A working vacation in the old days

When I was still working in a now defunct government agency, we used to soften the hardships of being assigned to remote places by considering field works as a vacation, a respite from the bundy clock controlled, boring routine of a desk assignment. We were poorly equiped in the field and made do with what we had and what we could improvised.

However, I had more fun traveling then than I do now despite all the modern conveniences and facilities available or within easy reach these days.

We had to cook our meals in an improvised "kalan" - three stones to support a "kaldero" and dry twigs to fuel a fire and a designated cook and his assistants who had no clue of what they were doing. To this day, I still think those meals were more satisfying than the fancy meals served on cruise ships and star-studded restaurants on shore.

Only our legs to propel us from place to place, not the air-conditioned, toilet-equiped and comfort-laden touring coaches...

and crude lean-tos to protect us from the elements at night, not a fancy suite with a minibar, high definition tv, wifi and a gold-plated bathroom.

Ah, those were the days worth reliving!