COVID Quarantine : The Room 2103 Chronicles of SaffaMom and Junior.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.
I can write an opus of epic proportions about the mental and physical challenges of spending 10 days in a room with a 6-year old while others roam free. You can get in touch with me for the details, but for the sake of brevity here goes:
Day 1: We get a call at midnight to say two of us failed our PCR tests on arrival at Phuket Airport. Both of us not feeling Olympic, but surely it’s only jetlag and the test result must be a false positive
Day 2: Ah, crabsticks - the 2nd round of tests also came back positive. We split from the other two Saffas and go into isolation.
Day 3: Starve a fever, feed a cold, as the old saying goes. Stuff your face for COVID? The hotel is throwing food at us. Who eats three square meals a day like this?
Day 4: I’m bored. When are they bringing dinner?
Day 5: There is a pigeon roaming around in the little garden outside. We must build a trap to catch it…our mere survival depends on it. There is a light in our room that came on at 3am, it now flashes intermittently on purpose to deprive us of sleep, in addition to our freedom.
Day 6: Flashing bulb successfully removed. Winning.
Day 7: Healthy body, healthy mind. Did 20mins jogging up and down the 25meter stretch outside. Asked reception for a broom and plastic basin, washed clothing and combed our hair. The world seems a better place.
Day 8: I have to tie the kid to a chair before I open the door to get our food. He’s got crazy eyes and is aiming to run for it at the first possible chance.
Day 9: Going to bed with our swimming costumes on, already covered in sunscreen.
Day 10: Freedom! Hi Honey, yeah nice to see you and the other kid. Point us to the swimming pool and waterslide NOW!