Like Magellan, let us find our islands To die in, far from home, from anywhere Familiar. Let us risk the wildest places, Lest we go down in comfort, and despair.Poem by Mary Oliver
In eight days, I will be boarding a plane to Singapore on my own. I’ve done that before, but after that, I’ll be taking another plane to Bangkok on my own and I haven’t done that yet.
It’s easy when you’re travelling with someone or travelling to a place where you’ll be living with people you know. You take precautions, of course, but at the back of your mind, you know that if something happens, there’s somebody *there* to take care of things. But if you’re travelling alone, what then?
I’ve had countless paranoid thoughts about this trips. Of course I try to be optimistic, but you just can’t totally shrug off all the what-ifs.
I think travelling is a state of mind. You can travel to the other end of the globe and still remain where you originally are if you keep on comparing what you encounter with your standards at home, not opening your mind to new experiences. On the other hand, you can also feel at home if you embrace the country and the culture. Of course it will never be *home* but at least you had a very enriching experience.
Le sigh. I haven’t gone yet and I’m already hating myself for a horrible trip that I haven’t taken.
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Back in the 80’s, when you want to travel, you go to your travel agent to book a flight or avail of a tour package. When you want to learn more about places you want to go to, you go to the library or the embassy, or talk to people you know who’s already been there.
Nowadays, you just have to go online. You book your flight through the carrier’s website, pay via credit card and print out your ticket. If you want to research, you Google your destination and instantly read about stories and advice from people around the world. Instead of being limited by a tour package, you get enough information to get off the beaten track.
So where to go for information? If you find Google overwhelming, here are some links to site I’ve found useful for my research.
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