Our journey home was not anything like we expected. It has been long, tiring and at times very frustrating. The long and winding road, which started on the 31st March 2021 and ended when we finally arrived on Thursday, 6th May 2021 at our apartment in Siem Reap.
Flying out of Cape Town, on 31st March 2021, was bitter sweet for me. I was filled with so many mixed emotions. I was trying to figure out what I was feeling as my emotions were very raw and took me by surprise. So I sat in the airplane, a huge lump in my throat, this open raw aching in my chest with tears streaming down my face, trying to figure out what it was that I was feeling. Let me try and put it into words…
As the plane started moving towards the runway, I felt like a part of me was being pulled back. And as the plane gained speed, so this pull became stronger, to the point of a physical pain in my chest. It was as if a part of me was being pulled back and if I leave, that part of me would be gone forever and it would never be a part of me again! Then I realized why I was experiencing this raw pain and emotional anguish! My mind was telling me that I was leaving my son behind again! I had to face my feelings and the thoughts my mind was using to make me suffer. As that is what happens when we get lost in mind and thought, we suffer more than what we need to. I calmed myself down with a few deep breathes and then stopped my mind right there, reassuring myself that I wasn’t leaving Wesley behind! He wasn’t in that small wooden box (as we were not ready yet to scatter his ashes). He was with me and would always be with me, part of my heart, soul and spirit forever and always.!
After 4 flights, we finally landed in the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The process to check in and be taken to our quarantine hotel was very organized and it went quite smoothly.
Along the way, we had met and chatted to 3 Destination TEFL students, flying from SA to Siem Reap. They would be completing their TEFL course with Destination TEFL at the only South African owned hotel in Siem Reap, the Isirafu Boutique Hotel.
Isirafu, (“Giraffe” in Xhosa) is owned by our very good friends, Willie and Johan. The TEFL course instructor, Tina Hennessy, is one of the loveliest and friendliest ladies we have ever met. We regularly visit “Isirafu” to enjoy good South African hospitality. So we were very pleased to be part of these young TEFL students journey. As it turned out, we were all taken to the same quarantine hotel to complete our 14 day compulsory quarantine.
Staying in a hotel room for 14 days in quarantine has many challenges but the time went much faster than we expected. We were nearing the end of quarantine and were very excited to finally be going home. That’s when we were informed that all the provincial borders were closed and no inter-provincial travel would be allowed for the next few days.
On our final day of quarantine we checked out of the quarantine hotel with our “negative” COVID test in hand and took a tuk tuk over to a lovely guesthouse near the riverfront. We would explore, enjoy the city, experience the cuisine, see the sights and do some touristy stuff before we could travel back to Siem Reap.
And then… Phnom Penh went into LOCKDOWN!!! Exploring and sight seeing were replaced by alcohol bans, restricted travel and isolation in the guesthouse!
We would not be defeated. For days we researched, followed all the Cambodian expat sites looking for any official announcements on inter provincial travel, which documents were required etc. But with so much uncertainty and no official announcements from the Cambodian government, we decided to accept “what is” and wait until the end of the lockdown.
Willie, the Operations Manager of Destination TEFL was working very diligently behind the scenes with the South African embassy in Thailand and Namibia arranging for letters from the embassy. The embassy requested in writing that the Cambodian government allow his TEFL students to travel to Siem Reap for their TEFL course. So luckily, the two destitute online teachers, were included in his requests.
The day after lockdown lifted, Thursday, 6th May 2021, as arranged by Willie, three private taxi’s arrived to pick up the Destination TEFL students and the two destitute online teachers. Finally we were homeward bound for Siem Reap.
After all the fear mongering, speculation and rumours with regards to crossing the border between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, the actual border crossing went smoothly and we were elated to be on the other side of the make-shift border post, within an hour.
With a sigh of relief, we were in Siem Reap Province, on the National Road and heading towards Siem Reap.
Richard, (relaxed and snoozing) and me trying my utmost to capture what I was seeing and feeling, while the view of the country side raced by outside the car windows.
Who would have ever thought that the lush greenery of the Cambodian country side, the sugar palm trees, stilted houses, occasional temples, rice fields and Cambodian flags, would feel so much like “coming home”. Again I was flooded with a mixture of emotions, only this time the sadness was pushed into the shadows by the shining brightness of excitement and happiness to be back in Cambodia.
I cannot explain the feeling of rightness and home coming we both felt when we turned down the main road towards the town of Siem Reap.
However, our bubbling over excitement was very short lived, when instead of following our directions to our apartment, the taxi driver pulled into the parking area outside a training school. What now…
We were told in broken English, that we had to take all our documentation and passports and go register first before we could enter the town of Siem Reap, itself. Stepping out of the car and walking towards a building where people are standing in military uniform is never a comfortable, secure feeling. As we walked up the path, smiling politely, saying a cheerful “Sous Day”, I was having visions of being escorted off to a poorly run, very basic government quarantine facility!
After much difficulty with the language barrier, we eventually understood that the reason we were at this facility was to have a COVID test. Just our luck this control measure on entering Siem Reap, had haphazardly been put into place only a few short hours of us leaving Phnom Penh.
There was no order, no seating, hardly any shade and no one to communicate in English as to the correct procedures to be followed. (note to self – learn to speak Khmer!).
After conveying our information to staff, who could hardly understand English, let alone speak English, we were told that we had to wait a few hours before the actual testing would be done.
As this was also a government quarantine facility filled with mostly locals, who had tested positive to COVID, we thought it best to leave the training centre. We found some shade under a tree, on the pavement, on the opposite side of the road to the training centre. We were also fortunate to find relatively clean, western style flushing public toilets nearby.
After two hours, we made our way back to wait for our names to be called out for our COVID tests. Now, I have had 5 COVID tests (throat swabs and nose swabs) but this was the worst ever!!! It was quite clear the medical staff conducting these tests had not been properly trained to do the swab test leaving most of us gagging from the throat swabs and convinced that we now have damaged brain cells from the nose swabs.
We were then told to wait about 10 minutes for written and signed confirmation that we have had the COVID test.
Well, 2 hours later, we were still sitting and standing around in the sweat dripping heat, soaked to the bone, waiting for our signed letters, only to be informed that the Community Chief of the community we reside in, needed to come personally to the facility, to sign off the document that allowed us into his community.
Willie, who brought a staff member along with him to interpret, finally managed to convince the authorities that he would take full responsibility for his TEFL students, so they waved us goodbye as they excitedly headed off to Isirafu.
Finally, a little old man, wearing a shorts and patterned shirt, arrived on what looked like a scrap yard scooter, to sign off our documents. He was under instruction to escort us to our apartment. So we had to climb onto a very confined rickshaw type tuk tuk with 4 suitcases, an overnight bag, two lap top bags and my handbag. It always amazes me how much you can get onto a tuk tuk.
We were escorted by the Chief of our community to our apartment where our landlords were issued strict instructions on our 14 day self quarantine.
We thought it would be a breeze isolating at home but as it turns out, Tinnea our lovely landlady, is a Sergeant Major in disguise. No visitors, no leaving the apartment, no BBQ, no swimming (unless the pool is not being used). She placed sanitizer spray outside our apartment to spray off anything being delivered. However she is also our Angel in disguise who along with our young neighbours, Esmarie and Dennis, also absolute blessings, went off with shopping lists to buy all the supplies we needed.
BUT all said and done, we are HOME.
Opening the gates and walking into the driveway leading up to our ground floor studio apartment, was the best sight we had both seen since leaving Cape Town.
Although we were both exhausted, every muscle in our bodies aching, we lay in bed that night, talking, laughing and reminiscing about this entire experience and we both had to admit, it felt really good to FINALLY be HOME!