With the tentative opening up of tourism the novelty of travelling within the four walls of one’s home has dissipated faster than steam from a tea pot in winter. For months we explored, sometimes with great delight, the sundry corners of our houses. From the cool serene bedroom to the vibrant drawing room with pit stops to moist bathrooms left sultrier after our cooling off. The kitchen throwing up culinary surprises or disasters, with every homegrown sous chef having his day in the sun, but at the end of the day everyone in the kitchen hierarchy wanting to throw in the towel at the endless washing cycle! Sojourns to the great outdoors- the verdant balcony, with game hunting swarms of mosquitoes, with the hunter becoming the hunted very quickly, ending the outing prematurely, with only the brave keeping at it. The travel itch being scratched by leafing through old pics, making plans and promises not to put off a visit to that exotic hideaway. The more remote the locale, more the allure……
It doesn’t get more remote than- Chushul -Chumathang – Hello Indus & Iridescent Colours!
A whiff of opening up of travel and tourism has had people scrambling for vacations, workations, staycations, bizcations…. new jargons barely keeping up to speed with people rushing off like escaping convicts. In absolute desperation to fly their city coops, people with deep pockets have been willing to buy up the entire homestay and make it theirs, permanently. But in this mad scramble to get away what is new? ‘Vocal for Local’ is a catchy phrase but it has many connotations. Let us not treat it glibly, like a superficial seasonal trend of 2020. Hospitality is a resource intense industry. From infrastructure to perishables and everything in between, in most parts much of what is needed is not locally available or recyclable. Although tourism is the life blood and backbone of the local economy in a lot of places, our creature comfort seeking mannerisms have taken a toll on the health of the ecology in most places. Nature has got a breather the past months and hopefully we have had time to pause and reflect on our travelling styles.
In a lot of those off beat places, looking so enticing right now with nature providing natural distancing, what has changed? The healthcare infrastructure is still abysmal as is waste disposal. So all those disposables adding weight to our travelling pack- masks, sanitizers, gloves maybe crockery and cutlery, water bottles et al, all is going to add to that mountain/sea…of waste! The hotel industry, based on social interaction is grappling with new norms and reality but drained of cash, is throwing open doors in a lot of places. It has had to, understandably, shift gears to stay afloat. But catering for the need of the hour is going to put an exponential strain on the drain. The guests expect sanitization procedures to be followed to the T, interaction with staff in proper safety kits always, etc. So while tourists bring livelihood to the hospitality table the locals need to bring better resource management to it to make the party a sustainable affair. Bursting the health bubble of far flung communities where there are negligible healthcare facilities to deal with epidemics is almost criminal. Even most tourist towns can barely cope up with the needs of the locals and are not equipped to deal with even a marginal rise in demand for medical emergencies.
We enjoyed the simple pleasures while –Disconnecting with the World on a Mountain Isle at Shaama
Ask yourself before hitting the holy grail of holiday bliss- what will be your new normal travelling style? Arm yourself with answers to these pertinent points to ponder, along with that recyclable sanitizer and mask when you step out.