Right now, I am stuck in Penang, Malaysia since Sunday due to the lockdown that was imposed by the Malaysian government since Wednesday due to the covid-19 coronavirus and it is supposed to last until the 31st of March. So this video you're seeing right now was shot on my way here from Kuala Lumpur and three days before the lockdown. Not to be critical, but a few days ago some friends on my Facebook were saying that this coronavirus was all hype and just being overblown. Now suddenly they went 180 on me and seem to be very concerned about this situation since now most of the US is now in a stay at home order. Anyway I am not a Democrat nor a Republican, a Conservative nor a Liberal. I am not into politics. I just gave this as an example since my Mom believed the Fox News channel more than she believed me when I was giving her some warning about this virus a few weeks before. Good thing she changed her tune too. Now she talks to me as if she knows more about this virus than I do. As for me, I just use common sense and adapt and be willing to change according to the situation. I always think about the worst case scenario. Having been out of the comfort zone for the longest time traveling, this is what travel taught me. Anyway before the lockdown and before this thing got really big with the USA reporting thousands of cases already, I came here in Penang, thinking this might be a safe place for me to stay in until this coronavirus is under control. Three days later, the whole country of Malaysia ended up being on a lockdown, so pretty much I got stuck here. Well, anyway it is okay since my plan was to stay for at least a month anyway. Since then, it has been crazy. The more I read articles and watched videos about this coronavirus, the scarier it gets. For sure, even if the lockdown finishes, I still have to be vigilant and still have to apply what I learned in order to avoid getting this virus: wear a mask, wash my hands all the time, do not stay close to anyone, stay at least six feet away
. I can do this, but the bad thing is when I take the public transportation or when I go pay for something in a grocery or convenience store. Let alone, it will definitely affect my lovelife. Also now I have to worry about where to go next too. Which country? Since because of the coronavirus situation, less and less countries are letting foreigners enter their countries, and if they do, there are so many restrictions imposed. Well, I could understand. Good thing I still have a few weeks of visa here in Malaysia, so this still gives me some time to figure out what to do next.
As for going home back to the US, it isn't a good option right now based on the reason I just mentioned. In addition, the healthcare system is not prepared for this. And if you don't have a health insurance back in the US, the treatment could cost a lot of money. And even if you do have a health insurance, this could also be expensive for you because of the deductible, especially if it is really high. Now I hope this high cost of medical care doesn't discourage people over there from getting treatment for Covid-19 coronavirus. So for now, I will probably just lay low somewhere here in Asia and see how the situation is in the next few weeks. There is a possibility that I might work somewhere here, so at least my visa will last for at least a year in the case of a work visa. Having a tourist visa usually just gives me at least 30 days to a maximum of 90 days.
Anyway for now, I am just going day by day since it seems like the situation changes every minute. I will let you know how I deal with this situation along the way. Make sure to subscribe to/follow/like my Social Media Channels, subscribe to this blog and/or subscrible to my Podcast https://anchor.fm/chrisrevon to get updated with my travel, photography and film projects, my travel and other content. Thanks again.
