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I Traveled from Hong Kong to the USA During the COVID-19 Pandemic and This is What It Was Like.

December 19, 2020 //  by Lily Wu//  4 Comments

It’s 2:42 a.m. here in this Massachusetts town. I arrived at 5:30 in the evening, and this is currently the view from the Holiday Inn, one of three hotels in this little pocket of 30,000 people. There’s the flicker of Popeye’s tangerine-orange logo, and the looming hulk of the Showcase Cinemas I grew up going to as a kid – its neon sign now dark, and the entirety of its glass façade eerily lifeless.

A few days ago, I flew from sunny Hong Kong, where the weather was still in the 70s F (21-24C C), and just two weeks ago, I was on a boat on the way to Lamma, drifting lazily down sandy shores on unlimited glasses of sangria.

All of that seemed eons ago as I found myself homeward bound (temporarily!) during a pandemic.

Going to the Airport

photo of inside of a Hong Kong taxi
en route to the airport in the morning

The journey to the airport in Hong Kong has always been a pleasant one. Hong Kong’s transportation infrastructure is so shiny, so timely, so ruthlessly efficient, that it can take about 30 minutes for me to leave my apartment’s front door and go all the way to the airport. Of course, all of this happens underneath a backdrop of squalling spitting kids and the gentle hum of suitcase wheels on waxed and shined floors, and the forever lines at the check-in counters.

Not so this time. The Airport Express shuttle, the most dependable piece of transportation in all of Hong Kong, now ran dependably fewer times in an hour – every thirty minutes as opposed to its regular twenty. When I lugged my suitcase on at Hong Kong station, I was my car’s lone passenger. I had donned not one, but two face masks – a surgical mask pinched perfectly at the nose, and a cloth one over it. The double-mask action is the only way to go.

Airport express in Hong Kong

an empty Airport Express

But not the STRONGEST way to go – the kindness of a friend had delivered into my possession a face shield – a wide square of plastic that I stretched over my forehead and over my entire face, safe from any stray drops of liquid. I can say that it wasn’t my finest aesthetic moment, but I was beyond caring. I slathered hand sanitizer over my hands – all the way up to my forearms, and waited for the approach to the airport.

The airport was an altogether difference place when the train pulled in. Gone were the shrieking toddlers and the huddles of families. Gone were the lines of ten and twenty people slinking around strategically placed check-in kiosks. The restaurants lining the airport’s terminal entrance were closed. Voices were subdued and hushed. I had never been so aware that I was one of the very, very, few people in Hong Kong choosing to travel during a pandemic.

I watched, in awe (and more than a bit of envy), a line of young men roll up, their entire bodies swathed in white. I wondered how much their hazmat suits had cost, and mentally kicked myself for not having tried harder to acquire one. Half in genuine fear, and half in amusement. My face shield felt half-assed in comparison, but it was what I had to work with.

hazmat suits at the airport
You can’t see my envy in this photo, but I assure you that it is there.

I know the next five minutes actually did take five minutes to pass, but it felt like I’d blinked and I was through the security check. A tired security employee waved me through, and then there I was – rolling through an empty terminal. There were no luxury shops open. The lights were dim. A few restaurants were open, and in front of them were empty tables – every other table was plastered with a sign asking patrons not to sit down in the interest of social distancing.

As I sat in front of the gate, I wanted to laugh-cry at the world that I was living in. My fellow passengers were all masked – some of them wore goggles and face shields. A good handful of them were wearing hazmat suits – mostly white, one in bright turquoise. One lady, bless her, looked like she had completely encased herself in three layers of plastic. Fascinated at this unbothered specimen of confidence, I watched her pull her passport, unperturbed, out of her Prada bag and hand it to the attendant – as cool as anything.

I have to say this: this flight, despite being half full, was one of the most comfortable flights I have ever flown on. This was almost certainly due to the fact that I had gotten a window seat, which I’d read were better to sit in in the era of COVID (link), and there was no one sitting next to me. As soon as the seat belt signs were off, I lay the entirety of my body lengthwise across the seats and snoozed for the rest of the 4 hours.

Narita Airport was similarly deserted. As we walked through hushed hallways, I watched airport workers, all wearing tightly fitted face shields, lean over paperwork. I wondered (without much hope) if the workers in the US would be as diligent about masking and social distancing.

An Altogether Comfortable Flight, Where I Watch a Completely Fascinating and Bizarre Japanese Movie

The second flight was even emptier than the first. To my chagrin, I was seated in the middle of the middle of the plane – and once I realized that my entire section had all but FIVE people sitting in it, I asked if I could be moved to the very last row.

If I said that first flight I had taken was the most comfortable, this one was even more comfortable.

What a deserted flight looks like

Sitting by the window was awesome. Sitting by the window and having the seat next to me be empty was awesome. I ate my enormous supply of gummy bears with relish. There was no one next to me to hear the crinkle of plastic for the one hundredth and sixteenth time and be like “what is with this girl and gummy bears?” and then I would have hated myself the entire flight (but not enough to stop chewing gummy bears). I hope they make color-specific bags of gummy bears, like they do with Skittles and Starbursts. I like the white pineappley ones best (are they pineapple? Can someone confirm?)

I was completely fascinated by a movie I scrolled past on the selection called “Don’t Kiss Me, Kiss Him!” which was complemented by what looked like teenagers in school uniforms.

A promotional poster for this live-action make of an anime.

I am no stranger to the irresistible charms of the Asian high school drama. I have been watching them since I was in high school myself (hello, Boys Over Flowers? I’m still reeling over Jan Di’s decision to choose Gu Jun Pyo over Yoon Ji-hoo, though I can’t say that I would be able to resist Lee Min Ho either).

The only difference, now, however, is that I am in my late-twenties, and no longer in high school. In the privacy of my own home and my own room, I assure you, this would not be an issue. I am not even ashamed to say that I would binge-watch five to ten episodes  in a single sitting of a particularly juicy drama. Ordinarily, a drama can even masquerade as quality television. I could have even been watching Parasite, an Oscar-award-sweeper.

But as soon as an entire horde of Japanese high schoolers began carrying out what I can only explain as a very synchronized form of flailing of the limbs and tossing of the hair that, I realized that there was no way I could have been watching any version of an award-winning movie, ever. Again, I was grateful that there was no one around me to witness what was happening on the screen in front of me.

And then there was the flight attendant. Do you ever see someone who is so pretty it hurts to look at them? I was served dinner on the JAL flight by a masked hostess who was so pretty that I did not want to meet her eyes, lest she find out that I was enamoured of her perfectly tweezed eyebrows and her neatly coiled bun. I, on the other hand, was wearing scratched glasses, and I was acutely aware of the frazzled unwashed mass of baby hairs gathering on either side of my head. She spoke softly to me and smiled, and I instantly became very self-conscious. I wondered if I was attracted to her or if I was feeling the effects of extreme physical inferiority.

By the time I touched down in Boston’s Logan airport, I, for the first time in my life after a 20-hour journey through the skies, felt positively refreshed. I had gotten at least 8 hours of sleep on a 12-hour flight. It could have been worse.

Upon disembarkment, the airport was eerily empty. Not all of the lights were on. We, the small handful of passengers on the flight, walked in single file to customs and immigration, where handed the agent my passport. My other hand held the tightly sealed envelope with my doctor’s note and COVID test. Prior to boarding, I had had to fill out a Massachusetts Travel Form, where I affirmed that I had been tested for COVID-19 prior 72 hours prior to arrival (and thus did not have to quarantine).

I waited to be asked.

Instead, she asked me if I had any fruits or vegetables. Bemused, I said “no,” and she waved me through.

I advanced through the halls uncertainly, wondering if there was another room – another hall – anywhere – where someone would ask about my health, or make me sign a health declaration. A temperature check. Anything.

Welcome home?

Instead, I suddenly found myself in baggage claim.

Welcome home, I guess.

A Welcome Home Without Much Fanfare

By the time I had lugged myself to one of the only hotels in my parents’ sleepy Massachusetts suburb, I had shaken some of the bemusement off. But not all. The curt receptionist in front of me was wearing her mask underneath her nose. She asked me where I was traveling from. I said, “Hong Kong.” She looked uncertain. Then she asked me to produce my negative COVID test.

Relieved that I hadn’t paid over 200 USD for a test (and a letter!) for nothing, I placed it on the desk and slowly backed away again.

“We try to keep as safe as possible here,” she informed me, motioning to the signs asking for social distancing around her.

I stared at the mask hanging around just below her nostrils. “I can see that,” I said.

When I got back to my room, I peeled off my gloves and took a deep breath. For the twentieth time since I’d woken from my bed in Hong Kong 24 hours earlier, I washed my hands in hot soap and water.

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Category: Asia, Hong Kong, Longform, Musings, North America, Personal Life, United States of AmericaTag: coronavirus, covid-19, north america, pandemic, personal life, travel

Previous Post: «a woman doing yoga The COVID Chronicles: I Used to Think I Hated Yoga. Until I Didn’t.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Phil R

    December 20, 2020 at 2:48 pm

    Different worlds in even just the airport comparison between East and West! Great article here, and great insight to overseas travel during a pandemic! I’m still too nervous to try it out!

    Reply
    • Lily Wu

      December 21, 2020 at 6:32 am

      Thanks Phil! It was actually insane – I’m gonna be just as cautious going back to Hong Kong in February…definitely don’t advise unless in emergencies….

      Reply
  2. Allie

    December 20, 2020 at 9:27 am

    Glad you made it safe! Traveling can be crazy right now, but it sounds like you were cautious!

    Reply
    • Lily Wu

      December 21, 2020 at 6:32 am

      Aw thank you Allie…I’m so glad too! I was MEGA cautious, oh my goodness. Really went the entire mile (though I didn’t get the hazmat suits!).

      Reply

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A girl in Boston Common
Boston Common. Boston, MA. November 2019.

Hi, I’m Lily!

I’m a Boston-raised, Hong Kong-based writer, traveler, and content creator.

My site is about sharing stories relating to millennial travel, travel blogging, Asian diasporic identity, and Hong Kong living.

📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Lion Rock) ⁣ This was t 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Lion Rock) ⁣ This was the second time I’ve hiked to Lion Rock in Kowloon (the first time being over 3 years ago), and I still love the little Lego-pieces of HK’s buildings as far as the eye can see! ⁣ I’m not jn Hong Kong at the moment, but I’ve been telling my family here in the US that it isn’t all dense concrete and gray cityscapes, a huge amount of HK is literally just lush tropical wilderness. ⁣ Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their holidays! My family has never been big holiday people (don’t think they place a lot of emphasis or value on atmosphere), but we still got a little cat-proof tree tree at my insistence to spruce it up a bit. ⁣ ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #hongkongphotography #hongkongphotographer #cathaycreators #hikinginhongkong #hongkonghiking #hkhikes #hongkonghikes #sheisfromhk #sheisnotlost #lionrockhike #lionsrock #hk_iger #travelgirlsgo #livetoexplore #hongkonglife #hongkonginsta #hongkongig #explorehongkong #discoverhongkong #awesomehongkong #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #hongkongblogger #damestravel #traveldames #thedreamytravel #girlsvsglobe #girlsborntravel
📍Massachusetts (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ What’s th 📍Massachusetts (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been to? ⁣ Can you smell how crisp the air is? It was also bone-shatteringly cold - 🥶 30 F (just below 0 C) feels just as fresh and stingy on my face as I remember! There are ZERO “Instagram spots” in the classical sense here - so you’ve got to get creative with Mother Nature! ⁣ Life has been funny lately. I’ve been in the USA for about 2.5 weeks now and I’ve finally settled into a rhythm and a routine. Part of that routine involves 3-4x weekly walks with my parents in a nearby “reservation” - big swathes of land with hiking trails, ponds, and lakes. I’m wearing leggings underneath jeans here, and could STILL feel the sharpness of cold air penetrating all the way through to my skin. ⁣ I’ve traded skyscrapers and haze for lakes and sunsets, and right now, feel super content. ⁣ ⁣ #ilovenengland #houghtonspond #newenglandsunsets #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #newenglandphotographer #newenglandphotography #newenglandliving #newenglandlife #newengland_igers #newenglandfall #newenglandblogger #sheisnotlost #travelgirlshub #damestravel #dametraveler #sheisfromhk #agameoftones #cathaycreators #newenglandpictures #newenglander #ilovemassachusetts #masachusettsphotographer #massachusettsoutdoors #bluehillsreservation #hikingboston #newenglandhikes #massachusettslife #massachusettsmade #naturalmassachusetts
📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ This photo was 📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ This photo was taken last year in one of my favorite places in Boston, the Boston Public Library (where my dad still works!). ⁣ If I get my negative COVID result today, I’m finally out of my self-imposed quarantine! It won’t bring me much freedom, but I’m excited to meet the two new cats in the house and to finally be able to make and serve my own meals. Hope everyone is having a good week! ⁣ ⁣ #iloveboston #bostonpubliclibrary #beantown #newenglandphotographer #newenglandphotography #bostonma #bostonblogger #bostonbloggers #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #tasteintravel #instatravel #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #visualwanderlust #femmetravel #girlslovetravel #dametraveler #wearetravelgirls #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #girlsborntotravel #theglobewanderer #traveldiary #travelphotography #bostonphotography
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ⁣ This summer, I met so 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ⁣ This summer, I met so many wonderful friends and formed exciting and fun friendships - as a result, I ended up on boats WAY more than any other HK summer, and still took place well into October. Now that I’m in cloudy and rainy and cold New England, I’m absolutely thinking about these sunny days, but being around my family is just as amazing. ⁣ I feel like I have so many books to read, things to write, yoga poses to learn, dishes to cook. My stories won’t be as fun as they are usually (a lot less booze and boats and a lot more books and cats) but I hope you guys will stick with me over these next few months! ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #cathaycreators #outonthewater #imonaboat #sheisfromhk #hk_igers #hongkonginstagram #hongkongphotography #hongkongphotographer #hongkongig #hongkonglife #theprettycities #travelgirldiary #travelgirlsofficial #travelgirlscollective #travelgirlsgetaways #travelgirldiaries #travelgirlsvibe #explorehongkong #discoverhongkong #hongkongcity #hongkongview #hongkongharbour #exploreasia #travelgirlsgo #girlswhotravel #lifeinhongkong #hongkonglife #bostonbloggers
📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ I flew from Hon 📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ I flew from Hong Kong and landed in Boston on Sunday night, after sitting on two very, very, under capacity flights. I posted a lengthy few stories about my flight experience from HK, but the entire thing was wrapped in my bafflement and dumbfoundedness that not a single soul asked me about anything COVID related once I landed in the country. There were no temperature checks. No questions. No requests to see my signed doctor’s form stating that I was negative for the coronavirus. ⁣ At any other time, I would’ve loved to stroll the streets of Boston proper again (like this shot of me in Beacon Hill at exactly this time last year), meeting with childhood friends (miss you all so much and wish I could eat and drink with you), while enjoying my time with family. But today, I’ll be staying away and I really hope that the US gets its shit together soon. ⁣ #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #iloveboston #newenglandphotos #massachusetts #beantown #beaconhill #acornstreet #bostonpride #bostonliving #bostonian #bostonphotographer #ilovenewengland #newenglandliving #newenglandlife #newenglandphotographer #newengland_igers #newenglandstyle #newenglandfall #massachusetts_igers #massachusettsphotography #massachusettsphotographer #iloveautumn #autumninnewengland #autumninboston #fallfoliage #foliagelove #foliageoutdoors #newenglandpictures #newenglander via @preview.app
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Sai Ying Pun) ⁣ Here’ 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Sai Ying Pun) ⁣ Here’s a colorful photo of Hong Kong during the best ever weather - breezy and cool - perfect for outdoor activity! ⁣ In other news, I will be going home to Boston soon to see my family for a while and am absolutely terrified. After having lived in Hong Kong, with very few transmissions of COVID a day, I can’t imagine going back to a place (albeit my hometown) where people aren’t taking things seriously. ⁣ Anyone who has been traveling in or through the US, or even living there, your advice is GREATLY appreciated! I would live with my two parents, and can’t take any chances - none at all. ⁣ ⁣ #homekong #ilovehongkong #hongkongers #hongkongig #saiyingpun #artlane #travelbloggers #bostonbloggers #urbanartphotography #urbanartwork #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #visualwanderlust #welivetoexplore #adventurethatislife #travelgirlsgo #theprettycities #theprettyplaces #thewanderess #urbanartworld #adventurevisuals #liveauthentic #finditliveit #ilovetravel #aroundtheworldpix #agameoftones #cathaycreators
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (North Point) ⁣ City vib 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (North Point) ⁣ City vibes and things ~ plus, I voted this week! 🇺🇸 I read somewhere that Hong Kong’s tourism arrivals have fallen 99.7 % since last September. With the protests and now coronavirus, I’ve almost completely forgotten what the city was like when I moved here for the first time in 2017 at 23, excited and bright-eyes (and scared to go to a local restaurant for fear of being made fun of for my godawful Cantonese). ⁣ I’ve upgraded the Cantonese to reasonably conversational/survival level, but I’m loving the city more and more the longer I stay. ⁣ Have you ever lived abroad? What’s one thing that surprised you about your new city? ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #journeyofgirls #northpoint #hk_igdaily #awesomehongkong #hongkongphotography #discoverhongkong #explorehongkong #hongkongtrams #eggwaffles #urbanphotography #travelgirlsgo #dametravelers #travelgirlsdiary #theprettycities #passportexpress #tasteintravel #instatravel #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #visualwanderlust #femmetravel #girlslovetravel #wearetravelgirls #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #girlsborntotravel #theglobewanderer
📍USA 🇺🇸 (Boston, MA) ⁣ Last week, my w 📍USA 🇺🇸 (Boston, MA) ⁣ Last week, my work gave me the option of going home to see my family. I texted my mom, way too excited to tell her the news, only to get a “dont come, it is not safe here now.” I thought about the precautions I’d take as soon as I stepped foot onto an airplane (i am totally a hazmat suit/face shield/sanitize everything kind of girl), and was seized with a kind of uncertain paranoia about it all. I wouldn’t see my friends, probably - just my family. I’d do quarantine for 2 weeks there, and 2 weeks again back in Hong Kong. ⁣ I miss my family so much and can’t believe my last visit to them to my hometown, Boston, was last November. Here in Hong Kong we live in a relatively safe bubble, where life trudges on gingerly but stably. Schools are open, I go into the office, we can dine out. Cases remain in the single digits per day. ⁣ Would you go from a decidedly safer place (from a COVID perspective) to one decidedly not? Have you traveled? Were you nervous and what precautions did you take? ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #bostonmassachusetts #usaroadtrip #beantown #bostonblogger #bostonbloggers #bostonphotographer #boston_igers #bostonpubliclibrary #bostongram #bostoncommon #bostonphotography #exploreboston #iloveboston #journeysofgirls #librariesofinstagram #bostonlife #copleylibrary #newengland_igers #newenglandarchitecture #newenglandliving #wearetravelgirls #damestravel #travelgirlsgo #theprettycities #travelgirldiary #travelgirlsofficial #travelgirlsdiary #hongkongbloggers #hongkonggirl #sheisfromhk
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Ma On Shan) ⁣ Hungover 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Ma On Shan) ⁣ Hungover as hell, but at least the views are nice! ⁣ On my way to the hike this morning via several throttling and bumpy car rides, I ducked into the bathroom and pondered whether a good little puke would make me feel better. I didn’t end up doing it, but instead felt so much better after getting the blood flow going and sweating out the toxins (but that’s probably a placebo and all in my head - but hey if it works!). ⁣ My go-to fix for hangovers is usually Advil, pho, and exercise. What’s yours? ⁣ ⁣ #maonshan #hongkonghiking #awesomehongkong #ilovehongkong #homekong #saikung #hongkongig #hkigdaily #dametravelers #journeysofgirls #theprettycities #maonshancountrypark #ilovehiking #hongkongviews #cathaycreators #hkviews #lifeinhongkong #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #visualwanderlust #welivetoexplore #adventurethatislife #adventurevisuals #finditliveit #aroundtheworldpix #theglobewanderer #travelogue
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📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Lion Rock) ⁣ This was t 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Lion Rock) ⁣ This was the second time I’ve hiked to Lion Rock in Kowloon (the first time being over 3 years ago), and I still love the little Lego-pieces of HK’s buildings as far as the eye can see! ⁣ I’m not jn Hong Kong at the moment, but I’ve been telling my family here in the US that it isn’t all dense concrete and gray cityscapes, a huge amount of HK is literally just lush tropical wilderness. ⁣ Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their holidays! My family has never been big holiday people (don’t think they place a lot of emphasis or value on atmosphere), but we still got a little cat-proof tree tree at my insistence to spruce it up a bit. ⁣ ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #hongkongphotography #hongkongphotographer #cathaycreators #hikinginhongkong #hongkonghiking #hkhikes #hongkonghikes #sheisfromhk #sheisnotlost #lionrockhike #lionsrock #hk_iger #travelgirlsgo #livetoexplore #hongkonglife #hongkonginsta #hongkongig #explorehongkong #discoverhongkong #awesomehongkong #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #hongkongblogger #damestravel #traveldames #thedreamytravel #girlsvsglobe #girlsborntravel
📍Massachusetts (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ What’s th 📍Massachusetts (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been to? ⁣ Can you smell how crisp the air is? It was also bone-shatteringly cold - 🥶 30 F (just below 0 C) feels just as fresh and stingy on my face as I remember! There are ZERO “Instagram spots” in the classical sense here - so you’ve got to get creative with Mother Nature! ⁣ Life has been funny lately. I’ve been in the USA for about 2.5 weeks now and I’ve finally settled into a rhythm and a routine. Part of that routine involves 3-4x weekly walks with my parents in a nearby “reservation” - big swathes of land with hiking trails, ponds, and lakes. I’m wearing leggings underneath jeans here, and could STILL feel the sharpness of cold air penetrating all the way through to my skin. ⁣ I’ve traded skyscrapers and haze for lakes and sunsets, and right now, feel super content. ⁣ ⁣ #ilovenengland #houghtonspond #newenglandsunsets #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #newenglandphotographer #newenglandphotography #newenglandliving #newenglandlife #newengland_igers #newenglandfall #newenglandblogger #sheisnotlost #travelgirlshub #damestravel #dametraveler #sheisfromhk #agameoftones #cathaycreators #newenglandpictures #newenglander #ilovemassachusetts #masachusettsphotographer #massachusettsoutdoors #bluehillsreservation #hikingboston #newenglandhikes #massachusettslife #massachusettsmade #naturalmassachusetts
📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ This photo was 📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ This photo was taken last year in one of my favorite places in Boston, the Boston Public Library (where my dad still works!). ⁣ If I get my negative COVID result today, I’m finally out of my self-imposed quarantine! It won’t bring me much freedom, but I’m excited to meet the two new cats in the house and to finally be able to make and serve my own meals. Hope everyone is having a good week! ⁣ ⁣ #iloveboston #bostonpubliclibrary #beantown #newenglandphotographer #newenglandphotography #bostonma #bostonblogger #bostonbloggers #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #tasteintravel #instatravel #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #visualwanderlust #femmetravel #girlslovetravel #dametraveler #wearetravelgirls #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #girlsborntotravel #theglobewanderer #traveldiary #travelphotography #bostonphotography
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ⁣ This summer, I met so 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 ⁣ This summer, I met so many wonderful friends and formed exciting and fun friendships - as a result, I ended up on boats WAY more than any other HK summer, and still took place well into October. Now that I’m in cloudy and rainy and cold New England, I’m absolutely thinking about these sunny days, but being around my family is just as amazing. ⁣ I feel like I have so many books to read, things to write, yoga poses to learn, dishes to cook. My stories won’t be as fun as they are usually (a lot less booze and boats and a lot more books and cats) but I hope you guys will stick with me over these next few months! ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #cathaycreators #outonthewater #imonaboat #sheisfromhk #hk_igers #hongkonginstagram #hongkongphotography #hongkongphotographer #hongkongig #hongkonglife #theprettycities #travelgirldiary #travelgirlsofficial #travelgirlscollective #travelgirlsgetaways #travelgirldiaries #travelgirlsvibe #explorehongkong #discoverhongkong #hongkongcity #hongkongview #hongkongharbour #exploreasia #travelgirlsgo #girlswhotravel #lifeinhongkong #hongkonglife #bostonbloggers
📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ I flew from Hon 📍Boston, MA (USA) 🇺🇸 ⁣ I flew from Hong Kong and landed in Boston on Sunday night, after sitting on two very, very, under capacity flights. I posted a lengthy few stories about my flight experience from HK, but the entire thing was wrapped in my bafflement and dumbfoundedness that not a single soul asked me about anything COVID related once I landed in the country. There were no temperature checks. No questions. No requests to see my signed doctor’s form stating that I was negative for the coronavirus. ⁣ At any other time, I would’ve loved to stroll the streets of Boston proper again (like this shot of me in Beacon Hill at exactly this time last year), meeting with childhood friends (miss you all so much and wish I could eat and drink with you), while enjoying my time with family. But today, I’ll be staying away and I really hope that the US gets its shit together soon. ⁣ #bostonbloggers #bostonblogger #iloveboston #newenglandphotos #massachusetts #beantown #beaconhill #acornstreet #bostonpride #bostonliving #bostonian #bostonphotographer #ilovenewengland #newenglandliving #newenglandlife #newenglandphotographer #newengland_igers #newenglandstyle #newenglandfall #massachusetts_igers #massachusettsphotography #massachusettsphotographer #iloveautumn #autumninnewengland #autumninboston #fallfoliage #foliagelove #foliageoutdoors #newenglandpictures #newenglander via @preview.app
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Sai Ying Pun) ⁣ Here’ 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (Sai Ying Pun) ⁣ Here’s a colorful photo of Hong Kong during the best ever weather - breezy and cool - perfect for outdoor activity! ⁣ In other news, I will be going home to Boston soon to see my family for a while and am absolutely terrified. After having lived in Hong Kong, with very few transmissions of COVID a day, I can’t imagine going back to a place (albeit my hometown) where people aren’t taking things seriously. ⁣ Anyone who has been traveling in or through the US, or even living there, your advice is GREATLY appreciated! I would live with my two parents, and can’t take any chances - none at all. ⁣ ⁣ #homekong #ilovehongkong #hongkongers #hongkongig #saiyingpun #artlane #travelbloggers #bostonbloggers #urbanartphotography #urbanartwork #lifeofadventure #alwaysgo #wanderfolk #letsgosomewhere #exploreeverywhere #visualwanderlust #welivetoexplore #adventurethatislife #travelgirlsgo #theprettycities #theprettyplaces #thewanderess #urbanartworld #adventurevisuals #liveauthentic #finditliveit #ilovetravel #aroundtheworldpix #agameoftones #cathaycreators
📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (North Point) ⁣ City vib 📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 (North Point) ⁣ City vibes and things ~ plus, I voted this week! 🇺🇸 I read somewhere that Hong Kong’s tourism arrivals have fallen 99.7 % since last September. With the protests and now coronavirus, I’ve almost completely forgotten what the city was like when I moved here for the first time in 2017 at 23, excited and bright-eyes (and scared to go to a local restaurant for fear of being made fun of for my godawful Cantonese). ⁣ I’ve upgraded the Cantonese to reasonably conversational/survival level, but I’m loving the city more and more the longer I stay. ⁣ Have you ever lived abroad? What’s one thing that surprised you about your new city? ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #ilovehongkong #homekong #journeyofgirls #northpoint #hk_igdaily #awesomehongkong #hongkongphotography #discoverhongkong #explorehongkong #hongkongtrams #eggwaffles #urbanphotography #travelgirlsgo #dametravelers #travelgirlsdiary #theprettycities #passportexpress #tasteintravel #instatravel #stayandwander #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #visualwanderlust #femmetravel #girlslovetravel #wearetravelgirls #ladiesgoneglobal #sheexplores #girlsborntotravel #theglobewanderer
📍USA 🇺🇸 (Boston, MA) ⁣ Last week, my w 📍USA 🇺🇸 (Boston, MA) ⁣ Last week, my work gave me the option of going home to see my family. I texted my mom, way too excited to tell her the news, only to get a “dont come, it is not safe here now.” I thought about the precautions I’d take as soon as I stepped foot onto an airplane (i am totally a hazmat suit/face shield/sanitize everything kind of girl), and was seized with a kind of uncertain paranoia about it all. I wouldn’t see my friends, probably - just my family. I’d do quarantine for 2 weeks there, and 2 weeks again back in Hong Kong. ⁣ I miss my family so much and can’t believe my last visit to them to my hometown, Boston, was last November. Here in Hong Kong we live in a relatively safe bubble, where life trudges on gingerly but stably. Schools are open, I go into the office, we can dine out. Cases remain in the single digits per day. ⁣ Would you go from a decidedly safer place (from a COVID perspective) to one decidedly not? Have you traveled? Were you nervous and what precautions did you take? ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #bostonmassachusetts #usaroadtrip #beantown #bostonblogger #bostonbloggers #bostonphotographer #boston_igers #bostonpubliclibrary #bostongram #bostoncommon #bostonphotography #exploreboston #iloveboston #journeysofgirls #librariesofinstagram #bostonlife #copleylibrary #newengland_igers #newenglandarchitecture #newenglandliving #wearetravelgirls #damestravel #travelgirlsgo #theprettycities #travelgirldiary #travelgirlsofficial #travelgirlsdiary #hongkongbloggers #hongkonggirl #sheisfromhk
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