CORONAVIRUS UPDATE My personal travel experience 27th January 2020 TRAVEL ADVICE for Thailand Malaysia Vietnam

Over the last ten days, the Coronavirus has mutated from being a cause for concern to being a global news story. If you want already blurred facts to become even more distorted, all you have to do is add the mainstream media. As the profit-driven media manipulation machine spreads fear porn across the globe. I have decided to document my personal experiences and research on the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak.

When it comes to profit over safety, many Southeast Asian countries, lead the way. One of the reasons we travel here is for the low cost of living and escape from the health and safety culture that consumed the west. As with all freedoms, the easy-going Asian lifestyle comes at a cost.

For several weeks media outlets in the east and west have been playing down the severity of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese government continued to claim everything was ok as hundreds, and then thousands of Chinese citizens became infected. But then it was to late the cat was out of the bag and #coronavirus started spreading like a virus.

Other Asian countries have tried to quell fears in a bid to maintain calm and keep those cash tills ringing. Surprisingly the country leading the way in terms of prevention over profit is the Philippines. As soon as the Coronavirus story started to go viral, the island nation began screening Chinese citizens at all ports of entry. On 27th January, the Philippines government declared a blanket ban on all Chinese citizens entering the country through the (Philippines) visa on arrival scheme.

Outside of China, the country worst affected by the Coronavirus is Thailand, with 14 cases reported. On Tuesday, 28th January, the Thai government finally widened it's screening process to include all Chinese citizens, not just those traveling from Wuhan province.

Reports from Bloomberg suggest the Thai government is "educating" hotel owners on how to be more hygienic. One report released today (28th January) highlights a marketing campaign by the Thai tourist authority to target Indian tourists to make up for the financial losses generated by the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak.

Prior to the Coronavirus outbreak, many Southeast Asian countries were suffering lower than expected tourist numbers during the peak winter season. It would appear this sudden outbreak and lockdown of ten Chinese cities has been bad for business.

My first-hand experiences have shown me that life in the tourist bubble is business as usual. When you step away from the smiling guest house owners and tour operators, things take a slightly darker tone.

Two days ago (Sunday 26th January), I started a journey from Penang island in Malaysia to Da Nang City in central Vietnam. That journey took me through Kuala Lumpur International Airport. I decided to Vlog my journey, but here is the gist of my trip.

On leaving the tourist bubble of Penang, I took a twenty-minute ferry to the mainland where the reality set in. Nearly every worker I saw at the central transport hub was wearing a face mask. On collecting my ticket, I handed over my phone with the booking number on it. The lady at the ticket counter handled my phone with extreme care before reaching for a hand sanitizer.

The mood I experienced in this major transport hub was somber, and the Chinese tourists I saw were treated with suspicion. This was in stark contrast to Penang island, where Chinese tourists were being greeted with open arms, and only a few people were wearing a face mask.

After a long bus ride, I reached Kuala Lumpur international airport. On reaching the check-in desk, I noticed that every worker was wearing a face mask and thick blue plastic gloves. The mood in the terminal was quiet, and nearly every passenger I saw was wearing a face mask.

One thing I could not help but notice was the number of people coughing, and this was not Coronavirus paranoia on my behalf. I have been traveling in Asia for years, and I understand the flu season cycle. This was different. I have never seen so many people with some kind of light cough or running nose. I doubt everyone I passed had the Coronavirus, but I did feel like I was in a doctor's waiting room and not an airport.

If you are going to be traveling in Asia any time soon, I can only recommend you invest in a face mask. I found a big bottle of hand sanitizer to be extremely useful. As we don't know enough about the Coronavirus I don't know how effective these items were. If you really want to know get back to me in a few days, and I will let you know if I am sick or not.

I honestly don't know if the people I saw coughing were infected. What I do know is that a lot of people were coughing. Perhaps it's a thing, and lots of people just cough, and the fear of this outbreak has made me paranoid. One thing I do know is that caution and prevention are much better than looking for a cure.

https://www.bitchute.com/video/r2aWbchyzKsD/

Mr Tan In Asia