Dear Diary,

Today is Day 6045 of the London lockdown…

Well that’s how it feels anyway. The most recent epoch, dubbed ‘March’ dragged on and on but at least we’re here in April now. Trees are budding, the sun is shining and Brits are getting lambasted for sunbathing in the park. There is a glimmer of optimism that the social distancing measures are already reducing the rate of spread of the virus. At this point though, there really is no telling when our daily lives will go ‘back to normal’ (I’m sure they’ll never be the same, but I mean when social distancing will be a thing of the past).

What I’m more concerned with is when will it be possible/permitted/morally acceptable to start travelling again? Assuming that some airlines make it through this crisis without going bust, when will services resume on international flights? Will it happen gradually? At the moment there’s really no way of knowing. I’m clinging tight to the belief that I will be able to commence another round the world trip some time this year. It’s kind of the only thing getting me through this period (that, and an absurd amount of time spent gaming).

A realisation I came to since writing my last post is that I’m likely going to be postponing my arrival in Japan for the best part of the year. My ambition is to backpack across the country upon arrival. That’s not something I want to do during winter. So while it’s possible I could get to Japan by October/November if everyone’s out of lockdown… I wouldn’t want to be arriving in the country at that time. When I realised this, I was gutted. I’m already so fed up of my job that the thought of staying in it for another year horrifies me. I moaned about it to a friend of mine and he gave me a great idea that cheered me right up.

If I don’t want to arrive in Japan before, say March, then what I could do is travel to some other countries on the way that experience great weather during the ‘winter’ months. Japan is more or less on the other side of the world so there are plenty of options to choose from. And because I’m working several months longer than I had planned then I will also have a whole lot more money saved than I expected (also, never leaving your house is a great way to save money – who woulda thought?).

Since hearing this idea, I have been bursting with excitement for planning a new multi-country trip. I started with thinking about/googling where has good weather in October – February. Besides the obvious places in the southern hemisphere, there are also numerous countries in Asia that are immune from frigid and damp winters that I am setting my sights on.

This new focus has got me feeling excited, creative and distracted from the initial melancholy I felt about my postponed trip. Wherever there is a crisis, there is always an opportunity. Keeping cheerful and looking forward is the best way to ride out this lockdown period. We will travel again!