interesting times

One of the antique Blue Willow pieces that my grandmother brought back from Hong Kong in the 1960's. I'm told it dates to the mid-1800's.
One of the antique Blue Willow pieces that my grandmother brought back from Hong Kong in the 1960’s. I’m told it dates to the mid-1800’s.

It’s often said to be a Chinese curse: “may you live in interesting times.” But actually there’s no evidence to support that origin. Yet “interesting times” we live in.

Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry (that’s Robert Burns) and our upcoming trip to Asia is no exception. We’re keeping a careful watch on the student pro-democracy protest situation in Hong Kong, and although all reports on the ground as of this time indicate that the city is peaceful and that protests are confined to a couple of small areas, should that change we may need to make some adjustments to our itinerary. On top of that, the Vietnam/Halong Bay cruise part of the trip had to be scuttled when our SIL was involved in a motorbike accident in Thailand a week ago, sustaining some broken facial bones which required surgery (she’s doing fine), and taking recreational travel off the agenda. So as of this moment, we’re still planning to visit Hong Kong for a few days and then visit BIL/SIL in Phucket, Thailand where they’ve been living for the last year.

This is the first time any of our major travel plans have been so “fluid” so close to departure. I’m surprised at how little I’m freaking out over this. Part of the reason is that all of our flights were booked using frequent flyer miles, so we’re not out gobs of non-refundable money. And Phucket isn’t exactly a horrible place to go either. 😉

I’m holding off on the final travel wardrobe selections until the last minute, keeping an eye on weather in both places, and waiting to see if we need to adjust travel plans again. Stay tuned…

Stay in touch

Sign up to be notified of new posts and updates from une femme d’un certain âge.

Affiliate links in posts may generate commissions for unefemme.net. See my complete disclosure policy here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

13 Comments

  1. So sorry about your SIL, but glad she’s doing OK. Glad your fluid travel plans aren’t causing you a lot of anxiety.

  2. Il vaut mieux plier comme les roseaux que de rompre comme le chêne-La Fontaine. Sometimes it seems that we have little control over things and we might as well accept the situation. I hope that your sister-in-law is recovering well. I have never been to Asia so I will look forward to your posts.

  3. I have been meaning to ask you what the impact was/would be. The situation appears to be calming down. I forget – do you have contacts/travel guides who can give you on the ground info? BTW, Joyce Lau, former IHT reporter, writes from Hong Kong. Her blog is here – FWIW. http://www.joyceyland.com/

    1. Lisa, yes we’ve arranged for a morning walking tour our first full day in town, and then a guided Cantonese dinner that night. According to our guides, most of the city is very peaceful and safe at this time. (And that was as of a couple of days ago…imagine it’s quieted down even further since.)

  4. So sorry to hear of your SIL’s accident. My own experience with suddenly fluid trips is that they have a richness and depth that planned trips never have. Perhaps we’ve taken our expectations off the table and are therefore can’t be disappointed.

  5. Tish, I don’t believe the US State Dept has issued any warnings about going to HongKong. They are pretty on top of those things. Phuket is lovely and is very interesting, as well as a wonderful beach area. Great spas, an elephant rescue farm, cashew nut factories and rubber tree plantations. Enjoy your trip!

    Sally

  6. Sounds like a wonderful trip, I hope it works out just as you plan! I have fond memories of a few days spent in Hong Kong at the tail end of several weeks traveling in China. Such an incredible city, I worry about how the Chinese will handle the “uprising”… Best wishes to your SIL for a quick recovery!

  7. I kept thinking of your trip when listening to the (inspiring) reports of the young demonstrators for democracy. Though I expect all will be well. Sorry about your sister-in-law, and hope she mends quickly.

  8. So sorry to hear about your SIL’s fall — hope she continues to recover well. It sounds as if you have a very positive, realistic attitude about the adjustments you might have to be make and that you’ll make a great journey along whatever path seems best at the time. We had to do some serious scrambling in France this past summer when the train strike did some serious damage to our plans for getting to Italy. Between that and last year’s rental car breakdown, I guess we’re finally getting some real travel experience and not every bit of it ends up being a cakewalk. . . staying flexible should probably always be part of the plan. . .

  9. Hong kong are islands. The protests are in the central business district. My son lives there and the protests are confined to a few blocks. He said they are quite civil and and organized. Usually, when you are a tourist on vacation you are on Kowloon, across the bay away from the fray of the protests. You will love Phuket. We were there for Christmas last year. It is not unusual to see an elephant walking along the side of the road! They have elephant crossing signs the way we have deer crossing signs. Downtown Phuket is crazy at night (like spring break crazy) but the beaches are lovely and so are the people. My husband and I are considering the island for our winter escape from the cold and snow of Michigan. we had Christmas eve dinner at Mom Tri’s. It is a lovely terraced garden with just a couple of tables on each level. I hope you have a lovely vacation.

    1. Hi Patti M, yes we’re actually staying in Central. Our concern was not about the protestors, as they seem to be peaceful and orderly, but rather about any escalating tensions with the mainland. As that looks quite unlikely at this point, we’re going as planned. Really looking forward to Phucket too!!