Stuck in Vietnam…

This is a quick life update from Da Nang, Vietnam. My life has been a bit up and down in recent weeks. Da Nang is in lockdown mood since May and hasn’t improved much ever since. It is strange to realize that it’s been 1/3 of the entire year spent mostly inside…

After Andrea and other friends left early in June and July, there wasn’t much left to keep me here.

I was about to leave Vietnam in August, but cases have surged and the situation got worse. Bad timing but I didn’t want to rush, panic and make stupid decisions based on fear.

I don’t want to make it overly dramatic because it really isn’t. My life is really not that bad after all.

However, my flights have been cancelled multiple times now and I find myself getting “stuck” in Vietnam for real this time. Until now, it was personal choice to stay because life has been amazing here.

Now with things getting worse day by day, it is impossible to leave…

While Vietnam is not extending Visas for foreigners, they make it even harder to get out by shutting down domestic flights and domestic traveling.

International flights are currently only going out from Hanoi and Saigon, but who would have thought that getting there is such a challenge these days.

Da Nang is going into an extreme lockdown for another 7 days with the strictest measures ever. No one is allowed to leave the house in the next 7 days and as a result, people are panic shopping across the city. I’m not sure if it’s the best way to prevent the spread, but also don’t know myself if there was a better way.

For now, I’m staying positive and follow along and hope things will improve over the next 2 weeks.

I’m grateful to be in a nice apartment building with a rooftop pool and a coffee place downstairs from where I can work. During these times, I get a lot of stuff done that will ultimately give me more freedom down the road.

My e-commerce store has been growing well and my freelance business is generating good income to survive and save up. I have a healthy routine of working out 3-4 times a week and eating mostly plant based. I feel healthy and well. Of course working 7 days a week is no long term strategy and gets pretty draining over time. I crave movements hanging out with friends and going out for food and drinks. Or just walking on the beach and enjoying the sunset. Keeping the frequencies high is tough.

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Watching my friends in Europe traveling around and enjoying life makes me jealous, but I keep reminding myself that nothing lasts forever and eventually we will all get out of all this and appreciate life even more.