It’s been a while since I’ve been on vacation. One that doesn’t involve chasing itineraries and bolting from one attraction to the next. My colleagues and family always comment that I’m perpetually going on vacays but honestly, half yearly breaks aren’t that often. People need some time-off every now and then especially when they are working hard for the rest of the year.

Perhaps this wanderlust, as many have put it down to, stems from the lack of travel experiences when I was younger. Or just a trait that cut across today’s global-trotting millennials. To some, travelling is about hitting all the right sites and checking places off their bucket list. But beach vacations are a whole different ball game. They’re therapeutic and rejuvenating, putting our natural self firmly back in control.

In the literal sense, it’s about lying on a pristine patch of sand somewhere in a foreign land whiling away time as others on the other side of the world get on with their busy life as usual. Spending time at the beach freed me from any modern distractions and focus on just living in the moment. Hearing the waves crash against the breakwater, gulls cawing above and suddenly nothing else in the world matters at that point.

Now what’s missing this trip is a drink and book in hand, then life would have been perfect. Oh well, there’s always the next trip, and I’ve already got my tan and shades on.