It is difficult for us to get jaded or blase about travel. Each time we step out into the world as tourists, a sense of wonder takes over and everything has a rosy hue.
It could be because we suddenly have the luxury of living in a hotel or in someone else’s house: Whether a relative or friend or a stranger registered on Airbnb. We don’t have to make sure that the milk has been boiled or the house has been dusted and presents a spic-and-span appearance to the rest of the world.
More likely, however, the rose-coloured lenses come on and stay on because we just feel very lucky to be out there, experiencing first-hand what we had never thought we would.
And when we have the good fortune to revisit a place, the cup truly runs over as a sense of familiarity settles over us and we can again wander around the sites we had enjoyed so thoroughly — or not thoroughly enough — before.
It was with this thrill of being fortunate enough to return that we made our third trip to Dubai last month. Before we left India, it seemed that the advertising world was somehow conspiring to make us aware of Dubai’s latest delights because suddenly the newspapers had advertisements of Dubai Parks and Resorts and all the newest thrills on offer. Then, of course, we did our ‘research’ on the internet, we spoke to those who had lived in the UAE and we went over our old notes of the places we had been advised to see earlier.
Thus, our list of options grew: Global Village, Miracle Garden, Butterfly Garden, Dubai Creek and Canal, high tea at Burj Khalifa ... Plus, since we were visiting at a time of the year when the weather was fairly pleasant and we could be outdoors for a large part of the day, we decided that we would take that hop-on hop-off tour we had heard so much about.
Our last two visits to Dubai had been in the summer and we had tried to stay out of the sun as much as possible. Instead, we would just hop onto a bus, or the Metro, or a cab, and make our way to an air-conditioned mall and then wander around to our hearts’ content. Now we could take our time on the road, walk in and out of smaller shops, actually explore the areas where the tour bus had dropped us — all without worrying about the heat.
Third time lucky, we said, as we set out.
And it’s true. We were lucky — but not quite in the way we had anticipated.
We were so delighted to be with our family that we shook off their offers to drive us here and there to appreciate the attractions of Dubai that we — and they — had listed. Rather, we forgot about those lists and instead basked in household trivialities just to get a feel of their everyday lives and their daily routine. We caught up with tales of their work experiences and their travel adventures since we had met last; we admired their photographs and their souvenirs; we listened to their plans for the next vacation and elaborated on ours ...
We put off most of those sightseeing trips because seeing the sights was not as important to us as seeing the people we had come to visit.
And before we knew it, our holiday had come to an end. We had once again ‘missed out’ on the dhow cruise, the desert safari, the rides at the parks and much more. But we don’t really care about what we didn’t see. Because family bonding was what mattered to us — and will keep us going until the next time ...
Cheryl Rao is a journalist based in India.
