Could it be that why we look forward to traveling goes far beyond our exploration of a new or favorite city? Perhaps what we subconsciously (or secretly) crave and anticipate are all the ways the less glamorous aspects of travel make us feel coddled.
We may not realize it but the nuts ‘n’ bolts of our journey—the routine packing, commuting, hotel-staying—are all a series of seemingly perfunctory steps in which our comfort and all our needs are actually attended to. Like having a personal travel genie, it’s like all our wishes are fulfilled on a magic carpet ride.
Yes, we may lament these logistical aspects of travel- ironically– but as summer travels approach, we’ve come to realize that perhaps we secretly take pleasure in:
Is it drudgery? Or a dreamy and intimate capsule in time? Well, most definitely it’s a skill. To choose which few pieces mix and match so that various looks can be created for day and night is not so simple. But the process of choosing is a curious exploration and brings us to dreamily anticipate our dinners out and the people we’ll see. It also brings us to anticipate all our new findings, which always somehow feel exotic no matter how accessible they may be back home.
You can hate them, you can love them. Some of us never get over the ridiculous irregularities among the security checks of different airports. Some require we take off our sneakers and take out all our liquids. Other airports, none of the above. But deep down, maybe a part of us secretly loves to huff and puff and express our annoyance over the whole bit. And once it’s all packed up again and our shoes and belongings are all back in place, our content re-emerges and we can happily march on to the duty-free store and newsstand.
And on our merry way, how happy are we to then lose all responsibility for direction. Even for just a moment as we wander off, towards or away from our gate.
People watching. Mindless, relaxing, therapeutic people-watching, and maybe even some story-telling about them in our curious heads. Leafing through glossy fashion and gossipy magazines, and Vanity Fair. And Sudoku. Things we only do while waiting at the gate.
Long hours. Short hours. Either way, sitting in a confined space for hours can be a relief. A fresh break. We are out of the context of our daily lives, and exceedingly limited in what we can do, so pressure to do anything vanishes completely. The relentless need to check messages and emails, to call, to talk, to move, to do…. Poof! Gone. What a glorious excuse to disconnect, unwind, and sit with ourselves—quietly—or even (unheard of!) zone out, for longer than we ever would in our day-to-day routines. Ah and the call button. This is luxury.
And what about our endearing rituals on flight? Rituals are important. Maybe it’s a Tito’s vodka and V8 bloody mary. Maybe the only time we ever drink a bloody mary is up in the air. Maybe it’s rolling up a magazine page and absentmindedly poking your hubby’s ear from the row behind.
Riding in a cab or uber in a different city can feel like being chauffeured around. We look out the window, interested, fascinated or perplexed, and somehow, even if we’ve visited the city multiple times, it always feels exhilarating.
Living days or weeks with only a minimum of clothing, accessories, toiletries, and our things is an ultimate luxury, actually. Having all the belongings we need (for a short period of time) packed into a suitcase can be so refreshing in this age of clutter and having way more than we could ever need. Less choices to make. More time to discover and feel free.
There’s also something about traveling thousands of miles—to finally sit in a hotel lobby. We might sit as we wait to check in, wait to check out, wait for a taxi. But it can be blissful. We prepare hours in advance—reserving, booking, packing, waiting at gates, flying, taxiing—and it all comes to a gracious halt when we find ourselves finally and serenely sitting in the hotel lobby. If the same hotel were just down the block from us back home, we might not enjoy plopping ourselves in the lobby so much or even think it’s so great. But after all the preparation and travel, somehow it feels like a reward.
We can’t deny the eager longing and titillating 45-minute anticipation of the knock on the door when room service finally arrives… or rushing to get ready in the morning to see what hopefully delightful (despite many times disappointing) offerings we can indulge in at the breakfast buffet… and yes, plane food too as it finally reaches our aisle is (strangely) a delightful torment. We know all too well the food will likely bring a grimace to our face. But then again, there’s always happy fizzing cheap champagne. And let’s not deny the pleasure of the stewards button and how with only a simple press, water, snacks, answers to our flight questions and solutions to any of our discomforts are all immediately attended to by a magic carpet genie.
