Adventure

 

After a number of months at home, with a few short trips here or there, I'm ready to get out of here.  Spending two months in Asia will be great, and this will be my longest trip yet.  I love going to a new city for adventure, and I'm not talking about going to Des Moines.  Not sure yet about Tokyo, but Bangkok is near the top of my list.  No city will ever surpass NYC in my mind.

I'm keeping a diary of events (trips, visitors, etc) to prove to myself that my life isn't so boring. 

In talking about adventure with my bf, he shared that Manila is one of his top cities.  He lived there for a while.  He told me about going to a pool and swimming naked with a guy he was dating at the time.  He told me he was so excited by this.   I wanted the details.  Where was this pool?  Seems unusual.  He suddenly got amnesia and couldn't remember anymore details or where the pool was.

I asked him, why don't we ever do anything like that? 

 

Faith in America

My faith in America is restored.  What a massive trouncing for Trump.  After so much disappointment that the majority of Americans fell for Trump's lies and false promises, it's great to see that America came to it's senses.

Trump's beat down was made worse by his own handpicked candidates and decisions in state races.  SC went Democratic?  His unqualified candidate was rejected.  Texas went Democratic?   His corrupt to the core candidate was rejected.  Republican senators he forced out of office "to get someone more loyal" were replaced with Democrats.  Trump puppets were rejected everywhere.

Now the Democrats have to work to not screw this up over the next two years.  

Hoarding Money

Imagine working for forty years being constantly told you must save for retirement, or meet the fate of spending old age in poverty.  We've all seen stories about retirees going to food banks, eating cat food and unable to afford medication.  Living on only social security of $1200 a month is scraping by at best.

Then you are finally lucky enough to retire.  You can start spending your nest egg.  It's ok!  That's why you saved for so long.  Spend it!   You can't take it with you.   Die broke!

The problem is that for many people (including me) it's hard to make this shift in mindset.

So now we have this phenomenon.  People don't want to spend their retirement nest egg.  Even people with millions saved are tight with their spending.  Living more frugally than they need to.

Some people die with more in savings that they started retirement with.  I do realize that the number of people retiring with even $1 million in their retirement account is very small, and the majority are actually struggling.

Nobody wants to run out of money. 

If you are depriving yourself unnecessarily, that's not good. 

If Not Now, When?

 

I'm planning my trip to Asia right now.  January 18/19th to end of March.  This would be my longest trip -- ever!.  I have to be back by end of March for a family event.  I have some doubts about going, more on that later.  I keep on coming back to this title phrase that I've heard from several people.  I don't have forever.  I need to do this.

For years now my retirement plan was to take a trip right after the holidays for a few months.  That time is here, and I need to do it.  The trip won't cost so much.  I have points to use and I'm really good at "traveling well on the cheap".   I've discussed the pro's and con's of different locations with my bf.

I'm thinking one week in Tokyo, three weeks in Bangkok, maybe a few days in Cambodia tbd,  and six weeks in Da Nang/other coastal areas.  This trip will be slow travel.  That means not so many stops and assimilate as best I can into the local scene.  

I haven't been to Tokyo (other than airport layovers) and have heard good things about it.  This is my opportunity.  My bf doesn't like Japan because they've done some horrible things to China decades ago.  He might meet me there as long as his parents don't know about it.

 I've been to Bangkok and definitely want to go back.  So many things to see.   I like the food.

I haven't been to Da Nang, but "the Miami of Asia" sounds good to me.  The combination of big city and the ocean is appealing.  If I don't like Da Nang I can go somewhere else on the coast.   I must bring back as much coffee as I can from Vietnam.

I've been bored at home.  This will give me an adventure and get me out of the cold weather. 

Best Cities Awards

 

Conde Naste Readers' Choice Awards Best Cities

1. Bangkok ✔
2. Paris ✔
3. Istanbul
4. Rome 
5. Valletta, Malta
6. Shanghai  ✔
7. Tokyo 
8. Seoul
9. Sydney
10. Amsterdam
11. Stockholm
12. Vienna
13. Lisbon
14. Hong Kong
15. Capetown
16. Porto, Portugal
17. Madrid  ✔
18. New York  ✔
19. Jaipur, India
20. Singapore   ✔

 

As I'm thinking about a trip in January, I happened to see that the Conde Naste Traveler Best Cities list was released.   I've check marked the cities I've been to -- 6 out of 20.  I will add Tokyo soon.

I was really surprised to see Bangkok as number one.  I like the city, but question if it should be number 1.  It's more modern than I expected but still feels chaotic and somewhat third world.  I don't agree with NYC as number 18 - should be at least in the top 5.  Certainly higher than Shanghai.  I thought Singapore would rank higher.  So orderly, safe and clean -- a model of urban efficiency.  So many things I wish we would copy from Singapore -- such as the $750 fine for not  picking up after your dog.  Caning would be so much more effective for crimes like shoplifting and minor vandalism than probation. 

I don't hear so many positive comments about Paris or Rome.  Where's London? Toronto?  Vancouver? 

Reading List Addition

 

Newly released book.  Thom Tillis is making the talk show rounds.  The only Republican senator who stood up to Trump a little bit.  Trump's circle is cracking.  I have a hold at the library.  

What I'm Watching

 

 

Actually it's what I want to watch.  This documentary film was released less than three weeks ago.    The truth is coming out about Gaza and it's worse than anyone could imagine.