Trip

Bulbit. Bulbit. The sound was coming from the forest on Victoria Peak.

It's a cheerful song from red-whiskered bulbul.

I was up there with my wife after skiving off work today. A peaceful and leisure walk on a Wednesday afternoon.

We've been there dozens of times before. The oh-so-picturesque footpath and the songbirds were all too familiar. The main difference from our usual hikes was that we were not bringing our daughter this time.

Want to hear the reason Jasmine wasn't with us? She has joined her school's cultural study tour to Zhuhai, China.

And to us, the entirety of my daughter's tour feels like an epic adventure to faraway lands like Kilimanjaro. Part of me was relieved the moment had finally arrived: I wanted my daughter to be independent and take care of her valise. Another part could think of nothing worse: I didn't know if she could sleep well and get up by her alarm in the morning, and the blahs.

Thankfully, Zhuhai is a matter of two hours from our hometown. All she needs is self-confidence; I should not worry. Well, rationality is one thing, parental anxiety quite another.