Like last few years (3 years to be precise), this year also we went camping. It all started 3 years back when my very enthusiastic friend Vishnu threw this idea about going camping. Normally, I am not very enthusiastic about visiting any exotic place, but this idea of leaving your comfortable home for no particular reason appealed to me and we started this adventure. People who know me know how enthusiastic I am about traveling! I don't like to travel that much. I know it is exciting and many people just love to travel but somehow I don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy many other activities. But even after all this, I go on many trips, not just because of my interest in the places where I am going but most of the time because of people or groups with whom I travel. I am particularly lucky to have met a lot of amazing people in my life and they all make all these occasions special and unique for me. The pleasure of traveling with amazing people takes care of other boring aspects of the journey. But camping is the one thing which I enjoy just because there is a huge element of unpredictability in it. We always try to go to the new campsite every year. So, we don't know how it will be (you can get most of the information from the internet but there are always surprises). We normally plan it 1-2 months in advance so whether is not known, and during camping (with tents and sleeping bags) one can not isolate oneself from whether like one can do by staying in hotels or resorts or other places which can protect you from temperature fluctuations, rain, and other weather fluctuations. All these things make camping a lot more interesting than other outings for me. Maybe this is not the best way to spend your long weekend for everyone but it's definitely an interesting way to spend time with your family and friends.
All these camping trips are unique experiences for me in their own way. Every time there are some new people in our group, most of them try this adventure for the first time in their life with us and most of them enjoy this and they try again. Based on the description I am providing I am sure that some people might think that this doesn't look like a thing to do for everyone or maybe doesn't sound like a lot of fun, and it is true. Sometimes these things are physically very demanding and one starts thinking why to do it when other more comfortable options are available. Another thing that I like about these outings is I also get the chance to spend time away from TV and the internet. Only our phone stays with me and that too for important calls, so there is a lot of free time for discussion, games, arguments, walks, etc. These activities are great but nowadays we struggle to find any free time to do them regularly in this era of the internet and video games. I do enjoy the internet and video games a lot but there are many equally wonderful things that we should enjoy.
All these camping trips are unique experiences for me in their own way. Every time there are some new people in our group, most of them try this adventure for the first time in their life with us and most of them enjoy this and they try again. Based on the description I am providing I am sure that some people might think that this doesn't look like a thing to do for everyone or maybe doesn't sound like a lot of fun, and it is true. Sometimes these things are physically very demanding and one starts thinking why to do it when other more comfortable options are available. Another thing that I like about these outings is I also get the chance to spend time away from TV and the internet. Only our phone stays with me and that too for important calls, so there is a lot of free time for discussion, games, arguments, walks, etc. These activities are great but nowadays we struggle to find any free time to do them regularly in this era of the internet and video games. I do enjoy the internet and video games a lot but there are many equally wonderful things that we should enjoy.
Whatever I wrote in this post about camping is my personal thoughts. People may or may not agree with them, they might think camping is a bad idea, a health risk (because of allergies, risk of physical injuries, etc.) and they are right but there is an element of risk involved in almost everything we do and it's up to us to evaluate and decide whether we want to go for it or not. There might be better ways to connect with nature and understand our surroundings than camping but this one suits me and my nature that's why I love it. I recommend trying it at least once before rejecting it.
Thanks for reading and please share your views.
 |
| our temporary home |
 |
| beautiful view of lake early in the morning |
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)
No comments:
Post a Comment