Let me explain.
We first got the travel bug back in 2018, after backpacking through Southeast Asia for 6 weeks. It was the trip that changed everything.
So naturally, in 2019 we said, “We need to do another big trip next year” so we looked at taking 3 weeks off in May 2020 (which was the max we could take off from work at the time). We started planning… and we landed on China. This was around Dec 2019 – Jan 2020, and there were a few whispers about some virus going around. Nothing major, but just enough to raise a little concern.
Well, that “virus” turned out to be Coronavirus.
So we decided: “Maybe China isn’t the best idea after all.” We scrapped that plan and instead looked at booking a trip to India. Same dates, same excitement. We didn’t even check the temperatures, spoiler: it was going to be 40°C. We booked it anyway and called it a day.
A few weeks later, end of March, BOOM. LOCKDOWN.
Trip to India = Cancelled ❌
Luckily, we’d only booked flights and managed to get a full refund.
We were in the UK at that point, and lockdowns kept coming on and off for the next two years. At one point, when it seemed safe again, we thought: let’s try a smaller trip!
So we booked 10 days in Barcelona. Yay! ☀️
A few days later… BOOM. Another lockdown.
Trip to Barcelona = Cancelled ❌
Lost our money on the Airbnb 😩
In early 2021, we were feeling hopeful again. We booked a long weekend to Vienna… only to find out everything there was still shut down.
Trip to Vienna = Cancelled ❌
Lost money on the flights this time. Lovely.
After that we had trips here and there and then fast forward to 2023 we decided to go all in: Two years of full-time travel while working online. We got super excited and started planning a rough route. First stop? Morocco, specifically Marrakesh. We started sketching out a rough itinerary and were buzzing… until the news hit: a massive earthquake in Marrakesh, just weeks before we were meant to go. Luckily, we hadn’t booked anything yet (we were waiting for our nephew to be born and weren’t sure about exact dates).
Trip to Morocco = Cancelled ❌
Back to the drawing board. So, we changed plans and decided to start with Turkey instead.
Turkey = Happened! ✅ (Finally!)
After Turkey, we had planned to visit Israel and Jordan. Two days after we landed in Istanbul, tensions in the region between Israel and Palestine rose.
Trip to Israel = Cancelled ❌
At that point, I said:
“Maybe we should just stop planning anything and go with the flow…”
And Now?
I’m writing this from Podgorica, Montenegro, and during this (almost) 2-year adventure, here’s what we’ve actually experienced:
- A violent protest in Sofia, Bulgaria
- Just missed the biggest flood in Dubai by two weeks
- An earthquake on Mactan Island, Philippines (I was sitting on a couch on the 4th floor, and it definitely started swaying 😳)
- An earthquake alarm in Japan — the loudest, most terrifying thing at 6am (yes, we absolutely sh*t our pants)
But Here’s the Thing…
Through all of this, the cancellations, the chaos, the near-misses, we’ve been safe. Nothing major has affected us directly, and we’re still going. In fact, we’ve just decided to extend our full-time travels by another year. 🙌
So maybe we’re not cursed after all…
Maybe we’re just living on the edge a little too often 😅
Stay safe out there!
Your friend, Oana
An update I didn’t expect to write:
I wrote this on 29th July 2025.
Then woke up on 30th July to news of a tsunami alert and a typhoon warning in China.
And guess where we’re headed in September?
That’s right… CHINA.
I refuse to cancel anything and yes, I’m absolutely screaming as I type this.
You couldn’t make this up. 😂