Travels with my Angst

On Thursday, June 10, 2021, we went to the National Hospital and did a test. On Friday the results came back negative. We arranged the tickets, packed our bags, and tried not to forget too much.

Friday was filled with classes and conversations. Adryan and I talked about the future. What could he do, more than what should he do? Wyatt and I talked about possibilities and responsibilities. For both of our sons, I’ve tried to show that it is necessary to be prepared. Only by doing everything you can, will you be able to adapt to things whether than merely react to the unexpected.

Saturday, Grace came over with our grandson Theo. It’s always good to see them both. Two of our grandchildren are in Melbourne Australia attending school. And another granddaughter works for the company owned by our daughter Grace’s inlaws. We had dinner with them a few days before we left.

Emily prepared lists of chores for both boys. Sometimes they seem little more than wish lists, but occasionally things do get done. The alternative, just giving in to the inevitable, may be less frustrating but it doesn’t really help anyone.

Emily and I had already decided that it wasn’t a good idea for the family to come to the airport. Large weepy goodbyes are not a good idea in the time of Covid. We arranged for a taxi. The morning was occupied by the faint memories of forgotten items. Thankfully, I’d remembered to wear pants.

The preparation before the flight, packing, tests, uncertainty, and general annoyances were stressful. Then yesterday the flight was actually early. The problem was the 90 minutes we had to wait at baggage claim. We missed our shuttle bus.

Thankfully, we were able to call the hotel and get another in 40 minutes. By the time we got to the room, we ate a late lunch and slept for a couple of hours. That was about 3:00pm. Then we chilled for a bit and then took a walk.

We had bought some fried rice at the airport, so that was our late lunch/supper.
Talked to Wyatt, Adryan, and Grace. Watched some TV. Thankfully we managed to sleep.

The next day … Sriwijaya Air had set up a medical tent in their parking lot. There we did the medical test. Two blood tests, and then two sets of swab tests for nasal and oral swabs. These results were processed by two different hospitals.

That night and the next day were spent completing apps. The apps were mainly in Chinese, so it was frustrating. Add to that a dodgy hotel wifi, and it was a recipe for frayed nerves. We had a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant. we got back and finished what we could of the apps. Just in time, the results came and we add to complete uploading what had already seemed like a lot of information. Emily’s app was finished by 8:30pm. Mine took until almost 11:00pm. After what seemed too long, both apps returned a green code which meant we could fly the next morning.

We were up around 3:00am. We were downstairs by 3:45. Emily sat and I paced around. The airport shuttle was scheduled for 4:00am. The shuttle arrived and we arrived at the Soekarno Hatta airport in about 30 minutes. Except for the check-in we were in a mostly empty space. We went through the initial airport entry scans and such. Then the group heading to Hangzhou appeared.

We discovered to our delight that there were now two more apps to complete. I’m not good at airports, as I tend to notice everything. It puts me on edge, and I don’t relax.

A lot of the time was spent filling in online forms for contact tracing and medical check apps. Eventually, we had three apps that we showed to various health, immigration and customs officers.

The young man assigned to shepherd us through the process was helpful, and professional and we were finished in time to check in. I also discovered that I had left my sweater on the shuttle bus. It was the one that helped me cope with occasionally hyperactive air conditioners, It wasn’t expensive, but I liked that sweater.

We survived the check-in. For the most part, the process was efficient and polite.

We finally boarded the plane at 9:30am. No music or movies to be had. Likely don’t want to throw away perfectly good headphones. So, that’s why sleeping was the better part of valour.
So, after nearly 7 hours we arrived at Hangzhou.

We arrived in Wuhan on Halloween at 11:30pm. We had a great flight from Surabaya to Hong Kong.
My wife Emily, and our youngest son Wyatt have been preparing for our return to China since April 2017. In Indonesia, the rainy season is about to begin, while in Wuhan Autumn is hanging on tenaciously. We arrived early at Juanda Airport in Surabaya. Our daughter Grace had driven us to the airport for our 8:30 flight. We checked our luggage then we had a nice breakfast at Starbucks with our daughter. Emily, Wyatt and I said goodbye to Grace and made our way to the boarding lounge.
The flight arrived on time and we boarded. We had a good meal and a relaxing flight aboard Cathay Pacific. We arrived in Hong Kong a little early.
Although we expected to board the next flight in a couple of hours, and were not really hungry, we decided to walk up to the food court so we could sit. It turned out to be a fateful decision.
After 40 minutes of waiting, I grew restless and began checking the flight board. In Hong Kong boarding gates change frequently, so it’s best to be proactive about staying informed. The board indicated a delay of one hour. Thankfully we now had a table and some snacks.
We then made our way to the boarding lounge for the Cathay Dragon flight. We boarded the plane after another short delay to clean the plane. We waited while the plane loaded luggage. We all watched the small screens in front of us. They offer a good selection of music, movies and TV.
Another delay was announced, a brake failure, but the pilot(a master of understatement) announced it as a minor delay. We set sail again by 9:30.
The meal was good
We arrived.
We’re here now and having a new adventure in Wuhan, Hubei province.

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Happy New Year.

May the year ahead offer health, happiness, prosperity, purpose and fulfillment.

All the best, Wayne, Emily, Adryan and Wyatt

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