Before we chose our travel buddies, we had one assigned to us. Someone who came with the family, shared our backseat, fought with us over the window seat and somehow survived every holiday with us, our sibling.
Childhood vacations were never as perfect as the travel pictures we see today. There were arguments over who gets the better seat, complaints about the long journey, stolen snacks and endless questions of, “Are we there yet?” But somewhere between those fights and family photographs, we were collecting memories that we would eventually miss.
Then, we grew up.
School turned into college, college turned into jobs, and slowly, life became a little busier. Studies, careers, different cities, deadlines and responsibilities started filling the spaces that once belonged to family holidays. The sibling who once sat beside us on every journey became someone we had to call to make plans with.
Not because the bond changed. Life did.
We never really planned to grow so far apart. We were simply busy trying to grow — to study, to work, to build a life of our own. And somewhere between becoming independent and taking on responsibilities, we forgot how easy it once was to simply spend time together.
Yet, the comfort never really disappeared.
That is what makes travelling with a sibling different. You don’t need to pretend to be your best version. They have already seen you at your funniest, messiest and most annoying. They know who takes forever to get ready, who gets hungry every two hours and who will spend half the trip shopping. And despite knowing all of this, they still agree to travel with you.
A sibling trip doesn’t necessarily need a fancy destination. It could be a spontaneous road trip, a weekend by the beach, a mountain escape or simply exploring a city neither of you has visited before. What matters is that somewhere between getting lost, sharing food, taking terrible pictures and laughing at old stories, you find your way back to the bond you sometimes forget to make time for.
Because growing up teaches us that time doesn’t wait.
The family trips become fewer. Responsibilities become bigger. “We’ll go someday” becomes a sentence we keep repeating. And someday, the memories we treasure most might be the ones we almost didn’t make.
So this Raksha Bandhan, maybe the best gift isn’t something wrapped in a box.
Maybe it’s a ticket. A road trip plan. A weekend getaway. Or simply a promise to travel together again.
Fight over the window seat one more time. Steal their fries. Get lost on the way. Take too many pictures. Laugh about the same childhood stories.
Because some people aren’t just a part of our childhood. They are a part of every journey that made us who we are.
We may have grown up, moved away and built lives of our own. But perhaps, every once in a while, we need to return to the people we grew up with.
This Raksha Bandhan, don’t just celebrate the bond. Take it somewhere.
Travellogs 