Travelling
to me is more than just visiting a new destination. It is all about an
experience that starts with the journey going all the way till the day I pack
my bags to head back to base. And one of the things I have always believed that
when you travel with someone is when you see their true colours.. You see sides
to them you did not know existed, left right up down wherever.. But you get the
drift, right?
While
most of my trips have been solo, there have been a few with people I know..
rather I thought I knew.. but boom, I was in for a surprise and not a pleasant
one at that. But then on the other hand, there are folks who have made the trip
memorable with who I had a good time.. So, you win some and lose some..

Travelling
with someone you know means,
  • *    You
    need to be open to conflict of ideas.
  • You
    should be willing to adjust and do things you normally wouldn’t do
  • You
    should learn to stay silent at certain times [ when blowing up a fuse might
    only make it unpleasant or turn nasty]
  • You
    should be ok with twists and turns [ the times when your companion suddenly
    decides they want to sleep in, or go shopping while you want to get an early
    start and visit some of the cultural sights or take a tour of few hours]
  • You
    should be willing to accommodate their whims and fancies
  • You
    should be prepared for hours of ranting and venting [instead of spending a few
    quiet minutes before calling it a day]
  • You
    should be ready to hand hold and guide them around, instead of just doing
    something on your own/at your own pace
  • You
    should learn to control your emotions and not let it ruin your holiday
  • You
    should be willing to have them get mad at you for being honest, but move ahead
  • You
    should accept that they are gonna do what they are gonna do and just tune out
  • You
    should sometimes cut chord and decide to go your separate ways and meet before
    flying out back to base.
  • You should let them indulge and take photographs of you and you need to click them as well.. 😀

And
then there is the other spectrum –Group travel, where many a times you know none-  maybe the organizers or you have a friend
travelling with you. For ex, I did Leh Ladakh with a group I connected through
a duo who organized trips [ most of them are treks ex delhi- JustWravel].. These
days with technology what it is, instantly a whatsapp group is created with
those travelling on those dates and messages fly to & fro, including
important information about the trip. Surprisingly for the Leh trip, a group
was formed only when there was a crisis and all were needed to find an
alternative solution. The group then continued to remain where we shared links
to photographs and blog links.. I then got out of it, cos it did not make sense
to just have a group where I had nothing to share..
Part of the group at Sanchi Stupa…. 🙂 
In
such group trips, the ballgame is entirely different from travelling with just
a friend/colleague/partner. Things you need to take note of,
1.    
Group Dynamics- not everyone is the same. The
needs, lifestyle and personalities are varied and so there are bound to be
clashes, arguments. It is all about how you choose to handle things.
Some in the group might not be as fit as others and so take
longer to complete a task, or a hike. Similarly, some will sleep in late,
causing a delay in the entire schedule. At times, you might have people whine
and crib about things like accommodation, food etc and so will demand things
being done differently for them. Sometimes the organizers will bend over, but
in most cases things are all preset and so nothing can be done.
2.    
Adjust and accommodate – There are times things
could go wrong and one needs to be prepared for it. This applies to all aspects
of life. One cannot huff & puff saying it was meant to be a certain but
things aren’t what they were promised. During Leh trip, many a times we got
delayed on the road because of roadblocks. These are elements beyond the organizers’
control right? So, all we could do was be patient, have some fun while waiting
and move on… One needs to also adjust when there is someone who is battling
with motion sickness or needs to use the restroom urgently, etc. There are
always things that will crop up, and these cannot all be pre-informed/planned
3.    
Be polite, be civil and survive the trip – There
will be times when you are ready to lose it, yell or just go on a debate you
know aint gonna end well. But time to pause, think about why you are where you
are and regain focus. It then becomes easy to deal with people who are
different from you J

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