Like black tar heroine, the travel bug is an addiction that's notoriously hard to kick and after a prolonged break in London, withdrawal has started to set in. I find myself anxious to get back to the travel junket; to trade in French cuffs for kurtas, freshly roasted coffee for freshly brewed chai and delays on the Underground for the blaring chaos of an Indian tuk tuk ride.

Next stop is Nepal, where I'm to meet my parents for a three month trip through South Asia. Friends form incredulous expressions when I tell them that I'll be travelling with my parents exclusively for such an extended period.

"Are you serious?"
"I could never do that, we'd drive each other crazy!"
"Three days is the most I could handle."
"Good luck pal!"

On the one hand, I can see where they're coming from. Nobody pushes those buttons with greater precision or efficiency than family. One minute everyone is getting along swimmingly over a nice cup of Earl Grey, the next everyone is yelling, broken crockery strewn across the kitchen. My family is no different. My mother's paralytic indecision is sure to grate while my father has all the emotional intelligence and sensitivity of a toilet seat. I'm sure I'm no walk in the park either with my frequent bouts of abstraction.

This is what the next 3.5 months will look like. We'll be stopping wherever there's a white dot. It's one helluva trip and I can't wait

However, I do think we've got a few things going for us:

-I haven't seen them in more than a year. "Familiarity breeds contempt" as they say, and I'm hoping a year's absence will provide a small but much appreciated buffer.

-I'm older and wiser. Yes yes you agree with the former and are dubious of the latter. But a lot of things have happened to people close to me recently which has broadened my perspective. Even if we're at each other's throats for the entirety of this trip, I'll have cherished this time together.

-We all have a passion for travel. All three of us share an intense curiosity for other peoples and cultures and we live to see and experience new things. Crucially, we all enjoy the same type of travel. Although we can appreciate luxuriating in palatial hotels as much as the next person, we get our kick from being in the thick of things. Thirty degree heat, humidity off the charts, jostling about in crowds, unfamiliar foods of dubious provenance; that's how we like to travel.

Mom, Haaji and Sinbad

So, while others may think I'm in for a challenge, I think we'll be just fine. The distraction of travel will more than compensate for the more "dynamic" personalities in our group in my opinion.

I say this now, but will reread this post with mirth in February when I find myself disowned and alone ;)