Drumul inapoi spre Romania

RO: Ne-am dat seama ca desfasurarea actiunii a lipsit cu desavarsire din seria despartirii noastre de Filipine. Asa cum si noi, spre rusinea noastra, am lipsit cu desavarsire de pe aici inca din luna August. Si cum nu putem sa trecem peste ceea ce a fost cea mai stresanta, cea mai angoasanta si cea mai dureroasa experienta din viata noastra in Port Barton, haideti sa-i dam bice pentru ceea ce va fi, dupa cum v-ati dat seama, drumul spre Romania. Asta cat inca memoria ne este proaspata ca-n prima zi 🙂

EN: We realized that the course of action was completely absent from the series of our departure from the Philippines. Just as we, to our shame, have been completely absent from here since August. And since we can’t get over what was the most stressful, the most anguished, and the most painful experience of our lives in Port Barton, let’s get to what will be, as you realized, the trip to Romania. That’s while our memory is still fresh 🙂

RO: Am zis noi ca nu ne facem planuri, insa cea mai putin familiarizata cu planurile, structurarea si trasarea unui itinerariu concret dar categoric cea mai stresata de situatia din Port Barton (si cea mai control freak dintre noi doi) a pus mana pe telefon si a facut o rezervare la Qatar, singura companie in care am avut incredere in toata perioada pandemiei (evident, din experientele altora). Am ales ca plecare data de 23 August, dupa indelungi cercetari si incercari de coordonare cu avioanele care plecau din Palawan. Situatia zborurilor pe 17 Iulie, atunci cand am facut rezervarea era cat se poate de clara, in acceptiune filipineza: 6 zboruri pe saptamana plecau din Palawan (doua cu Air Asia, doua cu Cebu Pacific si doua cu Philippines Airlines) insa am evitat sa bookuim vreunul intrucat situatia cand e clara local este cat se poate de volatila pentru oricine are putin “common sense”, cum zice englezu’. Singurul zbor pe care am pariat toti banii a fost cel cu Qatar, din 23 August, cu plecare din Manila la ora 23:40! (data n-a fost aleasa chiar intamplator, considerand si sperand ca dupa 17 august, Romania va fi “debanat” zborurile dinspre Qatar, care erau interzise pana la acea data). 23 a fost ales sa nu fie nici chiar in buza evenimentului dar nici prea departe cat sa se implenteze si sa se aplice noi reguli (imi vine si acum sa rad de ce plan “maret” si ce gandire “profunda” am avut cand saracii cei care au venit pe data de 17 din Qatar au fost rerutati pe aeroportul din Sofia fix cand trebuiau sa aterizeze la Bucuresti doar pentru ca NOTAM-ul nu a actualizat datele la timp… alta poveste).

EN: We said that we won’t make any plans, but the least familiar with the plans, structuring and drawing a concrete itinerary but definitely, the most stressed by the situation in Port Barton (and the most control freak of the two) got her hands on the phone and made a reservation at Qatar, the only company that I trusted in the whole period of the pandemic (obviously, from the experiences of others). We chose as our departure date on the 23rd of August, after extensive research and coordination attempts with the planes leaving Palawan. The situation of the flights on July 17th, when we made the reservation was as clear as possible, in Philippine acceptance: 6 flights a week were leaving Palawan (two with Air Asia, two with Cebu Pacific, and two with Philippines Airlines) but we avoided to book one because the situation when it is clear locally is as volatile as possible for anyone who has a little “common sense”, as the Englishman would say. The only flight we bet all our money on was the one with Qatar on August 23rd, departing Manila at 23:40! (the date was not chosen at random, considering and hoping that after 17 August, Romania will have “debanned” flights from Qatar, which were forbidden until that date). 23 was chosen not to be right on the lip of the event but not too far either to implement and apply new rules (I still want to laugh at the “great” plan and what “deep” thinking I had when the poor people who came on the 17th from Qatar were rerouted to the Sofia airport just when they had to land in Bucharest just because the NOTAM did not update the data on time … another story).

RO: Dupa ce ne-am rezervat biletele a trebuit intens sa ne facem planul de “evacuare” si la fel de intens am bagat pe banda rulanta cat mai multe apusuri, cat mai multe excursii in jur si cat mai multe amintiri adunate pe ultima suta de metri. Stiti cat e de greu si amuzant (daca nu ar fi enervant) sa vinzi ceva in Filipine pe perioada Pandemiei? Nu, nu, defapt: SA VINZI CEVA, ORICE in Filipine?! Imaginati-va sa puneti un anunt pe OLX, sa trebuiasca sa mergeti 200km sa puneti produsul la curier, inca o luna sa ajunga la destinatar si inca o luna sa colectezi banii, daca nu cumva destinatarul s-a razgandit intre timp. Cum suna asta? 🙂 Am renuntat in a vinde mizilicuri (drona, Gopro, aparatura) si ne-am concentrat pe ATV. Am reusit dupa cateva luni si asta ne-a luat de pe umeri o povara ce atarna destul de greu (va aduceti aminte ce ziceam de posesii si de cat de greu ne imobilizeaza?) Am obtinut insa dispensa de a-l utiliza pana in ultima zi, ceea ce ne-a adus o usurare in plus si 3 stresuri la pachet 🙂

EN: After we booked our tickets we had to make our plan of “evacuation” and as intensely we put on the conveyor belt as many sunsets, as many trips around, and as many memories gathered on the last mile. Do you know how hard and funny (if it wouldn’t be annoying) it is to sell something in the Philippines during the pandemic? No, no, actually: TO SELL SOMETHING, ANYTHING in the Philippines?! Imagine putting an ad on OLX, having to go 200km to get the product to the courier, another month to reach the recipient, and another month to collect the money unless the recipient has changed his mind in the meantime. How does that sound? 🙂 We gave up on selling small stuff (the drone, te Gopro, equipment) and focused on the ATV. We succeeded after a few months and this took off our shoulders a burden that hanged quite hard (remember what we said about possessions and how hard it immobilizes us?) But we got the dispensation to use until the last day, which brought us an extra relief and 3 stresses to go 🙂

RO: In orice caz, dupa cateva saptamani, un anunt al presedintelui Duterte ne-a lovit in moalele capului: de pe o zi pe alta Manila si alte 4 provincii din Luzon au fost puse in ECQ (Enhance Community Quarantine) ceea ce a insemnat ca nici un zbor domestic nu pleca si nu ajungea in Manila. Acelasi lucru se aplica si transporturilor maritime, masura urmand sa se implementeze pe 4 August si sa dureze, poate, pana pe 18 August, adica suficient de aproape de data plecarii noastre, deci suficient cat sa ne faca noptile mai agitate decat erau deja. Daca asta nu era de-ajuns, la doua zile dupa, un mail de la Qatar ne anunta ca nu avem voie sa ne imbarcam in avion fara prezentarea unui test RT-PCR Negativ facut la una din clinicle din Manila acceptate de ei (8 la numar, adica mult prea putine cat sa ne acomodeze si pe noi in timp util). Si daca nici asta nu era suficient, la cateva zile dupa, zborurile noastre au fost integral anulate! Na-o pe asta!

EN: Anywho, a few weeks later, an announcement by president Duterte hit us in the head: from one day to another Manila and four other provinces of Luzon were put in ECQ (Enhance Community Quarantine) which meant that no domestic flight left and did not arrive in Manila. The same applied to maritime transport, the measure to be implemented on August 4th and to last, perhaps, until August 18th, which was close enough to the date of our departure, so much so to make our nights more hectic than they already were. If that wasn’t enough, two days later, an email from Qatar informed us that we are not allowed to board the plane without the presence of an RT-PCR negative test done at one of the clinics in Manila accepted by them (8 in number, that is far too few to accommodate us in a timely manner). And if that wasn’t enough, a few days later, our flights were completely canceled! Take that!

RO: Are rost sa va mai reamintim ca suntem in punctul in care singurul lucru facut pentru plecare a fost petrecerea de Ramas Bun? Nu tu bagaje, nu tu plan la plan la plan, nu tu nimic? 🙂 Si cum speranta moara ultima (da, aceeasi speranta dispretuita in articolele anteriore, despre care spuneam cu patos ca e un sentiment al naibii de mistuitor). Tot ea n-a facut sa vorbim pe Wassapp (va vine sa credeti? Mie nu!:) ) cu cei de la Qatar si sa le explicam ca ne este imposibil sa avem un test valabil in conditiile in care nici macar una din clinicile cu care colaboreaza nu ne poate garanta eliberarea lui in 72 de ore, asa cum tot ei o cer. Dupa cateva zile au mai fost adaugate alte zeci de clinici si prelungit termenul la 96 de ore de la testare. Bun, un pas mic pentru om, un salt urias pentru omenire 🙂 Ne-a mai ramas doar sa plecam 🙂

EN: Is there any point in reminding you that we’re at the point where the only thing we did for our departure was the farewell party? No luggage, no plan to plan, no nothing? 🙂 And as hope dies last (yes, the same hope despised in previous articles, which I said with pathos is a damn consuming feeling). She also didn’t make us talk on Whatsapp (can you believe it? I can’t!:) ) with Qatar and explain to them that it is impossible for us to have a valid test since not even one of the clinics with which they collaborate can guarantee the release in 72 hours, as they also demand. After a few days, a dozen more clinics were added and the deadline extended to 96 hours after the test. Okay, one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind 🙂 All we had left was to leave 🙂 

RO: Am decis ca pana pe 18 sa nu mai facem niciun demers: sa nu incercam sa ne rebookuim zborul cu Qatar si sa nu incercam sa cumparam un zbor de iesire din Palawan si, cel mai important, sa ne pregatim psihic pentru inca doua saptamani in Port Barton. Si probabil, in punctul asta va intrebati ce e atat de rau si de ce e nevoie de o pregatire psihica pentru un loc rupt din Rai?! Va spun cu mana pe inima ca nu mi-am dorit niciodata mai mult un lucru decat acesta de a pleca din Filipine. Si nu stiu daca asta s-a intamplat pentru ca toata situatia devenise o vendeta personala cert este ca incertitudinea in care traiam era ceva din care voiam sa plec cat mai repede si trebuie sa vorbesc la persoana intai pentru ca situatia a avut un impact mai puternic asupra mea decat asupra lui Matei. Oricat de ciudat ar suna. am vrut sa “petrec” Pandemia printre cunoscuti fara sa ma simt pierduta intr-o tara in care legile sunt aplicate de frica, in care nimeni nu contesta nimic, in care totul este luat ca atare si pus pe masa ca fapt si litera de lege. M-am gandit ce-o sa se intample cu noi, cu afacerea noastra, cu viata noastra? Cum vom mai calatori, daca vom mai calatori? Cat timp vom mai sta inchisi in Palawan? Ce-o sa se intample cu noi, ca expati? La ce vom fi expusi si la ce ar trebui sa aderam? Ce si cum ni se vor lua libertatile si cum vom face fata noutatii interpretate de oameni care ne sunt straini? Cum vom fi priviti? Ce ni se va intampla intr-un loc uitat de lume? Cand ne vom vedea urmatoare data familia si prietenii? Cateva intrebari pe care mi le-am pus si care m-au condus spre: acum sau niciodata! Deciza de a pleca a fost asumata, constientizata si intoarsa pe toata partile. Am stiut unde ne intoarcem si n-am regretat nicio clipa, nimic.

EN: All we had left was to leave 🙂 We decided not to take any further steps until the 18th: not to try to rebook our flight with Qatar and not to try to buy an exit flight from Palawan and, most importantly, to prepare ourselves mentally for another two weeks in Port Barton. And probably at this point, you’re wondering what’s so bad and why it takes a psychological preparation for a place in heaven?! I’m telling you with my hand on my heart that I’ve never wanted anything more than to leave the Philippines. And I don’t know if that happened because the whole situation had become a personal vendetta, the uncertainty I was living in was something I wanted to leave from as soon as possible and I need to speak in the first person because the situation had a stronger impact on me than on Matei. Strange as it sounds. I wanted to “spend” the Pandemic among the known without feeling lost in a country where the laws are applied out of fear, where no one disputes anything, in which everything is taken as such and put on the table as fact and the letter of the law. I thought about what’s going to happen to us, to our business, to our lives? How are we going to travel, if we’ll be able to travel? How long are we going to be locked up in Palawan? What’s going to happen to us as expats? What are we going to be exposed to and what should we be related to? What and how will our freedoms be taken away and how will we cope with the news interpreted by people who are strangers to us? How are we going to be looked at? What’s going to happen to us in a God-forsaken place? When are we going to see our family and friends again? A few questions I asked myself that led me to: now or never! The decision to leave has been assumed, made aware, and turned all over. I knew where we were going and I didn’t regret a moment, anything.

RO: Pe 17 August, la ora 23:00, Presedintele Duterte a tinut o conferinta prin care a anuntat “soarta Manilei”, conferinta la care m-am uitat o ora, ca la Revelion. Printre randuri, intr-un tagalog amestecat cu engleza, am inteles doar ca “Manila will downgrade to GCQ until the end of August”. Ceea insemna ca, sub “General Community Quarantine” transporturile maritime si aeriene isi reluau activitatea, ceea ce inseamna ca putem pleca! La 10 minute dupa anunt, l-am dat un mesaj celor de la Qatar care m-au ajutat sa ne rebookuim zborul pentru aceeasi data, insa cu un nou layover, care ocolea Bucurestiul, ceea ce inseamna inca 13 ore adunate la cele existente. Facusem pana in prezent 2 modificari, toate gratuite, prin urmare am putut sa ne securizam pretul care, in momentul anularii crescuse exponential (cred ca un bilet era in jur de 2300 USD fata de aprox 500 USD cat a costat cand l-am achizitionat noi). A doua zi ne-am rezervat doua bilete pentru Air Asia cu plecare pe data de 20 si tot atunci ne-am impachetat doi ani din viata in doua valize mari si… fara numar, mici 🙂

EN: On August 17th, at 11 pm, President Duterte held a press conference announcing “the fate of Manila”, the conference I watched for an hour, like New Year’s Eve. Among the lines in Tagalog mixed with English, I understood only that “Manila will downgrade to GCQ until the end of August”. This meant that under “General Community Quarantine” sea and air transport were resuming operations, which meant we can leave! Ten minutes after the announcement, I sent a message to Qatar who helped me to book a flight for the same date, but with a new layover, which bypassed Bucharest, which means another 13 hours gathered to the existing ones. We had made 2 changes so far, all free, therefore we were able to secure the price that, at the time of cancellation had increased exponentially (I think a ticket was around 2300 USD compared to about 500 USD as it cost when we purchased it). The next day we booked two tickets for Air Asia departing on the 20th and then we packed two years of our lives in two large suitcases and… a lot of small ones 🙂

RO: Pentru a pleca din Palawan am avut nevoie de 3 documente (certificat de sanatate, un permis de tranzit si un clearance dat de catre Politie). Am avut emotii cu ele pentru ca valabilitatea lor era de 3 zile si pentru ca am cerut sa fie gata pe 18 August. Nu ne-a fost clar daca vor intelege ca valabilitatea sa inceapa sa fie calculata incepand cu 18 sau daca vor face o bulibaseala filipineza si vom ramane blocati din cauza unor cifre trecute de mana de cineva mult prea distrat cat sa uite niste detalii semnificative. Ne-am inselat, totul a mers struna!

EN: To leave Palawan we needed 3 documents (health certificate, a transit permit, and a clearance given by the Police). I was nervous with them because their validity was 3 days and because I asked for the documents to be ready on August 18th. It was not clear to us whether they would understand that the validity should be calculated starting with the 18th or whether they would make a Filipino fumble and we would be stuck because of figures passed by someone far too distracted to forget some significant details. We were wrong, everything went well!

RO: Nu are sens sa va spunem ca la aeroport ne-a fost cantarit, ca niciodata, fiecare bagaj in parte si n-are sens sa va spunem toate procedurile prin care am trecut caci, fara dubiu, un long haul pe vremea Pandemiei este ceva ce nu dorim nimanui, niciodata (avem doua Vlog-uri dedicate pe care le link-um aici si aici). Cert este ca dupa 30 de ore de zboruri, zile intregi pe drumuri si nemasurate alte zile de stress, am ajuns in Romania!

EN: It makes no sense to tell you that at the airport we got weighed, like never, every piece of luggage and it makes no sense to tell you all the procedures we have gone through because, without a doubt, a long haul in the time of the Pandemic is something we never wish for anyone, ever (we have two dedicated vlogs that we’ll link here and here). The fact is that after 30 hours of flights, days on end on the road, and immeasurable other days of stress, we arrived in Romania!

RO: Matei mi-a marturisit ca ar mai fi stat pana in Decembrie insa pentru mine ar fi fost prea mult. M-a bantuit mult timp sentimentul ca “am stat prea mult” si ca “trebuia sa plecam mai devreme”. Incepusem sa traiesc cu senzatia ca ceva se va intampla, ca asta e “ultima sansa” pe care o avem sa plecam. Ambasada Romaniei in Filipine ne-a spus ca suntem pe cont propriu atata vreme cat am luat decizia de a ramane si de a nu pleca cu ultimul sweaper flight care a fost in luna Iunie. Viata in Port Barton devenise o lupta iar supravietuirea era ceva ce nu mi-am putut asuma niciodata. Sau poate doar exagerez si n-am putut face fata incertitudinii. Uneia mai mari pe care n-am semnat-o fata-verso cand am plecat…

EN: Matei confessed to me that he would have stayed until December but for me, it would have been too long. The feeling that “we stayed too long” and that “we should’ve left earlier” haunted me for a long time. I was beginning to live with the feeling that something was going to happen, that this was the “last chance” we had to leave. The Romanian Embassy in the Philippines told us that we are on our own as long as we made the decision to stay and not leave with the last sweeper flight which was in June. Life in Port Barton had become a struggle and survival was something I could never assume. Or maybe I’m just exaggerating and I couldn’t handle the uncertainty. A bigger one I didn’t sign front-to-back when I left…

RO: Cert este ca sunt acum in locul unde mi-am dorit sa fiu, nici mai fericita, nici mai nefericita, cu inca multe planuri pe lista. Intr-o perioada de tranzitie, de acomodare, de dorinta de liniste. Printre familie si prieteni, intr-o incertitudine care vorbeste aceeasi limba cu mine. Port Barton-ul este in lockdown pentru ca au un caz semnalat recent iar toti cei care se posteaza pe social media fara masca incalca legea si sunt supusi ei. Insa ce-i mai important este ca Tom si-a luat, IN SFARSIT, o capra!

EN: The fact is that I’m now in the place where I wanted to be, neither happier nor more unhappy, with many more plans on the list. In a period of transition, of accommodation, of desire for peace. Among family and friends, in uncertainty that speaks the same language as me. Port Barton is in lockdown because they have a case reported recently and all those who post on social media without a mask break the law and are subject to it. But what’s more important is that Tom FINALLY got a goat!