The bucket list is dead—and maybe it should stay that way

With ambitious holidays feeling dystopian during the pandemic, spontaneous getaways are ensuring that our travel isn’t tethered to unattainable goals

Have you ever sipped on a champagne breakfast while drifting amidst the clouds in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia? Or chased the prismatic streak of the Northern Lights across the Icelandic sky? Or dipped into the sparkling turquoise of the Sunshine Coast to swim alongside humpback whales? Or felt a clammy sense of dread at not having ticked any of these experiences off your bucket list yet?

If you answered yes to the last question, you aren’t the only one. Bucket lists—a concept popularised by the 2007 Morgan Freeman-starrer, The Bucket List—may have been birthed as a wishlist of things to do before you kick the bucket but the sallow truth is that this dream machine is often the place where dreams go to die. For starters, there is the morbidity baked within ‘50 places to visit in Europe before you die’ checklists that perpetuate the belief that your deathbed will be riddled with regrets unless you have soaked in the milky blue waters of the Blue Lagoon at least once. And then there is the obligation coded within these highly-touted experiences—the trek to the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal then becomes less about the joys of the journey and more as a vessel for proving your credentials as a ‘serious’ traveller. The financial improbability is, of course, always a wily temptress urging you to drain out your life savings in the quest of a once-in-a-lifetime trip that you may not enjoy because the iconic panorama from the Eiffel Tower was clouded by unseasonal fog.

Exploring domestic destinations 

Against the backdrop of the growing cognitive dissonance with implausible bucket lists, an unprecedented pandemic trickled in and effectively put a full stop to international travel. However, this may have proved as a blessing in disguise, believes Deven Parulekar, founder of SaffronStays. “The pandemic-induced lockdowns led us to coin the term ‘drestinations’ or drive-to destinations. With people confined to their states and travel across borders seeming increasingly difficult through most of 2020 and 2021, Indians across the country started exploring destinations that were closer home. Mumbaikars explored lesser-travelled nooks like Karjat and Pali, while Delhi-ites turned to Dehradun, Mussoorie and Kasauli to let loose,” he shares. 

Instead of waiting for implausible international travel sandwiched between the recurring waves of the pandemic, travellers woke up to a home truth that those in the hospitality business have been vouching for years: There is truly nothing that India cannot offer. “Why would you want to stand in visa queues and get hassled by embassy delays when our country has more to offer than we market?” ponders Parulekar, adding, “One of our most talked about homes, SaffronStays AsanjA in Murbad, brings New Zealand to Maharashtra with its hobbit-inspired architecture that has been recognised by Anand Mahindra for putting the transformation of Indian hospitality on the world map. SaffronStays Karios Athena and SaffronStays Kairos Zeus are Greek-style getaways in Karjat. Why would you want to share a wine tour with strangers when you can live on a vineyard that supplies grapes to Nashik’s best wineries?”

Living in the moment

Freed from the shackles of elusively unattainable trips and with a wealth of hidden gems to discover within India, spontaneity started playing a starring role in local travel again. Roshni Chopra, actor and content creator, seconds the notion, saying, “Stop waiting for the perfect trip to happen or for everything to align—you have to make the most of this moment. Travel needn’t be a big thing you save up for. It is about the joy you derive from the  trip, rather than just a tick on an arbitrary checklist.” It was a fact driven home when she packed up her family of four and headed to Kahani Paradise in Gokarna in Karnataka. “It was a beautiful trip because we weren’t chasing a list of must-visit shopping destinations or going restaurant-hopping. It was all about spending quality time with each other and having the luxury to sip on endless cups of tea. My children say it’s one of their favourite trips of all time and this has taught me that we should do more of these shorter trips instead of waiting for the big ones to happen,” she muses.

Her sentiment is echoed by Goa-based artist and influencer Sidharth Kerkar. Despite having grown up in Goa, he believes that his perspective of his hometown underwent a paradigm shift over the course of the pandemic. “I used to take my bike out in the mornings and head on day trips to discover what’s around Goa, which is something that I have never done before. All of that uncertainty over international travel has led to this burst of spontaneity—when you couldn’t plan a holiday a few months in the future, you had no option but to live in the moment,” he reminisces. The domestic footfall has also breathed fresh life into the tourism industry. “So many creative professionals have found a home in Goa during the pandemic and this has really changed the landscape of the place, whether it is in terms of the names headlining music or arts  festivals or the kind of villas and restaurants that have cropped up to cater to this new surge of tourists,” Kerkar raves.  

At the end of the day, Parulekar believes that our definition of ‘weekend travel’ has changed. “Prior to the pandemic, bookings were centered around Saturdays, but they can now go on till Monday or Tuesday, since people know that they can work from remote locations as well. Shorter trips to vacation villas and private homes are gaining prominence and this is a structural change in the way we consume our holidays now. Increasingly, people are looking beyond highly coveted hotels because they want intimate celebrations with close-knit groups. We now understand the value of the chosen few,” he signs off.

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