8 Things I Miss About Travel During Stay At Home Due to COVID-19

Are you missing traveling as much as I do? The stay at home situation is teaching me not to take things for granted, including travel.

I have always loved traveling for as long as I can remember and I find that the best way to learn and grow yourself is to travel.

Photo clicked by me – Hong Islands- Krabi, Thailand.

Travel is something which helps you get out of your comfort zone and many a times I have had positive as well as negative experiences which have brought me out of my comfort zone, encouraged me to travel more and helped me to understand more about life.

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” -Gustav Flaubert

So here are 8 things I miss about travel:

1. The Anticipation

The feeling of anticipation I get, when I visit a new place for the first time, is something I am currently missing. It makes me hopeful and happy when I know I am going to visit a new place!

2. Last Minute Packing

This one is strange, since I NEVER have liked packing. Whether it is moving homes or countries or traveling, all of which I have done often, the one thing I absolutely don’t like is packing my stuff. Whenever I do travel, my packing is almost always done last minute, since I cannot make up my mind completely before that 😀 So I always am rushing to pack my bags, last moment, every single time, which annoys my husband very much since he is quite a meticulous planner. 😀

Strangely enough, ever since I am at home, I am missing packing my bags and going to discover some place new. I miss the last minute rush and craziness of it all!

3. The Culture & People

I am a people’s person and I love discovering new places and different cultures and I like to interact with the local people and observe them. I find each travel experience teaches me something new and helps me broaden my horizons. This is one of the primary reasons I love traveling, since it teaches me so much about the world!

4. Airports

I love airports and the sense of being in transit and the vibe of it all. I really enjoy having a cup of tea/coffee before I board the plane and I love to observe people as they rush through to different destinations.

In fact, I am one of the few people who loves a longer transit time in between flights. Of course, not all airports are that interesting or well developed, so it also depends on the airport whether I enjoy my time there or not.

My favourite airport is of course Singapore Airport. There is absolutely no competition there! I haven’t heard of or seen a more creative and interesting airport than Singapore Airport! The next one which I like is Mumbai International Airport!

5. Nature

Whenever I travel, I make it a point to visit some scenic place. I love connecting with nature. The lush green trees, the chirping birds and the ache I get when I walk too much. I feel calm and refreshed and energetic connecting with nature. I miss that feeling right now.

Also, I am a sea person and like they say, I need a dose of ‘vitamin sea’ when I travel. Watching the waves, feeling the sun and wind on your skin and the sand underneath my feet, is an incomparable feeling.

I miss my dose of nature & sea!

6. The excitement of being in a place for the first time

The thrill of going to a new place for the first time, being amazed at the new things I tumble upon and the feeling of wonder on discovering something new, I miss that.

7. Photos

How obvious is this one!! Every girl likes getting clicked and so do I. For me though, my love for photos extends beyond myself. I love to capture the food, the place, the people, nature and everything else that I can, in my photos. I love capturing photos since photos are memories for me. Memories I cherish and I wish to treasure.

I also love sorting out the unwanted photos on my phone and keeping the good ones. For me, travel and photography go hand in hand and any place I travel to, is incomplete without photos!

8. Coming Home

Although, I love traveling much more than an average person, I also love the feeling of coming back home. Home is like a safe space for most of us, isn’t it? I love coming back home enriched with wonderful experiences and a new perspective on life. Unwinding at home after travel is a great feeling and I miss it.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

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These are a few things I miss about traveling. As I write this, I feel the urge to travel again!

I hope that we all overcome the Coronavirus Pandemic and are able to travel, make new friends, collect more memories and learn more about each other!

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

When was the last time you traveled & where?

What are things you miss about travel?

The “Aunty” syndrome – Are you suffering from it?

The last time I recalled my age, I cringed a bit. After all, I am a woman in my late twenties. I am supposed to have it all figured out in my life and whatever else people are supposed to do at this age.

I became an “aunty” for kids, way back in my early twenties. The first time I was called an “aunty” by some school kid, I was a bit taken aback. I mean, one doesn’t expect school kids to call you an aunt when you are barely in your early twenties, being silly, attending college and trying to be cool 😛 😀

Through the years, I have heard this term being used to describe someone: “Oh look at her, behaves like an aunty at this age” or ” look at her, she’s an aunty trying to look young by dressing like that. She should just accept she’s old now” or even “She’s a typical aunty who cooks and does household chores all day” or perhaps teenagers discussing among themselves “Oh why are you being such an auntie, chill mahn!”

I am sure each one of you who is reading this article has heard similar phrases in some context or the other. In fact most of us are guilty of using this term or word to describe someone.

In India, I guess people originally started using the words “behenji” (sister) and “aunty” to give respect to women, since we Indians have this tradition of giving respect to people and especially our elders.

In today’s times however, I find that these exact words are used to demean a woman. They are usually used in a derogatory context or with disdain or contempt. Quite completely opposite of what the words actually stand for. The word “aunty” has a negative connotation these days. It’s used so casually to describe somebody or someone and make fun of them, that most of us don’t even think about it.

When a woman wears traditional clothes or doesn’t do what her peers usually do, like say partying, she automatically becomes a “behenji” for her choices and attire.

And most of the times, it is women who are judging other women and calling them “aunties” Why blame men, ladies, when you judge other women yourself?

Similarly, when a woman dresses in a sari or is married or has had kids or even turns a particular age, in somebody’s eyes, she automatically becomes an aunt. This kind of perception has been so deeply ingrained into our psyches, yours, mine, your neighbor’s and everyone else’s. The media, the advertisements, the movies, Bollywood especially, have all kind of ingrained this “Aunty Syndrome” in our heads.

No sooner than we hear the words, we conjure an image up in our heads and if someone calls us an “aunty” either feel hurt, or get angry or end up feeling that we lack something. We judge ourselves. That’s what happened to me when I was called an “auntie” for the first time. I was suffering from the “Aunty Syndrome”

I understand where this image of “auntyness” comes from. It started because middle aged ladies were not as open minded or understanding towards the younger generation, which of course still happens. I too am against such kind of mentality and behaviour. These women (and men) are extremely critical of the choices of the generations younger than them and label them wrong for their lifestyle choices, their attire, their habits, etc. Here I will say, yes, these set of women do need to change their views, be more understanding, stop gossiping and learn to keep up with the current times.

But that does not justify judging people and labelling them as an “aunty” in a negative context for their attire or thoughts.

If you do that, is there a difference between you and that “orthodox auntie” you don’t like?

It’s just two different people being judgemental, negative and labelling each other.

I am not trying to preach here (okay maybe a little bit 😛 ) but mostly, I am writing this because of my personal experiences. I am as guilty of judging people, especially mentally, even if I may not have verbalized those thoughts at most instances, thinking they should or shouldn’t be doing certain things and realizing how wrong I was, until I reached the age they used to be.

What most people don’t realize is age is just a number. Just because a woman (or a man for that matter) reaches a certain age, doesn’t mean one cannot do certain things or “should be” doing certain things. There is always going to be someone older and someone younger than us. Everything is relative.

I have come to realize that life is a journey, we are not perfect and we are all making our own set of mistakes, learning new things and having different experiences.

Judging someone and calling them an “aunty” is the easiest thing to do. What is not easy is having an open mind and trying to be accommodating of other people’s choices. (I myself am working on it :D) It’s every individual’s choice to live however they want to and until and unless they don’t impact your life or harm people in any way, how does it matter whether you like their dressing sense or not, agree with their view or not?

The world is full of people with views that may not align with ours. And that’s okay. That’s it. It’s just okay, to be yourself and to let others be themselves.

As of today, I don’t mind anybody calling me anything. Aunty, grandmother, sister or whatever the heck they want to.

I am past that stage of my early twenties, where I allowed people’s opinion to define me or my life.

I am not against the words “aunty” and “behenji”; I just wish that the way these words are percieved and used, changes. I want the negative image attached to these words to go away.

That’s it for now.

Do check with yourself whether you are suffering from the “Aunty Syndrome” As you know, it’s quite contagious. You can keep yourself in check by not describing anyone you don’t like as an “auntie” Atleast; try. 😀

Hope you found this topic worth pondering upon.

I m going to log off and be busy being a “cool” aunty to some kid 😛

Till the next post,

Dream. Imagine. Be Crazy. Be You.