Ten Tips to Survive Hotel Quarantine

This was our second time to receive 14-day Stay Home Notice (SHN) to be served at a designated facility. On both occasions, we were returning to Singapore from the UK. This time my wife and I were both fully vaccinated and hopeful of a more lenient literal Stay-At-Home notice, but for good reasons, the authorities are still cautious, and so we joined the SHN roulette and arrived at our appointed hotel, overlooking Orchard Road.

This time we were very much prepared and had a grab bag of essentials ready in Singapore for our arrival (to be delivered to the hotel by a family member) plus some essentials in our accompanying luggage.

If you also have a hotel stay, don’t despair! It isn’t as bad as it sounds, it goes faster than you think, and these top ten tips can help you survive with your sanity intact.?

1. HDMI cable. Most hotel rooms have sophisticated ‘Airplay’ type TV systems that often don’t work. Best to bring an HDMI cable (and an adapter to your laptop/tablet/Mac). You will need this to stream Disney+, Netflix, YouTube, etc. Recommend re-watching the entire Marvel series or Breaking Bad.
2. Clothes pegs and clothesline: if you are lucky and get a balcony, even better as these can be discreetly used to dry clothes faster. If not, slow dry in the shower, but the pegs will help.
3. Tea-towel and dishcloth and dishwashing liquid: regular cleaning of your plates and cutlery (see #7)
4. Multi-plug extension cord plus your usual suitcase of connectors and adaptors: at least a four-way adaptor and two meters of cable should do.
5. Skipping rope/exercise band and Pilates Mat: the most you can do running around the room is about 0.5km before dizziness kicks in, so these are an alternative. It is possible to order/rent running machines and bikes, but that takes up a lot of room and additional expense. Plenty of good YouTube exercise channels (Fitness Blender, Body Project, Aoife Hannon Pilates)
6. Pile of books: obvious really, but it is a good chance to knock off some of the biggies – War and Peace, etc. Better still a pre-loaded Kindle. I don’t recommend travel books, as you want to feel better off than the characters you are reading about.
7. Big but blunt-ish knife: cut fruit can bring small but satisfying normalcy to afternoon tea plus a cutting board, cutlery, and plates are useful. Don’t count on the hotel being able to supply these. You will have a mountain of unused plastic cutlery by Day 14.
8. Food: packets of dried fruit, nuts, and instant porridge (70p from Tescos/Morrisons if you are coming from the UK) as the breakfasts are usually lame, and bring your own tea bags in case your hotel isn’t on the A-list.
9. Delivery Apps: Grab/Deliveroo/Food Panda set up and ready to go, ideally with a collection of discount voucher codes as after a while the hotel food sucks.
10. Sense of humour: there is little point in getting stressed as a positive attitude, daily exercise, and a regular schedule for work, reading and screen-time will get you through it.

And if like us, you are amazed at how little space and stuff you need for 14 days, you can Marie-Kondo your house (or even choose to downsize) when you return home.

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