Why I love travelling with family

Last weekend, I went to a place called Somwarpet. It’s a little town close to the South Indian hill station, Coorg. We were a total of 9 people – mummies, daddies and kids – cooped up in a tempo traveller (which is what we call a 12-15 seater van) on 5-6 hour journey to a family friend’s wedding.

It’s been a while since I travelled with both my parents and our family friends. This trip, even though it was a really short one, reminded me how much I love travelling with family. And even more with our family friends, who we’ve known for donkey’s years.

Travelling with family means I get to be a kid again. And when our family friends are involved, I get to be one with the other “kids” – my chaddi buddies (chaddi literally means underwear in Hindi but this term is the equivalent of bum chums in English).

Travelling with family also means you get to be spoilt-silly by the people you love. Everything is taken care of – transport, accommodation, food, bills, waking up on time – everything! The only thing I was responsible for was packing my (and my mother’s!) stuff. But when you love packing as much as I do, it’s hard to think of it like a responsibility at all.

Then there’s all the chaos that comes with every plan and the gang involved in it. It’s really a wonder how we, as such a diverse group of people, make it to a place and back in one piece.

You’ve got the ring leader, the late-comer, the excuse-maker (who also happens to be the one that almost never makes it), the confusion-creator, the complainer and the panicker. But you’ve also got the funny-one, the story-teller, the Yoda, the mischief-maker and the chatty-Cathy. The people may be different but the characters are the same in every family and/or group of friends, don’t you think?

This is us but with a few missing aka the groom and his family.

To be able to just get up and go on a holiday without a care in the world, even if it’s just once in a while. To be part of a family that can and will take care of you without a moment’s hesitation, even if you don’t need it. That’s a blessing I don’t take for granted, because I know not many people can say or do the same. I have a family (and family friends in my case) that loves to travel as much as I do, and for that I will always be grateful.

Do you travel with your family? What do you love and what do you hate (but secretly love) about it? I’m all ears (or should I say eyes?).

Here’s more on my trip to Somwarpet.