Top 10 ‘human’ experiences in 10 years of budget slow travel

Many travel experiences over the last decade have made me feel — quite simply put: human, empathetic, compassionate, emotional. I’ve been thinking about my top 10 ‘human’ experiences during our budget slow travel in early retirement because I’ve hit my 10-year anniversary for this lifestyle.

Some ‘human’ experiences did not make this list, such as a family member who died during my early travel time. That’s too personal for a public list. Also, some of our destinations have terrible histories about the ‘human’ experience, like Warsaw and Hiroshima and Sarajevo. These are places where mortality becomes a cruel end to inhumane treatment, and while I feel empathy and compassion in these places, the tragedies that make these locations infamous are not a part of my direct experience.

Therefore, my top 10 human experiences over the last decade are not too personal, and yet they more personal than visiting graves and memorials.

Top 10 ‘human’ experiences in 10 years of budget slow travel

10– Had dinner in a Muslim family’s home in Luxor, Egypt.

9– A challenging jungle hike with Theo and his 86-year-old mother Diane to watch orangutans in Sumatra, Indonesia.

8– Met Theo’s extended family and reconnected with his immediate family at a reunion in Kosice, Slovakia.

7– Bought hungry people food during the pandemic when their tourism-reliant economy collapsed in Malay, Philippines.

6– Covered funeral costs and medical bills during the pandemic in the Philippines.

5– Taught English to people of all ages from many countries at a refugee camp in Greece.

4– Went with a breast cancer patient for a mastectomy in Vietnam (2019); went with another breast cancer patient to radiation in the Philippines (2019); went home to help my mother recover from a mastectomy in New York (2016).

3– Helped an Irish friend with terminal cancer stay alive until her family arrived where she lived in Malaysia.

2– Brought water and electricity to the indigenous Ati tribe during the pandemic in Kurong Village, Malay Township, Aklan Province, Panay Island, Philippines.

*An extra note about this, because it was an extraordinary time. Theo led projects to bring water and electricity to the mountain village, at Chief Ernesto’s request. The projects were financed by us and donations from our families and friends.

Tragically, the chief was killed in boat crash in 2023. Read more about his death and our projects to help the Ati on our special Ati page.

Theo returned to the area in 2024 (I went home to the USA). He found the water and electric systems were still operational.

And the #1 ‘human’ experience in 10 years of budget slow travel —

1– The special loving care Tedly gave me during two surgical recoveries: one for a broken wrist reset under anesthesia in Malaysia, from when a car hit me while riding a bicycle in Thailand; two for my double mastectomy for early stage breast cancer in Croatia.

Of the hundreds of thousands of digital images from our world travels, this one was the only one I even considered posting here. It’s not a great photo. Tedly’s back is turned, the light is weak, the ingredients on the counter cannot easily be seen. However, I remember how carefully he selected foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner for my optimal health at the optimum value, as he always does. I remember how he looked at me, with eyes full of compassion, tinged with fear, his soul emanating pure love.

During my recovery time in Zagreb, Croatia, we didn’t know if the cancer would be found in my lymph node. We didn’t know if the cancer really was truly ‘early stage’, or what other surgeries or heavy drugs I might need. There was an unspoken grace we gave each other during those days. We had permission to let ourselves be human, to be vulnerable with each other, and also with ourselves.

I’ve had five mortality scares throughout my life. Ironically, Tedly has been there for three of them — breast cancer abroad, hit by a car abroad, and active alcoholism back ‘home’. I understand fully well that this life won’t last forever.

What if…?

I recently asked Tedly a question I’d never asked him before: if I had said no to his marriage proposal and offer to slow travel the world on a budget as early retirees, would he have gone without me?

‘No,’ he said, ‘I don’t want to travel by myself.’

Will I be around Earth another 10 years? Will we get to have another 10 years of global wandering with all that’s happening on this Earth? Since we can’t see the future clearly, we’ll keep on keepin’ on — because, as I like to say, Life is Now.

Thanks for reading, “Top 10 ‘human’ experiences in 10 years of budget slow travel.”

See also: Top 10 travel adventures in 10 years

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