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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 9, 2021 17:29:08 GMT
For those of us wanting to get back on the road without huge formalities, apparently the specialists are saying we can start imagining the possibility of long distance international travel starting around May or June 2021.
Obviously, this will not concern 100% of the countries. Even countries that are covid free might decide they don't want to see us yet, but the travel industry is in such dire straits that it is likely that when the floodgates open, nobody will want to be left out.
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Post by fumobici on Jan 9, 2021 18:43:48 GMT
I'll be traveling once everyone wanting a vaccination in the US and Italy has had one. At that point, and it's mean of me, I don't really give two about what happens to the anti-vaxxers, we should open everything up and let nature take its course. I feel for the health workers who will be asked to treat the results, maybe you should be required to show proof of vaccination to be treated at that point.
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Post by lugg on Jan 9, 2021 20:26:05 GMT
I am less optimistic re international travel - maybe September 21 ? but then a likely surge of Covid as we head into Winter of 21 will possibly close many places down again.
To be frank at the moment I would just love to be able to travel within the UK freely and after that .... well warm Indian Ocean seas beckon as usual but a return trip to my favourite place in France .. The Aude with my friends and, a chance to check in with my godmother, would be my first choice
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 9, 2021 20:40:42 GMT
Clearly a lot of it will depend on the vaccines. 3, 4, 5 different ones? And how fast will they be injected in our rich countries? And of course, will we just need to flaunt our vaccination certificates to go where we want?
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Post by htmb on Jan 10, 2021 3:06:47 GMT
In my mind, I’m ready to travel. This is the first time, probably since the age of seven, that I haven’t left my state, have hardly left my county, in over a year. When I can travel, I want to go visit family first. I’ll also be ready to get back to Europe as soon as possible. I’ve been wondering if, when countries like those in the EU finally allow international visitors, if persons who’ve been vaccinated against covid will also need to have a negative test before flying.
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Post by bjd on Jan 10, 2021 7:03:10 GMT
I had been wondering whether having anti-bodies showing you have had covid would be equivalent to being vaccinated. Of course, at this point, we don't know whether it's going to be like flu, where you can get it more than once.
I should think proof of vaccination should be enough -- a test before travelling is overkill, isn't it?
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Post by questa on Jan 10, 2021 7:12:51 GMT
I would love to spend a week in Yogyakarta, visit with my friends at the language school and maybe call into Bali on the way home. I think that my travelling days may be over though. I know that I am more easily confused just handling airports and crossing major roads are very difficult
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Post by htmb on Jan 10, 2021 12:13:35 GMT
I had been wondering whether having anti-bodies showing you have had covid would be equivalent to being vaccinated. Of course, at this point, we don't know whether it's going to be like flu, where you can get it more than once. I should think proof of vaccination should be enough -- a test before travelling is overkill, isn't it? I had originally thought so, but found an online article speculating that, since vaccinated people may still carry the virus, some countries might require negative test results. I’m sure I’m just overthinking this and it’s too early to really know what requirements there will be.
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Post by whatagain on Jan 10, 2021 12:33:36 GMT
[quote author=" fumobici" At that point, and it's mean of me, I don't really give two about what happens to the anti-vaxxers, we should open everything up and let nature take its course..[/quote] My thoughts exactly. We could be considered as rebels amongst lambs. But once the non vaxxed are yhe ines who refuse it, let them take their chances.
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Post by whatagain on Jan 10, 2021 12:35:30 GMT
Every travel from Belgium is international. I am planning to go to France soon... Germany too. Taking a plane is something i am not yet too keen...
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 10, 2021 12:44:05 GMT
That's why I used the term "long distance international travel" in my opening post.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 22, 2021 14:01:42 GMT
I am so ready to jump on a plane to wherever! But nothing will convince me to do that untill Covid is well and truly gone from the planet. Immediately I think....well darn, that's going to be a very long time. OR, can I believe Covid-19 will disappear as fast as it came?....
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Post by bjd on Jan 22, 2021 14:10:44 GMT
In my head I would like to go somewhere but somehow am not ready to get on a plane at the moment. I was told the other day that fares are really low right now, like 450€ to Chile, but it's just too soon to think about going anywhere. Even if all borders were open, which they aren't.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 22, 2021 14:42:00 GMT
One thing that I don't understand is the opposition to "covid vaccine passports." Actually, I do understand that "passport" is the wrong word, but all my life there has been the yellow international vaccination certificate which is required to enter certain countries. When I was little, I very well remember that my entire family needed one to go to France (and return) to show that we had all had smallpox vaccinations. Now this document is still in use, mostly to prove a yellow fever vaccination for many countries in the world. Even within France, you need to show one to go from metropolitan France to the department of Guyane in South America, even though it is the same country.
So they should at least say that the covid proof should be added to that certificate, even though it is not a "passport."
I don't know where mine is -- I think I have one that dates from about 1968.
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Post by casimira on Jan 22, 2021 16:03:30 GMT
Other than Mexico I have no burning desire to go anywhere at this point. I do know that in order to return back to the US one has to have a certificate indicating they are negative and it has to be dated 72 hours before departing.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 22, 2021 16:15:11 GMT
We had to have Yellow Fever innoculations prior to entering Lesotho in 1979. My son was only 9mths old and horror of horrors his arm was in a bad state. He had to be taken to a Doctor in the nearest town on the South African side to have the swelling lanced and treated. Can you imagine that happening to a baby after getting a Covid shot?
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Post by bjd on Jan 22, 2021 16:32:26 GMT
I agree that the name Covid passport is unfortunate. I have one of those yellow vaccination booklets too -- somewhere. I had to have a yellow fever shots before going to Kenya. The yellow fever vaccine used to be valid for 10 years, but now they say it's good for life.
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Post by onlyMark on Jan 22, 2021 19:16:55 GMT
but now they say it's good for life. I know exactly here my booklet is and with it is a print out of the official declaration (from the WHO? Can't remember) that the yellow fever jab is good for life. And I have had to show it and argue about it.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 22, 2021 19:34:08 GMT
At the Cambodian border at Poipet, I didn't have the booklet and I was blocked by the authorities for an hour or two. They wanted to sell me a mysterious pill for US$10 that would solve the problem. I told them "the Cambodian embassy in Paris warned me about this and told me to report anyone who tried to do this at the border." The bluff worked.
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Post by questa on Jan 23, 2021 2:38:22 GMT
I have 3 of those little yellow documents in the drawer with passports and consular ID forms. The yellow ones fill up quickly when you get off the beaten track where Japanese encephalitis and rabies are common. I also have my 'flu and boosters yearly which get recorded in the latest edition.
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Post by questa on Feb 9, 2021 1:54:17 GMT
I am having a computer glitch and want to know why when I post a reply it doesn;t show up. sorry for diversion.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 9, 2021 5:16:29 GMT
"covid vaccine passports." We won't need them because they'll just be able to scan the 5G chip they're sneaking into the vaccine.
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Post by rikita on Feb 14, 2021 13:04:19 GMT
the one thing i am wondering is (as i haven't read about that anywhere yet) - are there any people who, for any reason, cannot be vaccinated against covid? i mean, not because they don't want to, but because for an objective reason. they did refuse to vaccinate my brother, when it was his turn, as he had an anaphylactic shock once as a child, but that should not be a reason against it, so he is planning to get a certificate from his gp next time he gets a chance at a vaccination ... but are there people who, for health reasons, can't get vaccinated at all? and if so - would they then need a proof of that to be allowed to travel?
the other things is that i hope once all restrictions are lifted, i hope people will still be a bit more considerate about when flying is indeed necessary and when there might be other means of getting somewhere (or decide for a destination that can be reached by other means when it is only a weekend trip anywhere, and save the longer distances for rarer but longer vacations) ... because even when this crisis is over, other issues that have been there, like the climate crisis, before will still be there ...
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Post by bjd on Feb 14, 2021 19:43:55 GMT
Like Rikita, I too have been wondering whether this prolonged period of no travelling with make anyone reconsider flying off for a long weekend. The climate crisis seems to have passed out of the news with covid 19 taking up all the headlines, even though it's certainly more important in the general scheme of things.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 14, 2021 20:02:44 GMT
Well, the Swedish 'flyskam' seems to have made it into most European languages in the last year. Now we are working on 'köpskam.'
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 14, 2021 22:18:42 GMT
once all restrictions are lifted, i hope people will still be a bit more considerate about when flying is indeed necessary and when there might be other means of getting somewhere Sorry, Rikita, but fat chance. If you browse online travel groups, you'll always find people asking about what countries or places are easy to get into now because "I'll just die if I can't get away!" These people get very affronted if anyone points out that traveling right now is unnecessary and irresponsible. I doubt a little thing like the environment factors into their plans. And honestly, there is so much of the world I have not seen & most of it I can't reach without flying, so I am officially part of the problem. Okay, flying or extreme discomfort, which I avoid at all costs.
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Post by kerouac2 on Feb 14, 2021 22:26:55 GMT
Actually, in France they are going to ban all domestic flights if there is a rail option that takes less than 2h30, which is quite a bit of the country. If they were able to ban international flights, that would be the end of the Paris-London route as well but it is understood that it would be counterproductive in the case of connecting flights. Rail travel has already killed off the Paris-Brussels route for lack of demand.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 14, 2021 22:40:08 GMT
Actually, in France they are going to ban all domestic flights if there is a rail option that takes less than 2h30, which is quite a bit of the country. Probably those of you who live in countries well-served by a rail system take it for granted and can't imagine how much the rest of us admire and envy those systems. Hooray for France for simultaneously boosting the railways and cutting down on air travel.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 15, 2021 13:22:14 GMT
Probably those of you who live in countries well-served by a rail system take it for granted and can't imagine how much the rest of us admire and envy those systems. Hooray for France for simultaneously boosting the railways and cutting down on air travel. Hear hear Bixa! In South Africa our rail system died years ago. The last time I took an overnight train here was when I was 17 years old. The old steam engine of course. We do not have electric trains and the only other train is the diesel engine which hauls goods. I think that is why I just love train holidays in Europe. They have got it to perfection. I'm not a good flyer but if ships didn't take to long to get from Cape Town to Europe I wouldn't mind going that route. But there again, hundreds of cruise vessels are heading straight for the scrap yards. Even ones that have had a major refit not too many years ago.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 15, 2021 16:06:45 GMT
Tod, the last time I took an overnight train, I was @25 years old & took the train through Mexico. Alas, Mexico's trains are all gone now, too. I can honestly say that every single time I get on a train in Europe it is a thrill. Imagine -- clean, efficient transportation with many options of time and many stops available to everyone!
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