COVID personal experiences

Cutlass said:
I rarely fly, and haven't been traveling to many places that a lot of prior planning is really necessary for. 2 years ago when went to Newfoundland I booked the ferry and the rooms I would stay in in advance, which is the most travel planning I've ever done on my own.
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I guess I also enjoy planning such trips. It leads to me reading about other countries and cultures, finding new places to visit, reading other trip reports, finding deals on this and that.. It's all interesting to me so I don't mind doing it, and if I'm planning for just myself then I almost always enjoy it. As soon as I'm planning for me and somebody else.. eventually it starts feeling like work.. which can be okay.. For a trip like the Everest basecamp hike I really wanted a friend or two with me. So I worked harder to make sure I could figure this out for me and my friends. Most of the time I can't be bothered to deal with the extra logistics and added stress - one of the reasons why I usually prefer to travel alone

Cutlass said:
Honestly, most of the trips you've documented here, I would not be will to take by myself. I'd only do them if I had a traveling companion. And, since I don't, my options are more limited than yours.
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On my first ever big trip, the one to Patagonia, I had a travel and hiking buddy with me. It did make everything a lot easier.. and better... given that it was the first time for both of us. We learned a lot about how to approach such trips, how to plan them, what to bring, what to watch out for, etc.. Before Patagonia I would have never imagined travelling to some far away place by myself and backpacking through... but after Patagonia it all seemed within reach. It was like the whole world opened up to me..

My next trip was New Zealand, that was my first solo trip. I used all the stuff I had learned in Patagonia to plan my trip and figure out how to go about doing something like that. I learned even more doing everything by myself. Every trip since then I've been learning more. The key for me it seems was that first step, which lead me to me dreaming about all the other places I could visit.. At that point I still thought I'd probably prefer to travel with people, but I couldn't find anyone for New Zealand.. It ended up being a solo trip and I'm glad that it was. NZ is the perfect place for your first solo trip. After that each subsequent trip seemed easier and easier, and now it's almost routine.. although each destination has its own unique challenges.

So I can relate! I'm really glad my friend randomly asked me if I want to go "hiking in Chile" with her. If she had not asked me to go on that trip, none of my trips would have happened, and I would be a different person today. Mind you a lot of things just lined up perfectly.. I happened to have enough vacation time for a trip like that.. I was eager to go on a vacation anyway.. and I actually had money saved up since I'd been living with my parents (saving for a downpayment on a house). All the cards lined up and the trip happened, and the rest is history
 
My wife's company just laid off 10% of their workforce (400+ people worldwide).

Before this I always thought her CEO was kind of an ass, but he's foregone his salary since the shut-down started and has set up a $250,000 fund from his own pocket to provide some assistance to the employees who were just laid off.
 
I got the blood test at the hospital this morning. There was no one else in there, so it was quick in and out. I expected a long wait. Results should be available some time next week.
 
haroon said:
I like travelling with people, in the train I usually end up talking with someone next to me
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you and me, too, buddy. although this is getting more and more rare. I've met some of the most interesting people that way.
 
We've had several "Pros/cons of solo travel" threads in /r/solotravel over the years

It always leads to the same conclusions, pretty much. The pros of solo travel are flexibility, no need to worry about the wants/needs of others, the ability to change your plans on a whim without annoying people, easier ability to score a single seat in a busy restaurant or get a ticket for a busy event, it makes planning the trip easier, you don't end up dragged to things you don't care about by the rest of the group, etc. Essentially the main benefit is "FREEDOM!". I also actually meet a lot more people when I travel solo. When I'm with somebody there is no need to reach out to others and it's tempting to just always talk to your friend. Who wants to approach strangers, right? Especially an introvert.. But when travelling solo I do approach strangers. I go out of my way to meet people. I need a good social balance to function and that means *some* social contact every once in a while.

The pros of travelling with a friend is that you have somebody to share the memories with, you will probably not get lonely, you have somebody to have your back in sticky situations, it's always good for morale to have a buddy in an unfamiliar place, you don't need to go out of your way to find somebody to socialize with, and some bookings will actually be cheaper (i.e. cabins on boats)

Now onto the cons..

Solo travel means that you're alone so you're more likely to get lonely, even if you're an extreme introvert like me. You will have to go out of your way to meet people (this can also be a pro like I said), it can often be more dangerous to be by yourself (unfortunately especially if you're female), you have to figure out how to entertain yourself the whole trip, and to be honest.. after a while it can lead to some depressing moments. Stuff like "I wish I had somebody with me to share these moments with". You will end up in a bar by yourself thinking of how cool it'd be to have somebody there to talk about the experiences.

Travelling with a friend or group.. well, I think I touched on a lot of the cons already, but some stuff will end up costing more. If you want 2 or 3 seats beside each other at an event, you will have less flexibility than if you were searching for just 1 seat. That usually translates to a higher cost for you if you're buying tickets for multiple people who insist to sit beside each other. The same is true for flights, although like I said on cruises you can actually save money travelling solo.. same on some other packaged tours and such. If you are waiting outside a busy restaurant, you will probably wait longer if you are with a group. It's often easy enough to find a seat by the bar if you're solo

It's a mixed bag really. Most people in /r/solotravel are introverts, but we all sort of agree that solo travel isn't always the best. We love it, more or less, but ideally every 7th day a friend would parachute in and spend the day with you. Obviously that isn't possible, so most of us mix it up by going on mainly solo trips, but occasionally bringing friends.

It also depends on what kind of trip it is. If you're doing an epic hike through the Himalayas, it just makes sense to go with friends. Planning becomes more complicated, but it's good to have friends with you, even if you have a guide. But if you're just going to Vietnam for 3 weeks to eat all their pho and explore.. Exploring is a lot easier if you're by yourself, you can just drop everything you're doing and head off to some new city if you want to. If you have friends with you you have to discuss, debate, haggle... and the lowest common denominator usually wins.

Basically we've accepted that it's a sort of duality. You can't have it all. Both types of trips have their pros/cons and you just have to pick one (for whatever trip you're planning), weigh the pros/cons, and decide what sort of experience you want to have.

Some people are also weary of travelling solo, which is pretty normal.. and common.. and that's fine too. Travel is supposed to be about you and your wants and comforts, not somebody else's
 
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yung.carl.jung said:
you and me, too, buddy. although this is getting more and more rare. I've met some of the most interesting people that way.
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Yea, there were so many story in the train, crazy story, connection with stranger is always somewhat romantic in a way, you just meet there and then you just go at separated way and never met again for the rest of your life. I travel by train a lot, especially in early 2000s, at least I use between cities train (12 hours travel) 4 time a year.

I remember once, while I smoke in a train platform which is a connection between one wagon to the other (we called it peron) I met with a very intimidating man, middle age like around 40, well build, and from Ambon ethnicity. I remember he asking my cig, quite rudely, in Indonesia that's a way to look for trouble unless you ask it very politely, I usually can't stand that kind of dominant, bully gesture, but somehow I realize from his confident he must able to back it up somehow, so instead of risking myself of unnecessary confrontation so I just hand him over my cig, it's just a cig afterall.

After that he just went on talking, putting a big crap on Indonesian government and national integrity, I was in early University period, being a naive fan of Soekarno and somewhat a nationalist leftist student, I pretty much answer him back, after a while the debate toned down to discussion, then he start to be more open, talking about his daughter and stuff, and I just learn he was a separatist militia in Maluku Ambon (called RMS).

Never a fan of their movement-I despised them even, however I understand their notion and why he chose that way to be the way. I end up giving him the book that I read to him, it's an Indonesian version of Sophies world, a philosophy book that is narrated as a novel, and I told him that's for his daughter. And we ending up pretty much good company for each other.

And I'm glad I'm not trying to be tough, pretty much a militia like him can ragdoll a (skinny) university student like me, but the most important thing is, I ending up widening my horizon.

However now aday, I think this is nearly impossible, as we are needed to be more suspicious toward stranger, we are gradually pretty much losing trust on the society. And that's sad and narrowed our world.

Lexicus said:
"lexicus, carl and haroon meet on a train"
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There, over-there, is the beginning of revolution :lol:
 
warpus said:
We've had several "Pros/cons of solo travel" threads in /r/solotravel over the years

It always leads to the same conclusions, pretty much. The pros of solo travel are flexibility, no need to worry about the wants/needs of others, the ability to change your plans on a whim without annoying people, easier ability to score a single seat in a busy restaurant or get a ticket for a busy event, it makes planning the trip easier, you don't end up dragged to things you don't care about by the rest of the group, etc. Essentially the main benefit is "FREEDOM!". I also actually meet a lot more people when I travel solo. When I'm with somebody there is no need to reach out to others and it's tempting to just always talk to your friend. Who wants to approach strangers, right? Especially an introvert.. But when travelling solo I do approach strangers. I go out of my way to meet people. I need a good social balance to function and that means *some* social contact every once in a while.

The pros of travelling with a friend is that you have somebody to share the memories with, you will probably not get lonely, you have somebody to have your back in sticky situations, it's always good for morale to have a buddy in an unfamiliar place, you don't need to go out of your way to find somebody to socialize with, and some bookings will actually be cheaper (i.e. cabins on boats)

Now onto the cons..

Solo travel means that you're alone so you're more likely to get lonely, even if you're an extreme introvert like me. You will have to go out of your way to meet people (this can also be a pro like I said), it can often be more dangerous to be by yourself (unfortunately especially if you're female), you have to figure out how to entertain yourself the whole trip, and to be honest.. after a while it can lead to some depressing moments. Stuff like "I wish I had somebody with me to share these moments with". You will end up in a bar by yourself thinking of how cool it'd be to have somebody there to talk about the experiences.

Travelling with a friend or group.. well, I think I touched on a lot of the cons already, but some stuff will end up costing more. If you want 2 or 3 seats beside each other at an event, you will have less flexibility than if you were searching for just 1 seat. That usually translates to a higher cost for you if you're buying tickets for multiple people who insist to sit beside each other. The same is true for flights, although like I said on cruises you can actually save money travelling solo.. same on some other packaged tours and such. If you are waiting outside a busy restaurant, you will probably wait longer if you are with a group. It's often easy enough to find a seat by the bar if you're solo

It's a mixed bag really. Most people in /r/solotravel are introverts, but we all sort of agree that solo travel isn't always the best. We love it, more or less, but ideally every 7th day a friend would parachute in and spend the day with you. Obviously that isn't possible, so most of us mix it up by going on mainly solo trips, but occasionally bringing friends.

It also depends on what kind of trip it is. If you're doing an epic hike through the Himalayas, it just makes sense to go with friends. Planning becomes more complicated, but it's good to have friends with you, even if you have a guide. But if you're just going to Vietnam for 3 weeks to eat all their pho and explore.. Exploring is a lot easier if you're by yourself, you can just drop everything you're doing and head off to some new city if you want to. If you have friends with you you have to discuss, debate, haggle... and the lowest common denominator usually wins.

Basically we've accepted that it's a sort of duality. You can't have it all. Both types of trips have their pros/cons and you just have to pick one (for whatever trip you're planning), weigh the pros/cons, and decide what sort of experience you want to have.

Some people are also weary of travelling solo, which is pretty normal.. and common.. and that's fine too. Travel is supposed to be about you and your wants and comforts, not somebody else's
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NZ is terrible country. Not pretty. Do not go to NZ under any circumstances. It's not safe due to Penguin rabbies.
 
It is true that almost every single animal in New Zealand is a crazy predator that can mess you up. The scenery is the worst I've seen anywhere, the locals are obscenely rude and don't know the meaning of hospitality or humour, and there's virtually nothing there to do or see. Nobody ever goes to New Zealand
 
warpus said:
It is true that almost every single animal in New Zealand is a crazy predator that can mess you up. The scenery is the worst I've seen anywhere, the locals are obscenely rude and don't know the meaning of hospitality or humour, and there's virtually nothing there to do or see. Nobody ever goes to New Zealand
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Exactly. You're an idiot if you live there. Don't do it to yourself.
 
Sommerswerd said:
Its definitely had an impact on my diet. I cook dinner everyday and make a fresh salad for my family's dinner almost everyday, 1) because I have the time to cook everyday with no sports, activities and working from home; and 2) because of this we are getting a ton of fresh vegetables... so making lots of salads is the surest way to make sure they don't spoil.
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This is the time to learn how to make your own sauerkraut.
red_elk said:
Penguin rabbies? The ones who serve in penguin synagogues?
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Those're rabbis. I think he meant ‘rabbits’.
 
@Zardnaar
Powdered milk is not nearly as disgusting as I remembered. I suspect that the stuff my grandma had was expired by several years and that was why it tasted so off. It's not that the powdered stuff is good but it's not horrid either. Bread also freezes a lot better than I expected as well.

We've been buying stuff in bulk to cut down on the frequency of shopping trips we have to make. We've gone from weekly grocery shopping to every 2 or 3 weeks.
 
I remember using powdered milk for the first time since infanthood (maybe?) when I went on my first big hike in Patagonia. We were using it for coffee and on the first day I just got these clumps in my coffee and that's the last time I ever used powdered milk

Sorry, I did not read anything else you guys were talking about, just saw the powdered milk thing and got triggered
 
hobbsyoyo said:
@Zardnaar
Powdered milk is not nearly as disgusting as I remembered. I suspect that the stuff my grandma had was expired by several years and that was why it tasted so off. It's not that the powdered stuff is good but it's not horrid either. Bread also freezes a lot better than I expected as well.

We've been buying stuff in bulk to cut down on the frequency of shopping trips we have to make. We've gone from weekly grocery shopping to every 2 or 3 weeks.
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It's not good though. Used it in baking, hot chocolate and oatmeal.

Lumps probably means it wasn't mixed properly or has expired. Normal milk does same thing if it's gone bad.

I put it through a sieve into a jug and pour it into a bottle.
 
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@Zardnaar Wouldn't doing that ruin the rug and probably add barefoot flavor to the milk?
 
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