We are 1 male, Scottish, my wife, 1 female, American and 1 female, Ukrainian. We have all lived and worked in Vietnam for 4+ years.

We arrived on the same flight to Vietnam last night an hour before 00:00 of the 21st March 2020. This is important in terms of the ever changing rules we are facing that no one seems quite sure about.

My wife and I left Vietnam 12 days ago for what was supposed to be a truly spectacular whirlwind 3 weddings in 3 weeks on 3 continents trip - starting in New Zealand, to the U.S. and back to Vietnam. Unfortunately, no less than 2 days after our departure, covid-19 was confirmed as a pandemic and rapid spread in the US and Europe meant that the virus started crossing borders very quickly... including to New Zealand.

We soon knew that our whirlwind trip was not going to be what we thought it was and started making quick and constantly changing plans and flight arrangements to come home, to Vietnam. Every day we woke up to new rules and had to change something or do something else to try and get back in.

The full story is too long to share here, but after we thought we would be sharing time with our loved ones in different parts of the world, seeing new marriages being formed, and celebrating with our family and friends, we had to leave before the first wedding even took place and the other two have sadly been postponed. Whatever is necessary to make the world safe right now.

Now, on the day of wedding #1, we find ourselves in government quarantine in Vietnam. Apart from being bused to an old dormitory building that students belongings were moved out of yesterday and that it’s outfitted with army supplies, I’m not entirely sure what I’m in for. But we’ll be here for the next 14 days.

Next Saturday, would’ve been wedding #2 in the US and the Saturday after that would’ve been wedding #3. That’s the day we’ll get out of government quarantine.

So we don't have much to do either! So AMA to any of us!!

Proof 1: https://imgur.com/a/tFMVS8k

Proof 2: https://imgur.com/a/09c48U6

11pm 21/1/30 UPDATE: We're heading to sleep. Thanks everyone for your questions and comments, it's been really interesting. And helped us all pass the first day! If we have nothing to do tomorrow, we won't, then we'll respond to anything we've missed or that comes through overnight. Cheers!

9.30am 22/3/2020 Day 2: We're back. We'll try to respond to everyone, thanks for your messages and comments. I understand we are getting some judgement for traveling and that is fully expected and justified. If we knew what we knew now, we wouldn't have left. If our departure had just been two days later, we wouldn't have left. That is how quickly the situation changed. We knew there was a risk, but we didn't expect a full closure of all international travel within 12 days. We were also coming from a country with 0 deaths to a country with 0 deaths. So I'll accept being called an idiot. We didn't think we were putting people in danger, at all. I know it makes it sounds like we were going to the U.S. but by day 1 of leaving we knew that was of the table and in the comments I've said our plan was to get back ASAP after the first wedding. At that point that was a reasonable assumption.

For Ukraine - She was sent by work, who now regret that, to a highly developed country, she didn't see the risk. She has also just reminded me that this is the first time ever that there has been a worldwide, international travel ban. This never happened during SARS or MERS. This is unprecedented. So please reserve your judgement in that context.

10.15am 23/3/2020 Day 3: Still reading the comments and questions, a bit slower now at responding. It's been quite difficult to read all the name calling and chastising, but I fully understand it. I appreciate the people who understand our position or even defend us. As I've said on numerous comments, for my wife and I especially, we absolutely regret our choice, and while this isn't a punishment or prison here, we have absolutely no complaints about being in quarantine or what the Government is doing for us. For Ukraine she was sent on an ill-advised business trip by her company, who now have an internal investigation as to why she was sent.

This article is from March 7th and gives a bit more context around the time we were making our decision, as well as dealing with other things in our life. There is lots in here to support our decision and lots you can use to pillorize us with. So I'm not giving this as a defence or a stick to beat us with, just to give more context.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/03/07/with-covid-19-coronavirus-should-you-cancel-or-postpone-air-travel/#14d2ac811c73

Remember, airlines were still taking new bookings, people were still travelling. Yes, we were idiots. And that's easy to call us names and judge us in the situation now, so up to you. We're still answering questions if you have any, if you just want to chastise us you are wasting your time. We get it. We are embarrassed and feel like idiots and accept the criticism we've received. But we won't respond to any more of those posts. Even if they finish with a question. Thanks!

Comments: 737 • Responses: 63  • Date: 

PrinceOfWales_2025 karma

These bangbro plot lines are getting elaborate....

In all seriousness though, what’s your general mood been like OP? Anxious? Fear, Boredom?

Edit*: Thanks for the gold stranger!

thefakekiwi626 karma

Hahaha that gave me a good laugh!

Sorry for the delay in answering, we just got our first care package full of cleaning supplies so we are cleaning the room from top to bottom right now!

The mood is good right now. Some anxiety and fear creeps in a bit but trying to stay positive. The world is in this together and us being here is just a small part of that. For us three it's been real positive. We haven't been interacting with others.

But we're in some group chats and some people are with real negative people.

We had an entitled white woman on our bus last night who was almost demanding to speak to the manager! She stormed off at one point and we haven't seen her since. I don't think she was expecting this. We were. She definitely had a bit of money.

So everyone is dealing with it differently. Gotta manage your expectations.

Saying that, it's day 1 lol, so we'll see how we go!

Thanks for the question. And the laugh!

slickt0mmy442 karma

Karens show up in the most unexpected of places sometimes

thefakekiwi1090 karma

I'm trying not to use the phrase Karen anymore, after reading an article recently about how women are the least likely to complain and it's basically used as a sexist phrase to put down strong women who speak up.

But in this case, she was definitely a Karen!

Here's the article;

https://www.smh.com.au/national/thanks-for-noticing-us-gen-z-but-we-need-to-talk-about-karen-20200213-p540mv.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1y8nk2yCd53y-nr6DVrBqpJXW8cLMDSU6HR8eQPo6xgTmf4uGi3alAGfs#Echobox=1581724244

KBMonay233 karma

That was so ethical of you I'd have to wager you're in the NGO sector. I'm right across the border in Myanmar and have a friend that was quarantined under concern he was infected. He's being treated quite well and I imagine Vietnam has far better facilities for quarantine. I know it's extremely intimidating especially if you're unfamiliar with the local language but they're probably just as scared of you potential pathogens as you are of their retro-fitted army barracks hahaha. Wishing you well! Thanks for doing the AMA getting to read some interesting first hand experience. We "don't have any confirmed cases" yet and I'm just waiting for the impending fallout here.. Stay strong!

thefakekiwi174 karma

Weird - that is scarily accurate!

We are actually in student dorms - every facility is different. This just looks like a run down building from the 60s. No mod-cons but it's fine.

Thank you very much, your comment is appreciated! Glad you are enjoying it. It's been fun for us too, helped pass Day 1. Good luck!

zootnotdingo34 karma

Really interesting article! Thank you for the reading recommendation!

thefakekiwi90 karma

Good eh! I actually apologised to my sister after reading this for calling her a Karen as a joke.

But then I saw a woman at the airport with a 'Karen' haircut and still judged. I'm not perfect.

Lastliner324 karma

OP, you mentioned that less than 2 days after your departure, WHO declared Covid-19 as a pandemic, this was already spreading everywhere way before the declaration itself, surely you knew this would effect the countries you are going to travel to, heck even first case in Vietnam was first reported in Jan. So my question is this, what made you travel during a pandemic and what risks did you knowingly put yourself and your loved ones into? Did you realise this late or were you going into this with a idgaf attitude?

thefakekiwi171 karma

Good question.

So, we definitely didn't have an idgaf attitude. And when we left we weren't traveling during pandemic, officially. We knew they were risks and we naively thought that it was on the other side of the world - USA, Iran, Italy, South Korea - from where we were, Vietnam, and where we were going, and at that point there weren't many cases in New Zealand.

To answer your question - we realised too late. And regret our decision. We saw some red flags but never imagined it would escalate to where we are now so quickly. At that point no-one was talking about borders closing or all international travel ceasing completely (or if they were we hadn't read that, and we'd read a lot). People were still travelling at that point, so we weren't the only ones.

If our leaving date had been two days later we definitely wouldn't have gone. From that point it escalated at a rate we never expected. We cancelled the U.S. part of our trip nearly a week ago now, and hoped we could do the NZ wedding then get back to Vietnam ASAP. So we booked a flight home for Monday (23rd). Then by Wednesday (18th) the situation escalated again and we knew we needed to get back even sooner before we were locked out. So we cancelled the Monday flight and booked one for the next date we could, Friday 21st.

Then they suddenly needed a confirmation letter saying we didn't have covid to get in the country - which you can't get if you don't have symptoms, and would take two days anyway. This was announced 24 hours before our flight. We got a doctors letter confirming we had no symptoms and couldn't be tested in NZ if we didn't have any.

Maybe over-answered your question but felt it deserved a proper answer.

Thanks!

FrnklyFrankie92 karma

This doesn't surprise me, to be honest. The escalation was lightning fast.

thefakekiwi69 karma

Honestly, we were under so much stress figuring it out. On the phone to embassies, travel agents, airlines... They all basically refer to this website;
https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/

Which didn't always have the same updated information that was coming out. No-one really knew what was happening. I even called the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand and he told me the wrong information. When I told what I thought it was he asked me to call back in 15 minutes and when he did he agreed with me. He was amazing, he even put in writing in an email for me in English and Vietnamese.

alex04611 karma

Not surprised, me and a group of friends had a trip to Canada planned and we were literally every day discussing the possibility of cancelling it, but at the time it would have been way too expensive and there were nearly no cases where we were going so we were going anyway, once the pandemic was officially declared by the WHO it all streamlined our cancellations because everyone was allowing full refunds on AirBnBs, activity reservations and airline tickets, we only got the last refunds on the very day we were leaving for Montreal.

I definitely empathise with the stress you went through, if out bookings were a week earlier like yours, we would have definitely gone on our trip too.

thefakekiwi3 karma

Thank you very much for your comment and understanding. You feel our pain.

I know some people are judging us, rightly or wrongly so, but you understand. And you make a good point, it wasn't until it was declared a pandemic that all the airlines and airbnb started giving full refunds and free change fees etc etc. That wasn't an option to us when we left.

Yes that is selfish, but we're not rich, and it is a lot of money to throw away because that wasn't being offered and even though the risks were there it was nowhere near as high as they quickly became and are now.

smartief1279 karma

Have they given you stuff to do? Books/games? You've obviously got internet access.

Are you allowed to wander round the facility or confined to rooms?

How are meals organised?

Is someone checking you for symptoms?

thefakekiwi363 karma

Hi!

No, but we brought books/kindle, have phones, computer and are having some more books dropped off. We can receive packages and food/drink deliveries. They provide free wifi, Asia is amazing for that. Wifi everywhere. We also have 4G on our Vietnamese cell phones.

Ha, good question, as we've just been given the answer to that this second. So far we have been self-isolating in our room together, but apart. And been to the lobby. We've just found out we can go out to the grounds. The communication has been non-existent so we are following our own social distancing rules. And lots of handwashing. So if we go out we will stay apart.

They bring the meals to your door. It's quite incredible! The two meals so far were great. Standard Vietnamese food. I don't know what the name was for breakfast, lunch was rice with a bit of beer, a boiled egg and some soup.

No, not really. And that is a worry. We would like to be. Our temperature was taken when we arrived and written down on our forms, but nothing since then, that was at 5am, about 10 hours ago.

yuemeigui95 karma

When I was in Isolation, I reported my temperature 3x a day to the hospital and 2x a day to my Neighborhood Committee.

Now that I'm in Quarantine, someone is coming to take my temp 2x a day and I report those numbers to the Neighborhood Committee.

10 hours isn't really that long ago if you are otherwise symptom free.

thefakekiwi46 karma

We still haven't had our temperature retaken. They came to the door once and didn't have the correct forms so said they would come back and didn't.

smartief158 karma

Thanks for answering. I know it sucks not to be I your own home, but that doesn't sound too bad so far (might be different by day 13!). At least you can get out into the grounds. Treat it like an amazing escapist holiday adventure to relax and recharge

thefakekiwi61 karma

Happy to!

It's not bad, it could be worse. Nothing beats home, but we'll manage. People have survived worse lol, this is nothing.

Haha will do!

galaxyangelz30 karma

Hi. You will get tested 4 times during your quarantine, speaking of a man in Vietnamese quarantine himself.

Even though the condition is not so good, I hope you follow the instruction for greater good. We have less than 100 cases with 0 death until now, thanks for the great effort of the government.

Thank you and stay safe.

thefakekiwi11 karma

Great!

And agreed.

ObviouslyBabyYoda10 karma

What kind of books are you reading?

thefakekiwi56 karma

Scotland - Hear the wind sing - Murakami (though not today, been cleaning and doing this all day)

America - Soon to start Kiterunner

Ukraine - Netflix lol

Rolten4 karma

To be fair there would be little use in taking your temperature if you're already in quarantine. You would know you might have it but wouldn't the course of action stay the same?

thefakekiwi8 karma

No, cause if one of us tested positive they'd be sent to hospital, the room would be disinfected again, and the other two would restart their quarantine again.

shelly12345678145 karma

Greetings from quarantine in Spain! I've been doing a 31 day yoga challenge... The instructor also curated a list of classes for uncertain times.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLui6Eyny-Uzy-b0MKzL2EfaTqB0ppgK06

thefakekiwi65 karma

How is it in Spain? Where are you from and how long are you there for?

Thanks for this, I think we're gonna start yoga tomorrow so this is great!

CrayonTehSanuki125 karma

Hey u/thefakekiwi, real kiwi here. My question is, how dare you?

thefakekiwi117 karma

Haha kia ora cuz!

Not born in New Zealand, but a Kiwi at heart! Lived there for 4 years and it will forever be home. When we leave Vietnam it will be straight back to NZ!

Also, much respect for r/unexpectedoffice !

alexbui9142 karma

Recognize the office reference. You are a gentleman and a scholar!

thefakekiwi25 karma

Apres vous

CrayonTehSanuki5 karma

Dang, I didn't even realize I was channelling my inner Kelly!

thefakekiwi3 karma

It was subconscious!

poe-one100 karma

Hey mate. Englishman living in Vietnam.

What do you think about the fact that lots cafes and other services are not serving westerners in Vietnam?

There is a bit of an uproar regarding stories suggesting that westerners in quarantine are getting better treatment than the vietnamese in quarantine. For instance that they are made to sleep in large dorms with 12+ people whilst that isnt the case for westerners. Also they are being separated based on gender regardless of familial ties. What are your reactions to that as a group?

Hope you guys get through it ok. If you need any necessities sent I'd be more than happy to send you guys some stuff if you need it.

thefakekiwi78 karma

Hey! Good to hear from you :)

Haha we discussed your first question as a group - we don't know yet since we've not been into Vietnam!

But joking aside, we've all read about it and are all worried about the way we could be treated when released into the wild.

We do want to say though that the people here are amazing. They are working so hard, they are so young, and I don't know if they are volunteers or getting paid, which wouldn't be much anyway. I tried to tip one today for helping me get a delivery and he wouldn't take it! I will try again!!

I hadn't heard about that; Westerners being treated better. None of us have, and my wife is in Group Chat with some quarantined women around Saigon in different facilities. Heard nothing of this nature. In terms of getting in we were treated worse, but I guess that is to be expected. We were the last people to get on a bus here and last to get rooms. There was almost no communication but there is an Australian-Vietnamese man on the bus who has been amazing. He set up a Whatsapp Group Chat between us all and is relaying all the relevant information that he gets.

We have barely left our room and don't plan to - so I can't see how Vietnamese are being treated. We are in a 6 bed dorm, it wouldn't be safe to have 3 more people in here. But they are still unloading busloads of people into the building - all Vietnamese now as no foreigners can get in now. I don't know their living conditions but it wouldn't surprise me if they are being jammed in.

As a group, we would hope not!

For the familial ties - maybe that happens in a facility with bigger dorms and shared bathrooms. They would have to separate genders in the case. We have a private bathroom between us.

Honestly, we appreciate your offer more than you know. I've been blown away by the kindness and humanity we've been shown over the last week.

The girls asked can you come fix our shower? There's no water pressure and it takes forever to wash their hair!

We have been really well supported by friends, jobs and family right now, but if we do need anything we'll definitely reach out. Thank you!

ToXac38 karma

Glad to see your positive attitude. If you appreciate the volunteers, dont tip them with money, instead you can give them something cool as a gift, like a book or keychain. Our youth are not used to tipping, and money also spoils the volunteer spirit for them. I wouldnt be surprised if foreigners are given better facilities. The government tries to treat foreigners well to keep a good image, and also most Vietnamese can handle shitty beds and crowded quarters for a few days, since many of us have experienced that kind of living condition at some point in our lives. As our quarantine facilities (mostly military bases) fill up, there are even soldiers sleeping on cots outside, having given up their beds to quarantined people.

thefakekiwi17 karma

Thanks for the tip about the tip! We'll definitely look into that.

smiecandy9 karma

They put everybody from the same flight into the same unit to prevent cross transmission. There has been a discussion about letting people have an option of staying in quarantine in hotels with a fee, however it is not easy to implement in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi since quarantine facilities shouldn’t be closed to busy resident areas. I read on the news there were some European tourist groups got to stay in resorts in Hoi An but the resort owners need to volunteer, the government can’t force them. If someone is infected, they will have to burn everything that person touched. Foreigners don’t have to pay for their quarantine stay but will be charged for treatment if they are tested positive with the virus. There has been some discrimination against foreigners and Vietnamese coming back from the West since some entitled people complaint about their stay in the quarantine, despite medical workers, volunteers, soldiers and the government are doing their best to keep their people safe. About tipping the workers there, do not give them money or your belonging. After 14 days, when you can get out already, come back with some care packages, medical masks (some of them have to reuse masks due to shortage), food, drink as a thank you, just observe what they need at that facility you are staying. You and your friends can also donate to our governmental account dedicated this work.

thefakekiwi6 karma

I saw something about the Government account. Do you have details of that? We will be more than happy to give to that!

ooololoolll66 karma

Any 3some in the works?

thefakekiwi112 karma

Haha expected this question TBH, but not this soon.

When I read this out to the girls it was met with eye rolls and an "oh gawd". I'll leave it at that lol.

EDIT: Spelling

ooololoolll102 karma

So you're not against the idea then. Time is your friend..

thefakekiwi68 karma

Haha that is not what I implied!

jumbo5327 karma

If ur wife reads this ur in trouble

thefakekiwi81 karma

Too late! We're all doing this together and you guys are throwing me under the bus. The Ukrainians friend had to translate what a 3some was haha. Her mum is reading this too so now we're worried she's gonna Google Image search it.

TizardPaperclip48 karma

... my wife, 1 female, American and 1 female, Ukrainian.

Have you asked how much it costs to book another two weeks?

thefakekiwi29 karma

They need to pay us!

Just for the cleaning we did lo. This place is spotless now and we aim to keep it that way!

WaywardWriter47 karma

Where were you headed in the US?

Stay safe; stay healthy. Congratulations on the marriage and tell the story to your grandkids in 30 years.

thefakekiwi47 karma

El Paso! Where we hear there's just been the first outbreaks. We'd have never gotten back if we'd gone there.

Thank you very much! It's been nearly 7 years for us, we were going to weddings, but thanks for the belated congrats :) Appreciated! And it's gonna be one helluva story!!

_PukyLover_29 karma

what do you do in Vietnam?

thefakekiwi81 karma

Scotland - Corporate Social Responsibility, giving education to disadvantaged youths.

Ukraine - Hospitality.

America - English Teacher.

Jayjayjune19 karma

Was your Ukrainian friend travelling to the wedding as well or returning from another area?

thefakekiwi30 karma

Returning from another area - she was on a botched business trip to Australia.

We only met her once we were all penned in together and panicking about being let back into Vietnam!

Jayjayjune14 karma

That must have been so stressful. I was wondering if she had any insight to the situation around Russia and neighbouring region. Take care of yourselves, it's mad out there!

thefakekiwi76 karma

When I asked this question, almost immediate response, "Fuck Russia (pause) Fuck Putin".

Thank you!

slamlettheboybeboys14 karma

Слава Україні!

thefakekiwi10 karma

Героям Слава!

gibsonsux15 karma

Where are you located? Do you need some beers sent over?

thefakekiwi19 karma

We're in Thu Duc, but we're all good for now, thank you though!

Give it a couple of days we may hit you up. The bottle of Chivas arrived as promised so we have that for now.

AceOfSpades291115 karma

Is the dorm located in Thu Duc District, HCM City by any chance? How's your life there so far? I used to live there, in the AG4 building btw.

thefakekiwi8 karma

That's the one.

It's good so far. Small world eh!

yuemeigui13 karma

Nice. I'm in quarantine in China. Did you and the Ukranian woman know each other before? Why were you put in quarantine together?

thefakekiwi29 karma

How is it in China? Hope you're ok. Are you Chinese (if you can say)?

No not at all, just happened to be on the same flight. My wife and her were the only two females so I think she was keen to be with another female - she says that is correct.

yuemeigui53 karma

I'm not Chinese.

I'm in a good place because I speak Chinese (so I understand what's going on), and I'm a foreigner (so there's an official translator assigned as a point of contact to explain stuff to us), and I'm in the city where I live (so when a new and poorly worded rule came down the pipeline, instead of pissing into the wind at the top of my lungs like the rest of the angry people on my floor, I had the ability to track down relevant people and be effective at voicing my complaints).

Arriving at the airport on nearly no sleep or food, it was frustrating and slow and totally understandable in a "I'm not happy with this, and they don't look happy either, but we are all in this together because public health" sort of way.

Then I went from "we're just double checking some symptoms you have" to flagged as a suspect case and things went from 0 to 100 real quick.
I was expecting Hotel Quarantine.
I got the Isolation Ward.

Had a blood draw and snot sample taken before leaving the airport (by ambulance), then another blood draw at the Fever Clinic, and a CT scan before being admitted.

Having a throat swab from a guy wearing a hazmat suit and breathing through a PAPR respirator was probably one of the scariest things I've been conscious for. When I was doing my temperature checks (way more than the 3 times a day they asked for), the slightest increase had me freaking the fuck out.

Initially, being released to the Hotel (where they only wear bunny suits and masks to deliver food to us) was awesome. Now, on Day 5, I'm going fucking nuts with being stuck in the same room and 9 more days to go.

Mostly, I'm pleased with the level of professionalism I'm seeing and I'm trying not to be a stressed out bitch at people who have good reason to be a lot more stressed out than I am. Just gotta keep reminding myself that "I don't like this" is not the same thing as "this is bad".

thefakekiwi3 karma

Wow! That is terrifying. I'm sorry you're having to go through this. So I assume you didn't have it then? What alerted them so much?

You mentioned you have nothing to do? Just internet?

What are you doing to occupy your time other than Reddit?

Dongwook235 karma

First off, I hope you aren't infected, and all of you will exit the facility soon. Thanks for doing this AMA.

So question, I do wish to see these 'Army Supplies' that you speak of. Just a thing I wish to know. Is it possible you post picture of these supplies online?

Another question, once you come out of quarantine(assuming that all goes well), what next? Is there medical probation of sorts or are you free to go? Did they even tell you what will happen in this case?

Last but not least, did they tell you what will happen if any of you are confirmed?

thefakekiwi6 karma

First off, us too! If they test us and we are negative, we still have to stay here 14 days. I don't think they are testing us though.

Ah not really army supplies - but we have a camo blanket, a straw mat and a mosquito net, that's it. Other than water. And the food that is brought to us.

That's a great question - We have no idea. We assume we just get to go home. Taxi or I don't know if someone takes us and makes sure we live where we say we do. The people here are so swamped. No-one has told us anything.

Same answer to last question - no communication, no idea. Sorry. We hope that is not the case!

ricofennicool5 karma

How does it feel to live in quarantine? how do you feel at the moment?

thefakekiwi14 karma

American - "In general, it feels relieving but a little but uncertain. Mainly because I think we're in a safe place but the language barrier doesn't help. And knowing that more people are arriving from hotspots all over the world I don't know what would happen if there was an outbreak in quarantine.

At the moment I feel comfortable as far as I could be in this situation. Partly because we received our first care package with cleaning products and cleaned the whole place. I'm still waiting on a towel I can take my first shower in about 48 hours."

Ukrainian - "It feels unfair because if we had arrived a few days earlier we would have avoided this and been able to self-isolate at home. But I also feel lucky because if we'd arrived a few hours later we wouldn't have been allowed in at all."

"(Laughs) I want to shower. It's been 24 hours"

Scottish - "To be honest it feels pretty good right now. We had the most stressful 5 days from Monday to Friday trying to figure out how to get back, what would happen, what could happen, best and worst case scenarios, ups and downs. We were almost turned away and sent back to Australia immediately. Then we may have been stranded in Australia. It was a living nightmare. This is where our life is so we needed to get back here. Quarantine was the 2nd best option we were hoping for so at the moment I'm happy. The love and support we have had from friends and family has been overwhelming."

sound_is_butter2 karma

I'm a filmmaker and I'm looking for people to help me with a documentary about Coronavirus. I'm looking for people who have been uniquely affected by the situation to record daily video messages and upload them to Dropbox. More information available at the link. Would you be willing to contribute?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1jono2z4BuyQ62yFUi00P1fh0wSUBos7-DduqdgPsfk0

thefakekiwi2 karma

We're getting tired now and about to head to sleep. We'll look at it in the morning if that's ok? Sounds interesting.

I just don't know if we'll have time.

(That was a joke)

sound_is_butter1 karma

Haha of coarse. Stay safe.

thefakekiwi3 karma

Coarse? You got a sore throat? You might need tested!

merme912 karma

What do you think about Vietnam putting people in quarantine like that, and not let you isolate at home? Do you think it's a good measure or too strict? We were traveling in Vietnam recently but left as soon as we could, on Tuesday, because we were terrified of being quarantined.

thefakekiwi11 karma

We all agree that the risk is too high to allow people to go home. Not all people who self-isolate take it seriously and still go out. That's dangerous. We think it's a good measure. And a small sacrifice to make if it means we can keep this disease under control.

Hope you got home safe. We'd obviously rather be at home but understand why we're here.

merme916 karma

That's true! Even though we were scared of being stuck in quarantine, Vietnam has been handling the pandemic exceptionally well, and this measure definitely played a role there. Kinda wish more country would do the same. Thank you, we're in self quarantine at home right now, hoping we didn't catch the virus. Good luck to you too and stay safe!!

thefakekiwi2 karma

Thank you, you too!

[deleted]1 karma

[deleted]

thefakekiwi9 karma

Only water so far, and we could get coffees delivered today which was much needed!

We have our first care package on it's way that our friend has put in a nice bottle of Chivas for us so we are looking forward to that!

Thanks for your question! How are you doing?

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thefakekiwi3 karma

So your job is safe? That's good to hear.

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thefakekiwi5 karma

Thanks Chicago! Texas says hi back :) And Ukraine and Scotland! Hello!

IsntItNeat1 karma

Maybe I missed it, but if you have a residence in Vietnam, why were you not allowed to quarantine there? Is there a reason you have been put in the dormitory but not others? Stay well!

thefakekiwi2 karma

The rules have changed every day so I'm not even sure the answer to your question lol. I wish they had let us quarantine in our own home.

We've brainstormed; when we arrived the rules were that all foreigners who entered had to go to Government quarantine - unless you had a negative covid test, which you cannot get. So you can't go home. They barely let us into the country. But Vietnamese nationals were allowed home without a negative covid test - after filling in a self declaration that they had no symptoms depending on where they had transited. This was before midnight 20th March. It doesn't make much sense because they have the same probability as us as having the disease and transmitting it.

In fact, depending on where they came from maybe more! We came from low risk countries so the chance of us having it was pretty small. It could be higher now that we are in such a dense cluster of people. But as I've mentioned, we are pretty much isolating ourselves to our room and keeping our distance. We only leave if we need to get a care package. Food is brought to our room.

Thank you! We will try. We got our exercise today from scrubbing the room! Yoga tomorrow maybe? It's a big room thankfully.

DilithiumCrystals1 karma

Great AMA.

Would you have gone back to Vietnam if you had know you would be quarantined? In hindsight would you have gone somewhere else? Where?

thefakekiwi3 karma

Thank you very much!

Absolutely. We 99% expected this if we were let in and were ok with that, if it meant we got home after.

The other option was being stranded in New Zealand which wasn't that bad, or worse, Australia!

Marshalljoe1 karma

How has the experience changed you at this point?

thefakekiwi6 karma

Scotland - The amount of love and kindness we've been given has been overwhelming. I can see the world pulling together now for this cause and becoming better for it. Hopefully I can be part of that.

America - Hype aware of hygiene!

Ukraine - Nothing to add.

eddiethyhead6661 karma

Have you played mother or earthbound?

thefakekiwi2 karma

Haha no, what's that? I'm guessing but not sure...

PurvesDC1 karma

Miss IRN BRU?

thefakekiwi2 karma

Ha only when I'm hungover. Have one can a year, normally on New Year's Eve!

Norgeroff0 karma

What color is your toothbrush?

thefakekiwi1 karma

Ukraine - Blue

America & Scotland - Bamboo with black bristles

Ikue1270 karma

Are you nervous about spending two weeks with just these people? I love my wife but 2 straight weeks would be interesting....

thefakekiwi2 karma

Haha no, I like spending time with her. Even though we are all in the same room we all keep our distance. So that's the hardest part.

Plant-Z-5 karma

Why would you ever risk spending time in Vietnam? Good wages?

thefakekiwi3 karma

You mean risk to come back here? Or be here at all?

We've all lived here for 4+ years so there was no risk to come back, it's our home. Beautiful country, beautiful people, good food, good beer, great lifestyle... lots of reason.