Big Group

Going on a holiday with the extended family can both be an enthu-siastic as well as a stressful expe-rience. Last year, almost twenty of us 'balik kampung' to China to visit some of our relations at the family village. In a few months' time, about fifteen of us will be heading to Danang and Hoi An, in this year's edition of the extended family holiday.

I was initially undecided about whether to go this time round. But after some cajoling from my cousins plus a bit of tacit pressure from my Mum, I signed up. In fact, everyone else had already booked their flights much earlier. You could say 'better late than never' as I was the last one to confirm my participation.

Now that I have made up my mind to join the group, I am looking forward to the trip. I get along with those who are to be my travel companions for the six days, so it will be an enjoyable experience. Sure, there will be some stressful moments, something that is inevitable when traveling in a big group. But the positive experiences will more than outweigh the little hiccups.

My Malaysian cousins and I with our Chinese cousins in Nam Tong, China, last year.