Today is the day I leave #3704.
333-hours I’ve spent in this room. Just this one 28 by 28 metre room, with two single beds pushed together to make one, with 2 single windows and ledges to sit on and look out of, with a long writing desk that I used to for art and eating, my big green velvety chair and matching stool that I sat on every morning while I drank my tea, or wrote, or read (and I will miss very much), my little en suite with the horrendous magnifying mirror, the detachable shower head with a pulse button on the back for a mid-shower massage, and my little warm, bubbly, oasis. I most definitely had more baths in these two weeks than I have in the last two years…
When I first arrived at Room #3704, I was so disheartened and incredibly disappointed. The room was smaller than I expected, the windows didn’t open, they gave me two seperate single beds that I had to make up as one, it was dusty and I couldn’t see the sunrise or sunset. But after giving it a chance, the compulsory walls of constriction had turned into an escape from reality and my own little hotel vacation. Plus I think it’s safe to say I got some of the best meals I have seen so far for Australia’s mandatory quarantine.
By the way, there’s a whole private Facebook page for people having to quarantine in Aus. I guess if you’re intrigued, you can request to join and have a peak at some of the other people’s experiences first hand. But brace yourself, not all occupants were grateful enough to turn their isolation into a holiday, what with kids or having to share a confined space with another adult. My heart goes out to them. It couldn’t have been easy! There was one guy though, Tim something – who used his creativity and photoshop skills to document each of his days. His photos were very entertaining and his idea sparked a fad amongst the other quarantiners.
From the moment I woke up, I was excited and full of energy. I sped through one of my favourite yoga flows, had one last shower and then prepared to leave. I checked every inch of the room that I inhabited and flipped upside down to make it my own. My eyes kept playing tricks on me! Every time I thought I had everything packed, something new would pop up in my face. I wonder now if I forgot anything…
It was like Mother Nature knew I was coming out today because the sun was shining and the temperate outside was perfect! The first thing I planned to do was head to my happy place – the ocean. Any ocean. The closest ocean… which was Bondi (not usually my go to but an Aussie beach is an Aussie beach and its been over a year, so bring it)!!
The Hilton gifted me a $50 dining voucher as a thank you for my (mandatory) stay… doesn’t make up for the $3000 fee but I shall take it and you bet your hat I will use it!
After lumbering my 80 kilos worth of crap onto the luggage trolley, I took a last glance at my little nest and head towards the security guard at the end of the hall. He confirmed that I was indeed the only person left on the floor, so that was a weird realisation. He walkie talkied the police downstairs and they approved my departure and so I headed down. But before doing so, I just had to see what the view off the CBD looked like from another perspective. So I ditched my bags and ran to the floor window…
It looked the same. Actually, I liked mine better! It took me a while to realise how different this experience would have been on another floor. They place us in the rooms completely at random and I was so blessed to have gotten the 37th floor which made me feel even more disconnected from reality (which I kinda liked) and I could see the skyscrapers from their tallest height. Some mornings I would look out the window and try to imagine what everything down below on the streets actually looked like up close…
I went down in the mask they had given me but the police officer I was speaking to wasn’t wearing one and neither were his colleagues. Or the people walking about outside. I guess no one is wearing masks here. Huh… that’s something I’ll have to get used to. Maybe I’ll write a blog about it…
So anyway, the cop just asks for my room and name and that was it. Yep… that was it. I asked about the fee and he said I’d get an email about it and, that was it. I was just free to go, hmph. A little anticlimactic but oh well, I was ready for the sun and the sand! When my ride pulled up and I exited the glass doors, I took a dramatic breathe in (like the dragon in the Deathly Hallows) and exclaimed loudly “ah fresh air”! – It’s been a while since I’ve been around people so I was kinda liking the new attention…
And just like that. For 14-days, it felt like time had stood still for me. Like the world stopped spinning and I was the last human in existence. From doing a full 180 with the room I was given – twice, to live streaming myself (which after that failing, I realised no matter how comfortable I was in front of it, the extent of “how you act when nobody is around” does not compare to the real deal – yes im talking naked dancing and Robert De Niro impersonations, using my incense stick as a fake cigar) and also the real feeling of being alone once the camera switch off, which was a very unexpected realisation and something I’ve taken note of… I finished a whole novel (which one? read my early entries and find out – HAH), created a website (three to be exact but this one stuck), started a blog (hi, I’m new here), unpacked all my things, then repacked them again, binge watched a season of Peaky B’s in one day, then went 3-days with no technology, started writing something that wasn’t a blog, I painted, drew, sang, danced, yogi-d, did nothing, talked to myself, had all the baths, ate ALL the food, and took two Covid tests!
Here’s to Brummie accents, classical jazz, crazy yelling neighbours, at least 100 cups of tea and the sweet nurse who read my blog (you made my day and I will never forget you). Goodbye Room #3704 – the place where I started this writing journey, experimented, failed, succeeded, created and discovered…
Thanks for reading The Quarantine Chronicles,
by Shakira Krystal Jade