14 days in hotel quarantine: Sydney, Australia
Back in mid-March we were having a grand old time sipping coffee and hiking in Colombia. With the news about Coronavirus ramping up it was definitely on our mind, however no travel restrictions had yet been announced for the region and we were keen to make the most of our time there. While we were in Jardin (a beautiful small coffee town a few hours from Medellin) we heard that Colombia was planning on closing their borders in 48 hours to both incoming and outgoing travel…
With family in Chile, we quickly booked the next available flight to Santiago and made it there only 6 hours before Chile also closed its borders. I’m still quite amazed that all this went smoothly with no major delays or roadblocks (I think we were both holding our breath until the plane landed in Santiago!).
The next 5 or so weeks was spent at Matt’s Dad’s place in Santiago… it was a nice, chilled time and we enjoyed having a proper kitchen and our own bedroom after 7 months of travel and a lot of dorm rooms! Unfortunately we didn’t get to see as much of Chile as we would have liked as most places were obviously closed and there was a 2 week lockdown whilst we were there (we needed a permit to go to the supermarket…).
Although we had originally planned to head to the UK to live after our travels, ultimately we came to the decision that it just wasn’t the best idea in the current Covid-19 climate. We were both having trouble finding work and didn’t think it would be the overseas living experience we had so been looking forward to. We were contacted by the Australian Embassy in Chile about a charter flight they were running from Santiago to Sydney at the end of the week and after quite a bit of umming and ahhing we bought our tickets (AU$2,550 each in case you were wondering). Leaving South America was bittersweet… we knew it was probably the best decision as otherwise we would probably sit around Matt’s Dad’s apartment for who knows how long (I mean we would get through a lot of Netflix and puzzles which doesn’t sound that bad to me…) and going back to Australia meant hopefully working, earning money, and getting on with our lives. But it also meant an end to our travels and the beautiful continent we had fallen in love with and so wanted to explore more.
The flight back to Sydney went smoothly. The Australian Ambassador to Chile (Todd Mercer) was at the airport farewelling the passengers and we had a chat with him… It was almost like seeing a celebrity in real life as we had been watching his videos on Twitter haha! We were required to wear face masks for the entirety of the flight and the meal service was very limited. There wasn’t really any social distancing on the plane (many rows were full) but luckily Matt and I both managed to snag a row each to ourselves.
Upon arrival in Sydney it took us around an hour or so to disemark from the plane as the crew was letting people off in small groups. Once off the plane we undertook a health check (temperature taken and questions about any Covid-19 symptoms), and then went through immigration. Unfortunately Matt’s checked-in luggage was no where to be seen at baggage collection, which was quite worrying but nothing we could really do… a claim was lodged and we were given a number to call once we arrived at the hotel. We were then taken out a back entrance and boarded a bus to the hotel where we would spend the next 14 days! We had no idea what hotel it would be and I was quite anxious having read many horror stories about the quality of the rooms and food at some of the hotels.
The bus pulled up outside the Marriott Hotel in Circular Quay, and we waited onboard for about 30 minutes. During this time the hotel manager came onboard to greet us and tell us what to expect, how things would work etc, as well as the Police Inspector in charge of the police operations at the hotel (we would soon learn that this was probably one of the most heavily guarded buildings in Sydney…). Finally we were allowed off to collect our luggage (which has been spaced in a socially distant manner of course) and “check-in” to the hotel. We gulped our last breath of fresh air for the next 14 days, baulked at the number of cops and Air Force personnel at the hotel, and stepped into the hotel where we were assigned a room and gave our details to a police officer. We then got escorted to our room by an Air Force officer and became acquainted with our new home for the next 14 days…
The first fews days & how we spent our time
The room we were assigned was really nice. Two double beds, a desk, big bathroom (including a bath!), enough room to exercise, and a great view. The first few days were spent getting over jetlag (hello waking up at 2am), getting our phones reconnected to Australian mobile providers, drinking lots of tea, enjoying our view, and feeling quite sad and in disbelief that we were back in Australia if I’m being honest…
Being in our home city we were very lucky to be surrounded by friends and family who brought us numerous care packages and groceries. Our hotel was also really great and had no problem with deliveries (e.g. UberEats, packages from friends) and also allowed us to have our own alcohol (I have heard that other hotels are not as friendly about these things) which definitely gave us a greater feeling of control over our situation.
We spent the remainder of our 14 days discovering new TV shows, reading, job and apartment hunting, catching up with friends over the phone, working out, eating (a lot…), painting, and fighting over who got to look out of the peep hole when we heard a noise in the corridor. Most days actually went quite quickly, and we often looked back on them wondering where the time had gone.
Meals, security guards & health calls
The hotel supplied 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) as well as a few fruit drops. Overall, I was really happy with the meals – they were fresh, healthy, and tasty. Some of the meals included steak with mash and veg, curry, grilled salmon, and chicken caesar salad. The one exception was breakfast – it was a terribly sugary mess of a small bag of cereal (nutrigrain, cornflakes or muesli), UHT milk, a muffin, and a juice. That’s probably fine for some, but I’m not into pumping myself with that much sugar so early in the day (I would rather do so later in the afternoon via a chocolate fix). Luckily we had our own breakfast supplies from groceries delivered by friends.
The meals were placed on the ground outside our door and we were notified by a knock on the door, sometimes with a “dinners up!” included. Each of the guests then opened the door and brought their meals inside their room. A part of me cringed so much every time we got our meals, it was like we were zoo animals getting fed! I can’t think of a better way of doing it, but I just felt funny every time it happened.
On our level alone there were 2 – 3 security guards who would sit in the corridors 24/7. I was also told by friends who brought us deliveries that the reception area was quite intimidating with a big police and military presence. It’s was all quite surreal really.
Each day we received a call from the nurse to check how we were and if we had any symptoms. We also received one call from a mental health nurse about halfway through our stay (in which I asked for a fresh air break but was declined), and the Red Cross also rang us to ask about our experience and have a chat.
Most difficult aspects
Obviously it’s not ideal being forced inside a room for 14 days with no access to fresh air or sunshine. I’m pretty “mentally fit” and did not have too many poor psychological symptoms, but definitely had moments of claustrophobia and intense desires to get out. I think if I was on my own things may have been different and I would have experienced feelings of loneliness and despair.
All the meals were served in single use containers with single use plastic cutlery, meaning we accumulated a massive amount of rubbish which I felt pretty terrible about.
Overall experience
Tonight in our final night in quarantine, and we are allowed to leave from 12.01AM. Overall, staying 14 days in hotel quarantine was better than I expected. The room was comfortable, most of the meals were healthy and tasty, the staff were friendly and accommodating, and our room had a great view which made a huge difference. It was nice to have time to watch TV, read, paint and do things that the busyness of life often causes me to put to the side. Definitely looking forward to breathing in some fresh air and getting sunlight on my skin.