Separated by Covid, Vietnamese Man Paddling Towards India to Meet His Wife

A Vietnamese man planned to row 2,016 kilometers to India from Thailand's Phuket, to meet his wife in India's Mumbai, whom he has not seen for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ho Hoang Hung, 37, was rescued by Thai fishermen from an inflatable boat after he was found paddling alone towards India to see his wife, from whom he had been separated by Covid-19, reported Bangkok Post March 23. Facebook: Third Naval Area Command (3rdNAC)

Ho Hoang Hung, is helped off his inflatable boat about 80 kilometers off Phangnga province on Wednesday.

A representative from the Third Fleet of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) said that a steersman of a fishing boat, reported at 11.50 am (local time) on Wednesday that a man was seen paddling an inflatable boat about 14 kilometers off the Similan Islands and about 80 kilometers off Phangnga.

Park officials from the National Park and naval officers from the marine security unit then boarded a vessel to go and meet the trawler at 12.45 pm, according to Thai PBS World.

A Vietnamese interpreter was later arranged by the RTN to interview, via smartphone, the Vietnamese sailor.

The 2.5-meter-long boat contained a nearly-empty water bottle, about 10 packets of instant noodles, and a suitcase.

The steersman said that he was afraid that the unidentified sailor, who barely speaks English, might be in danger if left at sea and decided to tow him to safety.

The red mark shows the location of the Vietnamese man when he was spotted at sea. Thai Navy-supplied map

His planned 2,016-kilometer-long journey to India. Thai Navy-supplied map

The Vietnamese man told them he was paddling to India to meet his Indian wife in Mumbai. They have married two years ago, he said, but were parted by Covid-19.

The man said he arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport from Ho Chi Minh City on March 2. At the airport, he planned to board another flight to India but was unable to obtain a visa.

Instead, he took a bus from Bangkok to Phuket and bought the inflatable boat. He launched it on March 5 with his sights set on paddling his way to India - about 2,000 kilometers away.

Officials brought him to the office of the Mu Ko Similan National Park in Phangnga to arrange for further assistance.

The man claimed that he had been floating at sea for 18 days and nights until he was found.

His wife is of Indian descent, currently based in Mumbai. The couple got married 2 years ago but were unexpectedly separated during the Covid-19 outbreak.

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