And by that I mean a new kind of complete pain in the ass. Border closings and re-openings, test requirements, cancelled flights: This is the 'new normal' of travel. Indeed, as we are reminded by the emergence of the Omicron variant - and the rapid-fire shutdowns of incoming traffic from southern African countries in most of the world - international travel is very much still in a state of, well, flux. So back I went to London, again researching testing prices - and reading regulations for sleeping in public parks.

Apparently, as I was told by the check-in guy at Heathrow, Bulgaria had red-listed the UK and didn’t accept lateral flow tests, “but you can take a quick PCR at the airport … it’s £119.” What I’d forgotten to check, however, was the travel requirement for returning to my home in Bulgaria five days later. Before booking my ticket to the UK, where vaccinated travelers were still required to get an in-country test within 48 hours of arrival, I’d spent hours checking the green/amber/red traffic light country categorization, filling out the very laborious Passenger Locator Form and comparing prices at the endless list of (mostly fully-booked) NHS-recommended testing clinics. I asked if they'd had similar glitches in the past. as in, I need this damn test to be able to fly home.Īfter re-installing the app and re-reading the instructions, I called the phone number for the support line and got a friendly female voice with a Cockney accent. SOFIA - Two weeks ago, I was swabbing my nose in a minuscule London hotel room, trying to navigate the faulty app that came with my COVID-19 home-test kit.

Keep calm and visit ukraine