Priya Pathiyan
Deputy Editor
There was a time when most people in India travelled only for three reasons — on business, on pilgrimage, or to meet family. As a child in the 80s, I was often asked by classmates and teachers with quizzical expressions why I was going to a certain place. ‘Do you have relatives there?’ was the common refrain. I was hard put to explain that my parents had been bitten by the travel bug and that we travelled to see new places, have unique experiences, meet interesting people.
Thankfully, people today totally get it. Leisure travel has become pleasure travel. All of us are keen to enjoy a change of scenery and pace, to leave behind the familiar for a while and try something new and exciting. But how much of our choice is free will and how much is the result of seeds subliminally sowed in our minds? With tourism boards and destination marketing companies vying for our attention (and cheque book), everything is carefully curated to secure our custom. The end consumer is spliced a hundred different ways according to demographics, the social media reels know just how to reel us in, and the targeted ads know exactly how to hook us for our next holiday. And then there’s the competitive element that makes families use travel as a status symbol. In fact, if you aren’t going somewhere, chances are, you’re perceived as going nowhere. In life, that is. Even kids today wield their pester power, pooh-poohing local destinations and throwing tantrums so that their parents plan an international holiday ‘just like Aaryaman’s family’.
There’s a lot of pressure to travel too. We sometimes feel like it’s something we ‘must’ check off our to-do list in the pursuit of happiness. And once we are on a trip, we feel pressure to see and do everything, immerse ourselves in the authentic, because we want to ‘be travellers, not tourists’. In all this, it’s easy to forget the point of a vacation, which is to relax and unwind. Whether you do it soaking up the sun by the pool, shopping until you drop, or climbing up the tallest mountain is up to you. But, that juncture in your journey when you find your mind afloat in bliss — where you’re captivated by a vista, relaxing after a good meal, or gliding through the mangroves on your kayak — that’s the defining moment of your trip. So, while we at TravelDine give you all the ammo you need to make your holidays an absolute blast, from the best hotel recommendations to deep dives into droolworthy destinations, that final step towards true travel rapture is all yours to take.