A few days ago, my Mom celebrated her 60th birthday in England. It was with mixed emotions I wished her Bon Voyage, as I wanted to spend such a monumentous birthday with her, I also was proud of her for booking an adventurous holiday around her big day. I am getting a taste of my own prescribed medicine though – as my 30th birthday was spent in Tibet, and any other vacation time I can get off around my birthday I usually choose to spend it on holiday.
The minute I turned 30…Lhasa Tibet
A few days ago, my Mom celebrated her 60th birthday in England. It was with mixed emotions I wished her Bon Voyage, as I wanted to spend such a monumentous birthday with her, I also was proud of her for booking an adventurous holiday around her big day. I am getting a taste of my own prescribed medicine though – as my 30th birthday was spent in Tibet, and any other vacation time I can get off around my birthday I usually choose to spend it on holiday.
I’m not certain why I choose my birthday as a time to get away from my everyday life – maybe it’s the “life passing me by” feeling I get around that time of year, or the myth I once heard that if you celebrate your birthday on a different continent, you don’t actually get older. It might also just be the way I choose to spoil myself as a reward for getting older. Any way, when vacation time booking comes around, I always look at my schedule around September and think about where I can escape to.
Turning 30 felt like such a big deal at the time. I remember seriously giving a lot of thought when I turned 29, as to how I was going to bring in the big 3-0. I needed something monsterous, something that would scare me, challenge me, and hopefully make me get over this milestone I really didn’t want reach. **sidenote – being in my 30’s is much better than any time I spent in my 20’s. Confidence, better income, more opportunities all improved 10x in my 30’s. That being said, I’m already fretting my 40th.**
I thought about parachuting, bungee jumping, all things that would terrify/excite me. But then I thought…why stop there? Why not go for the top, and try Everest. Not being a mountaineer didn’t feel like that much of an obstacle – especcially when I started looking into trips there, I found out you can easily* reach Base Camp, with the right tour company, and a few thousand $ to finance it. So I aimed high, and booked 6 weeks on the other side of the world. Timing being what it was, I couldn’t be on Base Camp for the actual day but Lhasa Tibet was a close enough second choice.
This was also my first major trip overseas solo. Terrified doesn’t even begin to describe the month leading up to departure day. But all in all, with all the ups and downs of those 6 weeks, changing decades in Tibet surrounded by people I had just met was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. It also has been a catapult for me to travel independantly or with a group, meeting and keeping in touch with new friends from around the world. Travel since that trip has become an addiction, one I don’t plan on giving up until age prevents me from continuously exploring. So until that happens, I plan on celebrating all milestone birthdays big and small somewhere new – sometimes close by, sometimes far away.
A few years after my 30th birthday, I took my niece to Thailand to celebrate her 12th birthday. She wasn’t as fond of the not getting a year older overseas theory I so adored, but celebrating her special day on the other side of the world was unforgettable.
Trying out a career as a mahout Chiang Mai Thailand
Although it was always something I liked to do, I couldn’t help but be proud to be part of the inspiration for my Mom – someone who always inspired me – to choose a holiday as a way to bring in her 60’s.
My 50th birthday I want to spend in Paris (see bucketlist). But I’m still open for suggestions on how to spend my 40th, a few years away but creeping up ever so quickly.
*easily…if you think altitude sickness, a night in a Tibetan hospital, and being evacuated out is easy. Long story.