Covid-19 update from Kuala Lumpur

After two pleasant weeks in the Netherlands, we are already two weeks back in our apartment in Kuala Lumpur. After we were able to change our flight, due to Covid-19, from Bangkok to Malaysia in Dubai, we didn’t know what to expect at home. Not to mention how lucky we were, that we could land in KL at all.

Cheese and sprinkles

At the beginning of March, we were sitting in my ‘favorite’ type of transport to the Netherlands. When we arrived at Schiphol Airport, the arrival committee was already waiting for us and we quickly got our coats changed. That was necessary as well because getting from 35 to 5 degrees was quite a big difference. Sixteen days to enjoy sandwiches with cheese, ‘hagelslag’ and filet americain and the pancakes and fries. With a total of ten kilos more luggage (‘stroopwafels’ and packs of pancake mix weigh a lot) we flew back to Bangkok on the 14th of March.

Schiphol, Amsterdam
Schiphol vertrekhal

Covid-19

In those two weeks Covid-19, the corona pandemic, turned up in the Netherlands. In Asia, we got a lot about this since the beginning of this year and we were already tempered at airports and before you were allowed into the hospital on possible elevation. During this time the virus spread so fast over Europe that more and more airlines stopped flying and closed their borders. We kept a close eye on whether our flight would still take off.

Saying goodbye

With mixed feelings we got to the airport, you hope that the flight will leave, but also not. On one hand, because here in Malaysia is our home and work, we like it here and after two weeks we secretly longed for the warmth again. On the other hand, it’s very nice to be back in the Netherlands and to visit all our friends and family. It’s always hard for me to say goodbye and as a postponer, I could postpone that for a while.

Kuala Lumpur

In the end, our flight left just in time for Bangkok. With a stopover in Dubai, we got a little bit of panic. Jeroen got a message that it was better not to fly to Thailand because everyone from Europe had to spend two weeks in quarantine there. With the necessary stress we changed our final destination and landed in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday the 15th of March. The next day Jeroens colleagues, who had already flown to Bangkok, were told to come back as soon as possible. The borders were closing and if you were not on time, you would not enter Malaysia.

Movement Control Order

Luckily we have been spared that and we have been in lockdown for almost two weeks now. Next Wednesday we would be free to go wherever we want, but as expected, the MCO (Movement Control Order) has been extended by two weeks. We are still having a great time, it doesn’t happen often that Jeroen is in KL for weeks in a row, let alone working at home! So what are the rules we have to abide by here?

Schiphol, Amsterdam aankomsthal
  • Only ‘the head of the family’ is allowed to go outside to do some shopping (me haha).

  • In the supermarket, you have to wear a mask

  • You must not be more than ten kilometers from your house

  • Dogs are not allowed outside anymore (no, I also don’t know what to do with your dog then)

  • Anyone who walks outside without a valid reason will be arrested

Stay home, stay safe!

Rules that can be annoying at times, but that we all have to abide by for the time being. Before we know it we can go outside again, meet up with others and… enjoy the Asian food. Stay home, stay safe!

Covid-19 update from Kuala Lumpur

After two pleasant weeks in the Netherlands, we are already two weeks back in our apartment in Kuala Lumpur. After we were able to change our flight, due to Covid-19, from Bangkok to Malaysia in Dubai, we didn’t know what to expect at home. Not to mention how lucky we were, that we could land in KL at all.

Cheese and sprinkles

At the beginning of March, we were sitting in my ‘favorite’ type of transport to the Netherlands. When we arrived at Schiphol Airport, the arrival committee was already waiting for us and we quickly got our coats changed. That was necessary as well because getting from 35 to 5 degrees was quite a big difference. Sixteen days to enjoy sandwiches with cheese, ‘hagelslag’ and filet americain and the pancakes and fries. With a total of ten kilos more luggage (‘stroopwafels’ and packs of pancake mix weigh a lot) we flew back to Bangkok on the 14th of March.

Schiphol, Amsterdam

Covid-19

In those two weeks Covid-19, the corona pandemic, turned up in the Netherlands. In Asia, we got a lot about this since the beginning of this year and we were already tempered at airports and before you were allowed into the hospital on possible elevation. During this time the virus spread so fast over Europe that more and more airlines stopped flying and closed their borders. We kept a close eye on whether our flight would still take off.

Saying goodbye

With mixed feelings we got to the airport, you hope that the flight will leave, but also not. On one hand, because here in Malaysia is our home and work, we like it here and after two weeks we secretly longed for the warmth again. On the other hand, it’s very nice to be back in the Netherlands and to visit all our friends and family. It’s always hard for me to say goodbye and as a postponer, I could postpone that for a while.

Schiphol vertrekhal

Kuala Lumpur

In the end, our flight left just in time for Bangkok. With a stopover in Dubai, we got a little bit of panic. Jeroen got a message that it was better not to fly to Thailand because everyone from Europe had to spend two weeks in quarantine there. With the necessary stress we changed our final destination and landed in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday the 15th of March. The next day Jeroens colleagues, who had already flown to Bangkok, were told to come back as soon as possible. The borders were closing and if you were not on time, you would not enter Malaysia.

Movement Control Order

Luckily we have been spared that and we have been in lockdown for almost two weeks now. Next Wednesday we would be free to go wherever we want, but as expected, the MCO (Movement Control Order) has been extended by two weeks. We are still having a great time, it doesn’t happen often that Jeroen is in KL for weeks in a row, let alone working at home! So what are the rules we have to abide by here?

Schiphol, Amsterdam aankomsthal
  • Only ‘the head of the family’ is allowed to go outside to do some shopping (me haha).

  • In the supermarket, you have to wear a mask

  • You must not be more than ten kilometers from your house

  • Dogs are not allowed outside anymore (no, I also don’t know what to do with your dog then)

  • Anyone who walks outside without a valid reason will be arrested

Stay home, stay safe!

Rules that can be annoying at times, but that we all have to abide by for the time being. Before we know it we can go outside again, meet up with others and… enjoy the Asian food. Stay home, stay safe!