Today marks an entire month post-travel for us. In an alternate reality before Covid, we would still be knee-deep in Indonesia looking towards Japan with excitement. Instead, we are safely sheltering in place with my parents in Michigan. Jon is in day 2 of his new job, H is relaxing after a homeschool science experiment and I am doing the life admin duties that come with a hurried reentry to a country.

It came to me that this experience shares some parallels with giving birth, it takes a little time separation from the life-altering event to start understanding how it impacted you. Much like the night H came into the world, the details of our exodus from SE Asia have begun to grow dim. In hopes of capturing those details, the wide eyes, the acidic fear sloshing in our stomachs when checking news from the other side of the world, I'm going to detail our last week. Looking at it now, 30 days later, I am reminded that it was part of the journey as well. We knew we'd be tried and tested but who could've anticipated a global pandemic, right?

Boarding our flight from Mumbai to Chiang Mai on February 19th, we saw the first real evidence of change. The plane, a large 2 aisler, was less than half-full (or more than half-empty if you're optimistic?). I moved my seat from between the boys and stretched out across all 3 seats behind them. We landed in Bangkok and waited to board our next smaller plane. We were in the minority without face masks. Life in Chiang Mai was dreamy. We were able to do all the things we wanted; massages, cooking classes, and playing with elephants. We were among many tourists, certainly not at full capacity but still a lot. It was there that I saw a large sign covering a local hotel saying Be Strong Wuhan. The last time we had encountered a Chinese tourist was back in Giza at the pyramids, December 31st.

We took the train down to Bangkok. As we dripped sweat everywhere we noticed the beautiful city, the gorgeous wats, and the countless massage parlors. We walked down Khao San Road with a decreasing tourist crowd. Outdoor patios that had chairs for a hundred had just a few customers. It was at our adorable Airbnb that I ran into Chinese people again, a small group of college students that were stuck waiting until Australia let them come back to their universities after having gone home for the holidays.

From Bangkok, we took a system of uber/train/bus/ferry/truck to our little island abode on Kho Phagnan. This proved to be our final 7 days of bliss on this trip of ours. We reveled in the location, steps away from the ocean. I bought my first 2 piece suit after angrily kicking my one piece to the curb (really, with that heat the less coverage the better).

We had purposefully left our exit date and next destination open after Thailand. It was our attempt at being more spontaneous! Till then we'd be so so planned out. We knew where we were going weeks in advance. We felt this was important, but then as we lived it in India, we also felt the restrictiveness that comes along with this. We weren't able to be as flexible as we wanted. So now, with less than 10 days left on our Thailand visas, we still had no next location. Cambodia kept popping back up in our minds. We met a couple in Udaipur that spoke so highly of Cambodia and Angkor Wat, they'd really planted a seed. The more I researched the more I wanted to go. Yes, it was (unbelievably) hotter than it was currently but I thought we'd manage. We ended up booking a one-way trip to Siem Reap for March 19th.

Jon and I also decided to put a 'Go, No Go' appointment on our calendar. April 1st, we said, would be the date to decide what to do next. Would things calm down? Would they heat up? News was swirling hard now from the US and our texts and calls with home were becoming more concerned. Thailand is in the exact opposite time zone from Eastern Standard Time Zone which we discovered allowed for a quiet daytime. No new news to read or listen to. The US was sleeping and we took that time to be as engaged and present as we could. On the whole, we were successful; snorkeling, boating, hiking, EATING, scootering, and swimming every day. The sunrise and sunsets gave us moments of pure bliss and a reminder that the world continues even amidst the chaos.

Our ferry away from Koh Phagnan was full. Tourists were sporting stickers on their shirts telling where they should end up, much like a piece of baggage. Our stickers proclaimed PHUKET and we were shuttled along skillfully by masked guides. Checking into our hotel on Friday the 13th in Old Phuket City we quickly realized we were their only guests. The streets, AMAZINGLY beautiful, were almost entirely empty. A few Instagramers were perfecting their poses smack dab in the middle of the street. Shops seemed to open later and close earlier here.

I kept a watchful eye on local Cambodian news. Siem Reap was in the process of closing their public schools, the city had had its first case of coronavirus. The city was on the lookout for a Tuk Tuk driver who might have been exposed by a traveler. Angkor Wat, while still open, had been sprayed down to kill germs. Chatter about border closings and restrictions had grown in the last 24 hours. Jon and I made the decision to pull the plug. We decided to go directly to Bali instead. We had plans to meet up with Jon's parents in April and had already rented a pretty amazing looking place. We would have to extend our visa past the 30 days allowed, but that would be okay. We bought our second one-way tickets to Denpasar for March 19th.

We said goodbye to the little hotel and wished the front desk man 'good luck' before getting into our Uber to the coastal city by Kata Beach. We checked into this, our last hotel resort, on March 15th. We had room #1. We stayed for 5 days. When we checked in we thought we'd be continuing our travel. Our Dino Mini golf night on the 16th turned out to be the very last entertaining activity we did on our year of adventure. Sweat running down our faces and backs, we put putted our way through a Jurassic Park themed course, much to H's delight. The 7-11 across the street became our go-to lunch and dinner. Giant Chang beers helped us cool off midday by the deserted pool. We watched Netflix like it was our job. We swam in that little pool every single day.

It was Monday the 16th that we decided it was time to go home. The US was sending some real signals that travel was coming to a standstill and that if we didn't come home now we should be ready to wait it out indefinitely. This is a deeply unsettling word. We booked our third set of one-way tickets to Chicago for March 19th.

Making the last pack was surreal. After coaching, cajoling, and then demanding that H be able to pack his own pack he did. And it was more than a little sad to see him do it. He was and is the most flexible 9-year old known to man. We got to Phuket airport 4 hours early, passed through the temperature screenings which were blessedly unnoticed by me and sat. Every traveler there seemed to be on their respective journeys homeward. It was such an odd experience to be in the very same boat as everyone at the airport, no one was going to go anywhere but homeward. We enjoyed our very last lounge. I think I drank 2 beers and stared out the window for 2 hours. I was trying to come up with a plan to keep myself sane on a 12.5-hour flight. I am not a great flyer at the best of times, nor can I sleep while on one.

We boarded our first flight, a respectable 7-hour jaunt to Abu Dhabi. I watched the map as we retraced our path across India. We landed around 2 am. Two people in Hazmat suits and a temperature gun boarded the plane and scanned us all individually. I held my breath and crossed my fingers. We disembarked. Checking the news I saw that the US had now moved to a Level 3 Travel Warning while we'd be flying. We searched for an elusive lounge and came up short. We found 3 "lounge" chairs and attempted to sleep. I ended up curled up on the ground with my blanket covering my face. Somehow 9 hours passed. We boarded our last flight to Chicago. Meals, drinks, movies, and endless pacing sessions by me somehow passed the time. When we crossed ice fields north of Finland I was both in awe and terrified. I jealously watched others sleep. We landed in the grey skies of Chicago. I made H dig through his pack for his only long sleeve. We shivered as we drove the 10 minutes from the airport to the hotel. It felt more closed than open. We paid $65 for hamburger room service and nursed our jet lag. We were home but in limbo.

And we continue to limbo along with the rest of the world.