Notes from Quarantine
Notes from Quarantine: WEEK 1 COMPLETE.
Because this is quarantine and time only seems to exist to torment us, here are some thoughts without much structure. Enjoy.
Check-In Process -
After leaving the airport in Bangkok, we were taken to our hotel where we would be quarantined for a total of 16 days. As we arrived at the Royal Benja Hotel of Bangkok, we were immediately impressed by the giant chandelier that took up most of the main lobby. The staff took our bags and we waited in the lobby to be checked in and seen by medical staff. We were given QR codes to connect with both the medical staff and hotel Line accounts. There were many individuals who clearly just arrived as well and were all waiting to be checked in. We were the last ones to be checked in. This consisted of checking our documents and making sure that we were the same people who just flew in from Hong Kong. They wanted to know our seat numbers and all of our allergies we may have. They also gave us our room key and a medical ID cards in case of a medical emergency during our stay. They checked our vitals and got us ready for a Covid-19 test that consisted of both a nasal and mouth swab. After they completed the test, the hotel staff escorted us to our room on the 23rd floor with all of our luggage.
While Emily's school booked us a two bed suite, we were met with one bed in a smaller space. That said, at this point, we were in no mood to complain and would take anything with a pillow and blanket. After checking out the amazing view of downtown from our corner room, I immediately jumped in the shower. Soon dinner was brought to our door and was demolished by our more than hungry bodies. At 6:35pm I laid on our bed to rest and surprisingly did not open my eyes up again until 3:33am the next day. Jet lag is a bitch. See, Emily can sleep through anything. She had been able to sleep at least a bit on each flight. I had been awake since we left Chicago almost two full days prior. To say I slept well that first night would be an understatement. I was ZONKED. I normally wake up 6-7 times a night. I don't think I even moved a muscle that night.
We are pushing ourselves each night to stay up half and hour to a hour longer to help get us on Bangkok time. We finally made it to 10pm last night! I still am waking up around 4:30/5:00am but I'm hopefully I'll get on a more normal sleeping routine with time.
Excitement on Day 3:
A few teachers from Emily's school along with a school community support group sent us some care packages to our hotel room! They were filled with both familiar and local to Thailand snacks, some books about Thailand, a puzzle, a yoga mat, and some Thai language flash cards. Emily also got her work computer which has been very helpful. All of these items will come in handy over the next week and a half as we have already began to feel the boredom of our stay. Shout out Ruamrudee, Risidents, and Shasta!
Thank you thank you thank you!!
If you know Emily and I, you know we love food. And boy oh boy does this hotel know how to feed us. Each day around 9 am, we are sent the menu for the following day with two options for each meal and we are to submit our choices. Each meal has been substantial and usually very tasty. It's really the only thing to look forward to at this point, since it is the only thing that changes in the monotonous daily routine. We get a very quiet knock on the door and the staff leaves the meals outside of our door. Based on how the food tastes and how they eggs are fried, I am certain they cook the food onsite right before they serve it to us so it is fresh and warm. So far, there have been many types of fruit, soups, and desserts unfamiliar to us but we usually try them before assuming we won't like them. Emily has enjoyed the desserts while I have been enjoying the soups.
Mundane tidbits:
Emily and I played an 80 minute game of WAR.
Emily and I played a 5 minute game of WAR.
We check our temperatures twice a day and submit them to the hotel medical staff.
Our flooring has a plastic-made-to-look-like-real-wood covering over it which is taped together. I accidentally ripped part of it the other day and saw that it is covering carpet. While it is a strange feeling to walk on, my guess is it’s to ensure easy cleaning during quarantine.
There is a chip of paint missing on the southwest corner of the room that looks like a mouse asking for food.
There are 12 pools on rooftops that we can see from our room. Only once have we seen someone swimming. It was raining at the time.
In order for any electricity in our room to work, you need to insert your key card in a slot first which activates it.
Solitaire and WAR are lifesaving games.
We finished a puzzle but might have to do it again.
Learning even simple magic card tricks require much dexterity and patience, that which I do not have. Respect.
We relax in our bathtub and pretend the juice we drink is wine. (No alcohol allowed in our room)
Spraying your bum clean instead of using toilet paper is a new norm.
Each time our room is cleaned, we get a new duvet with a different colored stain in the same spot. First red, then brown, my guess is purple next.
The flooring is covering up a foot wide divot near the southeast corner of the room. We are careful not to put too much pressure on it to not fall through.
Our stiff-as-hell bed leaves us waking up feeling sore in too many places.
We are allowed to leave our room and visit the pool area for up to an hour each day. We try and go early to avoid the heat but even at 9am, it is usually already in the 90s 🙄.
Dish soap and a bathtub cleans clothes just fine.
A day in the life (almost any aspect can and does flip flop to different times depending on how we feel):
If there are no alarms set, Emily will sleep 1-2 hours longer than I do. I usually read the news, listen to a podcast, and play phone games until she wakes up.
We open our blinds to wake ourselves up fully.
Emily does yoga, I do a quick workout.
Every other day we take showers.
We work on the computers or video chat with a friend.
Emily reads on her Kindle and I work on the blog.
We play card games or work on a 1008 piece puzzle.
We send in our temperatures to the hotel medical staff.
We watch Netflix (specifically DARK).
LUNCH coupled with snacks from our goodie bags.
We listen to a podcast while we work on the puzzle, play card games, or work on the computer.
We watch more DARK.
We frequently ask each other what we want to do next.
More computer time.
More games of WAR and Solitaire.
DINNER.
More games and more DARK.
We take our temperatures again.
We hopefully find another friend to chat with.
More WAR, reading, and DARK.
Repeat 13 more times.
P.S. - I dub DARK, a German Netflix Original Series, the best show for quarantine. (This is after watching Season 1 & 2.) It requires an immense amount of attention and thanks to our unlimited spare time we have the ability to stop every few minutes to ask ourselves, "Okay, who is that? How are they related to those people? Which time are we in?" We also spend lots of time talking plots and characters over.
P.S.S. - 'Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel' is the best podcast out there. Change my mind.
