What’s next for LifePart2 [and beyond]
It is with deep sadness that I have to tell you all that Jonathan died suddenly on the 12 March 2021 at our home here in Isla, Malta.
After exploring and living around the world, Jonathan lived life to the fullest with the philosophy there was more to life than simply working, and that each day was a gift to savour. Jonathan loved traveling and exploring many parts of the world.
He enjoyed his last day basking in the sunshine with friends and eating his favourite Thai food. I am still reeling from the sudden loss of my partner.
We had so many amazing future travel plans lined up from safaris in Africa to cruising around Antarctica; discovering more of Europe to exploring the Galapagos, and more of South America especially Colombia. Long walks along the Via Francigena in Italy, epic train journeys on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Even climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro (mmm, I might skip this one!).
I plan to visit and write about all these places in his memory.
It will be a while before my photography skills match Jonathan’s. It will be a while before I understand the behind-the-scenes of blogging, but I will learn.
I may never be able to come up with insightful tales about retirement, but I do know about what to do when your life partner overseas. But I’m not ready to write that one yet.
Please be patient with me as I slowly transition from Life Part2 to LifePart2AndBeyond.
Jon Look
9 May 1961 – 12 March 2021
About Jon
In 2011 I sold everything I owned, took early retirement and began traveling the world. Some people would say this was a pretty radical step, but after living a rather typical American life, a life based on seeking comforts and accumulating possessions, I longed for adventure and experiences far more than I cared about holding on to my “stuff”. I knew such a drastic change might sometimes be challenging, but I also knew the rewards of fulfilling lifelong dreams would be worth it.
I started this blog to demonstrate to my fellow baby boomers that the world is not some scary place to avoid, but it is still open and available to those who are adventurous, motivated and curious enough to go out and see it for themselves. In fact, now that many of us have the time, there may never be a better opportunity to step away from the ordinary, see those places we always wanted to see, have some adventures and open our eyes to the beauty and experiences we have been missing.
Before I began my “LifePart2” in 2011, I was an air traffic controller in the United States. Sure I had a few adventures; I got my pilot’s license at age 17 and my SCUBA rating at age 18. I always enjoyed working but, after 25 years of doing the same thing every day, it had become stale. I had always been passionate about travel, writing, and photography, but the typical American work schedule, long commutes, short vacations, fatigue and the general distractions of life, restricted my ability to delve deeply into my passions. As soon as the opportunity for early retirement came available I jumped at it and I haven’t looked back.
Since I love traveling I made it my goal to move around the globe, basing in different countries for roughly a year at a time, while taking opportunities to explore everywhere. So far I have lived off the grid on a white sand Caribbean beach in Mexico, in a Spanish colonial town in the mountains of Chiapas, in the shadow of ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, in the foothills of the Himalayas in Thailand, on the Mekong River in Laos and the Atlantic coast of Portugal.
The journey hasn’t always been completely smooth, but it has always been educational and never boring. I have made more friends and met more interesting people in the last eight years than I probably did in the previous fifty. I have pushed myself harder, expanded my comfort zones further and lived more freely than I ever have before. The people that call me “brave” for living this way don’t understand what I fear the most — living a life of regrets and “should-haves”. Nothing in this new life is about running away, but it is about running toward everything life has to offer with open arms and an open heart.
These are just a few highlights of the independent experiences Jon had since retirement in 2011.
- Eaten a beating cobra heart in Vietnam
- Frolicked with Cham dancers in Bhutan
- Slept on the floor of a Buddhist monastery in Burma
- Witnessed (twice) the Paper Lantern Festival in Thailand
- Run in the London Marathon
- Gained some good karma by fixing a water powered prayer wheel in Bhutan
- Walked the Camino de Santiago over the French Pyrenees and across Spain
- Gone whale watching in Canada
- Eaten “dancing shrimp” in Chiang Mai
- Climbed a volcano in Indonesia
- Danced with the Mud Men at the Ghost Festival in Dansai, Thailand
- House sat in Hong Kong
- Been attacked by baby elephants
- Run a half-marathon in Taiwan
- Witnessed sunrise and ran a half-marathon at Angkor Wat
- Ridden a motorbike around Bali
- Tried betel nut in Burma
- Rescued street dogs from the meat trade in Thailand
- Lived in a rice field in Cambodia
- Cruised on the Mekong River
- Slept in a treehouse
- Sailed through Europe on the Danube and Rhine rivers on a Viking Longboat
- Walked on the Great Wall of China
- Swam with Whale Sharks
- Attended the Cremation of former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk
- Completed traveling to all 50 United States
- Lived off-the-grid on a Caribbean beach in Mexico
- Slept in a Cave Hotel in Anatolia
- Had a pig sacrificed in my honor in Laos
- Eaten Guinea Pig in Peru
- Sailed on the Aegean Sea
- Zip lined through the jungle in Thailand
- Climbed the Pyramids in Tonina, Mexico
- Walked on the Ghats in Varanasi, India
- Slept in a Capsule Hotel in Japan
- Sipped fine wine in the vineyards of Chile
- SCUBA dived in the Indian Ocean
- Eaten fried crickets in Cambodia
- Searched the Markets of Chiapas, Mexico for Rat Soup
- Cried at the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Survived a military coup in Thailand
- Explored the Mysterious City of Kathmandu, Nepal
- Been awakened by the call to prayer at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul
- Had my drone confiscated in Peru
- Attended the Day of the Dead celebrations in Chiapas
- Climbed the Acropolis in Greece
- Hot air ballooned in Cappadocia, Turkey
- Witnessed sea turtles laying eggs on the beach
- Took and Expedition Cruise around Tasmania
- Lived on the Mekong River in Laos
- Riden a Camel Among the Pyramids of Egypt
- SCUBA Dived in the Red Sea
- Attended the Abu Simbel Sun Festival
- Slept in a Felucca on the Nile
About Sarah
Being an English teacher, helped fund further trips:
- I Walked 100 miles for Charity Along the Great Wall of China
- Been an Extra in a Commercial in India
- Ate, Prayed, Loved in Bali
- Hiked the New Territories in Hong Kong
- Climbed to Mount Everest Base Camp,
- Volunteered with Chimpanzees in Uganda,
- Gorilla trekking in Uganda,
- Slept Under the Stars listening to the Roar of Lions in Tanzania
- Trekked up a Volcano in Nicaragua,
- Had a Girls Road Trip in a Campervan throughout Australia and more…
- My love for travelling hasn’t diminished over time and I never did return to the UK.
Since we began traveling as a couple we have:
- Eaten a beating cobra heart in Vietnam
- Frolicked with Cham dancers in Bhutan
- Slept on the floor of a Buddhist monastery in Burma
- Witnessed (twice) the Paper Lantern Festival in Thailand
- Run in the London Marathon
- Gained some good karma by fixing a water powered prayer wheel in Bhutan
- Walked the Camino de Santiago over the French Pyrenees and across Spain
- Gone whale watching in Canada
- Eaten “dancing shrimp” in Chiang Mai
- Climbed a volcano in Indonesia
- Danced with the Mud Men at the Ghost Festival in Dansai, Thailand
- House sat in Hong Kong
- Been attacked by baby elephants
- Run a half-marathon on Taiwan
- Witnessed sunrise and ran a half-marathon at Angkor Wat
- Ridden a motorbike around Bali
- Tried betel nut in Burma
- Rescued street dogs from the meat trade in Thailand
- Lived in a rice field in Cambodia
- Cruised on the Mekong River
- Slept in a treehouse
- Sailed through Europe on the Danube and Rhine rivers on a Viking Longboat
- Visited Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Hiked in the Azores Islands of Portugal
- Toured Seville, Spain
- Stayed on the Rock of Gibraltar
- Piloted a Self-Chartered Canal Barge Through the South of France
- Visited the End of the World in Patagonia, Argentina
- Moved to Malta
- House Sat for a Cat in Palestinian East Jerusalem
- Travelled for a month in Slovenia
- Climbed Mount Etna in Sicily.
Ever since I was a little girl going on family holidays to the Isle of Wight and Majorca, I have loved to travel. All my working life, I worked for airlines and a variety of travel companies to satisfy my lust for travel, but the more I travelled, the more I wanted to travel. A week-long adventure here and there was not enough so finally on January 28th, 2002, I set off by myself to have some adventures around the world: I had allowed myself one year.
I’ll admit I was nervous at first, but travelling alone is not as scary as you may think. You meet so many people along the way, and even today, I still meet up with friends I met in that first year. I spent eight months in Asia, exploring Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Borneo and Singapore, followed by four months in Western Australia. As my year was coming to an end, I found myself travelling with new friends who were moving on to New Zealand, hey I might never be this close to that part of the world again I thought, so I accidentally on purpose missed my flight and flew to Auckland with them. By the time I reached the South Island, my funds were running out, so in exchange for food and board, I worked as a receptionist in a hostel in Christchurch for a few months.
After 18 months away, I thought maybe I should return to the UK and get a proper job, but I was having too much fun, so I accidentally (on purpose) missed my flight home again and became an English teacher in Thailand.
I stayed in Thailand for a very long time, probably too long, but I do love heat, spicy food and massages. But after two coups and the constant changing of visa rules, I moved across the border with Jonathan and my fur kids to Laos. I continued teaching English but on a very casual, well when I’m in the country I’ll come and teach basis! Once again, Thailand changed its visa rules making it harder for us to stay in Laos, so we moved to the Atlantic coast of Portugal for a while. Fast forward two years and we are now enjoying the Mediterranean climate in Malta. Wonder where we will end up next?
I’ll admit I was nervous at first, but travelling alone is not as scary as you may think. You meet so many people along the way, and even today, I still meet up with friends I met in that first year. I spent eight months in Asia, exploring Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Borneo and Singapore, followed by four months in Western Australia. As my year was coming to an end, I found myself travelling with new friends who were moving on to New Zealand, hey I might never be this close to that part of the world again I thought, so I accidentally on purpose missed my flight and flew to Auckland with them. By the time I reached the South Island, my funds were running out, so in exchange for food and board, I worked as a receptionist in a hostel in Christchurch for a few months.
After 18 months away, I thought maybe I should return to the UK and get a proper job, but I was having too much fun, so I accidentally (on purpose) missed my fight home again and became an English teacher in Thailand.
Being an English teacher, helped fund further trips:
- I Walked 100 miles for Charity Along the Great Wall of China
- Been an Extra in a Commercial in India
- Ate, Prayed, Loved in Bali
- Hiked the New Territories in Hong Kong
- Climbed to Mount Everest Base Camp,
- Volunteered with Chimpanzees in Uganda,
- Gorilla trekking in Uganda,
- Slept Under the Stars listening to the Roar of Lions in Tanzania
- Trekked up a Volcano in Nicaragua,
- Had a Girls Road Trip in a Campervan throughout Australia and more…
- My love for travelling hasn’t diminished over time and I never did return to the UK.
Since we began traveling as a couple we have:
- Eaten a beating cobra heart in Vietnam
- Frolicked with Cham dancers in Bhutan
- Slept on the floor of a Buddhist monastery in Burma
- Witnessed (twice) the Paper Lantern Festival in Thailand
- Run in the London Marathon
- Gained some good karma by fixing a water powered prayer wheel in Bhutan
- Walked the Camino de Santiago over the French Pyrenees and across Spain
- Gone whale watching in Canada
- Eaten “dancing shrimp” in Chiang Mai
- Climbed a volcano in Indonesia
- Danced with the Mud Men at the Ghost Festival in Dansai, Thailand
- House sat in Hong Kong
- Been attacked by baby elephants
- Run a half-marathon on Taiwan
- Witnessed sunrise and ran a half-marathon at Angkor Wat
- Ridden a motorbike around Bali
- Tried betel nut in Burma
- Rescued street dogs from the meat trade in Thailand
- Lived in a rice field in Cambodia
- Cruised on the Mekong River
- Slept in a treehouse
- Sailed through Europe on the Danube and Rhine rivers on a Viking Longboat
- Visited St. Petersburg and Moscow Russia
- Visited the Azores of Portugal
Contact me
If you would like to talk more about travel, the expat lifestyle, photography or whatever, please just contact me.
I love to work with brands, organizations, and destinations that share our enthusiasm for living life to the fullest and think that grown-ups should travel more and have more adventures. If you agree and would like to discuss areas where we can partner together to help spread the word you can have a look at the LifePart2AndBeyond Media Kit and contact me.
We invite you to join our journey through LifePart2AndBeyond.
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