If only dreaming of travels was the same as travelling. If only travelling was seen as a necessity and not a mere luxury or escape for a few days. If only travel plans translated to reality more often than not. How happy would we be, wouldn’t we?

There are days when a longing to travel, to be out under the open sky on the other side of those huge glass windows at work completely consumes me. All I wish for at those moments is to travel, to go away from all that keeps me busy and exhausted here. This need to be free of my mundane routine is at times so strong that even a stroll through the huge campus at work seems like a boon. But a look at the work calendar brings me back to reality. And that dream of being outside my cubicle or even house without having to run errands seems like a distant dream altogether. Well, what can you do, a working woman who is also a mother is almost always shortchanged for time or leaves for that matter. And it’s the same with me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t dream of travelling or visiting places that I have only read about or seen on travel shows. I do. And sometimes these dreams take the shape of plans too.

I haven’t travelled much this year. Being a reluctant traveller, I don’t like weekend getaways at all. Honestly, they seem to be more exacting than unwinding to me. So, it’s the weeklong breaks that I love and look forward to. The good news is I have at least two planned for this year. Well, at least I think so. And that’s something to look forward to.

One of them is the trip home. The trip to revisit my roots and take my daughter to Guwahati and Shillong during the Durga Pujas. It’s a trip I love making every year. It’s something I keep planning for almost every day of the year and can’t really do without. This is one of those things I never want to give up. The other is a trip around my daughter’s birthday. For this though, we are yet to zero in on the destination. It’s a tie between Andamans, Cochin and Kumarakom. However, the fact that we are travelling is a done deal. So that’s a relief.

Are you among those who deep dive into planning a trip, spend hours and days on it all together before even the journey begins or are you not that hardcore of a planner? I think I’m the latter.

Well, many things go into planning a vacation but for us, a few aspects are more important than the others. One of the considerations is that the destination shouldn’t be very far since my daughter gets very fidgety in long haul flights. Then we try not to compromise on accommodation because the whole point of a holiday is that we get to unwind and be somewhere which aids that. So, while choosing hotels we always go for comfort, ambience, cleanliness and hospitality first, within budget but still. I am personally a connoisseur of Taj Hotels and since we don’t travel that often we try to go for the best whenever possible. Recently, while talking about visiting Mumbai, someone told me good things about the Renaissance hotel, so maybe we could give that a try someday. Of course, cheap airfares are always an added advantage because then we can splurge on our food and stay.

I don’t really like thinking and planning too much for the holidays. Once the destination is finalised and the dates are fixed, I just zero in on my go-to hotel and book the flights. This is because I don’t like delving too much into what I would do once there. I think it becomes a chore when we do that. So, I try to keep it simple, spontaneous. Moreover, I’m a laid back person who loves to relax rather than run around striking off must-visit places from the list.

What about you? What factors affect your travel planning the most? And yes, which among the three places mentioned here should we go to celebrate our daughter’s second birthday? I would love your suggestions.