COVID-19 is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Unless it mutates. That's why there's no immunity to the common cold, also a coronavirus - mutation and multiple strains. Other viruses, such as measles, polio, etc., haven't mutated and there are just a handful of strains, so a vaccine is effective.
And, if and when they develop an anti-viral immunization for it, it will likely be an annual shot just like the flu. Hopefully what they come up with will be easy to modify when new a new strain pops up.
Tauck will do the right thing. I was notified 18 days prior to flying out a day early on 3/31 to Paris for the cancellation of the April 2 tour. You will probably hear something next week at the latest. I know how you feel as I was very anxious as to when I would be notified about the go/no go.
As I lie here in the middle of the night, evacuated to Kuala Lumpur and staying in the only hotel still open in the entire city, confined to our room and only able to get room service, not tried yet, we just arrived a few hours ago.... reading the forum is good entertainment. We traveled with a very small tour company who was pretty good until Malaysia pulled the plug. What we saw of Borneo was fantastic, I’ll post about it for interest if we ever get home. We booked flights with them and they are trying to get us fights home, but it will cost us. Now if Tauck had offered Borneo......
Which hotel? I was based in Kuala Lumpur flying for MAS under contract for ten weeks many years ago. I liked KL, and I spent part of my time flying out of Penang (Georgetown). This was all for the Haj ... flights to Jeddah. I probably had more fun than you are having right now. We stayed in a beach resort in Penang that was great. Actually, in KL the singer in the bar across the street from the hotel was from Borneo. I also did flights out of Kota Kinabalu ... I think we took the entire ‘Royal’ family to Jeddah on one flight.
Furama hotel, it’s in a run down looking area, impressive lobby but old rooms, but appears clean, a large bathroom. We have Clorox wiped all the usual high risk places. I doubt you would have stayed here! We were served a good breakfast.
We woke up to news we have flights Booked so far unless there are more restrictions and changes . Almost two days to wait. We will land into Boston in the US and then fly on to Philly, first class for that flight apparently, never flown first class, maybe our status on AA triggered that, all booked by the tour company for us. I’m reluctant to start writing about to how wonderful the parts of Borneo we saw were until this is all over. We were able to FaceTime our daughter this morning which helped them be less worried about her crazy parents. Our son I think will make a run to our house since I have plenty of toilet rolls there, I always do. They keep missing the supply when they go shopping.
As we always think of our cups being half full, we are happy to be going home to catching our daffodils in a new flower bed I planted this past Fall, we might have missed them while we were away. Lots of yard work to do to keep me occupied, our usual daily walks, gradually emptying our pantry and freezer, that could be a good thing. Will miss our Silver sneakers classes but have all the gear here at home. Will have to look up how to reverse our ‘Stopped mail’ Will miss our many theatre visits.
Keep well everyone!
British - airfares are dirt cheap now. My daughter, who had her 10 day ski trip cut short to 1 day when all the ski areas closed over the weekend. She flew home from DEN to SFO for $70, then paid another $60 for a First Class upgrade.
That may be true, but we did not book our new flights, so we don’t know the circumstances of pricing but there was a thousand dollar change fee which we hope insurance will cover, as Qatar are not wavering change fees, but at least they are still flying and frankly we just want to get home as everyone does in these situations. Well maybe not, one of our tour group is complaining that she paid for business class and is really angry about the possibility of going economy. I tried telling her how lucky we were having the chance of getting home and she just was so annoyed. Like I’ve said in the past, we have usually not been lucky when we try some sort of small group departure, another couple have spent several times during the trip repeating the same story about him being six feet four and squashing into economy and asking people not to recline their seats in front of him. Even arguing with flight attendants who do not side with him. They appear to have travelled all over the world....Pay for Premium Econ or Business, or suck it up, that is the reality. We are awaiting room service lunch. I’ve been reading a great new book, done some exercises, movie next.
British, be prepared for a nightmare when you land in Boston. I landed there Sun. night on Turkish Air, around the same time as 4 other international flights. The Global Entry kiosk didn't recognize my fingerprints, so I had to join the regular immigration line. Then I had to go downstairs for 2 "medical screenings" that were pretty useless and had huge lines. At the first, I had to fill out a form giving my contact information, where I had been, and my flight and seat number (that all made sense), followed by walking up to an EMT who asked me how I felt. When I said, "I feel fine," he said, "You look fine," and sent me on to another line. When I finally got through the line to one of the 3 officials who were processing people, the officer asked me where I had been, then sent me on my way. There wasn't even a temperature check! (When our Tauck tour flew from Tel Aviv to Amman [because Jordan had closed the land border] at least they took our temperatures before letting us into Jordan). I am taking my temperature twice daily and am in self-quarantine for 14 days. If I come down with the virus, I swear it will be because of the woman who was ahead of me in line at the second medical screening who had been to Spain and Morocco and who was coughing -- sometimes not into her elbow. I hope that your experience at Logan is better than mine was. I was told that they had just put that procedure into place on Sunday, so maybe they've worked out some of the kinks.
Thanks MCD, Hope we do not miss our Philly connection. We had our temps taken and had to fill in the same form you describe on our original entry to Sarawak. We have been on several planes since, some have taken our temps, some not, but most planes are barely a quarter full. Still 24 hours to go before we are due to leave. Basic but good hotel food being consumed, but stuff I usually try to avoid like fries and pasta, seem to be so hungry considering we are just sitting here most of the time. I have done two lots of exercise and stretches today. But feeling very lazy after the long hikes we took on the trip in extreme humidity. Netflix downloads are so useful. So far I am proud of how we are handling this, I usually good during an emergency but then crumble when it is all over. Must be my training, having saved a few lives in my time. Once again, keep well everyone!
On Sunday night, people in line were very accommodating to others who had to make connecting flights. We let them go to the front of the line. I hope you have the same experience. Stay safe.
March 18
Furama hotel, it’s in a run down looking area, impressive lobby but old rooms, but appears clean, a large bathroom. We have Clorox wiped all the usual high risk places. I doubt you would have stayed here!
You are correct British. I’m pretty sure we were in the Intercontinental Hotel. We were given a room for the duration of the contract, so we did not check out even though we spent every other night (alternating nights) in Jeddah. That reduced the baggage drill to a minimum. I did check out when I went to work out of Penang. It was a nice hotel, but that was a long time ago. I would be surprised if the Intercontinental is not now in a new location. Best of luck with your travels home.
Today, the USA State Dept issued the highest possible travel warning to Americans Not to travel abroad. A Level 4. If you are abroad, come home immediately because we might not let you back in the USA. I hope all will take this more seriously.
I have a niece in the Peace Corps in Africa and the government is in the process of evacuating them. All Peace Corps volunteers world-wide are being brought home.
Believe me, we are trying to get home! Fingers crossed, leaving for our first flight in about sixteen hours. But into the Lions den, our little township is the hotspot of PA for the virus. Who would of thought one could get fed up of beimg stuck in a hotle and having to order room service for every meal.
Yes, Montgomery county. I’m busy here in Kuala Lumpur writing about our Borneo experience, which of course will not come to an end until we can board three planes to get back to the US. We watch BBC news, read our iPads, watch downloads from Netflix, charges the iPad, read some more of our books, getup, do a few Silver sneakers moves, order from room service, a little guy comes and is so nice and brings food into our room, we eat, wash hands yet again. Say hello to the tour director who’s room is opposite ours When we hear room service come up with his food, we quickly give the little man our empty plates and repeat everything above.
This morning our daughter texted us to say PA has shut down all but essential businesses everything from construction to real estate and so on and so , so now they worry about her husbands job. I wonder if we could meet for a walk when we get home and keep a good distance apart, but Mr B is concerned that our six year old grandson will not be able to resist running up to us and giving us a hug, we don’t want them to chance us giving them any virus we might be carrying Even though we have hardly been around anyone here. Our food has all been made by others and there has been lots of buffet and lazy Susan eating. On the other hand, I’ve never seen Mr B show any interest in cleaning until we got here when he Clorox wipes everything when we enter our room, wonder if he will be so keen back home😀
Oh my British , I’m sorry you are caught overseas. Haven’t been on the boards lately. Things in the HOUSTON area are getting wild. When you have 7 million neighbors , supplies can get scarce. I doubt our May Rhine Enchantment trip will happen.
Haven’t heard yet but I know Tauck has their hands full. Wow ! Y’all stay safe and will check in on y’all , as you make your way home 😘
Thanks for you good wishes everyone. We arrived home into our hotspot of the virus in PA about 8pm tonight. We unpacked, did one load of laundry and checked phone messages, texted family and friends. Managed to get our on hold mail delivered, early of course. We haven’t even looked at that yet.
We got no health checks at Boston! Came through Global entry very quickly Then had to wait in a short line to speak to immigration officer who once he knew we had not come back from Europe or China, that was it. The other immigration lines were long. Only about maybe twenty or thirty on our flight to Philly. We had a limo driver booked and he was waiting for us, a very fast drive home as little traffic. He told us he has to thoroughly disinfect the car after each ride. He also told us our nearest Supermarket had to call the police 7 times just on Thursday alone to stop customers,fighting.
I’ll be posting a little blog of our trip if anyone is interested In the General section if anyone is interested in the next couple of days.
Mr B is fast asleep, I’m trying to get sleepy.
It was cramped as usual. We kept our distance. When we were waiting for our flight at the gate, we did not sit down, but stood away from everyone. We were fortunate to be in Qatar business class big separate closed off cubicles and the other flights were almost empty. We mixed with very few people on vacation, they just were not many around. We were on tour with just five other people and our tour director. One of them just did not get personal space etiquette and was forever in your face, way too close under normal corcu,stances! When we were evacuated to Kuala Lumpur, we were confined to our small hotel rooms for 48hrs. Receiving room service food. We avoided salads and and opted for cooked food as an extra precaution.... I’ve eaten so many carb meals!
The stupidity of how people Wear masks but constantly take them, up and down and touch them is driving me absolutely potty! In They just don’t understand the need to change them every couple of hours especially as exhaled breath makes them damp so quickly. In fact, it stops people washing their hands as much.
We are going for a walk soon!
I think it’s highly likely my next two Tauck tours will be cancelled.
British glad you made it home safely, still waiting on Tauck to cancel April 15th trip to France. Hoping a girls trip to Philadelphia in September doesn’t have to be cancelled.
Comments
Unless it mutates. That's why there's no immunity to the common cold, also a coronavirus - mutation and multiple strains. Other viruses, such as measles, polio, etc., haven't mutated and there are just a handful of strains, so a vaccine is effective.
And, if and when they develop an anti-viral immunization for it, it will likely be an annual shot just like the flu. Hopefully what they come up with will be easy to modify when new a new strain pops up.
Tauck will do the right thing. I was notified 18 days prior to flying out a day early on 3/31 to Paris for the cancellation of the April 2 tour. You will probably hear something next week at the latest. I know how you feel as I was very anxious as to when I would be notified about the go/no go.
As I lie here in the middle of the night, evacuated to Kuala Lumpur and staying in the only hotel still open in the entire city, confined to our room and only able to get room service, not tried yet, we just arrived a few hours ago.... reading the forum is good entertainment. We traveled with a very small tour company who was pretty good until Malaysia pulled the plug. What we saw of Borneo was fantastic, I’ll post about it for interest if we ever get home. We booked flights with them and they are trying to get us fights home, but it will cost us. Now if Tauck had offered Borneo......
Which hotel? I was based in Kuala Lumpur flying for MAS under contract for ten weeks many years ago. I liked KL, and I spent part of my time flying out of Penang (Georgetown). This was all for the Haj ... flights to Jeddah. I probably had more fun than you are having right now. We stayed in a beach resort in Penang that was great. Actually, in KL the singer in the bar across the street from the hotel was from Borneo. I also did flights out of Kota Kinabalu ... I think we took the entire ‘Royal’ family to Jeddah on one flight.
Furama hotel, it’s in a run down looking area, impressive lobby but old rooms, but appears clean, a large bathroom. We have Clorox wiped all the usual high risk places. I doubt you would have stayed here! We were served a good breakfast.
We woke up to news we have flights Booked so far unless there are more restrictions and changes . Almost two days to wait. We will land into Boston in the US and then fly on to Philly, first class for that flight apparently, never flown first class, maybe our status on AA triggered that, all booked by the tour company for us. I’m reluctant to start writing about to how wonderful the parts of Borneo we saw were until this is all over. We were able to FaceTime our daughter this morning which helped them be less worried about her crazy parents. Our son I think will make a run to our house since I have plenty of toilet rolls there, I always do. They keep missing the supply when they go shopping.
As we always think of our cups being half full, we are happy to be going home to catching our daffodils in a new flower bed I planted this past Fall, we might have missed them while we were away. Lots of yard work to do to keep me occupied, our usual daily walks, gradually emptying our pantry and freezer, that could be a good thing. Will miss our Silver sneakers classes but have all the gear here at home. Will have to look up how to reverse our ‘Stopped mail’ Will miss our many theatre visits.
Keep well everyone!
British - airfares are dirt cheap now. My daughter, who had her 10 day ski trip cut short to 1 day when all the ski areas closed over the weekend. She flew home from DEN to SFO for $70, then paid another $60 for a First Class upgrade.
That may be true, but we did not book our new flights, so we don’t know the circumstances of pricing but there was a thousand dollar change fee which we hope insurance will cover, as Qatar are not wavering change fees, but at least they are still flying and frankly we just want to get home as everyone does in these situations. Well maybe not, one of our tour group is complaining that she paid for business class and is really angry about the possibility of going economy. I tried telling her how lucky we were having the chance of getting home and she just was so annoyed. Like I’ve said in the past, we have usually not been lucky when we try some sort of small group departure, another couple have spent several times during the trip repeating the same story about him being six feet four and squashing into economy and asking people not to recline their seats in front of him. Even arguing with flight attendants who do not side with him. They appear to have travelled all over the world....Pay for Premium Econ or Business, or suck it up, that is the reality. We are awaiting room service lunch. I’ve been reading a great new book, done some exercises, movie next.
British, be prepared for a nightmare when you land in Boston. I landed there Sun. night on Turkish Air, around the same time as 4 other international flights. The Global Entry kiosk didn't recognize my fingerprints, so I had to join the regular immigration line. Then I had to go downstairs for 2 "medical screenings" that were pretty useless and had huge lines. At the first, I had to fill out a form giving my contact information, where I had been, and my flight and seat number (that all made sense), followed by walking up to an EMT who asked me how I felt. When I said, "I feel fine," he said, "You look fine," and sent me on to another line. When I finally got through the line to one of the 3 officials who were processing people, the officer asked me where I had been, then sent me on my way. There wasn't even a temperature check! (When our Tauck tour flew from Tel Aviv to Amman [because Jordan had closed the land border] at least they took our temperatures before letting us into Jordan). I am taking my temperature twice daily and am in self-quarantine for 14 days. If I come down with the virus, I swear it will be because of the woman who was ahead of me in line at the second medical screening who had been to Spain and Morocco and who was coughing -- sometimes not into her elbow. I hope that your experience at Logan is better than mine was. I was told that they had just put that procedure into place on Sunday, so maybe they've worked out some of the kinks.
Thanks MCD, Hope we do not miss our Philly connection. We had our temps taken and had to fill in the same form you describe on our original entry to Sarawak. We have been on several planes since, some have taken our temps, some not, but most planes are barely a quarter full. Still 24 hours to go before we are due to leave. Basic but good hotel food being consumed, but stuff I usually try to avoid like fries and pasta, seem to be so hungry considering we are just sitting here most of the time. I have done two lots of exercise and stretches today. But feeling very lazy after the long hikes we took on the trip in extreme humidity. Netflix downloads are so useful. So far I am proud of how we are handling this, I usually good during an emergency but then crumble when it is all over. Must be my training, having saved a few lives in my time. Once again, keep well everyone!
On Sunday night, people in line were very accommodating to others who had to make connecting flights. We let them go to the front of the line. I hope you have the same experience. Stay safe.
March 18
Furama hotel, it’s in a run down looking area, impressive lobby but old rooms, but appears clean, a large bathroom. We have Clorox wiped all the usual high risk places. I doubt you would have stayed here!
You are correct British. I’m pretty sure we were in the Intercontinental Hotel. We were given a room for the duration of the contract, so we did not check out even though we spent every other night (alternating nights) in Jeddah. That reduced the baggage drill to a minimum. I did check out when I went to work out of Penang. It was a nice hotel, but that was a long time ago. I would be surprised if the Intercontinental is not now in a new location. Best of luck with your travels home.
Today, the USA State Dept issued the highest possible travel warning to Americans Not to travel abroad. A Level 4. If you are abroad, come home immediately because we might not let you back in the USA. I hope all will take this more seriously.
I have a niece in the Peace Corps in Africa and the government is in the process of evacuating them. All Peace Corps volunteers world-wide are being brought home.
Believe me, we are trying to get home! Fingers crossed, leaving for our first flight in about sixteen hours. But into the Lions den, our little township is the hotspot of PA for the virus. Who would of thought one could get fed up of beimg stuck in a hotle and having to order room service for every meal.
Montgomery County?
Yes, Montgomery county. I’m busy here in Kuala Lumpur writing about our Borneo experience, which of course will not come to an end until we can board three planes to get back to the US. We watch BBC news, read our iPads, watch downloads from Netflix, charges the iPad, read some more of our books, getup, do a few Silver sneakers moves, order from room service, a little guy comes and is so nice and brings food into our room, we eat, wash hands yet again. Say hello to the tour director who’s room is opposite ours When we hear room service come up with his food, we quickly give the little man our empty plates and repeat everything above.
This morning our daughter texted us to say PA has shut down all but essential businesses everything from construction to real estate and so on and so , so now they worry about her husbands job. I wonder if we could meet for a walk when we get home and keep a good distance apart, but Mr B is concerned that our six year old grandson will not be able to resist running up to us and giving us a hug, we don’t want them to chance us giving them any virus we might be carrying Even though we have hardly been around anyone here. Our food has all been made by others and there has been lots of buffet and lazy Susan eating. On the other hand, I’ve never seen Mr B show any interest in cleaning until we got here when he Clorox wipes everything when we enter our room, wonder if he will be so keen back home😀
Oh my British , I’m sorry you are caught overseas. Haven’t been on the boards lately. Things in the HOUSTON area are getting wild. When you have 7 million neighbors , supplies can get scarce. I doubt our May Rhine Enchantment trip will happen.
Haven’t heard yet but I know Tauck has their hands full. Wow ! Y’all stay safe and will check in on y’all , as you make your way home 😘
Good luck getting home British. Stay well.
I wish you the best luck getting home - a safe and healthy trip.
We are at Boston airport awaiting flight to Philly. Yay!
How was your immigration/health screening experience? I hope it was better than mine.
Glad you are back in the US - welcome home!
Welcome home. Did you bring a cure?
Thanks for you good wishes everyone. We arrived home into our hotspot of the virus in PA about 8pm tonight. We unpacked, did one load of laundry and checked phone messages, texted family and friends. Managed to get our on hold mail delivered, early of course. We haven’t even looked at that yet.
We got no health checks at Boston! Came through Global entry very quickly Then had to wait in a short line to speak to immigration officer who once he knew we had not come back from Europe or China, that was it. The other immigration lines were long. Only about maybe twenty or thirty on our flight to Philly. We had a limo driver booked and he was waiting for us, a very fast drive home as little traffic. He told us he has to thoroughly disinfect the car after each ride. He also told us our nearest Supermarket had to call the police 7 times just on Thursday alone to stop customers,fighting.
I’ll be posting a little blog of our trip if anyone is interested In the General section if anyone is interested in the next couple of days.
Mr B is fast asleep, I’m trying to get sleepy.
British - CUrious if the immigration line was spaced out in Boston or was it as usual?
It was cramped as usual. We kept our distance. When we were waiting for our flight at the gate, we did not sit down, but stood away from everyone. We were fortunate to be in Qatar business class big separate closed off cubicles and the other flights were almost empty. We mixed with very few people on vacation, they just were not many around. We were on tour with just five other people and our tour director. One of them just did not get personal space etiquette and was forever in your face, way too close under normal corcu,stances! When we were evacuated to Kuala Lumpur, we were confined to our small hotel rooms for 48hrs. Receiving room service food. We avoided salads and and opted for cooked food as an extra precaution.... I’ve eaten so many carb meals!
The stupidity of how people Wear masks but constantly take them, up and down and touch them is driving me absolutely potty! In They just don’t understand the need to change them every couple of hours especially as exhaled breath makes them damp so quickly. In fact, it stops people washing their hands as much.
We are going for a walk soon!
I think it’s highly likely my next two Tauck tours will be cancelled.
British glad you made it home safely, still waiting on Tauck to cancel April 15th trip to France. Hoping a girls trip to Philadelphia in September doesn’t have to be cancelled.
Glad y’all made it home 😎
Glad you made it safely home British. Tauck has not canceled my April 16th trip as of yet but they will. Hoping my September trip won't be affected.