After four decades of the daily grind, we decided to change our lives in a deliberate way. Our children had grown up and departed, with families of their own, and we felt that it was time to embark on a new journey - just the two of us. The first step was retiring from our respective jobs - Ashok was a management consultant until 2013, and Meera, a pediatric dietitian, stepped away in late 2018.

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The word deliberate comes from a quote by Henry David Thoreau, who famously gave up the comforts of 19th-century life to dwell in a remote cottage on Walden Pond for over two years. He explained, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and when I came to die discover that I had not lived.”

 

Similarly, with no reason to remain tethered to one place, we wanted to see what we could learn from traveling the world and meeting people, so we moved into the next phase of our lives, so that we continue to feel challenged and excited with the possibilities of each new day. 

 

The second step towards realizing this dream, then, was to simplify our lives. We did not go quite as far as Thoreau - we enjoy certain comforts  -  but we did sell our house and rid ourselves of three-quarters of our belongings. Then for the next thirteen months we lived a nomadic life.

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We went to ten countries…Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, Canada (BC and Yukon), Spain, Greece, and Turkey. Within US, we explored California and stayed in multiple communities in Los Angeles, where we plan to settle. We stayed in eighty -seven hotels, Airbnbs and homes of friends and family.  

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We enjoyed hospitality of folks we had not seen in ages, further cemented our ties with family members, and experienced what so many interesting places in the world have to offer. We met hundreds of people, locals and tourists alike, and made new friendships that we hope will last a long time. We travelled by airplanes, trains, buses, taxis, long boats, huge ferries, local trains, and tuk-tuks. We also made it a point to walk to places we could in each place we stayed, thereby wearing out a couple of pairs of shoes and keeping fit.  

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This website chronicles our Nomadic Year in form of Photo albums (under tab Travel) and Blog Posts. We hope it provides a window into what an experiment like this can be like.  We stand ready to help you in any way we can as you plan the next phase of your life.

 

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Ashok & Meera