Travel from Home with these 8 easy activities

It’s a very difficult time right now, for most of the people in the world. We are bound to stay home and hope that this situation lasts for the shortest time possible. However we must be realistic and admit that overseas travel won’t be possible any time soon. My way of coping is to remember past travels and get ready for when I will be able to start a new adventure. Here is what I have been up to for the last month or so …

1. Create your own travel map

I have seen a lot of travel maps lately, but none of them is accurate as Trip Advisor's map, and you can update it each time you travel. I have been building up my travel map along the years.
Here is how you do it:
1. Login/Register on Trip Advisor using a laptop/desktop computer,
2. Go to the Travel Map tab from your profile,
3. Start pinning all the cities/towns/villages you have visited.
If you would like to know more about the countries I have visited, check out my Interactive travel map and click on the country to read the posts related to that country.
This map calculates the % of the world visited. It's your turn now!

2. Cook food from around the world

Actually I have been doing this for years. I am adventurous and I love cooking. Nowadays finding exotic recipes is not rocket science and you can easily order your ingredients from online supermarkets and get them delivered straight to your door. Some inspiration? I have cooked food from all over the globe (okay tried to), but results are most of the time good if not excellent! From Thai Tom Yum Soup, to all sorts of Indian curries, to Eastern stews, or Mexican spices. Check out my Food gallery for some inspiration.

You can also click here to have your go at this tried and tested recipe of South African Bobotie 🙂

3. Watch vlogs, movies and documentaries

The content here is not an issue; you are just spoilt for choice. Let me just mention my favourite picks. Favourite Documentaries - Any BBC Earth Series, Favourite Travel Vlogger: Oliver Astrologo, Movies: Eat, Pray, Love. I would love to hear your suggestions in the comments section below.

4. Read books and blogs related to travel

I am now specialising in kids books when it comes to reading, however the last 'adult' book I read that I really enjoyed was in Italian - Storie delle Buonanotte per bambine ribelli. It is not exactly related to travel but about women from around the world that left their mark in history. A particular story that is embedded in my memory is the one about the Mongolian 13-year old girl Aishol-pan who became the female first eagle hunter.

I read lots of blogs especially those related to travel and photography. I love reading stories and getting inspired by fellow travellers. Here are some of my top sources of inspiration: Cheeky Passports from Malta and the french couple from Bestjobers. There are tons of other travel blogs I follow, but if you have further suggestions for me I would love to check them out.

5. Plan a trip for when you will be able to travel agian

There will come a time again to travel, we are not yet sure when and how we will travel again but we will get there. In the meantime you can make research, check out when is the best time to travel to your particular destination, maybe check some accommodation options or plan attractions in a particular area. Have you ever checked out my Guides? Some time ago I had created a very detailed expert guide based on the most common questions I receive related to travel planning. You can check it out here. If on the other hand travel planning is not the thing for you, I can help you with your planning through my Travel Planner services 🙂

Go to the travel planner

6. Learn a new foreign language

Deep down I was and always will be a language lover. When we travel it is one of the things that excites me the most. Trying to decipher foreign words is so thrilling for me. Having said this there are still numerous episodes when I got lost in translation, like when we tried to order a bottle of red wine in Germany but we did not know the colours or when we asked what the food we were ordering was in Thai street market. I try to avoid these situations as much as possible.

I try to learn a few words in the local language prior to our trips and when possible I try to keep contact. For those of you who did not know I have graduated from University as a Teacher of Italian and French and I also speak Spanish (apart from English and Maltese). I learned some Portuguese and my latest big challenge is Japanese. How to easily do it? I use Duolingo as a start. It is free and very easy to use! But it is not enough - reading, watching movies/tv series, listening to local radio and songs are the best ways to learn a language.

Start learning a new language

7. Test your travel knowledge with quizes

I think every travel addict like me loves maps and I am guilty of pinning the places I visit on a map. From time to time I also test my skills and try some of jetpunk's quizes, like naming all the countries of the world, matching capitals to the respective countries, regions or states, guessing a country from its shape etc. . Click here to start your Jetpunk quiz, but remember to create an account if you wish to keep track of your progress.

Test your travel knowledge

8. Go through past travel photos and print them

I am far behind in this job! I have hundreds of thousands of photos, they are all nicely organised in folders and numbered according to the year, but I never have the time to print them. I really wish to print some wall art with photos from around the world to decorate my home. Moreover I never have any time to print photo albums. Now is the right time to do so!