I have never been a fan of boat rides.

When someone mentions boat ride, I think of the only fishing trip I went on when I was a kid. It was the first time I’ve seen my mom in three years and the family decided to go fishing on a boat. At first, I felt fine, a little uncomfortable with the rocking motion of the boat but nonetheless, fine. As we headed out to sea, I began to feel oozy and my knees turned into noodles.

Almost two decades later, in 2017, I had to take a ferry from the Hong Kong Airport to my hometown of Zhongshan. It was the first time I visited in over a decade. I thought that because I’m older, my seasickness would be somewhat tamed.

Nope, the moment the ferry boat sped up, I felt it despite sitting down indoors. I felt like the little I ate in the last 24 hours creeping up on my throat.

Little did I know that wasn’t the worst ferry ride. The worst ferry ride was during my second visit to China in 2018. I had to ferry back to Hong Kong on a day that’s cold, windy, and rainy. Oh my goodness, I felt like the boat would flip any minute.

So you can see why I was a little hesitant when mom suggested we go on a river cruise down the River Thames during our recent trip to the UK, right?

I was quite pleasantly surprised that day as we cruised down the River Thames toward Greenwich. There was a guide on the boat, speaking in a strange English accent that sounded like a pirate. I liked it.

Throughout the boat ride, I wasn’t a bit seasick or boat-sick. There wasn’t no ooziness, no noodle legs, and no urges to vomit. Best of all, even with mom’s little tantrum and stomping on my foot like a little sissy, I enjoyed the boat ride and appreciated the guide’s story on each of the historic buildings along the route.

#SundayStills