This is brilliant Vicki, and although I don’t travel quite in this way there is so much I can relate to. In my youth, travel held everything we imagine it would - anticipation, adventure, excitement. I worked in travel and aviation for over 2 decades, and whilst my yearning to experience other cultures has not waned, my attitude to travel has changed significantly. I notice how it can now make me anxious, how packing is something I dread, how I love being home. How I feel somehow less safe than I used to ‘on the road’ whilst simultaneously wiser and more secure. How I have lost some senses of freedom whilst gaining others. I wonder if it’s entwined with my developing sense of mortality...
This is such interesting food for thought. Thank you for sharing - and the pics are wonderful. I want to know what is behind that green door... 💕
Yes, that's it - losing some freedoms while gaining others. It's a complex business, aging and maturity! As for the green door, you have now put Shakin' Stevens in my head - remember him??? 😂
I have also learned to travel/enjoy travel in different ways as an adult. After covid i got v nervous travelling alone and I lost any joy it had for me but I slowly have re discovered that although it was a process.
You’re well & truly over your jetlag some 5 months later... when I go to the northern hemisphere (which I last did in 2019) I fly no more than 8 hours per day & have a night off between. I’m in Melbourne so Singapore-Dubai-London is my usual. I aim to arrive after lunch at final destination and stay up till at least 8pm. I get a transit hotel room and usually a swim and a massage at each stop. Its expensive but means I arrive in the best possible shape and mostly on local time the morning after my arrival. Better yet I waste little or no time in bleary recovery once I’m there and remember it all later! My nervous system almost looks forward to transit now - 2 aimless days when noone can reach me and there is nothing productive to do.
It evolved over a few years of experimenting. Some people love it, others find it more stressful if they’re fans of the 19hr direct flight. Its a lot cheaper than business class. Good luck on your next trip.
As I prep for a 2 week stint back in the UK, fitting in family, friends, sights, memories, nostalgia and avoiding Christmas shopping (while feeling guilty I don't want to buy gifts for everyone while over there) SO much of this resonates. The anxiety of packing the right clothing, anticipation of the travel pieces all needing to align, jetlag, no privacy once I'm there... but it will all be worth it :-) It helps to know that I'm not alone in wondering what happened to the joy of travel as a youth! But I can choose to find that part of me and let it have its fun too!
Such beautiful, useful places of practice, Vicki. Even travelling close to home (like, to the grocery store) is often jarring for me. And yet, I do find refuge inside when I remember to look and to turn towards it. Wishing you a lovely homecoming!
I can certainly relate to your travel reluctance Vicki - it all seems much harder and more risky than it used to. So much "hurry up and wait!" Yet, as you say, travel reminds us that there is a lot more going on in the world that we can ever know about. I find that both comforting and a bit humbling. It makes me want to GO and to STAY PUT at the same time :D
Sep 26, 2023·edited Sep 26, 2023Liked by Dr Vicki Connop
It's not quite on the same level, but I wrote something similar about daily travel some months ago. Perhaps it will resonate with you. Funnily enough, its genesis was my then 12-year-old grandson (now 13) pondering his appreciation of travel time. See https://arichardson.substack.com/p/travel-time
This is brilliant Vicki, and although I don’t travel quite in this way there is so much I can relate to. In my youth, travel held everything we imagine it would - anticipation, adventure, excitement. I worked in travel and aviation for over 2 decades, and whilst my yearning to experience other cultures has not waned, my attitude to travel has changed significantly. I notice how it can now make me anxious, how packing is something I dread, how I love being home. How I feel somehow less safe than I used to ‘on the road’ whilst simultaneously wiser and more secure. How I have lost some senses of freedom whilst gaining others. I wonder if it’s entwined with my developing sense of mortality...
This is such interesting food for thought. Thank you for sharing - and the pics are wonderful. I want to know what is behind that green door... 💕
Yes, that's it - losing some freedoms while gaining others. It's a complex business, aging and maturity! As for the green door, you have now put Shakin' Stevens in my head - remember him??? 😂
I thought of him as I typed the words!!! Unfortunately 😂😂
I think we are really aging ourselves now 😂
I have also learned to travel/enjoy travel in different ways as an adult. After covid i got v nervous travelling alone and I lost any joy it had for me but I slowly have re discovered that although it was a process.
Yes, post-COVID travel felt very edgy for a while! I'm slowly learning to enjoy it again though too 😊
You’re well & truly over your jetlag some 5 months later... when I go to the northern hemisphere (which I last did in 2019) I fly no more than 8 hours per day & have a night off between. I’m in Melbourne so Singapore-Dubai-London is my usual. I aim to arrive after lunch at final destination and stay up till at least 8pm. I get a transit hotel room and usually a swim and a massage at each stop. Its expensive but means I arrive in the best possible shape and mostly on local time the morning after my arrival. Better yet I waste little or no time in bleary recovery once I’m there and remember it all later! My nervous system almost looks forward to transit now - 2 aimless days when noone can reach me and there is nothing productive to do.
Oh that sounds like an awesome way to plan your journey.... taking notes 😀
It evolved over a few years of experimenting. Some people love it, others find it more stressful if they’re fans of the 19hr direct flight. Its a lot cheaper than business class. Good luck on your next trip.
As I prep for a 2 week stint back in the UK, fitting in family, friends, sights, memories, nostalgia and avoiding Christmas shopping (while feeling guilty I don't want to buy gifts for everyone while over there) SO much of this resonates. The anxiety of packing the right clothing, anticipation of the travel pieces all needing to align, jetlag, no privacy once I'm there... but it will all be worth it :-) It helps to know that I'm not alone in wondering what happened to the joy of travel as a youth! But I can choose to find that part of me and let it have its fun too!
Oh good luck Emma! I hope there'll be some fun and adventure to be found amidst it all 😄
Such beautiful, useful places of practice, Vicki. Even travelling close to home (like, to the grocery store) is often jarring for me. And yet, I do find refuge inside when I remember to look and to turn towards it. Wishing you a lovely homecoming!
Thank you Dana, and yes I can relate about the grocery store... Those places are a challenge to sensitive nervous systems!
I can certainly relate to your travel reluctance Vicki - it all seems much harder and more risky than it used to. So much "hurry up and wait!" Yet, as you say, travel reminds us that there is a lot more going on in the world that we can ever know about. I find that both comforting and a bit humbling. It makes me want to GO and to STAY PUT at the same time :D
Yes 'hurry up and wait' sums it up rather well, especially where airports are concerned 😂
What a lovely post
Thank you Lucy 😊
It's not quite on the same level, but I wrote something similar about daily travel some months ago. Perhaps it will resonate with you. Funnily enough, its genesis was my then 12-year-old grandson (now 13) pondering his appreciation of travel time. See https://arichardson.substack.com/p/travel-time
Thanks Ann and I look forward to having a read 😊