Now if you have stumbled onto this blog thinking this will be a step-by-step guide on how to get around the travel-guidelines during lockdown you are in the wrong place. Here at Ramblings Round the World we stan those quarantine-abiding queens. Big up Chris Whitty!
Instead we are getting a little creative….
Obviously, we can’t travel right now, but we can *drumroll* travel from home! So put your passport away, we are not going anywhere (but on the plus side this involves absolutely no packing which is definitely the worst part of any journey)!
Maybe the following list of suggestions seems a bit sad but let’s face it- what else have we got to do with our time? Below I have listed a couple of things I have been doing to help quench my wanderlust.
1. Travel Documentaries
I don’t think of myself as a jealous person, but the closest I have got to coveting someone else’s life is whilst watching Michael Palin. What a fantastic life that man has led! Being in Monty Python, then making his living as a full-time travel documentary maker. He is out there living my dream.
Shamefully I didn’t really know who Michael Palin was till this year. But as British television began running out of new programmes to show, many channels began to show some retro hits. And luckily for me the BBC began to show Michael Palin’s ‘Around the World in 80 day’s where Palin follows in Phileas Fogg’s footsteps in his journey around the globe in 80 days. As it was filmed in 1989 I was worried it would feel outdated, or even colonial, with hangovers of old British attitudes in foreign lands. But Palin is a dream. He goes to each country with an openness and excitement to learn about the essence of each new land. Palin went on to film more docuseries with some highlights including ‘Full Circle’ and ‘Pole to Pole’ that are well worth a watch.
The fact these docuseries were filmed over 30 years ago only adds to the viewing experience. It is truly fascinating to see how different everything looked back in the 90’s especially in countries of great change like China or Colombia.
As I began to watch, I lived vicariously through Michael. I gasped with him as he saw the sights, I laughed with him as language confusion caused many humorous exchanges, and I felt the true sense of excitement as he entered each new country. The more immersed I became the more I truly felt those emotions I feel during travelling. Curiosity, confusion, wonder, bemusement, amusement and pure freedom. Although I was sat on the sofa, I had been transported to these foreign places..
It may not authentically be the travelling we all want right now, but it gets pretty damn close.
2. Comerse el mundo
One of my favourite parts of travelling is the eating. In Spanish there is common “comer el mundo” which literally means to eat the world. E.g I will eat the world. Unsurprisingly the literal translation is not quite correct here. What is really means is more like ‘to take on the world’. And with my next suggestion I think we can do both things at once!
Though I can’t grab a bite to eat from a delicious street vendor, I can make an experience that gets as close as possible. I pick a new recipe, put on some music and grab a glass of wine to make a night of it whilst I cook. Any recipe will do but some personal favourites have been Katsu Curry, Tofu Pho and puttanesca.
Then it is time to set the mood… Match the music to the cuisine, light a candle or even make a cocktail! Really make your dinner a theatre. And before you know it, you will feel like you’ve been transported to India, Morocco or even Mexico.
And here is my perfected margarita recipe you can get for free you cool cats and kittens 😉
Makes 1 large drink
Ingredients
2 shots of reposado tequila
1 shot Cointreau
Juice of 1-2 limes (depending on how sour you like it)
½ tsp of sugar
ice
Paprika, chilli powder and salt for the rim of the glass
Recipe
Pour all the alcohol, lime and ice into a shaker and shake shake shake senora (playing Jump in Line is optional)
Pour the powders onto a plate and stir. Swipe the leftovers of one of the limes along the rim then dip in the powers.
Pour the drink in the glass and pretend you are on a Mexican beach.
3. Becoming a tourist in our own city
Too often when we become used to where we live, we stop seeing the beauty in what is around us. We are so used to our daily existence that things begin to stop feeling special. And that is a real shame. No matter where we live, I’m sure there is beauty in every part of the world. Beauty may be found in the swaying trees of the forest and in the creativity and rebellion of our local graffiti.
No matter where we live we can explore! This summer I would set off walking for the day and find places I had never ever been to before. I got ice-cream and watched the world go by, or I would sit and read or journal in the sun. It really did feel like being a tourist in a place I had always called home.
So take a look at a map of where you live, and if there is a name you don’t recognize check it out. Go for walks along local nature trails if you are in the country, or check out different neighborhood vibes in the city. Maybe you might discover something magical
4. Exploring new worlds with books
And lastly let’s step back in time to how the majority of the world used to travel before cheap flights and globalization. Books. The power of the human imagination is immense, and books truly can take you to another world. And the beauty of fiction is, these worlds don’t even have to be real! Now I bet you never thought you would be going on holiday The Shire did you now ?
And the possibilities are endless. We can enter crazy fantasy lands like Wonderland or Westeros, or we could travel back in time to the Victoria age with Dickins, and if you feeling super spicy we could even travel to the future with 1984 or a handmaids tale. (I was trying to think of a future based novel that wasn’t a bleak dystopia but obviously this is not a popular genre).
And best of all this will probably be the cheapest holiday you have ever had!
So, although we may continue look at our laptop and sigh as we imagine ourself surfing in the Philippines, salsa dancing in Cuba or eating Falafel in Lebanon I know this year wasn’t wasted. I still travelled, but in a slightly improvised way. And you know what, I have suffered none of the shoulder ache from my backpack!
Hasta luego from your resident (currently stationary) rambler xx
Song of the day is ‘It’s my House’ by the b-e-a-u-tiful Diana Ross
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