Travel

So far, the pandemic has been good to us. We’ve escaped illness and have had a lot of time off. It’s been a dry run at retirement, and it turns out that retirement suits me. It doesn’t suit everyone. Some people just have a need to keep doing stuff that doesn’t really need doing. 

Of course, what comes after the pandemic is another matter. Crossed fingers we stay employed. And crossed fingers that we exit the pandemic. Either through vaccine, or testing, or herd immunity or any other way. I yearn to travel. I need to plan and prepare for new epic adventures. 

I’d love to visit Cambodia, but that will be some way off. They want a $3,000 deposit from travelers in case they fall sick from the virus. That isn’t tourist friendly. I’d also love to visit Uzbekistan. They’ll pay you $3,000 compensation if you fall sick with the virus while you’re there. In both cases, $3,000 is the estimated amount that falling sick will cost a traveler In medical expenses.

We need inspiration when choosing where to travel. It’s a shame that the deciding factor in 2021 may be whether the country you’re thinking of will screw you over or help you through a case of the lurgy. In the good old days, I was inspired by photographs, books, movies, travel shows.

I watched The Beach yesterday. A 1999 movie that brought back happy memories from happy times. I went to both Thailand and Malaysia off the back of the movie. Next up is Rogue Trader, another 1999 flick, which inspired a visit to Singapore. After that, I may rewatch Portillo’s Great Asian Railway Journeys.

But what I really want to do is get back on the travel circuit myself.