Gift yourself a travel

Gone are the days when we were hungry to see places. The schedule used to be packed to ‘cover’ places to see in each city that were listed on the city brochures and websites. Be it museums, palaces or parks, nothing should be missed.

As we mature, travel is acquiring a new meaning. It is not about ‘ticking’ the boxes but immersing more within the boxes. Fortunately, we are able to afford a place that is better than our home and therefore we want to soak in the place. Sitting still, giving oneself the gift of limitless time. Reading a book, listening to music, meditating or ‘just not doing anything’. It does wonders.

As we mature, travel is acquiring a new meaning. It is about the food. Trying local cuisine and making mental note of the different ingredients used. I always wonder how a salad is enhanced with the use of one ingredient which is so easy to incorporate in our daily meals. It is fun attending those afternoon cooking classes and learning some new dishes

As we mature, travel is acquiring a new meaning. It is more to soak in a place. Going on small walks in and around the hotel is our favourite activity. Those pathways have different stories to tell about the flora and fauna of the place.

As we mature, travel is acquiring a new meaning. It is about people of the place. Talking to the people has significantly contributed to my optimism for the India Story. It could be chaiwala on the corner who is willing to engage in a conversation as you sip his tea. It could be taxi driver who I feel is the best testimony of the changing times. A peek in their lives give great insights. It gives me pleasure when I see that everyone is surfing for information on smart phones. The children are learning through you.tube and are with the times.

As we mature, gift yourself the travel. It is reward for the hard-work and award for the savings that we accumulated in life.

Travel together

My experience after a decade of empty nest has been that spending quality time together was becoming a rare commodity. Children were in their peak of professional life and were focussed on work and more work. Grand children were busier in their all-round development in academics and extracurricular.

Is this a new problem? Certainly not. Are there any solutions besides complaints? Surely there are. We came up with a solution that is acceptable to everyone. Travel together. Everyone is looking for opportunity to take a vacation, relax and explore new places. Why not align with that inherent individual need with our need to spend quality time together? We have been doing it with fair amount of success. From 3-4 days to nearby places to a week at Dubai and Kashmir have stood the test of time to this formula.

Our travel together with the entire family has given not only bonding time with us but between siblings and the cousins. It is good to see them playing together, laughing together and cementing the relations for life. In our childhood, such opportunities came naturally as all of us would spend vacations with grandparents. Now we need to curate them. The money spent on such vacations would give far higher returns than leaving the sum as inheritance.

Over the time, we have discovered one more variant to this formula. Travel with grandchildren. It provided space that was never explored earlier. It is a proven fact that the bond between the grandparents and grandchildren is unique. After all, they have common enemies!