The
thought of “going on a holiday” is such a happy thought that it can put a smile
on almost everyone’s face. Actually, the fun starts with planning the holiday, the
hours, days & weeks of planning for that weeklong holiday or just that
weekend getaway is equally exciting as going on the holiday itself. Nowadays it’s
very easy to research on a new destination and feels like a breeze if compared
to about a decade back.
I still
remember spending hours together at those long booking queues at the railway
counter exactly two months prior to the date of the journey trying to get
confirmed tickets. Sometimes we were successful and sometimes not. The times we
were able to get tickets we felt like God and other times when we couldn’t, we
used to look up to the “devils”, the booking agents for their divine
intervention. Most of the time they “managed” to get us tickets.
After tickets
it was the turn of hotel bookings, transportation etc. again we were at the
mercy of the tour operators for advance bookings, payments and confirmations.
Even after taking all the necessary precautions there was no guarantee that the
holiday would go as planned. In short there was always an element of
uncertainty, a risk… no a “huge” risk according to many… therefore these people
never travelled to new destinations and limited their visits to their respective native places
or religious tours. In fact it was difficult for them to understand the concept
of leisure holidaying.
The biggest advantage of travel according to me is the
learning that you receive, the better understanding of people, their life,
their ways and why they are as they are.
In the
recent past this outlook has changed though, stable economy, advancements in
web media, online bookings & online travel agents has been a major factor
in this new wave of change. People today are looking to travel further. They
love to experiment & explore new destinations, understand new culture and
meet new people.
A major
part of this shift should be credited to travel websites wherein one can plan
their holidays up to the last detail. With a wide choice of travel options
ranging from airlines to trains to buses and even local cabs, one can decide
the options based on their travel plans. Here you are the boss & don’t have
to depend on what the tour operator is offering. You can fully customize your holiday
according to your wish.
Hotels
are another section where these websites excel, they are armed with photos,
videos and information of almost all the hotels listed on their sites, so much
so that when you actually visit that hotel you get a feeling of déjà vu. Some
hotel deals come with sightseeing and meal options, giving the user an option
to suit his plan & pocket.
Then
there are websites like tripadvisor that give you information, reviews &
ratings by the people who have actually visited those places, so that you may
plan accordingly and decide whether to visit a place or give it a miss.
Some of
the major players in India are
make my trip
expedia
cleartrip
irctc.co.in
Many of
these websites fight for the same pie of the cake so don’t hesitate to call
them up to customize your holiday and ask for better deals, you may even end up
paying much less than you actually budgeted for.
So go
ahead and have a sooper holiday!
