With people rolling up their sleeves for the latest COVID vaccine, I thought now would be as good a time as any to throw this post back to January 2020 when we first started to hear about a mysterious respiratory virus that seemed to be sweeping across Asia like wildfire.

Shortly before we heard about this yet to be named virus, we had landed in Bangkok, looking forward to another winter in Southeast Asia. A mere two days after landing, we spent New Year’s Eve among a throng of strangers in jam-packed streets ringing in 2020. Physical distancing was impossible and wasn’t something we ever really gave much thought about – other than to be mindful of pickpockets.

In the days that followed, we started noticing more locals than normal wearing face masks in crowded places — particularly on the Bangkok Skytrain. Seeing the occasional person wearing a medical mask in public during previous trips to Bangkok wasn’t out of the ordinary. When we asked about them on previous visits, we were told that people would choose to wear masks in public when they had a cold or something else they didn’t want to spread to others. Imagine, wearing a mask as a courtesy to protect others?!

We decided to book weekly places to stay in various parts of Bangkok so that we could explore different parts of the city for days at a time – from the VERY touristy Kao San Road to the VERY seedy Soi 4 – a road lined with bars and pubs – in some of which you could procure an adult sexual encounter with men, women and every gender in between. And no, we didn’t partake

Again, in those early days of January we didn’t really give the news of a mystery virus and the increase in masked locals much more thought. Since we had been to Bangkok a few times in the past, we fell easily back into our routine of regular foot massages, eating street food and escaping the heat and humidity within the plethora of 7-11s scattered every couple of blocks.

When we returned home from previous trips to Thailand, friends and family would always ask what beaches/islands we went to. Sheepishly, we would confess that we never left Bangkok. At risk of becoming known as the Canadians who go to Thailand but never see the ocean, we booked a few out-of-Bangkok experiences.

In mid-January, we hopped a short flight to Luang Prabang, Laos — an interesting blend of Asian and French influences. Over a few days we explored their extensive street markets, temples and an excursion to a region that had many small waterfalls.

We returned to Bangkok for a few days (more people in masks) and then relocated for a brief stay on the island of Krabi, where we stayed at a new eco resort were we soaked up time at their pool and, yes, went to the beautiful beaches and enjoyed a day sailing trip. The hotel was about a kilometre from the main beach. At first we thought that might be an issue, but soon discovered it was a blessing. The hotel provided a regular shuttle to the beach. If we had stayed any closer, the noise from the bars that line the beach and main drag would have been unbearable (day and night).

By the time we got back to Bangkok for our final week in Thailand most locals were wearing masks. Tourists still seemed skeptical and/or oblivious about what was coming. By the third week in January, news in North America still wasn’t reporting on the virus as much as it seemed to have been covered in the part of the world where we were at the time.

With the virus heavily linked to Asia, we were eager to get on to our next adventure: spending the month of February galavanting across Australia — Perth to Brisbane — petsitting and exploring a plethora of glorious, fine-sand beaches.