In the course of travel planning, between planning my own trips and my client’s, I have been asked countless times, what was the most memorable trip that I have ever planned? Was it that luxurious vacation that the client had requested for? Or was it the 1 month trans-Siberian vacation that I took which spanned over multiple countries via trains?
I apologised to the readers beforehand, this was not a post of showcasing the greatness of any destinations that I had planned. In fact, it would be heavy going for some as it set me thinking of the meaning and purpose of my work.
A couple of years ago, I received an unusual request from a client, wanting to put together a trip to Taiwan for her family. Unfortunately, her dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer (with no symptoms) and in her own words, “It would be our last family trip together”. They wanted to create as much wonderful memories as possible before he was gone.
From a travel planner’s point of view, it was an honour to be part of crafting a final travel experience for someone. Yet, at the same time, there was lots of pressure to get everything right. There were no room for any errors or goof ups as it was her dad’s final vacation. There were “no next time”.
It was one of the toughest vacations I had planned. While I had always put myself in my client’s shoes for all the trips I planned (if I loved/enjoyed it, my clients would), I had never imagine planning a last trip for myself. The entire process set me thinking.
If it was my last trip, what would I want to see/feel/remember? I recalled it was very emotional for me. I believed for myself, there would be places I would love to visit but unable to do so. There would be tint of regrets for the things I was unable to do, probably a lot more comfort that my loved ones were with me on my final trip. Travel planning has always been a joy for me, it is something I take pride in and love every moment of it. However on this occasion, it was solemn, and it gave me a distinct perspective to my passion.
It dawned on me the best hotels and the best food meant nothing as they were materialistic. What mattered most was, the time spent with the loved ones, cherishing every moment. At the final chapter, money was no longer the issue. Time suddenly became very precious.
The client requested to design the itinerary around the dad, preferring to splurge on one or two exotic meals that the dad loved and greatly emphasis on memories created. After the trip, I was informed that the family enjoyed the trip thoroughly, fulfilling the dad’s wish of staying in a farm and enjoying the various activities of picking fruits, feeding animals.
This is one of the trips that will always be on my mind in many years to come. I do think of this client from time to time. It made me look at travel planning differently. It provides a lot of meaning to what I am doing. It is no longer just a job, or a trip for my client, it touches on precious lessons about life. I have always taken time for granted and my life has a lot of “next time, I will visit again”. After this incident, I realise sometimes, there is no next time. We never know when our time will expire, make each trip count.
This passion has opened my world to many stories behind the trips I have planned. My stand is: know the story first to create the trips. I take it upon myself to be a part of creating the wonderful memories for my clients, and in the process hopefully, make someone’s day better. It is weird that I advocate about transformative/experiential travel experiences, but in fact my perspective of life is being transformed by my work (and by my clients). I guess, what goes around comes around.
Sometimes, in life, there is no second chance.