My love of travel and exploration is deep-rooted because it runs in my blood. My mother you see, for as long as I can remember, also has this burning desire to see the world.
My mum’s story is a fascinating one. With the communist regime raging, she was smuggled across the border from Canton (now Guangzhou) to Hong Kong by her dad, leaving behind her mother who she never saw again. And she eventually came to the UK after my granddad moved here to make a better life for himself and his family.
Most of her school days were taken up by working hard in my grandfather’s takeaway shop in Tottenham. She had big dreams which were muted by the daily grinds of shop life and duty to her family. So, when she turned 17, she defiantly left home with little more than the clothes on her back.
Because she’s always had to make her own way in life and work hard for every single luxury, travel has always been her reward. My dad, I hasten to add, never complains when he has to accompany her gallivanting around the world. In fact, it’s my mum’s influence that has also given him a zest for globetrotting.
It’s this strength of character and this desire to explore and experience new cultures that are so prominent in me and, as I grow older, I realise I’m a lot like my mum.
Our Childhood Holiday Memories
We didn’t have tons of money while I was growing up but my parents always made sure we had a holiday once a year – a mix of the usual package holidays to sunny climes such as Spain, Mallorca and Greece. We’d have a blast building sand castles and lying on lilos. 
Once, in Turkey, my dad and I drifted out to sea because we’d both fallen asleep on one. My mum nearly called the coastguard! But dad managed to paddle us all the way back to shore.
I remember once when we went orange picking in Portugal we weren’t dressed properly for the outing. My mum was mortified when my sister and I ruined our new white shoes from the red soil. 
When I was aged 10, my parents had saved up for several years in order to take us to Florida and Disney World. I was old enough to still remember a lot of that exciting holiday. It was filled with adventure and awe – a magical experience which I want to create for my Monkey, too.
My mum and sister aren’t big fans of rides and roller coasters. So it was left to my poor dad, who doesn’t like them much either, to accompany me! I can still recall his white knuckles and deep breaths all the while trying to convince me he wasn’t scared! I still, to this day, have the autograph book which was signed by all the Disney characters and Disney World currency. Check out my bum-bag! They were all the rage back then…
We also got to go to Hong Kong on several occasions to meet family and stay at my paternal grandfather’s house which is situated in a small village in the town of Shatin. I remember the first time we went, how astonished I was to see where my dad grew up – he showed us where he used to go fishing on a lake right outside the house, but it’s now a mass of concrete and motorways.
My parents would take us to the markets, we’d suck sugar cane from street sellers, which my parents did as children; I’d watch as my parents paid their respects to their ancestors by going to a public columbarium (think a giant car park with lots of slots filled with dead people’s ashes); and they showed us the sights – things they hadn’t seen in decades. It was a cultural shock but also emotional – it was good to identify with my roots and my culture, and learn about my parent’s childhoods.
The holidays that I remember most vividly, however, are the ones around the UK – day trips to Brighton, and week-long stays in Cornwall, Devon and the Isle of Wight. We had so much fun, playing mini-golf and pool, running about the place, eating fish and chips and tons of ice cream! It never bothered my sister and I that we weren’t abroad – we were still away and that was exciting enough!
Looking back at our holiday snaps – and there are a lot of them – it’s clear to see, I am most definitely my mother’s daughter. It’s because of her I’ve got to see so many famous sights and enjoy once-in-the-lifetime experiences such as riding a camel with the Great Pyramids as the backdrop, getting to walk along the Great Wall of China and riding the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.
So I’d like to thank you, mum, for shaping the way I look at the world. You’ve given me some amazing memories and I will forever be grateful.
But more importantly, thank you for instilling in me a passion which I can pass on to my son – so that he can also explore, learn, laugh and see –  and perhaps one day embark on his own life-changing journey around the world…
Such a lovely post Ting! Love reading about all your adventures and it’s so great to see you had such an inspiring mum 🙂 love the pics! Florida is our destination for next summer. 🙂
Thanks so much. Oh planning next year already?! Of course you are!
Such an amazing story, Ting! I really enjoyed reading it, and get to know you a bit better. Seems like you had a happy childhood, with many nice trips with your lovley family. I am happy you can pass what your mother passed to you, to Monkey as well 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it Hanne. I did have a happy childhood, and I know I’m very lucky!
This is such a lovely tribute to your mom…beautifully written..loved seeing the old photographs and childhood memories..I have the same growing up with my parents as we had travelled a lot when I was young. I look forward to going to Bangladesh next year and scanning these pictures and perhaps write about some of the trips if I am inspired. Your post is very touching 🙂
Thank you Samiya, that’s nice of you to say. Oh I’ll look forward to reading about your trip to Bangladesh. Looking at old photos is such a nice thing to do. We should do it more often!
Your mum’s story is wonderful – such an interesting background. How nice that she had the travel bug too!!
Thanks Joy, it definitely runs in the family!
This is a lovely post, full of happy memories. I’m glad you shared it with us. It’s always nice to see old pictures, I quite like them. It’s full of “history” !
Oh I’m that same. Gotta love old photos. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Wow, Ting, what an amazing story! I keep thinking about how your mother never saw her mother again, and what that must have created for your own bond. I grew up with parents who loved to travel as well..definately contributed to my future wanderlust..hopefully to be passed down for generations!
Only recently did my mum’s mother find her. They’ve been in touch via email. She has a whole new family! I definitely think parents pass on their passions to their children even if it’s subconsciously 🙂
Oh what a lovely post, your mum sounds totally amazing!! Am loving the vintage holiday pics too! xx
Thanks lovely. It was fun going through the albums. I was there all day! xx
I inherited the travel bug from my parents as well. My mum is more travel savvy since she traveled a lot with her parents as a kid (domestically I should add), but also had relatives abroad and that’s how we started trips to Europe. To this day she has traveled farther than me (Australia), but then again I made it to California so I’m getting pretty close!!
I think that’s the key, start off young and you’ll always have a sense if adventure
What a gorgeous post – I’ve loved looking at the photo’s and reading your memories. You may have just inspired me to write a similar post myself!
Oh yes, do. Can’t wait to read it!
Your mum’s story is so inspiring, it must have been so tough for her to leave her mum, and reading through the comments I see she’s recently found her again, which is amazing. I also had travelling parents, and my mum didn’t see her mum for 10 years and then again 10 years when she first left Australia because she just couldn’t afford the trip home. I realise that’s nothing compared to your mum but it’s still a long time to go without seeing your mum. We’re so lucky that in relative terms the cost of travel has come down so much. I’ve travelled since I was born and I have definitely passed the bug on to my kids who are 10 and 15 now and love travelling. I love your olld photos, it’s such fun looking through old albums isn’t it.
Thanks Phoebe. I definitely think you pass on the travel bug to your kids and I’m glad you’ve proved me right! I think the thought of not seeing my mum for 10 years would be awful how sad for your mum too.
Love this! It is so exciting to watch the seed of a travel bug grow in our children – your mother must be very proud!
Aww I think she is!
It’s hardly surprising that you picked up a love of travel from a young age! Your mum sounds amazing x
She’s pretty special but more so now I’m a mum! x
Such a beautiful post and tribute to your mum 🙂 Likewise, travel is in my family genes too, thanks to my father! My parents – dad will be 78 in a few weeks and mom is 68 – and they are still travelling! They were in Germany a month ago. Does your mum still travel, and do you get the chance to travel with her again now?
Oh yes she definitely still travels! She was in Vietnam not that long ago! I haven’t been with her for awhile but it’s definitely on the cards. Your parents sound fabulous! I love how you can never be too young or too old to travel!
I LOVE this post. It is both beautifully written, and very inspiring. No wonder you’ve got the travel bug with such a fantastic mother!
Thanks Maria x
This is such a lovely post it makes me want to get out the old snaps from my childhood days..!! I can remember I was amazed by the catcus on one holiday to Spain (I think) as they were the size of footballs. Something I still remember when I see them in the glass house at Wisley. Such formulate years that really do shape us 🙂 xx #Mondayescapes.
I love how a holiday memory about cactuses has remained with you! That’s why they’re so special xx
I really enjoyed reading this-such a lovely post. What a wonderfully inspiring mum (and dad) to install a love for adventure in you 🙂
Thank you 🙂 It was lovely to write and remember our trips
What an amazing & interesting story. Your mum is an amazing woman. It must have been so hard for her growing up without her mum but it sounds like she has an fantastic outlook on life and travel. Thanks for sharing your childhood memories. I love the story about you & your dad drifting off to sea on a lido! Hilarious (although maybe not for your mum at the time). Monkey is going to have tons of tales to add to yours. #mondayescapes
Thanks Elizabeth, mum is fab and I appreciate it more now I’m a mum. I hope Monkey becomes a travel lover too, I don’t think he really has a choice! X
How wonderful! It’s so nice learning about people’s histories and I’m glad your mother was able to show you so many beautiful places. My mother never went anywhere – my wanderlust was 100% self generated. 🙂
That’s brilliant too! I suppose that had the opposite effect, so you wanted to explore ASAP!
An amazing story – and clearly a remarkable lady. Lovely to see your family holiday snaps – thanks for hosting #mondayescapes
Thanks Stephanie, I’m glad you’re enjoying it
What an amazing story – and so lovely that your mum has not only got to indulge her passion but pass it on. LOVE those photos!
Ha ha, there were so many photos…
This is a wonderful post. What a woman your mum is, and how lucky you are to have travelled so much,
That’s what I always have to remind myself. How lucky I am!
Your mum’s story is amazing and so sad she never saw her mum again. Sometimes I think about things our parents have been though and think wow, we are so lucky to live this life that we do. I love how she took you to so many places, reminds me of my dad – he took us on so many UK holidays and that is why I love doing UK holidays with my boy now. It’s so true, our parents make us who we are! #mondayescapes
Sabrina (The Mummy Stylist) xx
I was looking forward to reading this and you didn’t disappoint. What fantastic adventures you had with your parents. I wish I had been a bit older when we lived in Hong Kong – I remember so little of it. I hope I’ll be able to go back one day. My parents hope to too but know it will have changed so much in 30 years. I can at least see it for the ‘first time’ again 🙂 #MondayEscapes
Thanks Claire, that’s kind of you. You should definitely go back to HK. I love it there but it’s so busy and overwhelming! It has changed definitely.
What a lovely post! Your mum sounds like an amazing woman and her story is truly inspiring. I love that she passed on her love of travel to you 🙂
Thank Katja. I’m very lucky
Such a touching post, Ting! Kudos to your parents!
Thank you! I’m very lucky
What a beautiful story – so wonderful that you inherited her travel bug! I think if my brothers and I all hadn’t relocated to the far corners of the world my mum would never travel so who knows where I get it from!!
I think it can have the opposite effect if you parents don’t travel much. Makes kids more desperate to leave and explore maybe?
Aw Ting this is the loveliest post, I so hope our children looks back on their adventures with such fondness, it is amazing showing them the worlds isn’t it, I love looking back at posts like this, such lovely memories x
Thanks Sarah. It’s lovely getting nostalgic for the past x
Oh wow such a lovely post – I too have to be thankful to my mother who was an expat living in South Africa which meant we travelled a lot back and forth to Europe when I was younger – great memories
Laura x
It definitely instils a passion if you start young! Great that you got to travel lots when you were little too x