VIRTUAL TOURS: THE NEW NORMAL By Saikrit Gulati
VIRTUAL TOURS: THE NEW NORMAL
By Saikrit Gulati
This June 18th as we celebrate World Picnic Day- a day to celebrate family time my memory fades back into the pre- pandemic world. In the BCE (Before COVID Era and not Before Common Era), picnics used to be visiting parks, gardens and other tourist places. The excitement of everyone knew no leaps or bounds as soon as the planning for the big day used to start. Everyone would spend hours pondering over travel magazines and tourism sites, thinking of what to pack and the fun games to be played at the picnic.
As D-Day used to arrive, all would be up early in the morning, getting ready to go out and enjoy themselves to the fullest. The day would be full of fun, joy and happiness. Exciting games would be played; delicious food was eaten among many other things. As the sun descended and everyone headed back home, it was no less than a rainbow moment for each and all. Smiles for all the good things done and sadness as the fun time was coming to an end. Sadly, since March 2020, in the CE (the corona era and not the ‘Common Era’), picnics have become one of the endangered species or one can even call extinct species due to various travel restrictions, owing to the deadly COVID-19 virus
Ever since the lockdown has been imposed, we all have been forced bound by masks, social distancing and new norms and protocols. We all are locked inside our homes and travelling has become a distant dream. True but tough; this is very unfortunate. We all had read the old adage- “Every dark cloud has a silver lining”. COVID is no exception to it. If we are to see the positive ray of hope and be optimistic, we can consider the digital revolution a benediction from heaven. Virtual tours have become the new normal. Various websites like Google Earth offer the best view of almost every tourist attraction on this planet. One can witness these places from various angles that too in 3-D format which is impossible to see even in the physical tours.
One can see various markets, monuments, gardens and other places. One can reach the desired destination in seconds without any elaborate preparations. In the Google Earth Street View, one can even have the chance to explore the Qutub Minar from the top which cannot be seen in physical tours. Even in these tours, we can plan it beforehand and on D-day, we can sit on a mat with food and start the adventure. Mark my words-It will be as good as the BCE tours. The shopaholics might being jealous of my script but the window shopping is still on In spite of all lockdowns and the digital revolution of online shopping has not only brought sellers but even manufacturers to our door steps.
So, let us enjoy every sphere of life and see the silver lining in all situations, even amidst the pandemic. If we all come together under the banner of safety and follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, we will surely succeed in the fight against the pandemic and normal travelling will be our trophy.
Let us wear a mask, stay at home, follow social distancing, get inoculated and the most important of all, stay positive (staying happy and not testing positive). As a quote goes, “Be strong now because things will get better; it might be stormy now but it can’t rain forever.” Let us be happy and fight this battle together. In the end, we will surely be victorious.
*Saikrit Gulati is Class 7 student of St. John’s High School, Chandigarh