Ten weeks ago, for the last round-numbered episode, I first mentioned Covid-19 as I sat at home trawling through old travel journals. There were so many unknowns at that time, and I’m very relieved that these few months later, the situation here in Western Australia is much better than I would have predicted. Relatively few restrictions remain, and although I suspect our state border (and also Australia’s international border) will stay closed for some considerable time to come, our daily life now doesn’t look all that different from normal.
I wasn’t keen in the early days to record a podcast episode specifically about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic but with the benefit of a bit of hindsight and a slightly brighter outlook, I thought that this round-numbered episode was the right time to do it. As I say several times, I know I’m so lucky to be so safe here in Western Australia and my heart goes out to listeners and readers in other parts of the world which haven’t fared so well. Stay safe and healthy!
Show notes: Episode 190 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast
Covid-19 Thoughts from Perth, Australia
Episode 190 – time for a special episode! As Western Australian life starts to become somewhat normal again after a period of Covid-19 isolation, I decided it was time to record some thoughts about what life has been like here in Perth during the global pandemic.
I talk about how extraordinarily lucky we have been here, and how for once, I’ve actually appreciated how isolated Perth, Western Australia is. I also talk about how important it has been for me to be in touch with friends interstate and across the world – mostly friends I’ve made through travelling – because hearing people’s personal stories about their experiences is so much more impactful than only watching the news headlines. It’s also been a period where I’ve been in much closer touch with friends outside of Western Australia and I’ve really loved that aspect of it. Finally, I talk about the future of travel in a post-pandemic world – not that I have any crystal ball to know what’s going to happen, but I do have some hopes for what we might be thinking about travelling.
A Perth friend, Carolyn Beasley, was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic when her Antarctic expedition ship was prevented from landing in Chile as planned back in March 2020. I talked to Carolyn about her experiences and this seemed the perfect time to share that story.
Links:
- The importance of making travel friends – blog post
- Antarctic Travels episode with more of Carolyn’s story
- Carolyn Beasley’s website
- Support the podcast via Patreon
- Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers
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