Upcoming Travel Plans

In my previous post, I mused on how I developed the love for travel (OK, obsession). I know I sure as heck didn’t get it from my parents. But I can’t pass by a world map or an atlas without stopping to give it a long look.

When you’re a kid, the world can seem very mysterious and foreign. That can either freak you out or get you interested in what it looked like over there, what are the people like? And there were a few spots on the atlas that no matter what the entries were in the encyclopedia, were still mysterious. And in a few weeks, I’m finally going to be able to see at least two of those places with my own eyes.

OK, so in today’s Internet-connected world, there are very few places that are still truly mysterious. I actually feel bad for today’s kids because they can get a Google Maps street view of pretty much anywhere and Instagram is stuffed with photos from places I honestly thought were figments of my imagination when I was a kid (I’m looking at you Bhutan, which still seems a bit otherworldly even after I saw the pictures; you’re on the list right after my company’s stock splits)…

My husband and I have our wedding anniversary coming up next month. I’ll be honest, there were times that I didn’t think we would make it to this point. And when our 10 year anniversary happened, I was in no mood to celebrate it – we were having problems, my leg was all sliced open from the excision, I had a job that was stressful and put too many demands on me in too few hours in the day. In short, I was in no mood to book, let alone take, the trip that I always thought would be our 10th anniversary trip. But fast forward a few years and one really good airfare sale and here we are.

We’re going to Dubai and then the Maldives. It seems a bit surreal even typing that. The Middle East still seems a bit incomprehensible to me and even though Dubai is the Vegas of the region, I know there is a bit of good culture shock that will happen (I hope). And the Maldives… look I know now they are the expensive resort islands but when I was a kid, no one knew anything about the Maldives. People didn’t even think that the Maldives were a real country whenever I mentioned it. To be able to get that stamp in my passport is literally a childhood dream come true. Granted, we’re also using hotel points to stay at a very, very nice resort (probably the nicest place I’ll ever stay in my life) so we’re not going to get the full experience of what everyday Maldivian life is like; but I’m still a bit crazy excited about it nonetheless. Overwater bungalows with a private plunge pool will make you a bit silly…

Yes, I hear you – but those places will expose you to a lot of sun. And I’m highly aware of that. I’m still trying to grapple with how I should chart my days to avoid the highest UV levels. Most of my checked bag will be sunscreen. I actually found some long-sleeved lightweight blouses last weekend and plan on digging my swim shirt out, if that counts for anything. And I know that I need to be cautious even while I’m out exploring. But I couldn’t cross these countries off my list of places to see. Without the joy of experiencing new places, I might as well have let the cancer won. And I can’t see that being the reason why it was caught early enough to let me still take these grand adventures.