Thread by @SeanUM_China, THREAD:I recently had to endure a mandatory two-week #quarantine in #HongKong for [...]

Sean Upton-McLaughlin (Now in Hong Kong)

SeanUM_China

THREAD:

I recently had to endure a mandatory two-week #quarantine in #HongKong for #COVID19 and recorded my experience in my #vlog. #ChinaCultureCorner

Being stuck in a small hotel room for days on end was not what I expected... https://youtu.be/hmj70oqLGA0 ">https://youtu.be/hmj70oqLG...

The first fun part of this experience was actually getting across the border. Only one border crossing was open between #Shenzhen and #HongKong - Shenzhen Bay.

All incoming flights to Hong Kong were canceled as well.

Going across the border to #HongKong was also the first time I saw people in full #PPE in person.

While in #Shenzhen, we only ever saw people in face masks as everything was fairly well controlled.

Interestingly, many Chinese software systems cannot read the hyphen in my last name. So I was unable to fill out the app-based health check form.

Luckily I can read/write Chinese so I was able to fill out the paper version - there were no English options.

I had been worried that there would not be available transportation after I crossed the border, and indeed there were no buses. But there was a long line of taxis available - 300 HKD (38 USD) to get to my hotel though...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙄" title="Gesicht mit rollenden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit rollenden Augen">

The first thing I did after arriving in my #HongKong hotel was to spray down EVERYTHING with the disinfectant spray I brought down from #Shenzhen - better safe than sorry.

That& #39;s what can be so unsettling about #COVID19 - the uncertainty when you are moving into a new place.

Food delivery options in #HongKong were disappointing compared to #Shenzhen, both in terms of ease of use as well as the number of available restaurants. But I made it work and didn& #39;t starve.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😁" title="Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen" aria-label="Emoji: Grinsendes Gesicht mit lächelnden Augen">

I think the main thing that made a #HongKong #quarantine difficult was how inflexible my #USA bank was and the horrible service they provided. I& #39;m definitely switching to a different bank soon that is actually willing to serve international customers. #BankofAmerica

While things may look laid back here in #HongKong - many #expats going to bars and not wearing masks - the service industry seems to be more on edge. Had a hotel worker flinch away from me when it looked like a had a fever-level temperature, It turned out the scanner was faulty.

In the end, I was happy to get out of the hotel once my #HongKong quarantine was over. But staying in such a small space took its toll and its harder for me to walk long distances, at least initially. Hopefully, I won& #39;t have to to repeat this experience anytime soon.

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