By Dr Clare JM Burns
MANY people in my family are good planners.
My father was a train controller for 50 years – being prepared for a trip is in our blood.
This planning includes holiday preparation, yet, without fail, some things do not go to plan.
On a recent Bali holiday with a few family members an “unexpected time of convalescence” gave me time to ponder: “Why do things go wrong on holidays?”
Before taking this holiday, we saved, mapped out the journey, and took out travel insurance. Unfortunately, one month before this recent trip my passport was stolen.
My brother and his family also had a few hiccups early on – their departing flight was delayed a few days due to Cyclone Jasper.
They were leaving about a week before me from Far North Queensland; I was departing from the Gold Coast and planning to stay on after they left Bali to see friends in different parts of Indonesia.
Over the Christmas holiday, one by one we came down with a nasty flu, which later manifested in chest infections and other complications.
This was not just a little cold; we had tablets for that.
No, with this flu, the only way out was through bed rest, fluids, and later antibiotics.
The great books I anticipated quickly devouring weren’t read because it was difficult to focus; similarly, watching movies required too much concentration.
So, what was the purpose of being in Bali hotel with where Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC music blared from the pool area outside my room?
Does God want me to become a Guns n’ Roses fan?
If this is the case, I need a little more divine intervention.
In addition to the flu, my bank informed me people had been fraudulently using my bank details. While it was good the bank took steps to block the fraudsters, they also blocked me from accessing my money.
Maybe that was divine intervention.
Potentially, I would have tried to go through with my planned trips to different parts of Indonesia when what I really needed to do was rest.
The fraud behaviour was not properly realised until after my family members had gone back to Australia, so I could not ask them for money.
I needed to budget with the money that I had brought over.
When I did the calculations, I realised there would be enough, but I would not be traveling around Indonesia.
This revised budget did not afford nightly cocktails and I was okay; one small mercy of the flu was no desire for alcohol.
What I could do was people watch (from a distance) at the local warung (street food) with the locals in a space that was not air conditioned and I was okay.
Walking slowly in the local vicinity meant I was often stopped by people begging for water and rice. I could give them some money and be okay.
I didn’t stay up partying on New Year’s Eve – and I didn’t have a headache on January 1 – and I was okay.
This downtime was an opportunity to reflect on the first few days when the family came together.
It was pure joy being Aunty to my four-year-old nephew and niece (twins) I do not see often.
This joy included being so trusted by my nephew that he would seek me out to tell me he had done his daily business, just in case the smell (more powerful than the smell of durian fruit) had not already informed me.
The family company was easy, which is not always a guarantee at any time, particularly at Christmas.
While it may sound trite, it was touching to see how my brother and his wife loved and cared for their children and each other.
Or as Catholic writer GK Chesterton said: “The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.”
That’s not to say they didn’t have additional challenges to the flu – a quad bike flipped, Bali belly, heat rashes –still, there were more smiles than bruises.
One smile I had came from a young Balinese room attendant who had seen me coughing, so left a handwritten note saying, “I hope you get better soon. I have left you a few extra bottles of water to help.”
Back to the question of why things go wrong on holiday.
One rationale could be I needed to slow down and see beauty in the ordinary-extraordinary – this beauty does not extend to 90s hard rock music played on repeat.
Another rationale could be realising there were many people suffering in plain sight, locals who are essentially modern slaves in day spas and serving food.
Perhaps I also needed to realise there is much I cannot control.
When you are next on holiday, I am not going to say I hope things go wrong for you. I don’t think anyone needs to hear Guns N’ Roses song Welcome to the jungle multiple times a day on multiple days.
Rather, I will say I hope all will be well, regardless of how out of control things may be.
Dr Clare JM Burns is a Queensland academic.
