I don't know how SARS has been effecting the rest of you. Probably about as much as that chicken disease in Hong Kong a couple years back..not at all...above some vague thoughts and time filling small talk.

For me, it's been a significant force. No cases in New Zealand yet, but it has been shutting down travel efforts left and right. My own travel plans after New Zealand were to Singapore, Hong Kong and Guang Zhou for a month. :-( yes, these are commonly known as the hotspots.

I quote from the http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/travel_advice.htm "Don’t go to mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Hanoi, unless you really have to. You can still go to Canada. SARS doesn’t seem to spread there right now."


There were some others to travel to as well- hopefully Seoul, maybe Hiroshima, and almost definitely Taiwan and the latest addition of Siberia...however, the main bit was Singapore. As a result, I am unable to buy my ticket off of this remote island.

If all else fails, I have met the most lovely, likeable and entertaining Siberian boy with whom I would be happy to spend the extra time...so maybe I'll get to see quite a bit of Siberia. I have to admit he's the bright side to this whole grim affair. (God never shuts a door but he opens a window)
This whole situation reminds me of the time a couple of years ago when I was finally going to knock three more states off of my "I haven't been there" list- Montana, N. and S. Dakota...unfortunately they were on fire at the time of travel and I had to see half of Canada instead. Of course this is how I discovered that Ontario has some fabulous wineries... :-)