Week Blues: Travel Plans

The week is not near its end, but I’ve already had my fill. The start of the week isn’t good. I’ll be honest, it was bad. I have a couple of tooth sensations that were thoroughly uncomfortable, but a minor inconvenience compared to a series of travel reservations that needed to be fixed at the soonest possible time.

I know one thing. Organizing travel plans with a large group of individuals with own preferences and personalities is probably one of the worst tasks a person could undertake. Aside from providing sufficient research, financial computation and networking, the organizer has to be the middle man in all things. He has to be the mediator of pros and cons. He has to take on all sides of the fence and to constantly find ways to strike a solid decision. After the decision has been made the organizer has yet to do the whole confirmation, solicitation and consolidation of funds to finally seal the plans. Whoever is crazy enough to take this task should have an objective mind, an iron hand and a mantra for action.

But no matter how hardworking and sensible the organizer might be, some individuals in a group cannot be appeased with certain plans. And based on what I’ve been a witness to, in the end someone has to give in. Someone has to sacrifice for the majority especially if his reasons aren’t as convincing as the rest. Someone has to swallow his pride and join the majority. But that doesn’t mean he has to pay less nor does that mean that he doesn’t have to pay anything. In this situation, a person might not get what he wants and yet he unwillingly surrenders his fate to other’s preferences, paying and chugging along for the sake of camaraderie and friendship. Should traveling be this inconvenient?

If you are sentimental, this wouldn’t affect you one bit. If you’re with a group and you want to unwind as a group, a sentimental traveler makes sure the group has to be complete. A sentimental person has to give to other people’s preferences because the priority is togetherness. He is willing to forgo other factors that might be more convenient for him as long as the group sticks together. He swallows his pride even if he knows that he will not get most at the end of the bargain. These people don’t care of other things, but the experience of traveling with friends.


However, if you’re independent, this would greatly affect you. Independent travelers can very much join a group, but they are more aggressive with their needs. Independent travelers can negotiate and take on aspects only at a certain extent. If they feel that certain factors will not be a convenience to them nor help them achieve their travel experience, they could gracefully detach from the group and do their own arrangements. Independent travelers are somewhat practical to their needs, the time and resources they would use. Traveling for them is more for relaxation, exploration and entertainment rather than blending in.

In a group, the sentimental travelers are the ones who easily bend to others’ preferences even if privately they disagree. They are the ones who count physical proximities more important than self exploration. If they plan to travel, they want more people to join. They have limited preferences and they are easily appeased. They could be extremely selfless at times. While the independent travelers know what they want, they could be sometimes a pain in the ass. These travelers cling onto their own preferences and at a brink make their own arrangements given the go-signal and opportunities. They are the ones who plan their own enjoyment more and will carry out activities regardless of the number of participants. Independent travelers are selfish at a certain extent. They don’t count constant physical proximity as an essential part of traveling.

If these two types of travelers meet in one group then the organizer would have a problem at one point or another. The independent travelers bend, but only to a certain extent. While sentimental travelers constantly think of ways to improve the options just so everyone could be accommodated even at their own expense. The organizer should know when to balance the two and when to strike the cord. Some organizers are even smart. They let independent travelers do their own thing, but enforce certain activities that would clearly appease the sentimental travelers. In the end everyone would get what they want in traveling. No one is forced and no one is taken advantaged of.