Travel bug

I am being bitten by the travel bug big time. It has been 8 months since I last flew, and with the strong presence of SARS in Hong Kong in recent months, I feel like I am trapped here and cannot get out. Now that SARS is waning and I have earned enough credits at work to take at least a month off, I am planning where I should go for another extended break.
Though SARS has made our lives miserable, it also made traveling very cheap. I can fly to Tokyo via United Airlines on a special promotion for HK$1100 (US$141). That is unheard of. There are some silly requirements where I have to spend a certain amount in Hong Kong in order to qualify, but it is still a bargain, nonetheless.

It is probably wiser that I forego this offer altogether and fly directly back to the states instead, then make a stopover in Tokyo on my way back. That way I don't have to worry about being discriminated in Japan, since I will be coming from the U.S., so no quarantine should be necessary. Plus, if I go back to the states, I will have a lot more places to go on my month-long trip.

Last year I flew to the east coast then to the West. This time I can go around the middle. My only concern is that I might not have company on this trip. I never used to have a problem traveling solo before, in fact, I lived for it; everywhere I went was an exploration, the excitement of the unknown--the people, the places, the unexpected. Until last year, when I ended up in the east coast alone most of the time, it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, or as I would have before. I suspect growing older has something to do with it.

So now I am trying to time my trip to friends or family members who might be free for traveling so I will have company. Or if I am going alone, I want so much to look up my buddy in Kansas. I haven't seen him in 18 years, and haven't had contact with him for at least five; that's how long I came to live in Hong Kong. If I am going to visit him, I better start getting reacquainted by writing him a letter or a giving him a phone call.

Filed Sun - June 8, 2003, 12:47 AM in

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