Category: Everything else

There are many inspirational blog posts out in the blogosphere on Travel. Some of the more inspirational ones give you reasons to travel wide whilst you are young. Yet some others talk about the ‘right’ way to travel. Of course, the ‘right’ way is highly dependent on the biases of the blogger involved. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of good literature out there on ‘how’ to travel.

I thought I’d provide the counter point. I don’t believe there is a ‘right’ way to travel.

There are many kinds of vacations.

By type, there are
mountain-acations (think: adventure, trekking, rafting)
beach-acations (think: beaches (duh..), water sports, walks by the water etc),
tourist-acations (think: wake up 8am, tourist map, lots of pictures),
visit-acations (think: visiting family, lots of meeting and renewing friendship and family ties) and
relax-acations (think: sleep, more sleep).

By people, there are
single-acations (think: no thinking required)
romance-acations (think: as above)
friends-acations (think: fun and merriment)
family-acations (think: sweet memories.. and thinking about your friends once in a while. ;-))
relative-acations (think: boring family reunions)

By budget, there are
hostel-acations (think: pampering your wallet)
style-acations (think: pampering yourself)

By energy requirements, there are
thrill-acations (think: so much activity that you need a vacation after your vacations)
recharge-acations (think: raring to go after your vacation!)

Now, given we have so many kinds of vacations/travel types, how can there be a RIGHT way to travel?

The simple truth is that there isn’t. There are two other facts that are often forgotten.

Firstly, the concept of travel is cultural. If you are European, taking a year off after college to travel is very normal. If you’re Asian, it’s absurd. But, then again, Asians don’t get their education sponsored. So, even if there’s longing, there’s nothing in the bank account.

Secondly, our willingness to travel likely also depends on our state in life i.e. our circumstances. If you are doing building something very exciting at this stage in life, then travel can wait. Every dollar you earn may be better off being invested in what you’re building.

The reason I say this is because our Facebook lives demand a bit of travel to stay hip. Travel when young, increase your country count, take cool photos etc.

If you decide to do it, I hope you think about why you’re traveling and make sure you enjoy the experience.

If you don’t like bungee jumping and thrill-acations, that’s okay.

If you want to go about on a very tourist-y package tour, that’s also okay.

If you choose to eat at McDonald’s and KFC during your break, that works just as well.

And if you don’t want to travel when young, or ever, that’s also fine.

Like many other things in life, travel is often overrated.

And like most things in life, it’s often not so much about the destination or the journey, but about the company we keep.

Paradise can be wherever you are. It’s a choice.

It definitely is.. where I am…here and now.. :-)

I am a Hindu by faith. I tend to be more spiritual than religious however. I think that tends to be a view held by most of us who whose education taught us to think, to probe and to question.

That said, I love religious festivals. I am a sucker for all kinds of celebrations. You just have to give me an excuse and I’ll probably be out on the street celebrating. I love the concept of celebrations – be it religious ones like Diwali, Id or Christmas or simply the many ‘day’s’ we celebrate during the year like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Friendship Day etc.

These celebrations encourage us to take a break, pause and think of those who matter most. And Christmas takes the cake when it comes to timing. The Christmas New Year break is what makes December incredibly magical for most us. For those of us who are fortunate to live near family or have the means to travel to our homes, it’s the time when we get together and celebrate!

And, perhaps, most importantly, it is that time when most of the world takes a break from work to celebrate. Isn’t that a magical thought?

This very moment, many families, friends and loved ones across time zones are getting together and enjoying a great meal, a great movie or simply a great moment.

At a time when there’s more societal, economical and social unrest than there’s been for many decades, that thought alone gives me a lot of hope… We could do with some love in this world..

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a wonderful holiday week..

This week’s book learning is from a combination of books on Richard Feynman and Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs.

Another year has flown. On 16th October this year, this blog completed 100 weeks of book learnings! Thank you for making it special..

As is tradition now, please find our very own 10 question reflection and review sheet on http://bit.ly/alearningadayreview2011

I hope you will find 15 minutes in the next few days to reflect on these questions. Please also do send any feedback you might have to improve this sheet.

I wish you a wonderful holiday season and hope you memorable Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Here’s to 15 minutes of reflection amidst the joys of the holiday season, this week!

It’s fairly easy to live a limited life.

One of the simplest ways to do so is to live by calculation i.e. everything you do is measured by the amount of money that’s in the transaction. This simplifies life in many ways.

A holiday is measured by the cost of the holiday.

A job is measured by your pay packet.

Your phone is cost optimized.

Life is measured by the Ferrari index (i.e. what car do you have?).

And relationships are measured how much you get.

This way, life is reduced to the constant search of the next deal. You only travel on holiday if it is cheap. You never indulge spontaneity because it is expensive. You sign your next job offer because you have a great sign on bonus. And so on..

You’ll save cash. You’ll have optimized the best deals.

But, constantly searching for the next deal is tiring. It’s limited.

We’re probably better off focusing on experiences.

Because most great experiences, truly are, priceless. Ask a music fan what it felt like to attend a great concert or a football fan what it felt like to attend an amazing football game.

It’s very unlikely they made the trip because they found a ‘great deal’.

I’m always reminded of the famous string of Mastercard ads that used to air on TV when I was a child.  (I couldn’t find the one I wanted which involved a family working to get a family portrait together. So, here’s a substitute.)