Posted: 03/26/20 | March 26th, 2020
As many of you know, I have the coronavirus. Well, had. I’ve recovered. Luckily, I had a mild case. It felt like a really bad cold. At first, I developed a small cough that I associated with allergies and my asthma. However, on the second day, I developed aches and a fever and that caused me to worry. I never get a fever.
That’s when I decided to get tested and the results came back positive.
Given how bad this virus can be — even for people my age (I’m almost forty) — I count myself very lucky. My fever lasted only a few days and then it just became a cough, which lasted until about day twelve. (Today is day fourteen.) (If you want to read about my experience, I posted about it here and here.)
I hardly ever get sick so this was a scary experience for me. I was mostly worried by reports saying that between days eight and ten, patients could suddenly crash and end up in the ICU. I knew I was probably fine when the fever broke, but until day ten, I never really felt out of the woods. I was petrified that I would go to bed and wake up needing to go to the ICU. There’s a lot of conflicting information and doctors don’t know a lot so no one could really tell me anything. The health department’s advice was “Call 911 if you can’t breathe. Otherwise, stay inside.” As someone with anxiety, that was not comforting.
Additionally, as someone who loves to wake up early, I found the lethargy that came with being sick demoralizing, which made the experience even worse. It weighed heavily on my mental state, which in turn made me feel physically worse.
Here I was, trapped inside, where I could theoretically at least work, read, and watch movies — and I spent the majority of the day sleeping! I just ended up scrolling social media, which is never a good thing even in the best of times, and that just made my anxiety and emotional state even worse.
However, I’m on the mend but will be quarantined for the foreseeable future. No one is watching my door, but I plan to be a good human and stay inside. I hope to get retested but, with tests so limited, I doubt I will be able to. Reports say you can shed the virus for up to three weeks (no one really knows for sure) so I’ll just avoid people for the next three weeks to be on the safe side. I do not want to spread this.
While the days in quarantine have been slow, now that I’m feeling better, I’ve been able to resume work (writing and fixing up the website). When not working, I’ve started to finally catch up on my binge-worthy shows (Altered Carbon and The Man in High Castle are great!) and reading (so far just finishing some books I started already, but I’m looking into diving into a wide range of sci-fi, history, and travel books in the coming weeks).
I look forward to the day I can leave my house and go for a walk. I’d always taken for granted the ability to just go outside. Not anymore. Luckily, there are plenty of things to do at home, but I do yearn for the outdoors. I fully plan to take more advantage of the outside when this is all over. (I suspect we all will.)
I guess it is true what they say: you don’t really appreciate things until they are gone.
On another note, watching the travel industry grind to a halt while having employees has been really mentally tough. It keeps me up a lot at night. I’ve already started seeing friends of mine lose their jobs and I know a few companies about to head under. It’s been sad to see. Even in a recession, people still travel.
But now? No one is going anywhere. March has felt like the longest decade of my life and it’s only going to get worse. I have a whole post coming out on what I think will happen to the travel industry because of this but it’s going to be bad.
This site (usually) gets a lot of traffic and we do very well, most of that goes back into other business endeavors (our conference TravelCon, our charity FLYTE, new projects, and all the events we do) so we don’t have a huge cushion.
If this website were just me, it wouldn’t be a problem but, with four full-time employees, a lot of my day is spent worrying about how I can make payroll.
Hopefully, we’ll make it through and people will start traveling again in late May/early June. All our fallback plans assumed people would still travel. We never imagined there would be no travel in the world. As Monty Python said, no one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition.
But the team and I are on the same page and we’ll figure out a way through.
This year, we were turning toward events and community initiatives through our Nomadic Network program.
But, since we should all be inside now (let’s flatten the curve so we can end this as quickly as possible), we can’t do events. But there’s a lot we can do virtually:
First, I’m all over Instagram these days, posting lots of updates from home and doing some live Q&As. Follow me there for updates, posts, and streams!
Second, I started a service where you can text me about travel, life, and anything else and I’ll respond. For real! My number is +1 (617) 284-0863. See, here’s a pic of me with the number so you know it’s real:
Finally, as I’m passing time by writing new blog posts, I’d love to know if there are any topics you’d like me to write about. If so, leave them in the comments!
Let’s chat and pass the time. Now is when we need community the most. Let’s be here for each other during these trying times.
I hope you are FaceTiming the people that are important to you more often!
– Matt
P.S. – Some of you have asked if there’s anything you can do to help and we have some easy ways to do so:
- Use our Amazon link when you buy anything from the service
- Purchase one of our guides for your next trip
- Sign up for our business or writing course and learn a new skill
- Use our affiliate links when you book your summer/fall travels
- If you are getting a new card for points/miles, do it via our website! (There’s some good deals right now that probably won’t last too much longer as the banks cut back)
Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
- Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
- Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)
Need to book your trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. The are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
Marya
So glad you’ve recovered. Very kind of you to be concerned about your staff. Glad you’ve been able to grow to the point of having 4 full time people. That’s awesome.
Martin
Glad you are feeling better. I’ve been self-isolating too after showing symptoms. Although the UK isn’t testing unless an urgent case… So I really have no idea if I have had this or not, although I strongly suspect I have.
It started with the sniffles, so I thought I had gotten a cold. Then a very high temperature developed and after that a cough. Throughout first maybe 4 to 5 days I felt really awful. It might be my imagination but my chest has felt very tight too.
I’m on day 10 and feeling better. I still have the cough though. My chest feels a little bit tight still.
It’s worrying when you get it because you don’t know how this thing will play out. Will I end up in an ICU struggling to breathe on a ventilator? I should be fine now thoughbut I do worry about my girlfriend as she has mild asthma. We live in the same apartment. We have down our best to stay apart and keep things clean but living in the same apartment – you can only do so much.
This virus should be a lesson to all. Life is precious. You are never guaranteed another day. Security is an illusion. It can all fall apart at any moment. This is not a discouraging thought. It should set you free.
If there is something you want to do in your life, if you have a passion, if you have a dream, or if you want to travel and see the world then do it as soon as you are able. DO NOT WAIT. Heed this message. Take this lesson into your heart and carry it with you.
Since this is a travel site many might have been on the fence about taking that trip or quitting that job to travel the world. Well, when all this is over… What the hell are you waiting for? Go. Go. Go.
Stay safe, Matt. Good luck to you and team. Happy travels.
Michael
Hi Matt;
I’m delighted you are on the road to recovery
A question re blogs …..
I have wanted to start one for a long time, but not being tech savvy, I was wondering which platform is the easiest / best to set up a nlog.
Naturally I want to includes images andupdates.
Any suggestions, or maybe places to learn with ease
Many Thanks
Michael
Tara
Hi Matt,
Glad you’re feeling better. That’s pretty unbelievable that information given to patients was as vague and unhelpful as, “Call 911 if you can’t breathe”. That would freak me out.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the future of the travel industry and “look forward to” (not sure if that’s the correct phrase in this scenario…) your upcoming post on the topic. The company I used to work for (in travel) in Ireland has now declared bankruptcy. I can only imagine what will happen to so many more companies down the road.
Sending you, your employees, and your fellow travel colleagues support during this time.
Kind regards,
-Tara
Mil
Hello Matt, I am so happy that you are feeling better. Since I started following you I have learned so much about travel and so many other things that I can’t possibly list here (so many things). I was wondering if one of these days you could blog about travel for middle aged couples and alternatives for where to stay and still meet fellow travelers as hostels have age requirements. Again, happy that you are feeling better. We need you, Matt. 🙂 Sincerely, Mil
Csaba
Glad you have recovered. I am really worried about the future of travel in general. Yes, the travel industry will, and is already suffering a lot, but I am also worried about how the possibility/ease to travel will change. Will tourists be welcome at all? There are news that some western looking people are already not welcome in some SEA countries. And also, when will we be able to resume travel (we = digital nomads)? I fear that it is going to be much later than most of us would like to think.
Good luck to all,
Csaba
Nohemy Adorno
I’ve been following along your recovery from your updates on twitter. I’m glad that you only had a mild case and that you’re feeling better.
rich
Hopefully one lesson learn is to save 6+ months of money for emergencies like this to tide you and/or employees over.
Sorry you were sick but I think it must also be a relief in the sense you’ve had it, it didn’t require hospitalization and you recovered. Hopefully now you are immune from it for a while.
I assume I will get it eventually, I’m just wondering how bad it will be. Seems to be 20% with severe issues, 25%+ with none, and 25-50% with moderate or so symptoms.
Hang in there.
Renee
Its great news that you’ve recovered from this virus. Whats surprising is that this virus had basically affected every single industry in the world. Whats your view on travel insurance and its usefulness especially in this pandemic.
NomadicMatt
No company covers pandemics so pretty useless. I have yet to see one have it written in their policies that a pandemic is covered.
Katie
I hope you are feeling better Matt, it sounds like a dreadful experience.
We are living in Bangkok and amazed at how tough the government have been with closing down everything but it is working!
This is such a tough time for the industry but I have signed up to your Superstar blogging course and plan to spend the next few months working through that course and improving my website for whenever we can travel again!
Stay safe and think positive
Tim
Kia Ora everybody. I am an Englishman stuck in New Zealand. What a beautiful place to be stuck but my overriding feeling is to be with family who are 12,000 miles away.
I am constantly checking airlines/flights back to the UK but am having problems even transiting in alot of countries. Qatar seems to be the safest option.
What does everybody think about flights starting back up internationally. My concern is that if i dont leave soon i’ll be permanently stuck here!
Id really appreciate your thoughts.