Up to 2005
To date, I've visited a total of 37 countries, some with friends, some with my family but recently mostly on my own or with just one close friend.
The earliest trips I remember taking were with my family, driving up to Penang, Malaysia from Singapore over some 9 days, visiting Malacca, Genting, KL and Ipoh. Those trips were a lot of fun though Daddy was usually really tired from all the driving. The first time I flew was on Garuda Airlines to visit Lake Toba in Indonesia. I remember Sis didn't take the flying very well. Did also a school-band trip to New Zealand when I was 15 - the first trip to a so-called 'Western' country.
The real independent travelling began only when I was doing my first degree in London. The first two trips were to Europe, covering France, Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In those 3 years, a couple of side trips were also made to Belgium, Scotland & Wales.
During that time, I did also a 4-mth student exchange trip to the US and covered both the east and west coasts pretty well, including taking a gruelling 6 day Greyhound bus ride across from Tennessee to California, and renting a car to cover the stunning southwestern states .
Then came all the more exotic trips, some of which I did when I was still in the UK and others when I came back to Singapore and started full-time work as a civil servant. These places were Morocco, the Trans-Siberian Railway (Russia, Mongolia & China), Vietnam and Nepal.
When I first started working full-time in 1997, most trips became awfully short, 3 to 4 days at a time. Did Perth (Australia), Cairns (Australia), Manila (Philippines), Hong Kong, Bangkok (Thailand) and the hilltribes of Chiang Mai (Thailand) this way. I also started going on short weekend scuba diving trips to Malaysia...
Whenever I could, I took off for week to 2 week long journeys to more laid-back and off-the-beaten-track countries such as Indonesia (island of Flores in Nov 2000), Cambodia (Mar 2001), and Goa, India (Dec 2001).
In 2002, i managed only a week long trip to London. But I love London so that was quite a big deal... plus also a short 5 day business trip to Tokyo which wouldn't really be considered 'travel' although we had some rather fascinating meals and had a taste of the exciting shopping the city had to offer..
However, this was followed by a rewarding trip, between Feb and Apr 2003, a 2 1/2 month long 4-wheel Land Rover jeep drive adventure through South America (Patagonia) and later on that year, a 45-day adventure through North India (Rajasthan) and Sikkim from Nov 2003 to Jan 2004.
2004 was comparatively quiet, with a trip here and there to the usual short nearby haunts - Bangkok, Malacca, Bali, Bintan.... much of the time was spent starting out in a new career move...
However, I was back to checking off new countries with an incredibly eye-opening 15 day trip to Sri Lanka in Nov 2005 to see the post-tsunami situation.. Discovered that Sri Lanka is a hidden paradise on earth - wonderful people, diverse scenary and a unique culture.. but devastation can still be seen in the more remote, less touristic parts..
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