After we got our tickets on Wednesday I began second guessing if leaving on Friday was soon enough. That night, happy to have finally made a decision, over the phone my mom suggested that I should have gotten my ticket to leave the next day. Regardless, she was excited that I'd get the chance to go to Australia and I was too. I was also happy that we found a flight out of Hongqiao airport (about 45 minutes from where we lived) so that we didn't have to make it all the way to Pudong airport (close to 2 hours). Not knowing exactly what the roads or the airports would be like, if we'd encounter long lines for temperature checks on the roads or a suddenly closed airport terminal. I spent Thursday the 30th of January preparing to leave, which meant squaring away all the files and school work that I might need to travel with in case I wasn't able to get back to China for a while. Early that morning my university had sent out an email, informing the faculty that classes would be moving online and that more details about how and when all this would happen were to follow soon. I packed a single duffel bag with clothes for the hot Australian summer and some winter clothes for the cold Midwestern Winter: a sweater, long underwear, a pair of flip-flops, two tank tops, two pairs of gloves, seven t-shirts, seven pairs of underwear, one pair of thermal socks, two hoodies, one long sleeve heavy cotton shirt with buttons, two short sleeve shirts with buttons, three pairs of short socks, two pairs of regular socks, a winter hat, scarf, winter coat, three pairs of shorts.
After squaring away my luggage I took a long walk through Forest Park, which was mostly closed but for the main thoroughfare, a paved path that ran from the south to the north, over a few bridges and ponds. I only passed a few people on my way from one end to the other and back. When I passed them I'd raise my mask over my face but once they were gone I'd take it off again. No music that walk, just the quiet city being enveloped by dusk. When I got back to my complex I failed the temperature check. I tried to say something like I was out for a walk and was hot, failed, and then the security guy scanned my chest. This seemed to confirm something, he smiled, and I was able to reenter the complex. It was not the threat of the virus that was scary but the worry that something else would go wrong. In the morning I hauled my single duffel bag and backpack to the gate to meet our driver and Jo and Dave. The drive to Hongqiao was uneventful but tense. Scenes from our travels:
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| The roads were empty. Our driver had a shaved head. |
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| Temperature check on the way into Shanghai. Armies of public health workers. |
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| Hongqiao Airport Terminal 1 on the morning of January 31st. Minimal lines. |
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| Double-face mask (PM2.5 + surgical), Hong Kong Airport Terminal 2. Mountains over right shoulder. |
Our flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane was a red-eye, leaving at 6:30 PM and arriving at 5:15 AM on February 1st. Four hours later, as we would learn, a travel ban was issued by the Australian government, blocking all foreigners from entering the country. The flight was fine, a Qantas jet packed mostly with folks from Australia. Jo and Dave sat in the row behind me and nobody occupied the seat next to mine. I found a Australian motorcycle magazine in the seat pocket which occupied me for a few minutes. I watched Joker for the first time (I liked it!) and some episodes of Veep. I tried to sleep but was not so successful. The stewards were not wearing masks and most folks weren't either. We arrived in Brisbane and made our way through customs. Not one single person asked me a question. I interfaced with two machines. We picked up our bags and exited the terminal, relieved to have made it:
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| Brisbane airport International terminal, 6:11 AM. Moments later I put on shorts. |
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