Traveling Can Be Transformative

Be Brave. Lose the Beige

Lady Boomers Living In Color

Transformation Through Travel

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

-- Marcel Proust

Like a vigorously shaken martini, travel is good for shaking up our lives, jarring us from the comfort and predictability of the rules and rituals defining our daily lives.

Adventures might be fun but they aren't always easy. This was an adage I preached to my kids when they were little. This maxim came back to me as my husband and I toured Cambodia and Vietnam last month. The unremitting poverty of Cambodia was everywhere apparent as we traveled throughout the countryside. Treks across red clay roads spewing dust in the faces of people cooking over open fire pits along the side of the roads was hard to see. Cholera and dysentery from the poor water quality and malaria from mosquitos in the rainy season plague this land. 90 percent of the jobs in the major cities are related to tourism. I guess even though it felt we were literally leaving these families in the dust, we were helping their economy.

Even if adventures may not be easy, they do have the power to transform. Be Brave. Lose the Beige urges Lady Boomers to inject a little bravery into their lives. I felt a little brave taking on this adventure and am grateful to feel a bit transformed by it. To Read More about this adventure click here.

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"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world."

--Gustave Flaubert

(The following is an excerpt of a post I wrote during our travels)

I awoke at 5am one morning during our Cambodian travels, shook my husband, dressed hurriedly and within minutes were headed in a tuk tuk (a two wheeled carriage pulled by a motor bike) for sunrise at Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a Temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally built as a Hindu Temple for the Khmer Empire, transforming to a Buddhist Temple by the end of the 12th century. Our Viking guide mentioned how thousands would gather in front of the Temple to behold the sun rising behind the three towers. While the view did not disappoint, other elements of the morning equally enriched our spirits. Languages from all over the world could be heard spoken. Young and old, multiple races and ethnicities collected for the impending dawn. As lofty as it might sound, it felt like world peace could be achieved in this sacred space.

My husband and I were humbled by the experience and filled with gratitude this was the ground upon which we could celebrate our 25 years of love and partnership. Clapping and cheers greeted the sun as it arced over the Temple. Something so simple and real felt more precious than many of the consumeristic activities in which we often engage.

Back home, with all the rancor of political politics surrounding me, world peace seems like a distant dream. I'm just hoping the mindfulness I experienced that morning, a central tenant of Buddhism, can weave itself into my daily life, at least sometimes.

Musings On the Mekong

And finally, a post I wrote cruising along the Mekong River in Vietnam.

By 6am, our first morning in Vietnam, we were walking the still darkened streets toward Lake Huan Kiem. Passing a square with a giant replica of the founder of Hanoi, we beheld throngs of people doing Tai Chi, practicing ball room dancing, and playing pick up games of badminton on squares allocated by the government. By 10am, all signs of these early morning activities had been erased. Thousands of motor scooters, many with entire families in tow clogged the streets.

To read the remainder of this post click this Link .