2020 will be the year that we never forget – where we were told to Stay Home, Save the NHS and Save Lives. Our country, indeed the world, faced a crisis of the magnitude most of us have never seen in our lifetimes – and hopefully we will never see again. Personally, the sudden loss of mum (not due to Covid-19) has been devastating. It’s strange to think, that as 1,000’s lose their lives, and so many friends and families face the challenge of dealing with grief in these unusual times, the best thing that many of us have been able to do during lockdown, has been to stay home. As we adjusted to life in lockdown, I realised how much I take for granted the simple things – seeing family and friends, being able to go out whenever I want, a 2nd outing for exercise, coffee shops and restaurants, going to work, hugs …. the list goes on!
As someone who loves to travel and experience different cultures, it’s strange to think that we currently live in a world where borders are shut and British nationals around the world were repatriated home. The concept of getting on a plane again seems a distant reality – but in anticipation of lockdown being lifted at some point, and thankful for some recent easing of restrictions, I have been thinking about ten reasons why I love to travel:
1. Experiencing different cultures
I have loved experiencing different cultures – both as a tourist and through work. Working out how to buy a coffee in China when they don’t accept cash or card, finding myself in a typhoon, on a bus which included chickens and passengers (!), in an airport where the entire terminal was a wooden bench, and having a chicken killed in my honour … the list goes on and on! These are the experiences which you don’t read about in a guidebook – but make a trip so memorable.
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| Roast chicken in Niger |
2. Sunsets
My friends know that if there is a sunset to be enjoyed then I will be there with camera in hand – capturing every moment of the colour change. My love affair with sunsets began in Florida when I was about 16 and it was the first time I can remember seeing the array of colours light up the sky – as a local passed by commenting ‘isn’t God the most amazing artist.’
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| Sunset in Canada |
3. Learning
Tennis, painting and cooking are all activities I have done whilst travelling. Admittedly the painting holiday convinced me that I was not a natural – picking out a myriad of shades of green on an Italian landscape was just not happening. However, locals running cooking lessons and bringing to life their cuisine and culture is special … a women’s cooperative running Tagine lessons in Marrakesh, Carmen teaching Portuguese cookery from her home in Carveiro and Raffaella’s farmhouse in Umbria have all been memorable.
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| Learning to make pasta in Italy |
4. Food
When you find that gem of a restaurant, which showcases the very best in local cuisine – hidden behind the tourist haunts – it’s a very good day! Owners which bring their country’s cuisine to life and show case local produce are really special (albeit that we can’t always quite bring ourselves to eat the local specialty!) We aren’t necessarily talking fine dining, but you need the knowledge of a local to uncover them. No trip to Kuala Lumpur would be complete without a trip to the ‘yellow table cloth’ restaurant on Jalan Alor – and a more recent find in Australia, is that they really know how to do food markets (with yummy tasting tours!).
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| Queen Victoria food market, Melbourne |
5. Coffee
For an insight into how the informal culture of a place operates, look no further than the coffee culture. The first time I came across the Barista culture was in Australia about 25 years ago – long before it was at thing in the UK – and yet now we live in a time where there is a coffee shop on every corner (albeit not in our lockdown world). As I type I have fond memories of sitting with a coffee watching the world go by in Paris – or getting drawn in to an ex pat coffee morning in Central Park in New York – or the less successful ordering a coffee with milk in Shanghai – and getting exactly that, a black coffee with a large glass of milk!
6. Outstanding hospitality
I love the fact that as we travel, every so often we experience hospitality that blows us away – where the host has gone above and beyond to make it a memorable visit. In Canada, we were lucky enough to be the first guests in a B&B owned by the Head Chef of a vineyard (amazing breakfasts!) and a lady on Vancouver Island who took great pride in announcing the ‘main event’ at breakfast every morning! When working for a couple of weeks in Malaysia and China, I sought out an English-speaking church service in Kuala Lumpur – after the service ended, they hosted a coffee time for international visitors, all of whom were passing through KL for that one week. That ended up being a highlight of the weekend.
7. Sunshine
Admittedly one of the amazing anomalies of lockdown is the amount of sunshine we are experiencing – April was one of the warmest on record. Daily outings for exercise are so much easier when its warm and sunny! Being on lockdown and still working full time hasn’t left much time to enjoy the sunshine – but when away from home, and the usual distractions, sunshine does help the pace of activity to slow as gradually we take a step back and unwind.
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| A favourite sunny spot in Samos |
8. Unexpected events
Travelling doesn’t always quite turn out as planned – and more often these are the events that give us something to write home about – when everyone is safe and well and a few prayers have been answered along the way! The typhoon in China became less amusing on a work trip when we were trapped for 3 days in a very basic hotel with limited facilities; I remember thinking it ‘concerning’ that the church in Niger was surrounded with military but then again it was only days after the Christmas Day attacks in Nigeria in 2011 – or ‘unusual’ that the tour guide in Mexico carried extra cash in case border guards needed to be bribed! None of those were events which made it onto the postcard home! Then there was the time we were asked to 'say a few words' to school children in Tanzania ....
9. Relaxing time with family and friends
Away from the day jobs, and usual routines, I value the fact that exploring new places with others provides the opportunity to hang out together. Away from the email it always takes a bit of time to switch off work – but when I do, its great to be able to relax … and even better when sharing the adventure with friends or family.
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| Relaxing in a happy place! |
10. The anticipation
I’d never really thought about it until lockdown has meant all plans came out of the diary – but I love looking forward to the next travel adventure … near or far! I realise how much I have taken for granted the ability to visit new places …. Pre Covid-19 I have never encountered closed borders, or the need for inbound quarantine back to the UK. When lockdown lifts, and the government declare it safe to travel freely throughout the world, the passport will be dusted off – and I will never be taking it for granted again!
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain
