Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Woman speaks of lockdown life stuck on island
AWEST Country woman has returned home after two months in lockdown spent as a real-life castaway on a deserted paradise island.
Natalie Poole, 35, spent weeks on Kyun Pila Island in Myanmar after passing through the Thai border just 15 minutes before it was closed.
She was the only Brit there, alongside just four other people who were left stranded when their only boat back to the mainland was cancelled.
She spent a total of 60 days there but is now back home in Ashburton, Devon, where she has got straight back to work on the family allotment.
The scuba diving instructor was due to be on the island for a month as part of a team working to help protect a local coral reef.
They were stuck a six-hour boat ride away from the mainland in one of the most remote locations in the
It was nice to be in a
situation during lockdown where we
had so much freedom and were able to do so much meaningful work in
NATALIE POOLE
world following lockdowns in both Myanmar and Thailand.
But Natalie said that, despite the difficulties, she felt lucky to have enjoyed more freedom than most during lockdown, and they survived by foraging for food with just one delivery of supplies a month.
She said: “We crossed the Thai border 15 minutes before they closed it so we would have either been in no man’s land in Thailand or could carry on to the island.
“We knew what was happening with the coronavirus but we went with it. We thought we might get stuck but did not think for one minute it would escalate as dramatically as it did.”
The team used washed-up plastic waste cleaned from the beach to set up a rainforest camp, and rationed basic food supplies.
Each member of the camp lived in a hut made from bamboo, rice sacks and bottles, and they were even able to build furniture, and dig a well, a fire pit and place to wash.
They shared the island with scorpions, snakes, mouse-deer, wild boar, monitor lizards, and slow lorises, but Natalie said the biggest nuisance came from the mosquitoes and sand flies.
Natalie, who was there as a volunteer for Ocean Quest, said: “The island is obviously stunningly beautiful but we were there at the start of a brand new three year project with very few facilities.
““We had our own garden so had a constant supply of vegetables.
“I am used to simple living so that wasn’t too difficult to adjust to. But we were in a situation where we were worrying about home but with no home comforts.”
She said the biggest challenge was not knowing when their experience would end.
She added: “It was up and down. We were a very small group of people and were living in a very confined, close situation. When we arrived there was already tension and frustration with the others.
“I was really happy while I was there. It was nice to be in a situation during lockdown where we had so much freedom and were able to do so much meaningful work.”
Natalie finally made it out by hitching a ride with a supply boat back to the mainland and being able to get a flight via Paris.
She added: “It was really difficult. Rescue flights were being organised but you had to register in person and they were only advertised on the Embassy website. We were seven hours from the mainland and a three-hour domestic flight away.
“In the end I heard about a flight through our French volunteers to Paris. It was five days after a supply boat was due to come to the island.
“The day it was meant to arrive I did not think it would as there was a typhoon predicted.
“It was a hairy ride back and we had to get special permission to leave the boat to get to the hotel.
“It was just by pure luck I was able to get out when I did.”
When she did finally get back to the mainland she was shocked by the difference in restrictions between Asia and the UK.
She added: “Everywhere in Asia was very strict. All flights were spaced out and the restrictions are everywhere. I was shocked at how lax things were back in England.
There were no restrictions – nothing.”
“Since I have been home I have just enjoyed being out in the garden and helping my parents out, enjoying the recent good weather and getting back to normality. I just want to come back and do normal things.
“One of the things I was looking forward to most was enjoying a cold cider in the garden – and it was as good as I imagined.”