Travelling Southeast Asia During the Coronavirus Pandemic: My Eventful Story

Travelling Southeast Asia During the Coronavirus Pandemic

When Coronavirus first broke out in Wuhan, China in December of 2019, nobody could have predicted the devastating effect that it would have across the globe. Coronavirus wasn’t even newsworthy in 2019, whereas now it seems to be one of the only things on the news! 

In this post, I will be sharing my experiences of travelling Southeast Asia during the Coronavirus Pandemic. From the outbreak of COVID-19 to the moment I was forced to leave Asia. I went from travelling normally, to additional health checks, cancelled flights, tougher border crossings, closure of public services and eventually leaving in the space of just a few months.

December 2019: Where it all began

Coincidentally, in December I was a just few miles south of where it all started – China. At that moment, I had just peeked across the Chinese border from the Dong Van District in northern Vietnam; unknowingly looking at the country of origin of the virus. All was normal and I spent the rest of the month working my way south towards the capital, Saigon. Meanwhile, the virus was silently spreading.

January 2020: The early stages

As the new year began, I entered Cambodia still blissfully unaware of COVID-19. The following week, the World Health Organisation published a Disease Outbreak newsflash stating that a new virus had been discovered. The first death was announced shortly after, on 11th January 2020.

Coronavirus, a month after its inception, was finally getting some publicity! But at this stage, everything in Southeast Asia was still business as usual.

On 13th January the first case found outside of China was revealed (in Thailand). Further cases were confirmed in the following days in America, Nepal, France, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan. The virus was spreading on a global scale! Despite this, the pandemic was still being played down, and the news was still yet to reach us. Though I am sure that is partly because backpackers are notoriously out of the loop regarding current affairs!

On 16th January, I entered the Philippines as planned. Ironically, I bought some face masks before arriving in the Philippines, but this was not because of Coronavirus. Instead, it was due to the recent eruption of Taal Volcano – but that is a different story!

It wasn’t until 22nd January that I first heard about the virus. Soon started becoming a topic of conversation among travellers and a slight cause for concern.

Just three days later it was Chinese New Year – the cause of the world’s largest annual human migration, known as “Spring Movement” or “Chunyun”. A 40-day period where millions of Chinese tourists travel during their biggest and longest national holiday. And probably one of the key factors behind the rapid worldwide spread of the virus.

In the days surrounding the celebration, I stayed in El Nido, Palawan, where the increase in tourists was very noticeable. I spent the evening of Chinese New Year on a 6-hour minibus from El Nido to Puerto Princesa. But I digress…

By the end of January, Coronavirus had spread significantly across China. The number of deaths had begun to increase and human-human transmission had been officially confirmed. Some areas of the country had entered lockdown and WHO had declared Coronavirus as a global emergency! 

February 2020: The first few changes

On 2nd February, the first death outside China was announced – in the Philippines! Despite this, very little changed. Restaurants and bars remained open; tours and excursions continued; people would continue to be squeezed into tiny waiting rooms for ferries, and hostels would still provide snorkels to rent (abandoning all thoughts of shared germs). Both travellers and locals alike did not appear concerned by the spread of COVID. So I continued my travels as per the plan!

Unfortunately, part of my plan was not to get an incredibly painful ear infection… However, this did allow me to experience firsthand some of the first noticeable changes that the virus had inflicted on the Philippines. Hospitals would screen you before allowing you in.

In need of medical attention, I headed towards Ramiro Community Hospital in Bohol. I stood perplexed at the entrance wondering where to find an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist without any useful signage. Then a member of staff wearing a face mask approached and took me aside to a temporary outdoor screening area. He interviewed me briefly, questioning my symptoms, recent travel destinations, and health history. He took my personal information and contact details in case of an emergency. Only then was I allowed to enter the hospital and pointed in the right direction. 

Flying in February: Health Checks and International Travel Restrictions

Having been cleared to fly by a doctor, I was able to start making my way towards my flights out of the country to my next scheduled destination: Taiwan (via Kalibo Airport). I arrived at quiet Cebu Airport to check in, still feeling a little under the weather from my ear infection. I walked up to the check-in desk and handed over my passport and luggage. 

“What is wrong with you?” the attendant asked simply.

“Sorry, what did you say?” I answered. My ear remained blocked which made hearing difficult. 

It turns out, my eyes were bloodshot as my infection had now spread to my eye. Coupling this with lack of sleep and no opportunity to do my washing, I probably looked like a zombie and can definitely see how I could’ve been construed as somebody who may not be flight-worthy!

My passport and boarding pass were taken from me, and I was told to sit down on some distant chairs until a doctor could verify that I was safe to fly. After waiting around an hour, a man (who somehow looked more ill than me) arrived, wearing casual clothes with a stethoscope and papers in hand. Once again I was interviewed. Communication was difficult given that I could barely hear and he refused to speak loudly. I nodded a few times, stated that I didn’t have a cough and apparently this was sufficient for him to sign my fit-to-fly documents. Woop Woop!

Suspiciously, I was put on an upgraded seat with extra legroom and nobody in my entire row! I touched down at Kalibo Airport an hour later after quite possibly the most pleasant flight of my life, looking forward to my flight the following day!

On 11th February, just 5 hours before my flight was due to depart, I received a last-minute email stating that it was cancelled. That day was the first day of travel restriction changes meaning that Taiwan was added to the list of banned destinations from the Philippines (along with China).

Fantastic… 

With Taiwan now out of the question, I searched for alternative destinations in Asia. Despite travel restrictions, flight companies were still advertising flights via banned routes which made things trickier! With Myanmar initially scheduled to be my next destination after Taiwan, I rescheduled my plans to arrive there sooner.

As I flew out of the Philippines via Manila, things were noticeably different. Temperature checks were taken in airports, flight boards revealed many more cancellations and people were wearing masks, but there were still plenty of people around.

Myanmar in February/March: Business as usual but quieter times

On arrival in Yangon, it was refreshing to see a city that was yet to be influenced by Coronavirus. Streets were busy with people, there was traffic on the roads, businesses were open, and backpackers were present and unphased. It was only as I arrived at my hostel that I was reminded of the virus when my temperature was checked.

Throughout my time in Myanmar, there were no reported cases, and the government confirmed that there was no virus in the country. The first case of Coronavirus was reported on 23rd March. I found this very peculiar given the shared land border with China and the global reach of the virus.

It is more likely that the figures were due to a lack of testing in Myanmar and denial from the government. Either way, the lack of the virus or ignorance of it in Myanmar allowed me to spend the next four weeks travelling without issues and experiencing authentic local culture.

Hostels were busy in February, however, by mid-March, there were far fewer backpackers. Perhaps this was partly a result of travelling in less-touristy places. However, I spoke to several hostel owners who confirmed that they had been receiving fewer bookings recently. In fact, shortly after I left a busy Song of Travel Hostel (my favourite hostel in Myanmar), there were more staff than people staying.

Was this the start of the mass exodus back home?

Thailand in March: Land Borders, (not-so) Party Islands and Panic

After the chaos that the virus had already caused to my flights, I decided to avoid airports wherever possible. This meant crossing over a land border on 10th March into Thailand! With only a day to spare on my VISA to Myanmar, I was hoping that there would be no issues at the lesser-travelled Ranong border crossing.

Thankfully, all went smoothly. However, compared to the last time I had entered Thailand (just a few months earlier), border control seemed a lot stricter. I had my temperature checked and was borderline interrogated before receiving my passport stamp and being let into the country. I am surprised that they let me in given how sweaty and disheveled I looked having been on a non-airconditioned minibus for the last 24 hours!

(Note to self: I really do need to make myself look more presentable when going somewhere official!)

In Thailand, there were fewer backpackers around; and the backpackers that remained only spoke about one topic – Coronavirus.

“I hope my flight isn’t cancelled. What are you doing? I’m not sure whether to go home. Do you think it’s possible to continue to travel?” – Almost every traveller in Southeast Asia in March 2020.

Having stayed in more rural areas over the previous few weeks, it hadn’t dawned on me quite how few travellers remained until I got to Koh Samui.

I had initially planned to travel to the islands in the south of Thailand with friends. Unfortunately, one was unable to join due to last-minute flight cancellations.

The remainder of the group decided to stay in a so-called “party hostel” in the hope that there would be more atmosphere. Unfortunately, my friend and I were the only two in our shared dorm, and there were less than 15 guests in the entire hostel which would normally hold 150 people. We made friends with the reps instead and it got to the point where we would cheer when someone new arrived at the hostel! However, with hostels closing or beginning to cost-cut, even the reps would soon be laid off.

Partway through my stay on the island, drastic changes started to occur. Firstly, all of the bars closed, making the “party islands” not quite so lively! Then random police and military inspections of retail and consumer stores began to ensure that all service-givers were wearing masks. There were also rumours of ferries and flights stopping as things escalated. I even saw signs in shops saying that they wouldn’t serve Chinese people! Hysteria had begun!

I met travellers in various situations. Some had only just embarked on their journeys, some had quit their jobs to come abroad, some had decided to try and wait out the virus despite VISAs running out, some people didn’t have enough money to buy flights home given the raised prices, and some people’s home countries had already closed their international borders! It was a stressful time for everyone being on the other side of the world from their families during a pandemic. Though at least we were on a beautiful beachy island!

With the pressure rising surrounding Coronavirus, I was left with a decision. Either go to Australia, where I had a Working Holiday VISA waiting for me and where there were very few cases. Or end my travels and fly back to the UK where chaos was ensuing. 

On 19th March, I left Thailand to enter Australia. Bangkok Airport was heaving with people – clearly, everyone had the same idea of flying home or getting somewhere stable. Some people weren’t so lucky as several other flights were cancelled last minute. As it turned out, I arrived a matter of hours before Australia closed its borders!

In Hindsight

Travelling during a pandemic isn’t something you plan for before you leave home. It isn’t something that you can predict, which is why I am still glad that I was travelling when the virus broke out. I still had a good time and it is an experience that I can learn from for the future.

However, when crises like this happen it becomes apparent how disconnected you can become while travelling and how quickly things can change, leading to difficult decisions. The important thing is to not panic; keep informed with regular updates; stay connected with family, and weigh up the risks of your decisions.

The pandemic has also demonstrated the high dependence of the Southeast Asian population on work for food due to minimal support from the government. People relied on their businesses to bring in money otherwise they would not be able to feed their families. This meant that people were reluctant to close down, risking further spread of the virus. Minimal testing across Southeast Asia also meant that it was difficult to know how bad the situation was and make informed decisions. It will also mean that it is unlikely that we will ever truly know the full extent of the damage caused by COVID-19 on the countries of Southeast Asia.

Before you go

Thank you for reading about my experiences travelling Southeast Asia during the Coronavirus pandemic. If guides, itineraries, and travel content like this interest you, head over to my blog page to find out more.

If you are new to Matt’s Next Steps, check out the About Me page to find out a bit more about who I am, my travel adventures, and why I wanted to become a travel writer.

Please comment below and let me know your thoughts and experiences, or if there is anything else you want information on.