Travel Companions (The Good & the Ugly)

Just came back from a weekend with my cousins and relatives. It was a pretty awesome way to spend the new year holiday. It felt a little weird as I wasn’t expecting to travel anywhere this period of time with mum still undergoing treatment, but since it was just for the weekend and only across the causeway, I went ahead with the trip.

We had always dreaded all the previous years that my Aunt had "strongly encouraged" us to join, the kids all felt it was a boring weekend with really nothing better to do at the resort, there was no WiFi (should be included in Mas-low's Hierarchy of needs) and we had to go along very much with what the adults wanted to do - which till date still remains as shopping. This time though, we managed to round up enough of the cousins and also had activities that we managed to slot in! There were enough little pockets of time that we spent bonding over go-karting, games, food, golf, watching movies and just chatting over wine & chips to make the trip a great time together. I really enjoyed my time with the cousins even though we weren’t out counting down the new year or having a party. We watched some simple fireworks from the balcony before cosying around the sofas to finish the movie we were watching earlier. Then we went to bed. That was how I ended my 2017 and begun my 2018.

I’ve never been too keen to travel with the large group family as they always take the tours, or even if it was self-planned, still too large a group to manage. Besides that, traveling with the older generation in my family is really quite a headache. While the cousins are all very savvy, flexible and easy-going, the parents are panicky, stress-inducers, confused at times and pretty ridiculous when it comes to certain things. I’ve joined my family trip a few times so that pretty much sums up how exciting it can be.

Everyone hopes to have the right kind of travel companions but for me that’s something that is even more important! I’m really picky when it comes to a travel companion. I’m really organized, careful and a planner when it comes to the travel administrative parts, but I’m also more adventurous and spontaneous once I'm there - choosing to relax and also go with the flow. It’s hard to find people that travel my backpacking, local-culture focused style. It’s also hard to find travel companions that will not irk you at every turn.

My cousins are a great bunch and we have plenty of laughter & fun while we’re out - but even then not everyone will enjoy a trip if I do all the planning because we all have our own likes and dislikes! There have been other occasions though where my travel companions have been a nuisance throughout the holiday. I won't even start listing what are my pet peeves, as I'm sure you have your own. What does apply in general is that its probably not the easiest to travel with a group of people larger than 4-5, when everyone has their own stubborn choices, when there are inexperienced travelers and when people spend more time talking than listening.

The best kind of travel group would be 3-4, when everyone is experienced with solo travel at least once, when they are adventurous, likes to have fun and yet willing to make sacrifices for the group. This isn't to say everyone should just have no opinion as that would make dining decisions a nightmare! Let's just say, we need to have preferences but make allowances.

In the end, it's really about having the right attitude towards your trip, for if you all want something different out of the trip - then it might have been better if you all went on separate journeys.