Its All My Parents' Fault - Confessions of a Travel Addict | Love to Travel

Its All My Parents’ Fault – Confessions of a Travel Addict

The blame game…

That’s what we all love to do. Blame our genes, our upbringing and whatever we can think of to explain why we turn out how we are at 18 – ”bad tempered”, ”short” or ”overweight”.

But perhaps there are some things that we blame our parents for, that aren’t so bad, but actually framed us into who we are today.

For me it’s my deep and immense love to travel .

I am brought up in a family where I have a set of parents who are..what my friends deemed as ‘very cool’. They aren’t cool by the conventional definition by looks ( not at all ;p ), like how some of my friends have super good looking parents, that you look at your friends and you go ”Woah, your mum dresses better than you”.

But I have parents who are the unconventional cool, that few if not none of my friends can relate to. In fact, find it hard to believe sometimes.

Yup, my parents, are Middle Age Hippies and Travel Addicts!

Parents in their 'trendy fashion attire at waterfall in Austria or Germany | The culprits who Love to Travel
Parents in their ‘trendy fashion attire at waterfall in Austria or Germany | The culprits who Love to Travel

Browsing for travel ideas? Explore all blog posts/ stories here..

My parents, even when they are in their 40s going on 50s, still traveling the world like a 20 year old youngster..sometimes more rough and intense than me and my peers. They can make spontaneous holiday decisions in days and book online flight tickets so fast, it shocks me. This travel obsession of theirs can lead to them disappearing somewhere for the weekend with us 3 sisters left to find out, only after they have already arrived there.”So, eh..where did they go THIS TIME??”

Escaping 2015 Chinese New Year to go skiing in US. I thought only the young people do that! | The Travel Addict Genes
Parents escaping 2015 Chinese New Year to go skiing in US. I thought only the young people do that! While everyone is sending CNY greetings, we were getting ski pictures from the US Slopes -.- | The Travel Addict Genes

But I guess the purpose of me writing this is that..I have caught this immense ”love for travel’ and ‘ travel addict -ion)’ genes from them.

Since I was a tiny toddler, they broke all parental records to bring their kids on holidays. From when I was a little crawler even up to the years we are sitting for our high school final exams and still have to do our homework while taking the Eurorail from one city to another. To the horrors of all other stereotypical competitive asian parent.

Having parents who are travel addicts

” We have travelled to almost every continent in the world and have enjoyed so much winter cold and skiing opportunities that it makes the polar bear in our Singapore zoo depressed. ”

Dad doing jumpshot in Yosemite in 2012. At that age??!! Holidays always consist of a lot | Our Love to Travel
Dad doing jumpshot in Yosemite in 2012. At that age??!! Even I complain about leg pain at my age. Most of our holidays always consist of a lot of walking | Our Love to Travel Tribute to my Parents

Before you start hailing insults over that I am one lucky kid and its not fair how your own parents don’t take you on holidays, let me share a bit about the kind of family trips we do as a little girl:

  • ..squeezing the whole family of 5 into a tiny king bed bed and breakfast room
  • ..missing the train very frequently and having to freeze overnight at the scary europe train station with all our giant luggages…
  • …missing the stop on the public bus to alight to our resort and having to walk as a young 12 year old girl dragging my suitcase up the hill in a fog
  • …staying in hostels..cooking our own food..skipping all the paid attractions

And the list goes on ( I will leave out the really rough/ cheapskate and embarrassing ones in fear of my family’s reputation;) )

Long long walks in the cold in Finland Sweden | Addicted to Travel and Explore the World
Parents doing long long walks in the cold in Finland Sweden | Addicted to Travel and Explore the World
Skiing at whistler in christmas winter season with new found friend | Travel Addict from Young
Me on the other hand, skiing at whistler in christmas winter season with new found friend | Addicted to Travel

This is the price you pay when you have middle age parents who have a odd ‘travel obsession’ or travel addict and want to travel frequently without depleting their whole life savings. So yes, I do clock the stamps on my passport, but we don’t have the privilege of comfortable package tour holidays, with a full stomach to bed every night. We do not have the daily comforts most middle income Singapore families indulge in during their holidays , but those are saved to go traveling more frequently and roughing it out..very hard.

Hardship from Travels

Having been put through so much ‘hardship’ in a family holiday really toughens you as a little girl.

You learn to brace the cold ( directly and indirectly) , carry your own baggage ( in this case a suitcase more than half your size), look out for bad people while your parents are arguing, carrying all your groceries like a poor overseas student and all that.

Travelholic Parents

But now looking back, it is thanks to my travelholic parents and their obsessive love to travel that we got to love and learn  being in other fascinating and exotic countries

Parents addicted to travel all around the world in this case Canadian Rail | Travel Obsession and Love
Parents addicted to travel all around the world – in this case on the Canadian Rail in 2014| Travel Obsession and Love
My Train Rail trip in Canada from Vancouver to Edmonton in 2015 | Travel Addict

My Train Rail trip in Canada from Vancouver to Edmonton in 2015, a year after my parents. Like mother like daughter you say?

As growing up kids, we learn to take the winter cold better, be weary of thieves ( coz we got robbed so often due to my parents attracting the wrong kind of attention), not being afraid of foreigners and pretty much – getting lost and missing your trains is no longer something that you get too worried about, or if better, not allow it to happen again now that you are older with much more experience and have seen ENOUGH of it as a young girl.

My dad from young had pulled me onto all the biggest rollercoasters in the world, and my mum has made me walk distances in the winter cold just to save some money from having to take the cab/ even public bus. So with such upbringing, the pursuits I now have.. like natural rock climbing or occasionally missing a train in a city, what’s that compared to the ‘traumatic’ training we had when growing up.

Travel Obsession isn't really bad | Potential Instagram Parents
Potential instagram parents taking a photo at Grand Canyon | Travel Obsession and being addicted to travel isn’t really bad 

Potential Instagram parents??

Yangshuo Rock Climber's Haven
Hanging by a different set of rocks in Yangshuo | Rock climber in me

So this post is really dedicated to my hippie parents.

To share with my dear friends and readers how I came about being addicted to travel, how it started since I was young and lead to my love to travel/ create my own travel blog. Slowly from there, pursuing outdoor adventures and along the way hope to inspire others to not hold back, but get out of their comfort zone and routine to travel too.

Always be grateful of what seems to be rough circumstances as it form you to who you are today..

So…Addicted to Travel?

Addicted to Travel?

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12 Comments

  • Avatar of Parents
    Reply
    Parents
    March 10, 2018 at 7:02 am

    First thing to update-
    We are 50s going to 60 … towards “retiree” or “Golden Age” phase of life.
    Instead of waiting till full job retirement or official CPF withdrawal payout age (65?), one should “travel” ( not necessary the luxury sort but general experiencing of other countries, for example) while still fit and interested in this pursuit,hobby or pastime.
    We travelled long haul once or twice a year, and short stays in nearby Asian countries, especially to our neighbour, Malaysia mainly for shopping, sometimes for sightseeing, beach resorts and water adventures and occasionally ( rarely in recent years) to visit relatives or friends.

    Note – the article was written without parents consent ( probably afraid will get rejected) before publishing this. Article is purely her personal views and perspectives. And we respect that.:)

    • Avatar of Lydiascapes
      Reply
      Lydiascapes
      March 12, 2018 at 3:30 pm

      🙂 Glad you liked it. Keep travelling and chasing your love to travel, it is an inspiration to all of us!;D

  • Avatar of Tina
    Reply
    Tina
    March 12, 2018 at 9:53 am

    Lydia, this is a great post, I loved it! I hope my kids blame me for their travel addiction some day,

    • Avatar of Lydiascapes
      Reply
      Lydiascapes
      March 12, 2018 at 3:29 pm

      😀 So glad you loved it Tina!:) Your kids will appreciate it some day;))

  • Avatar of Randall Collis
    Reply
    Randall Collis
    May 26, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    Excellent, there is something so perfect about being young at heart ~ my parents have it too, and they are my inspiration to make the most of every day (and travel when I can). Great post.

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      May 27, 2018 at 10:38 am

      Thanks a lot, Randall! Being young at heart is the guarantee for a fulfilled life. 🙂

  • Avatar of J.D, Riso
    Reply
    J.D, Riso
    May 27, 2018 at 5:56 pm

    Your parents are awesome, Lydia, and it appears you inherited that wild spirit. Those wacky hardships are always fun to look back on and laugh.

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      May 28, 2018 at 9:20 am

      Thanks, J.D. Your kind words mean a lot to me. I guess I have who to blame for my wild spirit! 🙂

  • Avatar of Green Global Trek
    Reply
    Green Global Trek
    June 14, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    Ahhh we loved this post and chuckled all the way through it, especially when we got to your parents comments about how they did not give permission for the post. But they make a very good point about traveling as much as possible without it being luxury travel. Okay, we are probably about the same age as your parents and most likely much of what we do would shock you as well. You see, at late fifties we do not think of ourselves as old, not at all, we are just getting started, so many countries to see. So far since we started our blog ten years ago we have lived worked and travelled in over thirty countries and we have at least another twenty we cant wait to get to. Travel is not just for the young or the rich!! Great post.

    I think we should share noodles with your parents next time we go to Singapore!
    Or tell them they are invited for curry in Sri Lanka.
    Peta

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      June 15, 2018 at 8:18 am

      Peta, your comment was so great to read. I’ll definitely tell my parents that and it would be so much fun to see each other and share adventures. 🙂 You definitely share lots of things in common! I also agree that travel is not just for one kind of people. 🙂

  • Avatar of Amit Kumar
    Reply
    Amit Kumar
    July 12, 2018 at 11:34 am

    Really liked your article, Lydia!! You really explain the importance of travel in life. As I go through your blog, parents is really key factor to make you interested in travelling the world.

    • Avatar of Lydia Yang
      Reply
      Lydia Yang
      July 17, 2018 at 5:18 am

      Thank you Amit! Indeed we all need people around us to inspire us to travel more:)

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