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The Experience
This episode is less about a place and more about why I’m doing any of this. It was filmed on a day trip to Hue with new friends from Grounded Life: a stop along the big lagoon on the way (I believe it’s Cầu Hai Lagoon), Tự Đức Tomb, and finally the Imperial City, followed by a boat tour. But it’s really my introduction: where I’m coming from, and why I started traveling full-time at 52.
Where I’m coming from. My name’s Bill. I’m 52, and I’m a retired programmer. About seven years ago I went through a divorce, just one more midlife crisis in a string of many. This one was different, though. My kids were grown, and I was about to go from a house full of people to living on my own. At first it felt like I’d lost everything. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized I’d been given a clean slate. I could ask myself what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life.
For me, that was travel. And I knew time might be limited. One of my grandfathers only lived to 47. For all I knew, I was already on borrowed time. So I started saving and planning.
For the dreamers. Maybe your dream is something else entirely: a thru-hike, an RV trip across your country, or a sailboat, even if, like me, you don’t know how to sail. Whatever it is, there are tough days ahead. When you dream big, almost nobody says, “That’s a great idea. You should go do that.” Friends, family and co-workers will tell you it isn’t practical, that the world isn’t safe. Maybe that’s true for some people. It doesn’t have to be true for you.
So let me show you why it’s worth it. I wake up every day and pinch myself. I still get choked up saying the words, “I’m the travel blogger now.”
What this channel is. I’m not a tour guide, and I’m not an accomplished world traveler with all the answers. I’m a regular guy who started as a novice international traveler a few months before this video, documenting the mistakes, the challenges, the feelings and what I learn about myself along the way.
People. I also remembered something on this trip: I don’t just like people, I love connecting with them. Somewhere in the daily grind I’d gotten away from that, and I’m focusing on it now, living in the present. Case in point: my new friends Lenel and Sheree, who are out there living their best lives. Lenel lives on a cruise ship, for crying out loud. Traditional? No. A life worth living? You betcha.
A year later. I love learning about new cultures and seeing new places, and I enjoy connecting with people more than ever. What I get out of traveling keeps evolving, and always in a good way.
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