This week will mark the one year anniversary since I was last on a aeroplane.
My return to the UK from the Philippines began in September 2020 and ended up taking 3 months to complete.
After talking with a lovely Irish couple on my last dive trip in Moalboal, I discovered a loophole in the UK travel restrictions.
At the time, if you were to fly directly from the Philippines to England, you were required to Quarantine for 2 weeks as soon as you arrived.
However, if you were traveling from Turkey (and had been in Turkey for at least a week prior to departure) then you would not have to Quarantine on your arrival in England.
And so that's what I did... (or tried to do).
Of course, I still would have quarantined when I arrived and taken tests to confirm I didn't have Covid19, just based on my own morals. But I had decided it would have been nicer to do so on my own terms rather than at threat of fines and imprisonment.
I landed at Istanbul airport, made my way to a Mobile Phone stand, and purchased a local simcard so that I could reconnect with the world.
Job done, I ordered a taxi and started making my way towards my hotel. During the journey I decided to have a little look at BBC News, and noticed there had been some changes to the travel restrictions.. Yup... Turkey had been added to the Red List, meaning I would still be required to quarantine for 2 weeks on my return.
'Might as well spend a little more time in Turkey then' I thought. Which is exactly what I did.. For the next 3 Months.
By December, Turkey was really starting to clamp down and impose some pretty strict rules, and so I decided it was time to go home.
Little did I know as I sat on the Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Birmingham Airport, One year later I still wouldn't have been on another Plane.
That is..... Until This Week!!!
That's Right! I'm going to be airborne once more, and this time.....
I am flying to Finland!
Source: www.wikipedia.com/finland
Helsinki to be precise. The current weather report is saying that there is a chance of snow and temperatures are likely to be around -6c.
"Why Finland?" I hear nobody ask ;)
Well, for starters, I have never been there and always like to visit new places.
Other reasons include; Having some friends there that I met during Lockdown on a small island in the Philippines.
I have just become the proud owner of a Go Pro Hero 10 and fancied having a go at Vlogging. So, I will be taking that with me and giving it some gusto.
And finally, flights were around £50 return (Even if I did fall for Ryanair's tricks and eventually had to concede and pay a further £40 for the privilege of taking my underwear with me)
These are the things I am planning on seeing/doing in Helsinki during my 7 days there;
Saunas
Christmas Tram
Ice Skating
Old Market
Christmas Market
Circus
Gnome Trail
If anyone from Finland (or that has visited Helsinki) happens to read this in the next 7 days and has additional ideas that I can add to the list. Please let me know 😊
And aside from that, I guess I will now try and figure out how this Camera works and I will tell you all about the trip soon :)
