KUALA LUMPUR: As the country enters the second week of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to fight the deadly Covid-19, 13 Malaysians on holiday in South America are facing a battle of their own.
They are currently stranded in Bolivia at a hotel in the capital of La Paz during what is supposed to be a dream holiday to South America, which has now turned into a nightmare of sorts.
The pandemic has led to many countries, including Malaysia, closing its borders to curb the outbreak. This has left the group of Malaysian tourists in Bolivia in a quandary.
Tee Wan, the spokesman for the group, said they were in good health, but were worried about their predicament and wondering when they could go home.
“There is no Malaysian embassy or consulate in Bolivia, but thankfully, we have contacted the embassies in Lima, Peru, and Brasilia, Brazil, about our situation.
“The embassy staff have been helpful in providing information and are trying their best to assist us. We really appreciate their efforts.”
LIMITED OPTIONS, RESOURCES
Asked what options they had to leave Bolivia, be it by land or air, Tee Wan said Covid-19 cases had been reported in South America and many countries, including Bolivia, had closed their borders and imposed restrictions similar to the MCO, or stricter, to combat the outbreak.
“Yes, unfortunately for everyone, Covid-19 is already here. Travel via land is no longer possible as Bolivia and neighbouring Peru, Chile and Brazil have closed their borders.
“A chartered flight will cost us approximately US$260,000, and this is only to get us from here to Sao Paolo in Brazil. The El Alto airport here in La Paz is still operating, but there are no international flights in or out.”
Bolivia closed its borders on March 21 following an announcement by the government on March 17, a day before Malaysia enforced the MCO.
Peru closed its borders on March 16 after an announcement a day earlier. By then, the group had already crossed into Bolivia on March 13.
Tee Wan said they were only supposed to be in South America for only about three weeks.
“Financial resources are limited and dwindling by the day. Some of us who have ailments, like diabetes and high blood pressure, are running low on medication, which is difficult to obtain because of the curfew or they are simply not available here.”
SUPPOSED DREAM HOLIDAY
She said the trip was part of a dream holiday, arranged through a travel agency.
“We first came to Latin America with the purpose of visiting Peru, Bolivia and Chile as part of a holiday tour group arranged through travel agency Yongo Travels.
“We were excited to visit the famous Machu Picchu Inca Citadel up on the Andes Mountains and the Nazca Lines geoglyphs in the desert sands of southern Peru, as well as the world’s largest salt flat at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.
“Chile was more of a pit stop on land. It was supposed to be a 25-day tour, which began on March 3 when we departed from Kuala Lumpur. If not for the spread of the deadly virus, we would have returned home by March 26.”
Tee Wan said when the group began its tour, it comprised 18 people from four countries — 13 Malaysians, three Singaporeans, an American and a Briton.
She said the group felt lucky that they could return to La Paz from remote Salar de Uyuni.
“We first heard about the Peru border closure on the night of March 15, when we were already in Salar de Uyuni, which is about 10 hours by bus from La Paz.
“Our tour leader, Min Yee, advised us to head back. We took a night bus from Salar de Uyuni to La Paz and arrived early morning on March 17.
“We were lucky to have gotten out of Salar de Uyuni (which is at an altitude of more than 4,000m above sea level) on the night of March 16 as outstation travel by road was stopped soon after.
“It would have been a nightmare for us to stay in Salar de Uyuni as the town gets very cold despite the amazing scenery.”
‘NO WAY OUT’
According to the group’s original itinerary, they were supposed to fly from Lima, Peru, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on March 24 on Dutch airline KLM, then catch a connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur on March 26, but flights were cancelled by then.
“The Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur flight was first rescheduled from March 25 to 26 before it was finally cancelled.
“All these changes were made by KLM without prior notice and I was the only one who received the email notification while the rest didn’t.
“We tried to contact KLM for re-booking options, but we could not get in touch with KLM, be it via its WhatsApp number, email or its call centre in Kuala Lumpur. We even had friends back home try to contact KLM, but to no avail.”
She said the group decided to buy new tickets with other airlines, but were unsuccessful due to all the flight cancellations.
Even when they found flights to Mexico, when there were still flights to Kuala Lumpur, they hit another stumbling block.
All flights from La Paz to Mexico required a transit in Colombia, which Malaysians needed a visa to enter. It was next to impossible to get a visa in such a short time, so this option had to be ruled out. Other flights needed a transit in the United States, which also required an entry visa for Malaysians.
“We decided to wait until after the Bolivian lockdown, which was supposed to end on March 31,” Tee Wan said.
However, on March 25, the Bolivian government announced that the lockdown would be extended until April 15, similar to what has been done in Malaysia.
“Now there are absolutely no international flights to and from Bolivia. There is no way out.”
To make matters worse, the group’s Bolivian visa expires on April 12 and a new visa would cost them 560 boliviano, or RM352.
Their first visas were issued for free by the Bolivian consulate in Cusco, Peru.
DWINDLING FUNDS
Tee Wan said in La Paz, only one person per household was allowed to go out to buy food and groceries in the morning to 12pm, after which all shops would close and the streets would be empty.
Even public transport, which is mostly via cable car, has stopped running.
It is a complete lockdown on weekends, with no one allowed out at all, and anyone caught defying the rule would be jailed.
“The prices of food and groceries are going up each day.
“We also find it more and more difficult to change money each day. They now only accept US dollars and this, too, in limited denomination. Today (Friday), the moneychangers will only accept US$50 for exchange.
“We hope the Malaysian embassy in Peru can help extend our Bolivian visas without cost,” Tee Wan said.
The group remains in good spirits and health. They are hopeful that the Malaysian government via embassies in Peru and Brazil would repatriate them soon before they run out of resources and options.