Travel – John Lennon – New York to Hong Kong

John Lennon travelled from New York to Hong Kong on 19 October 1976.

He had been awarded a Green Card for permanent US residency in July, which enabled him to travel freely since his long battle with the US immigration system began.

This was the first leg of a journey around southeast Asia. He also stayed in Macau in China and Singapore before returning to New York on 27 October.

The trip helped inspire Lennon’s 1980 song ‘I’m Losing You’.

It came out of an overwhelming feeling of loss that went right back to the womb. One night, I couldn’t get through to Yoko on the telephone and I felt completely disconnected… I think that’s what the last five years were all about – to reestablish me for meself. The actual moment of awareness when I remembered who I was came in a room in Hong Kong because Yoko had sent me around the world to be by meself. I hadn’t done anything by meself since I was 20. I didn’t know how to check into a hotel… if someone reads this they’ll think, ‘These bloody popstars!’ They don’t understand the pain of being a freak. Whenever I got nervous about it I took a bath, and in Hong Kong I’d had about 40 baths. I was looking out over the bay when something rang a bell. It was the recognition – ‘My God! This relaxed person is me from way back. HE knew how to do things. It doesn’t rely on any adulation or hit record. Wow!’ So I called Yoko and said, ‘Guess who. It’s me!’