Where I’m At: April, 2020 – Saigon quarantine edition

A weekly newsletter of great travel reads and news by James Clark from Nomadic Notes.

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Where I'm At

Greetings from Saigon and another edition of Where I’m At – my monthly summary of where I’ve been and site news.

Where I’ve Been

What a long month March was. That Lenin quote comes to mind where “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” I started the month in Saigon and I was still planning for travel for the months ahead. I had a trip organised to Malaysian Borneo with a friend that had not been cancelled yet. That obviously didn’t happen, and I’ve now cancelled all future trips. There will be no travel until further notice.

Thailand

I had this trip to Thailand planned a few months in advance to attend an Asia railway conference. Not surprisingly the conference was cancelled, but I went ahead with the trip as I already had a flight and apartment paid for. At this point the travel world was still functioning, but it all changed in a matter of days.

Shops and restaurants were still open, though things were not normal. Hand sanitizer and temperature stations were at the entrance to most big buildings, and this sanitizing gate (which didn’t work) added to early-stage dystopia mood.

Around this time of year Bangkok suffers through poor air quality while farmers are burning sugar cane and rice fields in the surrounding provinces. Perhaps the reduced traffic had brought the AQI down to “only” 110. It is good advice to wear a mask, even without the virus.

While I was in Bangkok is was becoming obvious that the world was going into lockdown. For people still travelling it was now time to go back home, and for nomads it was time to pick where they can best ride out this storm.

My original plan was to attend the rail conference and then go by train along the Eastern Economic Corridor (Chonburi, Pattaya, and Rayong). This area will be served by a planned high-speed railway that will connect Don Muang Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok to U-Tapao/Pattaya Airport in Rayong. The new train will put these places within commuter distance of Bangkok, so I want to visit these places as part of my project on Southeast Asia railways.

I was then going to fly back from U-Tapao on the newly launched VietJet Air Ho Chi Minh City – Pattaya service. This route has since been cancelled, though I’m not sure if it was the virus or lack of demand that killed it. This new route was announced at the end of 2019, which topped off an incredible year of growth in the Vietnam aviation market. Now the tourism industry will look back at 2019 and wonder when the recovery will ever get back to 2019 levels.

I got the train to Bang Saen Beach in Chonburi province (the closest beach to Bangkok), but I decided to cut the trip short and get back to Vietnam as soon as possible. It was obvious by now that all travel should stop.

Saigon

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on the 14th, and once I got through the lengthy queues for the health screening process at the airport I was relieved to get back to my room. The travel industry news site Skift labelled March 14, 2020 as The Day the World Stopped Traveling. By the 18th no new tourist visas were being issued to enter Vietnam.

Every day in the news there are announcements of how many new cases there are, and the travel history of each case. The flights of each new cases are listed, so I kept an eye on my flight in case I had to declare myself to be tested at a hospital.

So far Vietnam has done a good job of containing this thing. With limited resources compared to Singapore or South Korea, prevention has been a high priority here. Travellers have been quarantined if they were on a flight with a case. Compare that with Australia, where passengers on a ship with known cases were allowed to disembark in the middle of Sydney.

It has been more of a staged withdrawal rather than abrupt lockdown here. Businesses have gradually been closing down, international flights stopped, and regional buses are now cancelled. It’s a sad site to see this cafe-loving city turn into a ghost town.

By the end of the month it was announced that people should only leave home in emergency cases, for two weeks.

Assorted Travel Links

The travel 'ache' you can’t translate

“For all of us trapped inside our homes during coronavirus who long to travel, the Germans have a word for that: fernweh, or a pain to see far-flung places beyond our doorstep.”

One photographer’s journey home in a world paused by coronavirus

“Follow a photographer’s journey from a remote island in the South Atlantic to a world paused by pandemic.”

The Great Empty

“There is a certain beauty in the expanses of public space, now vacant amid the pandemic, these photos from around the world show. There is also a reminder: True beauty comes when the builders roam the built.”

Perspective | A photographer’s surreal flight home during the covid-19 pandemic

“A photographer documents the strange experience of a long-haul flight in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, showing empty airports, worried passengers and exhausted crews.”

What Solo Travel Was Like Before Smartphones and Google Maps

“Four women share their stories on what it was like to solo travel before smartphones and Google maps.”

[Photos] In Yangon's Forsaken Amusement Park, Nature Finds Home in Decrepit Artifacts

“Yangon Amusement Park was built in 1997 by the former military junta as a flashy distraction from their violent dictatorship.”

Enchanting Photos of Madeira's Ancient Fanal Forest Filled With 500-Year-Old Trees

“Drink in the picturesque landscape of the dreamy Fanal forest in Madeira. Filled with ancient trees, visitors flock to take in the scenery.”

Singapore’s last Chinese deity statue carving shop, Say Tian Hng, is in danger of disappearing

“For nearly 125 years, the family run workshop has been hand-carving statues, but competition from mass-produced products means the craft could very well die out.”

Goats and coronavirus lockdown: Kashmiri goats invade deserted Welsh seaside resort of Llandudno

“A herd of Kashmir goats have invaded a Welsh seaside resort after the coronavirus lockdown left the streets deserted.”

I saw this article about video walks

Travel Videos

Nightlife Streets In Tokyo Shinjuku 4K ASMR

I saw this article about video walks which reminded me of this Youtube channel about walking around Japan. And to think that I have been walking around for free and unmonetized! I dream of roaming the bustling streets of Tokyo again.

Instagram

Public health notice in Vietnam.