My rejuvenating trip to Assam and Meghalaya last November made me realize that just a week’s travel can do wonders to the mind and soul.
And unlike previous years where I always planned travel at the last minute, this year one of my resolutions is to be a little more smart about it. The idea is to decide in advance on travel plans so that I am not caught napping when vacation time comes and prices are sky-high.
I didn’t travel much in the past couple of years – there are a couple of reasons for this. One being that my father-in-law who lives with us, is growing increasingly frail. If we go on family holidays, it is becoming difficult to take him with us. Another reason is my kids’ social activities and interests. Most holidays, my daughter is pre-occupied with school camps, sports, and other activities. Even if I do book a holiday with both the kids, their interests are completely different. This I discovered to my dismay during our family holiday in Chennai last week.
Snubnose is increasingly into shopping and urban activities, while Piglet hates the mall, and wants to go somewhere quiet. She likes to be on the go from morn to night, he likes to do only a couple of things and then get back home. All this makes traveling with both of them very tricky indeed.
In addition, they are in different schools with very different calendars. In 2018, they won’t even have the same holiday calendar, so forget about going on a holiday together, they may not even have enough time to play quietly at home with each other even 🙁 .
With all these things in mind, I have given up on family holidays for the next couple of years. Instead, after my super-successful and enjoyable solo trip to Assam and Meghalaya last November, K and I decided that it might be better to have solo trips and trips with one or both kids only. This would ensure that there is always an adult on hand with my father-in-law at home. And also ensure that we are not struggling hard to please everybody in the family (and not really pleasing anybody) during a vacation. Travel in general is expensive, and it seems a shame to drag the entire family on an outing that only one or two people would enjoy. Some time back we had planned a family trip to Egypt (which Snubnose and I wanted to go), but dropped it when we saw Piglet and K (who are not into history) were just not interested.
So, this year, K and I plan to have one individual travel alone each to places that interest us. And maybe a shorter trip that would interest either one or both kids.
From my side, I have already bookmarked the July 4th week for one solo travel that I am excited about. I don’t want to talk too much about it now as I don’t want to jinx anything, but I already discussed with a few people, and it looks like it’s definitely going to happen.
I am also in the middle of planning something for the kids. I am researching air tickets for a quick getaway to Hyderabad during one of the long weekends. The flights aren’t long, or expensive, and Hyderabad is a place they’ve never been. The hotels in Hyderabad are also reasonably priced. There’s enough history and street shopping for Snubnose, and for Piglet there will be go-karting and safari. K or I will take them (most probably me as I am the firmer parent). It’s not ideal as a family vacation but it beats listening to the whining of the kids bored at home.
I am also planning a trip to Andamans later in the year – a place both kids will genuinely enjoy.
What about you? Have you already started planning travels for 2018? Where do you plan to go? And if you have kids, how do you deal with warring kids with completely different interests? Do share in the comments.
