Because Dussehra is on a Tuesday, workplaces are likely to wear an empty look on Monday, as many plan to go away over the week-end for a short break. ``People want to take advantage of the continuous holidays'', says Jayendrasinhji Jhala of Transline Tours and Travels. ``The diesel price-hike has not affected them seriously.'' The sentiments are echoed byt Prominent Holidays travel counsellor Dhaval Desai.

Government servant Anand Shah concurs. ``We've got holidays at a stretch after a pretty long time. So I've planned out my itinerary to cover the desert triangle of Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer'', he says. Package tour costs have gone up following the diesel price-hike, but the impact on the holiday-minded has been minimal. ``Nobody wants to miss an opportunity to travel during holidays'', as Sailesh, a small-time tour organiser operating in the ST bus-stand area, explains.

Along with bus fares, taxi charges, too, have gone up by 50 paisa to Re 1 per km. ``Despite the revised rates, the demand has not diminished to any great extent'', says Gaurang, a taxi-operator.

So where are the people going, by bus and car? Travel agencies say the most sought-after destinations are Mt Abu, Silvassa, Udaipur, Mandu, Panchmarhi and Daman. For slightly longer breaks, people are heading for Jodhpur-Bikaner-Jaisalmer. Those with no money or time constraints are heading abroad.

Heritage tours, too, are fast becoming popular, says Jhala, attributing it to the opening up of palaces in Rajpipla, Balasinor and Utelia to the tourist trade. Desai, however, says the holiday destinations in Gujarat suffer from the poor tourism infrastructure in the State.

While the mushrooming resorts on the Ahmedabad-Mehsana highway have their patrons, wildlife enthusiasts are heading for Velavadar, Jambughoda and Zenabad, says Jhala.

November is the time for long holidays and the preferred destinations are -- besides Rajasthan -- Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. ``We are getting a lot of bookings for Kanha and Jabalpur'', says the Transline operator. In Kerala, it is the ayurvedic resorts that are drawing the crowds, though people are also doing the `circuit' of Kochi, Alapuzha, Kumarakom, Thekkady/Periyar and Munnar. The Vaishnodevi pilgrimage spot in Jammu and Kashmir is also high on the popularity charts.