LifePart2AndBeyond.com Travel Blog
We Did It! We Finished the London Marathon
Jonathan Look Running the 2016 London Marathon We did it! We did it! After months of blood, sweat, toil, and tears. After training on three continents in weather from freezing cold to 104-degree heat. After battling everything from stray dogs, severe...
When is the Best Time to Retire?
Don't Waste Your Retirement Financial websites that try to tell you when is the best time to retire will say that you should start considering retirement when you calculate that you have enough income, through some magical combination of pensions, Social Security and...
What Does Home Mean?
What Does Home Mean to Me? A few weeks ago I was able to watch Pico Iyer’s thought-provoking TED Talk about “Where is Home” and it got me to thinking of my personal definition of home, what does home mean, where home is, and the difference between being away from home...
The Quest for a Satisfying Retirement
I get to talk to a lot of people that are approaching retirement age, but feel they must delay "making the leap" because they are trapped by their habits of consumption. I can't tell you how many have told me the equivalent of, "As soon as we downsize the house, pay...
Unproductive Behavior Anger, Resentment and Attitude
Some people say that there are not enough angry people in the world. If only people were angrier we could solve the world’s problems. Perhaps those who want everyone all irate and angry are misusing the word, but anger by itself rarely accomplishes anything. Sustained...
Colonial Attitudes in the Technological World
A few years ago, not long after I moved to Cambodia, I was talking with a friend about how I received my Internet service. Since I was living down a dusty road in the middle of a rice paddy, not too far outside of Siem Reap, the expectation was that modernity was not...
The Power of Imagination
It is our imaginations that control us, make sure you have a good one.
Plain of Jars, Laos on a Gloomy Day
It was a cold and windy day when we arrived at the Plain of Jars, Site Three in Xieng Khouang province in Central Laos. We had hired a driver, but you can't get too close without walking, maybe a kilometer, through rice fields and pasture. Because there are still many...
Patuxay Monument in Vientiane, Laos
Patuxay Monument It is a little odd to see what appears to be a replica the Parisian Arc de Triumph as the centerpiece of the Laotian capital Vientiane, but the history of this unusual monument is even stranger. Patuxai, meaning Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph in Lao,...
15 Tips for Making Travel Easier
Traveling is a learning process and if you are a frequent traveler you learn little “hacks” that can make life so much easier. This list is ever evolving, changeable based on length of travel, location and circumstances, and it is also full of opinion and personal...
Photo: Broken Buddhas in Laos
A collection of in Wat Sisaket broken Buddha statues that were damaged when bombs fell on Laotian religious sites. Vientiane, Laos is filled with beautiful Buddhist Temples. On some days I will just go and wander from temple to temple, making photographs, reflecting...
Photo: Post Impressionist Scene from Kunming, China
See also: Photo: Tea Fields of Alishan, Taiwan Photo: Hong Kong from Victoria Peak Photo: Atlantic Portuguese Coast Before I travel to Kunming, China I kind of expected it to be huge, charmless city without a lot to offer. Just a place to fly into, then move...
Tips and Tricks for Traveling With Electronics
When I travel I prefer to travel as light as possible. Unfortunately, a lot of the things I love to do while traveling — video, writing, photography, etc., etc., — require traveling with electronics that have to be plugged in and charged. I admit it, I am a bit of a...
Hotel Review: Shama Serviced Apartment in Hong Kong
Sarah and I had been house/pet sitting, well, let’s call it “tiny apartment sitting”, in Hong Kong for about ten days. We weren’t ready to leave Hong Kong yet, but we were now ready to enjoy some of the more upscale amenities that Hong Kong is famous for. I loved the...
Bomb Craters in Laos, 40 Years After (Video)
Here are a few images and a drone video I made of bomb craters in Laos. These craters were created over two generations ago by so-called “carpet bombing”. This mutilation of an otherwise bucolic landscape was created by heavy bombs, indiscriminately dropped by B52s,...
How We Transported Nine Rescue Dogs Overseas from Thailand
Rescue Dogs in Their Crates at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport About to Go Home for the First Time Just before Jon and I left for our road trip across Canada and the United States I came across a plea on Facebook from one of my favourite charities, the Soi Dog...
Photo: Backstage at the Chinese Opera in Laos
We came across this scene backstage at the Chinese Opera in Vientiane, Laos. See also: Bomb Craters in Laos, 40 Years After (Video) Photo: Broken Buddhas in Laos Patuxay Monument in Vientiane, Laos I don't normally put photos that I have shot with my Phone on...
Photo: Mud Men of the Dansai Ghost Festival
See also: Photo: Wat Mahathat UNESCO World Heritage Site It is Yee Peng Again! Dansai Ghost Festival All kinds of spirits come out to play at the Ghost Festival in Dansai,Thailand. Also known as Phi Ta Khon, a yearly three day event held in Loei province in...
Photo: Late Night Street Food Vendor in Bangkok, Thailand
See also: Cambodian Rice Noodle Soup with Blood Tofu Turkish Cooking Class in Cappadocia Currywurst in Berlin I have always been fascinated by life on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand. Around almost every corner is a new and rich surprise. From street food, opera on...
Photo: Terracotta Army Archeological Site near Xian, China
Discovery of the Terracotta Army (Terracotta Warriors and Horses) near Xian, China is one most significant archeological finds of the 20th century. Each unique, life size, terracotta figure, arranged in battle formation are believed to be modeled after actual persons....
Jon & Sarah
It seemed almost inevitable that we, Jonathan and Sarah, would one day meet: two independent travellers from different corners of the globe, we shared a bond that many travellers experience, a mutual love of adventure and a belief that the planet is a better place when people leave their comfort zones and discover new lands and cultures. So, when our paths finally