Lakshmi Sharath

Journeys and Jottings – a rant from a reluctant digital nomad

Posted: 31 Oct 2016 10:34 PM PDT

Welcome to another edition of Journeys and Jottings. I have a confession to make. I love travelling but I hate travelling on work or working on the go. It just takes away the entire fun of travel according to me. I have seen my fellow travel writers and bloggers and digital nomads so comfortable blogging or writing on the go, but I can just about manage instagram and other social media tools. Work just takes away the very essence of travel .

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Whenever I am on the road, the journey, the destination, the local flavours, the experience – everything just consumes me. I am a slow traveller and I like to just take things at my own pace, absorb it into my system. And somehow , sitting and punching words on a keyboard doesnt seem to fit into my itinerary . It seems like an antithesis of sorts – slow travel and work. If I may say, it is the difference between slowly sipping a glass of single malt and gulping down shots of tequila .

I see travellers working in airports, typing furiously when they are on flights, sitting in a cafe or in their hotel rooms and picking up their laptops. I see them flaunt their beautifully landscaped digital offices. But I can just sit and stare and do nothing. I try working even in the hotel but after a long day, I just want to head to the spa or chat with family or read a book.

I have tried and I have failed. I have written perhaps a few posts and a handful of stories while I have travelled. I often wonder how I can travel in France and write about Rajasthan and blog about Indonesia. It sounds weird right..but sometimes i have done it. I was in Gujarat and writing about Australia and holidaying in US and writing about South Africa. I had to carry my notes, my diary, my hard disks besides my laptop. Its like carrying my office in my luggage. I have also been on a travel blogging assignment where we had to blog everyday . I could manage that easily as the travel experiences were fresh in my head. But then on my next trip, my laptop stayed at home.

I travel at least ten days to a fortnight in a month and I need a week to unwind. That leaves me with just one week to work. So I have no choice but to work on the go. It is a necessary occupational hazard and I realize that I just have to get used to it. So dont be surprised if you read stories of Bhutan and Australia while I am looking at erotic sculptures in Khajuraho .

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