I took my first international trip in 2009. I took my first solo trip in 2009. These were the same trip and my destination of choice was London, England.
Why London? Food often leads me to different places. I grew up a picky eater, but I’m trying to expand my palate more. But it wasn’t the food that led me to London; in fact, I had been warned about it beforehand. I went to London for the music. Back then, I was a big fan of the grime/garage music scene— Dizzee Rascal, Kano, Roll Deep. Going back further, I loved the Spice Girls, was into S Club 7 and adored a few other pop groups. The snippets I knew of London were fascinating and I wanted to experience it for myself.
Michelle (USA) and David (Hong Kong), new friends I made while on a free tour in London!
Meeting new people is another one of the top reasons why I travel. While in London, I met an aspiring rapper who, I’m still connected with on Facebook, and now seems to be doing well for himself. I met someone who worked for the BBC and had a cool photography project going on at the time; he’s since relocated to Malta. Oh! And I’d like to give a special shout out to the nice Canadian couple that helped me drag my overweight luggage around the tube because the train directly to Heathrow was out of service and I had to find an alternate route! There were many more people I met along the way. People that I am still connected with and people that I just crossed paths with for a few brief hours.
I’m writing about my trip to London because it was my gateway to travel and with the current global climate, I’m trying to re-work what travel looks like for me.
Recently, I chatted with Dexter Henry of AccuWeather on the topic of virtual travel. The current global pandemic has led a lot of people, including top organizations, to take their interactions to the virtual space. Now one of the big questions is: what does that mean for travel?
As someone that loves traveling, occasionally writes about it and often takes pictures of my experiences, I’d never considered the need for virtual travel. However, with the airline industry revamping how it operates, travel professionals as well as travelers will need to reconsider how they view vacations.
Many museums are now offering virtual tours and you can tour 30 famous UNESCO world heritage sites, such as the Taj Mahal in India or the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt, on Google Earth.
I like the idea of virtual travel. I choose to do mine the old school way: flipping through magazines and binge-watching National Geographic. But with this new way of virtual travel, practically anything you want is at your fingertips, on-demand, and you get total control of the content you view.
A “try before you buy” element also comes into play, especially if a person is nervous about visiting a specific destination: they get to explore a destination from the comfort of their home couch while gaining a level of familiarity with their possible future surroundings. Virtual travel is also a great option for those that may not be able to get out due to illness or restrictions; it also provides a great boost to mental health during these times with a change in scenery.
I enjoy the process of trip planning, and there’s no doubt that virtual travel can be a key component in the process, but a few elements are missing. Circling back to the topic of food: there’s nothing quite like experiencing traditional foods and flavors. I’m not a big fan of seafood, but when I went to Zanzibar, I knew that it would be readily available and in abundance, so I dug in! Then there’s the weather. Can you say you’ve been to the Middle East if you haven’t experienced temperatures in the hundreds? And tried to figure out how to dress modestly and remain cool? Lastly, there’s the face to face element of conversing with someone and learning that we truly do have more in common, despite cultural differences.
This post wouldn’t be complete without me giving you a virtual tour of my own. Here are a few of my snapshots from my London trip: the city, Stonehenge & Roman Baths:
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