On Monday morning, we found out the border was closing to all foreigners entering Indonesia. We had 3 days to get our butts to Jakarta. We made it: It would not have been possible without a whole lot of luck, the positive energy of our friends, and some epic ground support both in Costa Rica and Indonesia. Here is our tale of how the last 3 days of 2020 unfurled. Hope you enjoy.
5.30am Monday, 28th December I wake and check my email. Checking for emails from Kandui Resort to me, has become akin to as a child might check for presents under the Christmas tree. This morning, however, the talk was not of peeling blue waves and uncrowded breaks. It was ‘get going now, or who knows when you will get here!’
So, while Ian took Finn and his buddy Teo fishing as promised, I got flights changed, canceled and rebooked, made appointments for our Covid PCR-RT tests and started packing bags and prepping the house. We had literally 22 hours to pack up our house to get it somewhat renter-ready.
One of the huge benefits to travel in 2020 has been the flexibility of flight ticketing. While in most cases you won’t get a refund, you can cancel and receive credit for a later date. For this trip, we had used our Alaskan Airlines credit vouchers to book a flight from San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) to LAX. It was over $300 one way, each person, and required us driving the 4 hours to the city. Our rush-job re-booking got us flying out of Liberia International Airport (LIR) just 1 hour away, at the incredible cost of $170 each, one way. Amazing.
One huge benefit of switching to flying out of LIR was the logistics of getting to the airport. Our new and improved yet rushed itinerary meant we could drive ourselves, leave our vehicle in the carpark with the keys hidden, ready for our renter, arriving the next day, to grab our car and drive himself to our house! We sent him a photo showing him where we parked the car, and a video of how to find the keys. So smooth. So perfect!
The COVID test. In order to board our flight to Jakarta from LAX, we had to present our negative PCR-RT results. Usually, receiving results in less than 24 hours is a huge risk. A friend of mine recommended a gentle, kind Microbiologist to do our tests for us. She was great- communicating with us via Whatsapp, pushing the lab to get our results out. The much anticipated report arrived 2 hours before we needed to check-in for our flight. The relief was palpable.
One thing I will say is this. Any time someone is putting anything into your body, ask questions before they do it. In this particular case, we went for our first PCR-RT test. Finn wanted to go first to get it over with. The clinician had her vial of liquid in one hand, and the cotton swab in the other. She put the swab in the liquid and THEN up his nose. We asked what the liquid was, and she said simply it was a preservative for the virus. She seemed proficient and we figured she had done this plenty of times so didn’t think too much of it. Even after Finn’s eyes started watering and he said how much it stung, we figured she knew what she was doing. Ian was up next and the same thing happened to him. He said it burned and stung bad and the effects lingered for several hours. Post-nasal drip as a reaction to the liquid continued, as their bodies attempted to rid themselves of the offending foreign substance. By the time my turn came around I asked if it was necessary to dip in the liquid first. She said ‘no, it doesn’t matter either way, same result’. So I had mine dry and was fine. But, the guilt of not asking sooner, the awful feeling a mother gets when she sees that her baby was put through something really unpleasant and unnecessary still sits with me.
I was kind, yet firm with the Microbiologist. I asked her why she did it that way and she admitted they had just had a new delivery of test kits and that she hadn’t used them before. I told her that I very strongly recommend that she never dip into the liquid first, for the sake of all patients to come. That is isn’t something that needs to go into someone’s nose, and that it most likely burned the mucosal surface of the nose.
Check in at LAX for Singapore Airlines was the next step. I was so relieved that we had our Covid tests back, but there was still uncertainty. I knew that when we were finally onboard the flight, that is when I could fully relax and get excited. I also was very aware, that I had been in the fight and flight response for nearly a day – springing into action and getting things done, so every now and then, I stopped, breathed and allowed my body a much deserved break from the go-go-go.
Check in was almost seamless. Almost. All our bags were checked, our tests verified, and the airline staff so very pleasant and calming. And so very efficient and with attention to detail. Something was wrong with Finn’s e-visa. Somehow our Immigration guy had missed a minor yet significant detail. Finn was allocated Chinese nationality! Although all the other data matched up perfectly, his nationality was Chinese. These e-visas are issued in Indonesian, and Kebangsaan wasn’t a word familiar to me, nor was Tiongkok (Chinese)! Now they both are. The joys of travel!
Rudi is the Immigration guy who Kandui Resort uses and recommends. To have support on the ground in Indonesia was the difference between making it and not making it. When the gate agent told us there was a problem, I immediately send a Whatsapp to Rudi. Thankfully it was daytime in Indo. He replied that he would have it fixed in 3 hours. That was 2 1/2 hours too long. I told him so. He said “ten minutes”- which was much better.
Meanwhile, the Singapore airlines staff disappeared into a back room and got in touch with Indonesian Immigration too. They also said “10 minutes”. Rudi got back to me in 10 minutes with the revised and corrected e-visa and we were good to go! Phew.
The surf forecast and the thought of uncrowded Mentawai waves kept us pushing through. It would be so much easier, comfortable, certain to simply stay in Costa Rica!
Singapore Airlines- Simply the Best!
We have flown Singapore Airlines a couple times before. Once, out of La Guardia NYC to Bali, and Ian flew them once out of San Francisco too. We knew they were good, but had forgotten the difference it makes to the overall flight experience when attention has been paid to the details. Customer service, check. Seat design, check. Delicious meals, check. Calm, efficient manner by the staff, check.
It sure didn’t hurt our experience that the flight was less than half-full. Each of us had 3 seats to ourselves. It was almost like flying first class! We got to sleep laying down!
It feels like puravidaville.... but not quite!
Arriving into Jakarta International (CGK) was anything but the organized seamless Singaporean experience. It sure felt a lot more Pura Vida in some ways, but just generally disorganized and painfully slow in others.
Having just spent the better part of 30 hours traveling, we were all exhausted. Brains were not operating at full capacity yet there were still hurdles to jump. We were so very happy to have requested Rudi’s VIP arrivals service. The fee seemed hefty up front- a cool $100USD each but from the moment we greeted Tiara, it was obvious that we had made the right choice. Plus, we had just saved that much by flying out of Liberia instead of San Jose, so we justified it!
Tiara- a gentle go-getter met us after we got off the plane and before we went through immigration. She helped us fill out our E-HAC forms (online app required prior to arrival) and dealt with Immigration while we went and collected our bags. All was going so well!
For the next 3 hours, we all sat and waited and waited for what seemed a lot longer than a few hours. No one was being allowed out, except Indonesians and Diplomats. We were told we were waiting on the ‘buses’ to arrive. The buses that take us to the hotels that are designated ‘quarantine’ hotels. Why those buses took so long, we have no idea, but we knew that eventually, we would get where we needed to be!
Turns out, we didn’t take the bus. Rudi arranged a large minivan taxi service for us, and booked us into the Novotel. The adventures and surprises didn’t end there, however. Upon arrival we were informed of further new rules that mean we have to take 2 more PCR-RT tests. One on arrival and one before departure. That’s just part of traveling during COVID-19 folks.
Rosie
Wow, You really are amazing to get going that quickly. I’m so glad that you finally get to enjoy some of what you had planded to do pre COVID 2020.
Look foward to reading more on your adventures.
Ginette
Congratulations! I loved reading about your adventure. Now you officially get the title of “miracle worker”.
travelwithintravelwithout
Hi Ginette! Aww, thank you so much xox Yes, it felt a lot like a miracle haha!! Much love to you xoxo
Kasey
So very exciting. I love your story telling skills. I look forward to following your adventure.
Much love. Stay safe! And have the greatest time ever living that best life xoxo
travelwithintravelwithout
Thank you Kasey! We look forward to seeing you on our way home and recounting some tales 😉 Thanks for reading xoxo
Andrew
Amazing!!! Your sooooo lucky!! Have an amazing trip amd I wish you guys beautiful uncrowded waves!
travelwithintravelwithout
I think so too. Though I didn’t want to rely solely on luck to get us the life we love, a little luck goes a long way 😉
Zeidy Murillo
Happy that you find your way and hope you have wonderfull memories of these …..
travelwithintravelwithout
Thank you Zeidy! And thank you for taking care of all our accounting needs while we are away!! Grateful for YOU! 🙂