These Days

So, the world’s a bit weird now, huh?

Gone are the days of me finding £20 flights to God-Knows-Where and flying on a whim. Gone are the days of planning elaborate multi-country/state trips and getting excited about them months in advance. Gone are the days of, well, venturing outside our front doors, really.

I understand the importance of what we’re doing, of course I do… but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss my old travel habits. Programmes like Race Across The World and Travel Man are so fun to watch, but my God do they make me miss hopping on flights/buses/whatever and going somewhere new.

Until all of this is over, or at least managed somewhat better than it is now , I thought it’d be a good idea to bring you the world virtually. Here are a list of webcams of places I’m bucket-listing for when this ends, travel-related games and quizzes, and a few other bits and bobs thrown in for shits and giggles. I hope it brings a smile to your face and allows you to travel away from this weird new reality, even if it’s just in your imagination for now.

Webcams

Australia – Moana Beach
Australia – Sydney Harbour Bridge
Brazil – Ponta Negra Beach, Natal
Canada – Alberta Central Memorial Park
Canada – Quebec’s Parliament Square
China – Senado Square, Macau
China – Panda Cam! (Contains sound)
Croatia – Port of Split
France – Sacre Coeur Basilica, Paris
France – St Pierre Port, Potiniere and Porquerolles, Provence
Greece – Morosini Lions Fountain, Crete
Greece – Oia, Santorini
Iceland – Stykkishólmur Town
Israel – Tel Aviv Marina & Beachfront
Japan – Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo  (read about my visit here!)
Mexico – Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City
Mexico – Playa Camaron, Mazatlan
New Zealand – Waikawa Boating Club, Marlborough 
Russia – Kolomyazhskiy Avenue, St Petersburg
Singapore – South Singapore
South Africa – Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal
South Africa – Sea Point Promenade, Cape Town
South Korea – Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul
Thailand – Haad Rin Beach, Ko Phangan 
USA – Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii
USA – Humpback Whale Sanctuary, Maui, Hawaii
USA – Castro Street, San Francisco, California 
Vietnam – Hải Châu, Da Nang
The Moon 🙂

Travel Games & Quizzes

GeoGuessr– I used to play this constantly – basically, you have to guess where you are in the world (via Google Street View), and the closer you are, the more points you get. In order to play, you can sign up for a free account (but there’s a limit to how many games you can play a day – there’s the option to sign up for a Pro account where the games are unlimited, but sadly this isn’t free). You can play with friends too, if the quarantine life has got you missing your nearest and dearest and HouseParty just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Traveler IQ Challenge – A fun little game (that requires Flash to be enabled) where you have to try and pinpoint the location of some cities and countries on a map of the world. It does have some really obnoxious sound effects, so I’d put it on mute if I were you.

Sporcle – Not technically a travel website, but it does have a geography section! The world’s most popular quiz website – literally thousands of free quizzes to challenge your grey matter.

Media

Youtube – I’ve listed some of my favourite travel Youtube channels below… watch the world through their eyes!
Travel Channel
National Geographic
Travel Insider
The Points Guy UK
Kara & Nate
The Budgeteers

Spotify – I’m a HUGE fan of music, and love the way it can transport you to somewhere completely new. I made a bunch of travel-inspired playlists featuring artists from all over specific continents a few years ago – why not have a listen to a few and see if they can evoke a memory of travels gone by for you?
African Mix
Asian Mix
Australasian Mix
British Mix
European Mix
North American Mix
South American Mix
Chillout: Hawaiian
Ibiza Sunset
LA Dreamin’
NYC Dreamin’
Travel – Total Mix
States Road Trip

I hope you’re all keeping safe and healthy. Remember, everything is temporary – this too shall pass – and when it does, we’ll reconnect with each other and the world once more.

Can’t wait.

R x