Travel Without A Plan

In the recent years we see travel is picking up in a big way in India, especially the foreign destinations. I suppose this a result of the general affluence one sees among the upper middle class or young corporates. Travel is a great way for the family to spend time together especially since today’s work life hardly leaves any spare time for the family to spend together.

An ardent traveler myself, but I have been averse to travels planned by the so called travel agents. I find it suffocating to follow a fixed itinerary. My holiday is my time and I decide what I want to do and see. Travel magazine has always been an attraction for me and in these days online magazines and travel sites are a great source for travel information. I love reading about places off the beaten tracks. Online magazines and other travel sites help us get a glimpse of these lesser known tourist spots. Mostly they are also a get source of travel tips.   Sites like TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet provide some very reliable and brilliant travel tips. Their reviews of tourist spots, hotels restaurants are pretty reliable and I have truly benefitted by many of their reviews.

The usual travel destinations like London, Paris, Rome, New York, Disneyland I understand is high on a tourist’s list especially  when they are  going  abroad for the first few times, but that should  never  be the only thing. Even if these and other similar cities are your destination try to move away from the cities, explore the surrounding areas, countryside, smaller towns.  Get to know the locals, local food local habits, local music and culture. Try not to be a tourist, sit in a roadside café and watch the locals going about their daily business. Yes it is important to see the famed tourist sites, take pictures and share with friends and family Back Home. But it doesn’t matter if you miss out on a site instead take travel tips from local inhabitants travel magazines, websites and make your trip an experience. Get lost and find your way. Bring back stories to share, recipes and flavours to try out, unusual souvenirs and work of a local artisan. Try to understand the country’s lifestyle, talk to locals, hang around in a local eatery, trysomething new.

Travels should be enriching and not simply to satisfy your ego and to show off to friends and family you too have beento  a particular destination. Try to develop these tastes and habits in your children, they will gain immensely if they learn to seek new things, take  part in adventures and appreciate other cultures and society.