AWhen I started my trip around the world at the end of December 2019, the world was a different one. At that time I wanted to break free from the corset of everyday German life and plunge into a world of infinite possibilities. But just a few months later, the project seemed to be shattered: Corona put the world into a hard lockdown. With a good dose of naivety and devotion to fate, I still managed to travel for two years despite the pandemic. And it goes on…
In the summer of 2021 I met a friend in Berlin when I was visiting home to get vaccinated. It was a necessary stopover because without a full vaccination I would not have got very far on my world tour.
After a couple of glasses of Grüner Veltliner in a Berlin beer garden, my friend had to confess to me that I am one of the most naive people he knows. Of course you don’t like to hear that. Self-reflective, trying to be, I’ve noticed this trait over the years, but it was the first time someone said it to me directly in the face.
How Corona has a positive effect on the world trip
I don’t remember where I read it a few years ago, but someone wrote that every big project also needs a good dose of naivety. Regardless of whether it is about building a house, starting a company or just going on a trip around the world: If you are not naive enough, you will never tackle it. Because only if we ignore the problems that could arise as a result of the project will we be daring enough to embark on such an adventure.
And so my trip around the world is not only the fulfillment of a dream, but also a series of small problems that need to be solved every day: Where do I stay tomorrow? How do I get from the airport or train station to the accommodation without being ripped off? What is the exchange rate in the respective currency? Where can I eat something healthy and cheap? What sights are there in the place where I am right now? And where do I go next?
Anyone who travels quickly and changes many countries has to constantly grapple with such questions. Conversely, this means: the slower I travel and the longer I stay in one place, the better I enjoy my time. Looking back, I have to say that the corona pandemic even helped by forcing me to slow down. I just had to adapt my plans to the circumstances.
I sat out the lockdown on an island in Thailand
An example: At the end of March 2020 I was stranded at the airport in Bangkok because I was not allowed to travel on to Laos as planned due to the corona lockdown. Although Thailand was not on my travel agenda at all, at that time it was the only country in the world in which I was still allowed to stay outside of Germany.
So I decided to sit out the lockdown on an island in Thailand. It was the right decision – and despite the difficult situation, my time in Thailand was an unforgettable experience.
Because when I was allowed to leave the not exactly ugly island of Koh Lanta after three months thanks to relaxed rules, I fell in love with the country and I immediately traveled to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. From there I toured along the borders with Myanmar and Laos on a moped. It was over 2000 kilometers of bliss for me – despite Corona, despite the rainy season.
My travel route has been determined by the corona pandemic since Thailand. Because Asia was still completely closed in autumn 2020, I decided to return to Europe and travel to the Balkans. That was not planned either and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
Little Montenegro turned out to be a travel idyll for car tours. So I spent over 1000 kilometers behind the wheel, marveling at the postcard landscape.
This is a good way to travel the world despite the pandemic
At the beginning of 2021, the corona situation relaxed in some Latin American countries. So I flew to Colombia. There you had to wear a respirator even on the street. But there was no more lockdown and everyday life was working again. I was able to go to the hairdresser, restaurant, café and swimming pool – everything that was not possible in Germany at the time. I picked coffee beans on an eco-plantation and learned some Spanish in a language school, thanks to the slow travel.
Then it went on to Ecuador. A great country in which I unfortunately had an unpleasant experience. On the way to the Quilotoa crater lake, I was robbed on the bus. My MacBook, cash and a Bluetooth box were stolen from behind me. The German insurance company I had refused to pay. So I lost around 1500 euros and also had to buy a new laptop in Ecuador. An expensive lesson. In return, I later traveled through Mexico without any problems and without any nasty incidents.
As already mentioned, I went back to Germany for a short time in the summer of 2021 for vaccination. And that was a good thing. When I went to the Baltic countries afterwards, the digital vaccination certificate became an indispensable door opener on the trip. The QR code was not only scanned at the borders, but also increasingly checked at the entrance to restaurants, cafés and bars. Since I got the digital vaccination certificate, I didn’t have to show a corona test, at least in Eastern Europe, except in a techno club in Kiev.
Martin Lewicki on a hike through the Truso Valley in Georgia
Quelle: Martin Lewicki
So it works, you can travel the world despite Corona – at least parts of it. But it has become more complicated and unpredictable. Entry rules and virus mutations are constantly changing. A certain devotion to fate helps me.
I try to submit to the circumstances and always accept the situations as they are. With this I have been able to explore the globe for two years now. And it’s a lot of fun! I will keep trying, as long as fate doesn’t thwart my plans, and will report on it here. Coming soon from a country in the Caucasus.
Read more parts of the world tour series “One Way Ticket” here. The column appears every two weeks.
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