Are you still in lockdown because of COVID-19 and missing travel? Keep reading to learn how to experience the world without leaving your home.
Travel still seems like a distant dream, but with the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, seeing the world may be a possibility again soon. Even if, for now, you can’t go much further than the grocery store, it’s a great time to plan your future journeys. Until then, here’s how to experience the world without leaving your home.
1. Experiment With New Cuisines
Great memories are best created with tastes and scents. Sometimes the easiest and most direct way to experience a new place is through local signature foods. The easiest way to do this is to order out; however, you could challenge yourself by purchasing a new cookbook or looking up a recipe online that originated in a city or country you’ve never visited. Filling your home with a different culture’s delicious flavors can take you far away without leaving the kitchen.
2. Walk the Corridors of a Museum Across the World
Several museums across the globe now provide virtual tours of their galleries. Without leaving your desk, you can “walk” through the French Louvre or Musée d’Orsay; the British Museum; the Smithsonian in Washington, DC; the State Hermitage Museum in Russia; and others.
The magic of technology is that so much of the world can already be seen virtually. There’s no substitute for actually seeing a famous painting or an ancient artefact in real life, but if you have no time or money to travel, virtual tours are the next best thing.
This is the same experience that you’ll get every time you play in a golf simulator. Most golf simulators allow you to change your background. You have the choice to play in the world-famous St. Andrew’s in Scotland or maybe in the posh Dubai Creek Golf Club.
3. Google Street View and Other Apps
Before you go somewhere (or even if you never go there at all), it can be fun to “travel” through Google Street View. Look up famous landmarks and institutions and see what they look like at street level. Want to visit the Eiffel Tower, see the Empire State Building, or stroll down Abbey Road? Look them up online.
4. Live Vicariously
You can find plenty of travel blogs online. Lookup a few and see where others went and what they did before lockdown. Instagram provides a treasure trove of travelers as well as gorgeous photographs of sites you may want to visit yourself. When you make your own trip, be sure to write your own blog and share your photos too.
5. Check Your Library
You might not be able to visit the building just yet, but your local library offers a host of ways to prepare yourself to see the world. Learn a new language, read up on the places you plan to visit, and check out or download documentaries and travelogues. You could also ask your librarian for other suggestions.
If you’re trying to figure out how to experience the world without leaving your home, these activities may not be the same thing as actually being there, but it does make a great alternative.
