September 2020

Noel is an entrepreneur based in Hawaii. After selling his business 3 years ago, he has been a fulltime globetrotter. He was in Bangkok in March when COVID lockdowns began and all international flights were canceled overnight. When Thailand reopened international airports after 3 months, he left for Lake Balaton, a resort in Hungary where he has been since the end of June. Noel has the unique experience of how two completely different countries contained COVID and muses on how he sees travel will change from now on.
Reading time: 6 minutes

Q. How was COVID handled in Thailand from March to June before you left? 
A: The lock-down was hard-core. The Thai government took COVID seriously from the start. Businesses, schools, restaurants, shops, entertainment, parks, and airports were all closed. The Thai New Year, normally a huge celebration every April, was cancelled. Alcohol sales were banned for a month. The entire population willingly stayed home or wore masks in all public venues and sanitized hands when running essential errands. It was something special to see Bangkok, a massive city of 8 million people, so quiet and empty.

To support those out of work, the government set up donation stations in each neighborhood. Neighbors would donate rice, noodles, fruits, veggies, cooking oil, and more so that the people in need can have something to eat. Food delivery apps added an option to buy an extra meal for the delivery driver.

I'm impressed with the Thai people's entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity. Some of the ways businesses adapted were to sell groceries and household goods on the back of pick up trucks as they drove through residential streets. One restaurant hired male models to be their delivery guys. A local hostel offered laundry pick up service.

I was so thankful for the plentiful food delivery options in Bangkok during the lockdown. And how damn fast it was and consistent. That saved my ass big time.

Q. And contrast that experience with what you encountered when you got to Hungary? 
A. Here in Hungary, totally different vibe. Out on the streets, 10% of people perhaps are wearing masks and of those10%, those folks are just covering their mouths. A lot of them are not covering their nose. On public transit, you’re supposed to wear them, but no one is enforcing it, so maybe 20% are not wearing anything on buses, trains, or the metro. It’s super lax here in Hungary. In fact, there are maybe 15-20 cases reported daily. Partly, it's because they’re not doing enough testing, but it doesn’t seem to be so serious or prevalent here, so they’re not so strict about it, which is interesting. 

Western culture compared to Asian culture is radically different on this entire approach, cautious in Asia and anti-fearful in Europe. 
 
But, if you get tested here and you’re positive, you are immediately forced to go home and they put a sticker on your front door that indicates you have COVID. Cops check on you on a daily basis to make sure you’re home; you’re not allowed to leave the house. That’s how it’s done here. It’s pretty serious if you test positive; if you don't, they don’t really impose restrictions on what you can do. It’s an interesting angle and quite heavy-handed here in Hungary.

Q. So from Bangkok to Budapest? What was that like?
A. I tried leaving Thailand a few times but all of my flights got cancelled before the scheduled departure date. At the end of June, I got on a Bangkok-to-Frankfurt nonstop, a 100% full flight. It was 11 hours and 10 minutes of strict mask enforcement; For me, this was one of the first times in my life, in those 11 hours and 10 minutes, I literally did not get up from my seat once. It didn’t even seem to be difficult. The woman sitting next to me, I don’t recall her ever getting up unless she did and I was asleep. It was intense.

Frankfurt airport was pretty chill, not very busy. I just went through immigration, no queue, very quick. Then I got on a plane from Frankfurt to Vienna, that flight was at maybe 70-80% capacity and that’s not a very long flight. But on that flight, it was understood there were some pretty strict requirements once you landed, either you were staying put or if you were in transit out of the country, you were exempt from quarantine. And they handed out 2 documents that everyone had to fill out, addresses, phone number, email, plus friend or relative you were staying with, their address, phone number, email. I filled them all out, I got off the plane, I went through immigration, no one took the forms from me. No one cared. I took them home with me. That was weird. In addition to my US passport, I’ve had a Hungarian passport since 2012, so I’m lucky because it would have been incredibly challenging for me to come here if I didn’t have a European passport. When I came here from Bangkok, it was 100% no issues. I didn’t have to do anything, talk to anyone, I didn’t have to quarantine, I just came right through. Quite surreal, to be honest.

Three days ago the Hungarian government announced they are closing the borders. No tourists are allowed in from anywhere from September 1st.

Q. How has COVID affected your travels?

A. I’m not too keen on getting on an airplane and going somewhere. I keep thinking yeah, I want to go to Italy, yeah, I want to go to Berlin, but that's not essential travel, so I’m avoiding it, figuring maybe it’s safer to stay put in Hungary. Maybe next month I’ll pop into Italy, I just have to wait and see how things are playing out. France and Spain are spiking again, Italy seems like it’s picking up, too, so that’s a concern. And they’re monitoring that, but there’s no severe lockdown here. My mom flew in from Hawaii on Friday, 31 hours of flying, 6-hour layover in Seattle, 5-hour layover in Amsterdam, arrives in Hungary: Zero questions asked, zero testing.  She just grabbed her bags, showed her passport, and she was free. No quarantine, no concern. nada…that was pretty surprising and that was on Friday, so she is here, no issues.

Q. What tips do you have for prospective travelers?
A. With the current circumstances, at first I'd say, if you don’t need to travel, then don’t for now. Then again, it’s also the best time to travel, everything’s cheap and there are no crowds. But you have to roll the dice, if that’s how you want to play it. But I keep thinking no non-essential travel. 

One additional tip, if you’re traveling on a plane and you have to wear a mask, wear an N95 mask, please. That would be my only suggestion. The one that specifically wraps around the back of your head, not the kind that wraps around your ears, which is not as thorough and doesn’t create a close-enough seal. So, if you’re going to roll (the dice) wear a proper mask and keep it on. Don’t take it off. 

HINT: This collection of islands opened to visitors from all countries in mid-July and is an 8-hour flight from the West Coast.