ILLUSTRATIONS CREATIVE MARKET.
The art of travel
Whether forwork
or pleasure,I travelled
fastandfuriously.
I was hungryfornew
experiences and
adopted a sortof
fast-fashionapproach.I steered myself into a career in journalism where I got to
fulfil many of my giddiest travel daydreams, and I’ve spent the
past ten years travelling the world covering news events and
cultural happenings. Whether for work or pleasure, I travelled
fast and furiously. I was hungry for new experiences and adopted
a sort of fast-fashion approach to visiting new destinations,
box-ticking my way through cities and bucket-list attractions
as if I was racing towards a finish line. And I never stopped
pinching myself, unable to believe my luck that many of my
daydreams were becoming realities.
As it turns out, I was right to pinch myself. And there
was a finishing line. The coronavirus crisis has stopped every
would-be traveller in their tracks. But in these weeks and months
of pause, we’ve all had an opportunity to revisit our daydreams.
And ask if the old ones were still working out for us. Because
even before the pandemic dramatically overhauled our lives, my
old modes of transport had started to feel, well, a bit ill-fitting
and outdated, like shoes that rub or jeans that don’t sit right.
So I’m currently in the process of recalibrating my travel
daydreams. It’s a complete restructuring of priorities, a new
set of strategies, a comprehensive overhaul of objectives.
And it feels wonderful.
I no longer fantasise about flashy shopping weekends
in New York City. I don’t care about visiting every single
European capital purely so I can say I’ve been. I’m not
interested in identikit beach resorts where I could be anywhere,
because frankly, if this is the case, I really should be closer to
home. I no longer see glamour in the life of a jet-setter; the less
time I spend in airports and in the throes of jet lag, the more
glamorous my life will feel.
Instead, when I daydream wistfully about travelling again,
whenever that my be, I imagine moving slowly and gently across
the world. I look into how I might replace planes with trains
and roads whenever possible, armed with a lengthy novel and
a view out the window that undulates and darkens as landscapes
roll past, punctuated by occasional parades of urban scenery.
I mentally organise intimate glamping holidays in yurts, with
a handful of close friends, drinking wine around a camp fire.I imagine renting a cottage in a coastal town, eschewing
supermarkets and supporting local restaurants, farmers and
producers as they rebuild their livelihoods. I picture a summer
fairly well anchored to my homeland during the warmer months,
saving up for just one or two more exotic trips a year. When
I think about visiting cities again, it’s hard to imagine a short
stay; instead I want to live and work there, get to know it
intimately, and justify the journey.
To sum it all up, my new travel daydreams are about dreaming
bigger, staying longer, travelling slower, and moving less often.
I’ve realised what a privilege one or two international adventures
a year would be, and how carefully I would select the treasured
experiences that mean the most to me. I’ve had my eyes opened
to the travel and culinary riches on my doorstep, that I never
fully appreciated or explored, because I’d been bedazzled by cheap
airfares elsewhere, or lured further afield by Instagram pics of some
new must-visit hotel across the world, or propelled by FOMO
to a festival that my friends said I simply must be at.
This new set of daydreams don’t feel like a downgrade in
ambition or scope. Far from it. Navigating the travel landscape of
the future will require us all to be more organised, more intrepid,
and more independent. Travelling more slowly, sustainably and
mindfully is a thrilling new challenge for the post-covid community
of dedicated travellers. I’m ready for the ride. ●Anna is a travel
and lifestyle
journalist, and
author of the
travel memoir
Departures.
@annadothartGOURMET TRAVELLER 111