Need something to do while self-isolating or social distancing? How about picking up some books about travel to help you escape!
I’ll be honest: this post wasn’t supposed to go out today. My original plan was to publish an article on Tuesday about visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam. The tunnels, which are an easy day trip from Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, are part of the amazing underground network once used by the Viet Cong to conduct their guerilla war against US forces. We found them fascinating, and learning about the “American War” from the Vietnamese point of view is an important thing to do when visiting Vietnam.
As Tuesday grew closer, however, something seemed off about allowing the post to go live. I removed it from the publishing schedule, telling myself I’d post it later in the week. I reasoned that it made sense to inject a little breathing room after the two back-to-back posts last weekend.
That uncomfortable feeling didn’t go away, however. I was keenly aware that the world has changed since I first scheduled the Vietnam post a couple of months ago. It felt weird to publish it as if nothing was different. Instead, I reworked another post that had originally been scheduled for the summer but has the opportunity to be useful now.
I still think that content about travel is relevant and important. We don’t know when this pandemic will end, or at the very least when the harsh restrictions will lift. But someday, the world will be open to us again, and people’s desire to experience all the wonderful places it has to offer won’t have gone away. In addition, thousands of destinations (and the small businesses in them) will have suffered significant economic loss and will need travelers’ dollars to help them recover.
For now, reading and dreaming about far-off places is an excellent remedy for cabin fever and provides an escape when life feels uncertain and scary. I hope these books about travel help you pass the time and find some joy.
Unless the situation changes in a way that convinces me that it would be inappropriate to do so, normal posts will resume the first week of April. In the meantime, today I’m sharing a list of some of my favorite books about travel. I hope you find one or two that help you pass the time until we can all get out into the world again.
I hope you and yours are and will continue to be well.
<3 Gwen
8 Great Books About Travel
At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe
by Tsh Oxenreider
What It’s About: The author and her husband take the ultimate international plunge: homeschooling their three children while they spend nine months traveling the world. Along the way, she comes to terms with her two seemingly mutually-exclusive desires: to travel and to have a place to call home.
Why I Loved It: I loved this book so much that I bought my own copy soon after finishing my library loaner. It goes without saying that the idea of taking an extended amount of time to travel the world with M and our kid(s) is the ultimate dream, and Tsh offers lots of great insight into the hows and whys of doing it. What I loved most, however, is how much I could relate to Tsh’s longing for both a life of international adventures and the joy and fulfillment of building a life in a single, settled place.
One of My Favorite Quotes:
“The road is about learning to let go of all our plans, no matter how large or small, so we can grab hold of those serendipitious moments that turn into lifelong memories.” — Matt Kepnes
There they are: eight of my favorite recent books about travel. I hope that they’ve inspired you to curl up with a cup of something hot and do a little reading yourself. This list was such fun to curate that I have already started reading for another, so be on the lookout for my next few favorites sometime in the future!
Do you have any favorite books about travel? Let me know in the comments and I’ll check them out!
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“The [United States] can be big and brash, loud and arrogant, but it can also be incredibly modest and understated. It is a country that is a world-leader in commerce, technology, and human achievement, yet its countless deserts, mountain ranges, lakes, wilderness areas and even its spectacular cityscapes, make it one of the most stunningly beautiful countries on Earth… America has more than enough splendour in every direction you look.” — George Mahood
Find Not Tonight, Josephine on Amazon
