I wasn't quite expecting Coronavirus to impact our travels quite so soon, but it has. Maybe I was being naive in thinking everything was going to go to plan, but more likely it was just wishful thinking. Luckily, the impacts haven't affected our immediate plans- we were let in to Thailand without an issue (just having to pass through a nifty heat scanner in Phnom Penh airport plus being asked to don a face mask for the plane) and we have a month before we have to leave but it's all up in the air as to where we can go next. All our organising was for nowt, the universe has snuck in to mess things up.
April the 12th was a day I was really looking forward to, it was the day I was going to see my Mumma for the first time in nine months. I had planned a whole itinerary for the three weeks we'd be spending together in Vietnam and I was excited for Ben, Mum and I to go on an adventure together. Not only was it to be a chance to catch up with my mum - who I miss despite an hour long phone call every week - it was a chance to repay her for all the holidays she took me on when I was younger, to have everything planned so she didn't have to worry. We all had our flights booked, our first apartment in Ho Chi Minh sorted and our Visa's granted but it turns out that we all can't go.
It started with Mum being suspicious that her flight wasn't showing up on sky-scanner, it was already booked but with everything going on she liked to keep a check on it. We thought maybe it the flight would be changed and at worst, she may need to have a flight with transfers. It turns out that the real worst case scenario is that it wont be flying at all, no flights from the UK will be. Anyone who has been in the UK or Schengen countries during the 14 days before arriving in Vietnam will not be allowed entry. This was set in place on march 15th and would be active for at least a month. So that ruled Mum out of coming. As devastated as I was when she gave me the news, I was selfishly thinking of what that meant for me and Ben.
Although we have obviously not been in the UK for way more than 14 days, was it worth still going and making the most of it? Vietnam's travel advice website states only those with COVID-19 symptoms travelling into the country will be tested and quarantined, however my Facebook news stories are telling a different story. I know that getting news from social media isn't the most reliable source, but with many stories following the same path there must be some truth. What I've gleaned is this; if anyone on your plane shows symptoms of COVID-19 the whole plane will be quarantined for 14 days... even if your result comes back clean. There's one story of two young English backpackers being tracked down days after their flight and being quarantined in an abandoned hospital in central Vietnam, despite both of them being healthy. Another story has an older English couple quarantined in a room for 2 weeks, no tv, no internet, no outside contact and a toilet you have to bucket flush - not my idea of fun.
So if you add these horror stories to the fact that the UK FCO (The Foreign and Commonwealth Office) has advised against all but essential travel to the whole country due to the "high risk of quarantine for British nationals arriving in country" it just doesn't seem like a good idea and our insurance would be invalid. With our entry date being several weeks away this advice could very well change but I don't see that happening. With Coronavirus cases still on the up-rise in the UK and Europe, I feel that on 15th April the Vietnamese government will extend their travel ban rather than end it. It's not just us that affected by any means, we met up with friends in Phnom Penh who also have to alter their plans and other travellers are heading home to wait it out. For us, heading home still isn't on the cards.
So our plans are scuppered and not just the ones for Vietnam. We have our flights into Vietnam to cancel, along with the two internal flights and our exit flight to Kuala Lumpur. Thinking ourselves clever, we also booked a flight out of Malaysia to Jakarta, Indonesia for a few days later. With not going to Vietnam, we don't know if we will ever go back to Malaysia... it was just the cheapest place to get a connecting flight from. So far, trying to get a refund has been a struggle but we've got time on that. What we need now is a plan b and maybe a plan c and d too for good measure, all I know is that plan needs to include finding a place for us to hole up until this madness is over.
It's strange knowing we're needing to scrabble around for a new plan while life in Thailand is going on as usual. Bangkok still had tourists, although probably far less than normal, we had no trouble on getting a public bus to our newest destination and far less people than i thought are wearing face masks here. Despite coronavirus affecting our future plans, life here is very much business as normal. We're lucky that the xenophobia towards travellers hasn't reached us here, we've had no problems in getting accommodation and no one really acts like anything is amiss. I know that's not the case everywhere.
To be completely honest, we do currently have a plan b in action, but i'll explain about that once we know if it's going to go ahead or not. For now, we need to pack our bags, keep our hands clean, face masks on and spirits high.
Sources : Vietnam travel advice, UK gov travel advice
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