It’s been some time since I’ve written anything. quite frankly I haven’t felt like there’s much to write about. Things here in Vietnam have been incredibly controlled and the sweeping efforts to contain the virus have been beyond impressive. As of the morning of April 8, there have only been 252 confirmed cases since the virus first reached Vietnam on January 23. We just had our third morning in a row with no new cases, though sadly on the afternoon of the third day 4 new cases were reported.
As most know travel ground to a halt, specifically for foreigners, shortly after I landed on March 11. I had about a week to get out and about, but only in Da Nang, before things began to tighten further. As of midnight April 1 the entire country is now on lockdown by all but name. The directive calls for a halt in all unnecessary transportation and most all businesses shuttered. There haven’t been any international flights in or out since early March and now most domestic air traffic has been reduced as well.
Only passengers are allowed now that are necessary in containing the spread. There are currently two flights each day from Saigon to Hanoi and vice versa and one flight each way from Da Nang to Hanoi and Da Nang to Saigon. In addition, there is one train traveling each way from Saigon to Hanoi each day. All other buses, taxi’s, and public transportation of any kind is suspended. Even ferries from the islands to the mainland are shutdown
They wish people to stay isolated and they mean it. They are keeping grocery stores and corner markets open, which there is usually one every block or so, to minimize movement over distance. No place other than a domicile is allowed to have more than two persons under any circumstances.
The Prime Minister has ordered all exports of food and basic supplies halted as stockpiles are being established in the five major cities. The Prime Minister has ordered that food stocks be prepared as a total lockdown may be coming soon. It is feared here that Saigon and Hanoi may have no choice but to take these drastic measures. Da Nang, for now, may be saved from that fate.
My flight home was canceled by the airline about a week after I arrived, so my return date of April 28 will not be possible. It is expected that international travel will still be grounded here at least through May and maybe beyond. The Vietnamese Immigration Authority has also shuttered for the foreseeable future as an additional measure to stop the spread. If all the borders are closed, who needs an immigration department? There is however, a silver lining to that situation.
Vietnam is a country that does require a Visa to visit, just a passport is not enough. My Visa is not unlimited and I must be out of the country by June 11. I received an email from the US embassy yesterday that all visas are hereby frozen. There will be no penalties or overstay violations from expired Visas due to immigration dept. closure during the pandemic, so there is that.
A Liter Note
Now that the dirty stuff is out of the way let’s talk about life in isolation. We are doing very well. We have plenty of food, Netflix, Disney +, Hulu and all the other crap that I am now so happy to have. Diem and I have found ourselves in this shampoo bottle of sleep, cook, eat, watch television, (she loves action comedies), cook, eat, practicing English, cook, eat, games, a few cocktails, rinse and repeat.
I try to avoid too much of the news as it’s just getting really depressing. We got stuck here in a small window that assured that we were together, but also ensured we would be separated from all of our children. Both of us are getting very homesick for our children. So we talk to all of them often and make the best of it.
The building has emptied out so we have a whole apartment building to ourselves, which is actually kind of eerie at times. You don’t know how nice it is to say good day to someone when coming up the stairs or pass a neighbor until you have no neighbors. The landlord opened all the doors to the rest of the building so I find myself wandering sometimes out of boredom. We stockpiled so much fresh food the other day that I took a refrigerator from one of the lower apartments. I don’t think anyone will be needing it anytime soon.
We have a fishpond on our rooftop patio and sometimes I sit out there and feed the albino catfish bits of scrap after dinner. The rooftop is an absolute lifesaver as I’d have probably gone mad without it. It’s not so much the isolation as it is the noise, or lack of it. I stand on the patio and look down at the streets in the afternoon and there is just nothing. No bustling street vendors, no karaoke off in the distance, a major city where the sound of songbirds drown out everything. Usually the noise of the coffee shop on the bottom floor rises up the central stairwell beginning early in the morning, but now, nothing.
There are some wonderful positives though. With most road traffic gone, the skies emptied out and industry halted, the view grows everyday. Previously, and on extremely clear days, I could only see a hazy purplish black silhouette of Cham island. Siting about 14 miles or so off the coast from us. This afternoon I was able to make out features of the island’s jungle coated cliffs and rocky outcrops. The mountains around the city are growing in number as visibility improves. It’s actually quite beautiful. The air is crisper and cleaner than it’s ever been. I can see Ba Na Hills from our kitchen window and the texture of the jungle leaves are becoming visible from our patio view.
Econonomic Impact
Unfortunately for many in this emerging market everything will be lost. Such a young growing economy, it is still in it’s infancy and its fragility may cause a setback measured in possibly decades for many small business owners. Reports are coming in from all over the country of many who closed due to the government mandated already in bankruptcy, gone forever. It’s just a really sad situation. Our landlords are very gracious for our presence as with the coffee shop closed on the ground floor we are their only form of income. They bring our groceries up the 4 flights for us and do whatever we need.
Vietnamese Industry however, may actually benefit from the shutdown in China. Samsung, Mitsubishi, Apple and many other manufacturers had already begun infrastructure investment in Vietnam back at the beginning of the trade war between the US and China. Beginning production in the country over a year ago. With China and the US striking a deal production began to reawaken in China. Then Covid-19 hit and as many areas in China shutting down from lock downs, Vietnam’s sister plants began to immediately ramp up production
More On The Fight
Again we are doing fine here, but we do worry. Things back in the states seem to spiral more out of control everyday. Vietnam has shown a great model for how to control this outbreak, but I fear it is both too late and unimplementable in the US. To much bureaucracy, to much debate. I understand that the United States Congress is the greatest debating body in the world, designed to not get it perfect, but as close to right as one can get. I worry about the fabric of that institution. What will America look like when I return? There has not been a church service since I left, not a classroom, or a trial. Can America recover from this? Is this the dawn of a new age? I left America behind only temporarily on March 9, 2020. I fear that I may never return to it again. At least not as I left it. The world feels, in this moment, as fragile as ever.
Here there is no discussion, only action and following orders. It is very strange to live in a communist country, I see people happy and smiling. Active on Facebook, hanging out at coffee shops and bars just like back home. Concerned about fashion and lifestyle. But when tragedy strikes here, they band together like nothing I’ve ever seen. They sacrifice freedom without question, no matter how long, for the greater good. This too shall pass seems to be the motto here. I begin to wonder what freedom is. Is it an illusion or a state of mind? All I know is, that as of now, no one in Vietnam has died from the pandemic. I wish desperately that I could say the same for my home.
I can’t help but wax philosophical in these uncertain and unprecedented times. The world will never be the same. I know that is such a cliche. There are moments in Human history where that cliche rings true. Moments that shaped life forever. Moments and events that dictated the future, for better or for worse, and shaped it to never be what it was.
The domestication of fire, the wheel, the agricultural revolution, the Pax Romana, the Reformation, the Renaissance, Gutenberg’s printing press, both World Wars, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Berlin wall, the Internet, 9/11 and now Covid-19. Make no mistake, the way we live, travel, communicate, raise our children, eat and experience recreation will never be the same. It is truly the dawn of a new age. Let us all pray that we can shape this new age for the greater good. Our communities, our families and our environment. The universe is talking to us right now. Will we listen?
Click Here for a fun video of our time out before the the distancing order began
Click Here for a video of our beautiful view
and Click Here for more posts in Vietnam
