Reaffirming Malagasy-Singapore Relations: An early Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) experience
A story about friendship and pleasant surprises
Let me start by prefacing this trip took place at a time when the Singapore government was experimenting with re-opening travel to select countries under stringent restrictions. At the moment, Singapore is now open to the world so long as you hold a verified Covid-19 vaccine. Back in September 2021, the Singapore government re-introduced leisure travel to certain countries whereby you travel into Singapore on specific flights and follow a testing regime. One of the first countries on this exclusive list was Germany.
Before covid, Germany was a destination that was never at the top of my list and was, more often than not, a transit point for me as I flew to the US for my studies. However, with an itch for travel, I started exploring things to see in Germany and as a bonus, I would be able to meet with one of my close friends from university, Cedric. Cedric recently moved to the city of Dresden, about 150km south of the capital, Berlin, for work. Since he was a recent resident, I was looking forward to travelling here, and we had not seen each other since our final semester of our undergrad studies went virtual because of the pandemic; it seemed to be fate that this trip should take place.
After a few weeks of planning, I soon found myself at a ghost town disguised as Singapore’s Changi Airport, waiting to board my Singapore Airlines A350 to Germany in late October 2021. As it was my first post-pandemic trip out of the country, I entered the airport with far more caution than before. At the time of my journey, the world was fighting the Delta variant, which added some worries to my trip, namely catching covid. However, despite these worries, it was great to step on an airplane and walk down the aisle, if you will and travel out into the world. Upon arriving in Germany, apart from jetlagged, I found myself excited to see Cedric and explore what turned out to be an absolute gem of a city, Dresden.
Upon disembarking the ICE high-speed train from Frankfurt, I was soon reunited with Cedric, who was eager to show me around his new home over the next few days. It ended up being a trip of friendship and exploration centring around the absolute gem that is Dresden.
Malagasy-Singapore relations:
After only virtual interactions lasting about 18 months, it was joyous to see a university friend from my year in person. Cedric and I spent this trip catching up on some life updates following graduation. We got along well during our university days, becoming quite close in our final years due to being at the helm of popular culture clubs at our alma mater. However, this trip ended up being a chance for us to really get to know each other more beyond who we were in university. We spent the next few days opening up to each other about some of the various struggles we faced not just d ring this covid period but also from our youth. Through these exchanges, we safely concluded that Malagasy-Singapore relations were well and truly cemented and forged an even stronger friendship than before.
General impressions of Dresden:
I arrived at the following conclusions from my few days in the city. Even if you have little command of the German language, Dresden is an unbelievably easy city to get around, especially on two wheels, thanks to its well-established bike lane and bike-sharing network. In addition, Dresden is home to some stunning historical architecture, or shall I say replicas, since most buildings were destroyed during bombing campaigns in the Second World War. However, it was recreated with a mixture of new and original materials. For my plant-based viewers, you’ll also be relieved that Germany is remarkably vegan/vegetarian-friendly – a pleasant surprise from a country known for various sausages and other meat-based dishes. Nature lovers will also appreciate the parks scattered throughout the city, with my favourite being the Grand Garden of Dresden. Due to its immense size, it is easy to find yourself in awe of nature and feel a sense of ease. Lastly, contrary to stereotypes about German people, most of my interactions were genuinely friendly. I never found myself in any adversarial interactions though I did have a few choice words for the person conducting my Covid PCR test, who I felt shoved the swab hilariously far up into my nose. Dresden is a fun city to visit; if you ever end up in Germany, it is an absolute must-visit.
Final thoughts:
This travel experience was remarkably more pleasant than expected despite some virus-related fears. I found that this type of travel could not be sustained even with proper planning. The hurdles made it too cumbersome to travel and added additional costs making it out of reach for certain travellers. Thankfully my next few trips took place with looser hurdles for travel, making it a far more pleasant experience. However, the true highlight was being able to explore a brand new city and be reacquainted with an old friend. As I boarded the Singapore Airlines flight back to Singapore, I knew this would be the beginning of a new period of travel and exploration.