Chiang Mai Has Been Great! I’m Now On To My Next Stop!

“You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

Here’s a statistic that stopped me in my tracks: According to recent studies, nearly 80% of people over 60 say they wish they’d traveled more when they were younger. I used to be part of that statistic—always planning for “someday,” always waiting for the perfect moment. Then I turned 65, looked at my calendar, and asked myself a hard question: If not now, when?

Six months ago, I landed in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with one suitcase, a lot of uncertainty, and a nagging voice in my head asking, “Am I too old for this?” Today, as I prepare to leave for my next destination, I can tell you that those six months didn’t just change where I live. They changed how I think about aging itself.

The Question I Couldn’t Stop Asking

Before I left, everyone had opinions. Well-meaning friends asked if I was running away from something. Family members worried about my safety. Even I wondered if this was just some crisis response to getting older. But here’s what I discovered: slow travel isn’t about running away. It’s about running toward life with both arms wide open.

The American pace had worn me down. I was spending nearly $3,000 a month just on basic living expenses, rushing through grocery stores, sitting in traffic, consuming news that made my blood pressure spike, and feeling like I was constantly treading water just to stay in place. I wasn’t living. I was surviving.

What $800 a Month Buys You (Besides Lower Blood Pressure)

Let’s talk numbers because this matters. In Chiang Mai, my comfortable apartment and all my food cost me around $800 per month. Yes, you read that right. Eight hundred dollars. That’s less than what I was paying just for rent back home, and it includes everything—fresh meals from local markets, my cozy one-bedroom with air conditioning, even the occasional massage that costs less than a fancy coffee back in the States.

But here’s what those savings really bought me: freedom. Freedom from financial stress. Freedom to write every morning without panic about bills. Freedom to say yes to a cooking class or a day trip without checking my bank account first.

When people ask me how I can afford to travel for six months, I tell them the truth: I can’t afford NOT to. The slower, simpler life here actually costs less than the hamster wheel I was running on at home.

The Health Benefits Nobody Told Me About

I’ll be honest—I didn’t come to Thailand for my health. I came for adventure. But my body had other ideas.

Within two weeks, something shifted. I was sleeping through the night for the first time in years. No more 3 AM anxiety spirals about mortgage payments or news headlines. Just deep, restorative sleep that left me feeling decades younger.

The pace here is different. There’s no rush hour because nobody’s really rushing. I walk to the market each morning, not because I’m trying to hit 10,000 steps, but because that’s just how life flows here. I eat fresh, local food that hasn’t been processed within an inch of its life. I have time to actually taste my meals instead of inhaling them between errands.

My blood pressure dropped. My chronic shoulder tension melted away. But the most significant change was mental—I stopped feeling like I was racing against time and started feeling like I had all the time in the world.

This transformation became the heart of my upcoming book, “The Slow Path to Wellness: How Travel Heals at Every Age.” Writing this book became possible because slow travel gave me what I needed most: space to think, reflect, and create. It’s funny how we often need to leave home to find ourselves again.

Finding My People (At Any Age)

One of my biggest fears before leaving was loneliness. Would I be isolated? Would anyone want to be friends with someone my age?

Instead, I found a community richer than any I’d known back home. There’s the grandmother at the morning market who now saves the ripest mangoes for me. The expat book club meets every Thursday at a cafe overlooking the mountains. The Thai language exchange partner who laughs at my terrible pronunciation but celebrates every small victory.

Age became irrelevant. We were all just humans connecting over shared curiosity, good food, and the simple pleasure of watching the sun set over ancient temples. I’ve made friends in their 30s and friends in their 80s. What unites us isn’t our birth year—it’s our willingness to stay open to life.

A Note to My Younger Self

Dear younger me,

Stop waiting for permission. Stop thinking you need more money, more time, or more certainty. That perfect moment you’re waiting for? It doesn’t exist. But here’s what does exist: today. Right now. This moment where you still have your health, your curiosity, and your spirit.

Travel isn’t something you earn after a lifetime of work. It’s not a reward for checking all the boxes. It’s medicine for the soul, and you need it NOW, not someday.

Also, you don’t need to see 15 cities in 10 days. Slow down. Stay awhile. Let places seep into your bones. That’s where the real magic happens.

And one more thing: aging is going to happen whether you travel or not. But aging while discovering new parts of yourself and the world? That’s not growing old. That’s growing UP.

Love, Your wiser (and happier) self

The Three Fears (And What Actually Happened)

Before I left, three fears kept me up at night. Let me tell you what I was afraid of—and what really happened.

Fear #1: “What if I get sick and need medical care?”

What I imagined: Being alone in a foreign hospital, unable to communicate, receiving substandard care, racking up enormous bills.

What actually happened: I needed to see a doctor for a minor issue in my second month. The hospital was more modern than my doctor’s office back home. I saw a specialist within hours (no three-week wait!), the staff spoke perfect English, and the entire visit, including medication, cost me $45. Forty-five dollars! I nearly cried at the counter, thinking they’d made a mistake. The healthcare here is not just affordable—it’s excellent.

Fear #2: “I’m too old to adapt to a completely different culture.”

What I imagined: Feeling constantly confused, making embarrassing mistakes, being unable to navigate daily life, and becoming a burden.

What actually happened: Yes, I got lost. Yes, I ordered things on the menu I couldn’t identify. Yes, I accidentally offended someone by pointing with my foot (big no-no in Thai culture). And you know what? Everyone was patient, kind, and often amused. The Thai people I met appreciated my effort more than they judged my mistakes. Within a month, I had my routines down. Within three months, I felt more at home than I did in my suburb back in the States.

Fear #3: “I’ll regret leaving my comfortable life and want to come back early.”

What I imagined: Homesickness hitting hard, missing my routine, feeling like I’d made a terrible mistake, running home with my tail between my legs.

What actually happened: I did miss some things—my favorite coffee mug, my family, my mom’s cooking. But regret? Not for a single second. Instead, I discovered something profound: comfort and growth rarely coexist. Every small challenge made me feel more alive. Every solved problem reminded me that I’m capable of more than I thought. Now, as I prepare to leave Chiang Mai, I’m not homesick for America—I’m excited to explore what comes next.

This Isn’t an Ending—It’s a Beginning

As I pack my bags for the next chapter of this journey, I feel something I haven’t felt in years: anticipation. Not anxiety about getting older, but genuine excitement about what’s ahead.

Slow travel gave me more than experiences and photos. It gave me back my sense of purpose. It proved that aging doesn’t mean shrinking your world—it can mean expanding it. It showed me that the best chapters of your life don’t have to be in the past.

My upcoming book, “The Slow Path to Wellness: How Travel Heals at Every Age,” dives deeper into these transformations—exploring how extended travel affects our physical health, mental clarity, and sense of purpose as we age. It’s been the most fulfilling project of my life, written in cafes and on balconies, inspired by the very journey it describes.

Where to Next?

So where am I headed next? I’m keeping that secret for now (I’ve learned that anticipation is its own kind of joy), but I’ll share all the details once I arrive. I’m following curiosity, not fear. I’m choosing adventure over comfort. And I’m proof that it’s never too late to rewrite your story.

If you’re thinking about slow travel—whether you’re 55, 65, or 85—I want to hear from you. What’s holding you back? What questions do you have? What dreams are you putting off for “someday”?

Subscribe to follow along on this journey, and stay tuned to find out where I land next. Leave a comment below sharing your own travel dreams or fears—I read and respond to every one. And if you know someone who needs to hear this message, share this post with them. Sometimes we all need permission to dream bigger.

Follow me as I continue this adventure. Your second act might just be your best act yet.

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