Too Old To Backpack

Loose plans, thoughtfully followed

Latest Posts: Notes from the Road

Dextor Fortescue: from school headmaster to sole trader

March 25, 2026

When I needed to set myslef up as a consultant I wanted a name that would be slifghtly tongue in cheek and after a couple of false starts, Dexter Fortescue was born. There must have been something in the back of mindlinking it to wizarding world

Meet Mamu. He’s coming with us.

February 9, 2026

Joining us on this trip is Mamu. In this post, we take a moment to meet him, learn a little about where he’s from, and hear what he’s hoping to get out of the journey ahead. From his background to his expectations, Mamu shares what drew him to this experience...

In the beginning blog

January 15, 2026

It started, as many sensible decisions do, with the prospect of redundancy and an unexpected pause in normal life. That pause created space to think — properly — which turned out to be a mixed blessing. Somewhere between the kitchen table, a pile of paperwork,...

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Travel stats and information

If you know me, you’ll know I love a spreadsheet. They’re great for staying organised and, for me, unbeatable when it comes to planning a trip (more on that later). We’ll be keeping tabs on everywhere we go during this trip and collecting all sorts of travel stats along the way. At some point, I’ll figure out how to share all of this with anyone else (besides me) who’s interested, but some basic numbers for this trip are below.

Days

Countries

Towns

Kilometers

Steps

Explore destinations >>

It is a testimony to all of the great content out there that to help me keep it in order I have created a section dedicated to them and the wonderful places they have been. Also, whilst adding some rambling musings on where we plan to go. The aim here is not to develop a complete treatise on the whole of south-east Asia, more give an overview of some of the things we have identified that we might like to see and do whilst on our tour. As such, these are more personal notes (ramblings), hints and tips, and hopefully just enough information to explain what it is we are looking at and why it is there.

Travel plans >>

This journey isn’t about rigid schedules or ticking boxes — it’s about seeing what happens. We’ve sketched out a rough route to give us some direction, but nothing is fixed and everything is open to change. Each stop is more of a possibility than a plan, leaving room for curiosity, chance encounters, and the inevitable moments where we wonder how we ended up there in the first place. The itinerary will shift as we go, because experience suggests the best bits usually aren’t the ones you plan for. In this section, we’ll share how the plan develops and give a sense of where we think we’re heading — at least at the time of writing.

Notes from the road >>

To be clear, this isn’t for likes, clicks, or anyone else’s benefit. It’s just us keeping an anecdotal record of the journey — partly for the memories, partly because we’ll forget half of it otherwise. Think of it as a loose collection of notes, photos, and half‑remembered moments that will make sense to us later, even if they don’t mean much to anyone else.

Feel free to have a wander around the site and let us know what you think. And if the mood takes you, you’re more than welcome to buy Jay a cup of coffee – it helps keep her awake.

Our photo collection

Here are a few photos from our travels — snippets of scenery, places we passed through, and moments that caught our eye. They’re not award-winning, but they will hopefully serve as a good reminder of where we went and why our phones keep running out of storage. I will try to remember to add captions or, at least, group them; my memory isn’t what it used to be!

Click on the images to view in the lightbox (make them bigger). Pictures are being added but I have not worked out how to reverse the feed, without paying for it 🙂