Tips for a (temporary) Cure
The wanderlust is real.
It’s been nearly 12 months since I was last on an airplane. In February 2020, I returned from NYC on an oddly empty plane, thinking about all the places I would travel that year. I already had tickets booked to Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. I was looking forward to exploring CDMX and Oaxaca City, hiking Machu Picchu and trekking the Amazon. Not understanding the severity of what was happening in Wuhan and what that might mean in the U.S.
Instead, 2020 turned out to be my first year without leaving the U.S. in half a decade. What was meant to be a year of exploring (at least) three new countries turned into a year of coping with being stuck at home, only going as far as a (safe, socially distanced) road trip could take me.
I understand that I’m super lucky to even be sitting here, complaining about something so trivial as wanderlust. People have gone through significantly worse in 2020.
But if you’re also feeling that twinge of sadness over canceled, postponed or just barely imagined travels, I wanted to share my tried-and-true methods of “traveling” when globetrotting isn’t possible.
Do a Crafts Project with Travel Souvenirs
Do you collect items or photos when you travel?
I do.
Are they mostly just sitting around collecting dust?
Mine were.
When I travel, my weakness is brochures and tickets. I try to keep every ticket, receipt and booklet because I feel like they’re the best way to remember everything I’ve done and seen. I rarely purchase physical souvenirs for myself, so these items and photos are generally the only things I have left from a trip.
But what did I do with these cherished memories? I would clean out my purse and backpack upon returning home and put them away in a box in a closet. I would look at them from time to time. Usually, I’d be looking for something unrelated, happen upon these souvenirs, then spend an hour getting distracted by travel memories.
I never really had a plan for these things. Mostly, I just liked having them around in case I wanted to reminisce. The one day in late 2019, I was at a friends’ house and noticed they did something interesting with similar items from their honeymoon trip. Tickets and brochures from the fun activities they did on their honeymoon were put into a single collage and framed, right up on their living room wall. I looked at it and instantly got a feel for their trip.
I was inspired…
They told me they used a regular picture frame and paper for the background. One day, I pulled out all of the brochures, receipts and tickets I’d collected over the last few years and sorted them into different trips. I then began to arrange them into collages. An idea from another friend led me to print out maps for the backdrops of these trips. I now have three different trips captured in collage form, using nothing but paper items I got when visiting landmarks and museums, riding public transit and going on day trip excursions.
Maybe you’re not much of a ticket collector, but you take hundreds of photographs on every trip. A project like this from Pinterest might be more up your alley.
Or maybe you collect small knick-knacks like mugs or ornaments but have no idea of what to do with them. The Travel Channel has some ideas for souvenir displays.
Regardless, putting the project together is one of the ultimate trips down memory lane. If you make something you can display in your home, you get the added benefit of reminiscing any time you look at that wall. (A side effect of this may also lead to additional wanderlust.)
Have a Destination-Inspired Dinner and Movie Night
This advice is perhaps (okay…definitely) fairly common for wanderlust. But for good reason. I was skeptical at first, but it really is a fun and entertaining way to “travel” to a different location for a few hours.
A few years ago when I was backpacking Europe, my partner joined me for a portion that took us through Belgium. We stayed in a very small town outside of Bruges and ended up having one of the most interesting and fun nights of our joint Europe travels there. Ever since, Belgium, and specifically Bruges, has had a special place in our hearts.
A couple weeks ago, we were reminiscing about our past travels and also talking about what to have for dinner. The conversation naturally turned to Belgium and moules-frites. We decided on having a Belgium night, complete with homemade moules-frites, Belgian beers and the movie In Bruges.
We had so much fun eating mussels, watching the movie and talking about all the things we did in Belgium. The movie’s familiar landmarks, coupled with the food and drink, led to the perfect night of fond reminiscence.
From our Bruges Trip
Maybe this sounds nice, but you’re more focused on places you haven’t yet been but dream of traveling. Well, I can tell you I’ve done this, too! India is near the top of my travel bucket list, but sadly I haven’t had a chance to go yet. I’m not exactly sure when I’ll get the chance, or even if I’ll have the time to explore enough to do it justice. I just hope (know) I’ll get there some day to see some portion of the sub-continent.
For now, all I can do it cook and eat Indian-inspired food and watch movies. A couple of months ago, I made curry, yogurt-marinated broiled chicken and naan-inspired flatbread in my cast iron skillet (unfortunately, I don’t own a tandoor). After a delicious dinner, I watched The Darjeeling Limited and had tea. Admittedly not the most accurate depiction of India, but capturing one thing I’d love to do: travel the country by train.
There are plenty of other examples out there related to this advice. But if you’ve been skeptical that this can help momentarily ease your wanderlust, I’m here to tell you that it can work.
Live Vicariously through Travel Content
Whenever I’m wanderlust-ing particularly hard, I turn on a travel vlog or documentary, or read through a blog or forum where real, everyday people are showcasing or discussing a region I want to travel. This is a bit different from watching a feature film because I feel more like I can live vicariously through these content creators.
With streaming video, YouTube, Reddit and the internet in general, it seems there’s something for every seasoned or wannabe traveler, or anyone in between. For example, you can turn Netflix to Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat to travel around the world with food. You can take a motorbike trip through less-traveled parts of Asia through the lens of Itchy Boots’ camera. You can cross some of the most intimidating borders in the world via Adventures of Lil Nicki.
It’s not quite as good as being there. But it’ll get you close. Kind of.
Plan a Trip or Create a Travel Bucket List
We might not be going anywhere any time soon, but we can still dream. Going on month 11 of lockdown, and I’ve lost count of how many trips I’ve planned. I’ve plotted out all the sites I would visit in Southeast Asia, the time it would take me to hike some of the most famous mountains in the world, and the logistics of at least one round-the-world trip. And that’s just scratching the surface.
In reality, I know it’s going to be awhile before I can explore the world on a global scale. But thinking, dreaming and planning makes it feel almost in reach again.
Aside from getting inspiration from others’ travel content, I also like to do research via exploring maps and travel routes. I look at train routes to see where places connect and what is possible to cover in a trip. I’ll even look at historical airfare prices and average prices of visiting different countries and put them into a spreadsheet. I can almost trick myself into believing I’m preparing for a trip, putting the wanderlust to rest for a few hours.
Start Writing a Travel Blog
If you’ve read my about me, you’ll know my whole motivation behind starting this blog was wanderlust. Of course, you don’t have to create a whole public blog to reminisce on past travels or dream about future ones. But I’ve found writing to be helpful and at times therapeutic, if you’re so inclined.
Writing can be in the form of a blog, diary, journal, whatever helps you relive the glory days of international travel.
In fact, one of my must-haves when I travel is a small notebook I can write/journal in. It can be incredibly helpful in capturing memories and giving you an outlet or something to do on longer train or plane rides. After all, a book is too bulky and often over too soon. But a journal provides endless entertainment.
I hope these tips helped inspire someone! These are only some things I’ve tried to ease my lack-of-travel blues, but would love to hear some other tips.
Happy dreaming!
