If you read my first article on Medium, you would know that I am mad about Netflix. It’s my go-to “do nothing” activity. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s full of options and if you’re one of those who just prefer watching complete seasons of your favorite or would-be favorite shows, it’s a winning choice.
I watched the entire season 1 of Virgin River over 2 days (plus nights) and I loved it. It’s the simplicity of the plots and characters that kept me going. It’s not stressful and it looks dreamy for someone from my part of the world. When I finished it, I said to myself, that I needed more of this type of relaxing viewing. So, I picked the next suggested series on Netflix — Chesapeake Shores.
I grew up loving shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place as much as I enjoyed Gossip Girl and the remake of Dynasty. The central theme revolves around rich, famous, scandalous and the odd one out character. I also liked family themed shows like Brothers and Sisters, Little Fires Everywhere, Ozark, Grey’s Anatomy (to me it’s more family than medical) and the list goes on.
So, Chesapeake Shores was a good suggestion and I’m now in Season 3. This is a family who owns I guess a lot of real estate in the Bay area and life seems so easy despite the hardship and life difficulties. They just breeze through it to avoid complicating the plot of a simple, warm-hearted show that it has to be. I like this because it is dreamy, again for someone who comes from one of the many Asean countries.
One of the O’Brien daughters owns and run a Bed & Breakfast, while another is a writer and owns a book shop. This is even dreamier than ever for me because I too dream of having such establishments before I die. The point is that in one of the episodes in Season 2, the one who owns the Bed & Breakfast, needed to promote her business. The line, “it’s your home away from home”, really hit a spot for me.
Maybe I’m just one of those people who don’t get the idea of going for a holiday in a place glorified as “home away from home” concept.
This is why:
1. To Get Away
Holiday, long weekend, vacation, staycation or even a road trip that I would take simply means that I needed to get away from where I am. It will not be a place for me to migrate to all of a sudden. It has to be somewhere that allows me to leave behind what had to be the reason to get a break. So, anything resembling my own place and environment, would be missing the point. It wouldn’t feel like a holiday at all.
2. To Experience Something New
If I go somewhere that is just like where I am now, what could possibly be new? The whole reason to pick a place faraway or outside my own space is so that I can experience something different and even learn something new. Be it accommodation, food, people, view and might I be so pompous to say culture. If I stay long enough, I’ll get to experience a bit of culture and I don’t mean some traditional dance or historical places. Culture is the way of life of the people living is those places and it can only be experienced over time because it encompasses many elements.
3. To Bring Back New Memories
Memories are stories to tell. It doesn’t matter with who or where you share as long as you have something to share, right? I don’t think it’s thrilling to go back and tell my friends, “oh hey, the room I stayed in, is just like my room back home”. I’d rather a story like, “OMG the room I stayed in was overlooking acres of treetops and I can see the peak of the mountains covered in white sort of blanket. Plus, I had a hot tub on the deck that I didn’t use because it was freezing to even step outside when I wanted a bath”.
I get the idea of looking for comfort but why not be daring and step out of your own comfort zone and allow yourself to be pampered by what the outside have to offer? Isn’t that the whole idea of a holiday?
Some Suggestions
I must however agree that there are different types of holidays. I mean if you’re travelling alone, you can either take some risks and go YOLO or find a bit of comfort that isn’t too far off from what you’re used to. It will make you feel safer and then you can start to explore, make new friends and do more activities.
If you’re travelling with a partner, friend or lover, then you’d be more open to trying new things but maybe one of you don’t. He or she could be that comfort seeker and still hope to bring back an experience. Surely, you can compromise and slowly help your partner get comfortable with something different. Hopefully, you’ll both go back with the same experience.
Then we have the family travel. This can be a bit tricky if your kids are of different age groups or gender plus you brought your parents too. So, there’s a lot of things to consider when travelling with your family. You too have things you want to be doing by yourself, with your spouse, with your kids and with everyone all-together. The planning for this type of travel is ruthless. So, I say, take whatever you can get, make sure everyone is comfortable and able to create their own experience while on holiday. Safety out rules everything in this situation.
If you’re going on a holiday, (a bit tough to travel across countries with a Global pandemic), I hope you enjoy yourself and remember to have fun. Also, don’t worry about resting because you’ll do that when you get back home, where it is where true comfort lies or else you wouldn’t be living in it.
