It’s finally happening. I am having a reunion with my Raimondian buddies in Canada.
The trip was long delayed, planned for the summer of 2023 but postponed until the summer of 2026 because of my wife’s health.
At first, when we planned the visit at the end of COVID, it was going to be just my wife Milinna and me. Later, it became a family affair when my son’s family joined in.
My son joined for three reasons: my grandson holds a Canadian passport but had never visited Canada, 2026 is my mother-in-law’s 100th birthday, and Milinna needs an accompanying doctor on the long flight – or so she claims. Thus, the trip became a larger family journey.
My grandson is only four and a half years old. We worried that the 16-hour flight to Toronto might be too much for him. So, we decided to spend a few days in Banff, Alberta, to break up the journey.
We also wanted to experience EVA Air, with a reputation for comfort and food quality. We booked an EVA flight from Hong Kong to Taipei on July 26 to connect to EVA’s flight from Taipei to Vancouver.
We would arrive in Vancouver late and miss our connecting flight to Calgary, so we planned to stay one night near the Vancouver airport before catching the onward flight the next morning.
The plan proved useful in an unexpected way.
On July 25, a typhoon approached Hong Kong. No one thought anything of it at first, as it was supposed to be a small storm passing more than 200 miles away. But the forecasts were wrong, and the typhoon came nearer than expected. By the morning of July 26, every airline had announced flight cancellations and EVA was no exception.
The lesson we learned is that if you are taking a long-haul trip in the summer, book through a travel agency and choose airlines with ground services at your departure point.
EVA sent us a cancellation notice. We tried to call their service station, but the line was busy. We also tried to call their Taipei office, but the line was also busy. My son and I went directly to the airport, where their ground agent handled the Hong Kong airport booth. They tried to help us but told us there was no flight out until August 5.
Fortunately, a buddy of mine runs a travel agency. Once he understood the situation, he immediately scrambled his staff on Sunday morning and got all five of us onto an Air Canada flight out of Hong Kong on the morning of the 27th. About 10 minutes after we got the confirmation, Air Canada closed its bookings as all seats for the next two days had been taken.
We arrived in Vancouver and connected directly to our flight bound for Calgary. We were able to save on one night’s hotel in Vancouver, and we didn’t have to change other bookings.
From Calgary, we took the long drive to Banff even though we were tired. My son had arranged a Chinese tour operator in Calgary for three days of touring around the Banff area.
It was the first time we had the opportunity to travel to Banff with my grandson. My brother-in-law flew from Toronto to join us for our Banff trip.
Our next stop was Toronto.
I am most grateful to our buddy James Wong, who flew with his daughter Jessica to Toronto and stayed there for the full duration while I was there. James offered to drive me around, so I didn’t have to rent a car. He knew I hadn’t been driving in Canada for a while.
We naturally had to carry out our duties as daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandson by paying respect to the elders and attending the big birthday party in Toronto.
Then it was time for the Toronto reunion with my Raimondi buddies.
It started with a dim sum lunch, then the air-conditioner man Steve Yeung hosted a trio birthday party at his castle for Leo Lau, James, and me – all our birthdays are in August.
Following the afternoon snack, we rejoined the group for dinner. It was a great occasion to see all the long-missed classmates/schoolmates.
The amazing thing is they never get old; actually, they are even more active.
Paul Loong and Joe Lynn are writing more songs. Steve runs all over the place to enjoy ball games, golfing, and playing with his grandsons.
I am most grateful to see at the dinner the widow of Chan Ying Yu, a very good friend of mine from our school days.
I see Leo Lau more often in Hong Kong, flying all over the place to meet his son and daughter, taking care of his business, and spending time with them. I see a few other Toronto-based Raimondians who come to Hong Kong once or sometimes twice a year.
When it was time to leave, I asked myself: Next time I visit, will everything still be the same?
Then I told myself: Let’s just live and enjoy every day of our life as if there is no tomorrow!
So, my friends, I hope you will do the same and come back to Hong Kong to visit all of us.
