For the last two and a half years I’ve spent a lot of time NOT at home. I’ve travelled all over the world. I think I’m only got Australia/New Zealand and the Antarctica to go before I can say I’ve been on nearly every continent. I’ve visited more places than most will in a life time and I’m obviously extremely grateful for the opportunity. However, half way through last year I was starting to feel the strain of travel. I was tired and I’d moan to friends and family that I was sick of airplanes. Oh how I regret that now. I miss the change in weather, new food and awesome things to see for the first time. I miss the hustle and bustle of busy city centres and the beauty of a European green summer.
Covid-19 has forced me and many others to stay secluded in our homes. However, there is a giant bright side here. A stack of companies around the world have started helping you visit the far off places you only ever imagined without even having to leave your house. You can now peak through the thousands of kilometres and see exactly what is happening somewhere else. Or, you can experience the magic of something you might have only read about or seen on television.
These are my 3 favourite travel YouTube videos that will take you somewhere new and keep you entertained:
Visit Keukenhof – the world’s largest bulb-flower garden in the Netherlands
I could watch this video every morning and be completely immersed in the beauty of it. You’ll need headphones on to appreciate the 8D sound experience that will accompany you as you travel through the world’s largest bulb-flower garden. KLM put this video together to give their customers a taste of travel without traveling. 8D sound is a video technique that allows you to feel like you’re standing in the middle of the sound. I can explain it here but you should probably just watch to really understand what I’m on about:
Check in on New York
New York City is one of my favourite places in the world. I’ve been there twice and loved every moment of my time there. From the first day arrived I always said, had I have been 5 years younger and known better, I would have packed my bags at 18 and moved there. I love the city, I love the bustle and I desperately want to go back. New York City is magic. However, now with Corona wrecking havoc and much of the city locked up indoors, there’s something even more intriguing to it. My favourite thing to do is to regularly check in on Time Square, once a space of craziness and now a brightly lit emptiness. You can watch this 4K live stream at any time which gives you a glimpse into one of the world’s busiest (but not so much any more) spaces:
Go on a Safari!
One of the perks of living in South Africa has always been that we could hop in our cars, drive for 40 minutes and suddenly be in the bush. I think that for the longest time I really took for granted that being out in the African wild was just something we could do… now we can’t. Which sucks. However, there’s a great alternative which will suck most of the time out of your day if you’re not careful: safariLIVE, which is a collection of reserves live streaming drives each day. The staff are still on the premises so they do normal nature drives, talk as if you’re in the van with them and then take you around the reserves to hopefully help you spot something. It’s tons of fun, the guides are super entertaining and you’ll see a lot more in the live streams then I’ve usually spotted when on my own game drive (oops).
Don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware this isn’t the same as actually travelling the world, but as we all work together to flatten the curve it is a nice little extra to keep our itchy feet firmly inside our homes. I’ve got a lot of other travel content you can catch up on in the mean time, if you’re looking to stay entertained. It’s all here (click this text) and should keep you busy for awhile.
