Travel, Portugal

One fantastic thing that travel does to you is to free you from your comfort circle and your old self. I feel most at ease speaking to strangers then, who of course no longer feel like strangers... since now the whole world is your home, and all its peoples your family. So it came to be that in Guimaries, the birthplace of Portugal, I got to meet Atty and Hieke from the Netherlands, who brought me licorice, Dutch pancakes and good company :)

We explored Guilmaries, a quaint medieval castle town, as well as nearby Braga. There we crashed a regal church wedding and listened to riveting, melodious choir music... till humorless guards chased us out. Crap. And then off we were to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal!

I find that it always makes things easier traveling when you have someone who speaks the local tongue. But we can't all travel with some hyperpolyglot! My favourite solution: just keep looking till you find that person :) In this case, Joao, a brazilian named after John Paul the Second, fell right into our lap. Speaking Portuguese fluently, he led us through the town and introduced us to some cultural tidbits: Brazil's history with Portugal, (in)famous kings and rulers, 5-years-old tuna, fava beans and famous salted codfish. We ventured to a meaningful district, Belem, where we tasted the Original Portuguese eggtarts (Pasteis de Belem), and refind the excitement of the Age of Discoveries, where luminaries like Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama paved the way for the New World... the Americas.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that my knowledge of European and American history and famous figures was essential for me to understand, appreciate and enjoy the sights and scenes all this while. Now where did i pick this up from? Not from school, where I hated history lessons. No, i have historical games like Colonization and Civilization to thank for teaching me about everything from the discovery of the New World, the European Wars, even cotton-growing, to wonders like the Colossus, the Sistine Chapel. These were perhaps the most educational games I have ever played. Games that make history come alive.

Anyway. At night, we had a most memorable meal of Dutch pancakes with bacon and cheese, and my very own veggie soup dish :p

The next day, I was already off to Barcelona. Sunny weather, beautiful beaches and FC Barca, here I come!

Leader, Portugal

On the spur of the moment, I borrowed some money, packed my bags and flew off to Porto, Portugal, where I started on a two weeks long trip across Portugal and Spain, right smack in the middle of the semester.

I arrived at twilight, and met with Carlos, who ran a chain of gaming hardware shops in Porto. I felt his kindness and considerate hospitality in no small way, and we talked freely, randomly I might add haha. Carlos had just started to host, and had not actually ventured to travel afar often. Yet I sensed his budding wanderlust and interest for travel, and expect him to come by SG in the future!

To me, the most astonishing thing about Carlos is that he is completely close pals and buddies with his employees. In my last night, I was introduced to them over dinner (which they had nicely treated me, a most memorable traditional northern Portuguese food Francesinha!) Miguel, Favio, Daniel, all colorful characters that I will have a hard time forgetting! It was so much fun talking to them, and picking up tidbits about Portugal along the way. We even played Texas Holdem poker at night, where I got eaten like a newborn lamb :p

Regardless, I wish to take away this simple principle of his: there is no more effective leadership than that which bonds your people with you. I remember vividly my experience in chairing Hall FOC, where I worked hard to forge my own leadership style. I later identified it to be servant leadership, when I saw how it resounded deeply with Pat Williams’ book The Paradox of Power. Yet I still have a long way to go, to bond so closely that there is no difference between the leader and the follower; only you and I.

I also meditated on the past times when I was led, both good and bad. The last time was traumatic, perhaps one of the worst experiences in my life; yet it enabled me to personally feel the effects of bad leadership, and to strengthen my resolve never to fall in these footsteps. I admittedly committed the same mistakes before, and I may have regretted it then but now I swear to myself: Never again. Never to alienate, to put down, to injure.

We all learn, and forge our own identities. I recognized myself to act at times like a driver type too, forceful yet tactless, or an analytical worker, methodical yet unassertive. Now I aim to abandon all rigidness, and to adapt my style to the situation, the cards in my hand. There are no bad cards, only bad players. And though everyone might know this principle and be able to spout it freely at the tip of their tongue, few ever internalize this truth of life in the way they think and act, or realize the full significance of its meaning.

When we played poker that night, I survived till the very end, then lost with my hand of cards and all my chips.

Well.

Not bad, for a start.

Pause

It is a silent, silvery night in Dubai, where I await my flight back to Singapore after having arrived here from Munich.

These past six fleeting months have been the most fruitful, growth-inspiring period in my life. I have scarcely a moment where I am not tormented, excited, stimulated by events, environment and the people around me. I will hopefully pen down my learning thoughts over my travel journals in my next entries, but it is hard to contain the rush of ideas, the recall of memories and experiences so alive they seemed to have happened yesterday.

It feels strange now, to reflect on my past self, a distant person, a blurry image of haphazard purpose and characteristics. At this moment, I have never felt more defined, as a person, a living thing. They say travel is a journey of self-discovery and exploration. For avid travelers, it might not be the most magnificent of stunning views that stimulates the mind, but rather the simplest of thoughts. Thoughts that inspire, thoughts that are inspired.

I guess, this is the path that I took in my exchange. I ventured, I sought new experiences and inspiration across Europe, deeply engaged in introspection and conversation with people from various cultures, various spheres of society. In return, I sacrificed many things which I deeply regret. I lacked the time to fully know and understand my newfound friends from all over the world. I lacked the commitment to pursue various computer science classes, which had finally began to interest me. I lacked the focus to truly develop a particular skillset, be it coding, socializing or leadership.

But I have grown, in a deeply meaningful way. And I pray to retain this modicum of wisdom in the journey of life ahead.

Travel

Due to a strange twist of events, I am now crashing in Paul's room, stranded on a narrow, musky mattress :p It feels that time is fleeting by so fast here on exchange... 5 months in the blink of an eye, and a month left for exams and my last bout of travels. I just have to to write something about my thoughts and feelings before i forget them.

Why am I on exchange? Why do I travel? What do I seek? These have been constant questions plaguing my mind since the start. I don't know why, but despite my parents' lax upbringing style, i have grown to constantly enforce pressure on myself. To be conscious, judgmental of my thoughts, cognizent of my actions. Perhaps it was those Enid Blyton books i read during childhood days, and their traditional value system ringing throughout. Or RI's environment and high achieving culture.

Regardless, i am not satisfied with the typical answers: We travel to see the world, broaden our horizons, for the cultural experience, to understand and appreciate similarities and differences between people. Blah blah blah. To me, these are mere words with surface meaning, simply fashionable statements that should make anyone with sense go nodding in agreement. "Ah true." "Yes indeed."

What does it actually mean? How much truth does it actually hold? Among all the friends and travel mates that i have met here, i have seen more the desire to sightsee than the hunger for cultural knowledge. I have wandered for hours alone in Barcelona's museum of Catalunya history, but been almost trampled at London's daily change of guards. I have been 'wasting my time' joining locals at outings to their favourite, unknown places rather than fulfilling completist dream checklists of things to do, places to see.

What do they want, what do they seek?

Well, I am glad to couchsurf. To me, that is the loveliest point of traveling, to meet the locals and really get to feel the local culture. More specifically, i want to crash headlong into a little microcosm of life within that society, to get a glimpse at my host's life.

I saw how free some led their lives; my last host never worried about how to get rich, only how to live richly. She never worried about her future, only how she can help herself and others in the present. She never worried about how to make it big, only how to do something small with great love. She is one of many who have taught me about what life is like, what we can, ought, must, should, would, and most importantly, love to do.

She is one of many, and they are all inspiration in my life.

Why do I travel? What do I seek? Perhaps i will never stop asking these questions. I might never be satisfied with the answers i give myself. But i will always find consolation that i have seen more now. I have seen so much more, and understood a little better.

Thank you.

Inspired

I feel blessed to have the Englischer Garten in my backyard. And today i went for a jog, watched a herd of sheep graze, fed a goat freshly plucked leaves from a tall branch, and silently let the waterfall wash my morning sickness away.

My ode to nature and the world...

When I roam freely in the forest,
I follow not the path of roadsigns,
but the whispers of a waterfall.
I stop not where the road ends
but where my heart feels at peace.

When I pause before a herd of sheep,
I admire not the pristine white pedigree
but the black sheep of the herd.
I worship not the shepherd;
Yet I love the sheep.

When I listen to the silent Earth,
I hear the universe roaring.
I join the multitude of voices
crying in both joy and sorrow.

And among people, I watch.
Till the happy day when one asks,
"Let us share about the world we know."

An Exhange Student Who Studies. (somewhat)

Technische Universität München, one of the finest institutions of technology and engineering in the world.

Sometimes I wonder, how much time do i actually spend studying here on exchange? Probably just five, six hours of classes per week, maybe throw in an hour or two for the sporadic tutorial...

Yet, how much exponentially more do i feel that i learn and experience much more than the typical lessons back in SG! Here, the independent style of teaching has been a huge challenge to me from the start, from catching up on presupposed knowledge that i do not have, to the take-it-beyond-the-classroom approach that leaves external readings and exercises up to the learner. Lectures and tutorials give you completely different sets of teachings and stimulation. And i guess you could say the level is pretty high, if a double deans lister feels like an idiot in every class :)

I am lucky, of course, to take some of the most interesting modules available in computer science now. Admittedly, there are also professors here who have found the cure for insomnia, course materials impossible to arouse any form of interest. My solution is to go for classes very, very discriminatingly :p

Anyhow, the modules i go for are pure fun and amazement, and i'm constantly thinking of ideas to incorporate them in my research project this coming year back in SG :) There's Machine Learning, that enables the evolution of computers based on data fed in. It is perhaps the most important discipline for things like Google, Facebook. Or Algorithmic Game Theory, a cutting-edge field where computing truly is empowered to solve complex human, real world problems. As well as Social Networking: User Modeling and Personalization, again a highly fascinating and useful area of knowledge that I'll be phasing into my research algorithm.

I once asked my mentor back in NTU...Why is computer science so boring? To which he replied, you just haven't gotten to the fun part yet. And it is fun. At the higher levels, i can see Math, Economics, Psychology, and perhaps any other field and discipline, being melded together to form useful tools, machines, by the forge of Computing.

Now that's what i call Technology.

Perhaps now, my friends back in SG are experiencing the same euphoria and excitement with these higher level subjects. If not, then i should point out this serious gap in teaching and curriculum standards to the school. It is a sin to let students graduate in Computer Science, or any other course for that matter, without the same sense of curiosity and excitement for the unknown that propelled them to enter this vast, unexplored world in the first place.

UKulele in UK 3: Encounters with the Hairy Coo

Twenty-seventh May, 2001.

I stumbled out of the overnight bus, frazzled and bewildered, a tad tired from the long ride. Time to begin grabbing bus and train brochures, then to decide what to do here in Scotland. I had originally planned to go to the Isle of Skye, a far-off island off the northwest coast via one of the greatest railway journeys of the world. Still, I decided to wait till i first met my host here in Edinburgh to make further plans.

Walking out of the station, i stood awed by the sight of the city. Scotland proudly presented its crown jewel, Edinburgh, Athens of the North, to all who entered its wild lands. The architecture and layout, the way the streets ran up to the Royal Mile was, to me, the most beautiful and refined of my travels thus far. I walked up the streets full of Gothic, neo-classical feel; later I found out i was in the New Town, a rich, intricately planned district still built centuries ago. I reached the railway station, and in the distance, Edinburgh Castle loomed majestic atop a sheer cliff, reigning over the picturesque Princes Street Gardens.

What a city. What a city, really. I made a call to my host Andy to arrange a meetup time, then headed off into the Royal Mile. (An old man who curiously served in the British Army and was in Singapore before WW2 showed me the way. He promised to come visit Singapore again and witness its modern transformation.)

If there were ever an equivalent of les Champs-Élysées in the UK, this would be it. A fine, cobbled avenue, ageless yet modern, running down churches, restaurants, souvenir shops up to the Edinburgh Castle. Dozens of little streets, or closes, ran by its side, waiting for the adventurous to venture and explore. Each told a different story, as derived from its name; Fisherman's Close, for example, used to lead to a seafood market.

I hitched onto a free walking tour, and it took up through delightful tales as we wandered through the Mile. From the Eleventh step, to the national food and drink, right down to the reason the Nor Loch was drained to form the Princes Street Gardens (and why a hundred female corpses were found decaying inside!), we relished the deep, interesting history of the city.

I met up with Andy, and putting Edinburgh aside for the moment, we took off on a train headed for North Berwick,which used to be Andy's hometown. I finally fulfilled my dream of visiting a small seaside town :) We explored much of the place, trying out local foods and checking out the sights. Wish i had gotten onto Bass Rock, where seabird colonies lay breeding at this time of the year. I did climb up to a volcanic rock ridge though, where i spotted puffins nesting among crashing waves! But i couldn't get too close to them, since it would disrupt their breeding environment, so i left after a glimpse.

Along the way, Andy and i had a great time sharing cultural information, from politics to economics to lifestyles. I am still amazed that he is just 18, the same age as my younger brothers! Now if only they were as mature and knowledgeable...

Edinburgh remains one of my favourite cities, not least because it is just so easy to lose yourself in its winding alleys and dingy shops, where you always expect a lovely surprise, perhaps a rustic book shop or a hidden foodie heaven. Its old city quarter is so small I have probably ventured through it at least eight, nine times, each being a different, riveting experience. Edinburgh, on foot. A must.

I shall always remember, too, a most memorable trip through the Highlands of Scotlands, foraging through spiny forests, luminous Lochs or lakes, and medieval castles, all on a bus modelled like a cow. Introducing... the Hairy Coo, the most amazing FREE tour ever. Comes with highly knowledgeable, humorous and friendly guide. Lunch at a wee bit town with fantastic local food. What's the catch? Nah, there's no catch. Where did your faith in mankind go? (p.s. Remember, don't follow the herd!)

My cousin-in-law Chen recommends Edinburgh at New Year's Eve, where the fireworks blast majestically over the Castle. Andy and Jack propose August till September, when the world-renowned Edinburgh International Festival takes place, and the Royal Mile is transformed into a bustling street of arts and performances.

Well, just take it from me. Edinburgh is good January till March. Also July to September. Maybe October to Dec. Let's not forget April to June too.

Heck, come any time of the year. You will still fall head over hairy coo in love with it :)