Are we there yet?
Is preparing for a holiday two and a half months before you set off for it too early? Should I stop obsessively reading about the country (I’ve been there before). Can I buy my new swimsuit now? Is it time to replace the modest black one I’ve been wearing for some years now (purchased at George in Asda, in the children’s schoolwear section) and at least pretend to be sexy?
We’ve booked our holiday for this year in May and we’re itching to take off despite the long hours we’ll spend flying. To think I looked forward to plane journeys when I was a child, as if I’d been given something better than chocolate cake, and now just think of them as wearisome hurdles to be overcome as soon as possible.
When we dropped R1 off at the airport a couple of months ago, I said to A that I just wanted to get on a plane and take off to somewhere warm with good food. It’s that feeling airports can give you sometimes, of wanting to depart. He agreed.
A, as a young man, or should I say younger man (when we couldn’t afford our annual holiday) didn’t show much interest at all, or at least didn’t let on to me, that he was interested in old monuments, or in spending hours walking around them, examining minute details. He seemed to be more interested in climbing mountains and in cool, rainy weather.
The teenage me would worry about us as adults ten years hence and the difference in our interests. I would imagine me walking around old temple ruins or lying on beaches alone while he would be busy on his computer with some math in a gray climate. I needn’t have worried. The man has had more energy than I could ever summon on our historic monument trips. One afternoon in Angkor I just collapsed and said I had to sleep (it takes me three days to get over jet lag 
) and could not go visit a certain temple, though it had something very unique about it. But he went and came back with exquisite photographs, all fired up about its beauty, waking me up to tell me about it. We are also agreed that we both love the sea and swimming in it.
The only thing we don’t seem to do together is exploring cities. I love cities, and I like walking around them and getting a feel of urban areas in different countries. But it is also nice to spend time alone on holiday (have done some of my best bargain shopping like this, uninterrupted) and pursue your own interests without worrying whether your partner is getting bored. Thus, when we were in countryside outside Yogyakarta visiting Borobudur, I took a day off to explore Yogya (not enough) and to attend a classical Javanese dance and Gamelan performance of some scenes from the Ramayana (lovely), in the Sultan”s Kraton, while A went on a hike and met a chicken.
that sounds cool.
i like the concept of exploring a bit on your own. i take off with zero or one kid (usually the older one) for at least a fraction of the holiday.
Where are you going, Ra?
I used to be worried about me and Pete going on holiday because we’re such different people – he likes to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and unwind (preferably on a warm beach). Me, I’m hyper on holiday – I get up at 6 a.m and want to be out and about, looking at things and buildings and local people and all! We’ve come to an arrangement now – he’s allowed to sleep in while I go and potter about on my own, then we have a leisurely breakfast (or brunch, or lunch, whatever) together and after that the rest of the day is all according to my plan. He takes over again in the evening once the sunlight’s all gone
Works for us! 
Heh heh, I like to sleep in too, but have started making an effort to get up early, esp on holidays, because I like to go about looking at things as well. We’re going to Indonesia again, exploring a part we didn’t get to spend too much time in last time.
Going on a holiday with incompatible company can be a disaster, especially if you happen to be in a group. Personally, I try to avoid the “cover all the points” guys who are interested only in marking attendance in one location, before moving on to another…
Have a great holiday!
I’m too old for group holidays…! And I can’t stand the “cover everything but notice nothing” approach either.
I just ranted on a friend’s post about how Nino’s Dad and I want different vacations from one single trip. I seriously like Shyam’s idea!
part of the balm and the charm.
And Ra, it’s never too early to start preparing for the holiday
Thanks, i like that rhyming quote!
I also LOVE to read up – obsessively, like you – about a place that I am going to visit – and then bore my companions with a steady stream of trivia when we are there! Shyam’s idea is the best – instead of resentfully dragging yourself along to places/activities you have no interest in, it’s best for each person to do a little something on their own for a bit. I personally find that being together all the time can get quite stifling (of course this might be because I’ve been married a long, long time; more recently wed people will think differently!) – I need time alone, to read, sleep, walk, sulk, whatever.
Enjoy the vacation!
You sound just like me! A and I seem to have found a happy compromisein doing things together and on our own…I need time alone to doa ll of the things you mentioned and so does he!
Nope, it’s never to early to plan and plot. The incredible thing is that our kids have the same itchy feet as us. They look at a plane and they want to be on it!
I hope you have loads and loads of fun!