This article is part of Traveller’s Holiday Guide to Adventure & Outdoors. See all stories . Turning 50 is one of those milestone events that can instigate all manner of plans and resolutions – many of which are a thinly disguised attempt to recapture some of youth’s carefree spontaneity.
Some buy a sports car or take salsa lessons; others run a marathon or have an affair. I decided to go backpacking. The author (third from left) on a food tour of Chinatown, Bangkok.
The last time I backpacked was a two-week stint in Thailand in my late 20s, so it seems appropriate to start there again. However, this time I will do a five-week loop that also includes Laos and Cambodia. Starting in Bangkok, I’ll follow the famous Banana Pancake Trail pioneered in the 60s, heading north to the border with Laos, catching a boat along the Mekong to Luang Prabang, then tracking south into Cambodia before finishing back in Bangkok.
Loading It’s a well-trodden path for graduates and gap-year students, but what’s it like tackling it in your 50s? Are there hostels for people who like being social but don’t want to share a 12-person dorm? How has the experience changed in the last 20 years? Are there other more “experienced” travellers to hang out with? And, most important of all, will it still be fun? The most obvious difference between planning a trip today and 20 years ago is the blizzard of information that’s now available online, from blogs and booking engines to review sites a.