Memoirs Q14: What role has Travel played in your Personal Development?

International Travel has always been an adventure. My very first one was in the late 70s to Malaysia, when I visited my dad. From meeting corrupt ground crew (and being victimized of a few dollars), to admiring how the Malaysian city had a very separate bike/motorcycle lane that looked a lot safer and better planned. I did not stay too long to enjoy the place, nor learn it's culture. I also got to learn more of my dad - more than the usual Sunday visits allowed. It gave me the chance to expand my horizon and see how cloistered I was.

Next was Tanzania, and boy was that an adventure. I'm used to the fact that my currency was lesser than others, so to land in a country that was less developed and with a currency less valuable than ours was an experience. Since this was an SGV project, it meant I also got SGV staff allowances. Good thing too - Dar Es Salaam may have reminded me of the Philippines in the 60's - it's lack of a steel industry amde me witness how construction of multi leveled buldings were being done - mostly by bamboo poles.

I also learned a few Swalhili words, and even went on a Safari.

My next trip was while working in I/ACT - two actually. First was Las Vegas, and attended a computer convention. Learnings? While it was just me and two other companions - my boss and a colleague who was brought along for his technical knowledge? Me? More for training purposed. But I marveled at the convention's size. I also marveled at Las Vegas - we were part of a contingent and I was not too keen to get to know anyone else. I was too engrosed with what I was seeing. There were some dissapointments, though. For one, I expected to hear what was new in the music scene. Unfortunately, I came in at the time when retro was in full swing. So listening to the airwaves and getting a doze of 70's songs like Funky Town was surreal. It was like the Tilight Zone. I guess the fact that we were billeted in Circus Circus did not help remove the retro vibe.

Second was in Singapore - to attend a talk. Problem was, it was my first experience with Singlish and the different tone. So I was being distracted with the pronunciation of the speaker to appreciate the talk. What a waste - oh well, at least there was the Night Safari where ironically I saw more lions than in the Mikumi park back in Tanzania. I also learned that Barbie's body grew real fast (being pregnant with Bryce) and that few days travel showed a very distinct change to her bulge - she seemed very very pregnant. I guess you don't see such change when you witness it on a daily basis.

From there, it was a long haiatus for travel - my next trip was a family vacation to Hong Kong, courtesy of Barbie. This time, it was a great experince to bring the kids to Disneyland, and I smiled and even teared up with my first experience with a real 3D movie. But I likes the overall experince - and watching the kids enjoy as well was the icing on the cake.

Succeeding travels were Japan, South Korea, Taiwan. All family vacations. All exciting and wonderful as far as experiences went. Suprisingly, we all thought that a return trio to Japan would be a good idea at a future time. A Taiwan return trip would be great too.

Enriching? Most definitely. Better for it. And the experiences enriched my memories. I'm not even including my domestic travels.