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This story was sent to me by a senior traveler. I thought it might be of interest to others and might spur others to relay travel stories or tips for older adults who are traveling.
I do think there is a need to have more information for traveling seniors or for those who enjoy reading about people in their own age group.
Last year my husband and I (we are in our sixties) took a tour to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore. We met a very interesting couple on this trip-the wife was 74 and the husband was 89 years old. They had a fantastic attitude and enthusiasm for life that I had not seen in many people half their age. I think they were better prepared for the trip then we were. They knew from reading many of the places they wanted to see and paced themselves in a realistic manner. We pushed ourselves to get in too much while our CA friends had their agenda planned and took time to rest. They took the morning to explore, rested for a while in the afternoon, and were on the go in the evening. Also they dressed and packed very intelligently. They had very good traveling clothes-items that pack and wash well. Some of these traveling catalogs do have great items for all ages-often light in weight and take very little space in a suitcases. Their suitcases were small and they could easily manage them.
My husband and I went back to Thailand for 2 ½ weeks this winter. Loved it! I am exploring the idea of doing some volunteering in the North Western part of Thailand. There is a tremendous need to have English volunteers all over Thailand. I was impressed with the number of people that wanted to try their English with us and their desire to learn. I was told that English supplies are limited in many areas. English is the international language and whether you are German, Japanese, or whatever-You need to know how to communicate in English. We observed at restaurants, hotels, airports and other places that the tourists spoke in English. Naturally the Thais’ need to have a fairly good background in English for international business and tourism.
We visited an orphanage in Chiang Mai (a city up north) and was very impressed with the staff and modest facilities. So many places to see, stories to share, and memories to cherish.
MK
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