How to travel in the middle of a pandemic
Emily Graetz gives you five very viable options for virtual travel
Are you feeling a bit worried about the state of our pandemic, climate-crisis riddled world? Pretty broke because you lost your job during the middle of lockdown? Studying 24/7 because mid sem exams are approaching? I bet you think travel isn’t an option for you right now! Never fear - if you’ve got a half decent internet connection and at least some semblance of imagination left, I’ve got just the thing for you! Five very viable, very exciting and very realistic virtual travel options!
1. Watch some shitty travel documentaries
A staple of the at-home-travel, documentaries and travel series are widely available and take little effort to get involved with. Choose from a wide variety of sensible options like Escape to the Country and SBS’s Destination Flavour or admit that you love a bit of Denise Scott and switch over to Travel Guides. My personal favourite is anything Bear Grylls of course and to be honest, now seems like a good time to know where to find raven eggs and how to escape from quicksand. The apocalypse is nigh and I’ll be damned if I die because I don’t know how to survive the night by sleeping in a camel carcass.
Pros: easy to access from most streaming services and readily available between the hours of 1.00-3.00am on all good television stations
Cons: you’ll quickly realise that you’d rather die than drink your own piss like Bear Grylls
2. Immerse yourself in a classic travel film
This is the most pure form of virtual travel and would be quite highly regarded by travel connoisseurs. No need to limit yourself to Earth with this option either, the space genre is plentiful as is the sci-fi route: perfect for forgetting that you live on this god forsaken earth if you ask me. Otherwise, I’d recommend leaning right into the ‘travel film’ genre and checking out the cheery film Midsommar which follows a young American couple who head to Sweden for a delightful festival or the classic road trip film, Wolf Creek.
Pros: can enjoy from the comfort of your couch, some travel films will remind you that you’re perfectly happy staying at home
Cons: some travel films will remind you that you still unfortunately live on earth
3. Spend the day on Google Earth
I know you haven’t opened Google Earth since year 8 Geography but hear me out. Now that we’re travelling online there is literally no limit! No NSW/Victoria border restrictions, no reality check upon discovering the cost of return flights to Europe, no pesky limitations like “public transport to Byron Bay from Sydney takes 14 and a half hours”. The world is literally your oyster. Pin a spot on the globe, chuck yourself on pedestrian view and you’ve got a holiday baby! Start the day in Machu Picchu, head off to Santorini for lunch and watch the sunset from the beach in Broome.
Pros: jet lag and long haul flights become a thing of the past, don’t need to worry about baggage restrictions
Cons: purely a visual experience: can’t smell, taste, hear or feel anything of your travel destination
4. Get virtually lost in geography games
This one is for the people that are looking for a more competitive version of option 3. List the Countries of the World is perfect for that lockdown reminder of all the countries that you can’t travel to and Geogguessr* is a great way to mimic getting lost in a foreign location (or Sydney CBD without Google Maps). Try this one with a partner or friend to get that real ‘fighting over directions’ travel experience that we all miss.
Pros: good refresh on your geography skills, adversity can make relationships stronger
Cons: realise that you should have paid attention in year 8 Geography, adversity can tear relationships apart
5. Stalk your rich mate on Insta
This is honestly my timeless go to option, whether we’re in a pandemic or not. Stalking your rich mate on Instagram will give you such a lifelike holiday feel that you’ll actually believe you’re currently swimming in the clear waters of Croatia and not wearing the same pair of tracksuit pants for the 17th day in a row. I suggest picking a foodie friend to get that real culinary feel and don’t be ashamed to screenshot and make your phone lockscreen. Ugh, take me back, am I right?
Pros: you get some pretty pictures from your holiday
Cons: definitely leads to feelings of jealousy and bitterness
*For the free, unlimited version, click here.