When the invitation for a 50th birthday party arrived, my first instinct was to decline.
A barrage of questions assaulted my thoughts. The host lived in Adelaide? Would I know anyone else there? Could I afford flights? Who would look after the kids and walk the dog while I was away?
Despite often dreaming of holidays, there are many weird and wonderful reasons we say no to travel.
For some, health and disability are important factors in the decision-making process. For others, it’s work and family commitments that get in the way. Some are fearful for their safety or prefer to stay within their comfort zones. And then there’s always the big one – money.
Assuming you can rustle up the funds, there are many really good reasons to embrace travel opportunities. The older I get, the more keen I am to say yes and invest in the friendships and the people who are important to me.
None of us really know how many more times we have left to celebrate getting older with these people. Already, some that I thought would be with me until old age are long gone.
So, I asked a mutual friend if she was keen, and the minute she said yes, I went into full planning mode – booking flights, hotels and restaurants like a woman possessed.
Setting off, I was nervous. It had been 25 years since I’d seen some of these old mates. Our previous lives took place at university when we were training to be teachers. Then we spread out to various secondary school classrooms across the country – to change the world, one student at a time – and we’d hardly seen each other since.
The party is on a Sunday afternoon, but my friend and I decide to take two nights away from home. We arrive late Saturday afternoon and head for the Vibe Hotel Adelaide, enjoying mojitos in the foyer before heading for a swim in the pool.
It’s a 40-degree Adelaide day and despite having evening plans to drink local wine and visit restaurants and bars, we can’t face the heat. We stay put and eat onsite at Storehouse, indulging in a delicious Spencer Gulf prawn linguine and sipping South Australian chardonnay before ambling back to our deluxe room and cranking up the air-conditioning.
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We laugh, all day long, as we catch each other up on the stories of our lives. We encounter people, throughout the weekend, and learn their stories, and as we do we’re making memories together.
Travel gives us the opportunity to explore new cuisines, new cultures and new relationships.
A change of environment can also help us with our personal growth. As we solve problems (Where is the train station? What is an escargot? How much do I tip my waiter?) and face challenges like flight delays, missed connections and lost luggage, we build resilience and start to see the world through a different lens.
When travelling, we create memories, both hilarious and horrifying, that we can keep forever. My family will never forget the waterskiing holiday where one kid lost his shorts in the river, or the time the staff at a resort in Fiji boarded up our windows during a cyclone while we cowered inside.
Our memories of this Adelaide weekend will be positive. At the party, in a bowling club in the suburbs, we eat and drink with the friends the host has made throughout his 50 years; school friends, work friends, parenting friends. Passionate, articulate, fun, loving people who support him in his daily life. We learn something new when two drummers arrive with tablas (hand drums) and everyone joins in to dance the dabke with him, celebrating his Lebanese heritage.
I was so impressed with my old friends; they’ve come a long way.
In 1997 we were idealistic 20-somethings, hoping to change the world for the better, and each of us has done it in our own way. I’m so glad I pushed past those initial barriers and decided to go to Adelaide to have that moment to remember who we were and to be proud of what we’ve done.
The most compelling reason for travelling is one we often forget. It can be so much fun. Taking a break from the routine of life, going somewhere out of the ordinary, is excellent for our stress levels.
Being somewhere different can spark our creativity and inspire fresh ideas. Who hasn’t returned from a holiday with a new lease on life? A list of resolutions? A plan for a new job or business or hobby?
So next time you’re teetering on the edge of saying no to a travel opportunity, swing the other way.
Say yes to adventure, to changing your life a little, to strengthening your relationships and broadening your mind. There’s a whole world waiting for you.
The writer was a guest of Vibe Hotel Adelaide