Whoah! The Year of the Rat was a doozy! Both Kevin and I are rats too, so we couldn’t help but feel the zodiac weight of the world that was last year. I remember explaining to Kevin that when it’s your year, it can also be one of difficulty and hardship–hence the reason many believers in the Chinese Zodiac wear a piece of red clothing all year round. The red is auspicious and can guard one’s year. Well, I don’t think any color, talisman, or god out there could have prepared any of us for the past year we’ve all had!
We have been very lucky here in Hong Kong… we’ve never experienced a full lockdown. Although, we have had our share of worry, instability, and inconveniences. We are now waiting for things to open up again–restaurants only take two per table and close at 6 pm. All salons and bars are closed as well as the beaches, gyms, and any sports facilities. Plus, we’ve had had our share of school closures only to be opened up again to then be closed. Talk about a yo-yo year! Now we’re just hoping that Hong Kong soon starts vaccinating its citizens… The moment it’s available, we’ll all be signing up!
Despite the closures and safety precautions, we’ve been able to make it work. We go out for lunch rather than dinner. Hiking trails have always remained open, and there is no shortage of those. Public transport is also available, so the city is always wide open to the public. Amazingly our cases continue to remain so low with an average of 30 cases a day. However, travel still remains nonexistent unless one wants to embrace the 3 week quarantine in a hotel room. That would be a hard no from me! I can’t imagine sharing a hotel room with Kevin for 21 days; he would go nuts!!
A year ago this time, the virus was just hitting. I hustled the family off to Thailand. I had a feeling it would be our last trip for a while and whaddya know? I was right. Our first trip will be this summer, June 1st when we head out on a new adventure, but I’ll leave you hanging with that and tell you more later…!
The Year of the OX! Happy Chinese New Year!
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