The New TripNaksha Blog

It’s been quite a while since a TripNaksha newsletter was sent out. Here’s the text for the latest one I sent out today -

• There are now nearly 200 registered users and hundreds of hiking, biking, running and other routes now on Tripnaksha – quite a few of which are GPS tracks.
• All routes have distance markers (till a distance of 1000km) – so you know exactly how far you are from you next waypoint.
• Routes, articles and trip listings will all have tags now, so that it is easy to look for related information.
• Tripnaksha got a mention in the mainstream media – Hindustan Times.
• Trails embedded on blogs/websites are now much cleaner – see Deepak’s blog.
• You can stay updated on upcoming trips, posted routes and more via RSS feeds.
• A new blog with a completely new look!

Featured route -

A cross-country road trip on motorbikes – from the Deccan plateau to one of the highest motorable roads in India. The route taken by members of Hyderabad Nawabs while riding from Hyderabad to Leh and beyond – do check http://bit.ly/9Tu7pz.

Do let me know if you want to be part of a small group of power users who will be able to access features before they are introduced on the website.

–

Ajay Reddy

Last week, Google introduced one more way to find directions in 140 cities in the U.S – bike routes. This follows an extensive campaign and an online petition. Bike routes will place more emphasis on finding trail routes, roads with lighter traffic and also streets with bike lanes. It apparently even avoids intersections and areas where cyclists would have to brake often. There is also a tool which will calculate the power/energy you will have to exert on a route and the directions will avoid routes where the cyclist will have to spend an unreasonable amount of effort.

To add more than 12,000 trails, Google has associated with Rails-to-trails – a non-profit trying to conserve and restore former railroads in the U.S into bike trails. Since biking directions will include turn by turn navigation and estimated travel time, my guess is that Android phones (where navigation is provided free) will seem more attractive to cyclists. The tool is available only in the U.S and is still in beta now.

Here are some news articles -

Regards,

Ajay R

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In their own words -

I’m sure most Indians understand the meaning of this phrase. It is a verse from ancient Indian scriptures which has become part of the code of “good” conduct. The entire verse is “Matru devo bhava, Pitru devo bhava, Acharya devo bhava, Atithi devo bhava” which is written in the Taittiriya Upanishad (source). Literally, it means that a guest is a god. What it tries to convey is that we should treat a guest the way we would treat a god if they visited us – with respect.

When I said that most Indians understand the meaning of the phrase, I mean to say that we only understand the literal meaning and not the deeper meaning. A recent incident, two actually, which I witnessed triggers this rant of mine. I was at Auroville, Pondicherry for their annual marathon last week. I was there a day early and had enough time to visit the nearby beach as well. On the way I’d met a few foreigners who were working for a firm in Delhi and had come down to spend a weekend in Pondicherry. There was a girl among the visitors and she and I went into the water to bathe while the two other guys in the group stayed back to watch our things. While we went into a nearly empty strech of water, it didn’t take much time for random guys to wade towards us. My friend was not even wearing a bathing suit (having lived in India for a little while, she obviously knew better) – she was wearing full clothes and still this. She let out an annoyed groan and asked why these guys have to always do this. I did not have an answer.

The second incident happened to the Frenchman in the same group. He wanted to buy some of the trinklets being sold on the beach. The hawker obviously quoted ridiculous prices for them. The Frenchman finally didn’t buy any of the things after I suggested that I could not gurantee what was a good price for them. There was one pesserby who did however suggest a low enough price, the hawker got abusive at that. Of course, people want to make a little extra money from foreigners as they can afford to pay more and these prices would still be lesser than those back home for them. However, there should be some sense in how greedy we can become.

I also know of numerous incidents (personal accounts from friends) where female foreign visitors are grabbed, groped or molested on public transport. All this, categorized under ‘eve teasing’ of course.

If any of us really understood the meaning of “Atithi Devo Bhava”, we would not let such things happen. That is why I was impressed when I saw the Atithi Devo Bhava campaign launched by the Government of India. It is trying to sensitise the first contact points – cab drivers, tourist guides, porters, etc towards tourists. Although I believe that the general public should be sensitized as well, this is still a start. Amir Khan endorsing it is definitely a great thing too. I hope tourists are treated decently at least if not as gods.

Recently, I had an interesting conversation with an avid trekker (Trekker from now on) from Bangalore. I had emailed him requesting/suggesting him to use TripNaksha to mark trek routes and share them. His reply though, put me thinking.

Trekker had replied that he did not want to make trekking and hiking in India easy, as this would mean an increase in the number of casual visitors which will put unneeded pressure on the forests. Also, it would reduce the sense of adventure and the element of surprise, which would make treks soulless. In addition to this, the increase in the influx of tourists would mean that prices of guides, accommodation, etc which would make things harder for a serious trekker.

What are your thoughts about this issue?

Do you think it is best to leave our trails as they are?

Or, is it better to have more ecologically responsible tourists trek and get them to champion the cause of conservation?

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Update -

Posting the comment thread from the old blog as I couldn’t migrate the comments from Disqus.

Shalabh
The way I see this is trekking is not a joke, at least not in the state I come from. I am from Himachal and maps or no maps, trekking the himalayas needs serious will and effort to do it. I have seen many a pass time trekker give it up on day 1. So, I dont think this will make a difference. If anything, people who are avid trekkers will get enough options. Let the trails themselves weed out the passtimers. Another reason I say this is I use a GPS to map the treks I go to. The GPS error in some places is so high that it would be foolish to use that trail on a map alone for trekking. So, while the trails can be used as indications, just having them on the map is not going to get any serious interest going. Anyway, who in this ‘fast paced’ world has the time to trek except the ones who actually love doing it.

TripNaksha
True. I believe there is an inherent barrier – getting out and the willingness to rough it out, which puts of many a lazy sleeper. However, I’ll put across Trekker’s views on this matter.
- Marking trails, etc and generally making treks easier will reduce this inherent barrier
- the physical discomfort is reduced and a trek will reduce to just another tourist outing
- the element of surprise is removed which will make treks soulless.

Your thoughts?

Shalabh
I disagree with points 1 and 2. Believe me when I say this, people who are not inherently comfortable with a jungle or a mountain dont even try. Could not agree more with the 3rd one though. The true value of trekking is in exploration.

TripNaksha
W.R.T #3, what about organized treks then? Isn’t the spirit of exploration lost already? I agree knowing the entire route  before hand would not be a great thing if you are in the mood for an impromptu adventure. But I think that every traveler tries to prepare him/herself beforehand and this is when trails will be useful.

Srikanth Perinkulam
I guess we have two stake holders here
1) People who Organise treks.
2) Folks who take part in treks organised by someone.

The former are always on the lookout for new details, routes, other related logistics and probably maps. if the trek is a low/medium grade trek, in most cases, details of the place would already be available just a click away. If the trek turns out to be on the tougher grade, probably more explicit planning would be required in terms of maps, alternate routes, rations etc.

The latter on the other hand, more or less just follow the guidelines and are least bothered about the intricate details. A few probably document their travel while the majority choose to rely on just photographs and/or their memory.

My take would be that maps are probably only a part of the whole scenario and ‘Making’ trekking easier would be a tough task unless mutual sharing of routes, more so experiences; happen among a wide range of people who have passion for outdoor activities.

Shalabh
I agree with you Srikanth. Mapping trails is just one part. On the organizers part though, speaking only for Himachal, organizers are mostly aware of all the trek routes and I have met some people trying to find new ones as well to earn during winter. Maps, as I write this, dont really exist in the public domain. So, no one uses them.

As for the trekker’s point about making trekking easier and risking jungles, the positive I see in all this is sharing this wealth with a lot more people. The true value lies in educating people about what the jungles have, rather than deny them the pleasure of seeing them by keeping maps secret.

kanchuki
Of course as travellers we are all looking for the “unspoilt” experiences. Many times I have been hesitant with sharing details of a new place I have discovered, for fear that it will be run over.
At the same time, unfortunately, I think it is inevitable. People are talking about Everest getting littered, so what’s left? Funnily just yesterday I was reading a book of interviews with travel writers, and in Tim Cahill’s interview he says that these days for adventure travel he has to go to the places with guns, because those are the only truly “remote” and adventurous places where no tour company will take you!

Arun
I do tend to agree about not popularizing the places. And I also can’t help but accept that it is selfish. I have long since been happy about Karnataka not having gone the Kerala or Rajasthan way. But at the same time I would be unhappy if I don’t get sufficient information in a remote place I travel to. Can’t really take sides easily

Vinit
I read about your venture and its really great. Wish you good luck and I’ll definitely contribute after my next trek.