What’s life without some travel in it? It’s akin to a fish living in a dry pond- right?
There’s nothing really too alarming or strange about travel. The desire or zeal to travel is always high but the cost to accommodate for our travel needs is never enough- isn’t it? Yet, somehow those driven by an incessant desire to engage or indulge in wanderlust won’t step back or hold their nerve. They will give it everything to step around the world.
Such is the sheer love for travel right? There’s never a dull feeler attached to it. All you need at the end of the day is that bag that needs to be packed and all tightened up, your relevant documents and above all- a big heart to set upon your choicest nation.
And in that regard, a thing stands out. The sheer allure for the Middle East. While it’s completely understandable that Europe has the touch of majesty and grandiose history, Asia all the warmth and urban vibe and Africa all the distinct colors and cultures of the world with a touch of authenticity- there’s something enthralling about the Middle East.
And truth be told it’s more than just a continent mired in geopolitical upheavals. That brings us to the focal point we are trying to touch upon here- the Jewish land, a country of immense wonder called Israel.
Well believe it or not but the land of tremendous scientific and technical prowess is currently haggling with an interesting challenge of its own; one that’s not connected in any way with rifts or troubles with either of its Arab nations.
This time, the tension, if it must be said, is on the insides of Israel. And it concerns travel and tourism. So here’s the plain fact. Hotels and accommodations in the plush urban centers of the Jewish homeland- in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are often infested with tourists from around the world. But these hotels are expensive and in many cases, well beyond the reach of several people.
But that said, we must understand that we are living in a part of the 21st century where the concept of traveling has undergone a lot of change. For instance, budget travel wasn’t really much of a thing a few years back. This was a time, and you can think for yourself, where there was no concept such as Airbnb or Oyo stays- isn’t it?
People didn’t think of life in villas or booking a bungalow- did they? Holidays meant comfort stays, which was mostly restricted to posh accommodations in big hotels and budget travel for the cash-strapped tourist hardly stood a chance to prevail.
But well, this isn’t what is true today, at least not entirely so.
We are, it must be said, in an era where concepts such as minimalism are here and thriving. This is perhaps the reason why the world is seeing a sudden rise in capsule hotels. What are these, but, you might ask?
To put it simply- a capsule hotel is a budget accommodation that is like staying in a comfy cocoon.
It’s primarily meant to accommodate not more than 1 or 2 people at the most and is a constricted but comfy stay that has pretty much everything one needs in order to get some rest or sleep time, or for simply lying down. There’s not the luxury of space but there’s the entrapment of a charm that a little man-nest would bring.
Confused? Well, don’t be. One of the leading Israel-based publications Haaretz shared the following in an engrossing story on the emergence and rising culture of capsule hotels in Israel (where the writer of the story actually stayed in a capsule hotel to experience it all):
As soon as you insert your magnetic card in the door and the light goes on inside, capsule 16 looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. The light is dazzling white, as are the walls, sheets, and pillows, but you can change the color of the lighting around the mirror. I choose green. If you told me Sigourney Weaver was entering the adjacent capsule at that moment, I would not have been surprised.
The overall feeling is pleasant; I’m not affected by claustrophobia. But anyone who has problems with small, closed spaces – in this case, two cubic meters (71 cubic feet) – might be a bit put off by all this.
All that said, one wonders if the emergence of the capsule hotels in Israel could bring about a change in the landscape of tourism in a country that is no stranger to the entrepreneurship, creativity and the most important tenet of the human life: a sense of perseverance. In a land where mangoes and apples can be grown in a season that’s absolutely opposite to their produce (or cultivation) one cannot exactly be surprised by this newfound sense of Israeli creativity- isn’t it?