I had to cancel my travel plans of backpacking across South-east Asia. I had been planning for this trip for a very long time. I had even booked my flight tickets. I had prepared a presentation of my travel plans starting from Singapore and then spending about 2 months Workaway-ing in Malaysia, then strolling through the oil city of Bandar Seri Begawan, enter into Philippines and spend about a month there. Well, that presentation is of no use anymore. My life kind of depended on my plans. And now that I cannot walk on that path anymore, I feel I'm kind of lost. I don't know what to do with my life anymore. And to make the matters even worse, I AM A FREELANCER.Trust me, I had it all sorted out!Until this CORONA VIRUS came and ruined my life.
Believe me I completely understand if that's how you feel. I was feeling the same until a few days ago. My mind was wandering all around and my heart was beating so fast that it almost came out of my body. I was not able to make sense of what has happened all of a sudden. How the world has become upside down? Travel, not just to other places but even outside my home feels almost like I am committing a crime. How something as tiny as bats could make the entire human race suffer at its mercy. In fact not just humans, animals are suffering too. Street dogs are left unfed. And as per a recent news story, a tiger has tested positive for corona virus, which is said to be transmitted to the cat from her vet at the Bronx zoo.
Amidst all this mayhem and chaos, the news that has delighted the hearts of all the environmentalists around the world is that Nature has started to slowly heal itself and may soon return to its former glory. With the majority of the cities on lockdown worldwide, the air pollution has reduced considerably improving the Air Quality Index. The air pollution levels in Jalandhar, India reduced so much that the Himalayas could be seen from the city. This has happened after 30 years.
The ozone layer that has been depleting for so long is also said to be recovering. Although the major reason for ozone recovery across the Antarctic is the Montreal Protocol, but the nationwide lockdowns in different parts of the world has played a big role in it. With much remorse where one ozone hole is healing, another one has appeared above the Arctic as a result of unusually low temperatures in North Pole regions.
No matter how many books and articles I read online and how much I get indulged in armchair travel, nothing could ever replace the joy of real travelling. Some days I feel like this travel bug is crawling deep inside me, poking me over and over again, nudging me from within every pore of my skin and begging to travel.
If this is the case with you too, think again and then again until you are entirely convinced that travelling right now and for at least next few months has become a luxury that none of us can afford. As for a very long time in the Traveller's Universe, it won't be easy or even safe to travel not just internationally but also at national level.
If you're wondering what the future of travelling would be after the pandemic...
We won't be allowed to travel freely like we are used to, until at least 2021 if not longer. Different countries will have their own set of quarantine rules. The frequency of international flights will be kept to bare minimum to reduce unnecessary travel. Most of all, people will be scared to travel to other cities. And no, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You won't be considered cool or daring if you travel now or in near future, instead you will be termed a fool and callous. People will not have the economic power to travel as before. As many of us, even after continuous pleas of the government officials, have been fired from our jobs. Some of us are freelancers, some don't have any savings instead have incurred some debts. It will take some time for the economy to go back to normal. And unfortunately, like ancient times travel will again become a luxury that only a few can afford. Businesses of all sorts have suffered great losses, but Tourism business in specificity has nearly doomed and will definitely need some time to recover. As of present the global travel is almost negligible. 10% of the global workforce is employed in the tourism industry. In the economies we've built, a massive number of people depend on tourism for their basic income. It can be me or even you, people like tourist guide, travel companies, visa facilitators, waiters, souvenir sellers, hotel cleaners and the list goes on. Corona virus has frivolously shattered their lives and the lives of their families.
While trying to make sense of everything that was happening around me and in the world outside, I was having this constant battle of thoughts within my mind. I realised how vulnerable we human beings are to things we are not even aware of yet.
A paradox within,
So ambitious yet so powerless.
So well-guarded yet so exposed.
And how foolish are we to think that we that we are superior to all those other living beings that exist on this planet!
The Universe is a mystery and so are our lives. The world doesn't always work the way we want it to. And no being, not even humans can escape or mould its reality. The nature creates a balance: Yin and Yang and when that balance seem to be getting disturbed, it restore itself to its original self. This restoration may seem apocalyptic to us, in general, as to maintain this equilibrium the earth compensates thousands of years of destruction in a relatively tiny window of time. Only then can life sustain on this planet, in harmony.
So if you're a freaky traveller like me and are wondering what should you do now?
First of all, FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM FOR SOME ARMCHAIR TRAVEL AND FUTURE TRAVEL INSPIRATION!
Then, Go Check out my previous adventures 🙂
And then once the pandemic is over,
GO... TRAVEL IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY <3
Get to know your own motherland!
Not only will it help you see your own country through a different perspective, but domestic travel will also help boost the economy of your country that has been badly impacted by COVID-19. As I said earlier, Tourism plays a big role in any country's economy.
If you're looking for help planning your trips domestically, my friend Chandni Aggarwal can be a big help!