Tag Archives: Travel

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Someplace I’d Love to Visit Someday

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

So here’s the thing: I dislike travelling.

Therefore, I’m going to add a mild science fiction spin to this week’s prompt and pretend like Long and Short Reviews has figured out a way to make Star Trek transporter technology an option for those of us who would rather skip the cramped seats, germs, long hours of sitting still, noisy fellow passengers, and anxiety-inducing security guards that are currently necessary for most forms of international travel.

A photo of a side view of a puffin’s head. The puffin is standing next to some yellow flowers and looking ahead at something we the viewers cannot see. If I could hop into a transporter and instantly be sent anywhere, I’d pick Iceland and Tanzania.

Why? Well, Iceland has a cool, mild climate which I generally prefer to hot, humid ones. I find it easier to warm up than to cool down, and I have some medical reasons to limit my exposure to sunlight as well.

Iceland also has a lot of beautiful natural areas to hike through and explore. Imagine the amazing photos you could take and all of the adventures that could be had while walking through those areas.

Best of all, it has puffins!

I would never touch a puffin, of course, but I also wouldn’t complain if one found me interesting and walked over to get a closer view of me. They’re such fascinating little creatures.

 

Three adult wildebeests standing on a grassy plain and looking ahead the viewer. The grass is dry and yellow, and the wildebeests brown boasts are shining in the sunlight. Tanzania would be another cool place to visit once I’d made sure I still had my sun hat and plenty of sunscreen to keep my dermatologist happy. (Ha!)

I’d go to Serengeti National Park in January or February during calving season to hopefully see a lot of adorable newborn wildebeests and whatever other animals might be wandering around there.

Lions and giraffes would be neat to see in person, but I’d keep an open mind and be happy with whatever I found there.

I’ve heard there are some nice hiking trails in Tanzania as well, so obviously I’d have to check out one of them for myself.

And, of course, trying the local cuisine would also be high on my to-do list for both countries. With all of that walking and exploring, I’d be bound to build up quite the appetite.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Types of Books I Read On Vacation


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Photo taken peering out of a windows on a plane. You can see one engine, part of a wing, and lots of fluffy white clouds. Here’s a confession that might put me at odds with the bookish community: I don’t do a lot of novel reading when I’m on vacation unless the weather is terrible, I get sick, or I’m enjoying a staycation and therefore won’t be sight seeing or reconnecting with faraway loved ones.

If I only have a week in an exciting destination, I’d rather check out their restaurants, hiking/walking trails, museums, beaches, pools, mountains, festivals, or other cool destinations instead.

Therefore, I’m going to tweak this week’s prompt to discuss the types of tales I read when I’m on vacation.

1. Long Books 

I generally avoid books that have 300+ pages, but I’ll sometimes make an exception while on vacation. This is even more true if I’m travelling somewhere that is known to have unpredictable weather or if I’m travelling at a time of year when it may be too hot, cold, or stormy to spend long periods of time outdoors.

 

2. Humorous Books 

Flying is uncomfortable and makes me nervous, so I try to download at least one humorous book ahead of time to distract me from intimidating security guards, long lines, and then being crammed into a flying tin can with hundreds of other passengers for hours. Ha!

 

3. Short Stories 

My attention span isn’t always strong enough for long, serious reads while on vacation, so I also like to have plenty of short stories from the speculative fiction genre saved to read, too. Apex and Fireside are two of the many sites out there that publish incredible short speculative fiction stories.

 

4. Genres I Don’t Normally Read

It might be a fluffy romance, cozy mystery, celebrity biography, or western.  There’s something about being away from home that makes me more interested in expanding my reading horizons.

 

5. Audiobooks 

One of the other reasons why I dislike flying so much is that turbulence can make me nauseated. Nausea does not pair well with a hot, crowded plane or with my underlying anxiety about scary security guards and this form of travel in general.  If I start feeling queasy, an audiobook is a great distraction while I wait for my anti-nausea medication to begin working.

 

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Why You Should Meditate on a Flight (and How to Do It)

I recently arrived home from an Alaskan cruise I went on with my spouse and extended family. It was a wonderful trip that I’ll talk more about in various posts over the next couple of weeks, but I have missed connecting with everyone in the blogosphere.

So here’s an interesting thing about me. I enjoy travelling, but I am not a fan of flying. Between the hassle of going through security, airplane seats that seem to grow smaller and closer together every year, and how quickly I start to feel queasy if there’s any turbulence on the journey, I do not enjoy the process of getting to my destination or back home again.

Normally I distract myself from these unpleasant things with delicious, salty snacks like pretzels and tomato juice, playing games on my smartphone, or reading ebooks. This year I decided to add another tool to my defence against flights that feel like they’re going to last until the end of time itself: meditation.

Thoughts are powerful things. No one can fast forward through time, but you can learn to be less nervous about flying through the air in tight quarters if you learn to sit with your thoughts instead of letting them control the narrative.

How to Meditate in a Human Sardine Can

Photo credit: Truthseeker

I’ve decided that all commercial flights should be renamed human sardine cans in order to better demonstrate what it really feels like to be on one.

Having a good sense of humour about the sometimes uncomfortable realities of flying in Economy Class also helps!

Consider Downloading an App Beforehand

No, this is not strictly necessary. I often mediate without the help of an app, but I did find it nice to listen to a guided meditation routine on my last two flights due to all of the background noise happening on them.

There are several great meditation apps out there that offer free material, too.

Focus on Your Breathing

The easiest method I’ve found for meditating is to simply focus on your breathing. Breathe in and out slowly. Pay attention to the way your chest rises and falls with each breath. When a thought pops up, acknowledge it before returning to the slow and steady rhythm of one of the most basic body functions there is.

This is something I find particularly helpful when there is turbulence.

Do a Body Scan 

If you have an app that offers this, feel free to hit play on that session. If not, simply focus on your breathing for a few minutes before gently turning your attention to the top of your head. Take note of any sensations you may feel there without labeling them as good or bad. Slowly move down the rest of your body, paying attention to each part of it by turn.

If it’s a part of your body that you can consciously move, try to relax it as much as possible before gently moving down to the next part. I find that I can carry a lot of tension in my jaw and shoulders especially when I’m nervous. Sometimes this leads to tension headaches if there was a flight delay or if I’ve been in the same seat for several hours.

Move from the top of your head all the way down to your toes. This could be done in a few minutes, but it could also take half an hour or longer depending on how quickly your attention shifts.

Body scans can be a nice alternative to taking over-the-counter medication for these sorts of headaches for me. As always, consult with your family doctor if you have any questions about what is or isn’t appropriate for you. I’m only speaking from personal experience here.

Visualize Happier Places

I like to end my meditation sessions with a visualization exercise. if you were meditating with your eyes open earlier, feel free to close them now if it makes this easier.

Pick a setting that makes you feel happy and relaxed.

For me, going to the beach fits this bill. This is even more true on days when it’s a little too chilly to get into the water. Swimming is nice, but it’s not strictly necessary when I hit the beach.

I focus on every sense and try to make the visualization as detailed as possible. Sometimes I can almost taste the salt in the air, feel the sand between my toes, and hear the seagulls cawing above me by the time I’m a few minutes into it.

As someone who is not a fan of needles, this is also an exercise I do when I need to have a vaccination or to have blood drawn. It’s a nice distraction from a short period of unpleasantness. This can last for as many or as few minutes as you want it to depending on how detailed you decide to make your scene.

If flying also makes you nervous or uncomfortable, I’d love to hear what other techniques you use to get through it!

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