This feels just like Christmas with packages being delivered daily. Today’s haul included an inflatable mattress, a set of saucepans, travel adaptor, camping mug and extremely hefty battery, or power bank to use its correct name on Amazon anyway, merino wool t-shirt and a cargo net. What’s not to love. Still haven’t made my mind up about the camping stove though, this issue is becoming all consuming.
The whole Covid thing is annoying and hard to get my head around. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure about how far I would get on a trip to Istanbul given the restrictions on travel so have decided to keep an open mind, aim in the general direction and let’s see how it goes. I figured the borders would be pretty easy in the first half of the trip but wasn’t sure about the latter half. I have come across so many conflicting reports and at one point, it seemed that Hungary was going to be a game changer as they seemed to be very hot on checks. But the more I thought about it, the more I figured that once you are actually there, there is always going to be a way to sort it out. In fact, I was looking forward to these kinds of uncertainties, sorting out what and where to go and anyway, my friend Anna lives in Greece and that could be a pretty good option for a final destination too. Impossible to keep track of what is going on with regards regulations here in the UK, let along the 15 or so countries I would be visiting along the way. At least I had both my jabs and had downloaded the NHS app with my digital certificate on it.
However I did need to get out of the England in the first place and that would presumably require a PCR test and for that, I would turn to my BFF Marina. She and her man Tom had bought a place over near Dieppe just before the Covid catastrophe crash, which was pretty unfortunate timing. But they had managed to finally get over there a few days ago and so would have been all up on what was required test wise.
Although they live in Brighton, Marina was coming up to London for the day so we have decided to meet in Green Park, hire a couple of deckchairs and crack open some cans. It was a gorgeous summer afternoon, sun high and hot and one of those times where you feel totally free as you kick back with your bestie, knowing that no topic or subject is out of bounds and roar with laughter for the entire afternoon. I figured as I would be super healthy in the upcoming few months, I bought some cigarettes too. Since when did they cost £14 a packet? How does anyone even afford to smoke anymore?
Turns out you just need to have a negative PCR test result to show at Border Control and that was pretty much it, easy-peasy. At least I now understand about the various colours of country and what that means in practice, which right now would exclude Istanbul as it was not a destination to fly out of, being a red country and all. But it would be months before I ever got there, if indeed I ever did without some black swan event occurred to restrict travel entirely. The one thing that doesn’t concern me at all is actually getting Covid. I am pretty sure I have had it way back before it was such a thing (I’m talking January 2020), I survived, am as vaccinated as any man can be and enjoy the benefit of super human genetics in terms of never getting ill, so I figure that I will be fine. Good positive mental attitude will see you through, well that and the vaccines.
Oh, and Marina cut to the heart of the issue with regards the stove. ‘You can’t cook for fuck James, just eat out – it’s going to be so cheap in East Europe anyway, right?’
That’s what friends are for.
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