Heidi Tamblyn has travelled extensively in the past few years and had plenty of unique encounters, but recently, the Kempsey born globe trotter has added a new experience to her list, being under forced quarantine in a Sydney hotel.
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After making the hard decision to leave the UK in the wake of the COVID-19 restrictions, the dual British and Australian citizen was lucky enough to get on what could be the last flight to leave the region for at least six months.
"I had no plans to come home anytime soon, but I worked in a cafe, and with all non-essential services shutting down, I wasn't guaranteed work," Heidi said.
"My first flight was cancelled, and the one after that, luckily I managed to get a last-minute flight home, which ended up being the last one out, they told us there wouldn't be another for at least six months.
"It was intensely stressful, but at least I was able to make it home, there are plenty of people stuck overseas and in a much worse position."
When the flight finally landed back in Australia, the passengers were left waiting for several hours while officials slowly filtered them through the airport.
"When we landed in Sydney they had us chill on the plane for a while, then they brought us through the airport, gave us all a health check and went on buses to the hotel," Heidi said.
"It took a long time, there were quite a few of us, so there was several hours waiting, but everyone was in the same boat, it wasn't a big deal."
Heidi is now living at the InterContinental in Sydney for at least another week under a mandatory 14-day isolation, and despite many reports stating otherwise, she has yet to experience any prison-like conditions.
"The way I see it, being in quarantine here is a lot less stressful than going straight home; I don't have to worry about potentially hurting my family or others by unknowingly spreading the virus," she said.
"We get three meals a day, delivered right to our door and there is an option to order out if the three meals aren't enough. But for me, I've never gone hungry, I've never needed more food.
"I love the breakfast; it's probably my favourite meal. I've had omelettes, bacon, mixed fruit, bread, croissants; we get a wide selection.
"There are worse places to be than a five-star hotel in Sydney; in my experience I've been well looked after."
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