I just had a chance to talk to our neighbour in the elevator. He asked whether we'd be heading off for our winter soon. I was happy to report to him that we're leaving on Halloween this year. His next question was whether we go to the same place every year. That was an easy answer with a definite, "No!"
I decided to update and summarize, for myself, our winters since November 2014. We have lived for around five months away in warm places for seven winters now. One winter we remained at home in Canada in preparation for Jay's open-heart surgery. Although we started out living for five months at a single location, we later adapted plans to include several locations during the same winter.
Below, I'll list the places we've lived, the short trips during those winters, and a few possible ideas for new adventures.
Our Retirement Winter Stays
Bali, Indonesia (2 months)Buenos Aires, Argentina (3 months)Colombo, Sri Lanka (6 months) (2 visits)Dubai, UAE (1 1/2 months)Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (5 months) (2 visits)Luxor, Egypt (5 months)Mazatlan, Mexico (2 months)Penang, Malaysia (3 months)Playa del Carmen, Mexico (3 months)Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (5 months)Siem Reap, Cambodia (2 months)S. American Cruise Port Cities (1 month)
Additional Travel
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Ipoh, Malaysia
Island-Wide Trips, Sri Lanka
Istanbul, Turkey
Krabi, Thailand
Kuching, Malaysia
Langkawi, Malaysia
Malacca, Malaysia
Pattaya, Thailand
Phuket, Thailand
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sabah, Malaysia
Sarawak, Malaysia
Taipei, Taiwan
Tunis, Tunisia
Planned and Possible Locations
Antananarivo, Madagascar
Boracay, Philippines
Cape Town, South Africa
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Durban, South Africa
Goa, India
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Kampala, Uganda
Port Lewis, Mauritius
Puerto Princesa, Philippines
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Last winter, we stayed three months in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I didn't expect to find a little slice of Europe in South America. Travel is a fantastic way to understand the world in which we all live. If more people made an effort to learn about others, the entire world would be a much better place.