My Story

Better to See Something Once, 

Than to Hear about it a

Thousand Times

As a child, I dreamed of travelling the world. I dreamed of far flung places around the globe where people looked different from me and sounded different. I dreamed of the ancient amphitheaters of mighty emperors in Athens and Rome, once for spectacular games and battles, but now where concerts were staged. Of financial empires like New York and Washington D.C. with their great cultural and political strength, exerting significant influence around the world on commerce, politics, economics, arts, fashion and sports.

I dreamed of historical monuments like the Great Wall of China with its long and vivid history of preventing incursions from Mongolia, and monumental edifices like the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza, whose constructions house ancient treasures that are still being unearthed over the decades. I was fascinated at how they kept giving researcher insights into their inhabitants, and how and why these incredible feats of engineering may have been built. 

I longed to roam sandy beaches from Copacabana to Bali, and to dip in the azure waters of the French Riviera. I desired to experience the music and culture. as well as the spices and scents of Arabian markets in North Africa and the Middle East. I was curious to see the sky scrapers of Hong Kong and Shanghai. I wanted to see engineering marvels like the Panama and Suez Canals that connect oceans, lifting ships above sea level and between continents – wonders of the modern world.

I dreamed of the beautiful diversity of landscapes, animals, bird and plant life and fascinating cultures in Central Africa and in South Africa where the stories of the apartheid struggle never failed to make me angry at colonial injustices. I longed to step my feet on the soil of the Aborigines and experience their cultural practices and especially their music. I only knew what I had read and learned about in history books, story books, text books, movies about the historical, natural and archaeological value of these lands I longed to roam, and I created images and mental pictures of what these places would be like.

Why? I just wanted to see the world. Wanderlust? Must be!  I've always wanted to experience the unknown, confront unfamiliar cultures, engage different ways of life. Various people have various reasons why they are passionate about travel. For me, I just wanted to “go see” for myself. 

Seeing with ones own eyes, hearing with ones own ears leaves an indescribable and indelible imprint on one’s soul that can never be erased. Better, it is said, to see something once - than to hear about it a thousand times.