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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]T<\/span>oday, when I was doing my usual early morning scroll through Facebook, my attention was drawn to two graphs, side by side. The first was labelled \u201cPlans for 2020,\u201d and consisted of a perfectly straight line veering ever upward at a 45 degree angle. The second, showing, \u201cHow 2020 is really unfolding,\u201d was a series of tumbling spirals that rose and fell and bounced back onto themselves. The perfect encapsulation, I thought, of how we\u2019d planned the year 2020, and how it has actually been turning out since the advent of corona virus in early March. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Although my husband, Ross, and I travel a lot, it is usually by the seat of our pants. We nominate a time to return to Australia, because the airlines insist on it, but it invariably changes. We go to our base, usually in France or Vietnam and see what comes up. We might be offered a home exchange somewhere interesting or we might find a cheap river cruise or flight to Egypt or Morocco for instance, or we might decide to camp in Spain. We\u2019re in awe of people who can actually commit to a plan designating what they will be doing at any given time in the future. Scary! What if something more interesting popped up when the time came?[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Well, in 2020, due to limitations imposed by health issues and with energy levels reduced somewhat by age, we were about to join the ranks of those who meticulously plan their travel. We were going to throw in a few bucket list destinations that might soon be out of reach and, to achieve this, we needed to be more organised. The itinerary ran, Vietnam to visit my son and daughter in law\u2019s Farmstay, followed by Austria, France, Turkey, Iran and Mongolia, with a wedding in Prague at the end of May. It wasn\u2019t exactly meticulous planning, but it was unusually organised for us. Flights booked, tours paid for, and accommodation organised. What could possibly go wrong?[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Much to my surprise, the plane from Sydney to Ho Chi Minh in early February was only half full. There were rumours of the virus, but they were easy to dismiss as alarmist. By early March things had changed. Flights to Iran and Turkey were cancelled and getting into Austria was looking doubtful. Ross decided to go on to France to spend time with his son, and I opted to stay with my son and family in Vietnam, for another few weeks before joining Ross. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Vietnam, ever wary of China\u2019s intentions and rhetoric, based on thousands of years of conflict between the two countries, and having experienced the SARS epidemic in 2003, had recognised from the first cases, that this was far more serious than a mere flu epidemic.\u00a0 Vietnamese schools did not resume lessons after the Tet (Vietnamese New Year) holiday, all flights from China were suspended and the border with China closed. Intensive tracing of second and third hand contacts with quarantining at Government expense, were implemented.\u00a0 Due to early decisive action, as of today, there have been just 320 cases registered in the country and no deaths.\u00a0 Vietnam has a population of around 95 million.\u00a0 <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By the middle of March, the Vietnamese military and security machine was in full swing to keep this foreign pestilence contained, and that they did, very successfully. We found it quite amusing at first, when a friend was quarantined in a brewery for two weeks in Danang, and then a whole tour group, that had just returned from a caving adventure, staff as well as tourists, was locked down in a house in our town, Phong Nha, because one of them had come into contact with someone who had been on a plane with someone who had tested positive. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]But then! Shock! Horror! The threat of infection reached us at Phong Nha Farmstay. Being nestled in the rice fields at the edge of the tiny rural village of Cu Nam, well out of town, we considered ourselves fairly safe. At this point everybody coming into the country was being tested and a positive result had been found on a plane from Europe, the new epicentre of infection. All passengers on that plane had been traced and quarantined along with all of their contacts. Two of those passengers were staying with us at the Farmstay. We were herded onto the Farmstay property, sprayed with nasty smelling disinfectant that left a film over everything, and told not to leave the premises. The suspected couple, two German Doctors, who assured us all, that they would know if they were infected, were confined to a room and had their temperature checked each morning for the duration. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Quarantine over, all guests left to hassle their various Embassies to get them out of the country and home, the best way they could.\u00a0 Too many pesky foreigners had brought the virus from Europe, the US and UK.\u00a0 Flights had been stopped and the borders were completely closed.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A lockdown that lasted 22 days was now imposed in earnest for the whole country.\u00a0 This had all happened so quickly that it was difficult to process. I don\u2019t think that it actually registered that I was more or less imprisoned.\u00a0 That is, until I suggested that I might just ride into town and get a cup of coffee.\u00a0 It was quickly pointed out that no, I wasn\u2019t going to do that, and anyway, there is no coffee because town has been shut down.\u00a0 What!!\u00a0 No cappuccino!!\u00a0 Now this is serious!![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”4525″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d” css_animation=”fadeIn”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″]\n\n \n