Your Indulgence, please! Let's go deep into the past!
Let's journey together on a few ancient, whimsical college trips!
Your Indulgence, please!
I crave your Indulgence this month as I take you into the crypts of my memory. Like most people, I studied in college and then earned my MBA. I do not know why I did my MBA, but completed the two-year program with flair. That last sentence is a lie. I completed my MBA and had lots of fun, but academic genius was missing.
The MBA was a two-year program, and making new friends took time. Five of us went out for the weekend a few months after classes started. This trip to Nandi Hills was the first of many that we, along with an expanded group, made over the next two years. Don't worry; I won't bore anyone with a five-month-long series of reminiscences of the past. I will focus on a few trips in June, so I crave your Indulgence. Then, I will write about my ancient trips once a quarter: nostalgia is excellent when consumed in small doses.
Travel Writing.
Travel Guides
How do you define travel writing and photography? One genre focuses on the best places to eat, visit, and stay, so the authors must produce updated material. I classify such material as indispensable travel guides. Cities and rural areas are changing, and the pressure to create new, updated, shiny guides never ceases. Travel guides contain lots of information but lack soul: they don't have a personal touch.
My Style
I prefer to follow a distinct style and confess that I struggle to find the best balance between my personal memoir and travel guide and my perception of history, culture, and society. Experiences make a journey worthwhile. A smooth trip where nothing stands out, or you refuse to experience local cultures is boring.
Listicles
Many people rush from 'attraction' to 'attraction' and panic when they discover they have not covered everything. They return home, exhausted, with their 'to-do lists' fully or partially completed and compare notes with other people, anxiety rising to suffocate them. Questions bubble up. Have we seen everything? Did we stay in the best places or eat the best food? Did we spend more than our friends and miss a few deals?
I listened to a podcast where the photographer advised us to ‘wear our beliefs lightly.’ Sage advice because we open ourselves to new experiences when we do so.
Chill!! That’s How I Enjoy Travel
I don't care for such travel, and since the sad death of my corporate life, I've tramped in a few places. Sometimes, I try to cover as many places as time permits, but I often refuse to fall for the 'to-do list' trap. If you want to travel, take in everything: be greedy for sensation, experience, and surprises, and open yourself to different cultures. I prefer to slow down, observe the light, look at people's faces, and eat local food (unless it is awful). Experience the change in the air. When I follow the latter approach, I often recall my journeys with clarity and smile at the experiences, my stupidity (and intelligence), the locations where I shot photos, and how I felt while shooting.
This approach defines travel for me. May all of you experience memorable journeys! And now, join me as I pull a few memories out of the crypt.