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Siuming volunteered for A Bowl of Compassion to help children in Bodhgaya, India

n a hectic city where everyone be interviewed by media outlets,” she embrace the idea of backpacking to
works overtime for a living, she recalls. “I did a lot of things back then broaden her horizons.
Ichooses not to have a full-time job such as suing the policeman involved Upon graduation, Siuming began
but to wander around. Ho Kit-ming, in the case and giving the public an travelling. With only a backpack and
also known as Siuming, 27, spent account of the incident.” She found a one-way ticket to Lhasa, Tibet, she
more than a year away from the hustle it hard to handle harsh comments kicked off her life-changing journey as
and bustle of Hong Kong to discover circulating on different social media a wanderer. “I told myself that I would
meanings of life through travelling. platforms. “Some netizens mocked go home after I had spent all my mon-
me as a ‘prostitute’ just because of my ey, which was around HK$20,000,”
Protester demanding social justice little tattoo.” She could not bear such she says. “The less I spend, the longer
Born and raised in a single-parent stress, and gradually she becomes less my journey would be.”
family, Siuming and her sister, Willis, engaged in social movements. Backpacking is gaining popularity
are passionate in helping the vulner- among young adults in recent years.
able in society. They joined several Wandering around the globe There is an increasing trend of young-
social movements between 2009 and At 21, Siuming broke up with her sters travelling alone to less developed
2013, when they were university stu- ex-boyfriend. She then travelled to countries. Siuming believes every-
dents. However, an unpleasant experi- Cambodia alone for a two-week soul one has their own ways to travel. She
ence stopped Siuming from staying in searching trip, hoping to recover from thinks the genuine meaning of “trav-
the front line. the breakup. In a youth hostel, she met elling” depends on what one gains and
During a protest in 2013, Sium- a Canadian backpacker who had been learns during a journey. “In the past,
ing was spotted to be “back-hugged” travelling abroad for three years. After I would insist on travelling overland
by a policeman. “It was quite stressful. listening to his enlightening story, she with a backpack.” She now has a dif-
I had to hold a press conference and felt amazed. Since then, she began to ferent view: “It is not the way I travel