DestinAsian - September - November 2021

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Twenty years ago this October, DestinAsian launched its first-ever print issue. The dream was to create a world-class travel magazine for and by Asia-based travelers with a global outlook. What a journey it’s been. There have been many ups and downs over the past two decades: DestinAsian was born just weeks after 9/11, and in the subsequent years, we’ve dealt with the effects of calamities both natural and man-made. But the Covid-19 pandemic beats them all by the sheer scale of the disruption to our daily lives and travel habits. Over the summer, I took my first international trip since March 2020. The United States has been welcoming visitors from most countries in Asia and I leapt at the chance to go. I wanted to see firsthand what it was like to have the majority of people fully vaccinated and have businesses opening back up. It proved an eye-opening experience. In Chicago, shops and restaurants were back in full swing; almost 90 percent of the more than 385,000 revelers who showed up at the annual Lollapalooza music festival had received their jabs. That event was a resounding success. America showed me there is indeed life after Covid-19, even with the onset of a global surge driven by the Delta variant. But the war against the virus is far from over, especially here in Asia, and I cannot over-emphasize the importance of vaccination and maintaining health and safety protocols even after you’ve received all necessary doses. That is still the best way for us to get out of this pandemic. To our loyal partners and readers, all of us here at DestinAsian thank you for your continued support over the last two decades. As you have surely noticed, our printing frequency and page count has been reduced for the past year and a half, but as borders open up and international travel makes a rebound, we hope to return to our regular publishing schedule soon.