The thesaurus synonyms for travel are
straightforward. Holiday, vacation, journey,
tour, trip, voyage, trek, expedition,
vagabonding.
But what would the whole experience encompass
and give me fulfillment as an ardent traveller?
Can TRAVEL be a pithy word and fill the
mindscape with a vivid picture canvas of awe and
excitement immediately? For example, when you
think; Volcano (erupting red lava out of a
crater on a mountaintop) or Antarctica (unending
expanses of ice, in the middle of nowhere,
penguins adding color!).
What picture would travel conjure?
Which definition would make me look forward to
my next travel sojourn?
Which definition, if I could stick to it, would
give me pleasure and make me yearn for more?
Or, would the definition change every time
as the landscape does during the course of a
journey, as the road condition changes at each
bend?
Travel is an amalgamation of so many aspects -
geography, history, culture, cuisine, nature,
flora, fauna, adventure, indulging in a new or
passionate hobby with different opportunities,
finding time for yourself and intangibles like
discovery of the self, conquering inane inner
fears, introspecting and getting rid of the
monkeys on your back and perhaps also simply
spacing out mixed with fun and frolic.
There are many other ideas which have been
perplexing me.
Is travel to do with a hotel, a destination or
an activity?
Been there, done it?
Is it a style statement?
"We stayed at The Oberois at Shimla. Oh,
Wildflower Hall is so opulent! The only place to
be staying if you are in that region."
"Bangkok and Singapore are passé. What an
experience the sunset cruise on the Nile was on
our visit to Egypt."
During travel how important is luxury?
Is neat, clean and hygienic good enough if you
are getting to discover new vistas?
Are unexplored and uncharted paths not a good
enough excuse for roughing out?
Why not a combination of luxury and comfort; of
adventure by the day and of scotch and chicken
tikkas in the evening?
Does travel necessarily need to transcend from a
simple holiday to a huge self growth phenomenon?
Does travel imperatively need to contribute to
life changes, however incremental, for being
meaningful?
How many of us are prepared to leave our homes
and robotic selves behind as we put a lock on
the front door and venture out to travel?
Does standing under a towering and majestic
deodar in a verdant forest in the middle of
nowhere make one feel humble? Does it hurt the
ego that one is a non-entity here or does it
overwhelm a being with a new freshness and zest
for life?
How important are the experiences of resurgent
emotions and new found confidences and feelings
of achievements during travel?
How does it matter that I have off-roaded,
traveled over hills and vales to experience the
beauty of Himalayan peaks at close quarters with
the breaking dawn and the setting sun. Are Nanda
Devi (the highest peak wholly in India) or Leo
Pargil (the highest peak of Himachal) or Kinner
Kailash (the winter abode of Lord Shiva) which
mesmerized me, not just patches of snow on a
mountaintop.
Is travel about self growth and becoming a
better human besides education and exploration?
Or is that trying to put too profound a
connotation to the simple word travel which only
means going from one point to another.
Isn't one forest like any other, one mountain
range like any other?
Who needs to off-road over back breaking roads,
why graze your knees rock-climbing or perhaps
fracture your ankle during touchdown at
paragliding?
Maybe just stay at a luxury resort and spend
your holiday basking in the winter sun, enjoying
your beer, spending some time at the health spa
and generally spacing out!
Is a holidayer perceived of a different genre,
different from an adventure seeker?
Is a vacationer seeking something else than a
nature lover?
Can a general traveler not be something of an
explorer as well?
Why can't one want a bit of everything or
different things at different times without
feeling guilty?
Or can one be just chilled out without being too
ambitious towards change?
Is travel about around the world in 80 days or
being a castaway on a deserted island for a
lifetime?
To come back to the initial question - Can
we have one single evocative image of 'travel'?
Or would the canvasses range from Van Gogh's
Daffodils to Renoir's Beach Scene to Picasso's
Cubism with both the resurgent image and
underlying imagery making the impressions?
Let us decide if we need to categorise travel or
keep it an open journey - a new experience and
discovery each time.
A blank canvas every time we start out on a
journey. A myriad of colours, as we return,
mirroring our experiences and feelings.
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