03-05-2025
Aanavandi Ahoy! There's now a beeline for KSRTC's budget trips
The winding roads through Gavi forests opened up another world for Jayasree B, a retired government official who always kept the fire in her to travel. She has been on regular tours since her retirement, her last one being to Kashmir, just days before the Pahalgam attack. Jayasree's travels within the State are backed by the Budget Tourism Cell (BTC) of KSRTC, which lets her explore the swathes of the state economically and brings her the camaraderie of like-minded travel bugs.
'It was the film Ordinary that made me long to go to Gavi. When the BTC trip came up, I jumped for it. There are so many places unexplored in this state, and the BTC trips lead us there,' she says.
Thiruvananthapuram has many such travellers — retired, single, or just bitten by the travel bug. They go through less-travelled roads and unexplored trails, sometimes with modest means. As they plan these journeys, they ask: when nature doesn't differentiate, why should travel be only for those who can splurge?
