Truth be told, we had not realized until after booking that we would be arriving in Vietnam on Lunar New Year. This is actually one of my travel tips! Check to see if anything is going on during your travel dates. That said, under normal circumstances, joining into the celebration could have been fun. Although, further research would also have shown us that many businesses remain closed for an extended time during this festive season.
Kind of like going to France in the beginning of August where you see signs on businesses saying, “Closed August 1st to 22nd”.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus outbreak was just starting as we were heading to our destination. Once there, it had a definite impact on our trip.
The combination of the virus and tens of thousands of travelers in Vietnam to celebrate Lunar New Year seemed like trouble waiting to happen. As we left, there were still only a few cases (but sadly a growing number) in Vietnam and other surrounding countries. And at the time of our visit, it was enough to put everyone on edge.
When we first arrived on the 25th of January, the coronavirus cases were only in China. Further, it looked like containment efforts were working. As the toll continued to mount and more was learned about the virus, the scarier it got. Was it the media hype? Were the numbers real?
With symptoms so similar to the common cold and it being flu season, almost one in three people were sneezing or coughing creating worried looks from all around. Stores sold out of medical face masks. Despite many saying they didn’t really do much to help, people were wearing them in Hanoi. We also had masks and we were wearing them. Perhaps a false sense of security or just blending in!
Most articles stated that the most important thing was to wash hands with soap or to use antibacterial gels. We had had the foresight to a bring some extra bottles. We always like to disinfect our plane seat areas.
See our post: Why You Should Clean Your Airplane Seat and How
In Hanoi, concerned we may run out of masks, we checked a dozen stores, and everyone laughed and said they had sold out long ago. A new low was reached when someone tried to steal the clip-on Purell bottle on my knapsack effectively opening the lid and spilling the contents over my jacket. Wow! After that, we kept our remaining supplies in a closed zipped up pocket!
The reaction of tour guides, drivers and hotel staff was mixed. One guide told us that his life was in God’s hands and he would not wear a mask. Others at a popular site said that their health department had not told them to wear masks so it can’t be necessary. In a more humorous story, we heard of a ride-share driver that was working in a full hazmat suit. “Safety first!”, he was quoted as saying!
Being driven to this level of hypersensitivity we found ourselves carefully evaluating where we’d sit, who we would follow, where we would eat.
This fellow looks like he has a fever! Wow, did you see that lady coughing? A sneeze! Quick, exhale and pass them! We were constantly on edge.
We also came to realize just how vulnerable we could be to a contagion. A simple case of someone sneezing in their hand or rubbing their nose… then touching a surface where these viruses can survive for hours or even days (or even weeks on carpets!).
Think about this as you check in at the hotel counter, your paper documents handed back and forth with a receptionist or agent. As you go to your room touching elevator buttons, doorknobs, money, light switches or just about anything. This combined with how most people touch their face 10-20 times an hour unconsciously makes you realize how important washing one’s hands is. Especially during flu season.
We started to question other things that don’t normally cross our minds or that we take for granted. How were the dishes washed? Were the sheets washed in hot water with bleach? How thoroughly was the room cleaned and were the previous occupants sick? What about the staff? From what we saw in the restaurants there weren’t any consistent standards for cleaning or food prep, so it heightened our concern.
Now, you can’t live in a bubble but at the same time what are the odds you are willing to accept, and can you stack them in your favor?
We started wiping down surfaces and cleaning the most likely suspects. After all, this was not just a case of sniffles that might make us miss out on a dive or two, this was a bug that could cause respiratory issues that had already killed hundreds and put thousands into critical care (currently with no treatment, cure or vaccine).
In parallel to the ongoing panic stirred up by the media reports, we also watched as countries put more and more restrictions on travelers returning, first from Wuhan, then China and even Hong Kong and Macau. We saw videos of people being sprayed down with antiseptic entering Indonesia, we saw others detained and put into wards with other sick people because they showed signs of illness.
Even more troubling was some of the misinformation (even from government ministries) about how you could eat peppercorns or onions to cure the virus. It was too hot or too cold for the virus to exist, or we simply had to eat well and get a lot of exercise to build up an immunity, among other things.
We started thinking about our travel insurance and the quality of care we might get in Vietnam or Cambodia should we get sick. Would our evacuation insurance work (check the fine print on your travel credit cards, in our case the Chase Reserve card had Vietnam called out as a country it would not cover). Where would they bring you? It’s not up to you entirely, it’s the closest ‘acceptable’ place. How much would it cost and how good would the care be?
In the end, we decided that this was not the type of vacation we had signed up for and opted to return early. Rather than exploring the temples of Siem Reap with a mask and worrying about getting sick, we decided we would return in better times, when we can feel at ease and enjoy the experience.
After making the difficult decision, we went about making the changes and cancellations. Fortunately, despite the situation everyone was very accommodating and helpful.
We are happy we got to see the Vietnam part of our itinerary and regret missing Cambodia having been so close. Having said that, we’re lucky to have the chance to travel often and we will rebook this part of the itinerary another time. We’re already thinking of what else we can combine with Cambodia. Maybe a dive trip in the area? Hmmm…