Only the meekest are afraid. Everyone else is ready for the ride. Of course the travel industry has perked up its ears as it caught scent of the new market: women. Women travelling alone. Women travelling in groups. Women who enjoy travelling. Women ready to go anywhere. Everywhere.

The old mores are still there; the family vacations, the journeys with bags packed with heavy-duty clothes for family weddings, the laptop mandatory official trips. But this is different. This new phenomenon is a tidal wave that is steadily gaining strength and favour, as more and more women take down the suitcase from its storing place and prepare to take off on a holiday.

Believe me when I say the excitement level peaks while these trips are planned. The thought of the break from the routine of office and/or household chores, the thought of not having to plan or execute menus, check mails, homework; of not having to ferry children to classes, or accompany the spouse for boring official dos… you know the scenario, it’s much the same with marginal differences and it all paints a monotone picture of tedium by repetition. Getting away from it all, is putting safe, organised life on hold and entering the realm of fantasy, adventure, and who-knows-what.

Secret discovered

Men have done this for decades. That all boys golfing trip; the get-away-from-responsibilty trips to Thailand and other ripe-with-possibilities destinations, even the business trips that can be extended to include a weekend away from it all…now, women have discovered the secret. If men can travel without them, this brave new world holds out an escape for women too! The options are unlimited, a veritable smorgasbord, from trekking to cruises through the icy stretches of Antarctica.

Adventurous women, travel lovers themselves, stand at the gate of this enticing escape, as organisers and planners. Some run budget groups, others aim themselves at the higher end. Some go the tried and tested route, others even let a group plan its own package. All have takers. So it is common to have a popular tourist spot in Europe suddenly being taken over by a gaggle of excited, chattering women in sneakers and brand new denims vying to shoot the maximum selfies to send home before tucking themselves in for the night. Or find yourself sharing a bonfire with women who have left businesses and client meetings behind to grapple with trekking sticks and start on a round of the Annapurna circuit.

So what goes on once the trip begins? Contrary to popular fiction, the women have a blast. Women left to themselves, without the pressure of a man’s favour to be curried (read that as son, husband, boss), can actually get on famously. Trips like this give them the much needed female company that is perfect for everything including trading recipes, shopping advice, even professional strategies, and in some cases ma-in-law or boss/husband-bashing. And don’t forget the joys of women indulging in fashion one-upmanship. For as we know women dress to impress other women on how well they carry off an outfit, because they managed to fight the bulge and win!

When it’s time to return, the Real kicks in. So shopping for those left behind is hectic, giving as much pleasure as it is de riguer, and last minute contact details are exchanged. Not surprisingly, some new friends will possibly be ‘old friends’ on a trip in the future; others may be fellows well met and forgotten. But each woman, even as she looks forward to returning to the fold, which has acquired a sheen through absence, carries an island of joy in her heart. Of having done something new, of tasting a new drink, a new dish, of venturing to a spot she would never have dared to otherwise… something that carries the inexplicable headiness of an adventure. Soon, she will return to her life as her dear ones feel is best suited for her. But believe me, even as she shrugs herself into her mould of wife, mother, daughter, whatever, she’s got a secret hideaway spot in her day. Where, with a twinkle in her eyes, she is planning the next all-women’s trip.

The writer is a Consulting Editor with Penguin India