilst we didn’t fall for any when we were there, we did run into a few! On our way to the Grand Palace a man came up to us and told us the Grand Palace was closed today but instead he could take us to a ‘special temple’ for a fee. Thankfully we knew full well that it was open, but it’s important to be vigilant. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
We had an amazing time in Bangkok and we felt that 4 nights/5 days was the perfect amount. There is so much to see and do but the bustling nature of Bangkok can leave you in need of a breather! I would recommend booking a decent hotel to escape into at night to rest your legs after a busy day!
The next stop on our Thailand adventure was Khao Lak. To check out the overview of our trip, go here.
Looking for a good travel guide to read before your trip to Thailand? I recommend Lonely Planet’s Thailand Book – you can purchase it here on Amazon (as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases).
It’s been just over 3 years since the beginning of an amazing couple of years of travel in my life. From doing a football stadium tour of Europe, up until spending 2 weeks at the theme parks in Orlando, days before the world went into lockdown. At the beginning of all this was the 2 weeks I spent exploring Thailand with my partner back in February 2018.
Thailand’s popularity has grown massively in recent years and what was once solely a haven for backpackers and nomads alike, is now often thought of as holiday destination for families. Whether you are looking to visit Thailand with nothing but a map and the money in your pocket or are looking for a well-planned, luxury holiday, Thailand offers plenty to make it an unforgettable adventure. On our Thailand adventure, we wanted to combine a good mix of culture, nature and relaxation (this was a holiday after all!).
There’s only one way to travel in Thailand – a tuk-tuk!
I’m going to split the recap of our trip into 3 individual posts, focusing on each area of Thailand we stayed in as each were so different from one another, but for now, below is just an overview of where we visited and what we did there. Hopefully this can serve as useful inspiration for anyone planning their trip to Thailand (when the world is back to normal of course!).
We spent 4 nights in Bangkok and made it our initial stop on our adventure. Bangkok is really easy to fly in and out of with regular flights from across the globe, we flew from Manchester, with a short stopover in Dubai along the way. We were really eager to visit Bangkok as it is one of the most renowned cities in the world and has much to see and do.
Bangkok is easily the craziest city I’ve ever visited! From the bustling markets packed with people and animals, the chaos on the streets with thousands of Tuk-Tuks at rush hour to the tranquillity and serenity of the temples scattered around the city, it’s hard not to be awed by the contrasting environments. Seeing something as simple as seeing a group of monks walking down the street makes Bangkok is a fantastic destination to grasp the culture of Thailand first-hand.
After a hectic 4 nights in Bangkok, we travelled south west to Khao Lak. Khao Lak is a series a villages in the Takua Pa District and is around an hour and half’s drive from Phuket. Khao Lak is the coastal area which was hit hardest by the Indian Ocean tsunami back in 2004. Whilst it’s infrastructure and economy have recovered, there are still stark reminders in the Khao Lak of the devastation and destruction the tsunami caused in the region.
During our time at Khao Lak, we visited the local national park, went on a snorkelling excursion to the Similan Islands and even visited a sea turtle sanctuary. The resting and relaxation we had in Khao Lak was a welcome break from the chaos we’d just come from in Bangkok!
The Similan Islands are amazing for snorkelling!
Ko Lanta
We rounded our Thailand adventure off with a further 5 nights in Ko Lanta, an island off the west coast of Thailand. Ko Lanta is a tiny little island, only 25km long by 6km wide and was the most stripped back of all places we visited in Thailand, with very few paved roads and limited commercial development.
Due to its small size and lack of development, the island is only accessible via ferries at the northern tip of the island. Despite its size, we found so much to do on Ko Lanta! From exploring a mangrove forest via long-tail boat to getting attacked by a monkey over a pack of Pringles (funny story which I will try to explain in more detail!), Ko Lanta was again a nice change of pace from the two other places we visited.
Keep hold of your Pringles!
Like I mentioned above, I will be going into more depth on each individual location with specific posts for each, providing tips and things to do to make your next trip to Thailand as unforgettable as ours!
Have you visited Thailand before, or are you thinking about visiting once the pandemic is over? Let me know in the comments!
Over the last couple of years I’ve been fortunate to travel to some amazing places. I plan to write some in-depth travelogues to inspire your next trip (once COVID has passed of course), but for now, I just want to give a brief overview of some of my favourite destinations and adventures I’ve been lucky enough to experience.
Thailand
Way back in February of 2018, my partner and I spent 2 weeks exploring Thailand. We started with 4 nights in the crazy city of Bangkok. We then flew south to Khao Lak for 5 nights, before finishing our adventure on the sleepy island of Ko Lanta for a further 5 nights.
Whilst we only visited a few locations in Thailand, but we got a great glimpse into the culture and beauty it has to offer. From visiting some of the amazing temples to the tropical jungles, we did so much in our time there. It was our first trip to Asia but we had such a good time in Thailand that it won’t be our last!
New York City
We visited New York in November of 2018 and were fortunate enough to be there for Thanksgiving which was a perfect time to go as we got to celebrate Thanksgiving in America, see the madness of New York on Black Friday and see things transition over ready for Christmas.
New York City really is a unique city with SO much to do, we were there for a week and our NYC bucket list was only 50% complete! The Thanksgiving day parade was amazing to witness, even with the sub-zero temperatures and heaving crowds of people.
Canada
I had always dreamed of visiting Canada and in September 2019 my dream came true! We flew out to Vancouver and spent a few nights there before hiring a car and driving through the Canadian Rockies before flying back to the UK from Calgary.
I can’t even begin to explain how picturesque the Rockies are, with every view literally looking like a postcard. The stereotype of Canadians being the nicest people couldn’t have been more true either – the people we met out there were so friendly and helpful. Out of everywhere I have visited, Canada is definitely where I could see myself living in the future.
Universal & Walt Disney World Florida
Back in March 2020, we visited Universal Studios and Walt Disney World Florida. Again this was somewhere I had always wanted to visit and being such a popular destination I had high expectations, but the magic of Disney and Universal managed to exceed them!
Universal surprised me just how good it actually was and it is undoubtedly a MUST if you are a Harry Potter fan. The scale of Disney is pretty overwhelming with the resort being 40 square miles in size, meaning there is so much to do no matter what your favourite Disney film is.
We were also super lucky with our timings as the day after we flew home, the parks were shut due to COVID. Talk about getting home before the 12th chime of midnight strikes!
That’s a brief snapshot of some of the amazing places I’ve been fortuitous to visit over the past 3 years and like I said, I plan to write some in depth posts for each of these which will hopefully help someone in planning their next trip.
It’s been a while since my last blog post – two and a half years to be precise. Even before then I wasn’t posting regularly. Looking back, I don’t quite know why I stopped blogging – I enjoyed it, was connecting with a number of people from around the world and had big dreams for my blog. In 2017 I made 52 posts and had over 11,000 views from 5000 visitors to my site.
I feel quite disappointed that I just stopped blogging, I’d made huge progress on my blog from 2016 where I only posted 22 times and had 436 views from 153 visitors. It would have been great to see where my blog was at in January 2021 and the growth I had made. Nevertheless, we can’t dwell too much on the past.
2017 was a great year for my blog!
Surprisingly enough though, my blog still did get a fair amount of traffic since I stopped back in July 2018. Whilst it’s not anywhere near the numbers of 2017, it was still nice to see people had visited my site and read some of my ramblings. The majority of my traffic in this period came from my movie, tv and video game reviews. Thus, thanks to a little new year’s resolution motivation and WordPress stat confidence boost, I am back in the world of blogging!
Given my enjoyment for review style writing and of course my enjoyment for watching movies and playing video games, I’ve created a brand new blog specifically for movies, tv shows and video game reviews. I would be highly grateful if you could check it out and give it a follow – www.thepausemenu.co.uk. I’m planning to post at least 5 times a week on this blog and the content will mostly be reviews of the latest movies, shows and games as well as general entertainment news.
But I will also be back blogging here on my personal blog. This will mostly be about my boring everyday life, my adventures (when we are out of lockdown) and parting my wisdom to the world through my ramblings. I’m hoping to post at least once a week and rekindling some of that blogging form from back in 2017!
Let’s make 2021 the best year yet and thanks to all of those that have stuck around.
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
Following on from my failed attempt at earning £5,000 in 4 months, I’ve decided to set myself a less number oriented money making challenge! Whilst I’m not going to set a target figure, basically I have just purchased my first home (WOOOOOOOO) with my partner so we are saving up all we can for that, plus we have a trip to New York coming up in November so we desperately need to save as much as we can for spends!
I’m going to employ the same tactics I did for the previous money making challenge, however I’m going to try and invest some of what I make initially into more money earning ways. Again I’ll be posting monthly updates so you can see if I’m smashing it or well and truly failing! And hey who knows, maybe it will give you some inspiration into earning extra cash as well!
If you are in a similar situation to myself and are a bit cash strapped yourself, one of the easiest methods which I have used to make a bit of extra money is by doing surveys. Surveys don’t pay huge amounts, but doing them a couple of times a week you can easily make around £20ish a month – not loads, but every penny counts!
The survey site I use is QMEE. QMEE is actually a fantastic survey site, it allows you to withdraw any amount of cash you earn via Paypal or via a gift card and is generally really user friendly. The amount you can earn from each survey varies, but QMEE brilliantly tells you how long each survey will roughly take, so you can weigh up whether or not the survey is worth your time.
I generally do the surveys whilst I have breakfast, on my lunch or whilst watching TV and if you do it consistently, you can actually earn some pretty decent extra cash. Check out the table which shows how much I have earned over the last couple of months.
I would definitely recommend using QMEE and as an added bonus, sign up using this link which will give you 50p following on from your first Paypal withdrawal!
Check back soon for my first update on my money saving challenge!
We’re onto the BIG games now! As mentioned in the previous post, these predictions are based on who I believe will make it out of the group stage and in what order and then who faces who in the knockouts, but as a general feeling as to who I think is gonna have a good tournament, this is it!
The first of the two semi finals pits France up against Brazil. Whilst I think Brazil are a definite force to be reckoned with and can understand why they are in fact favourites to win the competition, I think they will be up against it against a well rounded France team. Brazil undeniably have one of the best attacks at the World Cup but I think France can near enough match them man for man and that should see the French through to the final.
The second semi final is a repeat of the 2014 final and this should be a tasty encounter as Argentina attempt to seek revenge! For me however, Germany just seem to have that togetherness as a group whereas Argentina are somewhat reliant on the little magician Messi. Again, this will be a close encounter but I think Argentina will just fall short, setting up for a France vs Germany final.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for… my predicted winner of the 2018 World Cup final! Sadly I do think it will be back to back final heartbreak for France following on from that dramatic defeat to Portugal at Euro 2016. I’ve said it numerous times, but Germany just have that cohesion which really does count at major tournaments, coupled with their previous tournament experiences, I think it will be back to back World Cups for a very impressive Germany team.
Agree with my predictions? Or think I’m completely wrong and Japan are going to all way and prove everyone wrong? Let me know!
chazzabrown 