Do You Miss Traveling?

I admit it. By now, I sorely sorely sorely miss traveling. I don't miss the airport security lines or flying, or sleeping away the hours in the plane. I miss the experiences and knowledge that come with checking out another city, even if it's a city I know well. I think many of us privileged ones miss traveling too. Although we weigh why would a trip now be worth the risks and the quarantine and uncertainty. 

With a dog in my life, I know that long-haul trips wouldn't be possible in 2020, but in 2021, I was hoping to hang out with friends on short jaunts to Bangkok and Hong Kong, and perhaps to hit Japan in autumn for a week. But hey, what do we know? The pandemic came along and screwed up everyone's plans all the way through to at least January 2022. I don't know when traveling will be back in fashion. I miss speaking continuously in the language of the city. I miss the awesome food in these cities. 

Vaccine passports are being rolled out by every country now. Being vaccinated would help, but to allay fears of travel would take some time. No citizen living here or long-term resident wants to fall sick outside of Singapore. Clearing people for mass travel and for countries to reopen their borders ain't gonna happen this year. The director of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is hopeful that personal travel en masse will return in summer 2021. Well. Hahaha. I suspect cheap air tickets are a thing of the past for now. Every airline is struggling to not drown in debt and get back into black. 

Our vaccination program is rolling out fine. I'm not vaccinated against COVID-19 yet. I'm far from being eligible since my job isn't frontline, not crowd-facing or listed as 'high-risk'. It isn't my turn, not for a few more months methinks. I happen to have a history of anaphylaxis, active severe reactions to say, essential oils diffused in a mist form, and food, especially herbs in food. I'm relieved for the extra time given (before I'm due for my shot) because I need to talk to my doctors. I have taken the blood tests to do detailed allergen bloodwork analysis. That is something I didn't do earlier because I don't want those customized allergen shots. I'll speak to the doctors again once we have the detailed bloodwork.    

I haven't missed traveling that much to want to get onto a cruise ship for a cruise to nowhere or for a staycation. I'm claustrophobic and can never stand being on a cruise ship stuck with thousands of other people in the middle of nowhere. The idea is terrifying. And, before COVID-19, noroviruses are rampant on cruise ships. NO. A staycation is useless to me because I'd need to figure out care arrangements for Choya. And even if we stay at a pet-friendly hotel and have her with us, what on earth do I do about her food? (Unless there's a freezer to keep her stash of raw meats and offal.) So naaaah. I'll stay at home and watch Netflix travel documentaries, random films, and '煲劇' Hong Kong dramas, and also speed through Thai lakorn. Jumping watermelons, I've never watched so many drama series or films in my life over the course of a year!

Infographic correct as of 12 March 2021.
More information on our Ministry of Health's www.vaccine.gov.sg