Not every trip is about the scenery. Sometimes it turns out to be about the people.
A couple of months ago I decided I needed a holiday. A combination of events had left me feeling burnt out. So I decided – a short Cruise would do it. I booked on a 7 day tour from Sydney to Melbourne, Hobart and Wollongong. I’d been to these places before – one of them is only a 30 minute drive from my house. But that was good. In keeping with the “do as little as possible” plan I booked two ship excursions. They were on the “sit in the bus and look, and then stop for half an hour in the Botanical Gardens” type of tour. Just what I needed.
The cruise went well. I was on the “Explorer of the Seas”, and the service and the food were the usual Royal Caribbean high standard. I found all the quiet places and read. I saw the ice dancing display (yes, an ice-rink on a ship!), and went to the nightly shows. These were of mixed standard – but, hey! It takes five minutes to get there and they are free. No complaints!
What made this cruise special, however, were people. First – what would be the odds; I discovered that a cousin and his wife – who live on the complete opposite side of Australia, were on board. I was able to spend time with them and share St Patrick’s day – and our Irish surname, with them.
And then there was our dining table. For the first few nights there were only three of us on our table – which was stashed away in the far corner, so that it looked like the “naughty table”. The other couple were originally from Manchester, in the U.K. I love the U.K. – I lived there for two years and have revisited often. They were a lovely couple, and they now live on the Gold Coast in Queensland. So we had a lot to talk about .Then, on the third day or so, like a tsunami, we were suddenly swamped by four other people who just turned up at full speed. These four were friends from the U.S. and they had moved from another table. Of course, we all began to talk about out travels. And immediately I realized that they were part of a tribe – a tribe I call Modern Nomads.
I have travelled a lot and I’ve met a lot of travellers. Travellers tend to fall into three main groups: –
1. Those who travel for work. They may or may not look around and see the sights, but the destination is a result of their work, not a choice they necessarily made.
2. Those who get to their annual break and then say “Well, we went to Fiji last year, so let’s go to Thailand this year” and
3.Those whose travel is their priority and their work and life is adjusted to fit the travel, not the other way around.
We all may fit all three categories at some time. But the last group often have a physical urge to keep moving. A restlessness. They are my Modern Nomads.
The four I met on this cruise have developed ways to adjust their lives for travel. They work by Computer (and work as they travel), or compartmentalize their work so that some can be done remotely on computer – or work on projects that can be stopped and started. This allows them to take advantage of special offers, or just whims.
They were great fun and I enjoyed their company immensely. The cruise did provide for me the physical rest that I required. But the people I met – my cousins, the “Manchesters”, and the “Tsunami Crowd”, rejuvenated my mind. My own restlessness returned. Because, at heart – I’m also one of the Nomad Tribe.
Thanks to you all. You know who you are!
