When I catch up with friends these days, whether they’re a fellow travel addict or not, the conversation inevitably turns this way, and they give me a sympathetic look and ask: “How are you coping without travel?”
A life suddenly without travel
It’s a privileged problem to have, but the fact is that until the pandemic, I’d usually travelled quite a few times a year, and always had some big trip on the horizon. This is not simply because it’s fun to travel, but because it’s made me who I am – travelling is an important part of my life, my personality, and of course, my work, too.
I spent the first year of the pandemic absolutely itching to get away. The months ticked by, and more of the departure dates for trips I’d already booked passed us with cancellation as the only option. For most of 2020, the Western Australian state border was very firmly shut, so even an interstate trip wasn’t possible. I achieved some of my travel fix visiting friends in Bunbury and Busselton, and exploring our state’s wildflowers. Our state border opened and I was cautiously excited about flights we’d booked (with our large bank of airline credit from previously cancelled flights!) to visit New South Wales friends in January this year – until, of course, there was a Covid outbreak and our border closed before we were even close to leaving. Another trip bites the dust. We spent the rest of 2021 in a travel limbo, not trusting ourselves to book anything when borders were open lest we get stranded or forced into quarantine – our school and work lives just weren’t flexible enough to accommodate this, and our broken hearts weren’t really up to taking any more disappointment either. And after all, we lived so freely and healthily here in Western Australia, with virtually no Covid cases at all and just a handful of short – less than a week – lockdowns.
Getting that travel feeling at home
My son (now eleven) is also a travel fan – I’ve worked hard his whole life to ensure he finds it important and wonderful too, and I’ve done a good job of this – and together, we have both felt sad every time a trip falls through. We’ve taken a couple of trips within Western Australia together, but travelling within our own culture doesn’t have quite give us the same thrill as a trip abroad: we’re exhilarated when we find ourselves assaulted by foreign languages and exotic smells and tricky cultural norms.
So we’ve been travelling from our living room instead. Instead of uncomfortable aeroplane seats we’ve spent way more time on our sofa, surrounded by photos from our trips on the walls and of course with our attention often drawn to the TV. My son is firmly of the YouTube generation and he’ll often call out – “Mama – I’ve found a video we should watch together!” Like me, he’s intrigued by North Korea and will show me videos from travel vloggers who’ve taken a trip to Pyongyang and beyond; he delves into the archives and finds entire series of videos from YouTubers setting up fascinating challenges for travellers; he even has a love (oh, he’s so like me!) of trivia-style videos showcasing interesting geographical facts. (One of our favourites below!)
We’ve also spent time poring over maps spread out on the living room floor. Continental maps adorn several spots on the wall – currently, Africa in my bedroom, Europe in the bathroom, and Asia is waiting its turn next rotation – but for his recent birthday I bought him a large map of Germany. His love of the Bayern München football team means he’s become familiar with many cities and towns across Germany and we’ve spent ages finding particular places. We should have been in Germany last Christmas, but we’re not sure when we’ll get there now – when we do, he’ll be able to give me excellent directions from town to town!
Netflix has helped us out: we got a dose of both Canada and of Korean culture by binge-watching Kim’s Convenience (highly recommend!), and I’ve revived my memories of our Denmark trip by re-watching (and showing my son for the first time) the series Rita, following the adventures of a fascinating Danish teacher. Now that my son’s been learning French for a couple of years at school, I’ve also started binging French films and series in the hope that I can keep up with him (and learning – or “absorbing”! – a language is a great way to feel like I’m travelling).
The other way we really keep our travel hopes alive is by reliving our past trips. Whether it’s a photo prompt from Facebook memories (he’s not yet sick of me saying “Guess where we were three years ago today!”), or a random thought that leads us down a rabbit hole of “remember when”, I’m so glad we have a solid bank of travel memories to draw on.
On travelling post-pandemic
There’s a travel bubble imminent between Australia and New Zealand – the first baby steps in opening our international borders again. Vaccinations are coming – quickly in some parts of the world, slowly here in Australia; the light at the end of the Covid tunnel is faintly visible in the distance.
People keep asking me where I’m going to go next. The funny thing is, I’m not really feeling ready to make a booking. I know this will change – but I also know travel will be different forever more. I know I will value it even more than I ever have – as will my son – because we now know the privilege of travel can be taken away, suddenly, just like that.
This post is sponsored by Castlery Online Furniture Store
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