Travels with Friends

It’s true that spending time with one’s grown up kids is like being with the best version of oneself. The only thing that comes close is spending time with friends. Especially travelling with friends.

A couple of years ago, I got lucky enough to visit some places with friends. That got me hooked on to two things: 1) travelling and 2) travelling with friends. The entire experience is memorable, right from deciding a place to planning the trip to deciding the itinerary. So much so that the actual trip is just an extension to all that has happened before. This is one experience where getting there is as much fun as being there.

Travelling with friends takes all the pressure off managing the nitty-gritty that is a necessary but tiresome part of going from one place to another. Someone takes care of something and everything gets done by everyone. And it’s so reassuring to know that you’re not going to have to deal with anything by yourself. All the aggravation will get distributed. It’s a bit like being on a relay team- there’s always someone to take over from you and the best part is that nobody cares about a podium finish. It’s all about having a good time. Period.

Another good thing is that with friends is the ebb and flow of conversation. There are comfortable silences, interspersed with animated chatter and plenty of laughter. And if you travel frequently with the same friends then chances are that you’ll never run out of things to say even when you’re in the same Old Age facility 30 years later. Only most of your sentences will begin with “Remember when…?” and neither of you are likely to remember exactly when or what. Result: you will be talking about the same thing several times and neither of you will get bored because you’ve heard it before. Now that’s a real win-win!

When you’re travelling with friends, each one plays to her strengths. The one who is good at maths takes over the calculations, another who knows how to bargain, handles the negotiations while shopping and the one who can speak the language will do the talking. Nowadays it’s always good to travel with a multi-lingual group; you never know which language will come in useful at what point.

Of course, the best part about travelling with friends is the sharing. For me, the two most important things that I need to share are – food and feedback about public washrooms, not necessarily in that order. Food because we’re all at that age where our capacity to consume edibles is much smaller than the desire to do so. It’s also an advantage when different people order different dishes and everyone gets to taste a bit of it all. Washrooms because not every public loo will have a door with a latch or a light or a hook to hang one’s bag from. Hence, a washroom buddy is a must. A washroom buddy is invaluable, a treasure. Here’s a pic of all us buddies- washrooms and otherwise!

And this is why, in the journey of life, I look forward to many journeys with friends. May we share experiences make memories and may we never run out of “Remember whens….” to start our conversations!