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September 30, 2004
Travelling thoughts
Preparing for a long journey can have its hazards, writes Zainab Mahmood
It is amazing how children get excited about the smallest things. I like to think I’m the same as it takes very little to get me in high spirits. At this moment I am caught in a drama of painful tooth extractions (still reeling from the trauma), headaches, backaches, tears, confusion and sleepless nights, right before my little family of three is about to take off for a vacation.
We are the kind of people who believe in spontaneity, and yet my father is an absolute perfectionist and my mother absolutely wilful about handling things her way. Somewhere between the two, I manage to contribute, with my father hovering around, advising me on how to fold and pack the clothes, but whichever way I do it, in the end, my mother will redo it.
It is extremely hard to know when a potential disastrous situation is brewing as she frowns and leans over the suitcases. So over the years I’ve learned a few tricks. It is a fact that everyone’s fuses are shorter during the packing regiment, so it is not a good time to argue about small details. Because once the discussion begins, it leads to a barrage of emotions and lectures.
It’s as if you have opened one of those cupboards where you stuffed everything inside and have been planning to sort out, but you forgot and accidentally opened it only to find yourself bolted to the ground buried under a stack of useless things you know you should have thrown away.
Going abroad for a long trip is never easy because you never know how much you’ll need. If you choose economy then maybe you end up leaving behind what you need, and if you take too much you curse yourself when you have to drag it across the airports. I don’t look forward to the long walks from one end to another at Dubai airport! Who has designed these hi-tech architectural extravaganzas anyway? Can someone invent horizontal elevators please!
Trying out a new airline is always fun — new aircraft, new crew, new stopovers. What if there isn’t enough leg space, what if the overhead compartments are too small for my pull-on and what if I don’t like the food they serve? No need to work up a frenzy; to be honest, I generally don’t find much to complain about because I enjoy the flight part of a trip. Most people complain they can’t read or sleep or eat comfortably, or even use the facilities on a plane, but I have no such problems.
I find myself perfectly entertained by a good book or the movies and the music they play. But it can be a nightmare if you are stuck next to an unpleasant person. So far I have been lucky and had plenty of great conversations during these long-haul flights.
Now that the bags are packed and I have said my goodbyes to a few friends, I am ready to breathe the London air. I find myself tingling with excitement. Whenever you know you are going for a vacation, you get excited, and then come the tantrums, the packing frenzy, the stress of gifts to take, but right towards the end, you feel excitement brewing up again. I can almost taste the delicious sandwiches and the nutty cappuccino at the riverside cafe.
Going back to a place which I called home during my university years is a strange feeling. I am just going for a visit this time, the tables may have turned, but home will always feel like home. I can almost feel my warm thick duvet and smell my cinnamon incense. How much I miss that room, the view of the sparkling city from my balcony, my library down the street, my tube station and, most of all, my park. The picturesque park, home to exotic varieties of flowering trees strewn across winding pathways, where I spent many an undisturbed and fulfilling solitary hours.
There is so much to love about that city, but the fact is, with family and friends waiting impatiently for us to arrive, it’s the feeling of belonging which resounds in my mind again and again and I can’t help but beam with child-like enthusiasm. Despite all the chaos and confusion, the thought of having a break from the everyday routine is really exhilarating. Going for a vacation is certainly one of the best feelings in the world. I recommend it!
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