Where would I go after this pandemic?

 

Travels have probably changed for good - our last big trip was in December 2019 and last flight taken was coming back from Penang, Malaysia after the Chinese New Year celebration in February 2020.  Little did we know then that we would be in Singapore for the next 2 years (and hopefully not much longer)!

Before we have children, we travelled extensively as a couple - averaging about 6 different countries in a year, in between our full time job.  Even when I was pregnant, we travelled whenever we can and even with our little baby girl. Little Em travelled to Bali, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Hong Kong before she turned 2. Little Ed came along, and together as a family, we travelled to Central Vietnam, Australia, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Laos and to multiple places in Japan and Malaysia. 

And it all stopped. 

After years of travelling whenever we have pockets of time, and planning itineraries in between work and life, I suddenly felt a little lost. Suddenly, all our holiday plans had to be cancelled and there were no new holidays being planned.  The first few months were spent cancelling flights and hotels, waiting (and arguing) for refunds.  Then I tried to fill in the gaps with places to go in Singapore, but it is only that big, and with that many places to go.

Then, I thought, why not I just continue planning for holidays! I did, and now I have more than 20 trips planned, and no idea when we can go! 

When will we be able to 

  • experience the cool glaciers in Iceland
  • camp in the Sahara Desert and experience the colours of Marrakesh, Morocco
  • road trip in England (and beyond)
  • see the pandas in Chengdu, China 
  • count the castles in Germany
  • eat Italian food and experience Italian hospitality in Italy
  • see the Great Pyramids in Egypt
  • show my daughters the Eiffel Tower in Paris
  • see the onion-shaped domes in Russia
  • float in the Dead Sea in Jordan
  • ski down the slopes in Hokkaido (or maybe not)
  • bring the girls to an African safari 

and so many more places and experiences that the world offers. 

For now, we await for the world to heal. For us to grow. And when the time is right, we'll be out there exploring.

Happy travels (soon)!

~ nateniale

Location: Singapore

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