Grounded by Corona

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Tonight, I was supposed to be boarding a plane at JFK Airport in New York. Sixteen hours later I was going to disembark in Manila. My epic trip this year was to be five weeks in Asia. The first three weeks I was going to travel around the Philippines for the first time. After that I was going to fly to Japan where I would reconnect with my past life for two weeks in Sapporo. Now not.

The world has currently gone mad with the coronavirus and all our lives have been put on hold. Everyone I know is now locked behind their own closed doors, hunkered down with those they love and waiting for this terrible pandemic to be well and truly dealt with. Never before have I seen anything like what is going on in the world right now. Who could have foreseen something like this?

I must have had a premonition that this trip would never happen because for some reason it never felt quite real to me. I just couldn’t bring myself to plan and research it like I did with my previous trips. Even though I bought my ticket way back in August, I was strangely reluctant to begin the pre-trip process. Then when I finally got around to working on an itinerary, things began to happen. First around Christmastime President Duterte of the Philippines got into a diplomatic fight with the US government and threatened to revoke visa on arrival for all American travelers. This would mean that we would now have to apply for visas well in advance before travelling to the Philippines. This was not the end of the world, but it could be potentially disastrous if Duterte put this into effect right before my departure date.

The next hurdle was thrown up, quite literally, on January 12^th when the Taal Volcano erupted in Batangas covering all of Metro Manila in a fine grey ash. It was reported that this blast could be a precursor to an even larger eruption in the near future. Which I guess is still the case. While I was busy pondering this, reports began to filter out of Wuhan of a horrendous outbreak of an unknown disease where people were collapsing in the streets and massive black clouds were seen over the city on satellite pictures as the crematoriums kicked into overdrive.

The whole country of China went into a severe lockdown. I figured that the Philippines and Japan being so close were bound to be affected by this. Perhaps my travel plans were in jeopardy. Various countries began to shut down their borders and quarantine their citizens, but I was still determined to go on my trip. I was not going to pull the plug on my journey until either my government or the governments of the Philippines and Japan let me know I had no other choice. Then on March 12^th President Trump announced a ban on travel to Europe. Whew! My trip was still hanging on by a thin thread. Then a few days later it became a fait accompli when President Duterte locked down Manila and banned all foreigners from entering the Philippines.

That was that. I would not be going to Asia. All that is left now is to reminisce on a trip that in actuality never existed. I was really looking forward to flying to Manila direct from New York. I wanted to see how many mind and body would hold up trapped in a plane for sixteen hours. I was planning on writing a journal entry every hour and then have that be the trip’s first blog. An examination of my mental state in that flying tin can over the Pacific. I was going to land in Manila during the Easter Holy Week. From what I could see the Philippines really celebrates Easter bigtime, with crowds, pageantry, and processions. This all seemed to include some sort of live crucifixion reenactments as well. Looked absolutely bonkers. How bonkers? Guess I will never know.

I was planning to spend a lot of time in Manila even after Easter, so I could find out more about the Filipinos’ passionate love affair with basketball. I was going to watch the NBA playoffs in bars with locals every morning as I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee. During the day I would search out local courts and see what Manila street basketball was all about. And of course, try like hell to resist being roped into playing myself. I am sure my achilles are hanging on by a thin thread at this point. The wild madcap Philippines Basketball Association would be my nightly entertainment as I examined their professional game. It was going to be a total immersion in all things Filipino basketball.

I never could pinpoint what I was going to do outside of Manila, besides for the fact that it was going to involve beaches. Perhaps that’s for the best because it is harder to be disappointed about losing something that you never really envisioned in the first place.

One of the reasons I didn’t want to pack to much travel into my three weeks in the Philippines was that I didn’t want to exhaust myself before I got to Sapporo. I wanted to be fresh and ready for the fun that awaited me when I returned to the city where I lived for five years and where many of my friends still live to this day.

I was going to be there during the Japanese holiday of Golden Week where practically the whole country is out of work and celebrating. Sapporo is glorious during that week as the long northern winter finally begins to loosen its grip on the city. Pink cherry blossoms bloom all throughout the parks. The locals and crazy foreign residents all take their picnic blankets out to Maruyama Park. There they congregate, laugh, and drink beers all day under those delicate branches of flowers. Life is good during that time and I was going to be a part of it again.

However, because of the secretive nature of the Chinese government and their lack of concern for the wellbeing of other nations, none of that will happen. But one day this quarantine life will pass and we will all be on the road again. I am already planning on breaking my five-week epic Asian trip into two trips. First a three-week trip to Sapporo and rural Japan. Then a separate three-week crazy ramble around the Philippines. When the governments of the world give the go ahead all of us travelers will once again burst forth on the world stage, ready to bring joy and make discoveries. Can you imagine the global celebration that will take place then? That is one global party that I do not want to miss.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Global Celebration
World travelers are chomping at the bit to get on the road again. We loved our month in the Philippines and would love to go back. We enjoyed Manila and surroundings. We also went to Bohol, Malapasqua Island and Palawn. Such a lovely country. Stay healthy and hope you can get on the road soon.

[Tommy No Papers]

Just a pause
Happy to hear that you enjoyed the Philippines. I am actually looking at this as a blessing as I can now properly plan a suitable trip around the country instead of winging it, like it seemed I was headed to do. You too, stay well.

[Home and Away]

I've had this suspicious notion that if I pre-plan a trip in detail or write a blog in advance of the events actually happening...
I will jinx the trip. I first raised this concern in my blog "Did I jinx American Airlines" posted in April 2013. This year I really put that suspicion to the test. I plan(ned) to visit the ancestral castles of my wife in Scotland in September. There much history around each ancestor and their castle that I wanted to write down so that I wouldn't have to write these details while on the road. These draft blogs would also help me plan what to visit and in what order. Well, I've written four draft blogs with a total of 5500 words. So you can blame me for all the cancelled travel plans around the world!

[Tommy No Papers]

We know who is to blame, and its not you:)
A draft blog? Never thought of that before. It actually sounds pretty clever. Helps you plan your trip and saves you future work. I like it! I am sure that you can still use these in the future even if your trip gets postponed, although in September you might be ok. So no jinx. Prepare away!

[Dancing Dave]

How bonkers? Guess I will never know.
We grieve for New York in Oz...we get frequent updates daily and they seem to get worse and worse. Can't imagine the sense of loss and uncertainty you must feel in that city. Then there is Europe and we wonder where it could be worse. Or whether China is really letting us know how bad it can get...as the virus stretches its claws into other parts of the World. At least you have your travel plans to hang onto...like approaching light at the end of a tunnel...only the length of the tunnel and any unexpected obstacles that may be thrown can impede your way. I hang onto my mantra..."I do not want to be the One...the One who infects someone or is infected by someone else. I do not want to be the One." I know if I am true to that there will be an end to this. But the uncertainty...I grieve for your uncertainty...and your New York.

[Dancing Dave]

Fires, floods...why why why Corona
In Australia we endured the worst, most extensive, most destructive bushfires in history from June 2019 to February 2020 following up to 10 years of drought. Then the rains came and started filling dams and rivers giving farmers hope. Those rains brought extensive flooding washing away bare topsoil reducing the prospects of recovery and that short lived hope. Meanwhile in December 2019 there was talk of a mysterious virus in Wuhan, China that reached Australia in January 2020...our first death on 1 March...borders closed...country in virtual lockdown. Will it ever end? We realise we are better off in Oz...24 hours from anywhere now our solace...possibly the best place to be as the virus travels like wildfire around the globe...still raining here so many areas now green after years of brown. Is breaking of years of drought a blessing or a cruel joke? Considering the past year we have had in Oz...hard not to wonder what could possibly be next. Recession or depression? Gotta retain our social distancing and humour or we certainly will have no chance as the waves keep approaching to drench some of us...the unknown being how many will be smashed and the size of the surf. Relax & Enjoy...its gonna be quite a ride. Oz has been known for many years as "The Lucky Country"...at least we can hang onto that.

[Tommy No Papers]

Stay safe. Stay well. Stay happy.
Well said, Dave. Here in New York the situation feels pretty immediate. It warms me to think of populations in far flung regions where there is more distance between them and the scourge. But with the internet bringing in global reports it is hard for anyone to feel truly removed. Both blessing and curse I guess. One day, this too will pass. Embrace these times and learn their lessons.

[starship VT]

A very thoughtful blog. It seems to me that the year 2020 was, for many different reasons, one of the saddest state of affairs in my life time. Sorry your trip had to be cancelled! Missing out on the trip you had so looked forward to was reason enough to be disappointed much less everything else related to the COVID fallout. I guess your 6th sense must have been working well. Even had you been able to go, you might not have been able to re-enter the country for who knows how long when flights were cancelled and most borders started closing.

[Tommy No Papers]

Thank you! I concur. The year February 2020-January 2021 is definitely the most disorientating and destabilizing year of most of our lifetimes. I could definitely have gotten stuck, but what a TravelBlog I could of written about the struggle to get home. ;)