I felt completely recovered and fine after leaving the “hospitel” in Bangkok, so I figured I had to be fine to fly home to Hong Kong after a handful of days.
For those who’ve had the luxury of never needing to know, there are many different types of Covid tests. There are rapid tests, which we can do at home. These are easy and show results in a few minutes. Rapid tests are less sensitive than other tests but will catch a positive Covid case and probably stay positive for about a week until symptoms and the virus clear. And then there are PCR tests. PCR tests are much more sensitive and will catch cases of Covid that rapid tests may miss. And then PCR tests will continue to catch Covid…for weeks and (occasionally) even months after Covid is no longer contagious or causing any harm.
You need a PCR test to get into Hong Kong. No exceptions. Needless to say, my PCR test was not negative just after a few days of being positive.
I had already experienced true panic when I first discovered I had Covid. The panic I felt after realizing I was still positive a week later was just as severe. It brought a big question mark to my future: will I be one of those cases that stays positive for months after Covid has had its effects? When will I go home? And (where my mind tends to go) how expensive will it be to wait this out?
I love travel. And I am happy with a go-with-the-flow adventure. However, a forced travel with no end date is not my cup of tea. Being alone made this even more complicated – I didn’t have friends or family next to me going through the same or to way the options with. It felt lonely and freeing at the same time.
Then, I had a friend call to tell me she was on her way to spend a weekend in Krabi, Thailand. My next adventure was there.
April in HK 