Travel Thoughts

It’s been an inactive period for this blog lately and that’s likely to continue for a while as I’m travelling a lot this month. Just back from a trip to Holland, and as always, my mind did its normal flip-flops about all kinds of stuff. I’m not really sure why, but travelling really brings out the thinker in me. It’s probably a combination of the extended periods of time spent alone and being in a different environment that makes me reflect back on my own life and the things that happen around me.

Let me share…stuff that I thought about…in no particular form of coherence…

~ We all have pre-conceptions about the people we work with – their characters, abilities and whether or not we like them. But our knowledge of them is mostly limited to office interaction. Travelling with a colleague however allows you to witness them in different settings, outside of the office and that inevitably leads to some sort of learning about their niceties, peculiarities and general characteristics. And oftentimes, I believe, we find that our pre-conceived views be it positive or negative can be wrong. So, I guess it would be useful to not be too cocky about judging someone too soon.

~ The sight of about a dozen mat-sallehs shouting “yum-seng” and then proceeding to bottom’s up their glasses of wine is entertainment indeed. It is amazing how sporting and friendly everyone becomes when there is some element of alcohol involved!

~ Absence makes the heart grow fonder. You think? Somehow I don’t really buy it. Rather, I think absence makes 2 other things happen. One, you get to do all the things that you wouldn’t otherwise do when your partner is around and have a good time at it, which leads you to actually enjoy the absence more than being together. Two, you just get used to being apart such that there is little difference between that and being together anyway. Either way, fondness doesn’t quite come into the picture, no?

~ Flowers are a really beautiful thing. One of my friends gave me 3 roses while I was in Holland. I placed them in a glass by my bedside in the hotel room and everyday when I got back from work, I would see them and they would inevitably make me smile. When I got home from the trip, I walked into my bedroom and saw that my mother had bought a bouquet of flowers to welcome me home. It made me smile and I felt extremely touched by the lovely gesture.

~ I am an extremely anti-social person on the plane! And a serious creature of habit when I travel!

~ Working and living abroad would probably be a really good experience. And it’s something that I would do in a blink of an eye in the short term. But home will always be Malaysia. It is a good life here. Not extravagant, but good and we should really be more conscious of the little things that we have. It’s so easy for us to go out for a nice dinner with family or friends. Most working class people own a car, and can afford to drive it and park it. We can often rely on our parents to help us get through school and the early working years, and in return they can rely on us in their senior years, nobody is really left to fend for themselves. Homeless people do not just die on the streets because of the weather. And where in the world are you going to be able to find packet nasi lemak or lok lok in the wee hours of the morning?

So you see how my brains can be nowhere and everywhere at the same time? Reminds me of this quote: “Sometimes I think positively, and sometimes I’m not positive I’m thinking” :-)