Just bought a ticket for my wife to visit her elderly parents in China - one way ticket that cost almost $6,000 USD. Those who are "in the know" can tell this is more or less a fair market price in the U.S. to fly to China directly nowadays. It cost a lot more a few months ago, and until recently no amount of money could get you to China if you had a foreign passport because China would not give you an entry visa.

My wife has no choice. Her parents are in their 80s and in poor health. She is the only child. There''re a lot of things she needs to take care of for them since her last visit in 2019.

All of a sudden, I am starting to envy my Filipino friend S. He complained about his plane ticket back home this summer being 20% higher than pre-pandemic prices. S doesn''t know how lucky he is being Filipino - if he were Chinese, he would face a 2000% price hike (considering $800-$1000 pre-pandemic round trip prices), on top of paying for quarantining and endless Covid tests.

I am also jealous of O, a friend from Jordan. He flew a few times back and forth to Jordan this year, as he is dating a woman from home and is bringing her to America. I know O wouldn''t have to pay $6,000 flying one way to Jordan because as a part-time taxi driver, he wouldn''t be able to afford it. Sure, there''’re probably wars going on in or near his country, but how fortunate it is that he could get to go home, and even marrying someone from there.

I also envy V, my neighbor from Mexico. She recently came back from Mexico. I remember she told me her ticket price was "just a little higher" than before Covid. How lucky it is to be Mexican!

In fact, my "envy" list can go on, India, Thailand, Korea...you name it, because I have talked to people going to all these countries, and I have not heard anyone of them having to pay 20 times more flying there, in addition to all the ridiculous quarantines, tests and other barriers you have to go through and pay for.

And this makes me feel sad - used to think countries like the Philippines, Jordan, India, Mexico...are “shit-hole” places. Now I’m not sure if where I came from is not shittier.