A few years ago in India, my colleague Colin, a former guide in India, and I were talking about the remote parts of India that we both fell in love with over the years. We were astonished at how 90% of the visitors to India all flocked to only a few states. We were honestly puzzled at the magic that is being missed in the simple haste of getting from one known city to another known city. How much was being missed by simply not stopping, or being too afraid to explore?
So I started asking many of you about India and the desire to get off the beaten track. The most common answer I heard was that India was too complicated to venture off into the remote. While that may have been true many years ago, a lot has changed. The infrastructure that now allows us to enjoy the smaller venues is a reality, one that we have been pushing for the better part of the last two decades now when it was more difficult to get around. I recorded a brief video from a favorite local resort, just outside Gir National Park in India, famous for Asian lions. The ability to get here is easier than in the past, driving past the peanut farmers and local villages. Life here is truly as it was centuries ago, which makes me proud. With my family roots coming from Gujarat and coming here since I was a teenager, it feels great to see progress without a loss of place.
Gujarat is just one of the examples of getting remote. With India quickly ascending from the world’s charity case, to one of the main economic powers, it is easy to see why seeing the real India is so important. Sure, some of the farmland is now turning into tech campuses, and factories, however, here in the interior, the greetings are as they were, the food as it was, and the smiles as they always have been. It’s not just Gujarat by the way, even in areas like Rishikesh, where India’s adrenaline trail begins, the evolution is done while protecting the sense of place. How do I know? Well, a quick dip in the Ganges, which most wouldn’t dream of doing, was still encouraged and rejuvenating up here. It may have been scorching hot on land, but the river remained ice cold because, like the cultural heritage, the sense of place, the grounding, is never lost.
So come see the space between. The real India. Getting here has never been easier.
I often joke with advisors and their clients that we have a tracking device on the head wildebeest and the lead zebra of the migratory herds in East Africa, and it always gets a good chuckle. We notify them by Morse code when to start converging and where to start crossing. It may be a joke; however, think about what we will witness in the coming months: the greatest show on Earth. In what part of the world do this many living beings, not of the same species, behave in such a routine over and over, and in such concert? Where else can you find a symbiotic relationship such as that between the birds, the zebra, and the wildebeest with one common goal – preservation.
Knowing the movements of these herds is not a story of simply following a cycle, it is a science. For example, wildebeest travel 6 miles a day, every day, and can hit strides of up to 50 miles per hour in a burst. They are the true drivers of the herd movement; the others follow the wildebeest, relying on their scent and those annoying grunts and groans we hear as a form of communication regarding the path or dangers ahead. Step back and think about what we hear and what purpose those sounds serve. With the position of their eyes, Zebra has some of the best peripheral vision one would want. Their ears can turn in directions and hear at octaves humans simply can’t comprehend. Imagine being able to see and hear better than anyone, and every footprint, every heartbeat, every sound. This truly is the Greatest Show on Earth, for all the reasons we see and so many we don’t.
The best part is that the communication lines with guides on the front line in the bush have never been better, so when we see their reports, it is like you have a tracking device on the head wildebeest. We can pinpoint the exact spot the herds have reached with good proximity. In fact, I loved that just this morning, I was able to talk to one of my friends, who runs an amazing camp in Northern Serengeti. I told her the herds are due south of you, passing through the western corridor and approaching fast. “Are you ready ?” I asked. I started laughing when she told me that I may have been a zebra in my past life! We talked about all the rain in the Masai Mara and how a full river would impact the crossing. We even noticed that the herds were a few weeks behind their normal schedule, startled at how far they were from the crossing in the north, these amazing animals sensed what was happening and adjusted their pace.
So, get ready the show is about to begin!
This is a special week as I’m writing this from Washington D.C., just 5 blocks from Capitol Hill. I remember visiting our nation’s capital with my family. We toured the White House, stood where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, and where I read Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. It wasn’t until I got to Capitol Hill that I started thinking back to all those American history classes and all the lectures in college about the U.S. government. I would wonder what it was like to go to the hill after hearing it countless times on shows like “The West Wing”.
Fast forward to today, and I had the honor to participate in the USTOA Congressional Caucus on Capitol Hill to discuss specific bills pertaining to our industry, from DOT legislation to sustainable aviation fuel and everything in between. Much of the conversation focused on the unintended consequences of some of the legislation. While great work is being done to accurately measure the true contribution of tourism to GDP, so much more is needed. This close to election day, I have to say, I was shocked at the flurry of activity. The halls were as crowded as a high school hallway between classes.
What isn’t lost on me is writing this just a few days before Father’s Day in the U.S., my first without my father. I felt his presence today, and I am sure he was wondering the same thing I was as he watched me walk through the halls of that building….
How many stairs does this place have?!
Enjoy this week’s video, which is a personal message just as I was leaving Capitol Hill.
