Today’s P-day entry for my Pandemic Journal is a collection of photos I took during the pandemic — Photos of an Empty Neighborhood.
My February 2020 photo album is almost empty! I think I already published some of the photos in my previous entries, but there are still some that I want to release for this piece.
It’s been more than three months since China partially shut down but I can still feel the emotions I had during my self-isolation. It was kind of sad to browse through the pictures over the past weeks. I wish I took more.
Jan 29: A Starbucks branch in a nearby mall. A couple of days after this photo was taken, this branch closed.
Jan 29: Food establishments began posting this message (“Disinfected today”), merely days after Hubei was locked down.
Jan 30: I was wowed by this sight: the Moon and Jupiter (I think) shone bright, while Beijing below them almost stopped because of the pandemic
Jan 31: It was a warm end of January, so I went outside to jog.
Feb 1: While strolling around Guomao, I couldn’t believe that the business district shut down. This was a normally packed road, so I was so amazed to see it so silent
Feb 1 – Dinner with Teena, a good friend who went to Beijing to work — during the pandemic!
Feb 2: I went to the expat hotspot of Sanlitun on February 2 (Sunday), and no one was there, except guards.
Feb 5: It snowed again in Beijing. This was the third of the four instances that it snowed during the season.
Feb 15: I went again to Sanlitun to grab lunch. It was a beautiful Saturday, and there were only a few locals there, mostly buying foodstuff.
Feb 15: Another view of Sanlitun.
Feb 17: A view from my apartment
Mar 1: Spotted my friend in front of a mall close to where I live! I just finished my grocery run and was on my way home when I snapped this pic.
Mar 18: For the first time after 50+ days of non-consecutive self-isolation, I went back to work!
Mar 18: After arriving at our school, I went to our greenhouse and checked the stuff planted by teachers during the quarantine
Mar 18: After work, I went straight to a mall and checked if my favorite Japanese ramen restaurant was open. It was! But they didn’t have my favorite spicy beef soup, so I settled for this *salty* beefsteak dish.
Mar 20: This was a late grocery run. Boy, the sunset view was stunning.
Mar 21: My friend Teena and I were to go to the Summer Palace, as she was due to leave Beijing for Manila in a couple of days. I rode a taxi to get to her hotel – and saw this cute safety reminder to passengers.
Mar 21: Because I forgot a document, I needed to return to my apartment. And this Didi (Uber) had a cute poster. Gosh, they need to have a competition! The sign beside Pikachu says “(Use) science in the public protection and fight against the pandemic.”
Mar 21: Finally, we were on our way to the Summer Palace. Another taxi had this poster, which says “Go on, Beijing!”
Mar 21: I went back to my idyllic spot in the Summer Palace – this time, with a mask.
Mar 22: I chatted with my mom and sister on Facebook and shared with them an activity that makes me sane: carefully and precisely folding my clothes!
Apr 1: I went to the Temple of Heaven and brought my lunch (and work) there. Stayed until late afternoon to bask in the sun and enjoy the silence with nature.
Apr 3: Went to the Beijing Botanical Garden because I was feeling down. There was a feast of colors there!
Apr 3: And these pink tulips were so pretty!
Apr 3: These towering trees looked so lovely
Apr 3: Stayed in the garden till the evening. I was wanting to stay there overnight, but I didn’t have a tent. So this photo overlooks a hill. I don’t know if the light behind it was from the city, but the silhouette it created was breathtaking.
Apr 3: The sky was so clear that even my phone could capture Orion!
Note: My entry was supposed to be “Pigging Out,” in which I intended to talk about a crazy experience of eating at a restaurant. I am dropping that entry because I realize it sounds inappropriate and insensitive.
