Quarantine Diary 1 On the Way to Jail

Click pics to enlarge. Congested Parking Lot.

Letter from Hong Kong (20-10): doctorjohn in Quarantine (1)

This article was initiated while waiting for a Saliva Test result in a designated seating area at the HK Airport. This is the beginning of a series examining the Quarantine Experience. There shall be little on audio, so as you know.

Hong Kong is small, a cosmopolitan city whose population density, unique history and makeup sometimes make it struggle a bit with the virus. Currently, most new cases are imported, mainly from surrounding Asian countries with close ties, like India, followed by The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia (many of these countries have long had a large Chinese diaspora). Indians have always had a significant presence in Hong Kong, a sequalae of the city's earliest days of Colonial British rule and development, long before the mass arrival of Chinese from the mainland. Many hold dual citizenships. Hong Kong also has a huge number of Filipino maids on working permits. And HK's role as a financial hub created one of the world's largest expat communities and made HK Airport one of the world's busiest (and it built up the Cathay Pacific Airline). All that are challenges during a pandemic.

Aside from HK citizens, few foreigners are permitted entry. Even for citizens, entry requirements and procedures are among the world's harshest, especially for those who are coming in from high-risk areas (yes, that's me). In case you are interested, the official requirements are here.

Preparations for Flight 1) Only PCR tests within 72 hours of boarding are accepted (China too). In NYC, if one goes to one of the official (and covered by insurance) testing centers, there can be no guarantee that one can get the result back in time. So for the Chinese population, a small industry of private doctor's offices and travel agencies have sprung up. For out of the pocket cost of $300, one is assured of a result within 24 hours; 2) Now, HK also requires a copy of the testing laboratory's official certification, which one is not to get with the official testing (China's is similar, but less strict). This they provide too. The price is stiff but most travelers put up with it, as I did; 3) This is the easiest, a 14-day hotel booking, but as you can see later, also potentially problematic. 

Booking a Flight As for booking a flight, I did it last minute. Cathay Pacific, HK's flagship carrier, is hurting really bad. In contrast to the cost of tickets to China, flying to HK (and Taiwan) is really reasonable and yet few are doing it. One reason is likely the severe quarantine requirement. Second is that China has severely curtailed flights from and into HK, with the result of a drastic decrease in the number of transit passengers. Cathay is reeling so bad that it has just announced giving up its China arm, Dragon Air. All these factors, plus the fact that other Asian countries with large carriers (like Korea) have also limited or banned transit, have severely affected Chinese nationals returning to China, as the airfares have skyrocketed to thousands of dollars. One day I heard that a ticket from NYC to Shanghai was USD 12k! Some of these probably stem from the irregularities brought about by the Chinese travel agencies, which probably blocked out a lot of seats from being sold direct.

JFK Airport and First Hiccup Terminal 8 was like a ghost town. Almost like a scene from a sci-fi movie. This could be partly due to the scheduled flight time, 1:55 a.m. The agent told me my hotel reservation had a problem: unlike my passport, it did not have my middle name and the HK government insists on the same full name. Just when I was freaking out, the lady next to him looked at it and said since my booking was with booking.com, it could be changed. I opened my booking and within a few moves she edited my name. I was so relieved and thanked her profusely. She must have done this before. Still, I could have run into a brick wall if she was not around. It is really quite silly. The whole booking is in my email and on my personal computer, so how counterfeit could that be? But bureaucracy we all know can be carried to the ridiculous extremes (I am talking about the HK government - more later). Due to the paltry number of flyers, the plane actually took off 10 minutes earlier, an unprecedented experience.

The Flight I knew it was going to be a good flight because when I got my seat online I could see there could not be more than 50 passengers on the Airbus and everybody had 3 seats to himself. Food was OK, but I particularly took to their proprietary Betsy Pale Ale, brewed by HK's own Gweilo Brewery (the name is age-old Cantonese for "foreign devil", initially referring to colonialists). Readers may be surprised, like many larger places, tiny HK actually has a surprisingly number of boutique beers!

A Note on Cathay Pacific Although this time I start to feel sorry for them, over the years I have never been a fan of Cathay Pacific. Like all companies of UK colonial origins (such as HSBC), historically run by a lot of expats, and in many ways like HK itself (at least in the past), Cathay sets its eyes on the world. There is nothing wrong with that, but what has always been wrong is shortchanging Hong Kong people. Tickets, say to NYC, have always been significantly pricier if bought in HK than NYC. Grant you, due to heavy demand, air ticket prices have always been high in HK, but Cathay has always been the worst offender. Many years ago I took a Cathay flight, and swore not to fly it again. In Economy, the leg room was the worst I have experienced (actually better this time). And even as a Hongkonger, I have never taken to their service, which illustrates the cultural ills of HK. Yes, the attendants speak fluent English but it is their Cantonese that make me cringe. To a Mandarin speaker like me, their announcements are incompetent. HK students excel in a lot of things, but public speaking is just not one of them. To me this is a profound failure in education. In terms of service, at least in Economy, even if I have to change flight, I find other Asian airlines to be superior, and so for years I have mostly taken Korean and Taiwanese airlines. Yes, I don't take US airlines either - they are inferior in food and services. Come to think of it, maybe it's time Cathay changes it's name? Would a Taiwanese airline call itself Formosa Air? Only a HK Bakery would call itself Taipan Bakery - shame on them.

Back to the Future For the last 2 months, knowing I was to leave NYC, which I call my home, I had my apprehensions. And there were a lot of things to do, like registering for government accounts, setting up autopay's and reassigning emails where I have used Google (which does not work in China). But when we touched down in HK, I was surprisingly calm. Not because I identity with the place more than NYC - after all in the most imporrtant ways the HK now is not the HK I knew before. Too many things have happened since I left. Of course everything seemed familiar (but not necessarily comforting). I guess I have a sense that the return may have a role to play in the future. I don't know yet.

The QR Code and Bureaucracy Everyone has to fill in a health declaration form, which generates a QR Code. I generated one back at the JFK airport. I had to stop by stations after stations and each asked me to show the QR Code, many unnecessarily (typical HK). After I filled out some extra forms, some seemingly duplicating much of what's on the Health Declaration form, I was given a Saliva Test Kit and assigned a booth for self-collection (dubious for accuracy imho). After handing that in, an electronic wrist band with its own QR code was assigned to my personal QR code, and I had to download the Stay Home Safe App, which demands every conceivable access, from location to wifi and bluetooth. The lady also made sure my phone number embedded in the QR code rang in front of her. This wrist band supposedly cannot be removed without triggering a notification. Through GRP and more, big brother is surely watching, but I am not sure of its efficacy. Then they checked my passport and HK ID Card and scrutinized the 3 documents. After I got through, I was then assigned a desk and chair in a designated area to wait for the test result.

The Wait and Second Hiccup I felt like a student sitting at the desk. The wait was interminable. Lousy sandwiches made with the equivalence of Wonder Bread were provided with water. I checked my email and discovered to my dismay my Citi credit card for the hotel booking did not go through. I booked on the 17th, but Citi sent me an email asking for confirmation (a counter-fraud measure, since it was charged in HK) after I had boarded the plane on the 21st. Since I did not response Citibank denied the transaction. After being OK'ed, I tried to repay but was not successful. Neither could I pay with my HK credit card. I then noticed the update credit card button and re-entered the same Citi info. Voila! It went through, to my relief. I then spent some time writing this article but my eyes tired quickly. So I spent quite a bit of time looking out. We were situated in Terminal 2, which has been closed down. Outside, all the idle airplanes. After eight hours, I finally got my negative report. 

The Airport This was also the first time I really scrutinized the design. Like the HSBC, it was designed by Norman Foster and Partners (here). The design was much emulated later. Incidentally, Bill Clinton was the first foreign arrival, on Air Force One. Here I have to say, as a very green person, I don't have good opinions of many famous architects. Imho, their designs cater to the colossal egos of themselves and the business and politicians they serve. Despite lip service, most are not close to energy efficient. Even in a hot climate, profuse use of glass and high ceilings are wasteful of energy, and complicated and curvy surfaces have high maintenance costs. Vain bodies and governments just cannot get enough of this kind of "statement" designs. In HK, we are still in the midst of the vastly wasteful building of the West Kowloon Cultural District, also awarded to the same team. I don't find the inside too impressive either - it all left me cold.

To the Hotel I was not the only who thought it strange that no transportation arrangement is made for someone going into quarantine. I took the airport bus (HK has a great network that reaches almost everywhere) and enjoyed the scenery from the upper deck.

Eight Hours of my Life

Bundled up for longtime storage.

From the upper deck of the Airport Bus