Travel and Wellness: Travel Can Open You Up in the Most Amazing Ways

The sitcom Cheers was a staple of family television viewing in my home during my teenage years. Cliff Claven, played by John Ratzenberg, was a know-it-all among the regulars who sat on the barstools each week. At the beginning of Season 3, with major drama unfolding for the main characters, Cliff returned from a 2-week trip to Florida that he talked about incessantly. Nobody cared. I fear I might be or become Cliff. I just returned from a 2-week adventure in Vietnam and Cambodia. I can’t stop thinking about it. And I want to talk about it forever, to anyone who will listen and, quite possibly, even to those who will not. I’m not exaggerating when I write that my 2-week adventure was a life changing experience. Travel and wellness go hand in hand for so many of us.

A Life Changing Trip

Sometimes we toss around phrases like “life changing” a little frivolously. This is not one of those times. I went to Vietnam and Cambodia on a trip organized by Globe Drifters (check them out on Facebook), curated specially for members of the Facebook group Solo in Style: Women Over 50 Travelling Solo and Loving It (check out the SIS blog here). Deborah Ives who founded and administers Solo in Style and Jodie Smith who runs Globe Drifters were integral parts of the group. The rest of us hailed from New York, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington, California, England, Ireland, and New Zealand. We were 12 in all, a perfect gathering size for building trust and intimacy according to Priya Parker in The Art of Gathering. These women and our bucket list trip have changed my life.

In order to join this trip, you had to be a woman over 50 with a good attitude who was a member of the Facebook group – a group for women who like to travel solo, either in theory or in practice – and be quick enough to score one of the 12 spots offered. The women on my trip were married, single, divorced, widowed, and partnered. Marital status was irrelevant. I suspect some of the others, like me, saw the announcement for this trip posted to the group, knew they wanted to visit these countries and thought twice about doing it on their own so a small, specially curated group tour with women in the same age range (52-72, as it turned out) and guaranteed single occupancy lodging seemed like a good idea. Incredibly, as soon as we met one another on the first day, it was clear that this group had good chemistry. Over the 2 weeks that followed, we cheered each other on as we sat perilously close to a passing train on Train Street, rode on the backs of motor bikes and simply tried to cross the street in Hanoi, developed an addiction to Vietnamese coffees, particularly Salt Coffee, as we cruised along Halong Bay, rode bikes through rice paddies, carved flowers out of vegetables, learned to cook, made lanterns, visited farms and markets, and had clothing custom made in Hoi An, visited temples, received blessings from Buddhist monks, had our feet “massaged” by fish, and ate insects in Siem Reap, and karaoked our hearts out.

The things we saw and did made this a fantastic trip. It was just so well planned. None of us were used to having someone else take care of all the planning but we discovered how fabulous it can be. The experiential nature of the itinerary together with being part of a community that bonded, literally, overnight, were what made it life changing. In addition to seeing incredible sites, eating and preparing local food, and experiencing local flavor in every way, we entered a safe space where we could share our vulnerabilities, be ourselves, feel seen and accepted without judgment, and laugh. Eyes welled up with tears during poignant moments and we had our share of those. They were beautiful. And then there was the laughter. We laughed so hard we cried and our cheeks hurt in the best possible way. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard and so much.

Travel is Known to Enhance Wellbeing

Travel is one of the activities frequently recommended for improving wellbeing as well as enhancing the quality of aging and cognition. Some of the benefits of taking vacation time apply but it’s not quite the same thing. When you’re working, vacation time improves physical and mental health, increases motivation and boosts happiness. These benefits do not require transportation in order to take effect. A staycation can do the trick. But travel necessarily means journeying to somewhere else. Travel opens people’s minds. It allows you to try new things, meet new people, combat monotony, boost creativity, energy, and productivity, relieve stress, and improve your outlook on life. Travel can help you build your confidence and provide a helpful reset. We tend to move our bodies a lot when we’re abroad, which is always a good thing. We also tend to spend less time on our phones. Travel and wellness combine to bring the concept of journey to a whole different level.

Connection Through Travel

As I’ve noted frequently in this space, connectedness and community are foundational elements of optimal health and wellbeing. My trip reinforced how much I love traveling abroad and how much I benefit from forging meaningful and lasting bonds. Women are always looking for ways to connect with other women and if travel appeals to you, you might want to consider small group travel and see where it takes you. I’m happy to shamelessly plug Globe Drifters and Solo in Style because Jodie and Deb are incredible women who do it right. In my case, they helped open my eyes to the world and to myself. This trip reminded me who I am and who I want to be and gave me an energy I’ve been seeking for so long. That energy is currently somewhat intertwined with jet lag and recovery from the 30 hours it took to get home but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve reset and it feels great.

Takeaways

Here are some key takeaways from my life-changing trip:

1. Women over 50 come prepared. Not a single pharmaceutical or first aid element was missing from our trip. Had we pooled all our inventory, we could have opened a small pharmacy in any country. It’s good to travel with women.
2. When you’re feeling low, it can be challenging to remember what helps lift your mood so it’s smart to have a prepared list saved on your computer or phone for easy access when you need it. I urge you to put Dancing Queen on that list. It is impossible to sit still or frown when the song Dancing Queen plays. I dare you not to smile, sing along, get up and dance. Just feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah!
3. Look both ways when you cross the street, don’t hesitate, walk with confidence, and don’t walk backwards in Vietnam or anywhere else.
4. Adding Carnation sweetened condensed milk to coffee at home does not make it Vietnamese coffee. Maybe if you scroll through trip photos while sipping said coffee…
5. Time normally flies by too quickly. When you experience time slowing and depth of connection developing as a result, accept and appreciate it for the gift that it is. In the course of two weeks, 12 women came to feel as if we’d know each other for so much longer and forged friendships that will last for years to come.
6. Be in the picture. Many of us avoid being in photos due to insecurity. By many of us, I mean me. We took a lot of group photos on this trip and posted them to our WhatsApp group. I had a strong reaction in the first few days. I wasn’t used to seeing myself in photos and I didn’t like what I was seeing. I was talking about it with one of the women on the trip who connected the sadness I was feeling to comparison. She asked how I felt when I looked in the mirror and I realized I was fine when I wasn’t comparing.  If you read my earlier post on comparison, you already know I have strong feelings that it’s generally unhelpful. Because we talked about it, I was able to make the conscious decision to look at the happiness in my eyes and across my face rather than the size of my body. There are several pictures of me from this trip that I actually like. That’s never happened before. My daughters delighted in looking at those photos when I returned home. And I sat next to them feeling good.
7. Many of us like to be alone and, as a result, assume we’re introverts. But it’s not actually about being introverted or extroverted. It’s about finding people with whom you’re comfortable being yourself.
8. Curiosity, Kindness, and Capability win every time.

So I left Vietnam and Cambodia with a much better sense of the history and present day situation in both countries, a deep appreciation for the people, and a few new favorite foods and drinks. I also came home with a kindred spirit, a stylist, a bookclub partner, a travel buddy for Bali, a person to think of whenever I belt out “Sweet Caroline,” a new neighbor, a tango teacher with sparkling eyes, a town planner who knows every word to every song from the 80’s, a scarf collector who also knows most of those lyrics but they all sound like “watermelon” when she sings them, a karaoke aficionado who can do anything but wink, and an inspiring visionary and movement starter (there is a great deal out there these days about solo travel and many groups to join but Deborah Ives is the one who started Solo in Style and the group has more than 622,000 members for a reason). These wise free spirits, together with our exceptional local guides and all the people we met along the way, lifted me up. My life has been enriched beyond my dreams. If a trip to anywhere is on your bucket list and you find one that fits your dreams and your budget, just do it. You’ll never be sorry and there’s so much to be gained when you combine travel and wellness. Take that journey. You deserve it.

Musical Playlist While You Ponder This Post

Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver, I’ve Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash, California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and The Papas, Kokomo by The Beach Boys, Down Under by Men at Work,  Life is a Highway by Rascal Flats, Africa by Toto, One Night in Bangkok by Murray Head, Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel

Thinking and Trying

Something to think about: “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

Something to try: Plan a trip. It can be alone, with a partner, with a friend or as part of a group of any size. Commit to it far enough in advance that you can enjoy months of anticipation long before your departure date. Giving your nervous system a chance to reset is a great gift to give yourself. You don’t have to travel far or stay away long or spend a lot of money. Researching your options is a key part of the process.

Coaching Can Help

Have you been thinking about combining travel and wellness into a journey of your own? Considering traveling near or far but finding you just can’t get to planning your trip? Is it because you don’t have a travel partner or are you just feeling stuck? Travel is a great way to change your physical environment, a change that can benefit your overall health and wellbeing tremendously. I’d be happy to hop on a Zoom call with you and determine if you’re a good candidate for coaching. This 15 minute call is free of charge and can be scheduled here. You deserve to live the life you dream of, wherever it takes you.