Holiday envy

[source: author's own photo]

So, everyone has gone to Fiji. Well, that’s what it feels like. My cousin is getting married there tomorrow and most of my rellies have jetted off to that little island paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to attend. I had to take two lots of them to the airport this week.

We just couldn’t afford it. I’ve been trying to console myself by reminding my inner jealous child that I have already been to Fiji. But then I remember how disastrously that turned out (and I just realised I actually never blogged out it. I must have been too traumatised!*)

Seems like everyone is on holiday at present and I’m stuck at work arguing with misogynists about money. And YES I did just spend a week in sunny Townsville visiting the in-laws but it's just not the same as the tropical vacation I dream of – with white beaches, turquoise water and drinks with umbrellas in them.

Would you like some cheese with that whine, Sarah?

Some ideas to cheer myself up:

• look at my photos from Fiji and get malicious glee from imagining a similar disaster befalling the wedding party
• have a virtual holiday via Google street view. Barbados anyone?
• have a “staycation”. Doing this properly would involve spending money though. So perhaps a “pauper’s staycation” with cheap boxed wine (faux cocktails), whatever beauty products I can scrounge from my bathroom drawers (pretend spa treatment) and a beach towel in the backyard (home sunbathing).

Things that will probably make it worse, and note to self: probably should avoid:

• trawling travel websites and blogs, reading about fab places and discount offers
• watching Cruise Ship Diaries
• searching keyword ‘travel’ on Pinterest
• looking at Facebook which will be full of rellies’ Fiji photos

Do you need a tropical break? How do you beat holiday envy?

*Long story short, it rained, there was major flooding and a national disaster was declared. Here's one of many pictures I took of the devastation.

Globalise your instagram‏

 

[source: @surelysarah]

I love my instagram feed. With social media, your feed is only as good as the people you follow. Constant vigilance is required, careful curation needed to ensure that for the most part, only the cream of the crop is scrolling past your eyes. I am an enthusiastic follower but ruthless unfollower – if you aren’t posting what I like, why waste my time looking at it?

So are you sick of pictures of clouds and people’s feet? May I suggest Globalisation?

Recently I seem to have acquired some excellent international instagrammers and I’m thinking they’re too good not to share. I love the peek they give me into other landscapes, other places so exotic from my own Queenslander existence. They bring me daily delight and I hope they do for you too.

@58northphotography – Hebrides Islands

@editor_in_chief - Germany

@woody_chai – Bangkok

@vdubl - Hong Kong

@dguttenfelder - formerly North Korea, lately posts from the US

@newsjean - North and South Korea

@elinlia – Norway

@kitandnancy – The Netherlands

@sezyilmaz – Istanbul

Do you follow people from the world over? Who would you recommend?