Several friends and colleagues have recently made the comment: "What? You're still going even now?" Between the war in Iraq and the current outbreak of the SARS virus, there seems to be a fair bit of worry over our plans to continue our travels.

While this is mildly amusing, we do understand that there is a point to this genuine concern.

The recent war in Iraq was the cause of us removing Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan from our itinerary. This was really disappointing, as we were very much looking forward to touring the Middle East and visiting some of the places that other friends visited recently (check out Kuchtaworld.net).

Perhaps the fact that we hold Canadian passports gives us a sense of comfort that our American friends might not feel. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to voluntarily enter a recent war zone as tourists, no matter where you are from or what you look like. One day, we will visit the Middle East and take the time to learn more about the cultures and people there. We feel that we are as unaware of Middle Eastern values and customs as the typical Westerner; while we certainly are not intolerant, we don't want to be ignorant. Reading about a foreign land is one thing; visiting it for yourself is entirely different.

Incidentally, one of the original iterations of our itinerary had us traveling through Iraq, Iran, and Afganistan. There would have certainly been some challenges with obtaining visas to some countries, but we think it would have been worth the effort, if the political climate had been more stable there. Similarly, we considered traveling through southern Algeria and also into Lybia; we're not going to these places now, but again, one day things may become more conducive to traveling foreigners. Believe it or not, one year just doesn't seem like enough time to visit all the places we want to!

The SARS virus that has struck China, Southeast Asia, and Toronto has perhaps as much potential impact on our travels as the military conflict in the Middle East. Luckily, we visited Beijing, China, and Hong Kong last year, all of which are still being dramatically affected by the SARS virus even today. The only hotbed of SARS activity that is on our current route is Singapore, which we're currently planning on visiting in the March 2004 timeframe. We're hoping that things are under control by then.

Obviously, the fear generated by the outbreak of this virus has real economic and sociological consequences. As tourists, we may actually stand to gain from this fear, which is both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time. The cost of accommodation and travel may be lower, and there will possibly be fewer tourists in these counties as many people decide to stay closer to home for one reason or another. Unfortunately, the impact on tourism and the perception that certain countries are unsafe will certainly have negative effects on local and potential national economies for a long time to come.

Our philosophy on all of this is to continue to exercise caution, make sure we stay informed, but keep a balanced approach to traveling. There is no need to take unnecessary risks, but there is also no need to succumb to unnecessary fears. We have the flexibility to modify our schedule and route as necessary, and will not hestiate to do so if we feel that it will take us through an area of high risk or danger. However, until we are convinced that we are entering such an area, we will try not to let fear of the unkown deter us or affect our One Year, One World journey.