The ballot for the next family holiday. November 2019.
As a young lad – in the
years before smart phones, the Internet and more than two television channels –
I would spend hours pawing over atlases, encyclopaedias and novels from all
over the globe. Sure, I might have been stuck in a dying, deindustrialising town
(downgraded from a city, such was our fortune) on the north west of an island that
served as the butt all the jokes of the rest of the state (which itself served
as the punchline of the jokes of the rest of the country), at the arse end of
the World; but that very same World was at my fingertips, with a little bit of
help from a library card.
While I may have
lamented never getting the chance of crossing those seas and seeing much of
that World myself, I tried to keep my mind and imagination open. Therefore, now
we are of means, and my kids are old enough to survive a bit of discomfort, I
am keen to help them see as much of the planet while I have some kind of
influence on how open their minds and hearts open.
I have been shocked to
learn that – for all intents and purposes – this blog has been on hiatus for
over six years. Quite a bit has happened in that time, not least the fact that
we’ve been fortunate enough to visit thirteen different countries (that’s
thirteen more countries than I had visited by the age of 26). Readers have missed
our trips to Singapore (twice) and Malaysia. You’ve missed our galivanting around
Japan. We’ve seen Rome, eaten oranges in La Spezia, stalked the Cinque Terre, battled
smoking hordes in Firenze, braved snowstorms on Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
waltzed in Vienna and bathed in Budapest.
You’ve missed us
braving the cold and rain of London, dodging the seething throngs of Chinese
and Russian tourists in matching tracksuits crowding the streets and alleyways
of Prague. You’ve missed the joys of Hamburg, the grumps of Copenhagen and the happy
young things of Malmö. You missed the fascination (and Henry’s horror) at the
markets of Hong Kong. You missed us climbing mountains. So many mountains.
You missed Seoul. You missed
Sokcho. You missed hours and hours and hours of us hanging around airports and
train stations. Of course, we’re about to do it all again. Above, you’ll see
our family holiday annual ballot. We run a democratic ship in terms of holiday
decision-making, with my vote weighted the same as the kids (I even let the
wife vote). We ran with an instant runoff voting system, with full preferential
voting enforced. This is the second, and final round of voting. The first was
an additional member variant, with a much larger ballot to narrow the choices.
The winner?
Egypt. A cradle of
civilisation. Home of pyramids, mummies and gods with all manner of heads.
Which leads me to a
question… Have YOU visited Egypt? Hints and tips? Must dos and must avoids?
Comments
No, I unfortunately have not been down to Egypt, unless you count the day trips to Santa Catarina, Taba, and the Suez Canal in the 1970s.
You guys have a great trip! Looking forward to your photos and commentary.
I look forward to Egypt & all that you encounter.