Greetings Hive worlds and my wonderful Ladies of Hive. Long time no see! It's me again Iris, from East Java, Indonesia. It's coming again to the most exciting part of the week, the LOH contest! Shout out to 
| Do you prefer to travel alone, with friends, or with family? |
Well, as I ever mentioned in my other posts, my family was a bit conventional and sometimes can be strict. We were not well-off when I was a kid, so they prioritize my education rather than other needs such as traveling during the holidays. I couldn't remember if we ever had a family trip when I was a kid just for the sake of holiday. That's why when I travel, it almost always with friends.
The first time I was allowed to travel is when I graduated from Senior High School. It was a 2 day 1 night trip. We went to a villa that was owned by one of my friends and visited a nearby waterfall on the next day. I was very surprised when my granny allowed me to go, since I went with boys as well. But, perhaps she wanted me to have last memories with my gang, since we went to colleges in separate cities. It was short but very exciting. We cooked together, talked until dawn was peeking up and had a lot of fun in the waterfall.
When I was in the college, my classmates were very solid and we were very close. That's why we planned a lot of traveling journey together. Most of it was done secretly on my behalf, because my family expected me to focus in my study instead of having too much fun. But we were young and reckless, so we went to valleys, waterfalls, hiking, and other nearby natural tourist destinations.
We got a lot of episodes and misfortune of course, because the trip is not well planned and always sudden. Like flat tires, got lost, pickpocketed, but most of all it was always fun, full of laughter, and lively. Experiencing so many things together make us feel like a family and if I had a choice to repeat all of those moments then I will take it gladly.
The most memorable one is the last trip that we had when we almost graduated. We went to Center Java and this one was done with permission so it was smooth and all fun. We visited the Yogyakarta Palace, Borobudur temple and many more. We still close friends up until now, and they were became so important in my life.
However, when I started to work, I got money on my own and I always try to save my salary for traveling. My family also actually had a bit of spare after I graduated, but they became so used to stay home and didn't enjoy doing adventure like me. So I always found other friends with same passion and broaden my maps.
I had a chance to visit the Pulau Seribu at Jakarta where we stayed in one of the island and spend the weekend with snorkeling, island hopping, and playing on the beach until I got sunburned for the first time.
I also got a chance to cross one of my bucket list, which is to climb a mountain, for the first time with my colleagues. We camped and experienced a stormy night as well as sand storm there. My family just couldn't understand why I put myself on that uncomfortable situation just for travel, but I really enjoyed every journey. Both the challenge and the sweet memories.
I was never allowed to travel solo and since I really enjoyed others company I didn't really care, as long as I can travel. Also, usually I make use the travelling chance that I got to reunite with my friends as well, since after we began working, we were separated in different cities. Like one time, me and 2 of my closest friends from colleges took a trip to Yogyakarta in Central Java, but all of us came from different cities. We often took a secret trip as well when we were in college because of me, but with adult money we could enjoy the trip freely.
I always wanted to go abroad since I was a kid, which is something that never came to my family holiday plan. And yeah, I had a chance to do that with my boyfriend that is now become my husband who fortunately share my passion on traveling. We visited Kuala Lumpur several times and actually planned to go to other countries as well, but we still saving up and wanted to wait until our boy was old enough to remember.
So to answer the question, well my circumstances made my travel diary filled up with trips with my friends and really traveling helped us to understand each other more. We know other side that usually hidden when we faced unexpected events far away from home, and most of the time we became as close as family after we travel together.
Right now I am still trying to spend more time traveling with my family, though they would not want to go too far from home or leaving the comfort of technology and modern facilities. I didn't really mind about the destination although it was not my usual style of traveling. Because the most important thing is the moments that we share and enjoy together during the trip. I also had more chances to travel alone after I married because my kind hubby didn't mind at all, and yes I enjoyed that as well. It gave me chance to slow down, re-think, and just to be myself without having to mind others need.
But, the true healing and quality time for me is when I travel with friends who share the same style of traveling and interest, because it made me able to enjoy the every aspect of the journey, good or bad, and really worth of my limited chance to travel. Often times I also made new friends during traveling and we become a close friend that almost like family.
Thank you for spending time to read another long post of my entry for LOH contest. I have read some of the entries and yes, always interesting to see so much perspective from women all around the world. Good luck ladies and see you around.