Niagara man stranded in Nepal finally comes home after weeks in COVID-19 lockdown

After 47 hours of travelling, Niagara man Connor Crickmore landed in Toronto from Nepal where he had been stranded for two weeks due to the country's COVID-19 lock-down. 

Like many other Canadians, Crickmore, 29, got stuck abroad when COVID-19 closed borders and caused airlines to cancel flights. Now, he's one of the few remaining citizens to return. 

In the nearly two days it took to get home, Crickmore made his way through four airports and boarded three different planes. 

He walked from his hostel to catch a bus headed to Nepal's Australian embassy in Kathmandu. Then he took another bus to get to the local airport. From there, he flew to Qatar and after a 16-hour layover, flew to Montreal. 

His journey ended with a domestic flight to Toronto and a car ride into the Niagara region. 

The entire trek cost more than $3,000.

While Crickmore says he's glad to be home, he said there were many Canadians who had to stay back as they couldn't afford the plane ticket. 

"I'd say more than half of Canadians that were in contact (with the government) declined to come home just because the cost was so much," Crickmore said, adding that the price was especially a burden for those who had large families or required additional travel once inside Canada. 

'Off-the-grid'

Crickmore left Canada to travel to different parts of the world in October, landing in Nepal at the beginning of March. At the time, Nepal only had one confirmed case. A week after the country went on lock-down, March 24, there were only five cases. 

His trip began with an "off-the-grid" hike up the Himalayas, Crickmore said. When he returned to town he and some other travellers were immediately pulled aside and assessed for symptoms. 

That was the moment he realized how quickly the pandemic had escalated — curfews were set in place and police were patrolling the streets with sticks. 

Crickmore took refuge in a 25-person hostel with 95 other stranded travellers from across the world. As the days wore on, fears kicked in about food and water shortages. 

Home-bound 

Two weeks in, Crickmore finally heard from the Canadian government that a Qatar airlines flight was scheduled for April 11.

Though it was difficult to maintain physical distancing measures every step of the way home, he says he's not too worried about contracting the virus. 

"Obviously your mind wanders a little bit, especially (when)... somebody sneezes around you," Crickmore said. "It's a shame (that) we've kind of tailored ourselves to thinking the worst."

COVID-19 assessments included a checklist of symptoms and a few temperature readings along the way. 

While he said these measures didn't seem to match the seriousness of the pandemic, he understands that without on-the-spot testing, there isn't much that can be done. 

When Crickmore left Nepal the country had fewer than 20 cases, with only 16 reported as of Wednesday. He returned to Canada which has seen more than 27,000 cases confirmed. 

Crickmore says he's still frustrated with the lack of communication from the Canadian government. 

"I think just some better communication and transparency would have gone a long way," he said. 

"Just (to) give peace of mind to everybody because being kept in the dark just keeps you really antsy." 

Even now, he added, the government should work with other countries and embassies to get remaining travellers home.