The flu - TG's answer
An army of blue clad women with white aprons and masks awaited our arrival, and for a moment I thought we were all going to be disinfected with Jiff or amonia, sprayed and asked to walk through a dip, but once the passengers had departed, the swarm entered the cabin. The whole plane was cleaned by 20-30 lasses and we were all handed face masks and tissues. We were shepherded pass screens that took our temperature, and ominously awaiting alongside each screen were another dozen medical clad personnel, waiting eagerly for anyone to sneeze so they could be "extracted".
Bangkok's lounges were patrolled by scores of austere men with neat wooden boxes full of aerosol cans of potent germ killing ingredients and the spa ladies had that "health shop" aroma about them.
Anyone with a sniffle was met with frowns and a path miraclously appeared before them like the biblical parting of the Red sea.
But when you think this might just be a little over the top, you land in Hong Kong and Bangkok pales into insignificance. HongKong airport looks like the ER waiting room, even the money exchangers had masks on, and people followed you looking for tell tale signs of lozenges wrappings or the aroma of Vicks vaporub.
It's all good, please don't take me the wrong way, it's just that we get so used to being able to afford to put a couple of persons on the job, in Asia, they deplore hundreds, and the military precision of how it all works is so impressive and overpowering at the same time. The flu by whichever name it is today doesn't have a chance here!, regards bkkrop