You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
Traveling invigorates life by combining the journey and the destination. The recent “Kumbh Mela” in India attracted 650 million visitors, showcasing the diverse purposes of travel. Different travel styles exist, from minimalist to luxurious, reflecting personal resources and preferences. Journey experiences can be as enjoyable as reaching a destination, influenced by comfort and the desire to immerse in local culture. Air, train, and road travel each have unique advantages, making travel accessible, thrilling, and rewarding depending on individual choices.
Touring is an activity while travel is a means. It is by taking to travel, that one can reach one’s desired destination. Travelling is journey and touring is a destination. People who want to visit various places need to travel. It does not matter how short or long distance they shall have to spend in journey.
Sometimes the journey is more enjoyable than the destination. It also depends upon the mental bent of the mind and the body’s ability to sustain the journey’s difficulties. Even senior citizens take strenuous journeys, while relatively young ones hesitate or are unwilling to take up journeys. This apart, journey is the most important aspect of touring.
Next important thing is fooding and lodging. Some who believe in minimalism are enjoy their tour and journey in any condition. They don’t bother about the difficulties or discomfort of journey. Braving odds, they happily visit the place of their choice where they want to visit. This type of people are mainly religious tourists who visit the place in any situation.
The recently concluded “Kumbh Mela” (Kumbh Fair) is a live example. The 45-day religious jamboree took place in Prayagraj (former Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh (India). An estimated 65 crore people visited Prayagraj to take a holy dip in the sacred confluence of the holy Ganges, Yamuna and invisible Saraswati. The confluence of three is also known as “Triveni” (Three braids). It was a world record when on an auspicious occasion 650 million people congregated in a city. This outnumbers the populations of many countries of the world including the USA.
Braving all odds, people surged and felt ecstatic after bathing in the holy waters. It was their faith which was the driving force that propelled them to take up the journey and pilgrimage. They were ordinary people. A few of them were rich and resourceful and visited the place from even European countries to have a feel of Indian culture and tradition. It was amazing for them that such a big number congregated without being invited or told to.
People take journeys not solely for tourism. Nonetheless, tourism is defined as a journey followed by at least one night stay at a destination. It can be for any purpose, be it religious, recreational, business or any other.
Depending upon resources and the purpose, tours and travel can be of different kinds. It can be a religious tour like the one described above, Hajj or Umrah and a visit to the holy Vatican or Jerusalem. It can be a business trip or a site visit to gain knowledge and feel of the culture and cuisine of the place.
People who want comfort and convenience and are affluent enough to splurge take up an organised trip engaging a reputed and costly tour operator. Their choice is to see places with the luxury of at least 5-star facilities. They take up luxury air travel, stay in a star hotel, eat lavishly, enjoy the aromatic message and everything money can have.
There are people who can splurge money on luxury, they prefer not to spend excessively. They spend their money judiciously where it is required. Their focus is on visiting monuments, dreanch themselves in history and/or natural beauty of the place and know about the culture, cuisine and tradition of the place. This type of tourists travel not only for recreation but for having more out of it.
The categories of people who choose to visit religious places from a religious point of view. Mostly, they are middle-class or lower-middle-class people who do not have enough resources and try to extract more out of the meagre they have. They take public transport for local travel, religious precincts (if available), or public rest houses like “Dharamshala” or inn to rest, sleep and refresh. They even take food at community feasts (Bhandara or Langur). Their aim is clear and they prefer to achieve it in a bare minimal cost.
The urge to travel and tour is intrinsic to animal behaviour. From wanderers and wayfarers to settlers, human beings travelled a lot. As wayfarers, they would travel on foot. Nomads of current times used to keep travelling with their cattle, spending nights under makeshift shelters.
As has been said above, sometimes the journey is more enjoyable than the destination. Visiting a natural site or spot is enjoyable as the serpentine road traverses amidst lofty mountains. It gives joy and thrill. Sitting by the window of a bus sometimes sends a chill down the spine observing that the rear tyre of the bus is hanging on one side of the narrow road facing a deep ravine. The increasing quality of infrastructure has considerably reduced travel time. Travel has become easy and comfortable. People enjoy trekking and hiking in the upper reaches of hills for the tranquillity and ecstasy of natural beauty.
It was not long before that the train journey was considered economical, convenient and comfortable. Train occupies a special place in our lives. Their characteristic engine sound and trailing smoke belching out from the chimney of the engine are still fresh in the nostalgic thoughts of our seniors. Trains are still a favourable and affordable means of travel for most of us. It offers a comfortable and convenient means. With time trains have become more comfortable, fast and modern. Superfast and semi-high-speed trains are common now.
The road network has improved considerably. The narrow district roads are becoming broader and smoother, highways have radically been changed, and expressways are common. Travelling on a greenfield access-controlled expressway is an experience inexpressible. The only thing is that the users need to be cautious and careful while driving on the expressway. They must adhere to the rules and follow the instructions, adhering to their lane. These small things make journey enjoyable and hassle-free.
Aeroplanes offer a comfortable and swift journey but are still out of reach for common people. Though the number of flyers has considerably increased, there are still glitches and limitations. One of the most annoying things is that long aeroplane journeys become monotonous. One doesn’t enjoy the beauty of the outside. Besides, its ticket rates fluctuate according to demand and become premium at times. In the recently concluded Kumbh Mela, it was seen that air tickets soared to all-time new heights even for small distances. It was unreachable even for those who afford an air ticket.
Saving time is one thing that goes in favour of air travel. Those who want to travel to the northeast regions of the country or to the southernmost tip of peninsular India from the northern part are advised to take air travel. It considerably reduces the travel time that can be used in visiting places of interest at one’s own convenience, and one can spend some more quality time on the spot.
Touring for fun is not necessary. People go just to enjoy a hotel stay or sensual enjoyment, contributing to increased revenue generation and economy, but wasting their own time. Touring gives pleasure, but when amalgamated with observing things, culture, tradition and cuisine, becomes rewarding. It allows to explore the place or spot in detail and imbibe its positive vibes.
Hiking and camping are soul-soothing and invigorating. Adventure-loving tourists enjoy hiking. Lugging a backpack, leaning on a stick the tired hikers stop a while to look around, admire natural beauty and inhale volumes of fresh, crisp and fragrant air. Their faces shine with the rapture of being amidst nature volatilizes the fatigue of their strenuous walk. Leaning on a rock sipping refreshing tea from a thermos flask and listening to the rippling sound of the stream flowing hundreds of feet below gives immense joy. The magnetic effect of natural beauty increases when a nearby bird’s call harmonizes into a symphony of tranquility accompanied by the ripples of the rivulet.
Every mode of travel is thrilling and enjoyable. They cater to various situations but a journey by a self-driven car is very enjoyable. It is beneficial in more than one way, but the condition is that the car must be in excellent running condition. It needs to be doubly sure that the tyre pressures are as per norms, engine oil, brake oil and coolant are properly topped up and the windscreen fluid is appropriately contained. A good car increases the joy and thrill of the journey but before the start of the journey and checking its mechanical parts, an important thing that must be checked is that its papers are kept handy and up to date.
Adhering to basic but important things, a car journey is rewarding and joyful. So, be ready, buckle up and start!
Have a safe and enjoyable tour of your dream destination.
-END-
Leave a Reply