become a hobby for me after retirement says mukundan k menonbut the senior citizens also had to face quite a few tricky situations during their trips our nineday trip to rajasthan was an unforgettable one we were five elderly people including my brotherinlaw who is also a retired govt official the demonetisation drive was announced when we were in the middle of our trip in rajasthan none of the restaurants accepted cash payments and the atms were crowded thankfully there was a retired national bank employee in our group and with his help we were able to withdraw cash from a bank quickly we returned to thiruvananthapuram immediately luckily we didnt face more hurdles as the accommodation and return flight tickets were prebooked from solo to friendsonly tripsmeanwhile mukundan menon is now is gearing up for the kailashmanasarovar yatra with his 63yearold brotherinlaw krishna panicker krishna panicker also loves to go on trips with his college classmates the trips he says keep alive the friendship and feelings of togetherness with people of his generation we have a friendship group made up of the old students of the msc physics department of my college in aluva we go for annual trips without our children they dont understand the kind of fun we have with old friends rather than capture photos on phones we prefer to etch the moments in our hearts says krishna panicker there are also solo travellers who find fun in exploring new places by themselves be it scenic or religious spots for 55yearold krishnaveni s a native at thampanoor it was a dream come true to travel alone and she thanks her husband and daughter for their supportright from my childhood i wanted to globetrotte as my father who has served as chief secretary would go for official tours leaving us children behind after i settled down in life i too started going for sightseeing with my family and friends i have some health issues and so cant visit high altitude destinations i am a member of the womens only travel group appooppanthadi and thus was able to visit beautiful locales like chitharal gokarna and dhanushkodi krishna veni who is a medical transcriptionist says her dream is to visit konark temple my birthday falls in august so i wish to gift myself a solo konark sun temple trip as a birthday presenta holy expeditionfor many of the elders the trips are a means to a pilgrimage lathika devi 68 a retired school teacher from cotton hill girls higher secondary school in vazhuthacaud along with her colleagues is using her postretirement days to explore various temples across the country it is a great experience to visit the temples which tell lots of miraculous stories and beliefs there are around 10 retired teachers in my age group who accompany me usually we research on the place and its significance properly before visiting them along with my friends i have covered almost all the temples in the state including thiruvarppu krishna