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R E T I R E E A R
L Y L I F E S T Y L E
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RetireEarlyLifestyle.com
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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 3rd decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
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Traveling Seasoned Citizens
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Billy and I have been on the
road meandering through continents for
two decades. While we like to think of
ourselves as spry, flexible and ready to take on the world, truth is, we are no
longer twenty or thirty years old. Traveling at our age of 57 presents
challenges that we didn’t have when we were younger. Energy levels have changed and
our bodies require different comforts in order to feel well.
If you are in your fifties and
sixties with active wanderlust, independent journeying is still possible. Take
advantage of what we have learned over the years.
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The Importance of Sleep
The value of sleep is a
priority that we protect, since its absence is felt for the next day
or two, creating havoc in moods, energy level and even decision
making. Whenever possible, we no longer take red-eye flights. Air
travel has become more complicated in recent years and it’s enough
to handle the new requirements, the lines, and the disorientation of
time zones without adding severe sleep schedule interruptions.
Besides, what’s the rush?
In years past we’d blow into a new location without a care, knowing
we would find some kind of hotel arrangements. Now, we
are more inclined to reserve a room for our first night in a new
city or town, or at least have a definite address where our taxi can
take us. Once we arrive, we can scout out a more suitable hotel if
we aren’t pleased with our first choice. We also check the beds for
firmness, get a quiet room off the street if possible and we pay a
bit more for better quality.
Sometimes an afternoon nap is
the height of luxury, and can be the pick-me-up needed for the rest
of the day, especially if there is an evening event planned. We’re
retired, so why not enjoy it? Allowing time for rest instead of
continuous motion can be delicious.
Fueling the Machine
We don’t skip meals and run on
empty. Solid, quality, protein-based meals and snacks have always
been a focus for us. We’re the machine that makes our |
With our gear, traveling
through Asia
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lives run, and this machine needs proper fuel. Light-headedness,
indecision and fatigue
due to lack of nutrition
contributes to needless bickering and is something we avoid at all
costs. Why make things harder on ourselves? We are sure to eat at
regular intervals and to bring travel food with us on busses,
trains, planes and even if we are out day-tripping. Dehydration is
another important consideration and we remember to bring bottled
water with us wherever we go. |
Tip:
There is no need to purchase expensive bottled water at the airport concessions.
When traveling by plane bring an empty water bottle with you through security.
Once through, find a drinking fountain and fill it up there.
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Divide up Duties
We travel full time, and it's more
pleasurable when duties are shared. Destinations and travel routes
must be determined, figuring out which sort of transport we'll take
and whether or not visas are required needs to be researched.
Tickets might have to be purchased
ahead of time, lodging located, and arrangements for financial
management to cover expenses while on the road all has to be thought
through. Even packing travel food is an essential element of
successful journeying. In your partnership, decide who will take
care of what, realizing that each of these categories is important.
When we leave our hotel room we
have a system that prevents sour surprises. Billy goes down to firm
up our bill, and I do a ‘room check’ or ‘walk through’ before we
turn in our keys. I look under the bed, in all the drawers, in the
bathroom, and on all the shelves to be sure we haven’t left
something important behind. This prevents lost and forgotten items
from becoming an issue and interrupting our travel plans.
When we traveled through both
islands of New Zealand on the
Magic Bus, Billy would stay with the
crowd to grab our luggage while I went ahead to choose our room and
pay for it. This allowed us to get both the best choices of rooms and our
bags without wasting time waiting in two lines. |
Enjoying a sunset at Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand |
Tip:
Although it might be different in your partnership, when searching for a hotel
room, I’m usually the one to decide on where to stay. With most men, all they
need is a bed and bathroom, but we ladies seem to have other requirements. So to
prevent disappointment or needless fussing, we have found that it’s best to let
me decide.
Commit to Paper Instead of to Memory
Making notes of where we have
hidden our valuables in our home base location while we are on the road has
proven important several times. We write things down on lists instead of
committing them to memory and we’ll email that list to ourselves so we don’t
lose it. Being away from our home bases for months, even a year or more at a
time, can cause us to forget our best and most secret hiding places. If
we put our treasures or documents in such a good place that even WE can’t
remember where they are, returning home can be a stress-filled event. Now we
simply check our list and refresh our memories.
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Less Is More
We are the ‘Less is More’ type
of traveler, and it is our emphasized style even today. We don’t have to pack
all the action into one day just so we can say we did it. Instead, we like our
time to be leisurely, not jammed-packed with something new to do every 2 hours
on the clock. Staying longer in one location and allowing more room for an event
on our calendar can provide many rewarding surprises and allow pleasant detours
to occur.
Consciously deciding to make
our travel days shorter when we are on the road has proven to be
rewarding also. It still takes us close to thirty hours to get to
Asia from our place in Arizona, but if we are traveling on the
ground, we break up our destinations into manageable time bites to
make it possible for us to enjoy the journey itself. It’s not a
race, and we’re not in competition with other travelers. We prefer
this easy going approach. For instance, while traveling by bus in Mexico
we'll split up a 13 hour bus ride into a couple of days. This way we are
not worn out for our destination, we don’t arrive late at night with all the
problems that it entails, and we get to
experience another town along the way. |
Joking
around in a Jak-ka-ran |
As you may have read before, we
are
Car Free
so we utilize public transport or hire a driver wherever we go. Leaving the
driving to others reduces our stress. We don’t have to worry about vehicle
maintenance, where the next filling station is, if there will be a break down,
how to fix our vehicle in a foreign country, or whether we have taken a wrong
turn someplace.
Packing Makes Perfect
Through all these years of traveling
from country to country we still utilize backpacks for their rugged practicality
and ease of transport. Today’s durable, light weight and comfortable backpacks
have come a long way from those of years past. Weight is distributed evenly on our
backs instead of lugging something one-handedly on either side of our bodies,
and it leaves our hands free for paying fares or reading maps. For efficiency
and convenience, we place the same items in the same location in our packs each
time. There is no jumble. In this way we maintain a sense of order while on the
road and it cuts down on any mental confusion allowing us to enjoy our travels.
We are less likely to forget an item or misplace it, because it has its own
spot.
If for health reasons you
cannot carry your luggage weight on your back, be sure your baggage is built
lightweight yet sturdy, with compartments inside and has wheels on the bottom for
moving your belongings quickly. Don’t be afraid to ask your taxi driver or someone at the hotel desk
to help you with your cases. It’s worth the tip and will save
wear and tear on your body.
Be sure to have a daypack with
you when you travel. In this manner you can carry anything of importance close
to you at all times. This may be your medicines, your digital equipment, your
maps or travel food. And if you go to the market while on your trip, you can
easily carry the items back to your room.
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Over the years, we have found
that what we pack has changed also. Now we make room for our MP3’s, cell phones,
netbook computer, vitamins, personal medications and health aids like a
TENS unit. We have a calendar to mark important dates like visa renewals
or when to catch that plane. And our online Yahoo! Calendar is
used for reminders to send checks so that we can stay financially current.
Tip:
When looking for a practical travel bag, simply Google ‘lightweight
travel luggage’ to clarify what your choices might be. You can order online,
or at least have a solid idea of what you want when you go to your favorite
travel shop to purchase.
We’ve had twenty fruitful years
of world travel and look forward to many more. Even though we have aged, and
some of our methods and equipment have changed, we’ve adapted so that we can
continue our chosen lifestyle with both pleasure and ease.
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Catching up on email and
checking our guide book |
Remember, if we can do it, you
can too!
For more information on the topic of Travel, visit our
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Links Pages and click on the extensive travel site suggestions listed there.
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