The Trip Home

Satisfied with our visit to Siem Reap and slightly concerned that all of the other tourists appeared to have vanished overnight, we headed to the airport around lunchtime. We hadn’t heard of any issues with our flight, but when we arrived we were greeted by a sea of red text against almost every single one of the day’s departures. This was terrifying.

Siem Reap Airport

Thankfully, our Singapore flight was one of the few still marked as going ahead, but we remained uneasy as we entered the empty departure hall.

Over the next hour more people began to show up, but as we waited for our check in desks to open, the only flight still running before ours was cancelled last minute. Things were getting stressful. Eventually, only an hour and a half before departure, our desks finally opened. The queue was very slow moving, but it appeared our flight would be going ahead. And just as well, because there were no other flights home we could take for the foreseeable future.

Singapore Airport

Singapore Airport was surprisingly busy when we arrived, which was a bit unfortunate as we had a 13 hour layover ahead. Despite around half of the flights being cancelled, all of the transit hotels were full and the lounges weren’t ideal for sleeping. But we were so close to getting home, these were only minor setbacks.

Back To Britain

27 hours later, we were thoroughly relieved to be back on UK soil.

We were quite surprised by the lax approach the UK authorities were taking towards border control amidst covid-19. After leaving the plane, we had no human interaction whatsoever. You might think that’s a good thing, but what we mean by that is we had no temperature checks, no health questionnaires, no quarantine recommendations or any advice whatsoever. Nobody even asked where we’d been. Even the small airports at less developed countries we’d visited recently had some form of checks. But at London Heathrow all we saw was a poster that said stay home for 14 days if you feel unwell…

Reassuringly, the airport was quiet and London public transport was more or less empty considering it was rush hour. As was our train back to Derby.

The World On Lockdown

Though we were sad to have curtailed our trip, it was a relief to be home. Particularly as Boris Johnson announced the UK lockdown less than 2 hours after we got back. But in the weeks prior, the immense impact of this lack of tourism in South East Asia had become ever more apparent.

Many hotels and restaurants had been forced to close, and those still operating were virtually empty. On our final day in Siem Reap, after passing 5 restaurants which had closed down, we were the only customers at the place we ended up eating.

We spoke to a lot of locals about the situation. But the conversation that stuck with us most was with a security guard at an empty temple in Angkor Wat, on the last day of our trip. He told us that this was the quietest he had seen in his 20 years on the job. Many locals were returning to rice farms because they no longer had an income and with no government support they couldn’t afford food. This served as a stark reminder that the impact of coronavirus extends far beyond the death toll reported in Western media.

We are all living through unprecedented times. We can only hope that the virus is contained before too many people lose their lives, or their livelihoods.

Reflections

Travelling during a pandemic is stressful. We’re fortunate to have made it home now, but the journey back was truly nerve wrecking.

Before leaving for our trip, we had vaccinations for Hepititis B, Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis. We were also warned to keep an eye on the news for Cholera outbreaks. Covid-19 was barely a consideration. But here we are, writing this from home as we self-isolate to try and minimise the spread of the virus. It’s hard to believe less than 3 weeks ago, it was business as usual for most of the world.

Even though we’re disheartened that our trip of a lifetime has been cut short, we are grateful to be safe and comfortable at home, in a country where support is available should we need it. It’s important to remain mindful that not everyone is in a fortunate position, so we owe it to each other to be kind, follow the government’s guidelines and offer support where needed – ideally from a distance of 2 or more metres! Take care of yourselves and watch this space for more travel adventures once the crisis is under control.

Thanks for reading!