Well, that escalated quickly. Our dream few weeks exploring the Maldives ended abruptly, as the first signs that things were getting serious (outside the nucleus of China, Iran, South Korea & Italy) regarding Coronavirus became apparent.
The numbers of sick and dying, isolation and containment measures suddenly felt very real. The South East Asia travel plans had been shelved weeks before, and now the hypothetical routes we could take back to Europe for the summer have gone the same way. For the housesits we have lined up I’m assuming we will no longer be needed, as holidays are put on hold and people at best are confined to their homes as Coronavirus sweeps through.
But what of us? After nine months on the road with another nine still to come we haven’t been following a strict itinerary, generally only looking one country ahead if that. Our planned flight into Nepal on the 12th was via India. The night before we flew out, following the WHO pronouncement Covid-19 was officially a pandemic, India announced the closure of it’s borders. Had our flight been a day or two later we would have been unable to transit and therefore stranded until we had sorted a plan B. Our friends who had been planning to stay on, hurriedly packed up their belongings, booking last minute flights to make it back to India and their home before the closure.
That morning after not enough sleep we eventually found our way back into India and a very quiet Bangalore airport. They questioned us intensely and were eventually satisfied that we weren’t staying more than a few hours in the airport. 90% of people waiting for our flight were in facemarks, hand sanitiser was everywhere and we slathered it on, warning the boys not to touch well anything at all.
We checked into our flight to Kathmandu. Unsettled but at this point unsure of the alternative. When asked of onward flights we told the truth and said we had none. Who knows where we will be allowed to fly after our time in Nepal. As is the gift of a NZ passport they decided we meant no harm and let it slide. And so we found ourselves entering Kathmandu for the first time late that night, a little stunned.
The last few days we’ve pondered constantly the right thing to do, pouring over all the information we could find. We gratefully caught up with the friends we came here to meet as we questioned everything together. So happy to share the decision making burden with more adults who intimately understood the position we are in because they themselves are in it too. Do we stay, or do we go? And where? With no home as such to return to it’s more complicated than simply cancelling a holiday or following the advice to go home. Everything felt up in the air. As Mt Everest closed to climbing permits we wondered if this would soon include the trekking we had so far been planning for.
Gradually we convinced each other that we are somewhat safe here in Nepal. Are we? Time will tell I guess. Locals tell us we are, that there is no Coronavirus in Nepal (the one and only confirmed case, a student returning from Wuhan early on has recovered), but surely there must be. Another day after we arrived they announced their own border closures to protect themselves from the cases growing around them.
Right now we are all ready to get out of the city where pollution is no longer the greatest risk. Little mountain villages are surely remote enough to keep us safe, and so our mission becomes getting ourselves there safely. We find ourselves spending time with each other in open air cafes, as we plan and analyse our next steps, we practise hygiene habits obsessively but for as much good as it will do I still find myself holding my breath when having to walk too close for comfort in the midst of others.
For better or worse we are here and at this stage we have decided to wait it out in this country until the worst has passed. Or something else forces our hand. I try to tap in to some kind of intuition of the right thing to do. We obsessively think of keeping ourselves healthy and well, if only to protect the vulnerable around of which we see many. An encounter today showed the Nepalese peoples’ heart when Mark mistakenly reached forward to offer his hand and the man shook it, Mark quickly apologised for acting on auto-pilot. The man smiled shook his head and said no, when you touch with a pure heart surely the virus can not be transmitted. If only that were so.