Why I travel

Ever since I was a kid, conquering my new kingdom of the playground and beyond, the search for new adventures, something unique, different has always been pretty much the main focus of my life. And I still feel the same way today, even though new kingdoms to conquer have spread far and beyond the shores of this tiny island we call home.

Coming from conservative, hardworking, Singapore, I have realized that my wanderlust is the source of much puzzlement among my friends and family. With reactions ranging from mild surprise to harsh disapproval at the way I make my parents "worry" about me traveling alone in a foreign country for long periods of time. I guess the concensus in our Singapore is that young people should, study, find a good job, a nice boy or girl to marry and quickly start producing a brood, and once you hit retirement only then is traveling for periods longer than a few days acceptable.
But I can't and don't wish to wait that long. Traveling is leisure, no doubt about it, but it is also so much of a part of who I am now.

I don't know if its the familiarity that rubs, but every time I leave home I feel free. As the plane leaves the runway, the train pulls out of the station or the bus leaves the causeway, I feel as if a heavy oppressive air has been lifted, even though the air in Singapore is way cleaner than the smog in Delhi. Overtime, I think i've become one of those people who are only happy if they are either, planning to travel, travelling or recovering from a trip. I've realized, especially over these past few years, that I start feeling uncomfortable if I'm not in one of those three states, and when that happens my mind starts planning long overland routes to London to visit Elk and his awesome pad.

The thing is, I love the rush of being dropped in a new place without knowing the language or culture, without any pre-arranged safety nets and having to figure it out. It's a lot less daunting and way more exciting than it sounds.

I feel most comfortable standing in the middle of a crowded street, with alien words flowing around me, in street signs and conversations, being unable to understand even the simplest things, like how to cross the road or buy a cup of tea. The newness and difference of it all is one of the ultimate inspirations, and the satisfaction of the very first time buying a cup of chai in Hindi or finally figuring out how to cross a Vietnamese road is simply indescribable.
But mostly, I guess I travel to satisfy this little need in me to see and maybe try to understand a little about the wide world that lies beyond the borders of our tiny Island.

What I hope is that by writing this blog, which is so ridiculously out of character for me, I will be able to put a rest to the constant confused questions and looks of my friends and family, about why I travel to and fall in love with strange faraway countries which are so "obviously" inferior to our GREAT Singapore, and hopefuly if I do keep updating, let everyone know about the places I disappear to during term breaks and so on.
(if they bother to read this blog that is.)