Am I getting too old to travel?

On Thanksgiving day I took a trip to Seoul for a Salesforce Developer Group. It was the first trip I’d made solo in about 6 years. I looked forward to meeting fellow professionals. And I looked forward to making a pilgrimage to the only Five Guys burgers in the country, just a block from the station in Seoul.

Yes I know there’s five, but they’re all in Seoul so that just counts as one to me.

There was a time when I would have just hopped in a cab and set out for the train terminal to catch whatever train was available. And do the same on the way back. Not caring if I got a proper seat or one of the standing tickets. To be fair I didn’t usually have a schedule to keep in Seoul.

I didn’t give myself enough time to comfortably get to and from my destination. I forgot my driver’s license at the Salesforce building’s security desk. I almost missed my return train when I got turned around in the metro. I didn’t get to complete my pilgrimage to Five Guys. And I looked like a complete rube in front of a bunch of professionals when I was just trying to expand my network for the first time since moving to Korea in 2022.

I did get to meet some folks though and I’m on their Meetup group for the more regular social hours they schedule. So I’m looking forward to the next chance.

Next time? I’m making a full day trip of it. I’m not gonna try to schedule trains on either side of the conference unless I’m giving myself three hours on either side.

I’m not getting too old to travel. I just need to get out more. I’m out of practice after having worked from home for the last six years.