If you’re a frequent traveller or have been one pre-COVID outbreak, the feeling of tied down to home for a fairly long period should have been an excruciating experience, to say the least. For a travel freak, travel is an expression of one’s freedom, creativity and a longing to explore the unknown and cohabitate with the known.  The COVID-19 has cast a dark spell upon the possibilities of travelling normally mainly due to the uncertainties surrounding  the crisis, for the thrill-seeker is not withered by the storm gathering or blowing his wit away. He scales peaks, beats the rain at its game, runs towards sunlight and encourages others to follow him. He doesn’t stick to the rules of the games, and often breaks away from how it is traditionally played. He may carry the burden of travel as light as a feather, which he feels he is already part of. So how did COVID-19 affect the frequent traveller? From temperature to luggage, challenges, far too many, were flung at him at will.  

The rules of travel kept changing, fuelling the feelings of despair, the last thing he’d want is a total lockdown, which will prevent him from moving out of his home, a phenomenon rife in almost every part of the world where life existed. Flights were happy to remain in the hangars until the travel ban was revoked. The anxiety levels of the frequent traveller remain unchecked as the lover may have in the longing for his beloved. 

Expectations of relaxing lockdowns kept growing with every passing day though there wasn’t any respite whatsoever. The race for the first COVID-19 vaccination in the world didn’t enthuse the die-hard traveller as nothing significant emerged out of the findings. Here we go, an imminent second wave of the pandemic shattering the hopes of the traveller whether you’re a soul searcher or the frequent weekender will only extend the wait until the COVID is over.