Covid-19 isolation and Solo travel. How are they so similar?
I know the title seems a bit blurry because it’s not suggestive of where this is going. But trust me on this, I’ve seen the best of solo travels and on the other hand, I’ve also faced the wrath of Covid-19 WITHOUT BEING TESTED POSTIVE. Yes we’ll get there in a while. So while I chill on my second last day of this Chinese Virus isolation, I’ll tell you how similar the feelings of both those worlds have been and how they could benefit someone looking to travel solo or anyone just frustrated with their 14 day quarantine period.
It’s been long since I travelled solo on my motorcycle or in my car. But solo travel is such a strong antidote that even a short whiff of it can bring forward all the ecstasy felt back in the days. You get the freedom to do what you want, say what you want, eat what you want. The freedom to stop anywhere, anytime, the freedom from not being answerable to anyone. It is like you’re physically present in this world on a journey but you’re not related to anything around. There’s a sense of disconnection from everything around and yet, you live the moment and feel good about it. If you’ve experienced that, then you know what it feels like. In short, it feels epic!
While those feelings were buried inside me, I carried on with routine and suddenly in the beginning of August, my dad tested Positive for the Chinese Virus. Luckily though, the symptoms were mild and he could recover at home provided he was isolated, which he was. This virus though is a dirty affair as it brings along many symptoms and after effects, including extreme fatigue.
But what also came along was a 10 day quarantine period for the rest of the family. If only my dad avoided some shopping and the tasty food outside. It is actually more difficult to deal with middle aged and old aged men than I thought. As I near my 30’s, I wish I’m a lot easier to deal with as a person two decades from now.
While this phase passed and the situation got back to normal soon enough, my mother tested positive for the Chinese Virus almost a month later with mild symptoms. It clearly was not carried on from my dad and she hadn’t even stepped out of the house for months! It does make you wonder that despite taking all precautions religiously, it somehow infected her. However, the neighbour living above our flat did have the virus so we’re suspecting a small amount of it must’ve been in the air that made it through my mom’s nostrils from the balcony or something. Talk about bad luck.
Luckily though, the infection wasn’t as intense for her as it was for my dad. Symptoms were just like any other viral fever. Even the fatigue wasn’t present. But the evening before she got tested, I got a fever of 99 degrees F. It could’ve been anything because fever and cold feet were the only symptoms I showed. There was no headache, no sore throat, no running nose, no cough, no body pain and no fatigue.
I still isolated myself in the empty flat next door that we had rented as a precautionary measure and got a chest x-ray done as per the doctor’s advice the same night to rule out any affect to the lungs. I went to the hospital with fever and shortly to my surprise, I was feeling better without any medication. I even began to sweat that evening as I walked through the long corridors repeatedly, looking for that stupid lab to give my blood for testing and then all the way upstairs to the radiology department. I had a Dolo 650 tab that night and waited for the report next day so I could be given medications accordingly. A Covid test was still not suggested.
Most was well in the report next day and my lungs were absolutely fine. My blood showed some infection that could’ve caused the fever but to my surprise, the fever never came back after that evening and luckily I never needed another Dolo. I was put on antibiotics for 5 days and was asked to be in isolation because my mother had tested positive. So there was a high probability that I got the Chinese virus too!
I think I might have contracted the Chinese Virus but maybe, my immune system fought it off and as a result, I never showed any other symptom. But it was going to be 14 days of quarantine in a flat all by myself- I hadn’t even tested positive, I didn’t have any other symptom and I got fever for just one day! It was a bit hard to digest but I was excited in a way because how often do we get to be alone in life for this long apart from traveling solo? My food arrived at the door step from home in paper plates, thanks to my sister. Paper cups and mineral bottles for water, a heater, mattress, my blankets, gadgets. It was all there with me, just like how I carry some of this stuff on a solo road trip.
Health wise, my body never showed any symptom after that one episode of fever. Absolutely nothing. I was energetic and happy as I could broom and mop my room, clean the house, do office work from home, talk to loved ones for hours (that was the best part), chill all day and look at all the birds from the window (real birds that can fly).
And that brought me to this blog post. This so called Chinese Virus isolation is in many ways similar to my solo trips across India. My solo travels now feel like a different kind of isolation where I traveled and explored places on my own. On the other hand, this isolation I’m passing through now feels similar in many ways minus the travel bit. Since I’m not at home, it adds to the feeling of being in a new place like a hotel or some homestay.
But overall, the sense of freedom remains the same. The peace, sobriety, solitude, detachment from the world still feels the same as it did while traveling solo. It actually helps me relive the ride to Rajasthan. The evening light on the opposite building reminds me of the setting sun while I approached the Dhabha in Sarchu, Ladakh. Excited Parakeets, flying kites, Blue skies and thick trees outside the window remind me of my trips to my favourite forest near Kabini and of course, the rides to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary.
All this isolation introspection brought me to this point. If I’m relating my isolation to my solo travels because they feel similar at different levels, could they really teach someone to love themselves? As per my observation, you can be alone, at peace and travel if you enjoy your own company, if you could leave thoughts aside, live the moment and most importantly- if you love yourself. That is the basis of everything.
Love yourself, spend time with yourself, be easy on yourself and you’ll realise you don’t always need company. Just being on your own and at peace opens up many avenues for self talk and self development. It’s a difficult world out there, you’ve got to cling on to that one person before clinging onto anybody else or before you can lend a hand to somebody else to cling on to you. And that one person is you.
So, is there a connection between Covid- 19 isolation and Solo travel? Well, I think so. If you could isolate yourself for 10–15 days without losing your mind, you can travel happily without company. If you can go on adventures all by yourself and enjoy them, that experience could help you get through the isolation period without getting frustrated. Two different experiences. What’s common is isolation and distancing. What helps is being friends with yourself, loving yourself.
