Dear jumjum,
I had been pining to go home all year and especially after I was vaccinated, and fortunately I had worked out a time where I didn't have much experiments to do, but a bunch of analyses that could be done remotely. After getting my PhD supervisor's approval came the real challenge- working out the logistics of getting home. Policies changing and limited flights were challenging, but coordinating everything- 72 hours prior, X and Y tests, entry applications, transit and connecting flight matching with quarantine hotel availability made it a complete nightmare. I struggled with whether or not it was even worth it- the costs and the risk of spreading variants around, but Pik Ai told me to 'think about the decision I would regret not taking' and that helped settle things for me.
I put off packing until the very last moment because I was preparing myself should any cogs in my balik kampung wheel fail. Sure enough, there was a dramatic rejection for entry and frantic calls to the department hours before my flight.
I was initially going to transit in Kuala Lumpur but had to rebook my flight once they said that I would need to quarantine there too. I ended up flying through Singapore, which was an interesting experience. Transit passengers were escorted (in single file, bookended with personnels) to a designated holding area which was quite comfortable but reminded my of camp- bodies sleeping on various surfaces. They had a food delivery service, vending machines and charging ports. Still, I found it quite hard to sleep as the lights were super bright, cold, and every few hours the staff would come in shouting to get passengers to their connecting flights. It all seemed very well organised but it reminded me of kindergarten when we were made to 'line up', reminded to 'get all your belongings', and 'go to the bathroom before we leave'.
It was good to finally reach Kuching! The pace, the people and the place just make me so happy, but at the same time I feel quite anxious with being covid-careful. The cases in HK have been incredibly low compared to Kuching, and the meticulous person in me can't keep up with all the things I think I should clean. But we get ahead of ourselves. The 14 day quarantine in Kuching is free for Sarawakians, but we don't know which hotel we would be at until we physically arrive there in the bus. I am a fussy person with weird things I can't stand (eg cracked tiles), and having never been forced to 'stay home' in HK, I've been very worried about how I would fare alone in quarantine. So it was terrifying but also quite exciting in the bus, and you could feel the anticipation on everyone's mind. We ended up at the Hilton hotel, and I'm SO grateful for the large space and crazy views of Waterfront and the Sarawak River.
-to be continued-
*atm*
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