THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

You're not supposed to enjoy a failure to communicate. It's supposed to be a stressful situation, where you flail your arms and try not to yell too much and attempt to make yourself understood through a mix of poorly pronounced words, charades and Google Translate. But now, with the benefit of distance, it's easy to understand the inherent greatness of a communication breakdown. It's a bonding experience, a challenging experience, and one that would be a welcome break from the ordinary in these times of isolation.

HOTEL ROOMS

Where is the light switch? Not that light switch, the other light switch. And how do you turn the shower on? Why isn't there a plug for the bath? Oh wait – that's the plug? How does it work? And how do you iron clothes on this silly little board? And why is my window facing a construction site? And HOW MUCH does this tiny bottle of gin cost? Hotel rooms, mostly, are a bit of a nightmare, with nothing close to the comforts of home. Now that we do have all the comforts of home though – seemingly permanently – a bizarre shower set-up and a million light switches doesn't seem all that bad.

THE MIDDLE SEAT

Admit it: you'd kill for the middle seat right now. You would gladly commit yourself to a 14-hour flight fighting for arm-rest space with two bulky strangers. You would happily forgo the chance to book your seat in advance and check in online and just show up at the airport at the last minute and take whichever spot was assigned to you. There's a certain beauty to the middle seat when it means you're being carried across the world to somewhere exciting and amazing. That truth has never been more evident.

TAXI DRIVERS WITH ATTITUDE

You know the type. The Roman cabbie who drives like a lunatic. The NYC driver who calls you out for your less-than-generous tip. The Agra rickshaw driver who insists on taking you to a jewellery emporium. The Cairo cabbie who conducts a broken conversation, twisted around to look right at you, while careening through the craziest traffic you've ever seen. These are the journeys that become anecdotes, the hair-raising adventures that enter your yarn-spinning canon. They don't seem quite so enjoyable until you can't have them.

THE PEOPLE

There's just such a thrill to opening yourself up to so many new people when you travel, people from other countries, from other cultures, from other worlds. Travel throws you into a new orbit, it allows you to mix with people you would never normally encounter in the course of your regular life. And that's a beautiful thing.

THE ENERGY

This isn't the same for everyone. Some people crave a hectic travel existence, full of stimuli, full of new experiences and flavours and feelings. Others crave a more relaxed, soulful tone, a getaway from the busyness of their reality. Whichever it is you go for, that energy is so vital to the travel experience.

THE FOOD

Not all of us travel on our stomachs, of course, but those who do will be nodding their heads immediately. Foreign food is everything. It's adventure and culture and experience all scooped onto a plate. It's challenging sometimes, grossly indulgent at others. It's also inherently memorable and wonderful.

THE LUXURY

Maybe it's just one night in a five-star hotel. Maybe it's one meal at an expensive restaurant. Maybe it's a joy flight in a helicopter or a bottle of good wine or a ticket to a popular show. Whatever your version of luxury is, travel gives you the chance to indulge in it. And isn't that an amazing thing?

THE ADVENTURE

Every holiday is an adventure. Doesn't matter where you go; doesn't matter how long you go for. Every time you take off it's a thrill, a journey into the unknown, an act of courage and confidence that everything will turn out all right. There's nothing that can compare to the sense of adventure that travel brings. Long may it last.

Coming Home!

Lastly, I miss coming home.  I miss that first night home in my own bed, and the difference in perspective that traveling gives you about the place that you live.  It makes you appreciate my space in a new way and usually gives me a renewed sense of passion and purpose in my life.  I love the feeling of returning home, refreshed and ready to take on life again.

The Thrill of Exploring

I miss the thrill that travel gives me.  I miss being out of my comfort zone.  When we travel, I get a real sense of accomplishment when I have to think on my feet to solve a problem, or the way that being in a new place can help you to see things in a different way.

PHOTOS!

I know this might sound strange, but I miss sorting through our photos (I usually sit on the airplane ride home and tag and label them while the memories are still fresh).  I miss the process of looking over the photos that we took once we return home, reliving the wonderful things that we experienced while away.

Anticipation

I miss the anticipation and anxious months of planning a trip.  Having a trip out on the horizon to look forward to becomes like an addiction, almost as much as the travel itself.  I miss spending spare moments looking in travel books for ideas and putting together itineraries that we almost never actually stick to.

Last Minute Packing

I even sort of miss the rush of the last minute packing and that anxious night that I always have before we leave, not able to sleep because I am just too darned excited (and it doesn’t seem to matter how much we travel or now many places I have been, this doesn’t get better).

The Airport

The airport is always an exciting place for me, and I miss our familiar airport rituals and the incredible sense of sheer potential that I always feel when in an airport to travel somewhere.  I imagine the airport as a portal to a whole new world of new experiences.  The airport is always the beginning of a new adventure, and I love knowing that infinite possibilities for adventure lie before me when we step off of the airplane.

Dia juga merindukan perjalanan pribadi dan cara anak-anaknya menikmati perjalanan.

"Aku rindu bisa melihat dunia melalui mata mereka. Saya suka bepergian dengan anak-anak saya dan merindukan kegembiraan mereka ketika kami bersusah payah duduk di kursi maskapai penerbangan," tutur Alexander.

"Antisipasi yang mereka miliki sebelum membuka pintu ke kamar hotel kami untuk melihat seperti apa rasanya, kesenangan mereka yang sederhana dalam bermain ombak, dan ekspresi mereka ketika mereka mencoba makanan baru untuk pertama kalinya," tambahnya.