Airport Thoughts Part III

This whole experience was a blur.

Thoughts about the Suvarnabhumi Airport:

Now before Emily and I stepped off the plane and stepped onto Thailand soil, we were not quite sure how it was going to all go down. We had read articles, seen some videos, and were told by word of mouth that the scene at the airport once you land would be intense.

Everything we heard and saw going into it could not have been more true. That said, everything happened so fast that it will be hard to recall all parts.

Besides a few people from first class, we were among the first people to leave the plane. After exiting the jet-way there was a somewhat narrow path that we were meant to follow. There were close to 40 to 50 immigration police and airport staff taking video and photos of us as we walked by.

What were we walking into?

As we continued walking through the empty airport using the moving walkways to keep us moving quickly, we could see countless individuals in medical attire ranging from full hazmat suits to thin plastic coverings all waiting to check our temperatures, check our documents, ID us, and move us along. All passengers were meant to sit down in rows of chairs facing the same direction while medical staff came to us. It was hard to believe all of this was happening all at once. It felt as if I was a NASCAR driver racing to my pit-stop. The medical staff, like a pit crew, rushed to check my necessary documents and stick me with a new ID and badge to keep me identifiable throughout the process.

Once we moved past this first area, we followed the rows of individuals all pointing us to move forward to the next area. There was something eerie and yet surprisingly coordinated about this. Even though we had no choice but to move forward in a clearly marked path for us to follow, there was still person after person gently showing us where to continue to go. Our papers and temperatures were checked again.

We were then separated in groups of 15 and moved as a group down more long empty corridors. More immigration and royal police made sure everything followed protocol.

We arrive at what I believe was customs and had to show our papers again. We were finger printed and the immigration officers used facial recognition cameras to make sure that our passport photos matched our person.

Once finished, we were sent to baggage claim and then sent outside to a group of individuals covered in plastic ponchos over medical scrubs who were there to help us connect with a driver to take us to our hotel to be quarantined. Since the Thai government requires all incoming individuals to quarantine, these staff already had our names, which hotel we were staying at and our flight information. It wasn't until I saw the staff's sweat drenched hair peaking out of their suits that I realized how hot and humid it was outside of the airport. I heard stories of how the heat smacks you in the face when you land in Bangkok but because of how bewildered the last 30-40 minutes of my life had been, I had not even noticed the heat. We were connected with a man with a large van who packed our bags (not before spraying down all our bags with sanitizer) and sent us to our hotel downtown Bangkok.

The experience at the airport was intense, unfamiliar, and yet also impressive to have witnessed and participated in such efficiency. I imagine most Americans have no concept of how the rest of the world is handling the pandemic. It is these precautions and systemic organization that has led Thailand with a total of only 3,378 cases (3,194 of whom have recovered) and only 126 hospitalizations and only 58 deaths. Meanwhile the United States has the most cases in the world at 5.57 million and the most deaths at 173,128. Such a stark difference.

Now off to quarantine for the next 15 days.