Lockdowns in Europe

We’ve got a bit of a sinking feeling this week - it’s all starting to feel very ‘winter of 2020’ across much of mainland Europe right now.

Yes, new lockdown restrictions are starting to be imposed at short notice in Austria and the Netherlands, and other countries are debating doing the same.

If you’re based in the UK and you're worried about an upcoming trip, Citizen’s Advice has some great tips about ensuring you can get a refund from your airline if your flights are cancelled.

Austria

• Austria has imposed a new national lockdown (its fourth lockdown since the pandemic began). Non-essential shops, restaurants and hotels have closed, citizens have been asked to work from home, and the country’s Christmas markets won’t be opening.
• Technically, travel is still possible to Austria, from abroad, so long as you can demonstrate proof of vaccination, a past COVID-19 infection, or a valid PCR test.
• However, there’ll be nowhere to actually go, and precious little to do once you arrive. There’s also been ongoing unrest in Vienna in protest at the lockdown.
• Keep an eye on your close flights - British Airways has cancelled the majority of its flights (and passengers are entitled to a refund) but Austrian Airways is continuing to fly.
• The Austrian government’s website states that tourists will be welcome again from ‘probably 13 December’, which isn’t hugely reassuring.

The Netherlands

• The Netherlands haven’t been quite as strict. They’ve imposed a three-week ‘partial lockdown’, with restaurants, bars and hotels closing at 8pm every day, and other shops and facilities closing at 6pm.
• The Dutch lockdown is due to end on 4th December, but until then, travel is still allowed - under the usual restrictions.
• Theatres and cinemas are staying open. So even if you can’t get in to see Van Gogh, there’s always, uh...Ghostbusters.

Elsewhere...

• German officials have warned that tighter restrictions are required to combat the nation’s surging COVID rates, and France is expected to announce more restrictions today.
• The Spanish Government is currently debating whether to close hotels in regions which have a high rate of hospital admissions.
• Euronews has a helpful round-up of new measures being implemented across other European countries, including Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.

We’ll keep you updated.

Meet Priti

In 2015, at the age of 55, Priti gave up her job, car & house in California and became a full-time traveller.

Priti spoke to us from Tbilisi in Georgia to tell us about her experiences as a solo female traveller, her passion for travel, and her top tips for others.

Priti in Japan

So how did you start travelling?

The travel bug has always been in me - always! But as you go through life, you fall into the societal need to do this, and do that. To ‘settle down’.

So I got married, I raised two daughters, and I built up a career as a hospital social worker in California, which I really loved.

And then, unfortunately, I had some setbacks in my life: with my marriage, with my health (I was diagnosed with breast cancer), and finally with my job.

In 2012, I was made redundant by the hospital, along with some other colleagues. I wasn’t quite at retirement age, so I didn’t get a pension or anything like that. I was just cut off.

And everything that I’d thought was permanent in my life wasn’t really permanent, it was changing.

I had the burden of the mortgage to pay for, and I had the car payments to keep up with. So I took on three part-time jobs. They were stressful, and they weren’t fulfilling. The only benefit was the paycheck, which wasn’t even that much!

And one afternoon, on my way to one of these three jobs, I just parked on the San Francisco highway, and thought, “Life’s too short.”

It was one of those “Aha!” lightbulb moments.

So I decided that I was going to quit those three jobs, I was going to sell my home, and I was going to travel instead.

I put my house on the market with my friend Victoria, who was a realtor. It sold within a week! I took that as a sign from the universe that I was doing the right thing.

I got rid of the car, got rid of the furniture, packed my bags, and set off on my journey.

That’s incredible!

That was how it came about! I was super-excited. It just felt liberating.

I’d raised two daughters. I was now at the point where they weren’t young and dependent on me any more. I was only responsible for me.

Women are so often cast as caregivers and caretakers by society, but that means we end up neglecting ourselves. It’s like they say on the airplane - “Please fasten your own oxygen mask before helping others!”

That knowledge came to me late in life. You can’t take care of anyone if you don’t take care of yourself first.

Where did you go first?

First I went to Portugal. I’d always wanted to go there! Growing up as a kid in India, we had a lot of Portuguese influence, and I was fascinated to go and find out more.

I joined a website called WorkAway, where you can find volunteer opportunities abroad. Someone was running a fasting retreat in Lagos (Portugal), and they were looking for volunteers to come and help out.

I was there for six weeks, I made some amazing connections, and then I headed to Germany!

Now it’s six years later, and I’m in Georgia. Next I’ll head to Egypt, just for ten days, because then I need to fly back to San Francisco and see my daughters for Christmas!

After that, I want to head to Brazil in the new year.

Priti with hostel-mates in Tenerife

So how do you plan out your travel? Is there a length of time that you like to spend in each place?

Slow travel is my motto. I aim to spend a good few months in each country when I can, instead of hopping about (although it was easier before COVID started, with a US passport!), and just check out all the different places.

I also prefer not to plan ahead too much. No plan is the best plan! That’s changed with COVID, sadly - I need to check for restrictions before I go anywhere.

A question that often comes up around long-term travel is budget management. Do you have any advice around that?

Frequently people assume that it takes a lot of money to travel. “You must be loaded!”, they say.

But tourists need a lot of money. Travellers just need a lot of passion.

I’m not staying in five-star hotels or posh BnBs, I stay in hostels. Usually in the female dorms, but occasionally I’ll splurge on a private room.

Before I set out, I would never have imagined I’d stay in a hostel - but they’ve made a believer out of me! They’re not just for young hippies, they’re for everyone who wants to travel.

My favourite hostel was the Ostello Bello in Lake Como. I have a passion for cooking, and as you might expect in Italy, they have a very beautiful, fully-stocked kitchen! Olive oil, vegetables, onions.

Other travellers would just gravitate to the stove to chat as you were cooking. It was so perfect. It made me feel like I was cooking at home again.

I try not to worry too much about money, generally speaking. It’s true, money doesn’t last forever, but life doesn’t last forever, either.

We spend so much energy worrying and we end up not enjoying what we have in front of us any more.

I’m just living the life of a vagabond! Some people might call me homeless but I feel rich. Rich in my connections, rich in my experiences.

Do you have any advice for other female travellers who might be interested in solo trips?

I get asked this a lot, particularly as an older woman. But I’m not anything special! Any woman who wants to travel can do it. And for me, solo travel is the only way.

Some of my best friends ask me how I do it alone - am I lonely? Am I safe? - but I enjoy my own company and I always meet people.

Bad things can happen, it’s true. I got robbed a couple of times during my travels. It makes me upset, it makes me angry...but I have to stop and remind myself that it could have happened just as easily back in LA!

You just have to use your judgement. Be safe. Be cautious, of course. But you don’t need to be paranoid, otherwise you’ll never go anywhere - and the world really isn’t so bad, despite what the media tells us! People are generally super-kind, super generous and helpful.

Even when I was robbed, I met people who helped me. I had no money and no access to my account, and I was panicking! I was completely cut off.

But people helped. The friends I’d met came to my rescue. Total strangers have offered me a place to stay when I needed it.

One thing that other women often tell me is that they worry about eating alone in a restaurant; they’ll feel awkward, or the waiting staff will try and put them on a bad table right in the corner, make them feel like they’re lesser just because they’re by themselves.

Well, when I’m in a restaurant I’m paying the same as anyone else! I’ll make sure they seat me at a good table, and I’ll enjoy eating alone.

And finally - what’s been your favourite destination?

Oh, definitely Japan. I was seriously lucky; I travelled there in February 2020, and the borders shut down shortly afterwards due to the pandemic.

I visited Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Okinawa - and I even got to see the cherry blossom. And there were no tourists at all! I can’t wait to go back there again.

If you’ve got a travel story or insight of your own that you’d like to share, drop us a quick email at [email protected] - we’d love to hear from you!

Our Pick of the Clicks

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• Fed up with the weather? Spare a thought for the Alaskan town which won’t see the sun from now until January.
• If you were heading to the Sicilian island of Vulcano for Christmas, we’ve got bad news - tourists have been banned, due to a dangerous expulsion of gases from the island’s dormant volcano. (Feel free to make your own joke about your dad and Brussel sprouts here.)
• Did you get a refund for a holiday last year in the form of an Atol credit note? Remember to spend it before 30 September next year - £132 million has yet to be claimed.
• This year’s Wildlife Comedy Photography winners have been announced.
• And get your glowsticks ready - Conde Nast has released its guide to the best UK musical festivals for 2022.

From Humbug to Suntan

We don’t care if it ends up getting us a lump of coal in our stockings this year...we’ll admit it. We’re really not feeling Christmas 2021 so far.

The weather’s lousy. It’s been a difficult year all around. We’re just one bad day away from going full Scrooge, throwing out the wreath and refusing to pull the cracker.

We imagine a few of you might be feeling the same way right now. So we’ve had a think about some of the hottest, sunniest travel destinations in December - the places where Mariah Carey can’t be heard and no suet puddings are showing up on the menu.

Here are the first of our picks:

#1: Djibouti

Perched on the Horn of Africa beside the Red Sea, the tiny country of Djibouti is often unfairly overlooked as a destination by off-the-beaten-path travellers, despite its beautiful beaches, delicious food and welcoming people - although we have to admit, the heat might have something to do with it.

In the summer, temperatures can get as unbearably high as 41 degrees, but during December it’ll be closer to 23-27 Celsius. In other words, Christmas makes for a relatively cool, comfortable time to catch a flight and check out this fascinating, under-visited East African nation for yourself.

Read up on the entry requirements to Djibouti here.

Instead of a Christmas market, head to…

About a ninety-minute drive from Djibouti City, you’ll find Lake Assal, or ‘the Honey Lake’ - sat within a volcanic crater, it’s the third-lowest point on Planet Earth, with a salt density ten times higher than that of the ocean.

Lake Assal is surrounded by rocky mountains and bordered by sweeping white beaches of salt, giving it a gorgeous, otherworldly appearance. (Once you’re done, feel free to scoop up some salt crystals to give to your family back home as gifts.)

Instead of roast turkey, try...

Djiboutian cuisine is an enchanting mix of Arabic, Indian, Italian and Ethiopian influence. If you want a hearty meal that gives you the same ‘too stuffed for seconds’ feeling as a traditional Christmas dinner, order yourself some injera (a slightly sour, soft flatbread which is used to scoop up dishes of meat and veg).

Instead of Fairytale of New York, sing…

Music, poetry and dance are vital to Djiboutian culture, and catchy Somali-language tunes abound. Have a bop along to Dhaanto by Bashir Dirgax.

Instead of Home Alone, watch…

2021’s The Gravedigger’s Wife is one of the world’s first Somali-language films to receive a major international release - and it’s already picking up a ton of awards buzz.

Set in Djibouti, the movie tells the story of a gravedigger who sets out on a journey to pay for his wife’s hospital treatment. It’s moving, funny, and deeply heartfelt in its portrayal of enduring love.

#2: Cancun, Mexico

Cancun is number two on our list of alternative Christmas hangouts: it's another destination that can get horrifically hot at times - as high as 41 Celsius - but drops to a very hospitable 28C during the December months.

There’s plenty of beaches and restaurants for you to lounge around at, but we’d argue there’s a lot more to Cancun than just the resorts...

Instead of a Christmas market, head to…

Cancun has plenty of shopping, of course - you can always head to La Isla Village if you want to pick up some souvenirs.

But for something truly different, we’d head out of the city on a day trip to see the ancient Mayan ruined city of Chichen Itza. Check out the magnificent temples, and maybe throw a hoop or two at the ball courts (...we're kidding. Please don't do that).

Instead of roast turkey, try...

You may not be able to entirely avoid seeing turkey on the menu during Christmas in Cancun, but the Mexican trimmings are definitely something else - from salted cod (bacalao) to the ensalada nochebuena (a light, refreshing traditional Christmas salad that definitely won’t weigh you down as much as pigs in blankets.)

Instead of Fairytale of New York, sing…

Have a croon along to Regalo de Reyes by the bolero-ranchera legend Javier Solis. It sounds a heck of a lot cooler than Slade, put it that way.

Instead of Home Alone, watch…

The most famous Mexican Christmas film is 1959’s bizarre ‘Santa Claus’ (in which Santa lives in outer space and battles mischievous demons).

But you might be better off getting out the hankies and weeping along to 2019’s powerful, affecting Mexican teen drama, I'm No Longer Here.

Channelling Bruce Willis, NASA wants to crash a space probe into an asteroid. For science.

Thanks for reading!