Travel. Arguably the most derailed business by the great plague of 2020. Once the virus started showing its spreading power it was like an iron curtain fell over the world of travel. Flights, busses, trains, and everything in between were cancelled. People declared that they would never leave the confines of their city or province ever again. To me, that’s a pretty sad life.

Will I travel again? The short answer is yes when I’m allowed to. Buckle up for the long answer.

Courtesy: pxhere.com

In my short 23 years on this planet, I’ve visited seven countries (Canada, USA, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Japan, and Mexico) and two city-states (Gibraltar and Vatican City). I list Canada because unlike most Canadians I’ve actually seen most of this country. To some that might sound like a lot and to some that number is laughable.

Let’s put a little perspective on that number. The world is absolutely massive. There are 195 countries (depending on who you ask) in the world which means I’ve only been to about 3.5% of them. And if you factor in all of the disputed or unrecognized areas, my percentage drops even lower. To put it in even more perspective, the youngest person to visit every country in the world was 21 when she did it. Almost a full two years younger than me.

YouTube/Lexie Limitless

So I guess the main question here is: why do I still want to travel even with this threat of COVID-19 hanging over my head?

1. The experiences

I look back on some of the memories I have from travelling as some of my best times. I remember the moment I stepped off my tour bus in old Tangier like it was yesterday. The sights, the smells, all the people everywhere. Or the time I successfully navigated Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world, while only knowing one sentence of Japanese. And I can’t forget the time I walked up to the Colosseum in Rome. It nearly took my breath away. There are so many things out in the world that we would be missing out on if we just stay confined to our little corner of it. There are so many more memories waiting to be made out there.

Flickr/jaybergesen

2. The cultures

Each country has its own identity and yeah sure you can see some of that by going to a sushi restaurant or visiting Chinatown, but those places are watered-down versions of the real thing. They’re adapted to fit into Canadian culture too. You don’t get to see the perfect, regimented attention to detail that the Japanese have. The organized chaos of Italy won’t shine through at your local pasta bar. The laid back siesta culture of the Spanish countryside would be lost. There are so many ways of life out there that are just waiting to be experienced.

Something that goes along with this is language. For many years I’ve been fascinated by the concept of languages. It’s crazy to think about how we’re all the same people but we can’t understand each other. It blows my mind to think about how people decided words and what they meant and so on. And the only way to truly grasp these concepts is to experience languages first hand.

3. The food

This kind of goes along with the last point but the food in its native country is miles better than what we have here. While we have good ramen and sushi restaurants here, nothing compares to the experience of the restaurants in Japan. Buying your meal ticket from a machine you can’t read, watching the sushi go around on a conveyer belt and trying to decide which ones you want, pressing the button on the table to summon your waiter, then having your mind blown by the food when you do get to finally eat it. These are all special experiences that contribute to the food culture of other parts of the world. And that was just in Japan, now think of ordering tacos and an ice-cold Corona to wash it down on a 35-degree day in Mexico. Or eating fresh handmade pasta in a hole in the wall restaurant in Italy. Those Canadian chain restaurants are sounding pretty boring now, aren’t they?

Flickr/Larry Miller

4. The people

When I say this I don’t just mean the people you will meet, I also mean the people I already know. When you go out and see the world you’re bound to meet new people. They will help you learn new things about their country and give you a new perspective on the world. It will evolve your way of thinking and you will realize that there are so many different ways to live.

Also due to the nature of jobs I’ve had in the past I have connections all over the world. One day I’d love to go visit all the people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. There are so many cultures that I’ve been introduced to and would love to experience first hand. Plus, seeing a country with a local by your side makes it so much better.

So yes, for all of these reasons and more I will travel again someday. There’s just too much left to see in the world to stop for a virus. While it might not be in the near future, I still dream of seeing so many places. Thailand, Iceland, Australia, and South Korea are all places that I will one day set foot in.

Will you travel again? If so when will it be? Let us know in the comments! Or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.