Are You a Traveler or a Tourist?

                       

Few of us may not know the difference between a traveler and a tourist, but there is a fine line which differentiates a traveler from a tourist. Even I didn't know the difference between the two sometime ago, until I experienced it.

I was traveling to a city and stopped outside a popular destination which looked quite average from it's first look. As I stepped into the building, a man in his late 30’s was stepping out of the building and was conversing with his group in loud voice. His words as I remember correctly were "We wasted our time getting to this place. This place is nothing special, it is waste of time and money". With these words, he rushed outside the building angrily. He was so loud that some of the other visitors who were about to enter the building got influenced by his words. Obviously, the rude man visited this place to see some beauty so that he can click some beautiful pictures to show to his family and friends back home. What he overlooked was the history of the place and the glory that was associated with this place. He overlooked the culture of the place and stories attached with it.

Udaipur - The City of Lakes



Udaipur 

It had been quiet a time, nearly 6 months that I had been to any vacation. Never too late though, me and my wife decided to go for a peaceful vacation to Udaipur, Rajasthan. Famous for its beautiful lakes, temples and city palace; Udaipur attracts tourists from all over the world. Located at approx 650 kms from New Delhi, it is well connected by air, train and road. This time we chose the most preferred way of traveling, i.e. by train.

My wife was pretty excited about the train journey, and I was not sure as I was going to travel in a train after 8 years. It was an overnight journey (nearly 12 hours) which we completed mostly with our eyes closed and minds switched off and body shaking. I woke up in the morning with the voice of a tea vendor which actually sounded like music to my ears as I wanted one badly (just the tea, not the vendor). It was 7 in the morning and we almost reached Udaipur. The night was pretty cold and I was still shivering even after hot cup of tea.