My current
trip starts in Thailand which is about as far away from North Carolina as you
can get. I took back to back overnight flights and spent almost 30 hours in
transit. I left on Friday and arrived on Sunday with the 12 hour time change. Yet
when I landed in Thailand, I still wasn’t really “there” yet.
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| "Suffering in comfort" on the way to the other side of the world |
I disembarked
in Bangkok at 5:55am, had a fast track pass through customs and a quick ride
through the empty Sunday morning streets. The unfortunate result was two or
three hours of extra “free” time in the Executive Lounge at the hotel while I
waited for my room to be ready. At least I had a comfortable place to hang-out. Normally
the super early check-in isn’t too much of an issue but this week the hotels
are close to 100% occupancy with many Chinese tourists taking advantage of the
long Lunar New Year holiday to take in the sights of surrounding countries. The
five tour buses queued at the hotel entrance at 6:30am was a sure sign that Bangkok
got a full allocation of Chinese tourism money this holiday. Writing a blog
post seemed a good way to spend the time until my room key appears.
This is my
first international trip of the year and my 20th anniversary of
using “Around the World Tickets” which if you learn details of the fare rules
and pay attention to the fine print can save thousands of dollars and keep you
in the air for up to 12 months on one ticket. I usually have two such tickets
going at the same time but since I didn’t intend this post to be about “RTWs” I
will refrain from going into greater detail.
When I first
started traveling to Asia my daughters were 3 and 6. The day before I left on a
trip, I always felt guilty about leaving them for 10 or 12 days but found ways
to bridge the distance by taping bedtime stories for them to watch for each night I was gone or
asking my elder daughter to give me a topic to write a story about and then
emailing it to her after I arrived so she could read it to her little sister.
My wife was an expert at keeping the girls busy with all sorts of activities. I
also used to ask my elder daughter for permission to travel before I went on
long trips so she felt some level of control (or at least that was my intention).
The girls came to accept travel as normal especially after we moved to Asia and
almost all their school ex-pat peers had one “traveling” parent.
Now that we
are empty nesters I feel a guilt when I travel I never had when the girls were young – leaving
the dogs. We had two dogs back then and we have two different
dogs now. Years ago, the kids kept the dogs busy as playmates, confidants and victims
of “dress-up” experiments that often went wrong. The dogs always had people
around so my absence wasn’t an issue except that it kept them from getting
their daily run.
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| Yuki refusing to look at me after seeing the suitcase come out |
Things are
different now, the girls are grown and living on their own. I work from a home
office when I am not traveling. My wife is working too so not around the house
as much as she used to be. When I am not traveling I have more or less hourly
interaction with one or both of the dogs. I have to keep conference calls on
mute when I am not speaking because our younger dog will sit at my feet chewing
on a squeaker toy or munching on a liter plastic bottle which is her “go to” chew toy. The bottles are surprisingly loud. More than one client has been on the
other end of a conference call when FED-X or UPS rang the doorbell and a
cacophony of protective dog utterances filled the air.
The dogs are
used to the “new normal” and so am I which is why instead of being in a phase
of life that includes “guilt free” travel – just the opposite is true.
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| The look says it all |
As soon as my
suitcase comes out to pack for a trip, I start to get the baleful looks, the
deep sighs and general moping until I am out the door to go to the airport. As
foolish as it sounds, I have come to dread the day before I leave for a trip
because of the guilt heaped upon me by two canines. Of course being raised
catholic probably has something to do with the guilt level.
Fortunately
the feeling of guilt lifts about the time I clear security at Charlotte
Airport. I know when I walk in the house after a 12 day sojourn, I will be
greeted by two wagging tails that seem not to remember they were unhappy when I
left.
