Slow Travel- Make a home away from home

 

Finding a home away from home can make all the difference in your slow travel experience, especially when you are of a well-seasoned age.

Our slow travel experience began 8 years ago with us establishing a five-month home in Dharamshala India, which is located in the foothills of the Himalaya mountains.

We opt for long-term rental because it provides us a base to explore the country as well as others close by. For instance, being stationed in India, Southeast Asia is quickly accessible as well as Mediterranean countries. And you’d be surprised how inexpensive airfares can be, once you're out of the USA.

Also, a homebase allows you a place to dump your luggage and take only what you need when you venture out to somewhere else.

For instance, this year, we plan to spend five weeks in Vietnam, and then return to homebase India. We can take only what we need for that warmer climate. A couple of years ago we stayed for a month in Cascais Portugal, but took side trips to the north and then to Morocco. It was just great having a homebase to leave our things and take only the essentials on the side trips.

Finding the perfect long-term accommodations requires you to really think about the creature comforts you may need to be comfortable.

Our room and kitchen in India. We look for furnished accommodations when planning a long stay

We recommend finding a place that will allow you to establish a home environment and is convenient. For instance, an old historical building may have an aesthetic appeal, but are you gonna want to go up and down the stairs if there’s no lift? Another example: staying in an apartment in the center of a big city may have some appeal. But if you’re like me, and have trouble sleeping, well that location may not be the best choice.

 Your place should come fully furnished. You don’t want to take up your precious luggage space hauling along towels and bedding. You may not need a TV, but you’ll definitely need pillows, a place to sit and a place to sleep. So check it out, I pay close attention to the reviews when I’m looking for a place on Arbnb or Booking.com. I've found they are sometimes more helpful that the owner's promotional descriptions and photos.

Our needs include a heating or air conditioning (depending on the country). A refrigerator, washing machine, and good cooking facilities as we like to cook at home at times.

You may take your reliable Internet and electricity for granted in your home country, but when looking for a long-term stay, you’ll need to make sure that those utitlities are working well. While we have great internet now, in our India stay, we sure didn’t back when we first came here.

 And what about the water? Will you need to use bottled water for drinking? Is there a water filter? Is it clean? Is it readily available for showers?

Something else to think about, especially at our age, is access to medical facilities. When choosing where to park our bodes for awhile, we always check to see if doctors and hospitals are close by…. Just in case. You will want to check your medical insurance coverage before traveling. There’s lots of information on the web about this.

 Transportation. I’m try to find places within walking distance to main attractions or close to transportation options. We like to walk as much as possible as you’re able to really take in your surroundings, and taxi fees can add up and become your greatest traveling expense (outside air travel) if you’re not careful.

These are just a few tips for slow travelers who are at a seasoned age. We’d love to hear your tips. Drop them in the comment section.

Taking the bus in Toyko. It's always an experience in another country when you don't know the language. But eventually you figure things out..

Life goes on regardless of what I WANT.

 
No electricity! 

During my first year in India, when the lights would start flickering, I began to pray silently (or not so silently) "Please don't let it be for a long time." If it was during the cold season here in Dharamshal, I would panic because I knew I'd be uncomfortable. With my jacket on, I was known to crawl into bed and cover up with our heavy Indian comforter.

We made too many rookie mistakes in the beginning - number one being we purchased electric appliances! So, of course there were times when I was in the middle of cooking a meal and the "light" went out, or taking a shower and suddenly, no hot water.

Outages in many countries are frequent, and for those of us who take the utility forgranted, the thought of being without it makes us feel helpless. You can't cook, you can't use the Internet and you can forget about staying warm in the winter.

Yesterday, there was a power cut here all day -  the first since we arrived this year. For natives, business continues- sometimes with a generator, but everyone adapts, they work around it. For instance, most use propane powered stoves. Over the years, we have learned to adapt. We now have a gas burner, make sure our backup batteries, cell phones and computers are fully charged at all times, and I have learned to dress in layers when needed.

I was so proud of myself. I didn't panic. I didn't go running to my neighbors asking if they know how long the lights will be out. I didn't pester my husband to call our landlord to find out what is going on. While it was an inconvenience, I knew that eventually the electricity would come back on.

I've never been the most patient person in the world. I've always wanted a solution- NOW! What I'm learning from immersing myself in another culture is that life just goes on regardless of what I WANT.