A vacation is something everyone loves. Even at the darkest or lowest of times, a small weekend getaway trip can always make things a little better and take your mind off. Let it be a trip to the party capital goa or a luxurious hotel in Delhi, holidays can be of all types, shapes, and sizes. While traveling to distant places and exploring the unknown can be fascinating, due to the current world scenario it isn't realistic. The world has been greatly affected by Covid-19 and the pandemic it has created, and things aren't changing anytime soon. So we as humans need to do what we do best, adapt. Adapting doesn't mean not going on holidays, but instead traveling less and more safely, and this where the concept of Hometown Holidays come in. Just as the name suggests, hometown holiday means exploring the city or town you live in as holiday spots. While some might get turned off by the idea of home town holidays, there are multiple reasons they are an amazing choice during the ongoing pandemic, so here are some reason hometown holidays will be next big thing
1. Cheap
We all love to say, money doesn't matter and it's all about the experience and while to some extent that might be true, for most people money is a crucial factor in deciding holidays. At times we have to cut down our comfort, due to monetary constraints. This is something you won't face during my hometown holiday, and why you might ask? Simply because you are aware of how to spend and where to spend, even if you live in Bangalore, which is a considerably costly city, you'd know where to take a hotel in the outskirts of Bangalore. You know the most efficient route you can take to a certain location, and you are familiar with the pricing of everything, so you are aware of you are overpaying for something or not.
2. Familiarity
An extension to the previous point but look at it from a different perspective. You are likely to be very familiar with most places, let it be cuisine or the location, or even the people. You might think if you're already aware of a place what is the point of visiting it for a vacation? Well firstly comfort, we all have our comfort order at our favorite restaurant, similarly, you can have the same with a location in your hometown. Secondly, we like saying we have explored all the places in our hometown or its outskirts, but more time than not there are places we know a lot but never visited or there are places we weren't aware of. And the reason is simple, you normally focus on finding more about things you're unaware of, rather than aware of. Lastly the familiarity in places you used to visit in the past, like taking your parents to a hotel in Kolkata that your parents took you to when you were young, or visiting that couple friendly hotel you used to visit with your partner when you started dating.
3. Language
India being a multicultural nation, doesn't have one national language but instead, India has 28 official languages and further different altercations of those languages with different names depending on the region. This means while Hindi is spoken in most places, there can be many travel destinations where your experience is barred due to the language especially when you're going on vacation in more outskirts or less crowded areas. And even if the speak Hindi or English, you will always be treated as a tourist. Hometown holidays means, you can visit the holiday destinations in the most outskirts areas and still get an enriching experience as you're able to communicate in your local language. You might be asking recommendations from the staff in your hotel in Kolkata in Bengali, or having a chat in Kannda with your manager at your hotel in Bangalore. Knowing the local languages always improves your holiday experience.
4. Food
An unlikely candidate for this discussion, you might be again going, how can food during a hometown holiday make the holiday better. Well, you see apart from being familiar with the food, we forget the same dish can be prepared in multiple ways and different preparation which you would normally miss out if it isn't for a holiday in your hometown. Especially when you explore those unknown places near your hometown, you are bound to come across known dishes in totally different ways. Experience something that you've grown up in multiple ways is an experience in itself.
5. Time
For younger people it is normally they have adequate time but not sufficient money, for adults, it is the other way around. Having huge work responsibility and family commitments, older people normally are not able to afford a vacation due to lack of time. Going on a hometown vacation is a great choice for these older people, as you save a lot of time due to the shorter distance and known routes.
6. Cultural roots
This is for the younger adults, the generation that has spent their teens on the internet, you know who you are. Due to the effect of globalization, and the internet making the world smaller, everyone has the opportunity to know anything and everything. This means normally it is less likely you get to experience something in detail, as before you know you're trying to experience the new trend, take the Algona coffee for example. The same applies to their own culture, most young adults can testify to the fact they didn't get the opportunity to experience their own culture in a more detailed way. A hometown vacation enables these young adults to do exactly that. Let it be the food, historical monuments, music, and culture as a whole. The current pandemic gives an amazing opportunity for young adults or the people who left their hometown to study outside to explore their roots. And this is perhaps very much important as this does allow is better preservation of culture.
These times during a pandemic are tough, and this article is a mere try of finding some silver lining. While hometown holidays can't be a norm, as truly you can only explore so much on a vacation, but they are a great option for the current world scenario especially for the younger adults, who haven't explored their city enough. The same goes for older people who in their busy life schedule have forgotten the beauty of their hometown beholds.
Must read- 10 Places to travel when you are quarantined during COVID19