February 29th: Remember The Last One?
A post this morning by Lynette at In the net! was our prompt for these thoughts today…
Where were you last time we had a 29th day of February? Cast your mind back. The news channels were by now full of stories emanating from a city called Wuhan, which most of us had never heard of before, about a killer virus, with all sorts of side issues including city lockdowns and the consumption of live bats, to name just two. Yet really, even then, on “Leap Year Day” 2020, we had no idea of how radically the world’s entire landscape was to change in the next three weeks.
On this precise day in 2020, we were on the Mekong River, taking two days to travel from Chiang Rai in Thailand to Luang Prabang in Laos. We’d crossed the border yesterday and woken up this morning in the unusual little riverside town of Pakbeng, ready for the second leg of the 2-day river journey.
China had already closed its borders, decimating the tourist trade in both Thailand and Laos. Our boat, designed to take 30 or more passengers, was carrying just 6 of us along the route – we only just outnumbered the staff. We had dined, and chatted, with two of our fellow passengers, but we don’t remember the conversation being dominated by the growing pandemic, more about travel, our lives, and music.
Yet just seventeen days later, the whole world was shutting down and we ourselves were facing real challenges – we were by then in Vietnam and being thrown into confusion. For those who haven’t read before of our dramatic escape, you can do so HERE
Where were you on February 29th, 2020, the last time we had a leap year day? Were you also about to face a race to get home? Were you still blissfully unaware of the magnitude of what was coming?
Tell us your story of the last February 29th….
26 Comments
Monkey's Tale
We had just returned from a few months in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Belize on Feb 15th. It was the already planned date to go home luckily. We likely skied at our resort on the 29th, until it shut down March 8. That was only 4 years ago?!
Phil & Michaela
You must have forced those bad memories into semi-obscurity! But yes, 4 years…
Monkey's Tale
Yes, one day just like previous, and on and on and on….
Travels Through My Lens
We were in France. We took a trip here to find a place to live. We flew home on March 11th with a lease in hand, hoping to move within six months. We buzzed through immigration and customs at JFK in record time before boarding our next flight to Seattle. The next day the travel ban went into effect. We saw photos on the news of the international arrivals hall atJFK, where we had been just the day before and it was completely packed. Needless to say our move was postponed for two years.
Phil & Michaela
Amazing how we all have our stories to tell, isn’t it. Those two years must have dragged for you…
Travels Through My Lens
They certainly did. I had to postpone my retirement as well. But when I think of what others endured, that was pretty insignificant.
Phil & Michaela
Indeed
Toonsarah
We were just back from our Indochina trip, having had the good fortune to be scheduled to return on the 27th before things were thrown into the sort of chaos you had to deal with. Despite what we’d seen on our travels (no Chinese tourists, which was a blessing at Angkor Wat in particular; schools and universities closing in Vietnam; health questionnaires to sign before our Halong Bay cruise; and even an interview with a TV news crew in Hoi An about whether we felt safe travelling at that time) – despite all that we were still in denial that it would really affect us in the UK and were making plans with friends for the next few weeks and talking about possibilities for our next trip in a few months’ time!
Phil & Michaela
Yes I guess “denial” is the word. I even remember thinking, after we’d returned home and Boris closed the pubs, thinking, “blimey, no beer for a couple of weeks…”
Toonsarah
We too thought we were looking at weeks or maybe a couple of months max!
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
Thanks for the shout-out; much appreciated. 😊
We were in Dominican Republic for a beach holiday after a particularly gruelling period at work. I was tired and only wanted to swim, read and sit in the sun. Before we left, my admin assistant had queried me about whether we should go given the “bizarre virus” as she called it that seemed to be moving swiftly in Asia. I remember thinking that she was over-reacting!
After leaving DR on March 18, we found ourselves the next morning at Pearson International, breezing through security because that enormous airport was almost completely empty. The person who had ferried us from our hotel at 7 a.m. told us that we were his last run. The roads were so empty and quiet; I felt like I was in a movie. Two flights later we made it home just ahead of the country-wide lockdown and quarantine protocols. Even so, I was required to work from home for the following two weeks because I’d been travelling.
What a time of it we all experienced and have in common.
Phil & Michaela
We were all creating stories yet none of us really knew what was unfolding…did we!?
Miriam
We had recently farewelled some Canadian and French bloggers who’d come to Australia on a last minute mini tour and who we’d spent a week showing around. I remember wondering at the time why there were so few Chinese tourists about. Who knew what was about to unfold but it all happened so quickly. The next few months would set things in motion for us (and everyone) that would forever change our direction in life.
Phil & Michaela
Weird times huh
leightontravels
Absolutely love the people shots in this one. A great idea for an article, and one that had Sladja and I wading through our photo albums. We were of course in Siem Reap, Cambodia where the records show we taught some classes, had a swim in our backyard pool and went to Bayon Pastry School Cafe for cappuccinos and lemon meringue pie. Just 4 years ago but my oh my what a different world it was.
Phil & Michaela
Well yes – when I saw Lynette’s post, I thought, wow, great idea for a post! So quickly leapt on it and gave her a name check. We all have our stories don’t we…and none of us want to see the like again…
WanderingCanadians
It’s kind of hard to believe that it’s already been four years! Where does the time go!? Thankfully we weren’t travelling far, we were up at the cabin the weekend before.
Phil & Michaela
Not so dramatic then, but nevertheless what followed wasn’t so great huh
Lookoom
On Saturday, February 29, 2020, I have no entry in my photo log. I was in Toronto, having just returned from ten days in Bolivia and Colombia, Bogota, La Paz, Cartagena, a welcome winter break from the too-long Canadian winter. In ten days, I’d seen the number of masks on airport staff increase; from the chin, they tended to go up to the mouth, some even making their way to the nose. It will take another two years of practice.
Phil & Michaela
And still some got it wrong
Alison
Quite scary for you both! Anthony and I had a sense of deja vu having lived through SARS in Hong Kong. That was indeed a terrible time, with scores of people dying every day. Back to 2020, I had a quick look on my google archives and lo and behold we were safely tucked away in Perth but with my mum and dad and nephew, who knew how long that stay would turn out to be! For my parents 3 months turned into 5 and for my nephew a fair few weeks longer than anticipated. I think here in WA we still had so much more freedom than the rest of the world.
Phil & Michaela
Stuck in Perth, huh? Worse things can happen I guess!
grandmisadventures
It’s so weird to look back on that time just before the covid craziness really hit. We were living in Florida waiting impatiently for word on my hubby’s new job in Tennessee. Then it came and we ended up moving in June of 2020 when everything was closed and it was so much harder to get what we needed.
Phil & Michaela
Yet another story and yet another different take on those weird times. I hope I never see it again in my lifetime!
wetanddustyroads
We were aware of what was going on in the world, but it was not yet big news in South Africa. So we got ready for our trip to Egypt where Berto would scuba dive in the Red Sea (as well as quite a few other excursions). In the end, we were only in Egypt for 5 days until we too had to struggle to fly back home.
Phil & Michaela
So glad it’s history now