Traveling to Singapore During the Pandemic

2021-12-07

Woke up at 3:50 am today, had a nightmare. I think I'm ready to head out.

We're doing our PCR tests this afternoon. That should be our last hurdle. Of course there's still the health declaration, the on arrival tests and the tests each day for 7 days, but we are 99% there.

Back to the Beginning

It's been almost a year since my cousin got engaged and subsequently declared that she and her then fiancée will be getting married Dec. of 2021. The hope was that Covid would've subsided and countries would have already opened up. As I patiently waited for the vaccines, and was extatically happy when we qualified for it in May, things didn't open up as quickly as I had anticipated. At the time, we had 3 main vaccines: AstraZeneca, Moderna, or Pfizer-BoiNTech, but we didn't have a choice of which one we would be given. We made appointments to get the vaccine in this large convention centre, just like the ones you see on TV, and were pleasantly surprised at the smoothness of the process.

We both got our first two shots by the time Summer rolled around, but still have no idea if we were going to be able to make it to Singapore in December at all. As you'll see, this theme of having no idea whether the trip was going to work out continued all the way to the eleventh hour.

• 2021-05: First Pfizer shot

• 2021-06-: Second Pfizer shot

Alberta experienced another wave of infections in the Fall, so things closed down again. Things were looking grim. We knew we could likely go somewhere for December vacation, like Mexico, which never implemented any tourist restrictions, but decided to prioritize Singapore should things open up there. I've missed all of my female cousins wedding for one reason or another, and this was not only the last cousin, but also the closest cousin of mine. So I was going to give it my all to try and make the wedding.

The Vaccinated Travel Lane Program

• 2021-09-08: Singapore launched the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) program with Germany and Brunei and have indicated that Canada were to be among one of the second batch of countries to be included in the program.

• 2021-09-15: Alberta announced it would be bringing in a vaccine passport system to help combat the fourth wave of the pandemic. This vaccine passport will have a QR code but will only be able to be read by the Alberta vaccine passport scanner app.

Some other places we contemplated include Thailand, as we saw a few videos about the Phuket Sandbox program and that seemed viable as well. Taiwan on the other hand, was still shut off completely. Not only could non-citizens enter for leisure reasons, even citizens needed to quarantine at a quarantine hotel for 15 nights. Even if I could get the permission to work from the quarantine hotel to combat boredom, I'm still not confident I could mentally survive that kind of confinement.

We know we're lucky, the last time we went abroad was January of 2020 so it had only been a year. It would be nice if we could go somewhere again as I could feel my mind melt a little bit everyday being stuck at home, but it was absolutely acceptable to us as well if we never made it anywhere.

It was only 3 months before the wedding and the short timeline is making me quite nervous. However, there was nothing we could do be wait. Then it happened...

• 2021-10-09: Singapore announced the extension of the VTL to 8 more countries, including Canada. Travelers from these countries can enter Singapore starting October 19.

Finally, we "can" go! I looked up the requirements on https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/vtl/requirements-and-process right away and turns out, VTL travelers will need to not only meet certain criteria, but also take designated flights from designated airlines. This was crazy, I've never heard of anything like this before. They even went as far as establishing a Vancouver to Singapore direct route with Singapore Airlines just to make this work. This was exciting. I had no idea how much the flight would be or whether we would be able to get tickets, but the scale of the program and control was impressive so far.

VTL Flights

On that first day when this was announced, the Vancouver-Singapore flights weren't available through Singapore Airlines yet. How it works is this, Canadians and Americans were forced to take Singapore Airline to travel to Singapore. Among the flights that Singapore Airline offers, only specific flights were VTL flights and we're going to have to take those. Travelers are technically allowed to take any VTL flights and are able to transit in any other VTL permitted countries, so I could technically take VTL flights that went through the U.S. which I looked up and saw 2 that went through San Francisco and Los Angeles. But things were changing constantly and if travel or transit rules were to change between Canada and the U.S., it could jeopardize our ability to make it to our flight from SF or LA. They were also quite expensive, at around $2,300 round trip each.

The morning of October 10th, the Singapore Safe Travel website announced that SQ29 was the flight that would take VTL passengers from Vancouver to Singapore. I checked Singapore Airline repeatedly but the system kept crashing and we weren't able to find that specific flight on their website. In addition, whenever I searched for flight from Calgary to Singapore, it would take me from Calgary through either SF or LA, but never through Vancouver. I started contacting everyone, from Safe Travel to Singapore Airlines, telling them the issues we're encountering.

• 2021-10-13 message to my aunt in Singapore: We looked over the Canadian VTL requirements and process. So far, I'm pretty confident things will work out. There's just a few loose ends that we still need to figure out. The first thing is the proof of vaccination. On the Safe Travels Singapore page, they said they only recognize Smart Health Cards issued by the Common Trust Network. These are QR code standards. The Alberta proof of vaccination is not compliant with this standard, so I've submitted an enquiry about it. The next thing we're still looking into is travel insurance. We have medical travel insurance through our work, but I'm having trouble getting any sort of proof. We briefly looked around online too but are still shopping around. Once these are figured out, we should be able to book our flight. The VTL flight for Canadians are posted on their website. We could technically take SQ33 which goes through San Francisco, but there should be an SQ29 flight that goes through Vancouver. We'll keep monitoring the web site and will let you know where we're at as we progress.

Lo and behold, the SQ29 flight appeared on the Singapore Airline website on Oct. 14, and although we still could only order it from Vancouver to Singapore (not Calgary to Singapore), we bit the bullet and bought these tickets. At this point, we still weren't 100% sure whether we would be able to go, but we were less worried about that leg of the journey as there are usually many flight between Calgary/Vancouver. As long as we get to Vancouver on time for the flight to Singapore, we’re good. And when we return, as long as we’re back in Canada, we feel that we’re good too. We can always make our way to Calgary however we can at that point.

• 2021-10-14: Bought our plane tickets from Vancouver to Singapore via Singapore Airline (SQ29) leaving on Dec. 4.

Smart Health Card QR Code

We were also able to take a closer look at the VTL requirements and determined that we met every one of them except for the proof of vaccination. The issue was that the Singaporean government only accepts QR code proof of vaccination, but the Alberta QR code could only be read by the Alberta app. After doing some research, we learned that North American QR code follows this Smart Health Card system (Common Trust Network), and although the Alberta QR code was developed using this system, the key was never shared so it didn't allow any other jurisdictions to access our health records via universal scanners.

• 2021-10-20: 

• We emailed the Singaporean government and they confirmed that they only accept the Smart Health Card / Common Trust Network format. 

• We emailed the Alberta Health Department and they said they don't have any information on whether they will open it up to Common Trust Network scanners yet.

• My cousin also looked into whether going through the Family Travel Lane would be more beneficial for us, but it wasn't as both paths require proof of vaccination.

The Canadian National Standard for Proof of Vaccination

Then October 21st arrived, and the Canadian government announced a national standard for proof of vaccination. This standard uses the Smart Health Card / Common Trust Network format and is in line with what the Singaporean government requires (https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/vaccines/vaccine-proof.html).

• 2021-10-23: Changed our flight from Dec. 4 to Dec. 9.

The Canadian Federal government requires all provincial governments to align their QR codes with the national standard at the latest by the end of November. A spokes person for the Alberta Health Minister said they will ensure the Alberta QR code meets the standard by end of November for sure. However, we need to apply for VTP at least 7 days before our intended travel, so if they finish converting the QR code on Nov. 30, we don't be able to make our Dec. 4 flight.

• 2021-10-31 message to my aunt in Singapore: Hello! So, it looks likely that we would be able to resolve the QR code issue by latest Nov. 30. Nothing's been announced yet but we are sensing some movement. We went ahead and moved our ticket to Dec. 9 to Jan. 8 as we need to give the Singaporean government at least 7 days to process our Vaccinated Travel Pass. It's cutting close, but we're still feeling hopeful and will keep you updated!

• 2021-11-07: The Alberta QR code became partially verified using the Smart Health Card scanner app. The information on the QR code was verified but the QR code issuer was not.

• 2021-11-12: We noticed on Safe Travel Singapore that they now except proof of vaccination from “all Canadian Provinces”. We tried to apply but couldn’t use the automated VTP portal. We were asked to email the Safe Travel Office (STO).

• 2021-11-14: We were informed we had to file an appeal today through the STO appeal's office portal and should hear back in a few days.

• 2021-11-15: We received appeal case numbers and had to go back to the VTP portal to submit our application again. This time, with the appeal numbers attached.

• We went through the steps and got our Vaccinated Travel Passes within minutes of submitting the applications.

• We also bought the on-arrival PCR tests that we will need to take at Changi Airport

Omicron Variant

• 2021-11-22: Singapore changed their in-person dining per table limit from 2 to 5 people. The Alberta QR code also became fully verified.

• 2021-11-27: Alberta officially got onboard with the Federal proof of vaccination template.

Immediately after things were seemingly settled, we started to hear a lot of news about a new Omicron variant. This worried us because rules during Covid could change at any time, and we weren't sure again, whether we would be able to make our trip.

• 2021-11-30: Singapore government now require all passengers arriving from Dec. 3 to undergo supervised Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Tests (ART) at Quick Test Centres (QTC) or Combined Test Centres (CTC) on days 3 and 7 of their arrival.

Luckily, the rules weren't too bad. Just a few additional tests but we would still be allowed to leave as soon as our on-arrival PCR test results come back negative.

• 2021-12-03: Singapore government now require all passengers arriving from Dec. 7 to undergo self-administered Covid-19 ARTs using self-procured ART kits on days 2, 4, 5, and 6 of their arrival, in addition to the supervised ARTs on days 3, and 7.

Things were really changing each day. We monitored all the rules extra closely, anxiously hoping nothing major changes before we depart.

Woke up at 3:50 am today, had a nightmare. I think I'm ready to head out.

• 2021-12-07 Pre-departure PCT tests in Calgary

2021-12-08 Calgary to Vancouver

Finally the day came when we left for Vancouver. There was a system issue with our Calgary to Vancouver flight, but luckily we were able to get that resolved in time and made our flight in time.

We submitted out Health Declaration and got issued a bar code for entry.

Once in Vancouver, we took our hotel shuttle and stayed the night. Experiencing wearing an N95 mask for this long, we suspect our journey to Singapore the next day would be tough.

2021-12-09 Vancouver to Singapore

Got up at 4:30 naturally. Tried to stay in bed for a while longer but eventually got up at 5:30. Apparently, Keith has been up since 4 as well. Went for breakfast at 6:30, buffet style with toast, oatmeal, eggs, sausages, coffee, and pancakes. Our breakfast was free and included with our hotel booking. After resting a little longer, we hopped on the 9:30 shuttle bus and headed to the airport.

There weren't too many people at the Singapore airline counter. About 10. They checked our VTPs and PCR test results, and issued us our boarding passes and luggage tags. Very painless. We chatted with a Singaporean lady about the required documentation a little. Making sure she has everything she needed.

We took some pictures, and 2 nice Japanese ladies helped us take a picture at a photo booth, then we went through security. There weren't many people around, and we got front row seats by the windows with an electrical outlet right beside us. The process today was so much more pleasant than yesterday. There are a lot less people, no mix ups with our tickets, the document checking was fast, and atmosphere calm.

By the time I checked my watch, there's only an hour and 15 minutes left before we board our flight. It's been a rollercoaster of a journey, but we're here and we're ready to head out.

Here we go.

Most True

What's most true for you? Something that's eternal, an idea maybe, or a value. How do we calm the waters within so it's clear enough for us to see? How do I quiet my thoughts enough for me to hear?

It might be because of Covid or an early onset midlife crisis, but I've been contemplating existential subjects these few years. Or should I say, I've always been one who contemplates existential subjects--the meaning of life, my purpose...etc., but during my 20s and 30s they were drowned out by money and career oriented thoughts. These days, however, perhaps with the help of working from home and actually enjoying real work-life balance, I've evolved into this department again, and these thoughts have snuck back under the spotlight.

It's hard not to compare to others. Whether it's job positions, income, athletic abilities, or any of the thousands of metrics one can measure themselves against. As I age, everyone's position on each of these metrics really starts to diverge. An artistic roommate of mine is now a senior director for business development, the ambitious analyst colleague is now a mom of 3, the ethnomusicology mom of 2 is now a royalty-making authority in her field, and the C student is a multi-millionaire. I sometimes don't know where I'm supposed to be. Compared to each of them, I seem both behind and ahead. There's also the slacker who got the promotion, the rude one who got into the amazing company, or the corrupt one who became the VP. Then there is the guest down stairs who escaped Ukraine and is still trying to find way to get a hold of her parents, the project manager that sat next to me / the high school friend who became a realtor / and so many others who are no longer on this earth.

As these thoughts arose, my heart skipped a beat and it prompted me to think again, exact what should I spend my limited time and energy on? If positions, money, status, and fame are illusions that I don't necessarily align with, what does?

There are things in my life that are unfair for me. All those times I pulled extra weight just so the work can get done, all while folks who are paid more sit back and watch. I've done more than enough share of pulling strings and smoothing out conflicts, but none of these efforts translate into a raise or a promotion. I'm the kind of person who can do the job, but lack the title or salary to show anyone. But the exact opposite is true as well. I work reasonable hours while getting many many days off each year. I'm given the privilege and freedom to manage my work as well as some other team members' work even though I don't have the title, and I usually get the interesting projects. I have the trust of colleagues and leaders, and the things I say are valued by many. I have people who loves me unconditionally regardless of my mood, income, or productivity level. So, am I fortunate or unfortunate?

Life is long but also quite short. We have time to do everything we want to, but life could also easily slip by without us having gotten to know our souls. With me turning 40 this year, I'm still young, but also not really. And perhaps it's this midlife milestone, but it's got me thinking "jeez, if I have dreams or personal goals, I should probably get started before it's too late". So, what should I focus my time and energy on?

What is most true for you?

What is most true...for me?

The older I become the more I recognize not only the duality of things but that there's everything on every spectrum. It's only in recognizing the divergence of everyone's paths and the futile efforts of still trying to compare myself with others that I realized I really can't. I simply do not have enough brain power in a day or days in my life to assess my performance against these arbitrary benchmarks. I simply have to know myself better, and I have to choose the top priorities to get started (or keep moving).

It feels like it's been years but I'm just at the beginning stages of sorting out my thoughts, and I'm still working on listening closely so I can tell the noise apart from the truth. To be honest, it's not my intention to tell you what they are today or to tell you that you should consider the things that are important to me. We all have to work that out ourselves.

I guess, all I wanted to do today, is put this reminder down for myself, to continue to think about what's most true for me, and what's worth my time. After all, each of these seconds that are passing by make up my entire life and it's up to me what I want my life to be about...what I want to live for. Vague themes are starting to emerge, although they're still in draft state, I've grown more comfortable with letting my heart be the guide of whether an idea is worth pursuing or not. I intend to follow what moves me, I intend to follow what inspires, I intend to head towards the direction of courage, and I intend to follow loving kindness. I believe I'm in the process of developing my value system, and I will keep you all updated.

Sukha.