My life as a Travel Counsellor during Lockdown!

What unprecedented times we are living in right now!! --------------------------------------------------------------- Working in the travel industry, as you can no doubt imagine, my business is currently too quiet! When lockdown first started, my main priority was taking care of my regular customers requests for date changes, refunds etc. Now, with more free time, I have been thoroughly entertained by watching very informative Zoom broadcasts from our lovely suppliers around the world, advising us all about their “must do” activities! I have literally taken a “virtual trip” around the world and here are just a few of the highlights I would like to share with you.

Be prepared for it to take all day to find gorillas, when trekking in Rwanda or Uganda. And note that a 90 minute walk in the jungle will feel more like 4 hours!!

In Bolivia, imagine being wowed by the most magical starry sky you may ever see, when spending the night in a pod on the Salt plains in Uyuni!

Lapland is the ultimate place to experience “Aurora floating”!! It is one of the best ways to see the majestic Northern Lights. You are totally mollycoddled by being kept completely warm and cosy wearing a “sumo style” body suit, whilst floating in a very cold lake looking up at the sky!

If you want to get up close and personal with a Giant Tortoise, then Raffles Hotel on Praslin Island in the Seychelles is the place to be.

A must do in Madeira, is afternoon tea at the Reid’s Hotel in Funchal. This hotel was opened in 1891 by Mr William Reid, a Scottish man wanting to escape the harsh winters of his homeland!

Most people know about the awesome Cherry blossom displays in Nara, Japan, but there is so much more to see and experience in this beautiful country from sightings of Snow monkeys in Jigokudani Monkey Park, to cooking classes and meeting Geishas in Gion, Kyoto. There are sword classes and even Ninja for the kids!

For those people bored with Bali, the neighbouring islands have fascinating volcanos to visit at dawn and then later in the evening, who could resist a bit of Komodo dragon dancing?!

Disney Cruising is a must experience for the kids, who will be entertained all day starting with breakfast with their favourite Disney characters, whilst the adults can have lots of “me” time in the adult only areas!

At the Wild Coast Lodge in Sri Lanka, you can sleep in “Cocoon Tents”, discover leopards in Yala Park and even learn how to cook lunch Sri Lankan Style. In California the apt name of Heavenly in the resort of Lake Tahoe is a must visit for skiing and awesome scenery and there are just too many wineries to choose from in Napa valley!

On a positive note, there are green shoots appearing in the form of Staycations, which is so encouraging for me, as it demonstrates that people are still keen to go somewhere, even with the current restrictions!