How my little Sister proved to be my best Travel Companion in India

Most of us have gone through that phase when we have fought with our friends on vacation and thought of never going with them again. I have also been there, done that. But eventually, I realized that I have to have someone with me with whom I can go on a long journey, enjoy things and places, have a fight, and still share the good old bond to plan another vacation all over again. And I found that confidante in a person none other than my younger sister, Amy; she is just two years younger to me, but she shows incredible understanding when it comes to serious issues. Last year, we calculated our savings and decided that we could easily afford a trip to Rajasthan in India. ‘Yaaayyyy!!’ was her first reaction when I said that we are finally going on a vacation for the first time in our togetherness of twenty years. Let me share how traveling with my sister made our trip just so awesome.

Not much convincing of parents

Since we live in Manchester, it was quite much to ask for permission from my parents to travel to India. Had I been going with my friends, I might have struggled for weeks at length to convince them for a month long vacation halfway across the world. However, with Amy included in the plan, they didn't budge our plan for long and approved it after an hour of convincing. They knew that we would look after each other, comes what may. ‘Yaaayyyy!’ came from my side this time!

Arguments are easy to resolve

Since Amy and I were not traveling in a huge group, we didn't have much to argue. Nevertheless, there were issues like where to have dinner, where to stay, how much to spend on activities, etc. I am more of a spendthrift in such matters; I like to have lavish facilities wherever I go. On the other hand, Amy is wiser than me while spending on big and small things; she likes prudent spending so that she remains under budget rather than exceeding her financial plan. Anyhow, whenever we indulged in a spat, we would stay away for a couple of hours and then get back to each other after we could not tolerate silence. With siblings, you do not have the choice and the will to stay away for long, which makes them the best companion for life.

Easy sharing of expenses

We have a slight difference in our earnings, but it does not create any difference in our understanding. Rather than cribbing over sharing the costs, we knew that whatever we were doing, we were doing it for each other.  As I said earlier, I like to spend more on things and activities than her, but we both stand for each other if any of us runs out of money. In an unfortunate event, I lost my wallet in Jaipur, but I knew whom to call when I was distressed. Amy was the first person to come to my rescue when I was left stranded. Although she treats me like a second ATM when she doesn’t want to spend money, I don’t mind that at all. I know that we can settle our expenses later, and it is fine even if we don’t. She is my blood after all. In Rajasthan, we hired the Self-Drive Car Rental Jaipur, which I had not approved earlier, but I thanked Amy for her decision as it was really comfortable traveling in a car rather than the buses in the hot and humid weather of the place.

Sharing things

We did not have to carry an individual set of toiletries, clothes, emergency things, etc. just because we have used each other's things all our lives and we could still do it on our vacation. We would live out of each other's suitcases throughout the journey in Jaipur. We bought a lot of stuff from India, and we always managed space in each other's bags for the souvenirs.

The photos for lifetime

I am quite confident about my relationship with Amy that things will not go so bad that I would not want see her face ever, so it feels just so great to have memories and photos that I can share with my family all through our lives. We have got several pictures from our excursion framed and hung them on the walls of our house. Even when we are angry with each other, we have these little things around the house to make us feel better and reconcile soon.

A dependable (and free) photographer

Both I and Amy are photo-freak souls, which is one of the million reasons makes us perfect partners for each other. We can always guide each other about how to take that perfect Instagram photo and Facebook profile picture. We understand how girly these things are and how fine they are to do. Throughout our journey, we took endless candid shots, behind shots, angled photos, and the ones with perfect lights- on persistent insistence though! And mind it, none of us dared to complain; after all, we knew that we have to return the favors!

No judging

No matter what we did, we did not judge each other for anything we did. We have lived together for more than two decades, and that is a lot of time to spend with a single person. We know ourselves inside out, and we could speak, talk, walk, and do anything we wish to without the fear of being evaluated by our travel partner. For instance, one night at a bar, I noticed that someone is flirting with Amy and she was equally interested in that Brazilian man. She just made an eye-contact with me to let me know that I should stay away for a while. Rather than feeling alone or annoyed, I was perfectly okay with spending a couple of hours alone while enjoying my drinks.

Safety is granted

Whatever we did, wherever we went, we always knew that we have a person who is constantly concerned about our safety. I had her, and she had me at the back whenever needed. At the bar, for instance, I knew that I have to keep a watch on her and that man while maintaining a decent distance from them. In many other such cases, we knew that we have a confidante, supporter, guardian, and friend in each other.

So that is how my trip with my soul sister turned out to be; you can also call your siblings for any such vacation to make lifetime memories. I can guarantee that no matter how many times you fight with each other on that specific duration, you will end up having a better bond with your brother or sister.