Following on from my incredible holiday in Rarotonga, I have been contemplating "normal life" - which for me involves a 50 hour week at work, commuting between two cities on a weekly basis and various minor excitements, stresses and joys. And the familiar rhetoric occurred to me - "A holiday is made more enjoyable because you have to work". And close on its heels, another one - "Even if I won a million dollars, I'd still work, else I'd get bored".

And with all respect, I thought to myself... "What a load of nonsense!". And so, I raise the somewhat provocative question... "Are people who think they'd be bored on perpetual holiday just boring people?"

As you might know from my previous post, I had a week-long break in Raro, a land of coconut trees, beaches and exquisite marine life. I did absolutely nothing, apart from enjoying aforesaid natural attractions in a predominantly supine position.

Could I have done that, and nothing else, for another three weeks? Certainly not. But if you gave me another three weeks there... I'd have taken five more books that I've wanted to read, and got through those. I would have visited a traditional island church service and sung along lustily. I would have wandered the markets and hunted for bargains. I would have gone down to the local police station, got a licence to ride a small scooter (test time: 30 minutes) and scootered the island. I would have chartered a boat to outlying Aitutaki island and explored there. I'd have searched out some new eating places and tried to see if I can find pomfret cooked anywhere... a fish I love in India, and just can't get in New Zealand! A month would just FLY past!

You'll notice here that money has to be no object. Surely that is a prerequisite for anyone planning to adopt the perpetual holiday lifestyle. So, brushing aside that minor consideration, let's move to the logical extension... one month is fine, but what about one year. Heck what about ten years!

Ohhh my list is long and distinguished... far from feeling dread at the prospect of a decade of unstructured activity, I feel excitement! I'd like to read more... but not just picking up novels and reading them at random. I'd like to purchase a book on the 1000 books you must read before you die. Then, I'd read the first one on the list. I'd consider my opinion of it, and take the time to write that down. I'd then post it to an online community and ask for recommendations on other books with similar themes to read and compare. I'd pick one of the suggestions, read that and repeat. Until that theme starts to bore me (it might take a while). At which point I'd go back to the original list of 1000 and pick the next. Who knows, I might publish a compilation of my theme based essays on the 1000 greatest books. Given that active reading is actually pretty hard work... I'm guessing this will take a fair chunk of my decade to do :)

I would travel. I'd go on some 'do nothing' holidays every year, where I just absorb sunshine, experience a different environment and observe the world go by. I wouldn't need to "relax" or "unwind" because I'm assuming I'd always be so! I'd also do one three or four month long trip every year, to one country or city of choice. I'd need to spend at least a month or two researching before hand... and I might need to do a recconnaisance visit first. Pyramids in Egypt, safari in Kenya, prehistoric cave art in France, Louvre in Paris, terracotta warriors in China, bazaars of Morrocco, Niagara Falls in the States, Taj Mahal in my own motherland, Ayers Rock in Central Australia. Maybe I'll write my travel experiences down... and maybe I won't. Maybe I'll photo journal... and maybe I won't. Because I suppose if I forget, I can always go back!

As for stimulating my brain... I would like to study. I'd enrol in some university classes, not with the focus of getting a degree at the end of it, but purely to explore topics that I'd never been able to before. Trade economics, Botany, Theoretical physics, Political science, Applied psychology. It's enough to last a lifetime. Now you might think I'm cheating by reintroducing work... but I'm not. This would be for FUN. I don't have to do it, I don't have to continue with it, and I don't have time pressures to complete it. But I'd probably love it!

This leads me to think about that wonderful series... Jeeves and Wooster (translated beautifully to the small screen by Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie). What does Wooster do all day? Well, put simply, he has a different standard for an enjoyable day. We have an addiction to activity, to busy-ness, as if we need the high energy, frantic pace to feel worthwhile. How many of us have experienced that "guilty feeling" in the first week of the holidays... that "I should be doing something". It begins at school after the exams, and continues with us throughout our lives.

As technology advances, as economies progress, it occurs to me that we are giving little thought as to what kind of lifestyle we would like to create for our children and grandchildren. We believe "more is more" and cram our school curriculums with even more work, instead of extending school life by 5 more years. We acquire more and more frantic jobs, and measure the increased incomes we earn as a progression in our economies. But have we become richer in terms of quality of life? Probably not. We're no poorer, I'm sure (I'm not one of those bucolic idealists who wants to milk cows and make my own cheese) - but we don't seem to be thinking about how technology and progress can make our lives more open to experiences we choose, rather than too frantic to even consider them.