Our way to Ho Chi Minh city or Saigon is a bit lenghty. First, we spend more than five hours on the flight from Skopje to Dubai; then we have to wait in the airport for some 7 hours that stretch well into the night and finally spend more than 6 hours on the flight to Saigon. We don’t get to see anything more than city lights of Dubai when landing and the wait in the airport stretches well into the night. However, I’m already impressed by the views of the Persian bay from the airplane. Even though it’s dark, there are so many container ships, and so much of lights on the shores that I can recognize not only the shoreline but even various countries. Kuwait has it’s highways all lit up, it’s one big, shiny blob. Located next to Iraq, it’s har to believe the contrast. Saudi Arabia has its shore very shiny as well as Dubai and other AAE urban ports. Seeing all that and comparing it to my offline map in the phone, I can’t believe I’m actually flying over these territories. I have never been out of Europe, these places have only been theoretical concepts in my head so far. Now, they exist in my physical world. It’s a feeling hard to describe, but my “real” world has suddenly grown much bigger!
In the airport of Dubai as well as Skopje, all staff and some passengers are wearing masks but other than that,there are no other signs of Corona-fear. By that time, March 2nd to 3rd, AAE are having more than 20 cases and Skopje - one. The situation in Ho Chi Minh airport has been taken much more serious though. As we arrive there in the afternoon of March the 3rd, almost everyone except the white tourists are wearing masks. There are posters and announcements on prevention measures that everyone should take. On one hand, it upsets me but on the other, it really seems that Vietnam takes it seriously and responsibly.
