Letter to the Editor: My five-star hotel prison quarantine
(Editor, Meath Chronicle)
Dear sir - In November 2020, I took a job in Brunei, in the island of Borneo in SE Asia. It is a post which is financially advantageous and should afford unlimited travel in this part of the world. However at this time the former assertion is true, the latter false. I was also recently married to my true love and because she works in Ireland and our home is there, we have had six months apart …. difficult. I was allowed to go home for a set time and now I have returned to Brunei. Despite being now fully vaccinated there is no deviation from hotel quarantine.
I am currently on Day 11 of 15 in hotel quarantine and tomorrow is a big day, PCR test which will hopefully lead to my freedom. This is my second stint at hotel quarantine in Brunei and apart from the excitement of tomorrow, there have been no leaving of my hotel room in this period. Brunei is like a gilded cage, the government has done a phenomenal job and because everyone entering the country has had to isolate, there have been 489 days without any community transmission. So life in Brunei is normal, apart from those that want to; no face masks, no social distancing, nothing closed, apart from the border to other countries. Malaysia is 20 km away.
So my experience of hotel quarantine is tolerated by breaking the day down into chunks of activities: Yoga, HIT class, stretching. U Tube with Dr John Campbell, Russell Brand etc. In addition an hour of Spanish, comprehension, listening, TV. Also Malay class once a week and. Vocabulary testing daily. Highlight of day is the set breakfast at 10.00. Trying to lose a few pounds as always so light dinner of veg. Learning chess v computer, beginner level. Reading the four books I have. In addition there have been morale boosting fruit, chocolate, crisps, homemade meals from work colleagues. Evening time, thank the Lord for Netflix. The most important is talking to my wife every day…. Stating the obvious.
What have I learned? That our freedoms were taken for granted but one gets used to a new regime of effective house arrest quickly. This may be 5* but it is my 5* prison for the moment. It is of utmost importance to have a plan to fill one's day, in effect having too many things to do before lights out, sleep, repeat.
What I have learned most is the human spirit adapts to every situation and prior planning helps in this one. In Ireland, I see cows in the fields, today I see crocodiles in the river.
Yours,
Charles McDonagh,
Moynalty and Brunei.
PHOTO: the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in the city of Bandar seri Begawan in the country of Brunei Darussalam on Borneo in Southeastasia.