As most parts of the world have eased travel restrictions or have entirely reopened (with the significant exception of China), I wanted to look back at the unprecedented travel shutdown and share my personal experience of it. I was in Singapore with my wife and kids on our annual visit to see my parents. A visit to Japan had already been cut short as we hightailed it out of that country to squeak into Singapore in order to miss Singapore’s suddenly-imposed mandatory 14 day quarantine.
Once in Singapore, nobody knew how the travel situation would develop. I recall being nervous, hopeful and oddly curious as we were in the middle of a truly unique event. As it became apparent that the world was shutting down through daily news of cancelled flights and border closures, my wife and I thought it prudent that she and the children should return to Vancouver after about five days in Singapore. Fortunately they managed to have a good visit with my parents. Unfortunately, it would be the last time they would see my ailing father, who was in the last stages of Alzheimer’s.
Singapore was reasonably hopeful that social restrictions would not have to be imposed. Even as Covid was spreading and the government was mulling closing the borders, the restaurants and malls remained packed.
I decided to stay a few more days than the rest of the family, as was customary during these visits. I had a flight booked out of Singapore on an Aeroplan award ticket via Taipei on March 27. I was hopeful about sticking with this plan but the coronavirus had different ideas.
On March 22, news came that Taiwan, which was already closed to all inbound foreign travellers, would be banning transit passengers as well. I hastily cancelled my original ticket and miraculously was able to find an award ticket out of Singapore on March 23 in business class on EVA Airways. (Had only coach been available, I maybe might not have left. Hey, you cannot compromise your values even in a crisis.)
Having secured my ticket, I then took the most surreal journey of my life. Here are the scenes that greeted me at Changi’s Terminal 3:
I realize how fortunate I was that EVA Air was still flying, given the large number of cancelled flights. I kept my fingers crossed that my connecting flight from Taipei to Vancouver would operate as scheduled. If it was cancelled, because of the imminent transit passenger ban, I would be sent into government quarantine with no guarantee of when I would be able to fly back to Vancouver.
The Singapore police officer who checked my documents before immigration wished me well. After immigration, I proceeded to an eerily deserted SilverKris Lounge. I was one of a small handful of people there. The lounge should have felt more exclusive and relaxing than usual, but the anxiety in there was palpable.
I remember nursing a terrible headache (you can see my Ibuprofen bottle on the table). After a bite and catching a breath, I proceeded to board.
There were only four people in the business class cabin – myself and a family of three. Meal service was cancelled on the flight to Taipei – after takeoff, we were handed bottled water and a sponge cake in a paper bag. Fortunately, there were no service cuts on the long-haul from Taipei to Vancouver. This was supper:
The flight, BR10, departed at 2355, five minutes before Taiwan shut its borders. It was admittedly too close for comfort. Fortunately, after all of this heart-pounding excitement, I was able to settle in and relax on the flight.
These were pictures I took from Taipei Airport:
I landed 10.5 hours later to a very changed landscape of social and travel restrictions that would not lift for at least the next two years. Looking back, I don’t regret the decision to travel one bit given that I had a truly unique experience that was even fun in some respects. At the same time, I hope the travel shutdown is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event that is not repeated, because the world is a better place if we are connected.
