I'm retiring!!!

Tomorrow, Friday, June 20, 2008, I officially retire from Delta Air Lines! After 11 years, I'm very ready! The last few years have been a series of budget cuts, layoffs, voluntary labor reductions, fuel cost increases and a host of other issues that have just slap worn me out. So when the retirement package was offered and I met the criteria (just barely), I jumped at the chance. I get 5 months of pay and flight benefits for life - FOR LIFE!!!!! So I see this as a great opportunity to take some time off and travel the world. I will definitely have to go back to work, but I don't expect to have this kind of opportunity again in the near future.

About the time I decided to take the retirement package, my friends Mike & Beverly told me about a trip they were planning to Thailand. Their nephew is a yogi and was invited to teach at Yoga Thailand (http://www.yoga-thailand.com/) on the island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. And he invited them (both massage therapists) to join him there. The timing coincided with my retirement date, and I quickly asked if they might have a little space on their floor for me to join them. And they welcomed me to do so. Well after reading about Yoga Thailand and their nephew, I decided I may as well join in the yoga practice too, however, I doubt I'll be doing the leg behind the neck pose! So I leave next Wed. for Thailand, and I decided this blog was a great way to chronicle my travels.

My itinerary is something like this:

• Leave ATL and fly to NRT (Tokyo), then NRT to BKK (Bangkok), then BKK to Koh Samui. Only takes 2 days to get there (ouch!), and I arrive on Friday!


• Yoga classes start Sat afternoon and end the following Sat morning. We will do yoga in the mornings and then after breakfast we have the day to ourselves. There are great beaches, temples, and snorkeling there to occupy our time. Then more yoga teaching in the late afternoon followed by meditation.


• At the end of the yoga retreat, Mike, Bev & I are heading up to the north of Thailand to Chiang Mai. I'm not sure what all is there, but from what I've read, I want to ride an elephant, do a zip line trip, and I'm sure we'll visit more temples.


• Then it's back to Bangkok, on to Tokyo and back to ATL - another 2 days and I'm back home.

Stay tuned for my take on the experience.