The World We Travel In

Children on the Streets of Aleppo Syria

What a difference a year makes! Just a little over 12 months ago, I was concluding a trip that took me through a spiritual roller coaster in India, an archeological tour in Egypt and Jordan, a pilgrimage along the silk route in Syria and Lebanon, and reliving the grandeur of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. Back then, one chapter of my life had ended, and the next one – as a graduate student in Los Angeles – was just beginning.

Today, a new chapter beckons once again. I am about to move to Switzerland for the next four months as an exchange student. Without any doubt, I will be taking this opportunity to visit parts of the European continent that I have yet to set foot on. Poland, Romania, Serbia and perhaps Bulgaria. I also hope to visit some of the many friends I have sprinkled throughout the continent. 

But as I write this blog entry, the world is again is a very different place from what it was just a year ago. Back then, I recall standing on a knoll on the far western reaches of the Egyptian desert at the Siwa Oasis, looking over palm trees and the endless expanse of sand towards Libya. Today, reports in the news indicate that the government of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya is on the verge of collapse, with rebel forces moving triumphantly into the capital Tripoli. Siwa was also in Egypt, an Egypt that was under the rule of Hosni Mubarak at the time. 

Most shocking for me has been the news that is trickling out of Syria. Last year, I reported how Syria boasts architectural and archeological wonders unlike any I have seen, people that were both welcoming and friendly. Early this week, I listened with disbelief as the news on the radio reports that the Syrian military is plummeting gunfire and rockets on the city of Latakia, the same city of Latakia that I spent four whole days at – relaxing and chatting with students and professionals at a literary café, while listening to live jazz music; the city with beautiful expanses of golden beaches along the sun soaked Mediterranean coastline. 

So much has changed, and I often wonder about the many wonderful people I met throughout that trip. How are they doing? Are they even still alive? My trip through Egypt and the Middle East last year had been well timed. Given the situation in the region right now, I would not have been able to make that same trip this year. Throughout that journey, I learned the virtues of patience and tolerance. I learned that we are all, no matter what we are doing right now, on a journey of a lifetime! It is really up to us to make the most of it! If there is a place that you have always wanted to visit, do it now, because it might not be there if you wait. Keep dreaming and happy traveling!

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Travel Update

The last month or so have been relatively hectic. Even having moved five times in the last ten years across the United States and the world, nothing really prepares you to end it all in one city, leaving all friends, family and stuff behind and going out to see the world. Not knowing when or if you will be back!

In phase one of my travels, I currently have a one-way ticket into India. From there, I hope to hit Nepal, the UAE, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. If you have been to, or are located in one of these countries, please connect with me by leaving a comment, or sending me an email (found in my profile). I would appreciate any tips or suggestions you might provide.

Stay tuned for more accounts from my trip of a lifetime…

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Why I Travel

Traveling has always been a big part of my life. Some of my earliest and most cherished memories involved getting onto an airplane, and going off to somewhere far and exotic. Starting in the spring, I am planning on taking a trip around the world. With little more than a backpack, I hope to spend the next 6 months traversing the globe.

Is there such a thing as a travel gene? A desire to experience other places, languages and culture that is passed down from generation to generation? Both my parents are avid travelers and most of my immediate family have studied or lived abroad at one point in their lives. Growing up in Singapore, weekend outings to the airport was a family affair. Till this day, I enjoy staring at the departure boards at large international airports, dreaming about the romance and excitement of jetting off to some faraway place. I still frequently pick large wide-bodied jets when I fly, even on short domestic trips when they are available, as I associate large planes with long exciting trips to a foreign land. Could it be that our adult lives are shaped and determined by positive experiences at an early age when we were at our most impressionable stage in life?

Ever since the summer of 2002, when I spent 6 weeks backpacking through Europe, did I first encounter the pleasures of staying in hostels, meeting like minded travelers from all over the world, and experiencing the concept of budget traveling. Any apprehension that I had going into that trip was cast aside the first night in Paris, when I met a rowdy bunch of backpackers at my hostel. After a few beers and cheap wine, we caught the Métro to the Eiffel Tower - stopping briefly to get more cheap wine – before claiming a spot on a grassy park, and swapping stories of love, life and travel adventures till the sun came up. That trip marked a turning point in my travel habits, an evolution from tourist to traveler. Visiting a place now goes beyond just taking in the sights and landmarks that it is famous for. A true traveler goes off the beaten track; they see a city both for its grand boulevards and dirty alleys; live with a local – with no climate control; and eat what is considered a delicacy – even if it does not look all too tasty. Could this one experience conceivably change my entire outlook in life and the way I travel?

The great American novelist Mark Twain once wrote, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Maybe all I want is to fulfill a lifelong dream. Maybe I need to live with no regrets.

Perhaps the attraction to travel extensively is not just due to one’s upbringing, or the result of a past travel experience, but rather, it is a combination of all those reasons brought about by an intimate desire for self-discovery. Will I find what I am looking for? Uncover my El Dorado or perhaps my inner Atlantis? Or maybe, just maybe, instead I might discover within me a little piece of paradise…

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