I am Travrist

Not a Traveler nor a Tourist

Jingle of a Tourist:

I live in the moment, drinking the beautyStealing away the moments from lives’ duty

I stop at every corner, known for its’ history,My camera is silent keeper of protohistory

Speed is my thing; I cannot do without itI tread along the globe with my travel kit

A guide book in hand, I listen to the storiesTruth spiced with half baked forgotten glories

The comfort of the massage in spa of my resort, Drinks, barbeques, of luxuries nothing falls short

Restless heart of the traveler is finds peace in exploring new places, living

another life in unknown place.

The nomadic gene would not rest until

the senses feel another world

within ours.

To live another life, feel the unknown is what drives the traveler.

Tourist’s eyes are hungry for newer places to see. He wants to hold on to the second, where he can see a new place. Once seen, he quickly moves to another.

Like a conqueror, he believes in reaching a place, looking at it, clicking few pictures and again moving to newer one.

I am a new face in travel and tourism industry. I do not belong to the type of extensive travelers nor am I a part of the group called tourists. I am a new kid on block – I am a “Travrist”. I am a nightmare for anybody, who is calling me up to sell a Holiday plan for 25 years or a single holiday for 5 days. Neither of them can understand me, my requirement. As my name suggests, I am a bit of both. I encompass both the worlds of a traveler and a tourist.

The traveler in me pushes to plan my holiday in lesser know places. Lesser explored areas where I would get a glimpse of live. Taste local food, preferably from the road side stall. While the tourist in me who wants to look at a place, click some pictures and then hop to another place for sightseeing, the traveler would hold me back to explore and experience every detail.

A traveler would consider one or two places to visit in a single trip. He would not like to mix living one live with another. The tourist would definitely like to pack as many places as he can find in one trip. So, does a travrist choose a destination?

A travrist would perhaps go to google, and list down few popular locations. Then he would plot all the places of interest nearby, especially the unknown or relatively lesser popular ones along different routes. Then he would categorize similar experiences or places, eliminating the experience he had earlier. Out of the similar locations, he would choose the most famous or exceptional one and more on to the next. Looks like a lot of work, yes, travrist is all about RnD and getting the best. He is knowledgeable and would invest nearly 1 week for planning. Needless to Say, the planning would start some months before the actual event.

A traveler is impulsive, would perhaps choose a destination on the go. May be walk up to the airport, railway station or bus station, look at the destinations chart and then buy a ticket. A tourist would definitely go online or hop to different travel agents comparing the number of locations in itinerary and the other facilities that is offered. If a traveler opts for a shared auto or bus to feel a new life while the tourist would prefer the comfort of a private taxi, which is reserved for him/her. The travrist would go for a mid way, which longer distance by reserved taxi but hopping around the market in shared rickshaw.

A travrist, is a person the travel agents should beware of. They are would not be fooled by the promise of so many

land marks. Promise them to take them trough 2 countries in half a day and they walk away. Promise

them an adventure like Man Vs Wild, and they will shy away. Travrist needs customization and people who have

a knack to explore and want an element of surprise. Surprise them, and treat them with knowledge of

relatively unknown and you have him signing up for your holiday offer.

Not like one, different from the other, travrist is represent both the world of traveler and tourist. Eager to explore and yet looking out for the comfort of a holiday. Yes, I am a travrist, what are you, traveler, tourist or a travrist?

Song of the Traveler:

Song on my lips, dust on my boots, and dark night around me I take a moment;

A moment to look around as I travel the worlds unknown.

My Arabian horse - Lester, smiles at me in the light on the lantern, we are lost again

In the dense of the mossy thick forest, echoing with wing’s drone.

The yellow parchment of my dog eared tanned leather bounded sweaty dairy;

Which I so lovely call my logs, is eagerly waiting for my ink and quill

The stars speak, the midnight has passed, I pack away the day,

As I decrease the flame, see the creeping wet chill

Lester is snoring; peaceful with the mossy air of forgotten foggy forest trail

After a month and half in desolated the parched land of dust

The sprit in me, forces me out of my cozy cottage filled with aroma of mushroom

To take on the paths not known, under star, sun, or fog, walk I must

Lester, my trench coat, my log, my quill as my companion, I travel to embrace

The mist of the height, the thirst of stark, the lead of unseen brook

The tame of terrain wild, the serenity of the rushing gale, warmth breath of trees

Old, knotty, patchy, all safely, frozen for eternity, in pages of my book

Off the beaten path, away from comfort of known souls, under the Canopus

On creaking, dry mattress of a thousand yellow, green, and red

Occasional ease of the stained bedding in a lonely Inn on a highway, lit by single lantern

I give in to the insanity in me, to find, to seek, on virgin gravels to tread

I close my eyes as I walk, to lose the known paths, in getting lost in terra incognita

Only then can I chance upon inebriation of charting the chartless in rife

Maybe with few silver coins in the pocket, no mansion to pass on, but richer by far

Lived a million lives with each unsung path, I chart in chronicles of my roving life

Not a Traveler, Not a Tourist … I am a Travrist, Are you?