Friday, March 05, 2010

A vacation you will never forget...!!

I have no idea how many of you had ever tried a eco-holiday or eco-tourism. These words may look fashionable marking term used to promote tourism but if you ever try to understand what exactly they mean, they are very simple.

The idea itself of taking a break from our daily routine life and moving more and more towards nature will look like a crazy one to most of the people. Forget about going on a vacation at a place like this, where you will be spending money but won't be getting Jacuzzi or a personal swimming pool. The idea itself will look weird to most of us. They may end up experiencing this vacation as a guilt trip instead. How can someone pay for a vacation in today's times to get nothing of these so called luxuries, with no mobile, no Internet or no television?  No, I am not interested..will be the reaction from most of us.

Now think of a place in Kumaon, where only bus you can catch is bus number 11, your own legs to explore the place. Or at Haridwar, where you have to climb a 7,000 feet high mountain by yourself for trekking. Or at Kanha national park, where you can travel across the park fastest in a bullock cart, where food is organic and the wheat in your bread is pounded in a water mill, at a near by village not at any big food processing factory.

The adventure package may include walking across the villages accompanied by porters who helps you in identifying the places, flora, natural resources around and sometimes will assist in carrying your luggage, or staying every night at different rest house across villages, or having local delicacies cooked on either solar cooker or dung cakes but no electric ovens or LPG, in night you may have some dim bulbs glowing, thanks to usage of solar power or else you can sit in the varandah and enjoy the breeze. For the health freaks, you will get packaged drinking water, a chance to go for a cycling trip across the terrain, a swim in fresh water rivers with no contaminations. And above all a rejuvenated body and soul that none of the so called healing spa sessions can provide. 

Although most of us reading this write-up may not be much enthusiastic and eager to take all these challenges, there are people who prefer to take a break for a vacation at one of these places. And yes I belong to that crazy category.

Give this a thought next time when you are planning a holiday, remember, your life is calling, where are you...??

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