The Life of Sophia Ysabel

Despite the duration of the whole journey to Macau, China being one hour away, that boat ride really took us out, because when we took a seat and the next thing I knew, I'd apparently dozed off and was no longer at Hongkong, but at Macau. After disembarking the seacraft, my family and I collectively decided that coincidently, all of us were craving one sweet drink in particular. Chewy, refreshing boba tea. But that also meant getting the real deal. We'd actually get to try authentic boba tea freshly made here in Macau.  We take a seat after finalising the restaurant we'd eat in as the electric fan blesses us with precious air.  "I'm dying right now..." I say.  "Same." Mum moans. Since we were all parched, mouth-watering while daydreaming of the noodles that'd be served to us soon, the waiting time was 10 times more excruciating than it already was.  And finally, Tita Pretty picks up our drink, and places it in front of me. Eagerly, I snatch the s...

As much as I really want to savour this food, time is not my friend.  Well, it's either time isn't being exactly cooperative or our family is not the best at being on time, because as of now, we're one hour late to go to the sea-themed amusement park called Ocean Park, slurping on spicy traditional Chinese noodles.  "Sophia? How late are we?" Tita Pretty asks me. I catch a quick glance at my watch. "Uh... 1 hour and a half late."  There's this silence that even without anybody uttering a single word, I can tell that everyone is getting concerned by how much limited time we have. "I think we should head to the train station now."  I quickly slurp the remains of my bowl of noodles, and have just one goal in mind, nothing else.  We must get on that train. * Hauling the stroller with a hyper toddler on it, Mamu remarks how the wind and its currents is being especially strong today. "Sophia, aren't you c-cold?? It's so strong."...

Tentatively, I slowly began to open my eyes after a good night's rest by the sound of a possibly too hyper toddler's giggles. "Oh, Sophia's awake. Mayap a abak pu!*" Mamu, my always cheerful grandma, greeted me. "Mayap a abak pu, Mamu..." I murmured groggily, my body heavy and eyes narrowed, still adjusting to the sudden brightness. I would've at least tried to match my grandma's jolly tone to my greeting, but the usual morning grogginess weighs me down, and affected my tone of words.  If everyone is in a good mood, then I have to be too, I decided. Flashing a smile to my uncle and greeting him a brief "good morning!", I strode toward the bathroom, towel and attire in hand. Disneyland trip with my family, here we go!! * As a girl who'd been living in New Zealand for 5 and a bit years, I never anticipated that I would be hit with a ferocious bone-chilling thrust of breeze when the automatic doors ushered me outside into the busy stre...

Previously on " Going to Hongkong Disneyland for a family trip .𖥔 ݁ ˖"... "Great. What are we gonna do for the next 3 hours now?" I dejectedly say. "Well, we could find the nearest Jollibee..." Mum mindlessly states while searching for the nearest Jollibee in Google Maps, and there's a brief moment of silence. She looks stern as her index fingers do a series of scrolling before exclaiming "THERE'S ONE 3 MINUTES AWAY." "Really?? WHERE?!"  "It's in Tsuen Wan West... exactly where we are right now." We both stare at each other, then without a moment to waste, starving and desperate, head to the Jollibee. The automatic sliding doors move out of the way to reveal frigid air, sending goosebumps down my whole body. A step outside and we're both crossing our arms, shivering. But no pain no gain. We are hungry. We are freezing. But we  must  push through. So we power on through the cold, which feels like we're insi...