Flying’s Travelogue

I’ll probably never be a traveller in the true spirit. Even though I always had the dream of travelling around the world for the excitement of different cultural or natural experiences, I’ve simply been very relunctant (maybe I’m just too lazy?) to make an effort to realize this dream.

During the university days, nevertheless, I travelled to a few different places in the nearby Malaysia. I also made a few attempts to travel to the U.S. for academic conferences. But the stupid approval policy for U.S. B-1 visas then made it mission impossible for a mere foreign student to travel to this nation said to be favoured by God. (I hear that their policies still remain as stupid, if not more so?) From then on, I was even less motivated to spend time and efforts to plan for any trip around.

I have a stable job now. Yet, I’m still as lazy as I was in the university days. Unless some of my friends plan for a trip and invite me along, I seldom look out for opportunity of tours to other places spontaneously.

Nevertheless, there is always an exception to everything. (How about the previous statement itself? :^P) Whenever I was on overseas business trip, I always took a stroll around with however little free time I had after business commitments. I’d even take a few days’ leave after my business trips sometimes. I could then make use of the short break to enjoy a economical and relaxing trip with my backpack.—By doing so, I managed to save a lot in transportation since my flights to and from the destination were both paid by my company. That was an efficient way of utilizing my money and time on tours, wasn’t it?

Entering a new phase in my life, I switched lane in mid-2007. Since then, I’ve become much busier than ever. While I continue living in Singapore, where most people make travelling a necessity on their holiday plans, Flying is still the same old lazy guy who doesn’s care to plan...

They say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Flying says, “home sweet home.”

It was quite surprising to Flying that many friends often complained about being bored in the same environment all the time. Like many Singaporeans, going overseas seemed to have become so desperately the only way to escape from the routine and to appreciate beauty and excitement again.

Flying holds a different view, though. What we really shall treasure more are exactly those pleasant surprises and accidental discoveries not far away from our daily lives. As a picture is worth a thousand words, let’s witness the accidental beauty that simply surrounds us all along...