As an intrepid armchair traveller and an enthusiastic real time traveller, I have certain confessions:
- I follow travel writers, bloggers and influencers on Instagram. Mostly to satisfy my cravings by travelling vicariously. And also to look out for likely, do-able destinations for myself.
- I enjoy discovering new (to me) places but I also love revisiting old favourites. Their novelty may wear off but there’s a certain comfort in knowing that one can go back and relish the same views or foods that gave so much pleasure. The downside is that the landscape is changing so fast that there may soon be fewer places left that haven’t been marred by tourism and development. Another reason to keep visiting them while they’re there!
- I used to get carried away by everything I read or saw about destinations that are on my bucket list. It is all too easy to look at pictures and videos posted by other travellers and think “I want to go there!! I want to see/eat/experience this!!” It’s a bit like judging a book by its cover and expecting to find more of the same within its pages as well. Which is not always the case. Result: Disappointment and disillusionment. Now I make a conscious effort to Not get carried away.
The trouble with these photoshopped, enhanced, filtered and highlighted images or videos, accompanied by breathless descriptions is that they create unrealistic expectations in the viewer. We plan entire trips around these expectations but when we finally arrive and everything is not the way we had hoped, we feel gloomy and let down.
DISCLAIMER: I am NOT talking about myself here!! This rant was triggered by someone I saw during my recent visit to Kaas- the Plateau of Flowers. The official site of Kaas very clearly states that this place has unique ecological features and is situated in an eco-sensitive zone. It has unique vegetation and abundant endemic (meaning restricted to a certain area- thank you Google dear!) species of plants. The 450 species of wildflowers that bloom here can do so only because of this unique biodiversity. They do not bloom to create a beautiful, colourful carpet for tourists to gawk at, take selfies with and post on social media. Hence, visitors should not complain to the administration if they don’t see enough flowers or flowers of their choice. Can’t get clearer than that.
And yet, there they were- this mother-daughter pair, walking the plateau and looking terribly grouchy. The daughter looked like she had taken a day off work to accompany her mother on this trip. She stood at the edge of the plateau, surveyed the landscape, took a picture, then turned to her mother and said (wait for it…) “What a disappointment.” The mother nodded and said in response (wait for it again…) “Yes, NO flowers”
I could feel my jaw drop (figuratively) while I shrieked (silently!) “No flowers?! Are you serious?? Have you no eyes?! Look around you, woman!! Or were you expecting flowers to leap out and smack you in the face?” and so on. We followed the disgruntled pair for a while and I heard the older lady cross questioning one of the attendants as to why there were ‘no flowers’ and when more flowers would bloom etc. And say that she would come again with her friends at that time. I certainly hope that she does return and sees only grass and rocks- that will teach her that Nature does not exist to please her. Bah.
I guess it’s all a matter of perspective. Because, as David Hume said “Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.”
butterfliesonmymindblog 