Wednesday, April 15, 2009

time travel

a long time ago, my dad told us that once the travel bug bites, you're just as good as done for. we used to giggle profusely as children, when we heard him say that with a hint of sinister in his voice. i mean, what parent wants to have their children bit by something remotely unpredictable; or anything for that matter. of course, this is meant in most figurative sense (or so it seems). travel bug, like literary bug or movie bug that keeps you firmly glued to the latest string of blockbuster reads or motion pictures.

so the travel bug it was. first time out of SA for us kids was in 1984; our first umrah; a pilgrimage to saudi arabia along with a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles and extended members of family that left only profound memories of the fancy ice creams and cherry cooldrinks that we gleefully got our fingers and tongues into. my sister celebrated her fifth birthday in Madina on News Years Eve. And so it turned that our most memorable holidays coincided from then on with her birthday. And other's were planned around the April date of my parents' wedding anniversary. Celebratory efforts also linked in nicely with an appreciation and setting aside of real family time. And tied in perfectly with well-timed travel arrangements. the first time we visited India was April 1994. Mauritius was April sometime some year. Singapore too. Malaysia another time. Egypt and Turkey midyear-ish, although my parents have experienced a winter in Istanbul. Europe, the US and Canada in June. Etcetera...

needless to say, we're a family of compulsive travellers. and of all the places both east, west and somewhere in between that we have ventured out to, India has by far held our fascination and love in myriad ways, explainable in simple wordedness. even for me, who prides myself on wordy recognitions (or deludes myself that way?).

cheeky worded illusions are my vocation of choice, so be it. moving on...

this latest trip was reminiscent of those other trips -last was India July 2008- with the family on a whirl wind tour of sights and delights; feel good moments and tonnes of stuff packed into a short time frame. just the way we like it. just the way that we thrive on, taking a full deck of adventure loving personalities in the same space. it makes the world tiny as a marble. and its the kind of travel that transcends the necessitated dimensions: time, space, being. it just is. and its awesome :)

here's to travel. in time. and in a rush against time. for all time!

here's to being a happy carrier of the travel bug, and to recognising in ourselves the fact that we are just travellers in this life, really. may the Almighty in His infinite wisdom always make our journeys and destinations havens of safety and learning for us; and may we never forget to extend our appreciation of the wonders of Creation as we engage in it and are a part of it.

4 comments:

Az said...

You know you're speaking my language Missy!!! :D

Is there anything better than travelling? I think not. I even stated that it's better than chocolate :D

My # 1 passion for sure. Here's to many many years of great travelling experiences for us both Miss Shafs ;P

Shafinaaz Hassim said...

yay! heres to that miss azra!!!!!!!! :D

Anonymous said...

here's to travel. and here is to that mole under my foot indicating I have miles to travel before I sleep!

I am not really a loner traveling fan, but I sure will like to move along!

Here is to the life ahead, everyday that we travel from within us to the outside world and back again!

love the post!

Shafinaaz Hassim said...

thanks seher: i have yet to see pakistan :) insha-Allah soon. we met one of my cousins on the flight back to SA and him n dad were debating the merits of visiting India vs Pakistan (only cos dad's the only one of our family whose been to Pakistan and loved it much!) and cousin K has lived in both countries... annd so the verdict was interesting in the least. will map out an itinerary sometime next year perhaps ;)