How to Travel the World Without Stepping Outdoors During COVID-19 #TravelFromHome

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced all of us to stay indoors. Countries have sealed their borders, public transport has been cancelled, schools, colleges, offices have been shut and by now we have somehow gotten used to an unusual lifestyle where students are taking online classes, majority of the employees are working remotely, the otherwise crowded streets are empty. In a nutshell, the everyday life has taken a halt.

The government put a strict restriction on travel. Everything from flights to trains, buses and even cab services were cancelled. And just like everyone else, the pandemic forced me to postpone my travel plans.

In the beginning of my quarantine journey, it was quite difficult to stay at home, all thanks to the urge to be on the move (duh). But slowly I have now come to accept the reality, for I know that my travel plans may have been postponed or cancelled, but ‘hope’ is not cancelled.

Just like me, there are so many of you, on similar paths, with the travel bug clinging to your soul. Listed below are a few ideas (safe and responsible) which I have been following to fulfil my travel cravings:

Indulge in travel films, documentaries and vlogs
One of the activities that I have enjoyed the most during the lockdown is watching travel movies. Travel is not always about seeing the world through your eyes, it is also about letting yourself experience the emotions you face while walking on different soils and breathing different air. These films and series have made it possible to virtually visit places while sitting at home and has also inspired me to add a few in my upcoming travels.

• 7 Years in Tibet
• Into the Wild       
• The Darjeeling Limited 
• Before Sunrise       
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• The Himalayas        
• Wild            
• Walking the Himalayas  (a series on the Discovery+ App)
• Eat Pray Love           
• Everest

Get lost in travel-focused books
Open a dream world by diving deep into travel books. Soak in the stories from remote lands through works of fiction and imagine yourself experiencing all the adventures mentioned in non-fiction travelogues.

So far, I have taken trips to Istanbul (through the book- ‘The Bastard of Istanbul’ by Elif Shafak), ran a few marathons in America and Japan (through the book- ‘What I Talk About When I Talk About Running’ by Haruki Murakami) and also took off on a long journey covering remote places on Earth (through the book- ‘A Shooting Star’ by Shivya Nath).

Tip: Right now, since none of the e-commerce sites are delivering books (it falls under the non-essential category), I would recommend you to download e-books from the various websites available online. Personally, I use the site- epub.pdf to download my books. It allows you to save your file in EPUB format which is supported by e-readers like Kindle, Google Play Books etc.

Revisit your travel pictures and tap into your creative side
“This is what I like about photographs. They’re proof that once, even if just for a heartbeat, everything was perfect.”
– Jodi Picoult

It’s time to take out that big chunk of photographs from past trips.

• Unlock your artistic side by recreating these photographs in the form of paintings and sketches.

• Try your hand in editing, and explore the endless possibilities of creating pleasing photographs.

Some of the best and easy-to-use photo-editing apps are: Adobe Lightroom, Snapseed, VSCO.

Learn about a country
“I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.”
– Anthony Bourdain

Did you know that there are about 200+ countries in the world? Learning in depth about each of them would probably take you a lifetime. But there’s always a start. Select a country or continent, look it up on the map, read about its history, culture, language, tourism, food, religious views, the list goes on. You could also put it up on your travel bucket-list .

The apps- 'Google Earth' and 'Google Arts and Culture' are game changers with interactive features, keeping the users engaged throughout. Google Earth allows you to read about various locations around the world, take interesting quizzes (try out the ‘I’m feeling lucky’ button on this app to be able to be transported to the most random places). Whereas, on the Google Arts & Culture app, you can watch orchestras, take virtual museum tours and even read about all the masterpieces kept in these museums!

With the number of the Coronavirus cases jumping to a new high everyday, it’s best to put our health on priority and not venture out for any non-essential travels.

How are you coping up with the stay-at-home orders?