Travel bubbles - 2

Days 2 - 3

Tuesday 30th of Jun

Wednesday 1st of Jul

Ammu

This trip was super weird. I’d never seen anyone traveling in medical suits before and on this trip, most of them were covered in what seemed to me like plastic raincoats. Apparently they are called PPE kits. I wonder how they go pee pee wearing all that! Ha! I’m happy now that I can just go with a mask. And what’s with the long lines? Acha told me that there would be a lot of wait times and forms to fill up due to the travel restrictions, but he didn’t say the lines would be this long! Ugh! 

One thing I did enjoy was the stay at Kuala Lumpur airport. The transit hotel room had an amazing view of parked airplanes right outside our window! Wow, so cool! We ordered a lot of food for dinner. I was super hungry. I heard Acha say that the beef burger he ate was the best ever. I’m sure he was super hungry too! But it was good to see him relax a bit and play with Ichu. He seemed so tense throughout the flight. 

This is definitely the most times I have had to clean my hands in a single day. I must have finished half a bottle of sanitizer myself on the flight! And Ichu of course was touching everything so it was my job to help Amma keep her hands clean as well. Thankfully she slept a lot and I was able to watch movies until we landed in Hong Kong. Amma let me watch as much as I wanted. Woohoo! 

More lines! As we stood in the first long line after landing, I was thinking about the Anniversary gift I made for Acha & Amma. Tomorrow is their 14th anniversary and our first day in quarantine! But I do have a surprise for them, I just hope they like it! When will this line end though? Amma said there will be more lines after this, first immigration and then another one to go to expo for testing and then to submit the sample too. Fingers crossed we don’t test positive! 

Amma

We made it to Hong Kong! The last leg has been brutal though. We landed around 9:50 PM and are still waiting in the immigration line close to midnight. It will be at least 3, maybe even 4 AM  by the time we get into the room at the quarantine center based on the recounts from previous travelers. Poor kids, they've had one long day. So far so good though, I was worried that Ichu might run a temperature by the time we reached here, but she seemed to be doing fine! The transit pit stops really helped her. 

The arrival process was quite organized, a far cry from the check in and emigration chaos we went through in the past couple of days. I was impressed by the sheer number of workers from health, airport, police, security etc. that were around. We arrived in the same area of the terminal that we took off from back in January. Just that the entire place has been converted into a receiving area where health officials were performing temperature checks. going through documents, self declarations etc. I guess this is where we would get our quarantine instructions as well. 

The line was moving super slow. Ammu was entertaining Ichu and all of a sudden there was nothing else to do except wait for our turn. As the mind started easing a bit, after all we are here now, a menacing thought that was muzzled for a while slowly and irritatingly resurfaced. Could we have gotten infected on the way? What if we test positive? 

We’ve been as careful as practically possible on the flights. PPE kits and gloves were out of the question because of Ichu, but our masks were on throughout and we also had the face shields that the airlines provided in the first two legs. Super uncomfortable and difficult to manage especially with Ichu around. We also did a thorough wipe down of our seats, arm rests, tray tables, screens, seat belts whatnot whenever we sat down. And not to mention the frequent hand sanitizing. One more time and my bones might just start showing! 

What was a bit worrying though is the relatively careless attitude of some fellow travelers. What is the point of a PPE kit if you wear your mask around the chin or on the neck? And even if you wear it right, what good is it if you keep touching the outside of the mask often with your hands? Moreover, the lack of any social distancing during boarding, luggage storage and exit was definitely distressing too. I felt that the crew could have done a much better job at this. So yes, there is a bit of a risk, I guess we knew this all throughout as we planned the trip, but it’s all real now. I hope Acha doesn’t freak out.

Acha

This is by far the most nerve racking travel ever. And we’ve been on three flights in three days. Stress levels have been insanely high each time we boarded, compounded by people that displayed absolutely no concern for social distancing or the safety of others. The feeling that the decision to travel may have put the entire family at risk kept coming back incessantly. But I knew that the moment we boarded the first flight was the point of no return. From then on, it was just a matter of being alert, staying positive and hoping to not test positive! So far, the virus is calling the shots. 

The past few months have been extraordinary. The time spent back home was invaluable, both in terms of memories made and perspectives gained. Perspectives on lifestyles, needs & wants, relationships, responsibilities, priorities, the list goes on. Leaving has been tougher than ever, and some lingering emotion, could be helplessness or ambivalence or even a hint of guilt, made it even more arduous. It’s difficult, not knowing when this ordeal will end but until it doesn’t, life has to go on. For everyone. 

Hindsight is a beautiful thing. But sometimes you just need to trust your choices. Something that I read this week makes perfect sense for what is needed now - serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference!