Transferred to a luxury prison after landing!

The plane landed at 9pm at Kota Kinabalu international airport. I was escorted to the Health authority who gave me 2 options. Free Accommodation (hostel type) or a hotel at my own expenses. I chose the latter. After all the paper work done, I was transferred to a government van,  escorted by uniform guards and then "handed over" to another uniform guard at the entrance of the hotel.

It was almost 11 pm when I arrived at the Capital Hotel entrance.

 The concierge was very helpful upon my arrival with my luggage. Before entering the hotel lobby, I had to register with the policeman who was sitting next to the entrance.  A photograph was taken by the police, with both of my arms and legs spread out like a "criminal".😜

Then I was sprayed from head to toe, including the soles of my shoes with disinfectant and temperature taken by the concierge  before entering the hotel lobby to proceed to the reception. 

Staff at the reception were also helpful and gave me the card-like room key and internet password.

 I was reminded to follow the Quarantine SOP strictly which I knew wouldn't be a problem for me😉

After arriving in my room, I  sanitized as many surfaces as I could find, including door knobs, bathroom handles, toilet seat, table, chairs, desk etc. Even though the room had been cleaned and sanitized before I checked in, I still wanted to do it, just to have some peace of mind. No harm in minimizing as much viruses as possible, that might have settled on the surfaces in the room.😏

 Room was clean and comfortable.There was sufficient toiletries and clean bath towels.

 

I went straight to bed after a shower.  The moment my head hit the pillow, I went off like a light to the Land of nod.

Ever since  Covid 19 hit the whole world, it is now in chaos . Every one suffers. The rich and poor, the healthy and sick, the young and old. everyone, everything. each moment is .. unpredictable.

Covid 19 is life changing to us all. Many began to appreciate more of precious times and loved ones.

The 14 days quarantine may not be as terrible as some have described, depending on the condition of accommodation. I was lucky that I got a nice comfortable room with WiFi, TV channel and a small window, So at least I didn't feel so claustrophobic. It's more like a holiday than a detention.

Views from the room

I woke up the next morning, sun shining through the window. My room was No 806 on the 8th floor which has a beautiful  panoramic view of the city, this included the sea and distant islands.

City view

 
 Sea & island view

 Hills view

 It feels good to be home again even though I needed to undergo the 2 weeks quarantine in a hotel.  Health authority would come to do a nasal swab on Day 2 and D9. Blood test would be done on D13 which was just a finger prick. The list of names for the test and those for discharge would be sent to our group chat which was set up by the hotel management on your phone. That was how we all communicated with the hotel staff and everyone staying in the hotel.

I monitored my temperature every morning and recorded in the form provided by the KKM.

At Night

Night view from the window at 8 pm

When night falls, the road was much quieter but the shopping mall's vibrant night lights were lively to watch from my room.

I slept with the curtain wide open. Sometimes when it's not raining, the night sky was so clear. I could see the half moon in the sky from my bed surrounded by thin scanty clouds, making it look so romantic.

  

The hotel I was staying was superb because there was a little window where I could keep it open, or opt for using the AC.

Meals were served 3 times a day and the doorbell would ring to indicate that meals had arrived which were left on a white table outside the door. No direct contact was allowed with anyone

 

Some pic of the meals. I did not snap photo of  every meal😏. The white table was basically a delivering and receiving point for anything between the person who was quarantined and the hotel staff.

 

Every morning a bottle of drinking water and toilet roll would be placed on the little white table. For other stuff such as coffee, tea, shampoo, shower jel, soap bar, pillow covers, bed sheet , towels etc they would be delivered on request. 

Sometimes, I didn't fancy the breakfast provided by the hotel,  so, I decided to make my own hot oatmeal with condensed milk for my breakfast.👍👍😂 

Varieties of beverages I brought with me😜 Nestum, Milo, Horlicks aside from coffee and tea provided by the hotel.

Bin were emptied every  9 am and 5 pm 

There were many self activities we could think of, to keep ourselves busy and it all depends on our "mind set" of how to keep ourselves occupied. Even if I was not busy, I made myself busy. That was how time passed by fast for me during my 14 days detention in my Luxury Jail😅😅😅

Early in my quarantine, I turned to thoughts of  one of my hobbies, ie plants.

Rare plant - yellow dragon fruit plants

These plants had been with me since March, 2020. I planted them from seeds in Singapore and brought these babies back with me 😁. 

It was lovely to see them every morning in the room.They looked pretty and their greens did cheer me up  inside the room. 

Laundry service was not provided. Fortunately, I prepared a little bucket and a hanger for self laundry😁

When my laundry had dried, I further dried them on the window sill to  get some sunlight.

Families were allowed to bring in sealed food. These were my comfort foods😋😋

Surprised visit by my family 😁

And I could only see them from the window 😂

When it's raining, it's lovely to just lie down, relax and listen to the falling rain on the glass window 😊

Some kind of "exercise" to pass time😜 By the time I was done with my tasks, I  was sweating cobs😅💪

Tidy my own bed was a good start, first thing in the morning to get organised 😄

Alternative activity - continuing my unfinished knitting

Thanks to the high tech era that now E newspapers and E books are available on line so we don't have to carry heavy books in our bags anymore.

Lord of the ring was a good ebook for me to read. I searched for this novel through Google at novels 80.com

Lastly, a very IMPORTANT activity, sitting on my asss or lying on my back, watching DRAMA for up to 16 to 18 hours per day with REST in between and this is for the MIND and SOUL.🤭

So after 2 weeks you should remain sane and healthy (as no gym equipment available in the room)😜

Remember that during all this high activity you need to eat every 1-2 hours .😅😂😁 "High end Health Foods" are freely available online at KFC, Mac Donald, Burger King and Pizza hut, all were delivered with a smile from Panda or Grab😜🤣

Watch drama or any interesting hobby that you may like. For me, gardening is interesting and is my passion😊 

Netflix is another source of watching HD movies and dramas

Unlimited prepaid internet on standby

I had my prepaid internet on standby , just in case i was enjoying my drama and the wifi was crappy which could happen. No use moan or groan because it's not going to solve anything and  likely to make us more frustrated and going loony😈😈😈 unless you have the patience of a saint🙏, then it's ok😊

On my 2nd week of detention, I decided to start writing my story about my quarantine. Honestly speaking, I was "having a ball" on my 1st week of my detention😂.

But towards Day 11 it's getting a bit difficult to contain.  Someone from previous batch had warned us that by Day 10,  we would be a bit "lunatic". Judging from what he said, he may be right, I did feel a bit restless by Day11. 

To make things worse, knowing that some had completed their quarantine period and were going home, this  did affect me a bit. Even though it would be my turn soon but I just couldn't help feeling a bit envious and down 😥😔😕😌😭

 

No wonder previous batch said I would eat my plants by Day10! 😅Oh No! that's bad😨

But I won't eat my plants😜😝😛

My poor darlings were also affected by the mood😒😩😟

Signs of a lunatic,  ie, a messy room with unwashed cups, plate, spoons and rubbish all over the floor. I was not bothered to clean up , tidy or do anything, I just lost interest in everything😞

So to brighten up my mood, I started to order fast food😘😘 and lots of it too.hahahah

Such Luxury food can only be ordered once a day and only from 3 pm to 5 pm.😜

Day 13 -  Last day for the final test- a blood test.

Psychologically,  I was in good mood😂. knowing that it won't be much longer for home😁

My darlings also brightened up😂😎

Health authority staff with full PPE came around 1 pm with a test kit

Only a drop 💧 of blood was needed for the test.

I was informed the result would be out in 15 mins

Wasn't able to take this pic well. Anyway, it's just like the pregnancy test kit.

1 line means its negative. 2 lines means positive.

And My Result was...NEGATIVE!!!  HOORAY!💪👍😂 But I could only go
home in 2 days time ( 14 nights must be spent in quarantine )😕😒😞😞😞.
So actually it's Day 15😥 that i was finally  able to leave

Day 14

 High Tea to mark the last afternoon of my quarantine stay at Capital hotel 😁

Not because my eye is bigger than my belly but it's because I could only order such delivery once a day! So it's Tea time, Dinner and Supper! 3 in 1 !!!😛😜😝

Kiasu!!! Singapore famous word😅💪

Then I got the mood to start packing 😀

Bags were packed and ready to leave for the next day😏. 

I cleaned the table and cleared my rubbish which were left for days. 

Normally, when I came back from Singapore, the luggage was always full of  souvenirs BUT this time, they were full of stuff to entertain my 2 weeks quarantine that includes packets of beverages, food etc. 😅

My Last evening at Capitol Hotel, 

A Tidy and spotless clean table😂😁

Before it was like this...😅😈😆😆

The last night had fallen and I tried to sleep early around 8.30 pm but couldn't do so. Probably due to feeling of  excitement for going home the next day😅

So I watched telly

movie: The Avengers 

Finally, I manage to fall asleep before midnight.

Woke up a bit late than usual, about 8.30 am. Maybe it's a feeling of missing the pillows, bed and the room and  wanted to sleep a bit longer . Mentally after staying in the room for 2 weeks, we are bound to have some sort of bonding with the bed and room😅😅???

Packing done including my "babies" back into the transporter.

Around 11.30 am, the hotel receptionist  informed that the letter of release had arrived and we would be called one by one to come down to the lobby to receive the letter.

Letter of release

The letter was shown to the police at the desk near the entrance of the lobby door and after he took a photo of the letter, I was free to go, Whoopie!!😷😂

All of us leaving on the same day, were very excited and elated with family members waiting for their release. It was indeed a happy occasion.

Everyone loading their bags hurriedly into their family car as if couldn't wait to get out of sight from quarantine experience😅

It's really a good feeling of freedom. That euphoric feeling was wonderful.

Can't put fully into words. So many emotions going through my head

I was still in a shocked state as I was adjusting with freedom. So when  everyone was waving excitedly to say good bye, I just sat there smiling like in a stance, as if couldn't believe my eyes that I was to go home!!😅😅

Until my husband came around 11.40 am with "Betsy", our loyal car.😂 Awww... so good to see him after so long with Betsy.😍

Concierge helping with my bags to my car😊.After waving everyone at the hotel good bye, we set off  in a car , I shouted out of window "Freedom"!

 I had a good comfortable stay at the hotel but home is still the best😂

Transferred my 4 babies from the bottle to a new home. 😂😍

The End of my prison "Quarantine" sentence.🙆💃💃