What a year 2021 has already been, eh?
Despite the dampened mood brought on by the events of last year, London 2021 kicked off with the most fabulous fireworks. Paying tribute to the frontline workers, BLM movement and Captain Sir Tom Moore who raised £33m for the NHS, it was hailed as the best NYE fireworks in the world. And what a treat it was to witness the extravaganza from our perfectly poised balcony overlooking the Thames (prompted me to go live on IG which is rare!). Hundreds of drones lit up the London skyline with the oft repeated words of 2020: “You’re on mute!“.
The splendour was at odds with the harsh reality that had turned festive season upside down. With a cancelled Christmas fresh on everyone’s minds, London hospitals at breaking point and the NHS messaging us to think twice before calling for an ambulance, the pandemic very quickly took a turn for the worse. We were in dire need of some good cheer and the fireworks went above and beyond to give us that. A flurry of snow greeted us on the first morning of the year, as UK finally left the EU.
The brief spell cast by the magical fireworks-snow combo didn’t last very long. We swiftly moved to Covid Alert Level 5/National Lockdown 3.0 with an end date of at least mid-Feb. I remember my heart sliding down a long, slippery chute as the number of days sunk in.
Despite the pressing sense of gloom, there was a flicker of renewed hope that only the newness of a year can bring. We had 12 long, promising months ahead of us, vaccines were being rolled out to millions in the UK, days were getting longer now that the shortest winter day was behind us. Trump was officially leaving the White House. Surely we could dare to hope? Surely we could dare to feel some optimism?
We watched with numb disbelief as January turned into UK’s darkest month. With the new covid variant raging out of control, daily deaths rose to thousands and did not abate even when infections started slowing down towards the end of the month. UK hospitals were faced with the ‘worst crisis in living memory’. Delays were being experienced in ambulance handovers ‘on a scale not seen before’. Government ad campaigns warned ‘people will die’ unless public stays home. ”Act like you’ve got the virus’ urged the government. By the end of Jan, more than 100,000 Britons were dead.
Lockdown 3.0
Can you get better at life in lockdown?
Take it from someone going through their third – you can.
Its true that all the novelties have worn off by now. Banana breads have lost their sheen, colder weather is making it hard for us to make most of the outdoor walks. Hair and beards are free flowing again. Tummies are protruding.
But the knowledge that it could be worse – I could be denied my takeaway coffee and be robbed of daycare – kept my miseries in check. Back in the days of Lockdown 1.0, I wasn’t exercising, or scheduling in dedicated cleaning time, and there were no signs of any vaccines. We were looking ahead into the gloomy depths of winter. Now that we are here, and vaccines are too, the promise of covid weakening summer is making us daydream of sunbathing our (hopefully vaccine jabbed) arms and legs.
But maybe what really helped me get through Lockdown 3.0 was a different kind of hope. That of meeting my family.
Planning for Bangladesh
The trip to Bangladesh seemed to be inauspicious from the get go. After managing to get my prolonged leave approved by HR and making peace with foregoing all of my leave till Oct 2021 (my remote working request was declined), not to mention the constant risk-weighing of flying internationally during a pandemic, we finally purchased our tickets. I remember heading straight to bed, exhausted from the weight and execution of the decision.
The very next day, Boris dropped a bombshell – a new covid variant had been identified in the UK, thought to be 70% more transmissible. London immediately clamped down on everything. Overnight, we were back in lockdown. The world started penalising UK by shutting their borders. We were on the phone with Emirates discussing the possibility of a refund less than 24 hours after buying our tickets.
There were many, many times when I wanted to cancel the trip altogether. There were too many dependencies playing havoc with my stress levels – booking PCR tests, cancelling my much awaited Christmas leave to save days, and hoping Ary didnt pick up the new variant from daycare (they seemed to be reporting cases every week). Keeping up with all this while going through severe burnout was more than I had signed up for. I also genuinely feared the possibility of not being able to return to the UK. With travel restrictions changing almost everyday, who knew where things would lead to in two months time? I was tempted to cancel everything.
Bangladesh didn’t shut their borders to UK. Instead, they declared mandatory quarantine for people flying into BD between 1-15th Jan. We quickly changed our tickets to land on the 16th. Meanwhile, I was half-heartedly packing our bags, telling myself that I might not get to unpack them in Dhaka.
I also had the arduous task of wrapping up weeks worth of work for handover. Not knowing when or if we could fly, this was harder said than done. If that wasn’t enough, we soon got hit by another curveball. On the 7th of Jan, Ary’s daycare called to let us know that he had been in contact with someone who had tested covid-positive. On the 8th we got ourselves tested, knowing that positive results would put an end to our travel plans. Once the negative results came through (phew!), it was time to focus on the next hurdle – the private PCR test 3 days before our flight. Every trip to the grocery made me paranoid.
On the 13th, we got news that the mandatory quarantine period in BD had been reduced to 4 days. Our negative test results also came through. We finally decided we were going after all. We packed whatever we could manage, our 15 kgs of underweight luggage testament to the strangeness and suddenness of this trip. We left home in a hurry, sleep deprived and hungry, boarding our flight on the very final call.
After an exhausting, paranoia filled trip ending with an unpleasant experience at the airport, checking into our hotel was a relief. It was strange not going home to our families, but Nizar and I both agreed that the staycation really helped. The jetlag was bone deep (ever cursed parents with crazy kids on flights? that was us!). In hindsight, not being granted the first two weeks to wfh (in this case, hotel), worked out for the best!
There is no Covid in Bangladesh
As news of UK kept getting worse, our lives in Bangladesh, even in hotel and home quarantine, felt abnormally normal. I summed up my feelings in the posts below:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Currently Watching
You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard/seen Bridgerton. I didn’t have the time to jump on the bandwagon but I did watch a few minutes after landing in Dhaka!
Currently Reading
I read THREE books this month (thanks, quarantine) and I am proud. Click below for reviews!
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Toddler Update
Ary has become a different person in Bangladesh. He is rattling off rhymes on his own, playing with everyone like he has know them for years, and acclimatising rapidly (mosquito, CNG and chaad are some of the new words in his budding vocab). It took him a while to realise that we don’t really need to wear our jackets when we go out in Dhaka. He is absolutely basking in the glow of love from both families and really enjoying himself. When we ask him, ‘Ary, do you love Bangladesh?’ the answer is always ‘YES!’.
Favourite Eats
We are loving foodpanda and pathao right now to order in our old and new favourite restaurant eats. Meanwhile, my mum and chachi-in-law are both treating me to all the fresh veggies, fruits and fishes that I crave in UK.
What’s coming?
I CANNOT wait to see my friends in UK come out of lockdown, SAFELY. And ASAP. Get well soon, UK. I cannot wait to see you back on your feet.
This post was such a ride Same! Love your digests so very much! Lot’s of love!