I Need a Vacation

So am I the only one who thinks vacations are a lot more work than day-to-day life? I know I'm not in the majority, but I can't be the only one. Now, please don't get me wrong, I feel truly and utterly blessed to be in a position to even take a vacation, so please don't mistake my question as a complaint. Even though vacations are so tiring there isn't a single part of me that would take back any time I've been able to fly the  coop and check out another place on the map - especially this last jaunt around the world.

Mandi, Mckenna and I recently got back from a trip to visit my in-laws who are currently living in Singapore. While there, we were also able to take a little side trip to Thailand. Both places were two of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Singapore is a cool, hip and happening city while Phuket, Thailand seems like a postcard at every turn. I just so very thankful that we had a camera to capture all of the breathtaking sights!

The purpose of this post isn't to talk about how great the vacation was or how beautiful the sights were. The purpose of this post is to talk about all of the reasons why I need a vacation following a vacation. Maybe some of you can relate, maybe none of you can, but regardless, thought it'd be fun to chat about.

So what was it about this vacation that was so energy-draining? Here are some ideas...

Man was not meant to be on a plane for 11 straight hours. Singapore is really, and I mean really, far away. The 11 hours spent in a plane was only the part in which we crossed the Pacific Ocean. That doesn't count the 2 hours to San Francisco and the 6 hours from Tokyo to Singapore. I'm not math major, but that's 19 hours of flying. Add in travel to and from airports plus lay-overs and now you're talking 27 hours!! Yeah, 27 hours of traveling. It's madness, absolute madness. In a perfect world, I'd be able to sleep like a baby on a plane, but that's made even more difficult since we had our own baby on the plane (and I wasn't even the one with her most of the time, Saint Mandi was). Then, you have the +15 hour time difference and now you're talking a formula that really throws your body for a loop. Ever had jet lag? They need a new name for this as those two words don't do this justice.

Singapore is very, very humid. You feel it right when you exit the plane. It's like Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris got together to give me some swift roundhouses to the chest. I admit that my lungs are a little "soft" due to the ever so dry climate that I'm used to, but seriously, Singapore is like walking in the biggest sauna in the world. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to breathe when there is a ton of humidity in the air. It's tough to get a real deep and giant breath in. We walked around a ton, which was awesome in keeping my lungs going, but I noticed that I didn't cough up nearly as much stuff as normal. What's really strange, is I've been coughing up stuff like crazy since being home. Could be the weather, could be the travel or could be pure coincidence. Either way, I know this much is true - humidity is not my friend and I'm so thankful for the hot and dry Arizona weather.

I'm a schedule/routine guy. I think I've mentioned this before when it comes to being away from home, but I think I'm even more uncomfortable than I realize when thrown off of my routine. The thing is, I thoroughly enjoy the spontaneity the vacations bring and all of the different activities, but subconsciously I think my body is screaming "what the heck is going on!?!?". When I'm at home, I can give you a pretty good idea + or - 15 minutes on how my day will go. I can tell you when breakfast, lunch and dinner will be. I can tell you when my treatments will be done. I can tell you when gym time is. I can tell you when I'll wake and I can tell you when I'll sleep. On vacation however, no matter how hard I do (or don't) try, everything must be a bit flexible. It's funny because that's what I like about vacations, I'm just not so sure my body does.

I'm sure the list could go on, but I'd like to hear about some of your experiences as well. They may jog my jet-lagged mind so I can add to my list. If you've made it through this blog, thank you. I don't want you to think for even one nano-second that I'm complaining. I'm simply observing and starting a conversation. If I had it all to do over again, I do it in a heartbeat. You could double the flight time and cut the vacation in half and I'd still be the first in line. I got to spend some amazing time with my family and see some stuff that I've only seen in the movies, literally. They call this "James Bond Island":

So tell me, am I the only one?