As is usual, the 4am start wasn’t strictly necessary, and we arrived Changi about 5.15 am, following all the usual paper stamping antics of the border guards. We are also well used to having video camera/temperature sensors pointed at us as the officials trawl for hotspots.
Bit of extra tension as we went through the boarding gate. The staff were handing out notices asking passengers to fill in an online health declaration re Coronavirus. Needless to say quite difficult to do as this coincided almost immediatly with the boarding call and patchy internet. Ironically, at Hanoi, those who had to fill a manual form in were processed quicker. The online declaration generated a paper copy that needed a stamp…
Mr Long, our guide, or “Dragon” as he liked to be called (straightforward translation of his full Vietnamese name) was waiting for us at Hanoi Arrivals and our driver whisked us to our hotel….which was nice.
Definitely more masks in evidence, plus remedies to defeat the bug.
As it was still relatively early, we did some local,exploration before snacking on spring rolls and vegan stuff.
The pavements are used for parking motorbikes, so walking on the road is the only option, which is the option that motorbikes, cars, cycles and vans also use..
Back at La Siesta, news arrived that our 2 day boat trip on Halong Bay was cancelled due to a local outbreak of C-virus. A Vietnamese traveller on the London – Hanoi flight last Saturday tested positive, and 5 others were infected following a cruise at Halong Bay. The local tour company will discuss options tomorrow.
A little snooze, woken by Trailfinders phoning us to explain they were liasing with the locals and will hopefully have some alternatives.
Pep and I fairly sanguine about this, we are after all on holiday! Our only real worry is if there is an escalation of the virus leading to the Italian Lombardy “lockdown”, although by all accounts, the Italians felt it best to ignore travel restrictions and keep travelling to Milan for shopping.
A little wander up the street for delicious food, then found Ben’s Hostel where he stayed when he visited ‘Nam on his travels a few years ago.
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