‘Easier To Get Into North Korea’: How It Feels Flying Into Western Australia Right Now

We’ve waxed lyrical about what it’s like flying into Sydney at various points during the last two years. From discussing the ins and outs of hotel quarantine (including the challenges of those two weeks themselves) to reporting on sense that some people have shared of being made to feel like a criminal on arrival, we have Sydney pretty well covered.

But what’s it like to fly into Western Australia right now?

Question got your brain spinning? Flight hacker Immanuel Debeer recently shared with DMARGE what his experience was like, coming back to Perth from overseas.

Despite his tongue in check ‘would easier to get into North Korea’ Instagram stories posted upon re-entering the country, Immanuel later told DMARGE it was “actually a very smooth/easy process.”

“I’ve read so many horror stories over the last year so I was expecting the worst but honestly, I thought it was straightforward,” Immanel told DMARGE. “That said, I can understand that anyone who can’t afford business or first-class flights back to Australia would have a completely different experience.”

“It’s a pay-to-play system. Of course, it doesn’t compare to any other country I’ve been to in the last few months. In Europe, nobody cares anymore. You can tell when you’re talking to Europeans (they generally don’t discuss covid) whereas in Australia it seems to be an obsession to talk about covid.”

“Coming back into Australia, although the people are friendly, you feel like a prisoner/criminal. There’s a guard outside my hotel door and from the time we landed until we got checked in there was a police escort to make sure nobody had a chance to run off.”

On his website Flight Hacks, Immanuel recently wrote: “Upon arrival (there were around 30 passengers on my flight), we all went through the standard immigration procedure and customs. In Perth, there’s a separate station where you need to show your G2G QR code (similar to the Australian travel declaration), and the staff informs you of which hotel you will be doing your 14-day quarantine at.”

“Afterward, we were guided back into the baggage hall, where we were all seated and told to wait.”

“Some 2 hours later (one passenger held us all up for this long – presumably because his paperwork wasn’t in order).”

“We were then led out of the back of the airport, back onto the tarmac where 3 busses were waiting for us, accompanied by a police escort. I wasn’t sure if I should feel like royalty or a criminal. From my understanding, both get a similar experience when arriving by air in Australia.”

Speaking to DMARGE on day four of his quarantine, Immanuel said: “Honestly, it’s not that hard apart from the fact you can’t get fresh air.”

He also shared that he’d taken delivery of a rental exercise bike and was getting sent healthy supplies. That’s when he wasn’t taking deliveries of “French contraband” or mining Bitcoin, naturally…

Image Credit: @flighthacks

“I’m used to working from home, so this is not all too different,” Immanuel explained. He also admitted he was using the hotel’s electricity to mine Bitcoin.

Watch Immanual mining Bitcoin in quarantine in the video below

 

Immanuel also said he imagines it would be more difficult for those not travelling solo: “I wouldn’t want to do quarantine with partner/family or kids (not that i have kids!) etc. The hotel rooms are tiny so there really isn’t much room for more than 1. Anyway, it’s only day 4 and I’ve had people tell me the breaking point is usually day 10…”

Stay tuned for his next update.

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The post ‘Easier To Get Into North Korea’: How It Feels Flying Into Western Australia Right Now appeared first on DMARGE.