Sounds like an oxymoron eh? If you are travelling with family?! All of us, ok some of us…need some space, some me-time and that neither makes us a recluse nor an introvert.

So you are on a vacation and in the middle of a frenzied rush to cover all the sightseeing spots crammed in your itinerary. Not to forget, the grind of religiously clicking selfies and taking photographs of every possible scenic beauty on earth. To top it all off, posting them on Facebook that too real time! Amidst this helter skelter, are you one of those who crave for a moment of solitude? Even if, briefly?

So here are few tips for you to steal those moments from yourself and from the world when you travel with only your ‘self’ and you leave all your baggage behind, literally and figuratively…

• Sneak out for a night rendezvous- Ahem, with the stars! Go for a walk after the family has crashed into sleep after a long day of travel. Take a stroll on the lush green lawns of your exotic resort, forgetting just for once that the resort is charging you a bomb for two nights stay! Settle yourself on a desolate bench with a glass of chilled beer and just stare at the stars. Meanwhile, Jagjit can softly remind you “Hazaron khwaishe aisi ke har khwaish pe dum nikle…bohut nikle mere aarman lekin phir bhi kam nikle…”
• Sit in the balcony- If you are not one of the adventurous kinds, sit in the balcony or just by the window side at night after everyone is off to sleep. The soft breeze from the sea caressing your cheeks, the twinkling lights in the faraway mountains, so fragile yet so reassuring will remind you of a life well spent with its share of flaws and follies. And believe it or not, you will feel grateful for each one of those precious moments.
• Rise before the sun- If you are not a nocturnal soul, rise to the occasion early. And make sure you definitely make it before the sunrise watcher crowd is swarming all over the place, buzzing like a hive of bees robbing every bit of silence out of the serene morning. Ask the locales the previous night where the regular tourists never leave their footprints. Follow the trekker’s trail, so what if you are scared to get lost, so what you might miss the hotel’s complimentary breakfast deadline! Discover a quiet corner on the beach or sit on a mossy boulder on a hilltop. Watch the morning unfold before your eyes, the soft rays of sunlight slowly illuminating the sky and the mountains, the warmth of its glow still palpable in the confines of your heart…you will feel liberated like never before.
• Escape from the shopping blitzkrieg- Make a brief escape when the family is busy shopping for the local souvenirs.  It is going to be lengthy affair, it always is. For the Buas and Chachas of the world. Sit on the wooden bench of a local tea shop, sip some hot chai from the earthen cup and get a real feel of the place sharing space with real people. The anonymity of your existence will help in rediscovering yourself all over again.
• Shut the world out for a moment- You know what I mean. You are surrounded by everybody but still fighting the pangs of loneliness? Let all the cacophony recede into a distance for a while. Stop the car on the middle of a road, anywhere you feel, no map no itinerary.  Close your eyes, soak in the beauty of nature and simply forget everything. Even if for a moment. Capture a lifetime of silence in that solitary moment…