What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?
Having the freedom and financial ability to travel overseas for a holiday is itself a blessing, and therefore I cherish all my holidays abroad. Over the years, I have visited more than 20 countries, including some multiple times. I value the experiences gained on these trips, and I have a few favourites I love to share with friends. One of them is my first visit to Australia.
In the 1990s, I flew to Perth. After spending a couple of days there, I kicked off a six‑day, over‑3,000‑mile drive through Western Australia, across Central Australia, bypassing Adelaide, and then heading up to New South Wales. The entire trip was fascinating – meeting people of different dialects, cultures and costumes (e.g., men dressed in cowboy outfits were seen in some parts of Western Australia), tasting a variety of local delicacies, driving on a 90‑mile straight road without seeing another vehicle, and experiencing the sharp temperature drop at night after the daytime heat. The lifestyle of people living in the countryside contrasted sharply with that of those in major cities like Sydney, yet together they formed a beautiful landscape of the entire country.
It was an eye‑opening trip for me, as I met people from different cultural backgrounds, each with their own stories to tell. The experience brought me back to the origin and history of mankind. It all started from the first man and woman created by God (Genesis 1:26-27) and thereafter every story of life matters. From a person to a country, each has a story – every individual has a story; every family has a collective journey; every community has its collective memory; every country has its history – and every country’s history forms the history of the whole world.
Whether personal or country‑wide, the effect of history is double‑edged: for the wise, it creates a brighter future for humankind; for the foolish, it darkens what is already darkened.
So, looking back, while my first visit to Australia is still one of my favourite holidays, today, my most favourite holiday is the time I spend in my homeland – visiting historical places or local shops, chatting with market vendors, and stopping to return a smile from a passerby – my effort to contribute to making collective memories for my home city.
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 