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Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
He wants Disney World, I want the Maldives: The couples who can't agree over holidays
Few things test a couple's patience like planning a holiday together. The old saying 'I need a holiday to recover from the holiday' hits especially hard when two very different travel styles collide. The odds of both partners wanting to do the same things, at the same pace – while having shared the booking admin and agreed on a budget – are slimmer than finding an August discount on the Riviera. Whether you're keen to catch a clifftop sunrise while your other half lounges by the pool, or you're stuck wrangling bookings while they idly browse for new swimwear, joint holidays can be... challenging. James Bore, 42, a digital security expert from Surrey, and his wife Nikki, a translator, have been married for eight years. 'We realised early on that we have very different travel styles,' he says. 'Nikki likes scheduled history tours. I prefer to wander and eat local food. In Rome, I was sick of white marble after an hour – Nikki was still dragging me around ruins on the last day.' Over time, they have learnt to compromise. 'She'll go off to look at things while I read in a café,' he says. 'Plus, her itineraries have gradually become more relaxed, which means I'm more willing to visit historic sites – though probably not white marble again.' Having autonomy on holiday is healthy, says couples counsellor Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar of Red Kite Therapy. 'You can co-create a rhythm of alternate days, split mornings and afternoons, or schedule independent time. The goal isn't the perfect itinerary,' she says. 'It's re-connecting afterwards – which is crucial.' 'I had to pay an extra £300 to rebook' But while the holiday schedule might be up for negotiation, it's often the booking process that becomes a couple's undoing – because when something goes wrong, there's only ever one person to blame. (And somehow, it's never the one who sat watching TV while their spouse wrestled with online forms and passport renewals.) 'I protest that I've been given the role of family PA,' says Sally Baker, a psychotherapist married to Arnold Dobbs, an artist. 'I asked my husband to sit with me while I booked [the] Eurostar and a hotel, but he said, 'You're fine – you do this all the time.' I was hugely busy at work and trying to book in a hurry,' she explains. 'I managed to book the train for the wrong weekend and had to pay another £300 to rebook. I just wish he'd share the responsibility more with me.' Solo bookers aren't alone. According to a survey by travel company more than half of Britons wouldn't trust their partner to plan a holiday. Women were most concerned that their other half would choose an 'undesirable location' or 'sub-standard' accommodation. Among those who had taken a couple's break, 81 per cent said the trip had been booked by the woman. 'I wouldn't ask him to book a whole holiday – I don't think he'd know where to start,' says writer Rosie Mullender of her husband. 'I can barely muster the enthusiasm to do the hours of research myself, even when I'm the one who wants to go away. I don't think he'd ever get around to it, especially when it's something he's not that keen on in the first place.' Early mornings vs lying in That's not the case for Claire Bartlett, 40, a business coaching strategist, and her husband Matthew, an insurance underwriter, also 40, from Birmingham. 'We've always had a bit of a holiday clash,' Claire admits. 'I get up early to watch the sunrise – I find it so peaceful and calming. But he'll say, 'I've had to get up for work all year; I'm lying in.' In the early days, I'd be shouting, 'Get up!' But now I just leave him to it.' Before they go away, Claire says, 'we try to agree how many days of the holiday we'll spend exploring. We head to Malta every year for some winter sun, and in summer we love going to Disney in Orlando.' That's where the problems begin. 'Matt wants full days in the parks, and by then I'm exhausted – I just want to relax. My dream holiday would be somewhere like the Maldives, pure relaxation,' she says. 'I don't like the beach, so I'd be by the pool the whole time, completely switching off.' By contrast, 'Matt's dream would be two weeks in Orlando with an absolutely packed schedule. When we were last there, there were a couple of days when I thought, 'You're pushing me too far now – I'm going to sit down.'' Thankfully, before the battle of Sleeping Beauty Castle escalated, their daughter Olivia, 10, found a solution. 'Now, Matt has someone to spend extra time on rides with, and I can head back to the pool early,' says Claire. When you're planning a holiday and know you won't want to follow the same schedule, start with open, non-judgmental conversations, says Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar. 'Each person can share their ideal day – not to convince the other, but to understand. Use statements like, 'I feel...' or 'What I need to recharge is...'' It's also helpful, she adds, to 'name your non-negotiables and your flexibility. Maybe the pool is essential for one of you, and the other needs a sunrise walk – both can happen, if they're spoken about early.' For some couples, the friction isn't about activities but accommodation standards. 'I told my husband not to unpack' 'My husband teases me every time we settle into a hotel room – he jokingly asks if it's OK to unpack,' says Lydia Berman, a brand consultant from Hemel Hempstead. 'I'm notorious for finding an issue.' Once, she recalls, 'I was heavily pregnant and the hotel gave us a room with no windows that opened. It was during a heatwave and they only had a small fan. I was melting and asked for another room. The first they gave us, someone was still sleeping in it! The second had no beds… the third had another problem, and the fourth was finally okay.' After their baby arrived, Lydia remembers a trip to Crete: 'We stayed two weeks in a room with no bath and nowhere to put a cot – despite the booking info being clear. The first room they offered had an overflowing toilet. They admitted the fault, so we ended up with an upgrade.' More recently, she says, 'we were in Mexico and the room smelled damp, which triggered my asthma. I was mortified to tell my husband not to unpack as I went to reception to complain.' Despite her success moving rooms, she admits, 'I think my husband would rather we just stayed quiet!' But differing needs like these can be managed, says couples counsellor Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar. 'Make a plan for if you fall out – which is likely, given so many new variables,' she advises. 'How will you repair things without escalating the tension? Having a clear plan stops disagreements from spiralling, so you can both enjoy the rest of the holiday.'
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Time of India
Can AI help you talk to your pet? China's Baidu wants to turn barks and meows into human language
Imagine your dog telling you they're lonely, or your cat expressing disdain not just with a hiss, but in plain English. That sci-fi fantasy could soon become reality thanks to Chinese tech behemoth Baidu , which is aiming to decode the language of animals using artificial intelligence. In a move that sounds straight out of a futuristic novel—or a Pixar movie—the Beijing-based company has filed a patent to translate barks, meows, grunts, and even body language into human speech. #Operation Sindoor India-Pakistan Clash Live Updates| Pak moving troops to border areas? All that's happening Why India chose to abstain instead of 'No Vote' against IMF billion-dollar funding to Pakistan How Pak's jihadi general Munir became trapped in his own vice The Race to Decode the Animal Kingdom Baidu's ambitious project isn't just about sound. The patent, filed with China's National Intellectual Property Administration, outlines a system that collects and processes a spectrum of animal behavior. It includes vocalizations, changes in body language, and biological signals—everything from tail wags to nervous pacing. All of this data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. From there, these feelings would be translated into semantic meaning—potentially giving pets the power to 'talk' in languages like Chinese or English. Baidu promises the system will 'allow deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans,' ushering in a new era of cross-species conversation. iStock Data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. Still in the Lab, But Wagging Tails of Interest Though Baidu has acknowledged the buzz around its patent, the project remains firmly in the research phase. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the filing, stating that the invention has sparked 'a lot of interest,' but there's no product just yet. That hasn't stopped speculation about what the final form could look like. Industry experts like James Bore, from Bores Group consultancy, suggest the tech might land as an app: point your phone at your pet, record their antics, and receive a running translation of what they're 'saying.' Whether it's 'Feed me, now!' or 'Stop calling me a good boy when I'm clearly a great one,' pet owners may soon know exactly what their furry companions are thinking. — Baidu_Inc (@Baidu_Inc) Other Ears in the Game According to the Daily Mail , Baidu isn't the only group listening in. The Earth Species Project, backed by tech titans like LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, has been trying to crack the code of interspecies communication since 2017. Meanwhile, Project CETI has spent years analyzing the speech-like clicks of sperm whales, and Danish scientists recently managed to interpret pig grunts as emotional expressions using AI. What sets Baidu apart is the scale—and the swagger. As one of China's leading AI developers, Baidu has heavily invested in large language models, including its own 'Ernie 4.5 Turbo,' an ambitious rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT. While the chatbot hasn't dethroned its American counterparts yet, Baidu's bold foray into the animal world signals that the company is thinking beyond human conversation. Whispers of Doubt Amid Barks of Excitement The announcement has lit up Chinese social media, with curious pet lovers debating the possibility of real-time dog-to-human dialogue. On platforms like Weibo, reactions range from delighted anticipation to eyebrow-raising scepticism. 'It sounds impressive, but we'll need to see how it performs in real-world applications,' one user posted. Others pointed out that current translation apps for pets are often gimmicky and inaccurate, raising concerns that Baidu's version could ride the AI hype without delivering the goods. Bore echoed the sentiment, saying Baidu's system might initially resemble other 'low-quality' apps already on the market, albeit with a high-tech twist. The Bark Heard Around the World? While some may scoff, the implications of this technology are vast. If successful, Baidu's invention could revolutionize pet care, veterinary diagnostics, wildlife research, and even farming. It could also transform the emotional bond between humans and animals—from assumption to articulation. And perhaps it's no coincidence that Baidu's logo features a dog's paw print. The company known for online searches might now be chasing a new kind of signal—the sound of empathy between species. Whether this will result in meaningful conversation or just more bark than bite remains to be seen. But for now, the world waits with ears perked, tails wagging, and maybe—just maybe—a little hope of hearing their pet say 'I love you,' and knowing it's not just a trick. Would you talk to your pet if you could?
Economic Times
10-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Can AI help you talk to your pet? China's Baidu wants to turn barks and meows into human language
The Race to Decode the Animal Kingdom iStock Data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. Still in the Lab, But Wagging Tails of Interest Other Ears in the Game Whispers of Doubt Amid Barks of Excitement The Bark Heard Around the World? Imagine your dog telling you they're lonely, or your cat expressing disdain not just with a hiss, but in plain English. That sci-fi fantasy could soon become reality thanks to Chinese tech behemoth Baidu , which is aiming to decode the language of animals using artificial intelligence. In a move that sounds straight out of a futuristic novel—or a Pixar movie—the Beijing-based company has filed a patent to translate barks, meows, grunts, and even body language into human ambitious project isn't just about sound. The patent, filed with China's National Intellectual Property Administration, outlines a system that collects and processes a spectrum of animal behavior. It includes vocalizations, changes in body language, and biological signals—everything from tail wags to nervous of this data would be fed into an AI system trained to assess an animal's emotional state. From there, these feelings would be translated into semantic meaning—potentially giving pets the power to 'talk' in languages like Chinese or English. Baidu promises the system will 'allow deeper emotional communication and understanding between animals and humans,' ushering in a new era of cross-species Baidu has acknowledged the buzz around its patent, the project remains firmly in the research phase. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the filing, stating that the invention has sparked 'a lot of interest,' but there's no product just hasn't stopped speculation about what the final form could look like. Industry experts like James Bore, from Bores Group consultancy, suggest the tech might land as an app: point your phone at your pet, record their antics, and receive a running translation of what they're 'saying.' Whether it's 'Feed me, now!' or 'Stop calling me a good boy when I'm clearly a great one,' pet owners may soon know exactly what their furry companions are to the Daily Mail, Baidu isn't the only group listening in. The Earth Species Project, backed by tech titans like LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, has been trying to crack the code of interspecies communication since 2017. Meanwhile, Project CETI has spent years analyzing the speech-like clicks of sperm whales, and Danish scientists recently managed to interpret pig grunts as emotional expressions using sets Baidu apart is the scale—and the swagger. As one of China's leading AI developers, Baidu has heavily invested in large language models, including its own 'Ernie 4.5 Turbo,' an ambitious rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT. While the chatbot hasn't dethroned its American counterparts yet, Baidu's bold foray into the animal world signals that the company is thinking beyond human announcement has lit up Chinese social media, with curious pet lovers debating the possibility of real-time dog-to-human dialogue. On platforms like Weibo, reactions range from delighted anticipation to eyebrow-raising scepticism.'It sounds impressive, but we'll need to see how it performs in real-world applications,' one user posted. Others pointed out that current translation apps for pets are often gimmicky and inaccurate, raising concerns that Baidu's version could ride the AI hype without delivering the echoed the sentiment, saying Baidu's system might initially resemble other 'low-quality' apps already on the market, albeit with a high-tech some may scoff, the implications of this technology are vast. If successful, Baidu's invention could revolutionize pet care, veterinary diagnostics, wildlife research, and even farming. It could also transform the emotional bond between humans and animals—from assumption to perhaps it's no coincidence that Baidu's logo features a dog's paw print. The company known for online searches might now be chasing a new kind of signal—the sound of empathy between this will result in meaningful conversation or just more bark than bite remains to be seen. But for now, the world waits with ears perked, tails wagging, and maybe—just maybe—a little hope of hearing their pet say 'I love you,' and knowing it's not just a you talk to your pet if you could?
