K M Cheng-Travel Journal: Malaysia (Covid-19 & A New Normal) May 12 2020

" Every Day Is A Blessing. A New LIFE & A NEW HOPE "

A New Normal ! Covid-19 Second Wave ! Anti-lockdown ! Moving on ! Bailouts ! Travel Slump ! Pent-up Travel ! Turning Point ! Vaccines Research & Trials !

Movement Control Order, Malaysia (my home country) - March 18 2020 > April 14 > April 28 > May 12 > June 10 2020 (extended 4 times, a total of 84 days under MCO assuming the lockdown is finally lifted on June 10 2020); from Monday May 12 2020, it's almost business as usual, government allowing a host of economic, business & social activities to operate under a new normal with strict SOPs in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 ! But no opening of museums, exhibitions, marine parks, aquariums, recreating fishing activities, events & concerts, cinemas, anniversary celebrations (parade) etc

1) Covid-19 in Malaysia as of May 12 2020:
Total confirmed cases - 6,742
In treatment - 1,410 (20.9%)
Discharged - 5,223 (77.5%)
Deaths - 109 ( 1.6%)

2) Covid-19 Current situation globally as of May 12 2020:
Global Top 10 Deaths & (Confirmed Cases)
USA - 81,795 (1,385,850)
UK - 32,065 (223,060)
Italy - 30,739 (219,814)
Spain - 26,744 (268,143)
France - 26,643 (177,423)
Brazil - 11,653 (139,771)
Germany - 7,661 (172,576)
Iran - 6,685 (109,286)
Turkey - 3,841 (139,771)
Russia - 2,116 (232,243)

3) Asean & Asian countries current situation as of May 12 2020
Total Deaths & (Confirmed Cases)
India - 2,310 (71,339)
Singapore - 21 (24,671)
Japan - 633 (15,847)
Indonesia - 959 (13,645)
South Korea - 258 (10,936)
Philippines - 751 (11,350)
Thailand - 56 (3,017)
Vietnam - 0 (288)
Myanmar - 6 (180)
Brunei - 1 (141)
Cambodia - 0 (122)
Laos - 0 (19)

No fear of second wave ! Anti-lockdown lot ! Monumental freedom ! Easing of lockdown measures ! In God we trust ? Europe braces for re-opening despite fears, Moving on in New Delhi, India after a nationwide lockdown was eased on May 13 2020

A New Normal in Eating & Social Distancing - physical distancing at a restaurant in Bangkok, strict guidelines for dine in restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, see no touch at a cafe in a mall in Kuala Lumpur, trying "greenhouse" socially-distance dining in Amsterdam, Netherlands, dining with a distance at a mall in Penang, riverside distancing in Domino Park in Brooklyn, New York, Spread your wings in an elementary school in Taiyuan, China, robot hired to help with social distancing in Singapore, robot waiters to the rescue amid Covid-19 in Netherlands

Flying start for durians (King of tropical fruit) in Penang, Malaysia - selling durians online !

SS2 DurianMan Station, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia (2019)

SS2 DurianMan Station, Petaling Jaya (2019)

SS2 DurianMan Station, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia (2019)

A New Normal in Indonesia - Get ready for Covid-19 baby boom in Indonesia due to limited access to birth control

A New Normal for Air Asia - Malaysian home grown low cost airliner - can Air Asia continue to hold the flag high & shout "Now Everyone Can Fly" to her customers - hope so when normalcy fully returns to the travel industry !

Your air travel experience will never be the same ! Wanderlust put on hold ! Will Covid-19 change the way we fly ? Physical distancing measures on planes would fundamentally shifts the economic of aviation ! Higher fares, fewer routes, pre-flight health checks & less free food served on board ? So be prepared to pay more when you are ready for the next round of overseas air travel ! I wonder how many low cost airliners are still in business after this Covid-19 pandemic is over ! The New Normal has to strike a balance taking into consideration of trade, diplomacy, business & tourism as these 4 factors are essential & part & parcel of air travel ...

Are you fit to fly ? Keeping passengers safe & health precautions, temperature checks, full body disinfectant procedure, anti-microbial sprays for high-touch surfaces & seating areas, coronavirus blood tests for passengers, wearing of face coverings & masks, carrying medical certificates proving passengers are Covid-19 free - extra costs for air travellers, bureaucratic or is it too much hassle especially for elderly passengers ! Questions & answers time !

A New Normal - Middle seat question in cabin ? Re-positioning the middle seat ? Status Quo ? Cabin Environment ? High Efficiency Particulate Filters on modern aircraft to clean cabin air ? Travel with confidence ?

Bring your own mask before, during & after the flight including during check in & luggage collection

Too Soon for Travel ? A new survey conducted in early April 2020 shows that group travel may start to pick up again in 4th quarter (Oct-Dec) of 2020; others may defer their tours to 2021 ! Europe to see tourism recovering by 2022 ! When to travel, I keep pondering ? Maybe I should consider re-visiting countries closer to home ie China, Vietnam, Laos, Taiwan & Thailand to keep my passion in traveling alive ! Also may opt for low risk domestic travel as there are a number of beautiful islands, beach resorts, small town charm I have yet to visit & explore !

Travel ban on EU nations & US lifted in Cambodia, South East Asia - but with conditions ie all foreign travellers must carry a certificate confirming that they had no Covid-19 released by the government of each country within 72 hours of arriving in Cambodia, foreigners must have health insurance of at least US$50,000 (Rm217,200) while staying in Cambodia, travellers arriving at the airports must be sent to waiting rooms to test for Covid-19, if one traveller tested positive, all other passengers on the same trip must be quarantine for 14 days

Angor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia (Feb 2018)

Virus trap & Travel woes (thousands of miles away from home) - from lockdown to New Normal & despite ease of restrictions, there are still thousands of cruise ship passengers & workers stuck at sea, not able to return home; Due to border closing, Hong Kong travellers stranded in Peru have to fork out US$3,870 (HK$30,000) each for a chartered flight from Lima back to their home country; As Air Asia & MAS have grounded all their flights from Kuala Lumpur to major Australian cities during the Covid-19 lockdown, Malaysian travellers who are eager to return home have little choice but to cough up RM10,000 (US$2,270) for an air ticket offered by Qatar Airlines to fly them home from Melbourne to Qatar & then to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (24 hours), otherwise you just have to wait & wait ... anxieties, uncertainties, emotional & distress will eventually take a toll on your health & bodies !

I had so far taken a few coastal ferries / cruise ship rides (mainly day trip or overnight) in between coastal towns in Finland, Sweden, Italy, Croatia, New Zealand & China. Malaysia Genting cruise ships are popular with holiday makers in South East Asia but I have yet to try one ! Now that you have the Covid-19 outbreak, gone are the Good Old Days where you could go for a world cruise trip with ease & joy and returning home with a peace in mind !

Viking Line - Ferry crossing from Turku, Finland > Stockholm, Sweden (May 2011)

Ferry crossing from Ancona, Italy > Split, Croatia (May 2014)

Interislander ferry crossing from Wellington > Picton, New Zealand (March 2016)

Ferry crossing from Dalian, Liaoning > Yantai, Shandong, China (May 2015)

Reopening of Shanghai Disneyland, China - May 11 2020; Thailand de-listing China as virus hotspot; month long snack festival to kick off in Shanghai; Millions visit Beijing during May Day holiday, China is the 1st country to return to normalcy !

Come 2021, I have in mind to do an overland train ride (involving 4 countries) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia > Bangkok > Nongkai, Thailand > Vientiane > Luang Prabang, Laos > Kunming, China - when this leg of railway link ie Laos-China railway service covering 4 provinces of Laos (a total of 414km) is completed in 2021; I had so far done 8 overland train rides from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok & 2 train rides from Bangkok / Sukhothai to Nongkai, North Thailand / Lao border (near Vientiane, capital of Laos) !

Hua Lampong Railway Station, Bangkok, Thailand (2018)

Nong Khai Railway Station, Northern Thailand (2018)

Hatyai Railway Station, Southern Thailand (2015)

Hua Hin Railway Station, Southern Thailand (2016)

Chiangmai Railway Station, Northern Thailand

Ayutthaya Train Station, Thailand (Feb 2017)

Thonburi Train Station, Bangkok, Thailand (Jan 2016)

River Kwai Bridge Train Station, Thailand (Jan 2016)

Maeklong Train Station, Thailand (Jan 2019)

Padang Besar Railway Station, Malaysia/Thai Border

KL Sentral KTM Train Station, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

May Good Time Roll ! May 2020 has come, so is Spring, the most beautiful season (cool & pleasant weather) when plants & flowers start to bloom ! Many of my free & easy overseas travels & package tours were accomplished in Spring (March-May) & Autumn over the last 13 years (2006>2019) since my retirement in 2006 ! So when every Spring comes, my inspirations run high wanting to make use of this best moment of my travelling LIFE to see the world as much as possible !

Thank god, there was no May Day May Day distress call or SOS signal I had to make in My Good Old Days of travelling eg stranded without money or middle of nowhere in a remote or no man land ! But in the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, some travellers may not be that lucky & a number of them may have to place themselves on a May Day or SOS mode sending "distress calls" or "signals" to relevant authorities or parties in order to find a right passage home ! For the local Malaysians, SOS simply means Saya Orang Susah (I am in a dreadful situation person), though SOS does not stand for "Save Our Souls", "Save Our Ship" or "Save On Socks" ! To most travellers, 2020 will probably end with a blank page in overseas travelling !

Flowers are in full bloom in China in May 2020. Hope the travel industry will be booming again after the Covid-19 outbreak is over, springing back like the Good Old Days of my travelling years (2006 > 2019) ! Have fun in travelling !

Ottawa, Canada (May 2019)

Isfahan, Iran (March 2018)

Prague, Czech Republic (May 2017)

Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand (March 2016)

Almaty, Kazakhstan (May 2015)

Chisinau, Moldova (May 2014)

Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal (March 2013)

Granada, Spain (May 2012)

Oslo, Norway (May 2011)

Copenhagen, Denmark (May 2010)

Riga, Latvia (May 2009)

Tokyo Disneyland, Japan (May 2008)

Hanoi, Vietnam (April 2007)

Kanas Lake, Xinjiang, China (May 2006)

A New Normal in a shopping mall (Subang Parade) near my neighbourhood during a weekend (Saturday May 17 2020 ) - quiet & devoid of people !

A New Normal special occasion for me - my 70th birthday during the Covid-19 lockdown on Saturday May 2 2020 ! A simple & joyful dinner with my family members at home !

My Makan Makan (Eating) during the New Normal period (take away food) - black coffee with Youtiao, a long golden brown deep fried dough (Rm1.20 per piece) for breakfast & dried char siew won ton noodles (double portion for 2 - Rm15), chee cheong fun (Rm1.00 per piece); my takeaway lunch - steamed chicken rice (Rm7.50), roasted pork / char siew rice (Rm7.50=US$1.80), roasted chicken rice (Rm6)