Coronavirus or Covid-19 as it is called now is a scary and terrible thing. When the virus first came, we decided not to write anything about it. The reason?! We are not doctors – we don’t know how dangerous it is and we don’t want to spread fear. However, being in Bangkok, Thailand at the moment and not being sure if we will be able to get back to Sweden is scary!

Traveling in Southeast Asia for 4 months

When we left Sweden, back in December 2019, there was no talk about the Coronavirus. We were just looking forward to spending the winter in a warm climate and not being in Sweden. Now, we are in our last month of traveling and the world has changed. Sure, we could see the escalating panic on Facebook but once we went totally offline for five days – we came back to a totally different world.

It’s scary and as a travel writer, we depend on being able to do just that – travel. In May, we were supposed to be off to Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia. Now, we have no idea when we will be able to travel. Currently in Bangkok, where the hysteria doesn’t seem as bad as in the rest of the world. Sure, everyone is wearing a facemask (not us) and they check our temperature everywhere. One thing that we also notice is that there are not too many people outside!

The impact of Covid-19 during our trip

We have seen all the mayhem on Facebook and apparently the world is running out of toilet paper and the shelves are empty because people are hoarding. That doesn’t seem to be the case here in Bangkok. The shelves are not empty and you can also still buy masks and sanitizer. However, there aren’t a lot of people outside and they measure your temperature each time you enter the hotel or a mall.

If we had a choice, we wouldn’t be traveling right now because right now it’s not that fun. When visiting a capital city, you want the hustle and bustle of people and everything that comes with that. Now, we have malls and stores for ourselves. Yesterday, we went to see the movie Onward (which was great by the way) and it was just us and one more person at the cinema.

The future is a bit unsure for full-time travelers right now

The local newspaper sent me an email in February, asking if I would come and work for them. I love being there and I enjoy freelancing for the local paper. However, since we were already booked for the whole summer – traveling in Europe, I told them that I was not able to work there. Now, we know that our trip will be postponed. My first thought was to contact the paper and let them know that I will work there.

But Mini has other plans and I kind of like them more! We will be traveling in Sweden, being tourists in our own country and spreading the word about Sweden. As soon as they open all the borders again, we will try to visit the other countries too but right now we feel that we need to stay in Sweden (as soon as we get back).

Staying at the hotel, working

We fly out on March 22:nd. We were supposed to leave on the 29:th but now we are booked on an earlier flight. Until then, we mostly stay at the hotel and get work done. We have sold an article to a new magazine and we are very happy about that. We will be writing about the world’s oldest joss stick maker and the magazine is called “Nära” (close in Swedish). And then we are also testing sunscreen and writing about Madeira. So virus and all – right now, we still have a lot of work to do!

And our only words about the virus – Be respectful of others and listen to the recommendations that are in your country. And NO, we didn’t just decide to travel and not mind the virus – we have been on the road for long! Take care of each other!