Holidays Ahead.
It is never - ever easy with holidays. First, you spend weeks deciding on when can you actually take time off work since it looks like every week of the calendar month is a freaking VIP event week or someone has already booked every other week off before you. When you are done with the battle with your boss and you finally agreed on two weeks, not just one, of your holiday you realise that actually the date starts in less than 4 weeks time and this is when the panic mode kicks in. I mean you really have barely any time to plan something really nice/ within budget/ and somewhere you have not visited before! It will be a nightmare to not get anything arranged and just spend two weeks of your time off at home. No matter how much you love your home ( and trust me, I love mine) , you really - reeeally do not want to spend your time off work just home.
So with this not so organised intro I am announcing that this was me, exact thought and panic process of trying to book off a holiday for my birthday week. To say it was an easy choice would be a complete and total lie. I have started planning way back in late August and I thought I had it in the bag - we chose Thailand, Phuket and thought of oh how amazing it is going to be to spend two weeks under the sun on a beach holiday, booked a hotel and just before booking flights we decided to check with the boss if it is still OK for us to shoot off to celebrate my not so young/ not so old 26th birthday in Thailand. And here is where the chaos begun.
"Um, sorry guys, I am not sure that I can let you both go on that week." WHAT. Why in the world is it a sudden problem? But let's not get into it too far privately, since I see a completely different reason for that declined holiday than it was said to me but I am a person who does not hold grudges, I just remember things... far... too... well. But going back to my inner panic mode: After a mini rage session with my work bestie - *Door to the office slams* They denied me my holiday!!!! - oh how dare they!? - I KNOW RIGHT!. - I have proceeded to cancel my hotel booking with a massive sob and one click of a finger it was gone. At that moment I was thankful that I have not booked the flights. So I started looking at the massive calendar on the wall and I wanted to cry because all the dates around that week that was denied to me were already taken by other employees and the thought of not going on holiday in October was killing me because that meant that I will not be having any holiday time until late January (Christmas Party Season in hospitality industry is one hell of a period if you didn't know), but then we already have our holiday booked withe the family which would mean that I will need to take not 2 weeks but a whole month off which will not be acceptable as well - no one is important enough to have a month off work and get away wit it without any consequences to your department. Especially when you are the manager of said department.
Long story short, after talking to way to many people about it, it seemed that one of the girls had to cancel her week off in October due to personal reasons and - hallelujah - I jumped right into booking that one in and getting it approved with the boss. Like pronto. But if you think that was the last struggle you need to think again - remember that Thailand dream we had for October? Yeah, no, scratch that. Phuket got flooded so bad in late September ( I know it wont be all areas but still) that we decided to skip it this time. Maldives was way out of the budget for the last moment booking, Bali decided to have an erupting volcano, Mexico started shaking and hurricanes were out and about Cuba and all around it. We were stuck with dates booked off but nothing booked for those dates. OF course we could have gone to Iceland or Morocco or any other places nearby but it was a birthday holiday and we wanted it to be a bit more special. We have spent just over a week of daily searched of potential holiday destinations and my partner decided to compromise - Let's go Dubai then. You probably would wonder what the compromise is about? He has been there twice already. I have not been there even once. He did not want to go anywhere he has already been to but that was the ultimate destination for sun and budget.
We booked Dubai for 10 days - 6 days in a beach location and 3 in the city, just to experience both sides of it. I will write a proper blog on this on my return but in between be sure to have loads of pictures on my Instagram account. We fly out on October 15th - my birthday, and land on 16th at 6 am in the morning. I am hoping to sleep on the plane but I think I will be far too excited for the holiday sun to sleep.
After this stressful holiday planning experience, let me share some wisdom with you. Tips on planning your ideal holiday:
1. Set up your budget and stick to it.
If you think that you can go slightly higher on planes or hotels, that's great! Just remember that you will actually need to spend some money there as well. Any activities that you might want to do might come to an unexpected amount and you don't want to miss out on all the fun things and just sit in the overpriced hotel all day.
2. Agree your dates with the boss before even thinking of planning anything.
I know, I know - it is very hard to predict what week you will actually need off, but just take a pun an book it off! If you don't need it in the end you can always cancel the holiday at work but, if you don't do it you might end up like me - running around the office, whining about why didn't I plan this earlier.
3. Find a backup option.
There is always a chance that your ideal holiday you planned in your head will either be much more expensive than you thought it would be or the dates are all booked up and you just can't go for one reason or another, so always think of a "compromise destination" that would suit your budget. World has a lot of beautiful places to visit - you just need to do your research and identify your priorities.
4. Always book a Flexible Rate.
Unless it is a package holiday - always choose a flexible rate at the hotels. You never know what might happen, dates might need to change, or your boss suddenly decides that you can't go, and you will be stuck with already paid hotel room somewhere on the other end of the world. And you will not get your money back so please do not call the hotel reception and give hard time to the person on the other line - you knew you are booking a pre-paid rate because it is cheaper! And it does come with cancellation policy of - NO MONEY BACK. If it was as easy as cancelling and refunding everyone what would be the whole point of having a discounted rate? yeah, it would not make sense. So go book a flexible rate, you will be able to cancel it free of charge AND you will save the argument with the hotel, which you will not win, I guarantee you that.
5. Plan, plan and plan again.
Get your travel journal out and get organising! Airport transfers, airport car park, clothes you need to pack, items you need to get, activities you want to pre-book. Everything should be discussed before you are on board of the plane heading towards your destination. You need to know what weather to expect, not to over pack the wrong clothes, how much cash to take with you and if you need to do any other extras before you actually rock up to the airport. You would be very disappointed to arrive at your destination and realise it is actually +35 and heat and you packed up your wool jumpers " in case it is cold " for no reason.
We have a week to go before we fly out and I am so excited about this holiday. It is a well deserved one and I am planning on re-charging on 100% battery since I have been a little bit of a walking stress ball for the last month. Still have Quite a few things to do before I can say that I am done for two weeks, so I will keep the To Do list going.
Dubai, see you in a week!
So with this not so organised intro I am announcing that this was me, exact thought and panic process of trying to book off a holiday for my birthday week. To say it was an easy choice would be a complete and total lie. I have started planning way back in late August and I thought I had it in the bag - we chose Thailand, Phuket and thought of oh how amazing it is going to be to spend two weeks under the sun on a beach holiday, booked a hotel and just before booking flights we decided to check with the boss if it is still OK for us to shoot off to celebrate my not so young/ not so old 26th birthday in Thailand. And here is where the chaos begun.
"Um, sorry guys, I am not sure that I can let you both go on that week." WHAT. Why in the world is it a sudden problem? But let's not get into it too far privately, since I see a completely different reason for that declined holiday than it was said to me but I am a person who does not hold grudges, I just remember things... far... too... well. But going back to my inner panic mode: After a mini rage session with my work bestie - *Door to the office slams* They denied me my holiday!!!! - oh how dare they!? - I KNOW RIGHT!. - I have proceeded to cancel my hotel booking with a massive sob and one click of a finger it was gone. At that moment I was thankful that I have not booked the flights. So I started looking at the massive calendar on the wall and I wanted to cry because all the dates around that week that was denied to me were already taken by other employees and the thought of not going on holiday in October was killing me because that meant that I will not be having any holiday time until late January (Christmas Party Season in hospitality industry is one hell of a period if you didn't know), but then we already have our holiday booked withe the family which would mean that I will need to take not 2 weeks but a whole month off which will not be acceptable as well - no one is important enough to have a month off work and get away wit it without any consequences to your department. Especially when you are the manager of said department.
Long story short, after talking to way to many people about it, it seemed that one of the girls had to cancel her week off in October due to personal reasons and - hallelujah - I jumped right into booking that one in and getting it approved with the boss. Like pronto. But if you think that was the last struggle you need to think again - remember that Thailand dream we had for October? Yeah, no, scratch that. Phuket got flooded so bad in late September ( I know it wont be all areas but still) that we decided to skip it this time. Maldives was way out of the budget for the last moment booking, Bali decided to have an erupting volcano, Mexico started shaking and hurricanes were out and about Cuba and all around it. We were stuck with dates booked off but nothing booked for those dates. OF course we could have gone to Iceland or Morocco or any other places nearby but it was a birthday holiday and we wanted it to be a bit more special. We have spent just over a week of daily searched of potential holiday destinations and my partner decided to compromise - Let's go Dubai then. You probably would wonder what the compromise is about? He has been there twice already. I have not been there even once. He did not want to go anywhere he has already been to but that was the ultimate destination for sun and budget.We booked Dubai for 10 days - 6 days in a beach location and 3 in the city, just to experience both sides of it. I will write a proper blog on this on my return but in between be sure to have loads of pictures on my Instagram account. We fly out on October 15th - my birthday, and land on 16th at 6 am in the morning. I am hoping to sleep on the plane but I think I will be far too excited for the holiday sun to sleep.
After this stressful holiday planning experience, let me share some wisdom with you. Tips on planning your ideal holiday:
1. Set up your budget and stick to it.
If you think that you can go slightly higher on planes or hotels, that's great! Just remember that you will actually need to spend some money there as well. Any activities that you might want to do might come to an unexpected amount and you don't want to miss out on all the fun things and just sit in the overpriced hotel all day.
2. Agree your dates with the boss before even thinking of planning anything.
I know, I know - it is very hard to predict what week you will actually need off, but just take a pun an book it off! If you don't need it in the end you can always cancel the holiday at work but, if you don't do it you might end up like me - running around the office, whining about why didn't I plan this earlier.
3. Find a backup option.
There is always a chance that your ideal holiday you planned in your head will either be much more expensive than you thought it would be or the dates are all booked up and you just can't go for one reason or another, so always think of a "compromise destination" that would suit your budget. World has a lot of beautiful places to visit - you just need to do your research and identify your priorities.
4. Always book a Flexible Rate.
Unless it is a package holiday - always choose a flexible rate at the hotels. You never know what might happen, dates might need to change, or your boss suddenly decides that you can't go, and you will be stuck with already paid hotel room somewhere on the other end of the world. And you will not get your money back so please do not call the hotel reception and give hard time to the person on the other line - you knew you are booking a pre-paid rate because it is cheaper! And it does come with cancellation policy of - NO MONEY BACK. If it was as easy as cancelling and refunding everyone what would be the whole point of having a discounted rate? yeah, it would not make sense. So go book a flexible rate, you will be able to cancel it free of charge AND you will save the argument with the hotel, which you will not win, I guarantee you that.
5. Plan, plan and plan again.
Get your travel journal out and get organising! Airport transfers, airport car park, clothes you need to pack, items you need to get, activities you want to pre-book. Everything should be discussed before you are on board of the plane heading towards your destination. You need to know what weather to expect, not to over pack the wrong clothes, how much cash to take with you and if you need to do any other extras before you actually rock up to the airport. You would be very disappointed to arrive at your destination and realise it is actually +35 and heat and you packed up your wool jumpers " in case it is cold " for no reason.
We have a week to go before we fly out and I am so excited about this holiday. It is a well deserved one and I am planning on re-charging on 100% battery since I have been a little bit of a walking stress ball for the last month. Still have Quite a few things to do before I can say that I am done for two weeks, so I will keep the To Do list going.
Dubai, see you in a week!
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