[ampere]

Mods,

I am creating this thread in the shifting gears section. But I feel it is more intended for the travel section.
So please position it as you feel it can be moved.


How does one plan his time when on a holiday? I keep asking this question to myself over and again.
As I grew-up through various phases of my life, I now realize that the answer to the posed question has kept changing.

When on vacation with Mom/Dad, the idea was always not leave any place “not-visited”.
Where ever one goes he has to see all the places, whether he likes it or not. This was my fathers view
(Now obviously one can say he liked a place or not only after seeing a place. In that respect the question is counter-intuitive).
But the overall question still remains the same. Should one target all the places, at the cost of stretching the schedule or go a bit easy?
After all one is on a vacation. One does not want the vacation to be more hectic than his daily routine.

Now when I came down to college and friends and independent bachelorhood, there were no more of these long holidays.
It was always extended weekends. This is more of where either one drives to a place or treks over a weekend.
The density of effort involved is high. The outcome is highly satisfactory as one feels to have achieved something personally.
Conquering a peak, spending a night in wilderness, cycling through ruins, exploring jungles etc are things to name a few.

The next phase is now of one’s own family. So where is the change? The change is in terms of perception of comfort.
One typically in most cases is in a more positive frame of find to splurge compared to his parent.
Searching for hotels after one lands in the place, now gives way to reviews of hotels online and advance bookings before
one even sets foot out of the house.

I have seen and experienced all the above mentioned facets of a holiday (I guess most of you may have already).
But I still am fighting on which is which and how should one go above it? I can still find people,
who employ the above mentioned ideologies, according to their preference, ability and habit.

So my question to you all is what is your perception of a holiday? To be more precise, how would you like to spend your time
when on a holiday? Given the fact, time is limited and one does want to utilize it best. But how does one define “what is best”?
That is the answer I seek. I would like to know how others perceive this aspect.

[mooza]

Hi Amp, to me, holidays have become synonymous with being one with nature and greenery, all of which is getting depleted in our cities !

So, nice drives through scenic ghats are just my cup of tea ! I did this thrice through the Western ghats in the last 3 months, it was really rejuvenating

[ampere]

Thanks Murali. Even I have similar leanings. But the idea is how it gels with family and friends, when we have to carry every one together.

[SuperSelect]

Hi Amp, this is a very interesting thread you've started..

Answers to the (perpetual) questions posed however, would be a person's individual choice / perception and not necessarily a final truth !

In my opinion, the perfect holiday is when the agenda is to:

1) Refresh your body, mind, and soul.
2) Do things other than what you would in your daily routine, and finally
3) Do not tire yourself in a way that you need a couple of days rest before you get back to work.

What I would like to do on a holiday is:

1) Research and find out what are the "things to do and see" in my choice destination.
2) Identify what out of that I'm going to be able to do in the time available to me, and FORGET what does not sound interesting (to me, of course !!)
3) Leave a clear 25% of the holiday time for either doing nothing, or for those last moment explorations you want to do - this is very essential !

That way, I will return home truly refreshed.

[ampere]

That is a perfect blend. When I go back to our good old kid days with my parents, it was only a destination in mind. It was then after finding the hotel to stay we found through those guys, what are the places to see and did not leave one place@\!

In these days of extreme planning I sometimes feel, a vacation needs to be run almost like a office-project! There is nothing laid-back about it any more and that is what makes me worried.

I agree that if one takes a vacation abroad, planning is crucial. But how about it in our own country? (I am not saying planning bad). Its just that sometimes, it becomes too structured for a holiday.

[hvkumar]

My holidays are all driving holidays, never go any other way, whether with family or friends. On a regular day, I don't get up before 7 am, but on a driving holiday, we would have covered 300 kms before 8!! No lazy breakfasts or fruit salads after lunch or kulfi after 10!

My holidays have meant covering as much as possible in as short a time, we enjoy it that way.

Even on 2 holidays in Europe, I was on a self-planned Eurail circuits, whereby I covered 5 countries in 7 days, taking 43 trains, or on another occasion, 6 countries in 7 days covering 23 trains!

We cover a lot of ground in our holidays, we care the least for hotel rooms - strictly budget, clean toilets, no breakfast plans - and seldom repeat a night in the same place.

I guess I have several more years of such "hectic" (by public perception) "relaxed" (my perception) holidays and I guess I may slow down after I grow older.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Nice topic!!!!

Everyone has different meaning of holiday.

During older days, i mean 20 years back, very few options were available in terms of transportation, stay options, booking options, destinations.
In traditional Indian family, mostly holiday means visiting temples during deepawali and summer vacation, travel by train, stay at lodges if available or dharmshala. This type of holiday travel was done in a group consisting grandpa, grandma, mummy, papa, uncle, aunt and cousin. Today also, major population from rural area have still this type idea about holiday. During those days, very few, less than 5% were actual leuiser traveler/tourist who opted for relaxation at some resort, island or like that.

After 1990, Indians got exposure to the world firstly through media/tv, then travel to abroad. The concept of holiday started to change with educated families living in metro or cities.

whats situation today?

Large part of educated families live in cities, own cars, high income, ready to spend and are aware about holiday options.
Major part of indian population still live in town and villages with limited resources but are ready to travel when they get chance.
By virtue this scenerio, we can classify as

1] The concept of holiday in educated city living miya, bibi and two bachche family is leisure/relaxation at some place, usi ke saath some temples etc,

2] The concept of holiday in rural families living in towns and villages with grandpa/ma, uncle aunt is still pilgrimage but staying at hotels rather than dharmshala.

3] The concept of holiday with poor families is still pilgrimage and staying at dharmshala. These type holiday is mostly done by large groups.

Now a days, variety of options are available in terms of transportation, stay options, destinations etc and each one try to make fun out of holiday with his/her taste and budget.

I prefer the type of holiday middle between relaxation and sightseeing.
I need both of them and try to balance the things.

[paragsachania]

My Idea of a Holiday also has been driving and just about driving.

While we mostly drive to my hometown of Belur and thereby visit Chikmagalur and nearby places where my schoolmates have settled, none in our family thinks twice whenever we suddenly plan the idea to drive to Pune.

Everyone in my family enjoys these drives and this is one reason why Bangalore-Pune happens almost every alternate month these days.

If I plan to visit a destination that is usually 'famous', I prefer to do that over a weekday since the roads will be devoid of Holiday/Weekend traffic and there is every chance that the accomodation can be worked out for cheap and no Queues at Hotels, Temples or other places of Interest.

Ask for Mysore and I usually decline and prefer to take an off and drive on a Weekday. I just hate that road on a Sunday evening or a late Saturday morning.

Like HVK sir mentions, I am also lazy to wake up early and when it comes to a drive, I am always ready before 4-30am and ensure that we all leave before 5am to cover as much distance as possible before the Village/Town folks wake up and traffic starts building!

But these says with a 6 month old daughter, most of the things work the way the little one prefers for obvious reasons.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Like HVK sir mentions, I am also lazy to wake up early and when it comes to a drive, I am always ready before 4-30am and ensure that we all leave before 5am to cover as much distance as possible before the Village/Town folks wake up and traffic starts building!

But these says with a 6 month old daughter, most of the things work the way the little one prefers for obvious reasons.

Same with me too. Add to it that roads in India have come of age. On top of it, better auto-mobiles and better purchasing power. Put two and two together, and we see most urban folks preferring to drive to a destination. (Drive obviously being the part of the fun)

But as HVK says, I can resort his "mode" of holiday only when with friends. But I do tend to enjoy both the styles. Getting early and gearing up for a long drive is a thrill in itself. No elaborate food requirements, but a good coffee or a tea stall would do me real good.


AP,

Long distance for me HAS to be on a train. I cannot do Bumbay-Gwalior-HYD-BLR-TVM-Munnar-BLR in a Scorpio!
What say you HVK sir ?

[tsk1979]

Every person is different. So every person's holiday is different.
Some like riding as much as possible, some like to stand and stare.
So do what you like, what gives you and your family happiness.
A holiday should recharge you for the daily grind, not sap you.
Sometimes, I have been to ambitious in planning, and ended up running a race, not a holiday, I hope to avoid such things, lets see!

[StarVegabond]

Hi ampere,

your thread made me think for a while, nice topic, especially considering the time and money spent on these holidays (or vacations), it it important to get satisfaction out of that activity.


Definition of Holiday as per Wikipedia

A holiday is a day of observance.

A holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observation is warranted. It is generally an official (more common) or unofficial observances of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations or festivities.

A vacation is a leave of absence from a regular occupation, or a specific trip or journey, for the purpose of recreation or tourism. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances, or for specific festivals or celebrations. Vacations or holidays are often spent with friends or family.

continued...

[StarVegabond]

for me definition of holiday or vacation is when i shift my frame of thoughts from my professional occupation towards a trip / journey (with or without family/friends) or other activities like hobby or events etc.

For me holiday is of different types

Business with Pleasure:
These are generally business travels (alone or with colleagues), offsite meetings & workshops. Mode of transport here is Airflights or Trains or any other public transport (bus, Taxi, cab etc). I follow stictly no driving on business trip policy. There are several other travel releted ettiques (Dos and Dont's) i strictly follow. These trips are very much time controlled, everything needs to be pre-planned with absolutely near zero surprise elements (or to the extent possible).

On these hectic trips, over several years, i have learnt to enjoy my personal time, facilities at the place of stay, local food, appreciate and learn from the local culture/customs, spend from my personal pocket to explore the tourist attractions when time/schedule permits, buy some local stuff (=contribute to local economy) for the family back home, take pictures if possible and share with my family once i am back.

I always ensure that the so called pleasure on a business trip does not exceed a meaningful limits. Work or official agenda always remain the only priority, rest all is trivia.

Several times, I have also accomplished some business activities while on a personal trip, Obviously for the effectiveness and efficiency reasons. If i am already in that place (say some thousand KM from my place of work), it is always good idea to meet a business associte or customer for one hour than again making a specific trip for it.

continued...

[ampere]

Nice very nice. Even I have a business with pleasure attitude when on any business travel.
But my business travels are restricted, as I get most of my work done on site.

But still as you say, I have seen and trekked quite some places, where business has taken me.

[StarVegabond]

Second type of vacation/holiday is of Pure Family Time

This is mostly immediate family (myself, wife, daughter) time 70% of the time and with immediate relatives (parents, inlaws, brother's family) remaining 30% of the times.

This could be just lazing around at home, cooking a meal, visit around neighbourhood for shop + dinner time or long drives, air/train/bus/car trips
These could be of regious nature (temple visits, pligrimage, puja etc), event oriented (marriage, birthdays, celebrations or sorrow (deaths etc) days etc), or pure sightseeing visit or combination of all.

Mode of travel in this case is need based, offlate we have been driving a lot, we have also hired car+driver, travelled by bus or airbus or trains as well. It depends on the circumstances and the duration of the trip. some times based on budget as well.

In these trips, the exposure/learnings for my daughter has become a key objective apart from fun and activities since last 2-3 years. We also try to adapt and experience local customs, cuisins, culture, way of living, local economy etc. Some times we also offer ourselves for some advenures which we have not done before e.g. paragliding, highspeed baloon boat rides, kayaking/water sports, deep sea fishing, snorkelling, ropeway rides etc etc.

Dennis has in one line outlined here: we often try to NOT to do what dennis's parents are trying to do here.


Sometimes we also do mundane tasks viz building sand castles on beach, just taking a stroll in the neighbourhood, visiting a neighbourhood garden etc. etc.

continued...

[hvkumar]

Like StarVegaBond and ampere, I have combined several business trips with a holiday mainly because I have converted what would have been a boring air trip into a car trip and I extend my business trip.

On occasion, I have chosen as my work area (e.g. in Dec 2007, I surveyed some biomass power plants in PB/HR just because I wanted to holiday in HP) the place where I wanted to have a holiday.

I have sometimes extended my overseas business trips (not very often) into short holidays (e.g. 2 of my European trips became extended Eurail holidays)