Goodbye tropics in Bangkok and back to Canada

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We have left Bangkok after one month and three months in and out of Bangkok. Now we are in Montreal. Lucky us, we made it the night before the mandatory in place quarantine for two weeks, although we have had to swear self quarantine for 2 weeks. This is not a problem since we are staying in a house with a stocked cupboard and fridge. Costco family. Costco is their day out so supplies are everywhere. It's insane.Good thing we have two large bottles of ketchup that nobody uses.

The last day in Bangkok before our flight they started to shut down restaurants and other businesses. The transportation was still going and supermarkets were open.

We went to the nearest supermarket this day and walked in. Marc told me when we were inside that we slipped by the lineup of people waiting to have their temperature taken before entering. I didn't even notice them and they didn't notice us.

The day before things seemed pretty normal when we got together with our friends to say a sad goodbye. We met in our favorite park and sat. There was hardly a soul there.

I said goodbye to the tropical air and beautiful green trees along with the glorious flowers, before I had to return to the cold grey skies and dirty melting snow. I normally look at flowers and feel nothing but peace, but honestly I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sadness and despair knowing that I may never see these beautiful things again. I had taken it all for granted for so long.

In spring in Montreal you rarely see blue skies. Sometimes you are surprised though. I had to cherish the moment on this day in Bangkok where the sky was exceptionally blue and clear. It was a going away gift for us by mother nature. Thank you.

After a lovely picnic in the outdoors as free people, we strolled to Chatuchuk weekend market so I could buy a pair of shoes. I only had flip flops which would be quite strange in Montreal and not to mention cold.

The market was closed. This weekend market was very popular with tourists and every weekend it would be very busy and crowded.

To see it closed down was very sad. The vendors and staff would be without work. Their wages are already low.

We knew at this point that Thailand was following suit with the rest of the world.

Two days later we packed up and took a train to the airport. The anxiety we had was quite high. We had to fly to Tokyo to get another flight to Toronto where we got another flight to Montreal.

We knew that we were obligated to self isolate for fourteen days, but we were nervous about any changes they would make before we arrived since things are changing by the minute these days.

Our first flight to Japan was with a different airline than it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be Air Canada but it ended up being ANA airlines which is a Japanese airline.

We were seated apart. She told us it was all booked and there was nothing she could do. When we were flying I did hand signals to talk to Marc across and down the isle. My neighbor seated next to me noticed several empty seats and kindly offered to move so Marc could sit next to me. It was greatly appreciated. When the meals came we asked if they had anything vegan but they did not. The flight attendant felt so bad that she asked if there was anything on the tray that we would eat and there was salad, noodles and bread so we took it and it did the job. We gave the ham to the nice man that gave up his seat and he was happy.

We had wine and beer to calm our nerves and help us forget about the lack of food. The service on this flight was top notch. The flight attendants were winners in hospitality.

When we got to Japan, we boarded our second flight to Toronto. This time it was Air Canada. This flight was around twelve hours. We were seated apart once more but their were empty seats so fortunately we got to sit for twelve hours together.

We were quite hungry and looking forward to our in flight meals or whatever we would eat from them that was vegan.

As soon as we sat, the captain announced that there was some kind of contamination with the meals and oddly the bar items as well. We would only get three sandwiches and bottled water.

The sandwiches were meat and cheese so we knew that we would have to go on a water fast.

The flight attendant felt so bad, like the last one that she managed to find some fresh fruit and crackers. We were so thankful. We were eating far better food than the white bread anyway. We didn't have much of it but it was better than nothing.

Needless to say that after a total of eighteen hours since Bangkok after no breakfast, we were a little hungry.

When we got to Toronto we were surprised that it wasn't too scary like we imagined. There were hoops to jump through and constant announcement of the prevention of the C word. I feel it is unhealthy to hear this C word in full all the time.

We found a pub that was open and they were seating people away from each other so we had to wait for available seats.

We finally sat down and to our surprise there was a vegan burger so we split it since our stomachs had shrunk. We normally don't eat fried foods but we just ate it anyway.

We finally took our last flight to Montreal. The taxi driver was taking us as his last costumer and he was sealed up with a plastic sheet around the front of the cab.

We got to Marc's parents house where we have a room that we always stay in when we are in between apartments and travel. It's not easy. Not at all.

Hopefully our travels have not come to a halt for life. If so then I guess it was fortunate that I got to see my birth country one last time.

All the best to everyone.

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