What it was like travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic

Considering how we started this "nomadic lifestyle" in 2020, we get many questions (and questioning looks) on how travelling was even possible, what the experience felt like, the problems we faced, etc. So here's an attempt at breaking it down into pros and cons.

And just like how I'd always prefer to hear bad news before good news, let's jump right into the negatives first.

The cons of COVID-19 travel

1) Doubt and/or criticism from naysayers

To be honest, I got this more from my Singaporean circle. I personally found people in Asia to be more cautious and fearful during the pandemic (myself included), which made leaving Singapore during that period extra hard. People were discouraging me from doing it, telling me it was "wrong", questioning why I was "leaving my mother behind", etc. An ex-colleague even left a snarky comment/message on my Instagram saying, "CLAP CLAP CLAP" and "You're not the only person in the world separated from their loved ones" (I blocked him after that). This was also the reason why I started sharing everything with a Closed Friends List instead, only adding friends and acquaintances whom I found were supportive and understanding, despite the odds.

2) Arbitrary rules that nobody really knew or understood

I've learnt that rules are extremely hard to enforce in freedom-loving Western nations. People HATE being told what to do, and hence when regulations are set, nobody (or should I say no government) dares to implement them strictly (like they do in Singapore with an iron fist). It was also eye-opening to see how much of a "rule follower" I was compared to Europeans, when I was always breaking school rules as a teenager........... Everything is relative, I guess.

This was particularly obvious in two particular instances: early 2021 when we were flying to Estonia from London, and in late 2021 when we flew from Romania to Bulgaria.

The TL;DR to the above is that Estonian rules were stated clearly, but British airport staff interpreted them incorrectly, while Estonians didn't enforce them either. Bulgarian rules were stated clearly as well, but Romanians and Bulgarians closed one (or two) eyes.

See? Arbitrary.

3) Lots of money spent on pre-departure tests

Although for how long we've been on the road, it's surprising that we've only done five of them.

First in Apr 2021 to fly from Estonia to Croatia.

Second in May 2021 to fly from Croatia back to Estonia.

Third in Jun 2021 to enter Latvia from Estonia.

Fourth in Jul 2021 to enter Italy from Estonia

Fifth in Nov 2021 to enter Bulgaria from Romania.

4) Random flight cancellations

Our flight from Estonia to Croatia was cancelled last minute and we simply had to rebook whatever else was available. Come to think of it, we were oddly calm when it happened. It was so expected that we took it in our stride. I like that.

5) Many tourist sights/restaurants were closed

It really depends on where we were and when. But some main things I felt we missed were:

- the bar and restaurant scene in London and Edinburgh

- the Real Mary's King Close in Edinburgh (a guided tour of the hidden streets below the city)

- Tartu as a whole because we were completely locked down and everything was closed

- the walking tour in Veliko Tarnovo

Although I have to say the F&B scene made up the bulk of what we missed, which we tend to refrain from doing too much anyway to keep our expenses low. Eating out is always way more expensive than cooking at home ourselves, so we do a lot of grocery shopping, which never really shut down during the pandemic anyway.

6) Limitations on seeing family

Leaving Singapore meant I had to be prepared to not return to Singapore for a long, long time (It turned out to be 20 months). It wasn't that it was impossible to go home – I could always go back, as a Singaporean, but it would mean forking out $2000 for a two-week quarantine in a luxury hotel. I may travel a lot, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to spend a lot of money. I also have extended family in Malaysia, which had its borders closed.

And it's not just my own family that I had difficulty seeing. I also couldn't fly back to the US with Eric in 2020 to spend Christmas with his family, because Trump had banned foreigners from entering the US from anywhere in Europe. This meant I had to stay put in London, and wait for Eric's return.

The pros of COVID-19 travel

1) HUGE discounts on Airbnb listings

Monthly discounts can go up to 40-60% off. And the cherry on top was that during the pandemic, many listings slashed their prices further and we ended up paying waaaaay below market price for really, really beautiful places.

2) Much smaller tourist crowds for a much pleasant experience

Just to name a few places that stick out...

The Colosseum in Rome was not crowded.

Edinburgh was EXTREMELY nice and quiet.

Venice felt crowded when we went, but our Airbnb host told us it was 4X less crowded than before the pandemic. 4X!!! I simply could not imagine!

3) Empty airports

Believe it or not, Eric and I actually travelled to Vancouver a day after the pandemic was declared. I remember it was 12 March 2020, a day before my birthday, and I'd witnessed the Vancouver airport go from bustling when I arrived, to completely desolate when we left. It was a scary – but also cool –sight to behold. (Our Vancouver/US trip ended with me returning to Singapore when all airlines cancelled their flights and insurers stopped insuring.)

And when we resumed our travels again later in the year, airports remained quiet.

Singapore Changi Airport, London Heathrow, Tallinn Airport, Brussels Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol... the spooky, apocalyptic scenes we witnessed in those airports will always remain in our memories.

4) Almost always having 3 seats to ourselves when flying Economy

Of course, when we flew, nobody else was flying. While we had to wear masks, we had the luxury of space. You win some, you lose some, I guess. For our tall and long bodies, getting to lay down on a plane in Economy was a bit of a respite from all the stresses of travelling during a pandemic.

So, was it worth it?

As you can see, the Cons of COVID-19 definitely outweigh the Pros. There were more downsides to upsides travelling at that time, and I'm in no way encouraging everyone to travel during a global pandemic. I'm sure it was (and probably still is) seen as a selfish act – we'd gone against public health recommendations and may have been seen as contributing to the spread of the virus (although I have to point out that we have both not tested positive once, wore masks everywhere and stayed away from crowds). We'd also only really started doing ACTUAL travelling (moving around a lot more frequently than "once a month" like we did in the UK and Estonia) when relaxations eased in July 2021 after widespread vaccinations and Italy opened its borders to vaccinated travellers coming from Europe and America.

But we also got to spend so much quality time together, instead of being stuck apart and doing long distance with no end in sight. So yes, I'd say it was worth it despite all the cons. We'd been very lucky to have done what we did while coming out of it relatively unscathed, and I continue to count our blessings today.