March 19th, 2020
As the news spread about the coronavirus worsening in January, our Singapore trip was rounding the corner in February and there were some questions if we would feel safe to continue to go or not. We did not have any major fears about the virus, but we did stock up on travel size hand sanitizers, Clorox travel wipes, masks that I thankfully had purchased before the outbreak, and we also kept looking at travel advisories and our flight plans. None of our flights were cancelled or changed, until our connecting flight back home, our plane was switched out because the amount of people on the flight had lessened.
The experience of traveling in Singapore was absolutely wonderful and we are grateful that we were able to still enjoy the experience. Although the buzz, streets and hawkers centres were not there, due to the tight travel restrictions for those from China not being able to come into Singapore (which apparently is a large portion of their tourists). During these times we felt extremely safe traveling through Singapore and even in South Korea, at least during our first layover. On the travel route back home, we did not leave the South Korean airport because we knew the coronavirus had worsened and we felt that to be on the “safe side”, so we would just stay in the airport for the following nine hours. There was extra security and checking of the passports before boarding the plane to head to San Francisco. Of course, all the flight attendants and personnel were wearing masks and pushed good hygiene during our flight on Korean Air. The experience in the San Francisco airport was shockingly different from the precautious Asian airports we had been through.
As we walked through San Francisco airport, we noticed there weren’t any signs for if you felt ill to let medical personnel know or to practice good hygiene, and of course, no one was wearing masks except for maybe a few employees. When we breezed through the Global Entry line, the only question she asked is if we went to China in the past 14 days and why we were in South Korea (which was just for a layover). Global Entry truly made it easy for us and we didn’t have to be in close proximity with the rest of the passengers we shared the flight with while waiting for our passports to be checked.
The coronavirus was still on our minds as we started to meet up with family and friends to talk about our trip, especially since the news was covering about how worse it had gotten and how quickly it was spreading. We checked our own temperature for the 14 days we were back in the States but did not self-quarantine ourselves during that time. We felt very safe and were 99.9% sure we had traveled without the virus, although that underlying thought was always there to remind us to wash our hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, and to keep distance from people around us. We also were very mindful of how our bodies were feeling physically once we started our workout routine. We went to the gym (and wiped down equipment after we were done as we always do) and noticed that we did not have any respiratory issues at all after doing cardio and lifting which felt comforting.
We were able to travel to impacted countries safely and continue to stay healthy during the rise of COVID-19. Now as we are being quarantined in our own home and had to cancel our spring break trip to Japan, the thoughts of fear, stress, and anxiety seem to come much more often and it’s harder to shake off those feelings. Not to mention the fact that people panicked right away and bought food and supplies at such a fast rate that the grocery stores couldn’t keep up to restock! Leaving the shelves empty where toilet paper once stood will always leave us flabbergasted. As Brent continues to work in his office, Liz unfortunately cannot go to work at either of the two jobs she has because one is in an Elementary school which will be closed till further notice, and the other is in a brewpub which is also closed to inside dining for social distancing. Therefore her hours are limited to servers to help with take-out orders. It is a crazy world we live in right now and many people have lost their jobs or are working from home, but there are still people, such as healthcare workers and first-responders, that are required to keep working and we are very grateful for them. (VERY GRATEFUL)
This situation we are experiencing in the year 2020 has shed light to how governments and companies are running. The emergency protocols that are in place, or not in place, for this event. Just like many others, we thought the year 2020 would be “our year” and we would spend it traveling all over the world…instead, we are quarantined, threatened by a contagious virus that is still a mystery to scientists, experiencing a recession, and practically jobless. In all good spirits though, we are healthy, our dogs are healthy, we have a roof over our heads and a refrigerator full of food, oh and we are lucky enough to have toilet paper. We are living day by day, with hopeful hearts that this will get better and soon we will be able to continue our travels.
