I got stuck in Thailand because of COVID-19. Here’s how I made it back home

By Zeynab Mohamed

Updated May 18, 2020 at 05:45 PM

Reading time: 3 minutes

Imagine being on a beautiful lake, surrounded by nothing but glistening water and rich greenery—sounds dreamy, right? This was how I described the beginning of my holiday in Thailand to my friends. But what should have been a relaxing and surreal experience soon became a desperate attempt to get back home in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At first, it seemed like my trip was not going to be affected. To me, Thailand had better control of the situation than other countries, until I heard about the travel ban Trump had imposed on Europe. It was a trigger. Suddenly the gravity of the situation hit me. Here’s how COVID-19 impacted my holiday and how I made it home.

Maybe it was the language barrier or just my lack of awareness, but the situation in Thailand didn’t worry me to begin with. Yes, people were wearing masks and going a little crazy with the hand sanitiser—rightly so—but overall, things appeared to be pretty relaxed. This was nothing in comparison to the alarming frenzy that was taking place in the UK. With news of travel restrictions changing daily, my bubble was burst. The panic was setting in and there was no outrunning it. Finally, I started thinking about going home. I was willing to cut my holiday short, but how was I going to get home exactly? My flight had been cancelled, I was left in the dark as to what to do.

With barely any internet available where I was, the situation became unnerving and only increased my many speculations. It was all I could speak about and I had long forgotten the beautiful scenery and the wild animals.

I was stuck in the middle of the jungle and although everyone did their best to play it cool, the worry was written all over their faces. The fact that we might not be able to get home became a real possibility.

It’s such a strange feeling, trying to enjoy and take in everything in front of you but still having this nagging worry at the back of your mind, growing uncontrollable. The anxiety was crushing me and my mental health took a blow.

Eagerly awaiting to leave the jungle in order to establish some sort of connection with the outside world was already a hard task. But my need for some news was crippling. As soon as I connected to a nearby Wi-Fi box, messages from loved ones asking me to give them news from Thailand and news articles flooded my phone.

I had been planning this trip for months and there was much more to see but I had made my decision; I was ready to go back. Yet, still, I somehow expected everything to fall into place. Coming from the UK to Thailand had been so easy, how hard could it be to book a flight back to London?

In order to change the date of my flight back to the UK, I called the airline, which informed me that my flight had been cancelled in anticipation of upcoming travel restrictions. After endless calls with the travel agency, hours and hours of being put on hold, I was left with no answers and decided to try online chats instead.

Airlines and agencies were drowning in panicked requests from tourists trying to get back home. It was chaotic—one agent would say one thing and the other would say the opposite. One told me that there weren’t any available flights before April, while another one told me that I could have one of the last seats for  £1,500.

On numerous occasions, I believed that I wouldn’t be leaving Thailand. It was easy to let myself imagine living out there, the weather was amazing, people were friendly and the cost of living was incredibly cheap. If it hadn’t been for my constant checking of the news on my phone, I could have happily stayed right where I was.

I decided to make the 6-hour journey to the airport without knowing what I would do once there.

The airport was crammed with distressed people queueing up at a few help desks. To me, the panic on people’s faces was calming. Knowing that I wasn’t alone in this situation made me feel better. In the end, I took a gamble and booked the first flight back to the UK I could find even though no one knew if it would get cancelled. It didn’t and I made it back home.

As many tourists are still in Thailand while the country is under lockdown, I am grateful to be in my own home. For now, I am still in quarantine but this feels like a small price to pay for safety.

Keep On Reading

By Charlie Sawyer

364 days away from election day, Trump leads the 2024 US presidential election polls 

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Are the Lemon Bottle fat dissolving injections taking over TikTok safe? Experts raise concerns

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Florence Pugh reveals her mum got high with Snoop Dogg at the Oscars

By Abby Amoakuh

Gen Z just played a crucial role in South Korea finally banning the dog meat industry

By Abby Amoakuh

Why did Jennifer Coolidge shout out evil gays in her Emmys 2024 acceptance speech?

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

KSI v Tommy Fury: What went down at the pre-fight conference and where to watch the boxing match

By Charlie Sawyer

Who is Pookie, the wife of Jeff Puckett, aka the most complimentary man on TikTok?

By Charlie Sawyer

Doritos faces boycott over new trans brand ambassador’s alleged tweet about 12-year-old

By Charlie Sawyer

Brooklyn Beckham launches London pop-up restaurant to bless us with his cooking

By Charlie Sawyer

Michael J. Fox speech at the BAFTA Awards 2024 leaves viewers in tears

By Charlie Sawyer

Tucker Carlson pranked by YouTuber pretending to be Kate Middleton whistleblower 

By Abby Amoakuh

Carnivorous turtle able to chew through human bone found in Cumbria by local parish

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

The internet is convinced that Kate Middleton just had a BBL

By Charlie Sawyer

Gypsy Rose Blanchard says husband Ryan Anderson’s D is fire after trolls call him a creep

By Abby Amoakuh

Tories ban trans women from female NHS wards because they claim they know what a woman is

By Charlie Sawyer

Emily Ratajkowski debuts divorce rings, symbolising the beginning of the loud breakup era

By Abby Amoakuh

Hundreds of bodies found in unmarked graves behind a state jail in Jacksonville

By Abby Amoakuh

Nella Rose faces backlash following explosive fight with Fred Sirieix on I’m a Celebrity

By Abby Amoakuh

New Channel 5 documentary My Wife, My Abuser: The Secret Footage compared to Depp-Heard trial

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Spanish woman to become first person ever to marry AI hologram