Today’s guest post comes from someone whose blog I have been enjoying since my own blogging days on Xanga: Ray, otherwise known as jigg. Ray recently celebrated a kickass BBQ wedding and is fresh back from a European honeymoon; after all this excitement he is currently on a short blogging hiatus, but was kind enough to contribute a post for my blogging maternity break. So sit back and enjoy!
One thing I have always wanted to do was travel the world. Many people I know also want the same thing, but only 1 or 2 of them actually tried to make it come true. A few years ago when I was single, I thought I had to see and travel as much as possible. What if my future wife isn’t the perfect travel companion? It’s possible that people have different interests and anyone who has traveled with others know that there are often conflicts of interests.
Unfortunately, like almost everyone else, work and the lack of money, kept me home. Actually, I should blame myself for not doing everything I can to realize the goal. And then, I met my wife. We began dating, got engaged less than a year later and then married six months after that.
The interesting thing about my wife, Mrs. jigg, is that she grew up open-minded, but uncurious. Basically, she was open to new things, but wasn’t really curious to try new things. The size of the world is different for everyone — and this depends on who you know and how much of the world you have seen. Most of her friends were from where she lived, Boston, and she never really looked for opportunities for travel.
Before I met her, it was quite a gamble for me to hope that my future wife would be a good travel companion. While I knew she was the one person I would want the spend the rest of life with, I actually wasn’t so sure if she was the one who I would want to see the world with. That sounds really bad but what if hiking to the top of Machu Picchu isn’t her thing? What about going to third world countries? What about the miles and miles of walking and sightseeing that I love that she might not enjoy? Maybe she likes the beach/resort types where it’s more about R&R than venturing to places where you’ll need a vacation for your vacation afterwards. There are endless possibilities, but in order for me to realize my goal, she would have to also want the same thing.
While we’ve been to a few places together (mostly short weekend trips), the ultimate test was our honeymoon this past month. After a lot research and discussions, we decided to go to London, Paris and Rome, for a total of two weeks.
While the details of the trip will be in separate blog entries (sorry, too many things to post), I can tell you that she passed with flying colors. We wanted to do the same things, liked many of the same things, and most of importantly, she was not a burden to travel with. In fact, she was fun to travel with and it made the whole trip fly by. Sure, as her husband, I had to carry her bags at times, but that’s a given. I knew she never had a princess attitude (one of the things I love about her), but moreover, she was a real trekker, resting only when she needed to and never complained.
To be honest, I was more curious with how she would be on this trip, than the things we would see. Most importantly, even if there are some places she does not want to go, she is perfectly okay with me going without her. I always tell her that I was the best decision she has ever made, but she truly makes me feel like I’m the luckiest man alive.
About the Author:
jigg (lowercase j!) as his readers know him as, has been blogging very consistently for the past 9 years on his random thoughts on life. He is currently on a short hiatus, but is working on updating soon with a recap of his honeymoon with his wife, Mrs. jigg. His blog can be found at xanga.com/jigg and can be reached at jigg.xanga@gmail.com.
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the 
I agree that having a good travel partner is SO key when traveling. We’re definitely the “go go go” type couple who needs to see EVERYTHING. I honestly think that if we had extremely different travel styles, we might not have made it this far! My husband and I made sure when we met that we were the type that was up for travel more than beach vacations. We’ve done very well so far, I’m happy to report! Now that we’re living in Spain, travel has become an even bigger focus in our lives, since we’re constantly trying to get out and visit new places. We’re visiting Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein in a couple of weeks, and I couldn’t be more excited to do it with him!
And when we have kids, I hope that our travel style doesn’t change. I’d love to instill a sense of adventure in them from a young age!
Sounds like you scored in the wife department! My brother in law loves to travel, but my sister in law doesn’t, so they never go anywhere more adventurous than beach resorts in Hawaii. He used to have grand plans of taking a international trip each year, etc., so it’s kind of sad.
I am really happy that my husband likes traveling as much as I do (and is willing to do things like stay in peasant huts in rural Vietnam with me). It’s a great bond between us as a couple, so hopefully it will be the same for you.