Dreaming about the banyan tree 🌳

✨ time to spill some tea
Sunday 21 September 2025 📆

Last night I dreamed about the banyan tree in Lāhainā town. I could still see the aerial roots dancing in the wind, hear the leaves rustling, and feel the broken sunlight spilling thru the canopy - as if I was standing right there. 

When I first saw it ten years ago, I thought it was the most spectacularly beautiful tree. Sprawling across over half an acre, the tree was supported by multiple trunks with a massive canopy and countless aerial roots dangling down. At sunset, when the birds gather to roost, the birds drowned out all the noise in town. 

I jolted awake from a dream about the banyan tree at the centre of Lāhainā town. Before I knew it, I was covered in tears. 

After the 2023 Maui fires that devastated Lāhainā town, the banyan tree is finally growing back and recovering.

Lāhainā locals didn’t only lose their loved ones and homes, they are losing their land. Many residents of Lāhainā town were displaced and struggling to find jobs. Instead of rebuilding homes, locals are coerced by developers in favour of turning Lāhainā town into another tourist hub. 

I grieved knowing that I would probably never see Maui, or that banyan tree again in my lifetime. I cannot bring myself to contribute to the exploitation happening on Maui, not when the locals can’t afford to live, not when water and food are monopolized for tourist consumption. 

In my dreams, I visit the banyan tree at Lāhainā town. That is enough for me. 

📖 Reading List:

Nina Lakhani (2024). "First came the Maui wildfires, now come the land grabs". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/15/maui-wildfires-community-land-trust

Lahaina Strong (2025). "The Struggle to Rebuild Lahaina: Where Is Recovery Two Years After the Fires?". Nonprofit Quarterly. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/the-struggle-to-rebuild-lahaina-where-is-recovery-two-years-after-the-fires/

Welcome to Kong Girl Socialist's Yum Cha 飲茶 series — a flexible short-form blurb where I drop mini essays, reflections, and commentary. 

Afternoon tea is a daily ritual of many Hongkongers! Not only to physically sip hot tea while munching on a snack, Yum Chat are social activities to 吹水 chit chat with your friends 🫖