The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown regulations have forced the majority of South Africans to stay indoors and cancel their vacation plans.
To help ease the stress of not being able to travel, South African travel blogger Sharon Waugh thought of a hilarious way to travel the world without ever leaving her home.
Waugh used the lockdown to create ‘The Sharonicles’, where she posts pictures that recreate world-famous attractions and monuments to help her readers practise their travel poses until they are able to travel again.
‘When lockdown started I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post on how to survive lockdown for the travel-obsessed,’ Waugh said.
‘Apart from sampling the national dish of Coronaville (Banana Bread) and enjoying the architectural wonders in your own living room (like its couch cushion fort). I also suggested that people could use the time to practise their cheesy travel Instagram poses until they can travel again. I snapped a few pics to demonstrate and posted them on my Instagram,’ she added.
And it’s that final suggestion that saw her get the attention she deserves, as Waugh described the response she got from the cheesy travel Instagram poses as ‘overwhelming’.
‘In the last six months I have made the news in over 30 countries and I was even interviewed on a breakfast television show in Germany,’ Waugh said.
Ironically, Waugh said she never imagined that being forced to stay in one place could take her so far.
When asked about what image was her favourite, Waugh referred back to the hilarious Giza picture, in which she used her niece’s duplo man toy to represent a tourist, and she played the role as the Sphinx. Take a look at that image below.
Creating these image may seem easy at first, but they do come with a unique set of challenges. When asked what image was the most challenging to create, Waugh said the Cloud Gate in Chicago was one of the hardest.
‘I was challenged by the German breakfast show to recreate a picture that included the Cloud Gate in Chicago. I couldn’t find a good public domain image online so I had to ask all my friends, with the added pressure of a deadline,’ she said.
‘Then, figuring out the forced perspective to make myself appear the same size as the ninja turtle took quite a few attempts. I’m just so glad I had that kettle!’
Once it is safe to travel again, Waugh said the countries she would most like to visit are Colombia and South Korea.
‘There are lots of places on my list, but I’d love to go to either Colombia or South Korea,’ she said.
Take a look at a few of Waugh’s other creations below:
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Picture: Instagram/ The Sharonicles
