20/03/2020
Have to say, that was one boggling trip back.
As we traveled from LA to Bangkok, we had a number of discomforting experiences. Our first flight, things seemed normal until take off. The first minute of flight through the first hour, was anything but smooth. Strong turbulence was roughing us up. It was consistently throwing our heads back and forth. The captain came on the speaker system to try to ease our minds, told crew to “immediately stop doing whatever they are doing” and buckle up. As he finished his sentence, the plane drops and I feel a weight in my stomach disappear. Similar to the feeling you get when on a roller coaster, only these weren’t those fun amusement park butterflies. Gg and I silently look at each other and pat each other’s legs for comfort.
Finally, were in Istanbul. While waiting for our connection we watched the majority of departure flights cancel one by one, with ours being one of 5 still operating. We read about more restriction updates for entering Bangkok, we listened to the conversations of international travelers stuck in limbo, and hoped our flight would make the cut. We boarded our flight with next to no passengers. I guess that was a bonus for space? Haha.
Mid flight, I turned on the live news broadcast from the plane, and it repeatedly said that all US citizens abroad may have to remain outside the USA indefinitely. I figured this would happen, though it does seem surreal. We landed in Bangkok and walked up to the immigration gates. It’s a pit of bodies pushing and shoving past each other trying to understand what we need to do. Thankfully, GG found updates in LA before we left that we may need an application to enter the country. We had previously downloaded the application which will allow them to track us for a quarantine period. Finally we plugged in our information, pushed through the crowd, and got through immigration. I’m so relieved to have reached home with GG, but I can’t help but think that we were lucky in multiple ways this journey.
That was by far the weirdest and shortest trip I’ve had abroad, but still turned out to be a good trip!
Keep clean and be smart y’all. Much o’ love!
See me on stream soon!
~Harrison