My quarantine diary…
By: Kavindu Narathota
Tags: Sri Lanka, Quarantine, Covid 19, Experience, Travel

Day 1: Trip to “Paradise Beach Club, Mirissa” — the first quarantine center

Paradise Beach Club, Mirissa — My room for 2 nights

As you already know, after a tiring and a long journey from BIA to Mirissa, our convoy finally arrived at Paradise Beach Club, Mirissa. As soon I saw the entrance, I knew that there’s no way this is a 4-star resort as the army officers at the airport claimed to be. But just to be safe, before I left the airport I updated my contact in the Army with the situation and luckily they shared a contact person (let's call him Sunil) at Paradise Beach Club for me to coordinate and arrange necessary facilities for me. I called Sunil and told him that, all I need a clean and quiet room with a decent internet connection. Sunil was very helpful over the phone and said he will arrange the best room available for a single occupant and when I get to the hotel, come and meet him.

When we arrived at the hotel, the army officers and the medical staff gave a lecture about what to do and what not to do at the quarantine center and what are their regular procedures. Then they asked us to fill a form about our personal information and proceed to the check-in counters where they distributed the keys to rooms. I helped a few elderly people to fill those forms and then proceeded to the check-in counter where I net Sunil. He welcomed me said, “Sir, I’ve arranged the best room for you and internet connection details are available in the room. If there’s anything I can do to help out, let me know”. Since I was already disappointed with the cover of the book, I thought with Sunil’s comment the content of the book might be really good. Also, the price for the room I got was 9000LKR for 1 day on a full-board basis.

With the key I got, I went to a room on the 2nd floor. As soon as I enter, I got a weird vibe. Felt that the room was a bit dusty and it was like a room at a house. It was a bit spacious and with a balcony facing the Indian ocean. Since I was super tired, I didn’t notice any other things and I kept my luggage aside and went to the bathroom. Oh boy; I really thought I could run away from that place. There were a few dead cockroaches on the floor and opened and used shampoo bottles were in the shower area. Then I came back to the room and checked other appliances. There were 3 dimmed lights and the mini-fridge was filled with water and it smelled.

Then I wanted to check the internet connection because that was the most important thing for me. As mentioned in the instructions, I tried finding a hotspot with my room number but I couldn’t. Then I called the receptionist and a fellow came to my room to help with the trouble I was having. When I asked “why can’t I find a hotspot nearby”, he said, “Sir, we only have 2 hotspots available. one for the pool area and another one for all 12 rooms on this floor and the 12 rooms on the ground floor”. Then he helped me to connect to the pool WiFi (of course I’m using a paid VPN service when connecting to public networks) but I couldn’t get even 1Mbps down speed. Imagine working remotely and doing video conferences with this internet connection.

Again I dialed my Army contact and explained the situation to them. Since my request was filed a while back, they were disappointed with the result we got. While they arrange another quarantine center for me, I thought of getting the best I have. I had a quick wash, changed out from my traveling clothes, and sat on the bed to relax a bit.

Then there was a knock on the door and when I checked, it was a server (let's call him Nimal) from the hotel leaving the dinner (as I thought) on the stool. He also asked me to fill my meal preference form for the next day and leave it on the table and he will come and collect it. The meal preference form had two options for each meal and I found it very convenient and a nice thing to do for the guests. The meal was a pack of mixed fried rice and even though it was not the best, I finished it quickly because I was really hungry!

Paradise Beach Club, Mirissa — April 4, 2021 — Day 1 — Lunch

Soon after the meal, I got a call and asked to come downstairs to do the PCR test. The test was done by a laboratory in Colpetty and I paid 14000LKR for two PCR tests (for 1st day and the 7th day). After the specimen collection, I returned to my room.

An hour passed by and there was another knock on the door. It was Nimal again with another meal packet. When I asked what it was, he said, “Sir, the previous meal was your lunch. Since your bus got late to arrive, we kept and served it as soon as you arrived. This is your dinner for today. A mixed fried noodles”. Perfect! So I had lunch at 7 PM and now going to have dinner at 8 PM? Unless I’m on a strict diet, I never say no to food. So I sat down to eat my next meal and I must say it was delicious (sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the meal). Because I didn’t have proper sleep for almost 40 hours, I thought of tucking in for the night. The bed was very uncomfortable and a bit itchy, but I really wanted to have a shut-eye.