By Lee San

Have you had your vaccine?

During the FMCO, the first greeting in short message exchanges is invariably this: Have you had your vaccine? Is it AZ or Sinovac?

Then people would start gossiping about who and who lie flat on the bed for two days after getting AZ, who and who are still waiting desperately for their vaccine, and who and who have complained about unfair distribution of vaccines, etc., etc. And then someone would say who and who had a fever two days after vaccination, tested positive for coronavirus, was rushed into an ICU, and then gone…

Suddenly the vaccine has become the life-saving last straw for humanity! With daily new infection and death numbers spiraling and the fact we indeed lack capable leaders who really care about the rakyat, we can only look to the vaccine to come to our salvation!

Sure enough there are friends who are worried that the vaccine could trigger genetic changes in our body, cause impotence or infertility, and are therefore unwilling to go for vaccination.

A father even yelled: these vaccines that have been hastily put to use are all "chronic killers".

Nevertheless, when I asked this uncle several weeks later whether he had received his jab, I was shocked to discover that he had secretly received his Sinovac jab. Good luck, uncle!

Actually there are rumors people receiving the Sinovac vaccine can travel to China but "may not" be able to travel to Western countries. What about people receiving Pfizer and AZ, can they go to China? It was reported last week that people taking the AZ vaccine manufactured in Asia would not be allowed to travel to the EU, but fortunately the decision was soon reversed, otherwise our WHO would be reduced to a useless empty shell.

As a matter of fact, politics is a million times more dreadful than the virus itself!

I have a friend by the name of Hean who told me he had planned to have an AZ shot on his right arm, Pfizer on the left, and Sinovac on his butt, so that he could travel to any country in this world. I think I've got to do the same. Haha..

John's 30th wedding anniversary is coming soon, but unfortunately this will happen in the middle of the EMCO. His wife asked him: Will you give me an anniversary gift?

John answered: Sure! What do you want? Flowers? Designer handbags? Let me check with Shopee first!

"I only want you to take me overseas for holiday. I don't mind even just Phuket!"

"But Honey, I really don't think I can do this, you know…"

"I don't care…" and she started to flare her temper.

John tried to explain: Even if I can, people will shut me out seeing our country's infection numbers!

Then he saw his wife raise a black flag in protest, signaling the start of a cold war. But fret not, John already prepared a white flag to appeal for help!

The thing is, many people are becoming mad having been confined to their homes for so long. They used to be able to travel around freely but now, they cannot even afford the luxury of traveling more than 10km from their homes! To make things worse, they don't see an end to their woes anytime soon, and the current political chaos only serves to dampen their moods further.

It's hoped that after the mass vaccination exercise, we will get to move about freely once again. Imagine life without traveling!

P/S: Oh ya, I thought your boy is still in Year 1? What? He's finishing his Year 2 soon? My friend did a quick math and confirmed that his son is in the school classroom for not more than two months in total. What a crazy world in Malaysia, huh!

(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has traveled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)