Vacationing, take it easy!

I am not at all an expert in travelling or vacationing, but when everyone else is busy giving ‘gyan’ then why not me.

Holiday / Vacation – Time away from normal employment or education called as vacation when (usually) spent away from home or in travelling.

Tea Gardens - Munnar

Most of us take vacation, reasons may be different though:

• Break from Job, Boss or both.
• Succumbing to family pressure – vacation demand.
• Love for travelling or nature.
• Claiming LTA ( Indian govt. Sector would understand this)
• Just because your neighbor, friend or colleague keep boasting about their vacation.
• Your brother in law from US gifted you a Nikon D 40.
• Fed up of watching others’ vacation pics on Facebook.
• To avoid wife's home cooked food.

You may have other reasons for taking a vacation, but do take a vacation once a while, other than giving you a break it also gives your maid some rest. Well, if you are thinking that I'll give you some tips on vacationing with your maid - stay away, one guy just lost his job because of a maid.

As I said I am going to give some gyan on Dos n Donts about vacationing, here I begin.

• Don’t plan too much, it’ll hardly work.
• Travel Lite, no point in carrying that new dress where no-one knows you.
• Never ever carry a checklist of the “sites / points” to cover, take it easy.
• No need to stretch yourself to visit one more site – “Now that we have come so far, let’s see that 'Sunset point' also”.
• Enjoy the local food – Why the hell you would like to have Paneer butter masala and rajma chawal in Kerala?
• Your Camera is to capture what you like, but first enjoy the view. There’s nothing better than capturing the beauty in your own memory through the twin lenses called eyes.
• Forget Facebook and Twitter, updates can happen later - soak in the moment.
• Trust local people, your driver, waiter, guide - everyone’s not a thug.
• Treat waiters with respect, you have bought the food only not the restaurant or the waiter.
• Don’t feel guilty just because you spend the day sleeping, you’ve come to relax, unwind and enjoy.
• Avoid blackberry, iphone – your office can run without you.
• Take it easy, there's always a next time.

Enjoy.

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Great Indian Middle Class and the Science of Gifting.

I am also part of Indian Middle Class, not only it reflects in my less than abundant income but also on my abundant “middle” – so don’t take it personally .

It starts with a humble invitation to your son for a birthday party and, the ordeal begins. Parents quickly get into a huddle and start discussing as if Bhutan has attacked India, all they are deciding is what to gift?.  It’s a big thing, and it’s a rocket science. 

To make your job easier, here are rules which you must keep in mind before buying that gift.

Venue of the party: It’s a big thing, an average buffet lunch at the Yellow Chilli at Powai or a meal at Piizza Hut costs around 300, so take that into consideration. Actually, lunch at five star would be more than 1500 per person but as I said it’s about middle class, so forget it. 

Quid Pro Quo: You may have heard “What you give is what you get”, so rack your brains on what you got when it was your kid’s b’day. You can always use a magnifying glass to read the price tag of those gifts. If you are confused between 699 or 899, assume it’s 699, add inflation and you are ready. In case you are finding it difficult to read the price of the gift you got, google it. 

Recycling: This is actually eco (economics, stupid ) friendly . Pick up any of the gift you got at your kid’s b’day. Yes,  you can even use the same wrapper but at least buy a new gift tag. Caution : Always tag the gifts you got with “who gave them” so that you don’t end up giving the same back. 

Discount Sales: In India, twice a year, there are discount sales where leading stores offer discounts as high as Up to 70% , this is actually a good time to buy gifts. I know that your friend’s daughter’s b’day is two months away but then that Barbie store is offering discounts now, so buy the gift now. 

Disclaimer : This post doesn’t cover if it’s your Boss’s son’s b’day. Actually, those gifts are not mere gifts they are investments which may impact your appraisals. So be a little generous there, even if you have to apply for a small loan, do and invest in buying a gift which is not only costly but also perceived to be costly. It’ll go a long way.


PS: Do comment, share if you got some more gifting ideas, would be happy to post ( with credits).

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