I was all set. The corona situation looked good in the Netherlands, I would have my vaccinations on time, and the Netherlands would change color again before July 28 (that’s when my flight was), so that other countries would accept Dutch flights again. On the other side of the world exactly the opposite has taken place… For a year Thailand has well-armed itself against Corona, until March 2021 under 100 deaths, really miraculous.
But, of course, I’m being made to feel difficult again… From March 2021 to May 2021 the ‘first wave’ took place, which was fortunately descending again. Until 2 weeks before my flight, things looked ‘rosy’, as we say in Holland. I had all my documentation filled out, printed out, sorted into folders (Scraping my throat):
- Solvency Statement
- Flight Data
- Certificate of Entry
- Letter of Acceptance
- Alternative State Quarantine reservation
- Insurance Statement
- Proof of Vaccination
- Negative PCR test 72h before departure
- T8 Form
Let me take a breath please…
By the way, it was uncertain until last minute if I could go, I contracted corona in early June, so it was uncertain if the PCR test would come back negative. I received the result 14 hours before my flight that I can fly, it was an administrative error. The testing site said they had already sent the result, but I 100% sure didn’t get it in my inbox, not even in the spam. But it was negative, that moment was such a relief, you wouldn’t even understand. Finally nothing stood in the way for me to go on ‘my trip’.
In the last few weeks I have had to arrange a lot of side business. Think of a credit card and changing my bank card to ‘World’ (so I can pay with it everywhere). So far I haven’t paid anything with it, but just to be sure. Think of an International Driving License, it’s a bucket list thingy of mine to ride a scooter in Thailand and ‘we’ll see where we end up’. I can already hear my mom asking, “Are you going to scooter in Bangkok, but it’s so crowded there.” No Mom… I’m definitely not going to scooter in Bangkok, life-threatening. Think about applying for your student travel product ‘Abroad’. In the Netherlands you can apply for a student travel product, so you can travel on public transport for free during your studies. The costs you incur will be converted into a gift if you complete your studies within 10 years. If you go abroad for study purposes you cannot use this possibility, so you can apply to get X amount on your account as a student travel product outside the Netherlands.
So on the morning of June 28, I left for Schiphol Airport with my parents, a travel bag and a backpack full of enthusiasm. Have I forgotten anything? Shouldn’t I bring more clothes? Shouldn’t I bring less clothes? Will we be on time? Haven’t I forgotten any side items, stuff that will make my life easy there? Did I print out everything I needed to print out? All questions that were floating through my head on the way to Schiphol Airport.
Arriving at Schiphol, I hugged my parents enough so they wouldn’t have to hug me again for the next five months, and then it was really time to make this trip alone. I paused for a moment as I walked into Schiphol (only the travelers were allowed to enter Schiphol, so I said goodbye at the Kiss & Ride) It was a moment of realization that I will not be on Dutch soil again for a while…
