3/15 & 16: The End of the Road!

Parts of this last post are from one I wrote shortly after Steven and I returned in mid-March from our very much shortened trip to Asia and what was also supposed to include seeing a chunk of the Middle East. 

On Friday, March 13th, Steven and I flew from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to the city of Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala where we'd expected to stay for about ten days in three different cities before flying up to Goa on the west coast of India until the end of this month. Perhaps we should have been a little suspicious, given the day we flew, that something might be amiss!

It was only when we checked in for our flight in Colombo that we were notified that this was one of the last flights arriving in India as the country was closing its borders that day to foreign tourists. Perhaps you're thinking we should have been alarmed knowing we were almost the last ones permitted in the country but, to the contrary, our thoughts were more of relief that we'd arrived just in the nick of time to explore far more of the country than we'd seen in 2015. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we should have immediately looked at ways to get out of India, but our mindset was how lucky we were at being there and the opportunity to be able to continue with our plans and see the famous Kerala Backwaters, the tea plantations, etc in southern India. We knew that the two national parks and the Periyar Tiger Reserve we'd planned to see were closed because of the coronavirus but there was still so much more to see in our minds.

Later on the 13th, we spent several hours wandering around Kochi, exploring some of its famous churches, temples, a palace, and Jewtown. Most of the religious institutions were indeed closed that day to foreigners because of the virus, but even that didn't deter us from wanting to remain in Kochi and then travel through more of Kerala in the coming days. Steven just joked that my blog post from that day would be shorter than usual because I could only basically take pictures of the outside of the churches, temples, and the synagogue!

Many of you know that I have always been a news junkie and therefore was certainly keeping up with news of the virus back home. There was absolutely no sense then or the next day of the urgency from the American government or news outlets we were following that anyone traveling overseas should immediately return home. As a result, we still felt comfortable continuing with our travel plans. Our intent was to wait for several days until we heard from our tour operator in Bhutan if we could still go on the almost week-long tour.

I wrote in the previous post about the unnerving experience Steven and I had visiting a temple as the staff was clearly very apprehensive about foreigners touring their religious home because foreigners, in their minds, equated possible virus carriers. We certainly understood their mindset but wished, after waiting for a couple of hours to enter, that a sign had been put up indicating the temple was closed to foreigners as other churches and temples in Kochi had done. 

For days I had been in pretty regular contact via both email and WhatsApp with my eldest brother, Andrew, back in Canada. He'd expressed considerable alarm with what was happening around the world and began to question how much "fun" we were likely to have as more and more of the tourist sights we'd come to see would be closing down. Until that experience at the temple, I think Steven and I were both 'blind' to how foreigners were beginning to be perceived and especially how much worse it could become. My younger brother, Keith, also had his nose to the ground and sent me emails on Saturday, March 14th, from the Canadian government informing Canadians to return home immediately from anywhere in the world. That certainly caught our attention as we'd heard nothing like that from the US government. No longer could we remain oblivious of the possible dangers we were in if we decided to continue with our trip. The chances of not being able to leave if we wanted were frightening.

Perhaps the final clincher came after speaking with our second daughter, Natalie, later that night. I tried to convey to her that her father, who had severe asthma and compromised lungs, had told me that he had no death wish but would be at peace if he did contract the coronavirus in India and died from it there as he had lived a long, good life. Her response was a gut punch but what, in hindsight, we both needed to hear: essentially that we had no right continuing the trip if it meant there was any chance of Steven's getting infected and dying because he would then infect others.

On the morning of Sunday, March 15th, after having time to reflect on what Andrew, Keith, and Natalie had conveyed to us, I told Steven we needed to get home PDQ. He was initially reluctant but agreed it was likely best. In a matter of minutes, he had booked tickets for us to fly home from Kochi-Singapore-Seattle-Denver the following night at what was really a very reasonable price. The bonus was we were able to check our bags all the way through to Denver which was important.

The longer the day went on, the more at peace we both were at the decision we'd made to leave. When Steven read on the Kerala Trip Advisor forum on Sunday the 15th about foreigners forcibly quarantined in their hotels in Kochi, that was very concerning. We were so thankful we'd found the stately Indy Old Courthouse Hotel with its welcoming staff, wonderful breakfast, and great location near the sights and easy access to the ferry. We almost had the entire place to ourselves as there was only one other guest two of the three nights!

While having the entire pool and rooftop to ourselves all day Sunday the 15th, I joked I was getting ready to practice 'social distancing' once we returned home!

Sunday night the 15th we took another long Uber ride to a restaurant that looked like it had an interesting menu. The menu turned out to be far more appealing than the 'restaurant' which only comprised four small tables that backed up to the cooking and prep area. We had another discomfiting experience soon after ordering when an Indian couple came in, looked at us, and immediately turned around and left. We couldn't be sure of course but it was our strong suspicion that they didn't want to eat anywhere near foreigners who might be carrying the virus. That also helped to confirm that we'd made the best decision to leave the following day as we figured, that if we'd chosen to stay, the likelihood of being targeted would surely increase with each passing day.

On our way to the airport on March 16th, we made a point of returning via the fantastic Kerala Folklore Museum we'd visited two days before so we could buy one of the intriguing Theyyam-painted heads. We had both been drawn to the unique and colorful heads right away but had thought then we'd be continuing the rest of our 3.5-month trip and didn't want to be burdened carrying such a heavy souvenir.

But, as soon as we'd made the decision to return home, our next thought was, well, now we can go back to the museum and buy one of the heads! That was one of the pluses about having to say adios to the rest of our trip. Steven and I were happy to place it in a prominent spot in our family room when we got home. However, we noticed a day or so later that our youngest child, a grown man of 28, mind you, got a little unnerved by the expression and moved it to the living room, unbeknownst to us, as he knew that way he wouldn't have to look at the piercing eyes! It's now back in the family room and is a marvelous, daily reminder of a too-brief visit to Kochi.

We didn't know what food we might be able to get at the airport or on the long flight to Singapore so a McDonald's pit stop saved the day!

Kochi Airport on the 16th:

As you can imagine, it was an exhausting 40 plus hours traveling home, especially the 14-hour flight from Singapore to Seattle. On arrival at SeaTac on the 17th, we had the shock of our lives when not one question was asked of us about what countries we'd recently traveled to, we weren't asked to submit a detailed health questionnaire, no temperature check was taken, no instructions given about sheltering in place for any length of time, and furthermore, no handout was given listing symptoms to be on the lookout for and whom to contact in case of concerns. 

Don't forget, this happened in Washington state which was then the epicenter of the coronavirus cases in the entire country! We were appalled, disgusted, and alarmed at the extraordinarily cavalier attitude on the part of the federal government taking not one iota of care and attention at passengers arriving from Asia. How could this possibly be happening in the US, arguably the most developed nation in the world, when even Sri Lanka and India had all the protocols in place to screen incoming passengers and health questionnaires, temperature checks, and handouts were standard operating procedure?

A view of scenic Mt. Rainier from the plane as we flew back from Seattle to Denver on the 17th, which happened to be the 39th anniversary of the day we met in Zihuatenejo, Mexico:

Since our return, we've had plenty of time to reflect on how fortunate we were to have left India when we did. The credit for that decision is largely due to Andrew, Keith, and Natalie who made us really understand how potentially dire the situation could become if we'd stayed put even a few days longer. I am sure you, like us, have read stories about how Americans had been stranded in Peru and Morocco and on cruise ships with no means of getting home since so many countries had closed their borders and flights came to a standstill in many places. That so easily could have been us. We have always taken out insurance for our extended overseas trips but catastrophic events like the coronavirus pandemic weren't covered. Though we've taken a considerable hit financially, that is of minimal concern compared to being safe and sound at home. 

The thought of picking up next spring where we left off in southern India and continuing with what we were unable to see fills me with both excitement and some unease. Excitement as our return after just two weeks into our four-month-long trip didn't dampen our enthusiasm for traveling this magnificent world. But also unease - what will international travel look like again in the next six or eight months? How efficacious will a vaccine prove to be? Will we, in fact, be able to travel safely in the countries we'd planned on seeing or will some be less safe or ill-advised to go to? Would we be 'smarter' to hold off going anywhere internationally for a longer time than the next six or eight months, especially given Steven's underlying health conditions? These are all questions we have no answer to now so we've not even looked into any overseas travel. That is very unusual for us as "normally" we'd have had flights and hotels booked, and committed to an exciting itinerary. But, there is no normal now so we'll see how life unfolds and play it by ear. The nice thing is, if and when we do feel comfortable to hit the road internationally, we won't have to do much planning as long as we want to pick up where we left off!

We'd thought we'd come home from the Asia/Middle East trip in late June via San Francisco so we could meet our first grandchild who would have recently been born in the city by the bay. When we got home in mid-March, we began planning a road trip out to see our son, daughter-in-law, and their little angel, Max, in mid-June and then a very circuitous route home to Denver via the national parks in the Pacific Northwest! I'll start writing about the highlights within the week.

Now we've been home from the NW road trip for two weeks, it's almost time for us to "hit the road" again as now we have a second granddaughter, Clara, who was born within seven weeks of her cousin! So, we'll be heading, therefore, to Chicago on August 10th so we can see that happy family on our way to the Florida panhandle where we made reservations last September to rent a cabin in a state park. I can see your eyes rolling in the back of your head thinking, "Are Annie and Steven once again out of their minds even contemplating going to one of the current coronavirus hotspots like Florida? Did they learn nothing after the shortened trip to Sri Lanka and India?" We, of course, are hoping and praying that our heads aren't in the sand once again and that we will be safe in the cabin where we'll spend the majority of our time.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, we have no 'ending date in sight' for a trip. Our park reservation ends on October 10th but whether it'll be safe for us to return home via Chicago so we can again see sweet Clara again is up in the air. At this point, two and a half months out, nobody in Illinois wants to see anyone from Florida which makes perfect sense given that state's horrific numbers of cases. We'll just have to wait and see if Florida gets a handle on the virus as that determines when we can see both Clara and Max again.

While in the southeast US until mid-October, we'll be making several side trips throughout the region so stay tuned if you want to follow us to the beach and to some state capitals! Steven and I wish you good health and some of your own adventures in the next few months. Please stay safe.