Are vacations making you more tired? Slow down and step away from that to-do list

Crammed itineraries. Destination overload. For your mental health, consider off-season, long weekend breaks to less well-known corners of the world.

- Charlotte Ma

The clock ticked past midnight as I landed in Singapore. After three hours on a train, one lengthy car ride and 14 hours in the air, exhaustion was an understatement. Although I had just travelled through a beautiful and social media-worthy destination, it was also overpopulated with tourists. I remember needing a vacation from my vacation, right there at baggage claim.

Singapore's compact size comes with its set of pros and cons. Our small country precludes domestic intercity travel. Vacations are an escape for Singaporeans, and our status as a well-connected hub makes jet-setting effortless, cementing our reputation as well-travelled people.

But in the scramble to head here, there and everywhere, I had lost something. Instead of vacations being a restorative break, I realised they had become another source of stress. The high-calibre, fast-paced professional life in Singapore had bled into my holiday planning, where the relentless pursuit of perfection extended even to my itineraries. Travel had become too much about the destination, and not the journey. It was time to wake up and smell the roses.

WHAT TRAVEL HAS BECOME, WHY IT NEEDS TO CHANGE

We've all been there. Scrolling through endless feeds of sun-drenched beaches and perfectly curated cityscapes, it is easy to fall prey to the illusion of the perfect destination. I certainly did. My goal would be to relax, but my list of "things to do" (and eat) would suddenly get longer and the itinerary would morph into a relentless agenda, all before taking flight. Before I knew it, my "relaxing" vacation was crammed with activities, mirroring the very office schedule that I sought to escape.