[jmwilson]

I had this discussion (specifically about the Hippie trail) with a friend before I made a trip to Hong Kong in 2019. The conclusion was it is important to travel while you can. Things can change and not always for the better. I returned from Hong Kong on June 3, and less than a week later the protests started and turned violent. Then the next year, global travel all but shut down. I also had the opportunity to visit Kyiv in 2019 and regret not taking it.

[henvic]

I can relate to this. In 2017 I was traveling around Europe and planned to go to Chernobyl because a friend of mine really wanted to visit there. We ended up our trip short in Moscow, unfortunately, because Kyiv was hosting the UEFA Champions League Final and it was impossible to find any hotel room for less than the equivalent of $1000 USD/night. We had already arranged tours and everything. We considered finding accommodation when we got there, but then two days before we reached there, we still haven't had anything and we decided to cut our trip short. I really regret it! I hope I can go to Kyiv soon.