THE LAST VANCOUVERITE IN PARADISE?
The stigma of being abroad is tempered by being in Bali,
Of all the places to be quarantined, home would be my first choice. But I’m trapped here in Bali, and yes it’s close to being paradise but I’d like to come home. My trip to Bali started on Feb. 12, 2020. My health insurance ran out weeks ago. I can’t get it renewed and I can’t leave Bali.
On social media there are a lot of hateful remarks going around about Canadians not returning from international destinations. Rumours are being spread and it just seems like this whole pandemic is also affecting people’s judgment and mental health: “If they were stupid enough to travel in the first place, they shouldn’t be getting any help from our government."
Friends of mine who have now returned are not being treated all that well. The assumption is that they didn’t want to come back — there’s nothing further from the truth.
When I left Canada, COVID-19 had started, but there were no travel warnings and getting travel medical insurance was routine. To be honest, I was not paying much attention to the news or social media leading up to or during my trip. I was too consumed with taking care of my father. He passed away from cancer on Jan. 20. After his funeral I needed a break — to grieve and give myself a mental break. So, I decided what better place to do that than Bali, the Island of Gods and healing?
I had planned to go for five weeks and return to Vancouver on March 17. Everything was going great and I was finding peace and acceptance with many things, including my father’s death. However, as the days leading up to my departure from Bali came closer, my return flight through Hong Kong was changed, resulting in a 16-hour layover in Hong Kong. My airline did book me a hotel for free near the airport, but as more stories broke and cases were identified, that worried me a lot.
Hong Kong airport had started to become stricter about who it was letting in. What if I contracted the virus during my layover? What if I was quarantined in Hong Kong and forced to stay there?A couple of days before my flight was to depart Bali, I was notified it was cancelled. At first I did not mind it too much; there could be worse places to be stranded, right?
I began looking at other flights. I was worried about my travel medical insurance, which was set to expire on March 17. I frantically tried to get a hold of RBC Insurance through email, phone calls, and its app. Its advertised 24/7 emergency line didn’t work. The phone line has specific hours and I was up in the middle of the night trying to get a hold of someone.
I spent almost eight hours waiting on hold, got disconnected, just to call back and remain on hold for another few hours. When I finally got through to someone, around 4 a.m. my time, I was told it would extend my insurance only until March 31; after that I would not be covered.
Booking a flight home was not as easy as it seemed. There are no direct flights to Canada from Bali or really any country in Southeast Asia. The majority of the flights had eight-hour layovers between connecting flights where there was a high chance of on-site quarantine. In addition, the many airports started cancelling international arrivals or departures from several countries, including Indonesia.
Travel restrictions were increasing every day. I did find a flight through Taiwan, which I was pretty confident about. However, shortly after I booked, it was announced that Taiwan was not allowing connecting passengers to enter. I searched Google Flights and found one through Hong Kong. I booked it right away. Then a few hours later, I received an email from the ambassador to Indonesia, saying several airports had closed off access to any passengers, Hong Kong included.
Airline and third-party websites (Google Flights, Expedia) couldn’t keep up with the cancellations, so people were booking tickets on cancelled flights, some showing up to the airport only to be denied boarding. Some travellers are even making it halfway home, but being forced into quarantine for 14 days at airports, obviously missing their connecting flight back to Canada.
March 25: I got an email from RBC Insurance tonight saying it may be able to extend the insurance. I was very surprised an actual human finally replied after my several emails over the past few weeks.
Update April 5: RBC was able to extend my insurance now until April 30, I finally was able to get the email of an employee who works there and he has made it much easier to communicate with RBC.
On the bright side, Indonesia is offering free automatic extensions on all foreign visas and the hotel I am staying at is offering me the Indonesian resident rate, which is about 60 per cent off the already reduced rate. I feel safe and healthy where I am. The staff is taking good care of me. I am the only Canadian. The hotel is about 10 per cent full right now.
The people here have been truly amazing and are going above and beyond to help those who are having trouble getting home. There is no sense of panic, and people are properly following protocol.
There are social-distancing measures in place at the resort, and temperature checks are being done for anyone who enters or leaves the properly.
Update April 5: I am the only guest at the hotel now, but it is closing soon so I will have to find another resort to stay at. The resort staff and management have really treated me like a king/family. I am so grateful for their hospitality.
The majority of Bali is now closed, hotels, beaches, tourists attractions, restaurants and so on. The main streets and beaches are deserted now as the majority of residents and any travellers are following physical distancing, which is comforting to see.
The government in Indonesia now made it mandatory for everyone to wear a mask if they are in public. Domestic travel is also very restricted and scarce, international flights are now only bringing home Indonesians, as they have banned all foreigners from entering.
Latest travel restrictions include the following:
Flights from Jakarta and Denpasar/Bali to Tokyo are no longer available
Travel through Australia is not possible.
Travel through Singapore is not possible.
Transit via Taipei is not possible.
Transit via Hong Kong is not possible.
Direct flights from Seoul to Canada are no longer possible as of April 2. Although these transit airports are not available, flights are still bookable online.
It looks like I will be here for at least two more weeks until the transit airports open and more options become available.
I receive an update every evening from the Canadian Embassy in Indonesia, which has made it a bit easier to keep up with the constant travel restrictions.