Maximising Your Weekends?

Krishna Zutshi

(A Techie Traveller)

One of the reasons, working professionals can’t travel much for leisure is the limited number of annual days off. Vacation does not necessarily have to be a week or more long. So why wait for that week off work when you have the whole weekend to travel, to explore, to venture out in the unknown! 

Then why don’t we maximise our weekends? The response I have got most from friends and family is this misconception that travel is expensive, and a weekend is too short. I am a firm believer that travel can be adapted to suit your wallet and we can make the most of the little time we have. We can still find cheap flights, book an affordable bed and breakfast and explore. Even with a demanding job, a growing family I feel we can sneak in a short trip over the weekends. Some of you may be thinking that I am a bachelor, mostly travelling solo but I think short family trips even with kids and babies are manageable and perhaps even more enjoyable.

I know 2020-2021 has been tough for travel due to COVID restrictions and limitations. But now that the pandemic is almost over, let’s not let the difficult memories discourage our travel plans in 2023. There are loads of benefits of travelling, but here I will be sharing only my experiences. Travelling has changed me both physically as well as psychologically. It has brought in me a great transformation resulting in self-realisation and a sense of eternal bliss. Travelling for me is no less than meditation.

Improves Health

Working long hours during the week, running errands used to mentally exhaust me. So I decided to take a break from the mundane, so called ‘normal ‘chaotic week and started giving myself the time and space to breathe, relax and rejuvenate. It helped reduce my stress levels, lowering my risk of developing any stress related health issues in future. As a working professional I used to sit on a chair all day long at the workplace, attending meetings and coding all day. I started feeling lethargic but when I started travelling on weekends, I am more energetic and productive all week long. 

Stretch your Annual Time off

So how does one maximise on vacation time without taking much time off work? The answer is quite simple “Weekend Gateways”. Take advantage of your weekends, go on a short break, and still have enough annual leave left for those longer holidays, to visit family or to explore those far away destination.

Social Media Detox/ Monotonous Routine of Daily Life

Let’s be honest here, we all spend a great deal of time on social media. We have all developed this attachment to social media apps that our lives revolve around them. I must admit, I am glued to them myself, posting snippets of my travel diaries all the time. Social media has kept us connected to our loved ones, to our friends and families far and near and sometimes this relationship can be toxic too. So, it’s very important to delink ourselves from this digital world, to hit the reset button, to reconnect with yourself and the real world. And while you are at it, detoxing yourself off the virtual work, remember to log off from your work devices too and bring a true balance to the work-life equation. Reset the pause button and truly let yourself lose. As our kids drive us mad, remember we drive them to eq ual insanity with our crazy work ethics. So, step back, travel and enjoy the ride. 

It Makes You Smarter

Over the last 2 months I have travelled to 10 countries. I have added new words in different languages to my vocabulary and learned a lot more about myself. Every time I visit a new country, I get to learn amazing cultural facts. I meet people from different countries, interact with them, listen to their stories, their good and bad experiences, and imbibe their positive characteristic features.  I have realised that this has enriched me and is helping me make better and smarter decisions in both personal and professional life. While travelling we might run into challenging situations where we must be resourceful and think differently, this brings out the already existing set of skills within us that had remained unexplored due to our unawareness about the same.

Getting More Attention and It Makes You More Interesting 

We are all conversationalist at heart and to have few stories from places you have visited to share at dinner parties is likely to get you much attention. When I am back from my trips, my friends, family and colleagues alike are curious to know more about the places I have been to.  Your travel stories motivate them to travel to those places, and sharing your experiences of new places brings a new perspective to their outlook.

You feel like an Adventurer

Travelling especially hiking makes you a daring person. Daring doesn’t mean risking your life and limb every time you take a chance. It sometimes means being a little braver, trying to push your limits, stepping out of your comfort zone, and embracing that attitude of ‘I can do it’.

I remember the time when I was planning my first ever trek to Kheer Ganga in India. I was in a dilemma whether I should go or not, because at the time I wasn’t sure if I will be able to complete it, if it was a big mistake to begin with. Failures are important in life because they make you realise the true value of success. I am glad, I took the decision to go on that trek. It was hard for me as it was my first ever trek, I was only to complete around 70% but I assured myself that soon I will be able to tell myself ‘I can do it’. Happy to share that a few years later, I am now a professional trekker and have a long list of high-altitude treks to my name including Umasi La Paas, Gandhari (India, 16000 ft), Ben Nevis (the UKs highest peak), Piz-Gloria (Switzerland), Giant’s Causeway (Ireland) to name a few. So be adventurous and don’t shy from those daring ideas and taste the success.

It makes you love your home even more

The magical thing about home is that it feels good when you are leaving and feels even better to come back to. When you are back, it may seem that you are back to where you started, to the same place, same problems, and same people, but one thing is different. You are not the same now, you have a better attitude, richer experiences, lots of stories to tell and newer ideas to deal with whatever life throws at you.

Try amazing authentic food 

I am a big foodie and a pretty good chef too.  I bet you are one hell of a chef yourself and all your home cooked meals are delicious, but it’s always good trying the local delicacies of places you haven’t been to before. Trying local food in a new country is completely a new experience. I recently visited Eze village in France. It’s one of the most beautiful villages I have ever been to in Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed the local Christmas drink, only available in the village, so unless you travel there you won’t get to taste it. 

While traveling you can also promote your authentic dishes. Being a Kashmiri Pandit I always love having and cooking authentic Kashmiri dishes like Rogan josh, Yakhni and many more. The best thing about Kashmiri dishes is it very easy to cook with minimal ingredients and less complicated process. It’s all about the authentic spices.  I always carry these spices in my backpack whenever I am travelling. If I am staying at hostels with access to a Kitchen, I tend to cook some Kashmiri dishes and share with other travellers. The dishes have always been relished with a promise of visiting Jammu and Kashmir whenever they visit India. This is how I promote my culture and cuisine while travelling and I am pretty much sure you all can do it. 

Create Lifelong memories 

When a memory pops up on my phone or when I look back at good times, I recall fun times I had during my weekend trips. It may not be a grand event, but the experience is out of the ordinary. I urge you all to pack a backpack and travel to places near and far, as much as you can in 2023. Happy new year.