If I had one dream, it would be to travel to all the places in the world that I want to see, and then some. When I was younger, the world to me was my home, a flat in Tampines, and the neighbourhood surrounding it. Then it gradually became bigger, to encompass the whole of Singapore, and then parts of Malaysia, Bangkok, and on a school trip, China.
It wasn't until I was 21 that I finally got a chance to travel out of these places, to Hong Kong, which was really amazing to me then, I still remember the trip fondly.
And then, I went on exchange, to Europe, and saw many European cities. And that was where the travel bug really bit me. For the first time in my life I saw cities that I had only read about, the tastes, the smells, the sights and the sounds, they never really leave you. The impression they left on me was indelible.
And once it bites you can never stop exploring. Since then, I've seen the white and red beaches of Greece, the vineyards of France, the colourful minarets of Russian cathedrals, and the vast steppes of the Mongol plains.
And there are so many more places I want to see, and so many more things I want to do. And even as I grow older and more aware that people around me are starting to settle, getting married and having kids, my dreams grow ever bigger. And it frightens me sometimes that there is no end to them. I don't see myself stopping ever. I see myself exploring and seeing more places, and doing that year after year. And somehow, I have a feeling that even when I'm 60, I will still be doing this.
And most people do not understand why I do this. Not even my parents, or my friends. To them it seems strange that I would go to such places alone, and to so many of them. And to that, I reply that I would be very happy to have others travel with me, only that the reality is, not everybody really wants to see the same places I want to see. And even if they do, it is often not easy to coordinate schedules. And time waits for no man.
Sometimes, you get just that one chance to visit a certain place, because if you don't, who knows what life will be like for you next year. Or the year after that. Circumstances change, and it might not be possible for you to go any more. And the last thing I want to be is that guy who is too old to travel, who lives in regret wondering why he did not make that decision to go to a place he really wanted to see.
To me, I live fully believing the motto that you only live once. And in this one life, it is up to you to make all you can out of it. And what you make out of it is really the sum of all the experiences you have.
Someday I will tour the South American continent, trek in the jungles of the Amazon, ride a boat up the rivers, and climb the Andes mountains. Or I could be driving a dune buggy in the sands of the Sahara, driving from Marrakech to Casablanca, wandering through the flea markets in the cooler evenings, strolling into random cafes, smoking shisha and dancing with the Berbers. Or I could be visiting ancient ruins in Turkey, from the ancient city of Ephesus to the Hagia Sophia, then flying to the Goreme valley and taking a hot air balloon over the fairy mountains of Cappadocia.
Or I could be hiding in a little tent somewhere on an ice sheet, watching the Northern lights. And in the day I would dogsled across the icy wilderness. Or I could be stargazing in the MacKenzie basin or in the Waitomo caves of New Zealand, and while doing so I would make a trip to Middle Earth. Or I could be at a beach in the Maldives, or in the middle of the Carribean.
I also want to see wild animals in the safaris of Africa, to watch them majestically running at full stride across the plains. And I want to watch the sun set into the pyramids, casting the sands before them in shadow.
And someday, I really want to see the Middle East. I want to cross the Sinai Peninsular into Saudi Arabia. And then I want to visit Israel, and cross over into Jordan. I want to visit Petra, a rose red city half as old as time. And then somehow I will make it to Iran, of where I have seen nothing but beautiful pictures.
There is just so much to see. Sometimes, I wonder if there will be enough time.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Singer to watch - Lorde
Introducing Lorde, a singer from New Zealand who is just 16 but is absolutely amazing. She has a voice, stage presence and songwriting ability that belies her tender age, plus she is the youngest singer to hit the number one spot in the US charts in quite a while, since 1987. The youngest ever was Stevie Wonder at 13 all the way back in 1963, but that's because he's Stevie Wonder.
She reminds me of Adele and Amy Winehouse when they first burst on the music scene, but she's younger and has quite some way to go. In an age where pop singers like Miley Cyrus dominate the headlines because of their ability to create controversy, she's a refreshing breath of air.
I'm sharing her first EP as well, so it is more apparent that she is not a one hit wonder, but has some real songwriting and singing chops.
Unsurprisingly, she already has quite a few anti-fans who are fans of Miley Cyrus, whom she displaced from the top spot in the US charts.
wo #1 on US itunes. even if it lasts an hour i feel HAPPY. downside is all these miley fans telling me they're gonna stab my rotting corpse
— Lorde (@lordemusic) September 19, 2013
Between this song and Wrecking Ball, I'd listen to this any day, thanks.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Going to some really crazy places.
A few months back I suddenly decided that I would travel from one part of the world to another, across five different timezones. While Jules Verne wrote the book around the world in 80 days, I have no such literary ambition. Neither do I have that kind of time because I get just 14 days of annual leave a year.
In any case, I knuckled down, and started planning what is probably going to be the trip of my life.
That line in black represents my approximate route. I'm going to be traversing five different timezones, over a distance of more than 6,000 kilometres, and I'm going to do it solo.
I'm cheating a little by flying from Irkutsk to St Petersburg because I decided I did not want to spend three days in a train traversing that distance, which would leave me with less time to see places. I would have done so if I did not have just 18 days to complete this journey, but we live with what we have.
I was inspired to try this trip by an intrepid traveler I met while I was backpacking across Greece last year called Sam. If you browse my entry on Greece, you will know that he was an Australian dude who worked in a vineyard. While munching on a meal of gyros and fries, he told me and another friend that he was going to take the TransSiberian from Moscow to Beijing during our last night with him in the city centre of Heraklion on Crete. He also thought it was amazing that I was still shuffling around Greece with a banged up knee and scrapes all over my elbows from an unfortunate accident while on my ATV on Santorini, but that's another story.
I thought then that it was really cool, what he was doing, but it was one of those things that you hear about, then you shove it at the back of your mind because it seems so implausible. Then by coincidence, a few months later I found out that two of my friends would be at the endpoints of the journey, at around the same time. An old acquaintance of mine from my days as a cub reporter at the New Paper was going to Moscow on exchange, and another friend of mine was working in Beijing. I drew a line between both cities, and I realised that I had to do this now, or I would never have another reason to try this journey again. So the whole planning process began.
I have to admit that right at the start, I did not really know what I was getting into. My plan was simply that, a line drawn between two places. It was only when I started going into details when I realised just how immense this trip was going to be in terms of logistical planning.
For one, it involved three different countries, of which I spoke the language of only one. I had to check out which visas I needed, and what were the immigration procedures. What modes of transport could I use? How much would all this cost? Then came the reading up about all the towns along the route I was planning. Which ones should I visit? How much time should I spend in each?
While the process was fascinating, while getting my immunisation jabs it was not so fun for me to learn that so few Singaporeans go to Russia each year that the hospitals here don't stock vaccines for tick-borne diseases, which strike a few unfortunate tourists each year and can cause some nasty health problems. I had no chance to get those vaccinations, so I'm going to cross my fingers.
A few more enquiries later, I realised that going the TransSiberian route, while a marvelous prospect, was not going to cut it for me because I would not have the luxury of time to stop along cities like Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk along the way to break the endless monotony of train riding. So after weeks of planning and liaising with many different parties, I hedged out a journey that looks roughly like this. I would spend a few days in Beijing, before taking the Trans-Mongolian to Ulan Bator to stay in a ger camp with the nomads, and then I would travel up again to Irkutsk and visit the biggest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Baikal, near the village of Listvyanka, before taking a plane to St Pete and then a train to Moscow.
Beijing - Ulan Bator - Irkutsk - Listvyanka - St Petersberg - Moscow
Everyone whom I spoke to about this trip unequivocally informed me that I was fucking crazy. Never mind that I was going to places that most people would not even imagine going to, I was doing it alone. The cab driver who took me to the Russian embassy to make my visa had just one thing to say.
"You going Soviet? You crazy! Soviet so cold!"
My colleagues dismissed the trip as one of my weird expeditions. One of them had this to say.
"You always go this kind of weird weird place one. You go there and do what?"
Others found it weirder that I was doing it alone. But to me, traveling alone teaches you many things about yourself. When you travel alone, you become far more aware of your surroundings, because you have to be. You also learn what you can and cannot deal with, and you learn that no matter what, if something happens, you have to deal with it on your own, so you prepare more to avoid making the trip more dangerous than it has to be. Experiences aside, I think people generally want safe holidays, so you can focus on the right things.
I have to admit, it was not easy making the Russian visa though. For one, the consulate opens for just 2 hours every day, from 10am to noon, and it is located at a very inconvenient corner of Tanglin, which meant I had to take time off from work just to make and collect my visa. And to enter Russia, I had to come up with an invitation letter, which is honestly, for lack of a better way to describe it, fucking irritating. You have to liaise with either a tour agency in Russia, or try your luck with a dodgy motel, and they will issue a letter saying that you are staying with them for a certain period of time, even if both of you know that it is obviously a farce.
I mean, some of these dodgy motels do nothing but issue those letters, even double and triple booking people on the same rooms because no one really wants to stay with them, they just need the letter, and it suits the motels fine to just collect the fees. Apparently, you need this to show the Russian authorities that you have a place to stay in Russia. For whatever reason I do not know, because I do know one thing, if I wanted to get lost in Russia all the police in Russia would not be able to find me. I mean, have you seen how fucking big the place is?
And I had to study all the maps of all the cities that I was going to. I can honestly say that I know all of the above mentioned places fairly well now, in both their English and local language names, except for Listvyanka, which I have on good knowledge has just one main road. I tried to Google Maps it, only to find out that the place is apparently so secluded, when you try to zoom in to that place on Google Maps, you don't see anything except a grey patch. Zooming in further just gives you more grey. Maybe if I do it enough I will see pixels.
And now, I am sitting at my computer, knowing that in less than 24 hours, it all begins. I don't know what to say, or what to expect, except that it is going to be one hell of an experience. And if I do make it back, I will be very thankful.
In any case, I knuckled down, and started planning what is probably going to be the trip of my life.
That line in black represents my approximate route. I'm going to be traversing five different timezones, over a distance of more than 6,000 kilometres, and I'm going to do it solo.
I'm cheating a little by flying from Irkutsk to St Petersburg because I decided I did not want to spend three days in a train traversing that distance, which would leave me with less time to see places. I would have done so if I did not have just 18 days to complete this journey, but we live with what we have.
I was inspired to try this trip by an intrepid traveler I met while I was backpacking across Greece last year called Sam. If you browse my entry on Greece, you will know that he was an Australian dude who worked in a vineyard. While munching on a meal of gyros and fries, he told me and another friend that he was going to take the TransSiberian from Moscow to Beijing during our last night with him in the city centre of Heraklion on Crete. He also thought it was amazing that I was still shuffling around Greece with a banged up knee and scrapes all over my elbows from an unfortunate accident while on my ATV on Santorini, but that's another story.
I thought then that it was really cool, what he was doing, but it was one of those things that you hear about, then you shove it at the back of your mind because it seems so implausible. Then by coincidence, a few months later I found out that two of my friends would be at the endpoints of the journey, at around the same time. An old acquaintance of mine from my days as a cub reporter at the New Paper was going to Moscow on exchange, and another friend of mine was working in Beijing. I drew a line between both cities, and I realised that I had to do this now, or I would never have another reason to try this journey again. So the whole planning process began.
I have to admit that right at the start, I did not really know what I was getting into. My plan was simply that, a line drawn between two places. It was only when I started going into details when I realised just how immense this trip was going to be in terms of logistical planning.
For one, it involved three different countries, of which I spoke the language of only one. I had to check out which visas I needed, and what were the immigration procedures. What modes of transport could I use? How much would all this cost? Then came the reading up about all the towns along the route I was planning. Which ones should I visit? How much time should I spend in each?
While the process was fascinating, while getting my immunisation jabs it was not so fun for me to learn that so few Singaporeans go to Russia each year that the hospitals here don't stock vaccines for tick-borne diseases, which strike a few unfortunate tourists each year and can cause some nasty health problems. I had no chance to get those vaccinations, so I'm going to cross my fingers.
A few more enquiries later, I realised that going the TransSiberian route, while a marvelous prospect, was not going to cut it for me because I would not have the luxury of time to stop along cities like Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk along the way to break the endless monotony of train riding. So after weeks of planning and liaising with many different parties, I hedged out a journey that looks roughly like this. I would spend a few days in Beijing, before taking the Trans-Mongolian to Ulan Bator to stay in a ger camp with the nomads, and then I would travel up again to Irkutsk and visit the biggest freshwater lake in the world, Lake Baikal, near the village of Listvyanka, before taking a plane to St Pete and then a train to Moscow.
Beijing - Ulan Bator - Irkutsk - Listvyanka - St Petersberg - Moscow
Everyone whom I spoke to about this trip unequivocally informed me that I was fucking crazy. Never mind that I was going to places that most people would not even imagine going to, I was doing it alone. The cab driver who took me to the Russian embassy to make my visa had just one thing to say.
"You going Soviet? You crazy! Soviet so cold!"
My colleagues dismissed the trip as one of my weird expeditions. One of them had this to say.
"You always go this kind of weird weird place one. You go there and do what?"
Others found it weirder that I was doing it alone. But to me, traveling alone teaches you many things about yourself. When you travel alone, you become far more aware of your surroundings, because you have to be. You also learn what you can and cannot deal with, and you learn that no matter what, if something happens, you have to deal with it on your own, so you prepare more to avoid making the trip more dangerous than it has to be. Experiences aside, I think people generally want safe holidays, so you can focus on the right things.
I have to admit, it was not easy making the Russian visa though. For one, the consulate opens for just 2 hours every day, from 10am to noon, and it is located at a very inconvenient corner of Tanglin, which meant I had to take time off from work just to make and collect my visa. And to enter Russia, I had to come up with an invitation letter, which is honestly, for lack of a better way to describe it, fucking irritating. You have to liaise with either a tour agency in Russia, or try your luck with a dodgy motel, and they will issue a letter saying that you are staying with them for a certain period of time, even if both of you know that it is obviously a farce.
I mean, some of these dodgy motels do nothing but issue those letters, even double and triple booking people on the same rooms because no one really wants to stay with them, they just need the letter, and it suits the motels fine to just collect the fees. Apparently, you need this to show the Russian authorities that you have a place to stay in Russia. For whatever reason I do not know, because I do know one thing, if I wanted to get lost in Russia all the police in Russia would not be able to find me. I mean, have you seen how fucking big the place is?
And I had to study all the maps of all the cities that I was going to. I can honestly say that I know all of the above mentioned places fairly well now, in both their English and local language names, except for Listvyanka, which I have on good knowledge has just one main road. I tried to Google Maps it, only to find out that the place is apparently so secluded, when you try to zoom in to that place on Google Maps, you don't see anything except a grey patch. Zooming in further just gives you more grey. Maybe if I do it enough I will see pixels.
And now, I am sitting at my computer, knowing that in less than 24 hours, it all begins. I don't know what to say, or what to expect, except that it is going to be one hell of an experience. And if I do make it back, I will be very thankful.
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