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Coronavirus has now become a global Pandemic where none of us are allowed to come out of our home. Staying at home 24/7 is the new normal. Social Distancing, Quarantine, Lockdown, Work from Home are words we would have hardly used in the past, but now our day starts with these words and ends with it. Fear of the unknown is hunting everyone in this world. Lockdown at home has brought an enormous amount of problems for everyone, some fear of getting infected from the deadly virus where others fear a shortage of food, and many more fear just the feeling of being at home for a long time. But if you ask any traveller what they fear the most? 99% will answer, their biggest fear is not being able to travel for the next many months and potentially a year. The worse part is we still don’t know when we will be able to travel next. The last couple of months this fear has been hitting me hard too. I’m Chandan Sharma, a banking professional from Bangalore and I have travelled to 33 countries in 9 years. This is my view of not being able to travel due to COVID-19.
Cancelling My Tickets To Myanmar Due To COVID-19
Since the last few years, I have been taking a small holiday every 3 months and a big one every 6 months. And I was sure this year was going to be no different, until the coronavirus pandemic started spreading. In fact, I had also booked my tickets to Myanmar( Burma) for 10 days between 10th to 21st March, which I had to cancel. But due to the low-cost airline policy I couldn’t get much in terms of refund for cancellation.
Besides monetary loss, what pains me more is the feeling of not being able to travel, when I actually want to travel. Not travelling means no life, not just for me but for all travel-loving folks across the globe. Now sitting at home, all I do is watch travel shows. But I still keep browsing for good airline deals and the best destinations to visit in spite of knowing the fact that I will not be able to travel for some time now.
Also Read: I Have Travelled To 33 Countries In 9 Years With A Full Time Banking Job
The Traveller In Me Keeps Nudging Me To Plan My Travel
And when I see what amazing deals airlines are offering to the destinations which I always wanted to visit, a second thought comes to my mind. It makes me think, ‘let’s book it now. Surely the virus will be taken care of by the time travel date arrives’. But again a second thought is what if this pandemic continues even till the time I plan to travel because of the good airline deal. Practically speaking booking tickets is not at all a good idea at this point of time, but the traveller in me keeps poking me and reminding me that it’s already been 3 months and you haven’t gone anywhere yet. Did you know My Mobile Stopped Working During My Solo Trip To Europe?
In a situation like this when we are at home 24/7, we have just two moods, 1- I do not want to leave home. 2- I do not want to stay at home. Unfortunately, the choice is limited this time. Now that I am at home full time, a thought which comes very often in my mind is, once this pandemic is over and we start travelling again, will the world look the same as before? Will the people treat you the same way as they have done until now? Will the countries still welcome visitors with open hearts or will they look at us with suspicion? Sadly there is no answer for that, but hopefully, the world will change for the better. Lucky are those travellers who could travel and see the world before this pandemic, and who will be also able to see the world after this disaster, to a large extent my first phase is done and now I am sitting at home and waiting till my second phase commences.
So until I travel again these are few things which keep me going and I hope these will keep you going as well-
- Keep checking for a different destination which you can visit once you are free to travel.
- Keep checking websites like Skyscanner, Kayak, Google Flight Secret Deals, they are great sources of information and they will keep up motivated to travel.
- Money which is supposed to be used for travelling is for travelling. So do not use it for anything else. Times will change soon and you will be able to travel again.
- Talk about your travel stories, share your travel stories and listen to others. Storytelling is part of a traveler’s life especially when we are not travelling.
- Stay connected to your travel buddies. After all, we all are sailing in the same boat.
So this was my story about how I’m dealing with the pain of not being able to travel. And my way to cope with this issue is to share my story with you as a fellow traveller. So let’s hope for the best and keep our spirits alive until we travel again.
To know more about my travel stories click here
This article was contributed to Curly Tales by Chandan Sharma. If you have an article or similar experience to share, do write to us on hey@curlytales.com