No More !

I've been contemplating my views on travel recently.  I was given the opportunity to attend a conference in Borneo in March.  I respectfully begged off.  Really?  Who would turn down a free trip to Borneo?

I used to beg my employers to send me to conferences.  Toledo?  Fabulous!   A big factor in becoming a consultant was that I got to travel every week.  But now?  I'm slowing down.  Becoming jaded?  Lazy?  Hmmm.

Part of my rationale for turning down the conference was the timing.  I'm currently in Bangkok on a visa run.  The conference would have been two weeks from now and would require 4 airports for a 4 day trip, each way.  Two weeks after that is a 1 1/2 week holiday and I was hoping to visit Vietnam.  It just felt like too much. 

For 18 years as an independent management consultant I traveled a lot.  I have lifetime status on Delta, thanks to the million plus miles I flew on them.  Now, when I have time off, I don't care to spend it in airports.

A friend recently took a 16 hour bus ride to go to the beach.  Nope.  Wouldn't do it.  No interest.

Other friends are riding their motorbikes across Myanmar for days.  Nope.  Not interested.  Seen enough pagodas.  Had my photo taken by enough locals.

So, am I getting old and lazy?  Jaded?  Or is it because I've lived abroad (Guatemala, Samoa, Malawi, Myanmar) long enough that I've learned to appreciate the routine.  For example, here in Bangkok this weekend, I'm just relaxing.  And grazing.  So far I've had salad, New Zealand green lipped mussels, raw tuna and salmon and some grilled chicken livers and gizzards,  I'm enjoying fast internet and cable tv,  I'm going to take a bath when I log off. 

Whatever the cause of my decrease of urge to see everything/do everything, I'm enjoying this stage.  I may not see every pagoda in Myanmar but I'll treasure the time I spend with my favorite vendors at the produce market and my ladies at Style Star who work hard to make me feel so pampered.