YOUR TRAVEL
Carpe Diem Life, love, the desire to help, to be a good fellow citizen and to be at one with others as we journey life’s byways here or overseas is surely what we all seek.
and like Princess Diana and all famous people who die young, they became immortalised as much for what they did and for what they might have done, had there been more time. However not all are so lucky. At Oak Plantation, an antebellum mansion in the style of Gone with the Wind, the slaves who worked the fields to ensure the prosperity of their masters and mistresses have their births and deaths recorded by a single first name. Here today, gone tomorrow, just another (human) widget perhaps. I hope not. That history records their fortitude, their stoicism, their achievements in the face of all odds, and inspires we who have so much more to improve our world. Those who gave their lives for kin and country are justifiably honoured and almost celebrated, often anonymously. War is horrid yet each country with war dead rightfully acknowledges the many via a Memorial to the Unknown Soldier. Again, in southern American the Civil War graveyards provide a sombre reminder of how fleeting life can be but clothed in green, with spring flowers abundant, they remind us of the rebirth of hope, of renewal.
For a multitude of reasons, the spectre of death has not been far from my mind of late. And possibly yours too. We’ve all just been treated to the miracle that was the cave rescue in Thailand and how great was our jubilation and relief when the last team member - the coach - was brought out.
Words by Adrienne Witteman MANAGING DIRECTOR
Trendsetter Travel & Cruise Centre trendsettertravel.com.au
As a parent and sibling myself, how could I not feel for the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and school friends too, of the Wild Boars? Life seemed to hang in the balance, especially when one of the SEALs died. It really did sheet home to everyone what a dangerous mission this was. If we were not already convinced, we were now. Collectively we felt in awe of the result, with gratitude for the skills and sense of
humanity that the multinational rescue effort demonstrated. If there is one thing that social media and advances in telecommunications have brought us, it is the sense of immediacy and closeness to the drama of major events as they unfold. The precariousness of life is never more obvious when we feel ourselves there, in the moment. In April I cruised on the Mississippi River, bookended by stays in Memphis and New Orleans. In Memphis I revisited Gracelands, the former home and now memorial resting place of Elvis. This very same city was the scene of Martin Luther King’s assassination fifty years ago on April 04, 1968. MLK’s life and work is celebrated, very poignantly, at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel and I revisited here too. Both men died way too early,
Macabre it might seem to some but there is much in travel that focuses on death, or rather has death as a subtheme. David, my fellow Trendsetter director, has a passion for military history and runs small, specialised Military History tours which explore the theatre of war, and by association, death. They’re not for everyone, but those passionate for this niche love them. And how often have you read that a cemetery visit is on the must-do list? Diana’s crypt at Althorp; Karl Marx (and recently George Michael) at Highgate Cemetery in London; Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Edith Piaf at Pere Lachaise in Paris; Eva Peron at in Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires… Rest in peace is what we say but not necessarily what we allow those whose resting places we seek to visit. For me, the great story in July however was that what might have become a cemetery did not. The caves of Chiang Rai will become a tourist hotspot for celebrating all that is good in this world. Life, love, the desire to help, to be a good fellow citizen and to be at one with others as we journey life’s byways here or overseas is surely what we all seek. Each day we are given the chance to start anew, to share with and learn from others at home or abroad. Life is short – let’s make the most of it and get out and explore our world. TVO AUGUST 2018 23
