Leave the baggage behind

If you're doing your own thing on vacation with family and friends, you're probably better off travelling solo. Try it

- SEEMA GOSWAMI

It was while I was travelling in Egypt last week that I first noticed it. Even though I was surrounded by people who were on holiday with their spouses, children, extended family or large groups of friends, they all acted as if they were vacationing alone.

At dinner, there was the nuclear family at the next table where both the children were rapt, watching videos on their respective iPads with their earphones on while their parents scrolled social media idly on their phones. Next day, as I trundled through a museum, I saw couples caught up in taking selfies of themselves in front of important antiquities, acting as if the other person didn't exist. At historical sites, members of large groups gravitated to different corners, doing their own thing until it was time to board the bus back to their hotel.