The idea of going on vacation is that you can escape the daily stress, the hustle of work, hysterical schedules, and just not have to do anything at all. But before you can do that, you first have to endure great stages of stress. I booked my tickets last week for a long trip (a little under two months I will spend under the Asian sun) and really, the stress is already getting to me.

Homework

Because saying very loudly that you are going to Sri Lanka and then want to wander around Thailand for another month is fun, but you do need to know where you are going. The Lonely Planet of Sri Lanka is ready, but I really haven't done much homework yet. No hostels, no routes, nothing. What I do know about the island is that it is not necessarily safe to travel alone as a woman and that you need to be extra careful with which places you visit. So I have to do homework, and I can't just see where the ship would run aground like in Rio. In the meantime, I also still have a job and a social life, and every now and then, usually when I'm lying in bed, I get a foreboding feeling of “OMG I'm leaving in THREE weeks and have done NOTHING.” Breathe in, breathe out.

Preparations

Especially if you are going away for a longer time, you suddenly have to meet with a thousand people and wrap up ongoing matters. But even with a regular vacation, this is the case; go away for three weeks and the days before departure are packed with handovers and that kind of stress. Really not fun.

Visas

Anyone who flies a bit further from home quickly needs a visa, and maybe it's just me, but I find visas to be extraordinarily stressful matters. I just don't understand enough of the process, it takes a long time, is complicated, and argh, I find it a hassle. You have to be on time but also not too early, people always have horror stories about it, and as if that wasn't bad enough, it also costs you a fortune.

What do you do with your house?

Nowadays, you're crazy if you don't put your place on Airbnb. But suppose you go away for three weeks and rent it out three times a week, who opens the door for those people? Who changes the bed? Who cleans the house? I mean. You have to arrange all those things. And you have to make your house a bit Airbnb-proof, that's also a hassle. And if you have a cat like I do, where does the cat go? Questions, questions, questions.

Packing

Finally, packing your backpack or suitcase. Clothes are probably the least complicated, it's mainly about all the non-clothes you need to take with you. Laptop? Chargers? Headphones? Camera? Which toiletries? Which books? Really, no one said it was going to be fun.