The time I spent in Khao Yai was one of the most freeing periods I had felt since 2020. Being known for its national park, the qualities of the place makes it very ideal for covid cautiousness especially in low season as most places are open-air and spacious. Fortunately or unfortunately, a car is required because there is almost no public transport infrastructure. Hence we felt safer than usual because we could avoid sharing transport with other people.
The first thing we did upon picking up our car is to wind down the windows and turn off recirculation mode. This brings in outside air into the car. Then we set up our air purifier – the air fanta 3, which can run on either a portable battery or a car lighter charger. We plugged ours in the car charger, but I did bring a portable battery just in case. We ran it for a full hour while driving before unmasking. This is the first time in roughly five years we unmasked in a car.
In singapore we mask during the rare times we drive as we use a car-sharing scheme. It felt really weird to be driving without a mask, like we were doing something wrong. It was as though we were in one of those anxiety dreams where we forgot to wear a mask.
Many of the cafes, restaurants and even hotel lobbies are open air, so it almost felt like the before times because we could go from car to hotel lobby to restaurant unmasked. Of course open-air doesn’t mean 100% risk free, but both of us felt that this is what we can accept to make this actually sustainable in the very long-term. It is low season in Khao Yai so there weren’t many people around. We do wear our masks outdoors if there are enough people around. I usually follow my partner because she’s more sensitive to potential risk than I am.
There are many accommodations in Khao Yai that are standalone with balconies or patios, so that added to the safety factor.
We avoided hotels that do not have windows that can be opened. We ran the air purifier perpetually anyway.
Since Khao Yai is known for its outdoor attractions including its famous national park, we could do plenty of things outdoor with virtually nobody around.
At many cafes, the outdoor is the feature. It is usually the other way around in other places: the indoors have great interiors whereas the outdoors feel like an afterthought. In tropical countries like Singapore, sitting outdoors is a form of voluntary torture since it can be extremely hot and humid at 35 degrees celsius. Khao Yai is at a higher altitude. It was the rainy season so there were some uncomfortably hot days, but we did enjoy quite a number of cooler days.
There are also food options available in Khao Yai that is typically unavailable in Singapore due to the hot weather. We even had sushi outdoors.
We usually skip hotel breakfasts because they are almost always indoors with a few rare exceptions – in Khao Yai almost every hotel breakfast has a patio option. Some restaurants are fully outdoors. One place offered only in-room breakfast which was great for us.
Of course, covid cautiousness is a spectrum. Some people wouldn’t travel at all or eat outdoors. Right now it seems like it is going to be a perma-pandemic, so we had to decide where in this spectrum we want to exist. We are quite comfortable wearing n95s on planes and everywhere indoors, and avoiding most human interactions. We cannot pretend that covid doesn’t exist anymore, yet we cannot be isolated hermits either. Thankfully a well-fitted mask works, along with other prophylactics.
We really appreciated our time in Khao Yai because we were able to go mask-free much more than we can in other places. It makes me contemplate more car-centric travel to isolated places. Thanks to the rental car we were able to travel around unencumbered. I won’t pretend to like wearing a mask. I just do it because I cherish my health and my brain more than I dislike wearing a mask.
I can’t help but feel weird writing this post because 99% of people are living as though the virus is harmless. Everyone else has moved on, but I keep on writing about it. But being queer taught me that representation matters. Almost every day I come across research papers telling us about the long-term harmful effects of viruses, so why am I the one feeling weird? This path is extremely lonely, but this is something that feels important to stand up for. If I don’t acknowledge this like everyone else just to feel less lonely, I am simply contributing to the denialism. I choose the loneliness. But thankfully I still have my partner with me. She doesn’t feel lonely though. I guess I have something to learn from her.
credit to my partner for some of the photos.