Travel Fever

Now that the summer break is coming up shortly and my trip to India is more of a reality, with tickets in hand and all travel arrangements in place, I must confess that it still hasn't sunk in because of all the zillion things that need to be done before I take off. I'm winding down at work with my last week of classes and all the nitty gritty details that have to be taken care of before my 3-week break, and on the home front, not a single thing has been done yet. I always think of myself as a travel junkie utterly enamored by the romance of undertaking long trips away from home, but when it comes to preparing for the trip itself, I am not a big fan, I must acknowledge.

For starters, there's the gift-buying spree that's still pending. I have a whole cartload of relatives and friends for whom I need to buy a gift or souvenir of some sort, and doing the shopping thing is not exactly my cup of tea. Unlike other women who revel in shopping sorties, I cringe at the very thought and tire easily after just an hour of walking around the mall. It boggles my mind how exactly I'm going to accomplish buying gifts for thirty thousand assorted family members and friends back home. And after the shopping comes the packing part that is equally mindboggling and makes me swear off travelling every single time. With all the weight restrictions imposed by the airlines and the endless list of do's and don'ts of international travel, I sometimes question myself why one ever bothers with travelling at all in the first place.

Throw in a handful of doctors' visits till the very last minute amidst my crazy schedule and you get the idea of all this travel fever that's escalating into a delirium of sorts. Compounding my already existing medical woes is finding sweatproof makeup that will go with my compounded sunscreen that I need to wear 24/7. My dermatologist has delivered dire warnings about being reckless and foolhardy in forgetting to wear the sunscreen while I'm in hot and humid India. The warnings have been well-taken, leading to countless hours of searching for the right makeup that will hold my sunscreen to some extent and not unravel completely. I leave the rest to the Sun God, hoping he'll be kind and save my excessively sensitive skin from the onslaught of ultraviolet radiation.

My travel fever shows no signs of coming down, and I have a feeling it will stay that way till I hop on to that blessed plane that will carry me across the continents and the vast expanses of the seas. I am going to India for my high school reunion and am willing to go through endless bouts of travel fever just to see those dear faces of my friends from a long time ago. The pain of preparing for this sentimental trip is a small price to pay, and I will take it, any time. The excitement is starting to build within, and combined with the fever and the delirium of it all, it's a pleasurable experience, I must say!