Travel - make it slow & take it easy!

Did you just return from your vacation and feel like you need another vacation from that vacation?

Were you subject to ‘Army-drill-tourism’ with someone else ringing your alarm-clock every dawn?

Did you just visit all the favourite tourist-spots of your Raju-guide’s?

Did your tour drive you breathless with the non-stop shuttle from one spot to the other?

Has your camera done more sight-seeing than you?

Did you just spend your money on a tour that you do not remember?

Well….you’ve subjected yourself to ‘power-tourism’ – not ‘power’ in ‘power-games’…..it implies ‘power’ in ‘power-yoga’ – action-packed solid workout! With any luck you might’ve burnt some calories too!

It’s time you remedy this.

Travel and tour at your pace – for your own pleasure!

Don’t know how? Here are a few options to get you started:

1.    Take a River-Cruise on a ship for a few days– skiff up a river and laze around on the deck all day and all night. Choose to keep your eyes open or not. Wake up in a new place each day without moving a muscle. Have food & drinks of your choice served to you wherever you are on the ship. Pay to get pampered!

2.    Get wild in the wilderness – pick a jungle-themed Eco-camp in any Wildlife Sanctuary or National Park to stay at and hop on to an elephant or a jeep and visit your favourite wildlife – One-horned Rhino, Asian Elephant, Royal Bengal Tiger, Snow Leopard or even the Great Indian Hornbill and Dolphins. You want to stretch your legs, go nature-trekking in the wilderness.

3.    Moped around in those British or Portuguese Colonies along the beach or on top of mountains wearing comfortable clothes and no makeup. Make random stops at beach-shacks for cocktails or mocktails or just juices. Drive to feel the fresh cool breeze in your face or chase the sunset.

4.    Check-in to a log-cabin and explore the gorgeous and scenic lush green Mountain-meadows swaying with millions of wild-flowers. Park yourself there with your favourite book and music or go mountain-trekking.

5.    Tired of the tropics? How about you chill in the snow? Most mountain-resorts are easy to reach with well-developed flights network and bus-connectivity. You just need 5 days for a trip to Leh and back. Explore the mountains on Yaks, Donkeys or Ponies.

6.    You’re neither fond of beaches nor crazy about mountains? Then pick a quiet but enchanting hill-station and stroll around Tea Gardens, Orange Orchards and Orchid Farms.

7.    You want to explore your spiritual-side? Check-in to an Ashram or a Buddhist Monastery and get in touch with your inner-self. You don’t have to be or become a Buddhist to visit a Stupa.

8. And if you're looking for an even slower paced holiday then check-in to a Spa. Get a full massage in ayuvedic oils or dip into a mud-bath daily. Get a back-rub or a foot-massage twice daily.

Now imagine all this.

Tree Musketeers !!

“The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The next best time is right now!”

~ Confucius (551-479 BC) – Chinese teacher, philosopher and politician.

Confucius uttered this saying more than 2000 years back when the world had better green-coverage than right now. I wonder what he would’ve said– seeing the tree-coverage of the current world!

Certainly, unless we pursue trees like we follow religion, we will not be successful at conserving them. ‘Van Mahotsav’ – celebrating trees in India was launched with the same fervor by Shri Kanhaiyalal M. Munshi, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Food in 1950.

Van Mahotsav is celebrated for a whole week each July during which time, the Forest Departments, among other environmental organizations, corporates and even individuals, plant lakhs of saplings of different plant-species all over the country. Organizations spread awareness through various media about the importance of trees on this planet. The first thing you can do to protect the trees and the environment is to stop using plastic in all forms. Then find a small spot around your home to plant a tree-sapling of your choice and water it daily. Then urge 5 of your friends to do the same. Imagine if all of us were to become ‘Tree Musketeers’ and protect and take ownership to grow more trees? We’d be doing ourselves a big favour.

Van Mahotsav is a quiet tree-revolution in progress. Either you participate directly by getting involved in tree-planting this July or you be right where you are and spread awareness via your computer. Blog about it or send tree E-cards to your friends and colleagues. All this commotion around trees is bound to have a positive impact on all sometime soon.

Another interesting thing that we could do is visit the lovely Forest Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks where there is abundance of trees. Obviously, the amount we pay towards the entry fee (though not much) to these places is used for their conservation. This way we also get to see the wildlife that lives hand-in-glove with the forests.

Among all the places that you would find trees in, the Central Government  ‘Protected Areas’ are by far the best places in India which are home to some of the common as well as rare plant species – all clustered together. Some of the popular Tree Haunts (Protected Areas) to visit in India for inspiration or for sheer joy are:

1.    Sundarban National Park – West Bengal.

2.    Kaziranga National Park – Assam.

3.    Jim Corbett National Park – Uttarakhand.

4.    Gangotri National Park – Uttarakhand

5.    Great Himalayan National Park – Himachal Pradesh

6.    Indravati National Park – Chhattisgarh

7.    Simlipal National Park – Orissa

8.    Nagarhole National Park – Karnataka

9.    Buxa National Park – West Bengal

10. Pench National Park - Maharashtra

Pix courtesy: Premabhakti.wordpress; sreyas-mg.blogspot; worldlandtrust; love-theearth.blogspot; twitsnaps.