Travelling in the time of COVID-19

Travelling and COVID-19 don't really go together in the same sentence, do they? If you've been following my recent posts and Instagram stories, you know we have just been to Budapest for a week-long trip. It wasn't the usual summer holiday you plan in winter and count down the days to, it was more like a change-of-plans-but-let's-still-go trip. Read on for a little background story on why we decided to go ahead with our plans and how it all turned out in the end. Grab a cuppa and enjoy!

Why we still chose to travel

As promised, here's a little background story into our travel plans for this year. So, basically, we were meant to visit Budapest last May to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, but, like the rest of the world, COVID-19 had other, very different plans for us and instead, we spent our anniversary at home with sushi take-out. At the time, Malta International Airport was closed for non-essential travel and only repatriation flights and cargo-carrying flights were allowed in and out, however, Ryanair claimed many a time that our original flight was operating as usual and since it wasn't canceled, they couldn't offer us a refund or a travel voucher. Instead, they offered us the chance to postpone our trip to July or August, where they waived off the flight change fees. In the end, we opted for August since it is Mario's birthday month and we hoped that by that time the situation would be better. 

In August, locally the situation was far from better and the total number of cases in Malta spiraled upwards within a few weeks and as a consequence, many a country were imposing total travel bans and restrictions for travel to and from Malta. I am not going to go into the merits of who is to blame for the spike in new cases for each and every one of us has a responsibility towards the people around us and our country. But, alas, the saying holds true, that common sense is not so common. And here I appeal to you all again, do not wait for the authorities to tell us what is good and bad. What was good (and the results show) in March, still holds now, so, please keep wearing those masks and practice hand hygiene and social distancing. It pained me to see my country going from the best to almost the worst in managing the epidemic and it pained me, even more, to feel safer if I traveled to a foreign country rather than if I staycationed in Malta. To cut a long story short, I was on the edge till the very moment we touched Hungarian ground for fear of a ban being imposed on tourists from Malta to Hungary.

View of Budapest from Gellert Hill

Those who know me really well, know how much of a control freak I am and I am big on planning ahead. In the case of traveling, for example, as soon as I book the flights, I start looking for a nice hotel to stay at and within 24 hours, I would have drafted an itinerary (which I then go through a gazillion times to make sure it's perfect) for the whole trip. You see, planning ahead lets me be in control and it allows me time to make changes if I have to and it also offers me peace of mind. However, if something happens and my plans go haywire, I tend to take quite some time to re-focus and re-adjust to the new reality. This is exactly what was happening to me at the beginning of this whole COVID-19 shenanigan. I can't stand the idea of planning a trip/party/outing only to have it canceled because of this stupid virus, but, at the end of the day, our health matters more and I have now sort of gotten used to this whole planning, canceling and re-scheduling thing. 

With travel, it's a bit of a different story though. Holidaying abroad is the only time I can switch off and unwind. It's like pressing the reset button and I can then return to my normality with a more tranquil and fresh outlook. This time, we knew it was going to be somewhat different; we knew that travel during a pandemic caused by a highly contagious pathogen imposes a higher risk of contracting the disease but we still wanted to go ahead with our plan and made sure that we take all the necessary precautions to safeguard our health and that of the people around us. 

A new normal calls for a different approach to what we are used to so, both me and Mario took the necessary precautions to safeguard all those around us. For example, I booked an extra week of leave so as not to be a risk to my colleagues (and their respective families), and yesterday we both took the COVID test, and thankfully, they both came out negative. We agreed that we were not going to visit our parents or any relatives after our arrival until we get the all-clear so as to be 100% sure that we were not contagious. It was a sacrifice we were willing to make, primarily for our sanity. I'm not ashamed to admit that in the beginning of this whole nightmare, I was literally counting the seconds, minutes and hours until the daily press conference by Prof Gauci and sometimes, this was all too much to bear and I would break down and cry. Now, like the majority of us, I have adapted to this new normal and I intend to still my life without being a danger to others of course.

Did I feel a 100% convinced of our choice to travel? No, of course not but to tell you the truth, now that we did, I am glad. I needed to rest my mind from all that is going on in the world. Hungary did a really good job in battling the Coronavirus pandemic and compared to other countries, it was a relatively safe choice and this was also one of the reasons why we decided to still go on with our plan.

Safety Measures at the Airports and onboard the aircrafts

Rant over, I wanted to highlight the safety measures in place at both Malta International Airport and Budapest Airport as well as the measures in place on Ryanair aircraft. Basically, you have to wear a mask all time while at the airport and for the whole duration of the flight. If you are going to travel any time soon, I wouldn't pack a visor if I were you as some airlines have banned them, so pack multiple masks to be safe and it's wise to change them frequently. Sanitizers are available in mutiple stations and both airports are spotlessly clean including the bathrooms.

Mask on, ready to go!
Mine is from Sef Farrugia

As for the planes, we traveled with Ryanair, and to tell you the truth, I was really skeptical about the airline maintaining standards with it being low-cost and all, and I also heard a few stories about their planes being dirty. Luckily, both coming and going, the planes were clean, at least our seats. I still wiped everything down with Dettol wipes (I recommend you pack some with you) to be extra sure though and I was pleased to see members of the crew drawing the attention of any passengers who disobeyed the wearing-a-mask-at-all-times rule. What I would have liked to see though, was more enforcement of social distancing as both flights were almost fully booked.

Would I do it again?

In hindsight, the short answer is yes. It all turned out well and even better than we expected! Budapest is a wonderful city with lots to see, do, and explore at every corner. Who knows when our next trip will be and I'm so glad we managed to go to this gem of a city, one that will forever be imprinted in our hearts and memories!