Bob Saccamano

Not sure if this has been mentioned but Sri Lanka might be an option.They have had just 2000 infections and 11 deaths. Reports indicate an opening up in August for international tourists but with conditions(only in groups/minimum stay/designated hotels/multiple tests etc) . If there are no hiccups they should open up further by winter. Has beaches/hill country/warm weather and not super expensive. If any part of SEA opens up by then you could go there easily.
I can spend a couple of months in Kandy (some isolated jungle lodge kinda place ) or beach towns down south
Bob

The_Bouncer

Could be an option if they ease the conditions more by the winter. What was their lockdown like?

Bob Saccamano

Sri Lanka went into a strict curfew in March with complete shut down with violators arrested by police while ramping up testing and isolating and closing borders. They have slowly relaxed as cases were controlled and by June just had a nightly curfew (10 pm to 5 am kinda thing). July was just a couple of hours in the middle of the night.
They had a terrorist attack last year at a church which dented tourism but was improving before covid. I was there October 19. It is a tourism dependent country so govt will be pushing for opening more than other countries. They have decent hospitals and are not as expensive as some western locations if u need to use. Kandy is a small town up in the hills close to coffee estates. There a lot of family run hotels that are outside town in the jungle but have all modern amenities but a couple of miles from city center.
You can see I have been thinking about it
Info on opening tourism in August below.

Bob.


https://www.cntraveller.in/story/sri...lan-distillery

the810

Yes, this is possible. But taking the US health care system into account, I wouldn't do it.
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The_Bouncer

Sri Lanka is a lovely country. I was there for three weeks in 2007.

Kandy is indeed lovely. Unfortunately I didn't make it to Nuwara Eliya, but that is a place I would like to see.

I also liked the south. Galle is absolutely fascinating.

Jaimito Cartero

I love Sri Lanka. A few months there would be pretty nice. Great people, crazy bus drivers.

We split our trip between Galle and the capital. Our rental was literally over the beach. Watching people surf, and the ocean waves was incredible in Galle.

The_Bouncer

I would obviously need to be very certain of my insurance policy.

yvrcnx

I second Sri Lanka. We went there last year in March for 2 weeks and so fell in love that we went back for another 3 weeks in November.
One of the main reasons to go there originally was that we wanted to go to a place which is not over run, especially by citizens of a certain large Asian country. (after visiting Thailand on the year before, we didn't want to go through that again)

I highy recommend to visit Sigiriya and then on to the East Coast - Pasikudah, Kalkudah area. We loved it there. Amazing beaches, absolutely no crowds and some amazing properties.
Kandy is great for a couple of days, especially visiting the temple and Galle is beautiful, we spend 6 days there after having had only 2 days there during our stay in March which was way to short. It's an old 'Dutch Fort' with a great energy, lots of restaurants, cafes and really nice to walk around.
Ella is also amazing, in the center of the country with amazing hikes to little Adams and Adams Peak and beautiful tea plantations.

You can take the train from Nuwara Eliya to Ella which I highly recommend.

Sri Lankan people are also some of the kindest I've met.

The_Bouncer

Sri Lanka would be an excellent place to ride out the winter, but the severity of their previous lockdown is worrying.

yvrcnx

That would definitely be something to look into. They were one of the first countries to allow foreigners back in, however with quite strict and in my viewpoint not acceptable (at lest for me) entry requirements which included having to take at least 3 tests over the course of a 2 week stay.
Maybe this has or will be changed and this kind of conditions would definitely be something to check and make sure it's not a dealbreaker.

The_Bouncer

The current requirements are absolutely a dealbreaker for me. If they change and I see the tourism sector functioning freely for a reasonable length of time, that's another story.

nk15

Just pick a country that you will feel comfortable spending 1-2 months in the ICU, if it comes to that, God forbid. If you get covid, I don’t think there will be flights in and out or evacuation flights to the hospital system or country of your choice. You will probably be stuck there, for better or worse. And then think who will be there to help you, what access to family or friends you may have for assistance.

Saint4805

Sri Lanka looks like a great place but just watch Harald Baldr's Youtube videos and you'll see how strict the curfews were. People could only leave their homes to buy food and water on certain days (I think only two) of the week and the lines at the shops and supermarkets were huge. The airport closed down for a while and people were stuck there until Qatar resumed some flights. I'll happily visit post COVID but this is the last place I would visit over this winter.

The_Bouncer

Yes, I would definitely want to see things working well for a while first. I'm not willing to risk that kind of lockdown. That's the reason I'm not going to South Africa.

Saint4805

The alcohol ban in SA would be a huge deal breaker for me