Well, this has been a strange week, and it seems a bit pointless and a little rude to write about places to check out on your next vacation when vacations are temporarily a thing of the past. One of my sisters was meant to be in England now, visiting friends she made on an international internship. She didn’t wait until the quarantine was official to cancel; she called the airlines weeks ago knowing that this was going to blow up, but she’s still disappointed even though they are letting her postpone using the ticket until the end of the year. So this blog post is going to be a random smorgasbord of virtual “travel” options, some genuine, some silly, but hopefully all things that will help pass time.

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away: Disney+ has all the Star Wars films, as well as the Clone Wars series (heard it’s good but the episodes have a recommended viewing order, so maybe look that up), the Mandalorian series, and the Rebels series (excellent. Watch it). The Old Republic multiplayer game has a free-to-play option that really isn’t terrible; paying a subscription ($15/month) gives you some nice perks like chat options that are good to have if you’re playing with friends, but if you want to solo, you don’t need these. The game is incredibly immersive and gives you a lot of options about which storyline to follow, both light and dark side, for your preferred version of a good time. Download from http://www.swtor.com/. Alternately, the classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic can be downloaded from Steam for a reasonable cost and, occasionally, for free (I got it free, so watch for promos). This is the quintessential Star Wars game and has a really fun storyline with some good twists and a great cast of supporting characters. It isn’t quite as immersive as SWTOR, since it’s older and doesn’t have multiplayer functions, but it’s got so much Star Wars lore it’s worth at least one play-through.

Everywhere and Everywhen: The British Museum! Although the physical museum shut down, their website offers virtual tours of several galleries, a searchable timeline of some key objects, child-friendly curriculum material, and a podcast series. Their webpage about the museum’s closure (https://www.britishmuseum.org/closure) provides links to all available digital content (scroll to the bottom of the page to the final paragraphs explaining online options). The Museum also has a wonderful YouTube channel providing in-depth commentary about curators’ favorite artifacts. They also employ the incomparable curator Irving Finkel, who I’ve unofficially adopted as my crazy great-uncle and who I am pretty sure is actually a wizard. Behold:

Optionally, if you’re hoping for more suspenseful everywhere/everywhen, put on Dr. Who.

Japan: Peter Barakan’s Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus documentary series provide in-depth looks at common aspects of Japanese life, and it gets diverse. Topics include such things as kimono, shrines, soy sauce, stationary, dolls, bullet trains, bento boxes, moss, school uniforms…the list goes on and on. I haven’t been able to find an official YouTube channel for either series but a general search is likely to lead you to an episode about a topic that interests you. The other bonus is that viewing these series inevitably leads to YouTube’s algorithm recommending other interesting, Japan-themed content, such as David Bull’s channel dedicated to woodblock prints (https://www.youtube.com/user/seseragistudio). Bull is Canadian, and as far as I know, the only Westerner to become a woodblock print artist. His studio is based in Japan and the YouTube channel offers detailed looks at some favorite items from his personal print collection as well as the processes involved in creating both the carved blocks and the prints.

Woodblock prints are beyond most people’s skill to make, but those interested in trying a new hobby can check out Shibasaki-san’s watercolor channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPiQ_mEXdEbB-3Yhiq7gq5w. English-language captions are available for all videos with spoken content, and Shibasaki-san created multiple longer videos explaining basics such as blending, palette organization, and using light-and-dark values to create depth. Not going to lie, he is also very soft-spoken (think Japanese Bob Ross), and I do sometimes use his videos to help me fall asleep! This only works when my cell phone is turned over, though, because when I can read the captions and watch the artwork coming together I get too interested in what’s happening to drift off.

India: Oh, boy, where to start? The Indian diaspora means hundreds upon hundreds of websites and YouTube channels dedicated to Desi culture, and I’ve only barely started scratching the surface. But here are some educational options:

• Guru Pali Chandra’s Kathak dance tutorials at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT0EeR8SMCItnnOgmLfEjoQ. (Those interested in cultural dance can also search YouTube for content about Barat Natyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. My favorite dance form thus far is Odissi).
• The cooking channel Get Curried at https://www.youtube.com/user/getcurried. Fun fact: English is the most widely-spoken language in India, so it’s very easy to find English-language or English-captioned cooking videos. Beware, though. Indian cooking is not especially easy outside of India unless you live in an area with ready access to common Indian ingredients, and I think it’s impossible to watch any of these videos without becoming ravenously hungry.
• ArtPassion’s henna tutorial channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/1976education. She has some English-language videos, some Hindi videos, and some videos where she switches back and forth between both languages. Mesmerizing to watch even if you don’t plan to actually buy henna paste, make cones, and decorate your skin.
• VoxGuru’s channel about classical Indian (carnatic) singing. If you’ve ever watched a Bollywood film and wondered why the music sounds different, this explains how and can help you sing along. View at https://www.youtube.com/user/pratibhamusic. Sidenote, if you’ve never seen a Bollywood movie, I recommend starting with the film Lagaan — it’s the only Indian film to make it onto the BBC’s list of 100 Films to See Before You Die.

That’s a good place to start when bored! I’ll return next time with some more suggestions.