THE CULTURE TRAIL
For Santosh Kumar, hell is idlis and dosas in
Ladakh and tender coconut water in Kutch. The
founder of Get Off Ur Ass, a
passionate traveller himself, hates the idea of homogeneous tourism. “Big
corporations have invested heavily in the industry. Unfortunately they are
driven by the volume game. Today there are more deals offered than unique high
quality experiences, which is not good for a fragile destination. It degrades
the value of its culture,” says Santosh.
Get Off Ur Ass specialises in the quirky. Later this year for instance there will be a visit to coastal Karnataka to watch ‘kambala’, the traditional buffalo race. Also lined up is a journey to the Galapagos islands made famous by Darwin’s finches. Then there are climbing trips to the Valley of Flowers, Khatling glacier, Marsal Tal trek, Har ki Dun, Pindari and Kafni glaciers; river rafting expeditions down the Kameng river in Arunachal Pradesh and photography tours through Nagaland.
Santosh worked with the adventure travel company Kali 02, now called Southern River Adventures, as a river and tour guide before setting up Get Off Ur Ass almost a decade ago. Interestingly, the venture started out as a store that sold outdoors gear. “In the process, people started
enquiring about tours. Being a field guy I was able to advise and offer guidance. Over time I put together trips to places that I had travelled to. It slowly gathered momentum and we grew from there on,” says Santosh.
Santosh thinks there is enough space in the Indian travel industry for smaller, entrepreneurial travel outfits. “As the traveller becomes more aware, he or she is consciously looking out for operators who can offer unique experiences,” he adds.
Get Off Ur Ass specialises in the quirky. Later this year for instance there will be a visit to coastal Karnataka to watch ‘kambala’, the traditional buffalo race. Also lined up is a journey to the Galapagos islands made famous by Darwin’s finches. Then there are climbing trips to the Valley of Flowers, Khatling glacier, Marsal Tal trek, Har ki Dun, Pindari and Kafni glaciers; river rafting expeditions down the Kameng river in Arunachal Pradesh and photography tours through Nagaland.
Santosh worked with the adventure travel company Kali 02, now called Southern River Adventures, as a river and tour guide before setting up Get Off Ur Ass almost a decade ago. Interestingly, the venture started out as a store that sold outdoors gear. “In the process, people started
enquiring about tours. Being a field guy I was able to advise and offer guidance. Over time I put together trips to places that I had travelled to. It slowly gathered momentum and we grew from there on,” says Santosh.
Santosh thinks there is enough space in the Indian travel industry for smaller, entrepreneurial travel outfits. “As the traveller becomes more aware, he or she is consciously looking out for operators who can offer unique experiences,” he adds.
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