Vacations are highly underrated. And I am saying this for legit reasons. We took a vacation recently. We here refers to my sister and me. Our family doesn’t take vacations seriously. I mean we understand their importance but don’t take the requisite efforts of meticulously planning one. But this one happened. I think it all happens when you need it the most. Just like all the things in life. We had a traumatic 2016 and 2017 started with a scare too. But nevertheless after all the contemplation and anxiety, we took the step. Are we glad we did it? Absolutely.
It was a stressful task since it was just the two of us. For starters, we had to convince our birth givers. In their opinion, our protection is just like guarding the nuclear codes. This was our first solo trip and it turned out to be pretty amazing. The part we loved the most was that of playing “The Travelers”. My sister always tells me there is a fine line between a Tourist and a Traveler. This trip helped me understand what she meant in the true sense. Along our journey there were times when we were lost. We were confused. But we made it a point to find our way back to the destination. Just like most situations in life. Isn’t it about finding our way back always? Making it home?
Admittedly, directions are not our forte but it was the ability to make it back home every time we were lost. We had agreed with our birth givers that they would be funding our travelling costs and rest of it would be our responsibility. We did regret this decision later when we had to say no to that 5th macaroon at Laduree but never mind our waistlines heaved a sigh of relief that day. Unlike most people, our itinerary was all about good food. We had been to a place that served authentic Lebanese cuisine. The host at the hotel was one of the prime reasons why I decided I needed to write about this trip. His smile was warm and welcoming. He stopped by our table and took our order. He asked about our origins. Turns out he was a huge fan of India. His face lit up when he mentioned Amitabh Bachchan was his favorite actor. Innocent and childlike.
I remember the first time we took the metro. We decided to take a random station and explore it. We must have bugged our co-passengers by asking a million times if we were in the right train. We walked around till our legs gave up. We were just happy being all on our own. The family we were living with made it a point that we never missed ours back home. We used to have dinners together. They would ask how our day was and we would listen to them tell us about how the city transformed over the years and all about their lives. We would laugh like retards, watch scary movies together.
Our host made our vacation extra special. He would have a hectic day at work yet find time to show us around. He would argue with us over the check. He would come to our room first thing in the morning and help us decide the schedule. He pampered us rotten. Some people make you feel like family and those bonds stay forever. On our last day, he was still making sure if we wanted to leave and not consider postponing our return. A special mention to our food soulmate. We met this gent on a trek last year. Since then, he had moved to the city we were visiting and decided to catch up. The very first day we landed, he took us out for dinner. I have not seen a single soul get as excited as he does when the good arrives. We have decided that he will be soon adopted by our parents since the love we share for food is unfathomable. All our outings concentrated over exploring a cheesecake or burger place. We would stuff ourselves with amazing food but later crib about not having the desired physiques. He would tell us about how it feels to move from your hometown, the adjustments, the loneliness that seldom engulfs him even when he is in a room full of people. He said he misses those familiar faces. All we could do was listen and try understand the perils of moving. For us, it was a luxury. To move to another country and make it your home.
On the flight back, we were gloomy. We chose to watch our individual choice of movies but ended up watching the same one. We were sobbing but it had nothing to do with the movie. We were sad that our little adventure was over. We were sad that we would have to be back to the routine. I think that happens to people who vacation after too long. We realized we hated our current life situations and it was time we took charge. We are still dealing with our share but every time we think of this adventure, we only have this one thing on our mind, gratitude.
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