Disused premises, stained beds, and spiders on the walls. Marion could have dreamed of better for her first days in Cambodia. Vaccinated but tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival at Phnom Penh airport on January 4, she was placed in quarantine for at least nine days.
“When the ambulance dropped me off, I discovered an unsanitary place, similar to a squat. In this hospital, which had been abandoned for eight months, there was no one to answer my questions. The first night, I slept twenty minutes ”
, tells the 31-year-old globetrotter who left for a world tour.
About fifty people, arriving during the week, share their galley.
To exit, he will have to present two negative tests, carried out two days apart.
Asymptomatic, Marion crosses her fingers for the rest.
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Tests at $ 250 per
person
Like her, vaccinated French people who leave for a stay abroad often have to juggle quarantines and repeated tests to be able to travel. Like Laurence, her companion Xavier and their teenage daughters. Left on December 17 for a road trip in the American West, this family is today stuck in the country of Uncle Sam, where it is complicated to do tests ... It is however an essential prerequisite to return to France. Their return was scheduled for January 6.
“From the 3rd, we were desperate to get tested in San Francisco.
It is possible to do it at the airport and have the results in 3 hours, but it costs 250 dollars per person!
Eventually we found a lab that charged $ 90 per person, and promised results within 24 hours.
"
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The end of the tunnel? Rather the beginning of the ordeal. Impossible to board.
“We received the results within 30 hours, so after the departure of our flight. And we were all positive. Everything jostled in our heads. We looked for an appointment for tests five days later, and contacted our
Covid-19 insurance
. ”
She took charge of the hotel, and they were able to postpone the flights. There remains this question:
"What if the tests remain positive?" "
Some travelers therefore prefer to dodge the tests, when possible.
This is the case for Gerald and Caroline, 43, who left for a two-week vacation in Cyprus.
A trip to the Turkish north of the island was planned ... But you had to present a negative test of less than 7 days to cross the border.
However, Gérald felt ill during the stay, with symptoms similar to those of Covid-19.
"We canceled our trip to the north of the island for fear of being positive"
, tell these hoteliers from the Var.
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"We live as a hermit"
Others drastically limit social interactions before departure to avoid mishaps. Jeanne, 46, is preparing for a trip to Panama with her partner in mid-January. A test can be requested upon arrival:
“I no longer go to the gym, we decline invitations to eat with friends. We live like a hermit… I would have a really hard time accepting that I couldn't leave ”
.
It also happens that some countries change their regulations as quickly as the variants spread. Margaux, 24 years old and vaccinated, knows this all too well. She had planned a vacation in Thailand for mid-January. When booking, there was no quarantine. The Thai government has since reinstated it, and vaccinated travelers must remain confined for 7 days (unvaccinated 10 days), even though the country is planning “sandbox” programs.
“With the vaccine and a PCR, I thought I was fine. But this announcement changed everything. There was no question of spending seven out of fourteen days locked in a hotel ”
. The only bitter memories of those abortive vacations: a travel guide and unreimbursed expenses.
"The airline gives me only 90 euros out of a total of 390 euros"
.
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"We had the country to ourselves"
Despite this range of possible constraints, the game is worth the candle, says Philippine, 31.
“Of course, we had to do five tests in a week
,” says the one who has just returned from Jordan.
“But we had the country to ourselves.
Here is the good side of the Covid-19 ”
, smiles this Bordelaise.
The nice surprises of the trip still exist.