How does one prepare for a trip?
Do you go to TripAdvisor and likely sites? Be surrounded by brochures from your pot bellied travel agent and go crazy finding your mobile phone amongst all those papers? Always wait for the phone to ring from your cousin who went to Greece but is not saying whether there was political unrest or not?
I am going on a vacation with my nuclear family ( I am in touch with all the news). And I am preparing personally by getting in shape...for ...umm...capris to fit in so that I can look holidayish enough for my size 10 friends and decent enough for my size 16 conservative cousins who may report my never-gonna-happen sarong wrapped beach photo to my pokey nosed relatives. So I am on treadmill half hour everyday. And as I walk,I think what am I gonna do.
Do I just go and discover places randomly and spend maybe carelessly? I am a little reluctant to do that coz we have just started saving and I do not want to have badly-done-botox looks later on when I stand beside an ATM machine. Did I also say that I am on sabbatical from work now? (cooler version of unemployed or housewife)
Or maybe I can nerdly read up on travel reviews and note down good places and things to do on yellow sheets with 'shopping places' underlined twice in red ink and then report back to my nuclear family and do exactly like those pre-travellers did...including taking a pic with the hotel bellboy.
How spontaneous is spontaneous enough for a travel plan? Is there a degree to follow or a not to for that matter? Its become a norm to click pics by sunset with some people gobbling the sun or a fish or others hugging an old lady but do not even keep in touch with their own grandmothers.
As far as I understand and have observed,we travel for others more than we do for ourselves. We never really let a wave sink in but hurry to take a pic so that we can Instagram it so that we can enter it into the 'Never before seen a wave' pic contest. Yes pics are important but so is the awareness of the moment.
How many of us have felt peace looking at simple green trees on vacation which were otherwise invisible to us on our way to work? Have you ever let yourself be distracted by a sunset without trying to invade its privacy by the many pixels of your cam?
Travel is like zen. You travel to take a break from your routine mundane unimaginative life. If your senses sleep even on vacation and are slaves to social media,SLR and 'listed places to see' then tell your boss you will happily work from the pyramids of Egypt. Don't forget to blog about it too before the camels come running and interrupt your sales report.
Now excuse me while I spoil the enjoyment of my walking by counting the calories I spent.
Do you go to TripAdvisor and likely sites? Be surrounded by brochures from your pot bellied travel agent and go crazy finding your mobile phone amongst all those papers? Always wait for the phone to ring from your cousin who went to Greece but is not saying whether there was political unrest or not?
I am going on a vacation with my nuclear family ( I am in touch with all the news). And I am preparing personally by getting in shape...for ...umm...capris to fit in so that I can look holidayish enough for my size 10 friends and decent enough for my size 16 conservative cousins who may report my never-gonna-happen sarong wrapped beach photo to my pokey nosed relatives. So I am on treadmill half hour everyday. And as I walk,I think what am I gonna do.
Do I just go and discover places randomly and spend maybe carelessly? I am a little reluctant to do that coz we have just started saving and I do not want to have badly-done-botox looks later on when I stand beside an ATM machine. Did I also say that I am on sabbatical from work now? (cooler version of unemployed or housewife)
Or maybe I can nerdly read up on travel reviews and note down good places and things to do on yellow sheets with 'shopping places' underlined twice in red ink and then report back to my nuclear family and do exactly like those pre-travellers did...including taking a pic with the hotel bellboy.
How spontaneous is spontaneous enough for a travel plan? Is there a degree to follow or a not to for that matter? Its become a norm to click pics by sunset with some people gobbling the sun or a fish or others hugging an old lady but do not even keep in touch with their own grandmothers.
As far as I understand and have observed,we travel for others more than we do for ourselves. We never really let a wave sink in but hurry to take a pic so that we can Instagram it so that we can enter it into the 'Never before seen a wave' pic contest. Yes pics are important but so is the awareness of the moment.
How many of us have felt peace looking at simple green trees on vacation which were otherwise invisible to us on our way to work? Have you ever let yourself be distracted by a sunset without trying to invade its privacy by the many pixels of your cam?
Travel is like zen. You travel to take a break from your routine mundane unimaginative life. If your senses sleep even on vacation and are slaves to social media,SLR and 'listed places to see' then tell your boss you will happily work from the pyramids of Egypt. Don't forget to blog about it too before the camels come running and interrupt your sales report.
Now excuse me while I spoil the enjoyment of my walking by counting the calories I spent.
Pic courtesy - communitypowerworks
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