During Myanmar’s colonial-British era, Maymyo — named “May Town” after Colonel May, then in charge of the 5th Light Infantry of the Bengal Army — offered a cool “hillside station” retreat from lowland Mandalay’s oppressive summer heat. Horses, ridden or pulling carriages, provided transportation to an environment more than a little reminiscent of home.

When the Mandalay-to-Maymyo railway was completed a few years after the station’s 1896 founding, Maymyo became the Burmese...

Lodging at hostels while globetrotting is becoming an increasingly popular trend among travelers ages 40 to 70. For a number of them, hosteling has even become a lifestyle, as opposed to just a travel style.

During a recent interview, friend and lifelong hosteler Merrilee Zellner shared her insights regarding the history and evolving status of the people, particularly seniors, who stay in hostels while traveling.

It became clear to me during our exchange that a discussion of...