Traveling Home in the Midst of a Pandemic

How was I, a 17-year-old high school student, supposed to travel all the way back to Singapore from Canada on my own with less than 24 hours notice?

It was Sunday morning when I received the call from my mother. I had only slept for 4 hours due to a project I was working on with friends. So, when my mum called me over 10 times at 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning, I was not too pleased. Groggily, I reached over the bed and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“The transit flights for Hong Kong is closing. If you want to get back to Singapore, we have to book you a ticket back home tonight at 1 a.m.”

That was definitely not what I was expecting on a Sunday morning, but then again, we are in the midst of a world health crisis, so nothing really is expected. I was still processing the information in my head when my mum popped the question.

“Do you want to come home?”

I mean, of course, I do but in the middle of a pandemic? The risks are extremely high. I’m already safe in my aunt’s house alongside my cousins. If I were to travel back home, the chances of me catching the coronavirus would be extremely high. Running off 5 hours of sleep did me no good when calculating the risks. I could barely even open my eyes at that time. Yet, I made the final call.

“Yes. I want to come home.”

I called my aunt. She drove me to my boarding school where all my things are kept. I packed as much as I could as fast as I could. I picked up my passports and I went back to my aunt's house where my uncle tried to convince me that staying at their place is a safer option. I almost listened to them. I thought that it was too scary. Traveling in the midst of a pandemic could lead to severe consequences. I am not at risk but just the thought of being one of the potential cases shook me to the core.

I kept my head up though. I decided that going home to my parents is definitely what I wanted. I mean, I did cry about it to my friends just the week before. If I had to be quarantined and not allowed to see my friends for months, I’d rather be quarantined with my parents.

I continued to work on the project with my friends as I prepared for my journey. It was a project I was passionate about. I was fully ready to stay up all night working on it. It frustrated me to the core when I had to sacrifice working on something I’m passionate about. I did as much as I could in the short time I had.

Meanwhile, my aunt prepared raincoats, gloves, masks, hand sanitizer and much more so I can travel safely. I planned to wear my waterproof jacket as a protective layer throughout the trip while also doubling up on face masks and gloves. I even switched out my contact lenses for glasses so I didn’t have to worry about touching my eyes.

Alas, the time came. I had to be dropped off at the airport 4 hours before departure. At that time, it seemed a bit ridiculous. However, due to a large number of students that had to return home on short notice as well as the lack of staff available, the flight actually had to be delayed for a bit because a lot of people were still checking in.

This whole time, I was still working on my project with my friends, helping them as much as I can. To be completely honest, it really helped having something else to work on while in the midst of such chaos. Seeing so many people around me wearing hazmat suits with their high tech masks did not help with my anxiety to travel during this time.

Sitting in the airplane was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Everyone was completely suited up in their raincoats, masks, goggles. I was frankly super nervous. Luckily, with less than 5 hours of sleep, I managed to sleep through the entire flight. The entire 17 hours.

My transit in Hong Kong was 4 hours. Everyone was being checked and I saw flights on the schedule being canceled. I had an emergency contact list if I were to be stuck in Hong Kong due to flight cancellation. Luckily, my flight departed as usual. We were the last transit flight out of Hong Kong to Singapore. I was able to catch the very last one and made safely back to my parents.

At the airport in Singapore, we had to fill in a form and sign our name. I had to list my name, address, phone number and sign an agreement to stay at home for the next 14 days. They even photocopied my passport. My mum thought it was too risky for her to fetch me from the airport so I had to take the cab home by myself instead.

I was quarantined with my dad in a separate apartment. Every day, volunteers would call the house phone to make sure I’m staying at home and not breaking the agreement. Every day, my mum would drive over to drop off food for us to eat.

Having to go through this all alone was scary, to say the least. I never thought that a time like this would ever come. Good news is that the 14 days have passed and I’m clear of the coronavirus. I am now with both my parents in my house. I can now go out to walk as long as I am practicing social distancing. I never thought I would ever experience a day like this in my life but the universe works in unexpected ways.

My heart goes out to those families directly impacted by the coronavirus. Going on vacation is not an option. I had to travel just so can be safe with my parents. Please be responsible and stay at home on behalf of those at risk as well as the medical staff working to help us.