TRAVEL SPECIAL...'STAYCATION'

VACATION ‘Staycation’ is in  To put it simply, it means vacationing within your own city. Why this new travel trend is here to stay      AAROSH SHUKLA’S life as a personal investment banker mostly revolves around his clients, his schedule is plugged into theirs. This means he rarely gets any ‘me time’ or vacations, and his weekend breaks have mostly been spent snoozing at home... till recently. This New Delhi dweller stumbled upon the idea of staycation, which in simple terms means vacationing at your home city rather than travelling somewhere else. You can also check into a hotel in your hometown and make the most of the luxuries offered. Shukla, on his three-day-long weekend, hired a chef, booked tickets at a neighbourhood theatre and then decided to tour the various beer breweries of Gurgaon, something that he wanted to do for a very long time.     A similar idea struck Anoop Swamy, a newly-married professional from Chennai, who didn’t have enough funds for a plush honeymoon. Anoop decided to rediscover Chennai with his partner like never before. His staycation introduced him to a new picnic spot, Elliot’s Beach, in Besant Nagar, where he visited the beautiful Velankanni Church and got regaled with interesting sailor stories.     Staycation is becoming the preferred travel option for a lot of young professionals. This new travel trend does not imply that you stay at your home — or check into a hotel — and doze off. Rather, it gives you an opportunity to explore your own city and its outskirts — be it food, theatre, architecture, landscape, historical sights, museums or parks — like never before. You just have to make sure that you choose a travel spot not far away from the city. The drive — one way — shouldn’t take more than two hours, and wherever you go, the option to come back home is always open.     Vikram Madhok, who runs a travel agency in New Delhi, explains why staycations in metros are on the rise, “Whenever the economy is weak or prices are out of bounds, people look at vacationing within the city. Staycations are a great way to enjoy long weekends and festive events. People check into a neighbourhood hotel and indulge in activities in and around the hotel.” Hotelier Avininder Puri believes that even a twohour drive can be a task for professionals with hectic schedules and high stress jobs. He says, “People look for a break from their daily routine. They just want to laze on the terrace next to their rooms, indulge in a game of golf or stroll in the garden. The idea is to unwind and relax, and not tire the nerves.” CITY TOUR Chandana Lahiri, a business development executive from Kolkata, agrees. “Who wants to go through the trouble of booking tickets, making reservations at the hotel and then agonise over confirmations? Vacations are about enjoying an early morning croissant and coffee breakfast at Flury’s, picking up a bestseller from Oxford Bookstore, getting into a tram from Esplanade and telling the conductor you wish to get off at the last stop. As for tomorrow, why not a boat ride on the Hooghly?”Aziz Shafi of Old World Experiences, who makes people explore the hidden facets of Delhi over the weekends, feels that most people have heard the names of all the historical places that Delhi is famous for, but never really visited them. So a break within the city can be a revelation for many. EXPLORING THE OUTSKIRTS Over long weekends, stay-at-home vacations sometimes extend to the quaint exteriors of the city. Vamsi Kothala of Freakouts Adventure, in Bengaluru, gets requests from IT professionals to have a lazy camping day break in areas not more than an hour’s drive away from the city. “People like to camp, have their meals and admire the Ramnagar area (famous as the shooting site of Sholay), laze around the banks of the river and enjoy fishing in Muthathi,” he says.     Similarly, for Delhiites, a tour to Pilkhuwa (a town famous for Gujarati and Rajasthani textiles), on the outskirts, is an interactive getaway that involves workshops on tie-and-dye or block printing. On another edge of Delhi, Damdama Lake is the venue of a Rajasthan-style musical getaway, the Sound Travels weekend. “People camp in old-style desert tents and dance to drums, morchang and khartals around the campfire. The star musicians are Nathoo Lal Solanki, a talented nagara player and Iranian musician Fahruddin Ghaffari playing the daf and tombak,” says Georgie Pope, the organiser. MAKE THE MOST OF ‘ME TIME’ How many times have you thought you will watch that trilogy back-to-back on a long weekend? Or finish a particular book or try out a new dish? But you never get the time to keep that promise, do you? The great library, the new home theatre system, the plush kitchen are all in place but hardly used. Purva Sinha, an art director of a Kolkata-based advertising agency, says, “The best time I’ve had was when (last October during a long weekend) my husband and I stayed at home and enjoyed some great movies together. We had planned it for a long time, but it never happened.” While she and her hubby were watching the films, a chef was cooking up their favourite pasta, in their newlydone up kitchen. A great meal within the confines of their cosy home, enjoyed with your loved ones. What more could one ask for?     Staycations are also a great opportunity for some spa-tial treatment. What can be better than a soothing massage and facial on a mobile spa? You get to mend the wear and tear of your tired body and travel the length of your city at the same time. The Spa on Wheels in Mumbai, lets vacationers navigate the bylanes or their favourite part of town, while enjoying a soothing body massage, inside the vehicle.     There have been enough studies to indicate that long vacations to a far-off destination leaves people more exhausted than refreshed. With the never-ending cycle of deadlines and so few days offered for holidaying, spending time and money in one’s own city seems to be a winwin situation. That is the reason why staycations are here to stay. Amin Ali and Supriya Sharma TL 130303