Viv:> No, we have decided to wait until I know if I am allowed entry into Cebu, as the rules are changing faster than traffic lights in London Soho!. I may not be allowed into the country, may be allowed but only if I take self-isolation locally to the airport, may possibly be allowed to self isolate in my home. Until I arrive I have no idea. But the good news is I have a driver to get me to Colombo airport tomorrow afternoon, and the flights are still showing green status. But the guys are ready and primed to collect my car and take it to Cebu airport, it just means I have a 3 hours wait, I can live with that.
Just to add to my misery lol, Usha has informed me that there is a curfew in operation here in Srl Lanka, we think they can take me to the airport as long as I have a booked flight. I am contacting the taxi company (Uber) now to find out, also one of my teaching colleagues is trying to find out if her "driver' is available and allowed to take me.
Z. The best solution is not to use that kind of device at all, after spending 30plus years in IT, I don't trust any phone or device that has listening capabilities. Now I only use Apple products or those with Linux, as these have the best security. Even then you still need to take precautions.
Viv, now you're being psychic lol, trying to arrange just that right now. No problem with access to my car, my housekeeper has keys for both the house and car, she starts my car once a week to keep the battery charged and oil around the engine, Now waiting to hear back from two Youngish Filipino guys whether they are able to do the drive.
It's a thought, but the suitcase may be a problem, I guess I could send it fed ex, hey now that's a thought, I could empty the case and get inside and send to my home, in the Philippines from Cebu to my home takes about 4 days for a parcel delivery lol.
Times like these that make you realise who your real friends are. If I didn't have a 30kilo suitcase I would buy a canoe and paddle my way home even if it took a week.
Exactly Molly, plus they would need the car returned to the pickup place, which would be kind of impossible for at least two weeks. Frustrating having my car sat at my home but not accessible by me.
I thought about booking a car rental, but you need to leave your passport with the rental agency, very risky!! I am contacting Friends to see if anyone can drive my car to the airport and meet me there. So far most are under quarantine so unable to help, the ones not under quarantine are reluctant to go to the city, my home town being free so far from the virus.
Z, from what I am hearing from Cebu, they are accepting foreigners who have proof of residency, I have documents proving ownership of property and a plastic card that shows my residency status is still valid. So now, as long as both Dubai and Cebu airports stay open until Sunday I should be okay, I am not 100% sure if I will be allowed self-quarantine or imposed quarantine at my expense. 14 days in a hotel in Cebu city will not be cheap! Another small problem is that my home is about a 2.5 hours drive from the airport, and with no busses running that will mean a taxi, not sure I can find one willing to go that far from the city.
V. I have now booked a flight. from Colombo to Cebu via Dubai, cost over 1k but that was the only flights I could find, thankfully I had a lot of Airmiles saved up so the actual cost was around £600. No point in contacting the British Embassy until I am forced to do so, IE. the flights are cancelled, then I will contact. the Embassy and explain my situation. Not sure they will help though as I have not lived in the UK for nearly 15 years, with my actual home being in the Philippines, I would not be surprised if the UK embassy refers me to the Philippine Embassy. But they would not be interested as I am obviously not a Filipino. So, for now, I'm staying in my room, playing Sudoku and living on bread and cheese and papaya lol. The worst is I drank the last of my Merlot lat night,
Of course I was aware, but obviously the airlines were not, they are happy to take my money, not so happy to refund. I booked the first available flight to Cebu at the beginning of March via Manila, but now Manila is closed had to find a flight to another Philippine airport. Almost all international flights from Sri Lanka pass through Kuala Lumpur, however, today KL has all closed their airports. If Philippines close all airports before Sunday I will be stranded in a foreign country, with limited finances, the place I'm staying at will close Saturday, so I will also be homeless. Why on earth do you think I will be "concerned".
Then you. have people like me, trapped in a foreign country, flights cancelled daily, and those still available are charging business class prices for basic economy. if/When/how I return to Cebu it will cost over £1000 and not sure if I will get a full refund on flights cancelled, most are offering another flight within 365 days, not helpful.
At this precise moment sitting in my room waiting for the green light to go to the airport on Saturday, I feel I am being manipulated, not in control of my own destiny. I don't like this feeling, never experienced it before, it is alien to me and in the back of my head, I keep wondering WHY. Why are they making such a huge fuss over this particular virus? When previous pandemics with far more fatal results seem to have flared up and then died away. Ebola for example. Do certain governments know something about this particular strain of coronavirus that other virus did not have? And they are not making that fact public. Or is this just a way to control the masses?
Z, I'm not deriding the danger of covid-19, but to force businesses to close is crazy in my opinion. Your example of the nursing home just shows that previous inoculation against flu was very effective, sadly this new strain does not have such an easy way to stop it. I have no doubt one will be found and then issued worldwide. The point I was trying to make is that the media has blown this up way beyond the point of no return, had they remained calm, just published clear details of ways to prevent contamination, I believe the world would have coped far better than it is doing now. People in China are following government guidelines, the virus is abating, in the city where I worked there was 20 new suspected patients a day, yesterday there was 1, today, so far, zero. No one knows if this is due to government control or because the weather is warming up, time will tell.
Well it didn't because Trump instigated a panic and withdrew all Americans back to the USA, other countries followed suit. Had he not panicked himself, China would have contained the virus. But no good crying over spilt milk, it's worldwide now, and should be treated with contempt, washing hands and keeping away from people is a better way to fight it, Lockdowns, like they have in Spain, is going to do nothing that soap and water can't achieve. Closing businesses etc will create an economic crisis unheard of in modern history. How many people died from the common flu in 2018/2019? A heck of a lot more than this virus will kill, but last year there was no panicking, no businesses closed and the world survived just fine.
So many rumours, and scaremongering by the worlds media, all it does is spread panic. The world should follow China, ban all references to Covid-19, only official government sources allowed. This whole situation has got completely out of control.
I really like Tu dou si, a speciality dish from Sichuan, can be extremely spicy. Another favourite is stir fried potato with rice, bacon, peas and ham (spam), spring onion. "Tu dou chao fan"
The Chinese seem to like potato chips (crisps), they have a pringles type in china, flavours that Chinese enjoy. But then again, chicken feet are more popular, together with ducks bills and pigs hoofs/ears. Of course, I could be lying
Chianti is much the same in Tuscany, only there the best is held back while the rest exported, so it's absurdly expensive to buy unless you know a local producer.
There could be a silver lining to all this, if all government are forced to work from home. the majority would spend most of the time watching daytime soap operas, leaving us oldies to get things back the way they were before the idiots panicked.
Well that's bloody great, no Rioja in Spain, crossing that country off the Christmas card list. Best go to Portugal, they at least have some decent Ports, and not shut (YET).
They invented Tonic as a cure for malaria. Maybe worth trying a Gin and Tonic, one glass before stepping outside the front door, another as soon as you return A pint a day should cure any flu bug.
Z, Sadly Rioja is hard to come by in SL, for sure, a decent wine like that would be spoilt drinking it with a veg curry, as that is the main (Read only) food available in this town,
I've put myself in semi-isolation mode, schools are all closed until end April, so I have booked a flight back to the Philippines, hopefully, I will return before they close the airport to international flights, fingers crossed. Right now I'm in a rented room, been here 4 days now and fed up, too hot to go for a walk, no money to buy books and internet so slow I could write a book faster than it can download. I do have a selection of children's books, Nancy Drew, Famous Five, Water Babies and the Secret Garden, used for teaching but now the only hope I have left to remain partially sane.
online today!rizlared Blog Comments (1,771)
It's all true
Look into my eyes ...........
A pint a day should cure any flu bug.
RE: Opting out of the virus panic should be an option
Viv:> No, we have decided to wait until I know if I am allowed entry into Cebu, as the rules are changing faster than traffic lights in London Soho!. I may not be allowed into the country, may be allowed but only if I take self-isolation locally to the airport, may possibly be allowed to self isolate in my home. Until I arrive I have no idea. But the good news is I have a driver to get me to Colombo airport tomorrow afternoon, and the flights are still showing green status. But the guys are ready and primed to collect my car and take it to Cebu airport, it just means I have a 3 hours wait, I can live with that.