Stranded in Bangladesh as Coronavirus Takes Down The World
When airplane doors closed behind me I knew I was in deep trouble… I should have gone home, but instead I was heading in the opposite direction. Was it true that this ‘Deadly Virus’ had spread across the entire World?
The air was still & quiet as I stepped out onto the balcony of the hotel overlooking Punakha valley in Bhutan. It was a beautiful morning as I had yet to realize the changes that day and the rest of the week would bring so I sat and simply soaked in the fresh air that Bhutan was known for. That day would be the day I woke up to the news that the first case of COVID19 had been discovered in Bhutan — brought in from an American traveler.
March 6th 2020 | a day I will never forget
Our dear guide Karma, bless him, delivered the news in a way that subtly set a wave of panic through our group. I was calm about the situation, but slightly panicked about how the rest of the group would respond. We had a doctor in our group that laid out the facts and set helped everyone at ease, Hallelujah. At this stage in the virus’s youth — there was a fear about what it would become.
In my 7 years traveling across the world to the most far off corners of the world, it’s surprising me that it’s rarely experiences with locals that are frightening, but instead with fellow travelers. Running a travel company (any business for that matter) means that there are always people looking up to you, watching you, and unfortunately also pointing out every single critique or flaw you might have.
It’s a choice you have to make when you decide to grow something larger than just you and a couple of friends. You can either choose to be small and safe or you can choose to grow and be vulnerable, accepting that not everyone is going to always be on the same page as you. For every 1000 people who LOVE what you / your business stands for, statistics show that there will be at least 100 that don’t jive with what you are doing. If you start a business you have to be okay with that.
In response to the first outbreak of Coronavirus Bhutan immediately closed all borders to all and any International Travelers, but for the few already already here (like us, we actually had 2 groups out photographing and filming the festival) – the government decided to let us continue on with our trip, whew! While our itinerary remained the same, we could feel the country sentiment change overnight. It reminded me of when I arrived to Thailand in the middle of a coup, even though I had been to Thailand many times before – the entire atmosphere of the country felt different.
In Bhutan, locals stayed in their homes, festivals were wrapped up, shops closed down, and flights started canceling their routes (their was only a few flights into Bhutan every day pre-pandemic)… the sentiment in the country changed and from that day forward everyone looked at us differently, kept their distance, and didn’t stop to greet us like Bhutanese people always do.
We were just a couple days into our trip at this point, and after giving everyone the option to go home early – to no surprise, everyone across 2 groups opted to stay.
As the founder I felt scrutinized by many for every decision I made during the next 2 week period. Something a 27-year-old CEO, just 4 years into her growing travel business would NEVER feel prepared for. In entrepreneurship you hear a lot about “imposter syndrome” a feeling that comes often that causes you doubt yourself, what you are doing, and who you are meant to be. The most successful people aren’t actually those who know the most, but instead those who believe in themselves and are willing to put their foot up to the line when the race begins even if they aren’t the fastest on the track. I grew 50 years in Wisdom that trip, and although there were many moments of doubt behind closed doors, I’m so grateful for the lessons learned.
Our trip started in Paro and took us south through the beautiful city of Thimphu and finally to the Punakha valley (one of the most beautiful regions of Bhutan and where many of the popular festivals take place). If you want to see a recap of our entire itinerary, that can be found here. A trip I can’t wait to take again one day (maybe a solo journey next time, as Bhutan is a place where you can feel a lot of peace and solitude.
11 March 2020 | The Day That Changed Everything
Most of our group was scheduled to go home after Bhutan, but I found myself in a remote otter fishing village in the southernmost tip of Bangladesh as a Global Pandemic was shutting the world. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I would make it home but I knew it would be an adventure.
On Wednesday the 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization, which had only begun referring to the virus as Covid-19 a month earlier, declared the disease a global pandemic. Every hour seemed to bring major new developments: On Wall Street, after days of huge up-and-down gyrations, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,465 points and officially entered bear territory; Capitol Hill faced its first confirmed Covid-19 case; the NCAA announced it would play its basketball tournament without fans; and then, in rapid-fire succession that evening, President Trump gave an Oval Office address, announcing a travel ban from Europe, the NBA suspended its season after player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, and Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita, posted on Instagram that they too had been diagnosed while in Australia and were recuperating.
Bangladesh had been on my travel list of years, as I had always wanted to ride a Rocket Steamer, visit the Sunderbans, and experience the ancient tradition of otter fishing that only happens in this part of the world. Little did I know that I would also meet a very talented videographer in the country, that would join us on our trip last minute and eventually join our team. Looking back, I’m grateful I visited — but it didn’t come without trial.
Bangladesh is 13 hrs ahead MST (the time zone in my home state of Utah) and it was late in the night as we are all sitting aboard the Rocket Steamer that we started receiving messages from friends and family about what was going on back home. My husband Andrew grew up overseas and is a well-spoken businessman (he is half Chinese) so he never panics and only shares facts as they are.
“You should probably know that things are escalating here and it’s going to be tough to get you back into the country. Stay safe. Love You.” -Andrew
The announcement that COVID19 was a Global Pandemic was made on a Wednesday and flight were scheduled to shut down starting Friday, since we were already a day ahead that didn’t give us much time to adjust. Most our group had decided to go home right after Bhutan and only a few of us continued to Bangladesh (I pushed people to go home because I had a feeling that it would be a much easier and safer solution for most in the long run).
There were just 4 of us + our 2 videographers that decided to continue on to Bangladesh. I had made a great friend on this trip, a Dental Hygienist from Washington named Jeorgi that had as much of an adventure backbone as I did. She would become a dear friend through this trip as we watched many members of our group depart for home in a last minute attempt to not get stuck (I don’t blame them).
The WHO declared the Novel Coronavirus a Global Pandemic and the USA would declare a travel ban with Europe. In a matter of hours India announced it was closing its borders among many countries, and the United States announced it was closing it’s borders with Europe.
Crap. Everyone’s flights were home through India and Europe, and so was mine. In our small group of 6 chaos broke out, 2 ladies decided they wanted to go home immediately (keep in mind that we are hours and hours away from any airport) and one of our Video Guys.
To make matters worse, we had to race one of our Video Guys (an expat in India) to the border before midnight or he wouldn’t be able to enter the country. The Financial implications that might mean for us were HUGE, and he didn’t want to live the next couple of months in Bangladesh.
In the Southern tip of Bangladesh, far from any city — we called two taxis and loaded the 2 ladies in one sending them 4 hours to the nearest airport, and our Video Guy in the other — sending him even further to the land border to India (so we could cross the border by train before midnight when everything closed down). Myself, Jeorgi, Sam, and John were staying and waiting, as I assisted from the side lines to get our guests home. Sam was a local here in Bangladesh, John was our last standing video guy (he had traveled with me to India before), and well… Jeorgi and I were up for an adventure!
I was stuck in Bangladesh, the most populated country in the world, in a tiny otter fishing village with little to know connection to the outside world in the middle of a global pandemic. While this story tells the behind the scenes of what was going on in my mind, on the flip side we were having an INCREDIBLE time in Bangladesh. From riding on an ancient Rocket Steamer, to visiting a small Otter Fishing Village in the Sunderbans, to searching for Bengal Tigers, and visiting Cox Bazaar — Bangladesh was a county that was unlike any I had ever visited and it was exciting. I made a video about my experience that I highly recommend you watch if you want to get a glimpse into a few of the exciting things we experienced on this trip.
And now, back to the story…
We finally returned to Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh and spent a few extra days attempting to reroute our flights home, airlines had ceased operations, countries had closed borders, and we didn’t have a stable internet to stay on the line long enough to get anything figured out. By some miracle of God John, Jeorgi, and I ended up catching flights home (all separate flights). Mine as a crazy route that took me through Bahrain, Saudi, and a couple of other random questions in the Middle East — then onwards to the London Heathrow, JFK, and finally SLC.
My experience in the airport was nothing like the weekend rush you heard about on TV, long lines, overcrowded airplanes getting people home, etc… I was 1 of less than 10 people on each of flights and every airport I flew through felt like a ghost town.
I arrived home on the 16th (Tuesday) and didn’t recognize it as the place I left just 3 weeks previously.
When I signed up for an adventure, that was exactly what I got.
