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Traveling Overseas Again

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
After more than a year in my little bit of paradise, I am traveling overseas again. This trip is to Australia.

It took almost two weeks to organize a flight. There were no flights from Cebu so I first had to fly to Manila. In Manila, I needed a CoVid test before I could board a plane. Got the test done (negative) so booked the flight via Incheon, Korea. Flight was cancelled so another CoVid test was required and anther booking. This time via Singapore costing 4 times as much.

All went well and I arrived in Sydney. I then have a 14 day quarantine in a designated hotel (where I am now) before I am allowed out.

Once out, I'll fly to Brisbane where I expect to have to go through another 14 day quarantine. After that I'll have about 4 days work before I have to go through the process again to my next destination.

A normal one-week trip looks like it is going to take 5 to 8 weeks.
 
If you're flying internally from Sydney to Brisbane, why another quarantine? Isn't that just for international arrivals? Could you drive to Brisbane or would you get turned away at the state line?
 
That's exhausting just reading your itinerary. I hope you brought a few good books.

I cancelled a month long trip to Spain for this summer because of the uncertainty of restrictions once arriving. My wife and I decided to visit friends in California instead. A hard pill to swallow, but was an easy decision. Seeing friends after a year of isolation will be great.

Best of luck and safe travels!
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Can you work during the quarantine or are you just in lock down?
Yes, I can work while in quarantine as long as I never leave my Marriott hotel room. I have to pay the USD 2,300 hotel bill. It's like being in a prison, but of a higher class.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
If you're flying internally from Sydney to Brisbane, why another quarantine? Isn't that just for international arrivals? Could you drive to Brisbane or would you get turned away at the state line?
At times a State in Australia can require you to quarantine when traveling interstate.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
After I finish with Australia, I will need to fly to Korea. That will require special permission from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs to leave Australia and a special visa from the Korean embassy in Canberra.

After Korea it is looking like I will be going to Vietnam. I wonder if I'll get back to Cebu for Christmas.
 
Wow, my friend your travel/quarantine adventure sounds interesting. Stay safe and enjoy your destination and all of the stops on the way (as much as possible). What shave gear are you quarantining (I mean traveling) with?
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
It would be quicker to take a boat. The boat leaves Cebu, takes 2 weeks to sail to Oz, and there you have the quarantine period for everyone on board.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
.... What shave gear are you quarantining (I mean traveling) with?
My travel shaving kit is:
  • Latin matching seven-day set of straight razors
  • Stick of Arlo shaving soap
  • Chinese guaranteed genuine badger synthetic brush
  • Chinese calf-hide/chamois strop
  • 0.1um diamond pasted balsa strop
  • Alam stick
  • 2 x Bottle of Clarifiance facial toner
That should be enough to keep me looking good for a few months.
 
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What an itinerary! Any travel is still a way off for us in Singapore - there are flights but getting into a country in the first place and then getting back into Singapore is another issue. I am a "Permanent Resident" so I could go back to UK (if I have a valid reason I believe) but getting back will require 14 days quarantine in a hotel (minimum $2,500) then a test, then another 7 days self isolation at home. Much as I want a decent pint and a full English - and probably see my dad and brother - I'm not sure that hassle is worth it just yet! The guy I work with is desperate to go back and see his kids but he's on an Employment Pass and would not be allowed back in as things stand.

There are talks going on between Singapore and Hong Kong about a travel bubble again so that could be a possibility however, the weather in HK between June and September can be awful, humidity off the scale.
 
Sounds like a horrible trip, at least time wise. I am surprised to hear that Australia has such strict quarantine, though I think maybe they have been this way since the beginning with hard lockdowns. Is there no way to get a vaccine before traveling, or will the requirements not be lifted even if one is vaccinated?

I thought some countries were lifting these inbound quarantines in government approved hotels if a person could show that they were vaccinated. While the idea of vaccine passports is not so appealing, seems like they will be needed before travel will be free flowing. Also seems that they could test a person for antibodies as a way to short circuit the quarantine process, but that gets complicated and creates the wrong incentive.
 

Lefonque

Even more clueless than you
Welcome to Australia... You should catch up with Billy Goat Brushworks if you need a great shaving brush. He is in Brizzy. I hope you get some time to enjoy a bit of Oz.
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
Yikes! I'm target thankful that I rarely need to travel more than 50 miles for work, and even that is rare in itself.

With all the restrictions and uncertainty, we've put overseas travel off for about a year from now. Here's hoping all is sorted well before then.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Now in day 9 of my 14-day hotel quarantine. No one is allowed in or out of my hotel room.

On day 2 I was CoVid test for the 5th time (after 4 tests in the Philippines to allow me to fly). On day 12 I will be again tested. If negative, I should be released from "prison" on day 14.

Although I am incarcerated, I am still keep up my daily SR shaving routine.
 
You might get lucky, Aussie is talking about opening up to Singapore.

Your other option could be to exit via NZ - I believe with our borders now open to Australia in “the bubble” you could come here and then fly on to Singapore with no need for special permission.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
You might get lucky, Aussie is talking about opening up to Singapore.

Your other option could be to exit via NZ - I believe with our borders now open to Australia in “the bubble” you could come here and then fly on to Singapore with no need for special permission.
Yes, I am consider flying out via NZ. That should save me from having to get permission from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs to leave AU.
 
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