Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT
Confucius famously praised traveling in groups of three, believing you could always learn from other people. But I believe he never travelled with his friend and girlfriend - in this case, three is definitely a crowd.
My friend Yvonne has been seeing this guy for half a year. After spending some quality time together during Spring Festival, the two love birds decided to travel to their dream destination - Spain.
Yvonne was so excited that she immediately shared the news with her high school friend, Lily, who has been dreaming of going to Spain for years.
"Wow! So can I go with you guys?" Lily asked.
"Sure thing!" Yvonne replied, without giving it too much thought.
I used to travel with Yvonne. I know how helpful she can be as a travel buddy. But inviting her girl friend to travel with her boyfriend? Seriously? A third wheel can be nothing but a romance killer.
Yvonne put Lily in charge of booking the hotels. That's where the nightmare began. To save money, Lily booked a triple room for the first week. No room for romance.
When Yvonne confronted her, Lily explained, "Oh, I thought you guys wouldn't mind."
This is usually how things go wrong while travelling with both your friend and boyfriend. You try so hard to please both sides but at the end of the day you end up hurting both.
I suggested Yvonne should make out with her boyfriend in front of Lily here in China to show how much the passionate pair need a private room. But Yvonne said she is uptight in Lily's presence, and would not feel comfortable touching her boyfriend.
If you can't say no, remember Rule No.1: Be super honest at the beginning. Just tell your friend that you want to spend some private time with your boyfriend, and suggest she bring another travel buddy.
Yvonne tried this, but Lily argued, "We are leaving in a week. How can I find anyone to go with?"
Rule No.2: deal with issues when they start to happen. So Yvonne's boyfriend suggested Lily can get a single room, but each of them pay a third of the total bill.
Lily eventually agreed. "I can't believe you chose him over me," she told Yvonne. She insists the couple should treat her to dinner in Spain to "compensate" her for the extra expense. That really drove Yvonne crazy.
My advice? They'd better have their fingers crossed that Lily will meet someone during the trip and leave the couple alone.
This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.