Sorry, no men please!

PALLAVI PASRICHA / TNN / May 24, 2007, 05:06 IST

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When it comes to vacations, women refuse to tow the family line anymore. Instead, they are heading abroad for exotic holidays with their female friends or relatives.

When it comes to vacations, women refuse to tow the family line anymore. Instead, they are heading abroad for exotic holidays with their female friends or relatives.
Once upon a time, summer vacations meant tagging along with the family to whichever summer destination was in vogue. There, you did all the ‘touristy' things – visited museums, went to entertainment parks and shopped.
In other words, you accompanied the family when you would rather have lolled on the beach or visited a spa. It seems that women are through with such wishful thinking, and have decided that it's time they turn it into reality.
So, they pack their bags, say ta-ta to the family and board the flight to their favourite destination – alone, or with a friend! And most of the times, their favoured destinations are exotic too – Greece, New Zealand, Bahamas... the list goes long.

Money is fuelling it
With enough money in their pockets, women are in the mood to indulge themselves. Says Arup Sen, executive director of a leading travel agency, "Women these days pursue their careers with dedication and leave marriage aside for a later date. They have disposable incomes and come together as a group and travel to various Indian and foreign locales.
Most of them are in the age group of 25-40. Close to 25 per cent of such women are married. There has been an appreciable increase in the number of such travellers recently." Often women go in pairs – that is, either with a friend or a female relative. This is a concept borrowed from the West, where women go off for gourmet holidays just to indulge and pamper themselves.

Such has been the craze for holidaying alone that women have come together to form all-women's travel clubs. Says travel writer Sumitra Senapaty, who has started one such club in Delhi, "These clubs help women who want to travel alone, but don't know how to go about it. Thanks to such platforms, women can travel, make friends and bond together."
Looking for exotica
Destinations such as the Far East, New Zealand, Europe and Australia are popular amongst women. "Women are very adventurous during such holidays. They go clubbing, try adventure sports and do everything they would never do with their families," says Sumitra. Adds Farheen Akhtar, who recently went to Turkey with her friends, "I tried the exotic Turkish bath, which I would never have done if I had gone with my family."
No-holds-barred shopping is also high on the agenda of women vacationing alone. "We ensure their hotels are close to malls so that they can shop when they please," says a tour operator.
With nobody to tell them to "do something beyond shopping", the women really have a blast. "And there is so much more one can do – party like crazy, go clubbing, shop for things you may not need but you always wanted to have... it's a lot of fun. I want to do it again, next year," says Anu, an MNC executive who recently went with a group of 24 women for a vacation to Greece.
Married? So what!
Not only single women, even married women are taking a break from family commitments and going for a break. Says homemaker Shobha Kataria who enjoyed Kerala's backwaters with her sister recently, "Both of us kept talking the whole night, watched movies and behaved like teenagers again. We drank ourselves silly and it was good fun. I would not have enjoyed so much if I had gone with my husband."
Meanwhile, travel agencies ensure that the security aspect is taken care of. "When it is a women's-only group, centrally located hotels are chosen. Secondly, they stay on exclusive floors meant for women in hotels. They are also advised about the places to visit. And there is a person on call 24 hours so that women can enjoy a hassle-free holiday," says Sen.

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