A decade in the making
Holidays can sometimes be a bitch to plan. BUT I am quite-the-excited (I tend to turn SGean at the weirdest times) about the upcoming vacation! Or rather Sheikh-a-tion! WOOT!
It's oh-so-easy to just speculate on a grand trip and envision the places you can go and all the amazing things you want to do and see while you are on this amazing journey. It is quite another thing when you hardly have the time to sit down and plan. The trip takes on a whole new dimension when you are planning it when both parties are not in the same location.
Case in point: the Great Sheikh-a-tion. Destination: Spain. Travel buddy: my sister. ETT: about two weeks to kick-off. It took almost 10 years to happen and very nearly didn't. Our friends are kind of right, saying that it's unusual for the both of us to travel because we both have our own circle of friends. But I say that you should travel with as many friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, family members (if you can stand them) and just about anyone, at least once. It is about the adventure and learning more about others :) You also learn about who and what you can tolerate. Heh.
Actually, compared to last year's South American jaunt, this one seems much easier to plan, especially once we go the dates sorted out. The problem with last year's trip was that we were all so busy with our jobs that we hardly had time to think about things until we landed in Rio.
This time, all it took were a couple of Skype calls and crazy emails to sort things out. Stuff like the attractions we want to see, any sort of food indulgences, do we want to party? That was a surprising no, from both sides. I should say that it is quite cool when you are both on agreement with a few things:
Case in point: the Great Sheikh-a-tion. Destination: Spain. Travel buddy: my sister. ETT: about two weeks to kick-off. It took almost 10 years to happen and very nearly didn't. Our friends are kind of right, saying that it's unusual for the both of us to travel because we both have our own circle of friends. But I say that you should travel with as many friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, family members (if you can stand them) and just about anyone, at least once. It is about the adventure and learning more about others :) You also learn about who and what you can tolerate. Heh.
Actually, compared to last year's South American jaunt, this one seems much easier to plan, especially once we go the dates sorted out. The problem with last year's trip was that we were all so busy with our jobs that we hardly had time to think about things until we landed in Rio.
This time, all it took were a couple of Skype calls and crazy emails to sort things out. Stuff like the attractions we want to see, any sort of food indulgences, do we want to party? That was a surprising no, from both sides. I should say that it is quite cool when you are both on agreement with a few things:
- We are travel nerds. We won't just see all the attractions but also look out for interesting litttle finds
- Shopping will be kept to a as-needed basis. It's not a priority for either one of us
- Getting lost is also fun. Well, not literally lost but the experience of wandering around places far outweighs the need to stick to a mad schedule
- Princess who? While there will be no 5-star hotels on this trip, there sure as hell won't be any hostels where we have to bunk in with fellow weirdos
- Good food and wine makes us happy. There is nothing more delightful than just walking into some random place to eat or drink if you think it is interesting. I love my fancy times too but sometimes the best indulgences are to be found by your nose or through some random person you happened to chat with.
I am quite bloody relieved that for once, I don't have to speed through some event, throw my stuff together and literally hop a plane for this trip. God knows, I was hardly in any sort of anticipation for my last couple of trips due to all sorts of stresses. The countdown begins now!
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