Where Are You Heading for the Winter Break?

Friends and colleagues often ask me where I am heading for the winter break. When I say nowhere it surprises them. After all here I am ready to travel at any time of the year and yet I have no plans for a winter break or a New Year break!

I will try and explain why I am not enthusiastic about traveling at this time. The first reason is professional. I am blessed because I am in academics, I probably have more flexibility to take time off during college breaks. But as the exams end, to take an example of this year, around December 27, I have to grade all those copies. And that means a lot of work. This is the usual story for my not being too enthusiastic about taking a winter break.

I think I can overcome the grading bit but then vacations mean everyone is taking a vacation. And in December and early January it is not only India, it is true the world over. I already live in a very crowded city. I like peace and quiet when I go for a vacation. During winter or summer vacations I have to really try hard to get away from the crowds and I do not like to make the extra effort. We once turned up in Gangtok at the end of December in our usual style, without any booking. We found a room with difficulty. Now go after January 15 and you can almost have the entire town to yourself! So my logic is, why not wait. I will dare not venture anywhere mainstream when the school holidays are in full swing.

The third reason is do with economics. When everyone wants to go on vacation, the demand for vacations goes up. But the supply remains constant in the short run (my first two degrees are in Economics). This leads to the increase in the price of everything. Now I am too lazy about hunting for a deal. Being the holiday season there are deals galore but they require so much planning that my mind starts to spin.

But if you are the one who likes to plan ahead you may find value in such deals. As I was looking around the site, I was stuck by the fact that there were so many shopping coupons compared to travel coupons. Now to a traveler like me it feels bizarre. Why would I like to spend money on shopping when I can spend it all on travel!

So do you have a plan for your winter break? Something may come up at my end too but I am looking forward to traveling after the rush is over!

I was at work when it rained a lot at NCR. While I am not a big fan winter rains (too many people without homes) and even less of the monsoon ones (too many traffic jams) it leads to good photo opportunities sometimes.

Rains at Gurgaon

While it was raining the sun came out. I decided to click a shot with my cell phone and see how it went. And by the time I reached for my main camera the magic had disappeared.

Delhi feels like Palampur right now! I remember how cold it was at Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. If you take out the view, NCR feels like it right now!

And there are so many people without warm clothes. What do you think of the various drives for collecting warm clothes? Or do you prefer to give directly to the people around you?