A travel bubble between Taiwan and its diplomatic ally Palau will start on Thursday, the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.

Palau, a tiny country in the northwestern corner of the Pacific with around 20,000 inhabitants, is a popular destination for watersports lovers and divers from around the world.

Hong Kong actress Hidy Yu, a seasoned diver and diving instructor, told Apple Daily about the unforgettable experience she had during a trip to Palau seven years ago.

“The country was rural, but when you dive, you can’t even begin to imagine the world,” Yu said, recalling the scene when she ran into 100 dolphines in the waters.

Besides diving activities, the Jellyfish Lake, the Milky Lake and a marine mammal education center were worth a visit, she added.

Rita, another diving enthusiast, was in the island country for four days in 2019 and enjoyed every minute of it.

She said that the launch of the travel bubble between Taiwan and Palau was proof of the Taiwanese government’s success in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

All the Hong Kong government had to show for was its incompetence in combating the coronavirus, Rita said, adding that policies formulated by the city’s authorities were not based on a scientific approach.

From the closure of the borders to the vaccinations and resumption of school, the Hong Kong government only wanted to control the society and the people but was unable to pinpoint how to fight the outbreak, Rita said.

Yu agreed that Hong Kong had failed in its virus control measures, which led her to lose overseas job opportunities as she was kept from traveling.

She acknowledged being jealous of the travel bubble between Taiwan and Palau, although from a rational point of view, she was hesitant about Hong Kong setting up such travel cooperation schemes with other places. “It would be very troublesome to have another wave of confirmed COVID-19 cases,” Yu said.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play