Hello, how are you? Is your journey to the world’s beautiful destinations affected by the coronavirus, or COVID-19?
Yes, I was having exactly the same problem as many travelers in the world. As the virus spread so fast that most countries in the world were affected, I had to cancel my international trips and change my plan of traveling around. Instead, I spent more time updating the coronavirus situation of me and my country on this blog in the #stayhome period.
Anyway, as a door closes, another door will open. Even though my country still hasn’t opened for international flights after we successfully fought the virus, the issue turned out to be a great opportunity for me to discover every corner of my country, Vietnam. And you should discover the country too if you have a chance.
Wait a Minute, Why Vietnam?
Of course, I definitely say that my country is so beautiful with nice landscapes, great foods, friendly people, and a great culture that you will absolutely love it. However, in terms related to the coronavirus pandemic, here is something about the country you should know:
Many Parts of Vietnam are Hot and Sunny Most of The Time!
The whole land is located in the tropical region with the temperature is high most of the year. Especially in the South, the average temperature is more than 30°C in the day. Particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, at the time I write this post, it’s 33°C outside.
As a result, it highly reduces your potential of interacting with the virus on things’ surfaces when going out. Because “the coronavirus is surrounded by a lipid layer, in other words, a layer of fat” which is not very heat-resistant; meaning that “the virus quickly breaks down when temperatures rise”, as DW.com (2020) in its article about warm weather vs. coronavirus.
Besides that, Vietnam is significantly sunny. Thus, you can always try to get vitamin D. It has a high effect on preventing death and infection caused by a coronavirus. As Petre, Simina, and Lee (2020) in The role of vitamin D in the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 infection and mortality, “we found significant crude relationships between vitamin D levels and the number of COVID-19 cases and especially the mortality caused by this infection. The most vulnerable group of the population for COVID-19, the aging population, is also the one that has the most deficit Vitamin D levels.”
Here in Vietnam, we are going to the summer, which means the weather will be hotter, especially at noon of the day. So, how about a sunbath at 12:00 pm?
Vietnam Has Experienced with Viruses after Infectious Diseases
Within the last ten years, Vietnam has gone through so many diseases such as SARS, Avian Influenza A (H5N1), pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in 2009, and later Avian Influenza A(H7N9). Even, Vietnamese experience seasonal flu yearly, caused by Influenza A, B, or Influenza C. There are sometimes non-seasonal swine flu or avian flu caused in different manners. Hence, it could be seen that Vietnam is a strong player in this problem.
There were some people infected by the virus, but the health organizations acted very quickly to cure them all.
I can remember the early days when we first heard of the virus in China, people were told by the gov to wear medical masks to avoid being affected by the virus. There were some benefactors or organizations gave free masks to people for use.
Days later, the Vietnamese government and health organizations kept teaching people about coronavirus symptoms and ways to prevent the spreading of the coronavirus on media, SMS, newspapers, outdoor screens, etc. Furthermore, some people even remade a well-known song about ways to protect ourselves from the virus. That song was shared widely on TikTok and the media.
Schools are notified to close, and students will learn from home. Employees at companies are notified to self-isolate and work from home if they just traveled to the hotspot of the virus. The country even built some field hospitals to cope with the coronavirus, or just in case the number of victims increases unexpectedly. Recently, those field hospitals have been used to support Vietnamese who just come back from the diseased area and need isolation.
According to the latest coronavirus update:
- Vietnam had 324 positive cases of the virus, and 263 cases were healed, zero dead. Primarily, the new cases were found due to Vietnamese people coming home from other countries.
- The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed Vietnam out of vulnerable areas to coronavirus on Feb 27.
- The country still has enough resources to support victims and people, and even fight with the next pandemic if it happens.
- The locals and visitors, who are still in Vietnam, are happy drinking coffee, watching cinema, hanging out, or chilling at night, etc.
- We don’t have a chaotic situation as Costco’s empty shelves in Canada.
- The medical mask price is rising non-stop, but you can find different masks at stores easily.
- The country still has enough ventilators for victims. There is even a Vietnamese company that has a license to manufacture the ventilator.
- The remade song ‘Ghen Cô Vy’ I mentioned above is just featured on John Oliver’s “Coronavirus: Last Week Tonight”. Many people now dance to the song’s dance.
I read news about how to prevent the infection of coronavirus. And here are things you may want to know when traveling around:
- Always bring a dry tissue and a wet tissue when going out. The dry tissue can cover your hand when opening doors, pressing the buttons in elevators, or touching anything. While the wet one is used to clean the surface of things like the table, chair, toilet seat, etc.
- Don’t forget the bacteria or virus cleaning gel when traveling. It could be a dry one or a liquid one. You will need to wash your hands regularly.
- Definitely, you will need the face masks to both protect yourself and the people around you from breathing the virus. Just in case there is someone infected around and you don’t know.
- You shouldn’t go to crowded areas. A recommended distance between 2 people is 2 meters. But in any case, when you come back home, you should hang or put your coat, scarf, gloves, shoes, etc. outdoors under the sunlight for a while. That would help kill bacteria or viruses.
Okie Dokie, So What Vietnam Has for Traveling?
Attractive Places and Enjoyable Activities
Did I mention the beautiful landscapes of Vietnam? Indeed, the country has all types of destinations that you can visit to relax and enjoy. For example, you can go to Hà Giang or Sapa to view the mountain scenes and the Buckwheat flower. At Nha Trang and Danang, there are nice beaches with white sand that will gratify any travelers. I’m sure you will love trekking at Ta Nang – Phan Dung, or at Bu Gia Map. Or, if you love to enjoy the island life, Vietnam has its beautiful Phu Quoc island. Moreover, how about a spiritual trip to Bai Dinh Complex at Ninh Binh, the largest and the owner of many records in Vietnam?
The Finest Cuisine in Top of the World
I’m sure you may know or have heard about Vietnamese cuisine. If you haven’t tried it, you will miss the biggest part of your traveling.
In Vietnam, there are so many varied foods that come from different parts of the country. Each province or areas have its specialties. Those may cost you a whole year to enjoy every food. Typically, just in Ho Chi Minh City, you can even make a Saigon food tour in weeks. Even though I’m Vietnamese, I haven’t tried all the foods.
Additionally, Vietnam is well-known for with varied tropical fruits. You will have a long list of unique fruits to try across the country such as dragon fruit, rambutan, mango, coconut, guava, durian, etc.
Diverse Cultures in Areas, and Friendly People
Have you heard about the floating market in Vietnam? It’s the market where all trades happen on the river, mostly in the Mekong Delta area. At each destination, there will be something special that I’m sure you will find extremely interesting. Go, explore, and enjoy it; the gasoline price is so cheap now!
In addition, do you know that Vietnam has about 7,966 festivals across the country yearly? Yes, and among the provinces, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, Ha Nam, and Phu Tho have the most festivals over the others. That means you can go to those of Vietnam’s provinces to enjoy parties every day…
I’m just kidding about the parties thing. Actually, if you do careful research on Vietnamese festivals, you may have a great plan to enjoy all the holidays of the country while having time for the sights and delicious foods. Please also prepare stuff to protect yourself while traveling.
So, how do you think of traveling to Vietnam after the coronavirus ends?
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READ MORE POSTS ABOUT VIETNAM
I hope this post is helpful to you, and updates you enough info about coronavirus and travel in Vietnam. If you would love to know more about the country, here are some posts that I suggest you read: