The ban would take effect on Monday, 23rd March at 11:59 PM, which meant I wouldn’t be able to make it as my flight from Istanbul would be on 24th March. I immediately informed the embassy, and they had to make me wait for some updates from relevant authorities. I could feel my blood rushing to my head, so I decided to finish packing up in case I have to leave earlier. I did some final polishing around the house and waited some more. By midday the embassy got back to me and confirmed travel ban, and they assured me that they would find another route, but the travel agent was closed as it was Sunday.

A representative from MoE also called me to inform about the travel ban and if things were already sorted out. By that time I already submitted to my fate, whatever it was. I could only hope that things would just get better. A few hours later, the embassy called me again. They managed to find a new route for me, and it would be on that same night. The only catch was the layover would be 20 hours. I had zero willpower to care about how long the layover was, I just wanted to get out as soon as possible. I was already prepared anyway. They asked if I was okay with it and I just said yes without hesitation.

So I got ready, booked my airport transfer, ordered my dinner, packed some snacks just in case I can’t find any Halal food at the airport and did some final check. I was gonna fly from Istanbul to Hong Kong and from there to Brunei. I left the house at 10 PM, my flight was gonna be at 2 AM. Alhamdulillah things just went smoothly from there onwards. When I reached the airport only one door was opened, and it was guarded and only people who would be flying were allowed to enter. It was unusually quiet and empty. The arrival and departure list had more flights labelled as “Cancelled”.

Istanbul to Hong Kong was a 10-hour flight. I reached Hong Kong at 5-ish PM. Surprisingly, I was greeted by an officer from our Consulate General (CG). Apparently, I wouldn’t be alone. Hong Kong was gonna be the transit point for Bruneian students from Canada, US and Vietnam so representatives from the CG would come every now and then to greet the students who would come at different times. I was the first one to arrive. We were given a “hygiene pack” containing hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, masks, a map of the airport and CG contact info in case of emergency.

We had to wait around the transfer desk area as our flight would be on the next day and the check-in desk would only open at 7 AM, and we couldn’t access the departure area where the halal food and surau was as we couldn’t get our boarding pass yet. So I had to survive on the sandwiches and chicken fingers I packed and prayed at the shower room :’) The shower room was clean tho. It was slightly bigger than the average toilet cubicle, and no one seemed to use it so it was dry.

The person from CG advised us to stay away from the crowd (it was surprisingly crowded, too) so we just hung around less crowded area, slept on the empty benches until the check-in desk was open. At 7 AM we gathered in front of RB’s check-in desk, and 2 other officers from CG came to assist us. They made sure everyone was checked-in, escorted us to the departure hall and briefed us about the flight. We were asked to be vigilant about our flight time and be ready early as we were gonna be the only passengers on that flight, so if everything was done early the plane would leave ahead of schedule.

After that they left us and we just waited until it was time to gather at the gate. The students from Vietnam invited me to join them, which I gladly accepted. They were DY students from UBD whose journey home was more tragic than mine. They, too, were affected by the Singapore travel ban. We had around 3 hours before the gate was opened, so we just chilled around there, and btw the only Halal restaurant at Hong Kong Airport is Old Town Coffee.At 2-ish we went to the gate, waited a bit and then we were called to line up. There was only around 25 of us in total including other passengers, and each one of us had one row to ourselves cos #socialdistance. By 2.40 PM everything was done and true indeed, we were 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

We reached Brunei at almost 6PM. After we got off the plane, before reaching the immigration counter we were asked to fill in an agreement form for self-quarantine. Then we went to get our passport stamped, collect our baggage and then more waiting as we had to write our names on a list, be sorted into groups as there were others who opted for Empire and self-quarantine at home. Maintenance of social distance was very strict. As we were lining up we had to be mindful of our distance, we were escorted to the bus and if there were family members they were not allowed to get too close.

So basically that was how I got home safely. Well, kinda. I’m still quarantined lol but that’s a story for another day. I’d like to express my gratitude to the Government of His Majesty, especially MoE and MFA who facilitated our return home in this distressing time, and Brunei Embassy in Ankara for the prompt actions.

May Allah protect us all and lift this calamity as soon as possible. Stay safe everyone!