No way out of paradise for family stranded in Fiji on first leg of round-the-world dream holiday, as coronavirus grounds flights

A Hong Kong family soon learned they couldn’t outrun the coronavirus pandemic. Stuck in Fiji in the South Pacific, their round-the-world trip is on hold

They while away the time in a beachside villa beside a palm-fringed lagoon, but couple worry about medicines for elderly parents and vaccines for their son

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The Lau family from Hong Kong at their villa in Fiji, where they have been stranded by the cancellation of international flights amid the coronavirus pandemic. They spend their days snorkelling, kayaking and fishing as they wait to continue their year-long round-the-world journey.

Published: 5:00am, 24 Apr 2020Updated: 10:10am, 24 Apr 2020

“We never imagined the coronavirus would spread so far and wide – or so quickly,” says Hongkonger Lau Hsu-yung. “We soon learned it was impossible to outrun it.”

Lau and his family – wife Chance Xie, son Hunter, and Xie’s parents, Xie Xianji and Peng Qiongyan, are stranded in Fiji, the first stop on what was supposed to be their round-the-world trip of a lifetime.

After a decade in Hong Kong’s “concrete jungle”, the couple decided it was time to change course and head for some real jungle. The months-long anti-government protests that began last year, combined with “crazy runs on toilet paper” in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, were the catalysts they needed to make their dream a reality.

They also wanted Hunter, who turned 18 months old on April 18, to see the “beauty of different cultures” before he started “the rigours of kindergarten”.

Chance Xie (left) plays with her 18-month-old son Hunter (centre) on the beach as her husband Hsu-yung Lau (rear) goes for a dip in the sea.

Making it a multi-generation journey was originally not part of the plan. “Initially, our one-year plan to live around the world was just for the three of us, but with the outbreak of coronavirus we didn’t want to leave the grandparents behind, so decided at the last minute to bring them along,” says Lau.

In the first week of February, the family waved goodbye to their 2,000 sq ft home in Hong Kong, leaving their possessions in a 100 sq ft storeroom. Downsizing and simplifying their life was also part of the plan.