Unfortunately, the current pandemic has resulted in a lot of travel restrictions, border closures, delayed, rescheduled and cancelled flights and many airlines filing for bankruptcy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said again today that the pandemic is far from being over with daily cases hitting record highs in many countries. More than 136,000 new cases were reported worldwide on Sunday, the most in a single day so far. Nearly 75 per cent of them were reported from 10 countries, mostly in the Americas and South Asia. Many countries will still have quarantine measures in place and some will now require application of special permits to enter (for business travellers). And as with all pandemics, insurance companies are highly unlikely to allow claims to be made for anything and everything related to the pandemic.
CDC recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential International Travel.
I got many enquiries from travel agents asking when would it be a good time to travel again. Unfortunately we have no concrete answers to this as the situation is still extremely fluid and volatile.
Many airlines are trying to restart International routes but in my personal opinion, they are still not entirely ready. Social distancing for example, may be difficult to maintain whilst in the air.
As a Travel Medicine Specialist I do NOT recommend any leisure and/or unnecessary travel at present. I have asked my colleagues at the Travel clinic the same question as well, and none of them recommend any leisure and/or unnecessary travel as well.
Many photographers having travel photography workshops have also cancelled all their International workshops this year. There is just too much uncertainties in place. I have cancelled all my workshops for the year as well. I just cannot take money for services that I am unlikely to provide services for. It is simply foolhardy to take bookings for anything in advance for dates months ahead with border restrictions still in place and many companies failing financially as economies are forced to shut down across the globe.
Economically, have I been affected by this pandemic? Hell, yes...with a 99% cut in income because all my 3 jobs are heavily reliable on the travel industry. But I suppose at the end of the day, we still got to be realistic and we still got to be responsible for our clients.
Meanwhile, I am thankful and glad to have so many iconic photos of my very exotic travels, they will serve as priceless souvenirs of my extraordinary travel career. Sometimes, we take a break, have a cup of coffee and reflect on past glories.
Featured here is one of my latest photos from our last Carnevale in 2020. As we all know, the Carnevale was cut short by 2 days and we were all told to go home early.
The photo was taken at the Acqua Alta Libreria - touted as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. My friend Isabelle Rombi (we have know each other since 2014, we met at on the streets of Venice during Carnevale and have kept in contact since...) as the Eternal Lady Octopus.
Live in the Present
Launch yourself on every Wave
Find Eternity in each Moment
My travel destinations and themes have always been a little different - yes, I know, the unexpected happiness of being weird....And I am always intrigued by octopuses.
“A lion is a mammal like us; an octopus is put together completely differently, with three hearts, a brain that wraps around its throat, and a covering of slime instead of hair. Even their blood is a different color from ours; it’s blue, because copper, not iron, carries its oxygen. Here is an animal with venom like a snake, a beak like a parrot, and ink like an old-fashioned pen. It can weigh as much as a man and stretch as long as a car, yet it can pour its baggy, boneless body through an opening the size of an orange. It can change color and shape. It can taste with its skin. Most fascinating of all, I had read that octopuses are smart.”
