The 2018 version of my “Retired Nomad Slow-Travel World Tour” was a fabulous success; 11 countries (8 new) in 12 months! I went half-way across the world and back again, loving every minute of it.
Anyway, I started my second year of being a Retired Nomad off right by welcoming the New Year of 2019 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
I then flew to Malaysia from January 4 to February 1 visiting the following places: (1) Kuala Lumpur; (2) island of Penang (3) Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo; and (4) back to Kuala Lumpur again.
Then it was off to Singapore again but this time for 8 days the Lunar (Chinese) New Year celebrations.
After that I went back to Thailand to the island of Koh Samui and Pattaya.
On February 23, I flew to Vietnam for one month and visited: (1) Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), (2) Hoi An, (3) Da Nang, (4) Hue, (5) Hanoi, (6) Ha Long Bay on a 3-day cruise, and (7) back to Hanoi.
After that I flew to Indonesia from March 26 to April 23, visiting (1) Yogyakarta, (2) Labuan Bajo and Komodo Islands, (3) Bali (both Kuta and Ubud), and (4) the island of Gili Trawangan.
The last stop in my Southeast Asia tour saw me back in Bangkok, Thailand until April 29.
I flew back to the USA for several weeks to visit family and friends all up and down the East Coast.
Then it was off again to Playa del Carmen, Mexico where I did 21 resort site-inspections from Cancun to Riviera May in 3 weeks during the month of July.
I once again flew back to the USA for my Mom’s 80th Birthday and took her on a nice casino trip.
Then I jetted off to San Juan, Puerto Rico for 8 weeks in August and September.
Plus I spent my birthday weekend in St Croix, USVI.
In addition, I took a Southern Caribbean Cruise in September on Royal Caribbean and visited: (1) St. Thomas, USVI, (2) St. Kitts, (3) Antigua and Barbuda, (4) St. Lucia, and (5) Barbados. I also managed to do 4 resort site-inspections on some of the islands.
For the final time, I flew back to the USA again to “take my leave” of family and friends for the winter and attend a travel conference in Seattle, Washington before kicking off my Africa tour on October 31.
It was a long flight from Seattle to the Maldives, but totally worth a week of relaxation in Malé and Maafushi.
I then stayed a week in Beau Vallon, Seychelles.
After that I went to Grand Baie, Mauritius on November 15th to stay until December 5th.
Then finally I arrived in Accra, Ghana for the “Year of Return” festivities celebrating our strength and courage, still surviving and thriving, after the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade atrocities began 400 years ago.
And I was still in Accra, Ghana for Christmas, Boxing Day, and at the start of 2020 with people I now consider family.
What a glorious second year as a Retired Nomad! Not counting the USA, that was 17 countries (12 new) in 12 months! Although I’m not particularly proud of my carbon footprint; I do plan to fix that in 2020.
