COVID 19 Shortens My Trip---March 23, 2020

I tried to call Korean Air to see if I could change my return flight to Seattle as soon as possible without success.  Either the line was busy or I was on hold for over 15 minutes.  I decided that I should just go to the Korean Air office at Bangkok Airport to change my return flight.

On March 22nd, I got on the 8am ferry to Ban Phe where I got the 9am bus back to Bangkok.  I was only one of three people who were on this bus with its pink curtains.  

It was a four-hour ride, and then from there, I took a Sky Train and Metro to the Mega Mall in Chinatown where there were several floors of toys.  I had promised my grandson, Atticus, that I would get him another remote control Tuk-Tuk that their dog, Tank, had chewed up.

When I got to the Mega Mall, I saw that it was closed.  I didn’t know why it was closed—maybe a government holiday.  I then got back on the Metro and rode it to the Weekend Market and saw that it too was closed as were all of the shopping malls.   

Someone told me that the government had ordered all of the stores closed because of coronavirus concerns.  At this point, Thailand only had 150 reported cases of coronavirus and one death. To ride the SkyTrain and Metro you must now wear a face mask. They have also red X marked out the second wait line on the Sky Train platforms.

I rode the Sky Train to the Nana area where I normally stay and was planning to have lunch at Fitzgerald's Restaurant, but when I got there, I saw that all of the restaurants, bars, massage, and beauty parlors were closed.  I was hoping to get the last mani-pedi before returning home, but that was not to be. Here are some notices on places that describe the closure.

Only takeaway food available at restaurants including this McDonalds

Some of the sidewalk vendors were still open and I luckily found a remote control Tuk-Tuk at one of these for just 500 Baht—$16.  

I also found one of my favorite street restaurants was open so I was able to get some shrimp pad thai before heading out to the airport.

I arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) at about 3 pm and learned that Korean Air would not be open until 10pm. I found a comfortable chair and began reading a novel for a couple of hours and then went to one of the restaurants where I ordered some sushi.  

While there, I decided to try calling Korean Air again using Skype on my mini iPad.  After about 5 disconnects, I finally got an agent who found me a flight home on the following morning—March 23rd.  The change would cost me $476 USD which was just $140 less than my original round-trip ticket (converted from Barclay points). Instead of a direct flight from Incheon, South Korea to Seattle, this flight would take me first to Los Angeles and then on to Seattle on Delta Air. [Good news,  my Travelguard Insurance reimbursed me for the $476 change fee.]

Since all of the evening venues, restaurants, and bars were closed, I figured that it would be better for me to find a hotel near the airport rather than heading back to downtown Bangkok.

Using booking.com I found the Miracle Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel and took a taxi there.  It was a most comfortable hotel room with a comfortable bed and the tiled shower area was beautiful for just $27. 

In the morning, I took their shuttle back to the airport after breakfast.  After going through two temperature checks and hand sanitizing treatments, I boarded the Korean Air flight headed to the South Korea Incheon Airport. 

The Incheon Airport was beautiful with very few travelers.  We breezed through the immigration after first having our temperature taken along with hand sanitizer treatment.  

I found a public nap lounge with comfortable lounge beds that would have been welcomed if I had a longer layover.

Nap Room Lounges

Airport Waiting Area

The toilets were amazing with a heated water butt spritzer followed by a gentle warm butt fan to dry you out.

The Korean plane to Los Angeles was about 1/3 full so I was able to use three seats to sleep for a bit on the 10 1/2 hour flight. Since we had transferred through a country (S. Korea) with a COVID 19 outbreak, we were given this CDC card that required us to self-quarantine for 14 days and to watch for any of the listed symptoms. 

After landing, I breezed through the Global Entry and was only asked if I had traveled through China, South Korea, Europe, and/or Iran.  I said I had transited through South Korea.  He then let me pass.  This was the only airport I had traveled through where I did not have my temperature taken.

I have traveled through the LAX several times, and I have never seen it so empty.  You could sit in the restaurants, but they posted these social distance instructions.

The final leg of my trip home was on an almost empty Delta Air flight that took a spectacular arrival route up from the south over Bremerton and turning down over the east side of Seattle.

The Seattle Airport was practically empty as was the light rail home—although now it was running every 14 minutes rather than every 7 minutes. The streets of Seattle were almost empty at 8pm since all public places were closed except for groceries, pharmacies, and gas stations. 

On March 26th, the Thailand government will no longer issue foreigners Visas as a result of the COVID 19.  In just a week the number of positive cases has gone from 150 to 1,045 and the number of deaths has gone from 1 to 4. Had I been able to travel to Cambodia, I would not have been allowed back in Thailand for my April 19th flight.  I am glad to have changed my flight to March 23rd.

Cost of SE Asia Trip

The 61-day trip cost $4,658 with food costs of $1,794 for an average of $29 per day, lodging costs of $1,230 for an average of $21 per night, and travel and tour costs of $1,584.  The two largest travel expenses were for the Korean Air ticket for flight change with costs of $477 and $100 for the Vietnam Visa.

I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there.  That link is

 https://www.youtube.com/c/huntforgold.  

If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.

Ko Samet Island, Thailand--Now a Ghost Town---March 17-22, 2020

After visiting Vietnam, I returned to Ko Samet Island for a short stopover before continuing to Cambodia and southern Vietnam.

After arriving in Ban Phe, I ended up getting a ferry boat ticket on a cargo ferry boat that was loaded with bags of purified ice, bags of food, drinks, and equipment.  The passengers were mainly Thais and Russian tourists.  Most of the European travelers were returning to their countries.

Once again, before tourists were allowed on the island, our temperatures were taken—37 C was the normal temperature and mine was 36.4—and we were required to use hand sanitizer. 

As I walked by the beachfront restaurants almost all were deserted, especially the large restaurants that use to cater to the Chinese tourists that came in large groups to enjoy the surf and sand—eat and drink.

I was able to get a beachfront bungalow at Ao Pudsa Bungalows and most of the bungalows not directly on the beach were unused.

Normally all of the beach chairs would be filled with tourists and other tourists would use the Thai beach mats which would fill up the beaches, but this time few tourists were there.  Those that were here seemed to be Russians. 

Wedding Photography

The fire show went on even with few tourists there to enjoy the show.

On Wednesday, my bungalow neighbors from the Netherlands told me that Cambodia had just closed its borders to all European Union and US travelers.  I also learned that if I were to go to Vietnam, I would be subjected to a 14-day self-quarantine before allowing me to travel around Vietnam.  

That information made me change my travel plans.  Instead, I was planning to go to the Thailand Immigration office to get a Visa Extension beyond the 30 days Visa I had that would cover me until my planned return on April 19th.

On Friday, I learned that the US State Department issued a “Global Level 4 Health Advisory—Do Not Travel”.  This advisory said that we should arrange for an immediate return to the US unless you were willing to remain in Thailand indefinitely.

I decided to scrap my plans to extend my Thailand Visa and instead, planned to return to Bangkok on March 22nd, and check with Korean Air to get a flight home as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, I was going to enjoy my last three days on Ko Samet by checking out some other beaches there.

Ao Pudsa Bungalow waitress filling up time with some stitchwork.

When I went to the Pharmacy to get some ibuprofen to relieve the knee pain, the Pharmacist picked up my money with tongs and put it in a jar filled with sanitizer.  She then gave me "laundered" money and my drugs in a tissue-lined box.

Beginning Friday through Sunday lots of Thais arrived on Ko Samet which was welcomed by the restaurants, hotels, and tour companies.  This is a very popular getaway island for folks from Bangkok.

I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there.  That link is

 https://www.youtube.com/c/huntforgold.  

If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.

Silk Lanterns Festooned Hoi An---March 4-9, 2020

Hoi An remains my favorite place in Vietnam to visit despite its wall-to-wall tourist businesses.  It is a UNESCO historical site with over 800 preserved historic buildings with over 18 of these open to the public.  The pictures from several centuries ago show a similar waterfront village.  During the Vietnam War—they refer to it as the American War—both sides had an agreement not to bomb nor war in this city to preserve it for generations to come.

I had considered two choices in getting to Hoi An from these caves in Son Trach: return by the local bus to the train station in Dong Hoi and take the train to Danang and then local bus down to Hoi An or take the “sleeper” night bus that leaves at Son Trach and arrives in Hoi An around 4:30 AM.  Either way, it is about 215 miles.  I decided to go with the sleeper.  That was a painful decision not to be repeated.  

These reclining sleepers were designed for people under 5’10” and I am 6’ so the design of the sleeper chair is to slide you down to the bottom of the leg chamber.  It put painful pressure on my injured left leg and it was only relieved by occasionally standing up.  The road was rough and windy.  The other way would have been by train for a smoother 165 miles to Danang with just two one-hour bus rides at either end.

Once we got dropped off in the dark at the sleeper bus station at about 4:30 am, I took the short walk into the Old Town Hoi An.  None of the hotels, restaurants were open so I headed down to the waterside market where it was busy with most of the vendors setting up their stalls.  I sat down at a small bench by where a woman was making coffee.  I bought a cup that she served up with a free cup of tea for  20,000 dong.  I shared the table area with other vendors who were having their morning drinks of coffee or tea.

After that, I headed back to the hotel area just north of the Old Town zone and saw that the hotel I had last stayed at was being remodeled.  There were three backpacker places nearby as backups, but I decided to check out the prices of some of the newer hotels.  The first quoted me 650,000 dong and the second one was the Thien Nha Hotel which was just 400,000 dong—-$17 per night.  Although it was only 7 AM, the receptionist booked me the room.  A shower and a nap were so welcomed after the worst ride of my trip so far.

With the recent building of bridges, I no longer saw the morning commuters by ferry boats that were loaded with people and their bicycles racked up on the roof along with all their goods.  

This family has four on this motorbike—I have also seen bikes with five people on them.  Lots of motorbikes are used to haul goods to and from this local market.

To visit Old Town, you are expected to buy an entrance ticket for 120,000 dong.   With this ticket, you are given access to 5 of the 23 buildings and attractions.

My first ticket was used to see the Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House where instead of traditional dancing, they had updated it to include some ballet moves—I preferred seeing the traditional dances they had done in previous visits–which was entertaining.

The Fujian Chinese Assembly Hall seemed to be the largest of the assembly halls that had transformed into a temple for the worship of Thien Hau.  The hall was originally built by the heads of six Fujian families who had fled China in the 17th century. Some of the statutes are of midwives who teach newborns different skills for survival—smiling, sucking, etc.  These are the statutes worshipped by many childless couples in the hope of having children.

The Tan Ky House, built two centuries ago, was hosted by the eighth generation of the Tan Ky family.  She pointed out the many aspects of her home.  She said some of the family lived on the 2nd floor.

The Japanese Covered Bridge was first constructed in 1590 by the Japanese community to link them with the Chinese Quarters.  Over the centuries, this trading village was home to Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Filipino, Indonesian, Thai, French, British, and Americans.  Inside the bridge, they had old pictures of the bridge and the people that used the bridge.

Now

Then

Now

Then

Tran Family Chapel was built in 1802 by Tran Tu who later served as ambassador to China.  One of the family members guided us through their chapel.  The boxes on the altar represent the ancestors and are opened on the anniversary of their deaths, incense is burned and food is offered in remembrance. 

It is a beautiful waterfront setting during the day with the riots of bougainvillea hanging over the worn paint and moldy facades of the many restaurants and stores calling out for tourists.

At night the tourist crowds really come out and the many silk lanterns display their multicolor beauty.  Along the river, the boaters entice tourists to ride in the lantern festooned boats along the waterfront.  

Opposite the Old Town waterfront, the restaurants' seats point out to this beautiful scene.  Vendors also sell small colorful paper floats with candles to join in the lantern armada.  These restaurants compete for who has the best musicians who put out the standard travelers' music.

In Hoi An like most other SE Asian cities I have been to, seem to use the sidewalks for everything but for pedestrians—food stalls, low-seating restaurants, motorbike parking areas, clothes, and other goods racks and tables. 

When the coronavirus became a concern in Vietnam, the government ordered all of the schools to close for two months.  Here is a Hoi An school that is closed with leaves gathering in the courtyard.

Now it is back to Bangkok from nearby Danang via AirAsia for just $51 for the 1 1/2 hour 540-mile trip.  Once there I will see my dentist to get my 2nd molar chip repaired before heading to the islands to the east of Bangkok and on to Cambodia.  

Here is my Hoi An Bus to Danang for just 20,000 dong for the hour ride along with the bus schedule. 

I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there.  That link is

 https://www.youtube.com/c/huntforgold.  

If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.