So today I was supposed to be landing in Laos for a week-long writing retreat to workshop my new manuscript. But along with everyone else, 2020 has not been what we expected. So I’m still in Chicago, working on notes for the now-online writing workshop from Authors At Large that will start later this week.
It’s been fun reading the other submissions and I’m just as excited to see how those turn out as I am with my own pages. One reminisced about living abroad 20 years ago and tracing those old steps through familiar neighborhoods.
This year I was planning my annual trip to Hong Kong for my grad school department’s 50th anniversary. But I can’t see being able to travel anywhere in 2020. I can still trace familiar neighborhoods in my sleep.
Tokwawan in Kowloon is one of those neighborhoods I spent a lot of time in when I lived in Hong Kong. It will no doubt change–like everywhere else–because of gentrification, but as of now it still has the same flavor I knew from the 90s.
Round cornered buildings are special in Hong Kong. Other cities have them, too, but they make the most of limited space in Hong Kong.
People may not think of green spaces when they think of Hong Kong, but there is more than one would think. In fact, most of the territory (the 400+ islands) is green.
I don’t know when I’ll get back to Hong Kong, but until then I have all these memories.
they are also dismantling all the “democratic signs ” – I rang a dear chinese friend last night in HK and she said “don’t worry everything is fine as long as you don’t break the law” what law was she talking about I wonder? a brave face or naive??
the last time I was back in ‘old HK’ was 1985! – going back now I think would be somewhat confusing and melancholic. I think I only know less that an handful of people now and if I did go back and they gave me a tour I would be asking the proverbial question over and over again ” where has xxxxx gone?”
going back at all would probably be a lonely and sad experience. The HK I knew is locked inside my head but outside they’ve demolished it in the frantic urge for the almighty dollar!