Quarantine, Malaysia Style

 

The night view of Kuala Lumpur from our 18th story hotel room

The cold, morning view from our driveway in Bellingham (actually Ferndale) that we left behind. We rented a car and drove two hours to Seattle to spend the night in a hotel nearby the airport in order to catch our early morning flight. At the hotel I let Google guide me to the best Thai restaurant near our hotel for dinner. So I called Mango's to get some Phad Thai ordered for take out. I asked the lady if I could order beers to go with it. There was a long pause and then a very hesitant response, "We only have .......... Bud Light". It was clear that she knew that that isn't beer and was embarrassed to offer it. She quickly followed this up letting me know that there was a liquor store next door with all types of beer -- problem solved.

Next morning I dropped Chris off at the airport in the early dark with our 4 checked bags plus carry ons and then headed off to drop off the rental car. First hangup was checking into our United Airlines flight (Seattle to San Francisco to Narita to Kuala Lumpur). The check in agent said we had to produce Covid test results and some unknown paperwork. I quickly pushed back and pulled out my stack of official Malaysian stamped paperwork. She just as quickly decided that she didn't want to hassle with it so early in her shift and passed us through. 

We were pretty cautious about trying not to catch Covid and die. That included our KN-95 masks (made and tested in China) plus a clear face shield. The entire 25 hour travel time we felt pretty well socially distanced with perhaps the exception of the shuttle train that you have to take in Seatac airport to the international terminal. There was no apparent attempt to make this safe with the exception of asking for masks.

In San Francisco we were called up to the ANA airlines desk (Japanese) and asked for our Malaysian entry paperwork. They carefully went through it all and seemed to know what was needed. Then after two ANA flights and6 movies we landed in Kuala Lumpur at midnight. We both got PCR tests with deep nostril and throat swabs, filled out paperwork, paid for our quarantine time, got our passport stamped for a 90 day visit and then sat and waited for our Premium Package quarantine driver to show up. You can can choose between a Standard Package and a Quarantine Package. With the standard package the officials place you in a hotel. This is based on which of the quarantine approved hotels has room. Sometimes it will be one of the "5 star" Premium Package hotels. In theory you get a food upgrade with the Premium Package and a nicer room. I'll comment more when we get out of jail. After an hour our driver showed up. We grabbed our bags from the carousel storage area, our escort took us through customs who didn't look up and then onto the pickup area. Here the bags go on the ground and get sprayed down with disinfectant. 

We arrived at the Grand Millenium hotel at 4am. They took us in through a side door to a side lobby and did a very brief check in. They gave us a hotel key card that is only good for one time use --- you can check-in but you can't check-out. Escorted us while in full hazmat dress to a utility elevator and told us to go to our room on the 18th floor.  

Speaking of food, we get 3 deliveries a day like this plate plus a late afternoon tea with cakes. The hungrier I get, the better the food tastes. You aren't allowed knives, alcohol or smoking while being a PUS - Person Under Surveillance. As I understand it the no knives rule is to discourage suicide.

Our "5-star" hotel is a little tired. The toilet didn't flush well, so after a couple of calls to the front desk they sent up the maintenance man. Like everyone we deal with here, he was dressed in a hazmat suit including face shield.

Our days are packed with watching CNN, BBC and a few movie channels -- while eagerly awaiting the next meal. We get up in the morning and after tea and coffee, we carefully make a schedule for the day. So far there hasn't been anything on the schedule yet, but I think the discipline is good for us. We also grab our phones and go into the tracking app for Malaysia and answer a brief, daily health questionnaire. 

In the day view from room (above) you can see the nice rooftop pool on the right. That's all we can do to -- see it.

Paul