my reality of traveling in se asia during covd19

         I’m writing from what was supposed to be the last leg of our trip: 2 weeks spent in Hoi An, Vietnam, a small beach town that is also a UNESCO world heritage site. We were thinking it would be the perfect place to end our 7 week trip, allowing us to wind down after being so “on-the-go”, and one last “hoorah” for me before going back to work when the spring semester started, which was supposed to be February 24^th. As I write this, we are in our first full day in Hoi An, and instead of me thinking about the upcoming semester, we are planning an impromptu trip to Bali! It’s what every student (and surely some teachers) dream of, an extended winter break and an unknown school start date. However, not under these circumstances. Obviously, this odd stage of being in limbo with a major change of plans is because of the Coronavirus. This blog is not one of my best. It kind of feels like a rant that is a rambling combination of what we’ve been up to with bits about the virus woven in. But I guess that’s what the past 2 months have been, the best kind of chaos with what started out as an immaculately planned trip that became completely improvised as news of the virus soaked in. 

We left China on January 3^rd, just about one week after the virus had been discovered. We first heard of it from a text sent to us the day before we left. This is when it had barely hit mainstream media and was certainly not yet in the news cycle. I remember Wren reading me the message, a small interesting fact about a virus being discovered at a wet market in Wuhan. That is all that it was to me at the time, a small and interesting fact. It felt really far away. China is huge, Wuhan is inland, therefore this does not concern us. Nothing like SARS had even crossed my mind yet, I was too occupied with packing and getting ready to leave for 7 weeks. I did not think anything of it. It was like this for a week to a week and a half. We were receiving updates from Wren’s mom, but again, I really was not concerned at all. I thought, “that’s a bummer for the people in that town, I hope it gets sorted out soon”. I didn’t even bother to look up the fact it was a city of 11 million people, and a transportation hub of its province. As an IPE major I have done research on infectious diseases, enough research to understand why they are so scary and how incredibly fast and easy they can spread. But it didn’t occur to me at the time. We traveled throughout Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Japan. It was cold, but I loved it. Everything is neat in Japan, everything has its place, and everything is so very modern. It is like a little bubble in the future. The cold did get to me though, and for a trip where ¾ of the time was going to be spent in hot weather, I had very few clothing choices for cold weather. Therefore, I got sick of wearing the same two outfits. By the time of our departure, I was ready for Thailand’s heat and cheap food. We arrived in Chiang Mai on January 15^th. By this time, the virus had become very real and definitely something well worth worrying about – both for those in Wuhan and surrounding areas. This is right when I started to follow it more closely. I was not yet worried about it, I still felt very far away. 

That was another thing that occurred to me upon landing in Thailand; we have kind of been conditioned to see other parts of the world as just big clusters of countries, this is especially true for Asia. This goes all the way back to when the term “Orient” was acceptably used for anything Eastern of Europe (which was in contrast, the “Occident”). In short, it is kind of ingrained in us to just see Asia as one big glob. It is how it is often still portrayed in our education and the news and mainstream media. This is my third trip around parts of Asia. Upon landing in Thailand, I was once again reminded how freakin’ far we had just traveled from Japan. Air travel being as quick as it is, of course, does not help this idea that Asia is not just a big glob, but rather a very large area that includes many different countries with vastly different cultures. It would be like calling South America, Central America, and Canada all under the same name of “America”. It simply can’t apply to that many different climates and cultures. We got off the plane and it was humid. Hot. There were no people in business suits commuting from work to home for dinner. The idea of the “daily rush hour” commute means something totally different in a place with no public transportation. We had a layover in Hong Kong, and they were checking everyone’s temperature. I’ve seen them do this in Hong Kong before though, so I didn’t think that it was super related to the virus outbreak. It just felt normal. 

            We spent 4 full days in Chiang Mai, relaxing, visiting with my host family, and exploring temples before hopping on a plane to Phuket, where we would spend one night before driving 2.5 hours to Khao Sok National Park. At this point I had started feeling some real anxiety about the virus because it had been confirmed to have reached Thailand, as well as some other countries in Southeast Asia. It was nothing major yet, just a case or two. But this is when the numbers really started to pick up and it was during this week that it entered the news cycle.  We went to stay in a floating bungalow in Khao Sok National Park, and I was really worried, perhaps irrationally, about all the tourists who would be taking this overnight trip with us. We have all been traveling everywhere and there was no way to know where anyone else had been. No quarantines had been set at this point, so I just felt very exposed and like this unknown virus was floating through the air invisibly, and inevitably we would breath it in eventually without even knowing it. I felt this panic for about 1 week. This is when it was it was reaching its peak in the media, people were terrified, and there wasn’t a lot if information about how the body reacts yet. 

Regardless of my fears, we had an amazing time in Khao Sok. Before doing the overnight lake trip, we stayed in a jungle house by the river where we woke up to monkeys running and jumping on our roof and got to watch them play at sunset and sunrise. I had done the overnight floating house trip in Khao Sok Park before, 5 years ago. Things have changed a lot since then, with more and more small floating bungalow set ups popping up all over the lake. There is a total of 7 now, and it is only going to become increasingly popular. Right now, it still feels remote, it still feels like a hidden gem, and it still feels like you are in a beautiful isolated spot. It‘s like Jurassic Park in real life without the dinosaurs. Seriously, it is breathtaking and like another planet. But I suspect that in 2 years, even 1 year, it will be even more different. Moral of the story, if you want to go, now is the time!!! 

We drove 3.5 hours from Khao Sok Park to Ao Nang in Krabi Province where we would spend the next 5 days. At this point the virus had clearly made itself known as something to worry about and something that was not going to disappear quickly. It was everywhere in the news, and the big headline was about how the peak was going to happen and we have probably passed the chance to contain it.  However, there was not yet much of a question about whether or not I would return to my teaching job in Fuzhou. We dabbled in thinking about it, but I felt confident it wasn’t going to really reach Fuzhou in large numbers and the state warning was still a 1 or a 2 at this point. I also still felt pretty far away. There were reports of a few cases in Thailand and neighboring areas, but masks were not being worn more than usual, and it just wasn’t visible to us in Thailand. It wasn’t a reality for us, yet. It is funny how the news can really freak you out though, and if there is anything I’ve really learned from this experience it is the importance of keeping a balanced head on your shoulders, staying informed but not letting this fear get into your head. 

Ao Nang is extremely touristy and best used as a base to explore the surrounding islands, and that is what we did. We spent a few days wandering around and going to the beach in Ao Nang, but the real highlight was when we hired a private longtail boat to take us to 4 different islands in the area. We did our best with sunscreen and covering up, but when you’re on the water on a cloudless day for 8 hours straight there is only so much you can do. We were burnt to a crisp by the end. We only had a couple days left in Southern Thailand. For the last week I had been following the news incredibly close, and it was affecting me. I really felt like it was going to be a matter of time before one of showed symptoms (still sometimes feel like this, but I am also very dramatic). I was reading too much news and I was reading into everything that was being said. Fear had lodged into my brain and I couldn’t shake it. I was scared about the idea of going back to China. 

On one of our last nights in Southern Thailand, we went to a night market in Krabi town. The news had been going off that day, reporting headline after headline that things were not looking good. Transportation had been shut down in Wuhan a few days earlier. China had just announced that the city of 11 million people would be quarantined for an indefinite amount of time, in efforts to contain the virus that was now confirmed to spread from person to person and not just from the source. This is when I saw and witnessed around me an immediate switch in travelers and people. Suddenly, it wasn’t just your average 1 out of 15 people wearing a mask. Everyone was wearing a mask. White people were wearing masks. White people never wear masks like that in public. I thought, ok, well, I’m not the only one freaking out. It already been cleared up in the news that masks don’t even really do anything. But if it brings peace of mind, then bring it on. 

We flew to Bangkok for just one night. We wanted 24 hours to explore Khao San Road, which is known as the backpacker’s district in Bangkok. I wore a mask to the airport and blended in with every other traveler who was also wearing a mask. I felt like I was in a movie. This being the week when the virus was possibly at its peak of being reported on, everybody had really started taking extra precautions. All airport and airline staff had masks. There was a quarantine area set up in the Bangkok airport. They were checking temperatures as we walked by. We use the “grab” app to get taxis, its Southeast Asia’s version of uber. They began sending out precautionary messages to our phones before we would call a taxi, about wearing masks in the car to lower the spread of germs. At this point in time, things like seeing notices posted about the virus and receiving these updates through various apps on our phones had become very normal. Signs would be posted in the airports about countries that would not accept passengers who had been to China within the last two weeks due to the new rules of some countries about the 14 day quarantine requirement. Every day it seemed like something new would pop up overnight, and I worried the changes would happen faster than we could keep up.

After our 24 hours in Bangkok, we flew to Laos where we would stay for just a little over a week. There had not yet been any confirmed cases in Laos. It was all over the media that other places were running out of masks (this was blown out of proportion, at the time. Nowhere was running out of masks yet besides the province of Hubai in China, where Wuhan is located).  However, in Luang Prabang (LPB) people were selling huge packs of surgical masks EVERYWHERE. And everyone was wearing them. Nothing out of the norm at this point, though. We had a great time in LPB, we both caught a cold (NOT the coronavirus) so it was the perfect place for us to rest and recover. Life is slow there. The town is small and extremely walkable, so there is really no rushing around. It was not too hot nor too cold and we thoroughly enjoyed just being there. We did 2 different day trips once we were feeling better, one to Kung Si Waterfall which is one of the famous attractions about an hour outside of LPB. It’s a beautiful waterfall that you can hike up and swim in different pools. On the way back we stopped and got buffalo milk ice cream which I am OBSESSED with. It’s made at this farm run by an Australian couple, who rent buffalo from local families to making dairy products to sell and then gives back a portion of the income to the village they rent the buffalo from. The second day trip we did was to ride elephants. I know there is a very large dialogue on the ethics of riding elephants, and for anyone who wants to talk about that I would be happy to share my opinion!  I did a lot of research on that kind of thing for my IPE degree and it is very  ~ nuanced ~ as are all things in life. But I can assure you if it was inherently unethical, I would not be doing it. 

On the day we were supposed to leave Laos, we headed to the airport all ready to go to Vietnam. When checking in at the counter, we were told we couldn’t board the plane due to not meeting visa requirements. Long story short, we did not have the right visa. This gave us another night in Laos which was not met with disappointment. The next day we went straight to the Vietnam embassy to get our visas pasted into our passports and boarded the plane that evening. In Hanoi we were met with cold and rainy weather, which was unexpected. Ironically, we had just sent home literally all of our warm clothing the day before leaving Laos in anticipation of the weather only getting warmer from here on out. In Hanoi there were signs everywhere requesting people please wear masks. The employees of a museum we went to were sanitizing people’s hands before entry. One night, we wandered back and forth on the street where Hanoi’s most popular night market was supposed to be, confused why it wasn’t there. Finally, we asked someone. It had been canceled because of the virus.  

We are now in Hoi An. We have been spending our days soaking up the sun on the beach, playing in the sizeable (but not big enough to be dangerous…!) waves, drinking Vietnamese coffee, and biking through rice paddies. Next, we will head to Bali on February 22^nd for an unknown amount of time since I cannot go back to China now. In the meantime, I will be teaching online. I talk to my students regularly, even more so now that I have started online teaching. I also keep in touch with administrators at Hwa Nan College, the school I teach at. One thing that has really stuck out to me throughout this communication is how little information they have. We all know China has the great firewall, but it is never really evident how big it really is until something like this happens. It is imperative that I communicate with my contacts there, but we are on two totally different pages. For an example, they have no idea about the travel warnings that the U.S. issues for China. They’re given the general information on the virus that we are, such as numbers and where cases are spreading to, but usually 4-5 days after we receive that information. This has made discussing my situation and my contract with them incredibly difficult. Because I am on a fellowship through my university, I am not allowed to be in China unless the warning is a level 2 or below per university policy. Even though schools are currently closed in China now, they expect me to return when it starts again. However, it is likely school will start before the U.S. issued travel warning is lowered. These are the kinds of discrepancies that make it really difficult to figure out what is going on, and on top of that a lot of things get lost in translation. Especially in the peak of the virus, when things were developing at an incredibly rapid pace, my contacts in Fuzhou just didn’t quite know or understand the severity of the issue. They really just thought I was going to be able to return for spring semester as scheduled, meanwhile it was obvious to me that spring semester wouldn’t be starting on time. It left a lot of time and space of just not knowing what was going to happen, while I waited for China to inform their population of what was going on so they could understand why I couldn’t come back so soon. I still don’t know how long it will be before I can go back. I don’t think I will be returning to stay and teach. 

One thing I know is that all my stuff is still in my apartment (that I am FULLY moved into…because I completely thought I had another 4 months of living there after winter break…) and I need to get it back at some point. It might be an in and out 24 hour operation, where we literally rush in and pack it all up and leave. I’m really just waiting to see how things go logistically, seeing that most cities are still under at least a semi-lockdown. My students tell me that in Fuzhou only one person from each household can leave every 2 days, as it is in most cities. This means things like taxis and busses are likely not in operation, which would make it really difficult for me to go in and get my things. Besides it being an odd blessing in disguise to have all this time to travel, I am also hoping to stay on this side of the world long enough for things to clear up and it to be okay to go back to China again, if anything for just a little bit. It is weird to think you have many more months left in a place only for that to be untrue. There were a lot of things I was expecting to do/see/eat again in Fuzhou, and I definitely wasn’t ready to say goodbye for good yet. And it is weird to think of my apartment with all my stuff in it, that I was only expecting to be gone from for a little while. A life that was unexpectedly abandoned, to put it dramatically. Things were hard for me during the first semester, but I was in an odd way excited to have another whole semester to hash that out and push through those challenges. I wanted to be in China for full time I was supposed to be, but I’m simultaneously so grateful for this chance to galivant around SE Asia with what feels like all the time in the world. 

            I wanted to write this blog for a couple reasons. One, because people have been constantly asking what we have been up to and I wanted to provide a general update. And two, because I wanted to shed some light on what is really going on over on this side of the world. Perceptions have changed a little bit since when the virus was first announced, but I’m hearing a lot of ideas about it being general chaos and people fleeing from Asia to get back home. It is true that tourism is plummeting dramatically, and that will have a devastating effect on countries where the main industry is tourism (ex: Thailand, Laos…). Even if people from other countries do continue to go on their vacation to somewhere in Southeast Asia or Asia, the fact that people from China cannot travel abroad right now is going to leave the tourism industry really struggling. That being said, it is not like we ever suddenly felt like we were the only ones really “out here”. The numbers don’t lie, but being here physically in person, it usually kind of  seems like nothing is really going on at all. There are still tons of foreigners. Family’s, old people, young people traveling and not looking that worried. Besides the notices posted in all airports and many public places, more flight cancellations than usual, the health checks and quarantine areas being set up in airports, and most people wearing masks, everything really was carrying on as normal. I know that sounds like a lot of things really aren’t normal, but it is just not that noticeable unless you are in an airport. Or maybe it is really unusual, and it just doesn’t feel that way because we have been here while it all unfolds -- dulling the difference between normal and abnormal. I’m not sure. Sometimes it feels like a weird apocalyptic time, other days nothing feels out of place. But I think that might be a sentiment shared by anyone who has kept up with the news during the last 3 years – and especially during the last 4 or 5 months. 

            Lastly, I want to address what the longer lasting, more damaging, and faster spreading issue will be related to this virus: racism towards Asians and Asian-Americans. I did a year-long independent study on the use of supermarkets and wet markets throughout Asia. Wet markets are not the issue, so we can stop there. People from China are not inherently dirty or disgusting, so let us not use this as an excuse to broadcast ignorance about cultures different from our very sterile American way.  Humans have been pushing the boundaries with nature for centuries and it has repeatedly led to disease (ex: British destruction of Sundarbans mangrove in Bangladesh ...leading to the creation of cholera, which still exists and claims lives today); this is what happens when humans refuse to leave wildlife as wildlife. This is not a racial or cultural issue, don’t make it one. And let us not get on our high horse about how in “America this kind of thing would never happen”… 38% of Americans won’t buy a corona beer out of fear from the virus. Only 23% of Americans can identify Iran on a map. We have plenty to improve on. 

Sunset by the Mekong in Luang Prabang, Laos

View from a cave in Khao Sok

~~ Staying safe from the virus ~~

Khao Sok

Khao Sok

Ao Nang , Thailand