Life Begins at 50!

In today's Straits Times, we read that Dr. Chiang Hai Ding is starting a new job at the age of 68. He is helping to set up the new Centre for Seniors. Dr. Chiang's key interest lies in those aged 50 and older, who are heading towards retirement.

"My gosh!" At 53, I fall under the cateogry of people Dr. Chiang is interested in! So many things had happened of late that I almost forget I am more than half a century years old! I started learning the computer at 50 years old and started blog writing at 52 years. Now I have an active blog with more than 300 articles and a small fan of local and overseas readers! At 52, I joined my company's Dennis Wee Group Toastmasters' Club and it was the first time I heard of toastmasters! Within 5 months I completed 24 prepared speeches and even won our Division U Championship Award for Humorous Speech! Gosh! Life begins at 50!

Perhaps I am a late developer. At the age of 35, I had my first pet dog, when my ACS students rescued 6 puppies from the Mangrove Swamp and brought them back to school for adoption. Now I love animals, especially dogs, and am ahem! quite a walking encyclopaedia on dogs! My dream is to go to Chengdu one day, and be a volunteer at the Panda Centre. How I long to hug a panda cub! My gosh! Life begins at 50!

I enjoy my work as a real estate agent and am one of my company's top agents. The Ministry of Education still called me up to do relief teaching which I had to decline so as to stay focused on my real estate work. Many students have approached me for private English tuition. I have also been asked to help set up and train cooks for an Italian restaurant! Since I am able to speak a number of languages and am a seasoned traveller, I have been offered a job as a tour guide by a travel agency! Now I have more job offers than I can handle! Gosh! Life begins at 50!

All these 50 years I have travelled to 37 countries. Most of these were by organised package tours, or they were visits to my relatives in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, and USA. Or they were mission trips organised by some churches and hence we were looked after by our missionaries in Nepal, Japan, China and Thailand. I had never travelled on my own. I had often admired people who travel on their own with a shoe string budget. I admire their courage to bump around on their own in a new country.


I never dreamed that at the age of 53 years and 10 days, I would do just that. My nephew in Taichung had requested me not to visit him in Taiwan last December because he was really busy, and he hoped I could visit at some later time. However I had already bought the air tickets and booked three days' hotel stay in Taipei. Hence I told him not to worry, as I would try and travel around on my own. I looked into the internet and found the Happy Family Hostel. On 22nd December 2006, I took the plane, not knowing if Happy Family Hostel really existed in Taipei! Thank God, it did. I had such a great time in Taipei, staying at the Hostel for a week, and meeting tourists from all over the world. I also met the hostel owner's girlfriend, Athena Lien, who is also an accomplished toastmaster. I enjoyed finding my way around Taiwan and sampling different types of food. What great liberty I enjoyed as an independent traveller as I could plan my own itinerary! My gosh! Life begins at 50!

While I was typing on the computer at the Happy Family Hostel, my chair and computer table shook, like the way furniture shook in the film, "Poltergeist"! I thought perhaps the hostel could be haunted. It was only the following day that I realised there was a severe earthquake at the southern part of Taiwan in Pingtung. It was my first experience of earthquake tremors. My gosh! Life begins at 50!

My Indonesian client, Mr. Komala said I am too frugal on myself when he heard of my hostel stay in Taiwan. Why spend so much on hotels when I am hardly in. Finally he understood me when I told him I went to Taiwan with one luggage but came back with four luggages! I could use the money I saved on expensive hotels to buy presents for my family and friends. I had a great time shopping in Taiwan for the things there are really interesting and cheap! The beautiful polka dot pumps I bought cost only S$5 but over here, they are sold at $23.90 per pair! Somehow, despite the excess baggage weight, I still managed to go through with all my four bags. It was such a joy to see the delight of my family and friends when they received their gifts from Taiwan. My gosh! Life begins at 50!

Since time immemorial, I have never been afraid to reveal my age, for I enjoy growing older, as I am always eager to meet my Creator. If Heaven is indeed such a wonderful place, why be afraid to go there? While I have life, let me live life to the fullest until the Creator takes me home. :-)

Gan Chau