Travelling

I will be flying to India tomorrow. My first time in India. Not sure what to expect, a little worried about my weak stomach especially having heard 9 out of 10 times friends and colleagues getting sick while in India. Its going to be a short trip, just 4 days, I am going to be fine.

Without getting too overly worried, its a bit of a mixed emotions for me. Firstly its a work trip and I have some very major presentations to make while I am there. On the other hand, Taj Mahal - a place where I have always wanted to visit for the longest time. Amongst a whole list of places which I would love to go to before I die.

Travelling is one of my many loves. I love the history, architecture, culture, food which different countries bring, it opens up one's horizons and makes one realise just how big the world is and how so absolutely small we are. It impresses upon one how amazing God's creation is and how incredible human kind has evolved - from the art, the history and the architectural feats from ancient buildings. The awe and the amazement I awlays get is a feeling which I treasure and devour, something which you dont experience on a daily basis in your everyday life.

The world has so much to offer and we have so little time to enjoy what God has created for us to enjoy. For that reason, I guess oftentimes TV is a good subsitute and that is why I enjoy watching channels like Travel & Leisure and reading travel magazines so much. What you cant experience, you read. Its probably not the same, one would argue. But it would have to suffice, especially for someone in a time starved society where there are more important things in life such as earning for one's keeps, to take care of.

Now, some of the best trips I have ever had in my life, so far, must be Cambodia (sSiem Reap), Spain (Toledo, Granada) and Czech Republic (Prague). I have also equally enjoyed the charms of Vietnam (Hanoi and Saigon) and am looking forward to the much heard beauty of central Vietnam - Danang in my upcoming June trip. Thailand is always enjoyable - from Bangkok to the touristy Phuket, Krabi.

Travelling is not just sightseeing for me - its about the local experiences and food and local culture is a huge part of it. How can you leave Thailand without ever experiencing the wonderful massages and the incredible Thai food? How can you not taste Vietnam's history through its plain yet rich offering of the simple Vietnamese cuisine which I personally feel tells alot about what the Vietnamese people have gone through in history and also the influence of the French colonisation with just a bite of the Saigon baguette.

And I will always remmember the cold winter in Czech when we were there and how our stomach have been warmed up by the local Czech cuisine of which I vividly remember an evening in a really old charming restaraunt serving up rabbit meat (my first time!) and beef stew.

But for now, tomorrow, India awaits me. I hope Taj Mahal welcomes me with open arms and I look forward to embracing the culture and history of India, well at least once my stomach settles after the stomach churning big presentation I have to make.