Did Corona Virus Kill Travel?

As the Corona Virus looms on, the future of traveling and travel blogging hangs in limbo. As airlines start to go bankrupt and countries order their citizens to stay indoors, the future for the whole industry is uncertain.

I watched the transformation in Vietnam go from being relatively relaxed (even with schools closing in January), to a full-on government ordered lockdown in April. It’s been nothing short of shocking and leaves me asking, what will become of our world?

Will Hostels Ever Reopen?

As I wake up in my familiar bedroom in Vietnam, I like to imagine I’m waking up in some new place. In a town I can’t pronounce the name of, in a hostel full of people with a free breakfast awaiting me downstairs.

My mind can’t help but creep to the edge of the worst-case scenario, wondering if travel, travel-blogging in particular, is ever going to be the same. Or, creeping further off that edge, will it even be possible again?

I wonder if hostels will ever reopen, and if so, when? So much of my traveling was based on searching up my location in Hostelworld, then finding a hostel that would offer me either a cheap room and/or a cool experience.

But since hostels would be sort of a breeding ground for any kind of virus, I think it will be a long time before they can safely reopen.

Un-ticked Bucket Lists

My heart sinks to think my ever-growing bucket list of destinations that I may not get to tick off. Like Love Land in Jeju Island, Korea, for example, or even Quy Nhon, a quiet beach town just 3 hours bike ride from here. Not to mention Thailand, Mexico, Guatemala, and all the other places that were calling my name.

It’s definitely difficult to keep up the hope that things will return to normal in a few months. But the alternative -hopelessness- makes it that much harder to get through already difficult days.

30 Days of Lockdown in Vietnam

It’s hard to stay positive in the midst of a government-ordered lockdown to stay in your house. Before this ordinance, I was coping with “social distancing” by staying inside, with the exception of daily walks in nature.

But ever since April 1st, the first day of the order, the beaches, parks and all public spaces have been blocked off with red tape. On April 3rd, I tried to go walk to the grocery store to cleverly get in my walk AND be in compliance with the rules but…

Isolation Enforced by Locals

I was stopped multiple times by police lining the sidewalk in front of the beach, asking me where I was going. In addition, regular citizens were pointing to motion me to go back in the opposite direction!

One woman even drove her motorbike on the sidewalk to yell at me in Vietnamese to go home (I’m guessing). I tried to get her to talk into Google translate, but she got flustered and left.

Now, my only reprieve is to go to the grocery store or drive up the coastal road, during which I’m slightly scared police will somehow catch me.

Holding on Until May

For now, the best thing I can do, and I believe everyone can do, is just take it one day at a time. This isolation is officially extended from April 15 to April 30th, so the best case scenario is things will reopen then.

As I was driving home from my daily grocery run yesterday, I noticed the Phương Nam bookstore in town was open. Somehow, this was like a beacon of light that things WILL return to “normal” and this won’t last forever.

So, I guess my advice to everyone is to find your little beacon of hope, whatever that may be, and let it be the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic. Nothing lasts forever.

All we can do is have faith that traveling is not dead, and world exploration and adventure is just a few more weeks of social distancing away.