Sunday, January 17, 2010

Why?

Who? Me
What? Travel by train and bus
When? April to November 2010
Where? Singapore to London and about 20 countries in between
Why?...

Someone asked me 'Why?' I am taking this trip. It was asked by a Singaporean and the underlying context is 'What practical gains will you get from this trip? Will it make you money? Will it make you more powerful?' It is one question that does not have a practical or purposeful answer. It is definitely a financial loss. So 'Why?', 'Why now?' and 'What makes it possible?'

Why? - I am going on an overland trip because I seek an epic adventure. When I was young I would read 'The Hobbit', 'The Lord of the Rings', 'The wizard of Earthsea' and other books. And it is about life changing journeys. For me it is learning more about myself by learning about the world. And I have always loved the romance of traveling by train. The idea of spending months on the road and out of a bag, is a chance for me to live one of my biggest dreams. And in the way I have chosen to travel, it is also a test of my own spirit. Although I have not chosen to do anything too extreme, there will be challenges on this trip, challenges for me to overcome. I want to see the world like I have never seen it before.

Why now? - In my photographic career as well as my own personal work, things have come to a plateau. I am still shooting and my work is useful to other people, but I have become stale. And I cannot find something in Singapore that grabs me, that makes me want to get out bed everyday for the next ten years. I think my passion for dance and dance photography got me out of bed for the first ten of my career. It also inspired me to learn all I could about the craft of photography. But a lot of what I do now seems hollow. I guess one can be philosophical and say that nothing in life is really important, if we can eat, sleep and pro-create, that is the basis of life. However, I think when humans are inspired, they can create something wonderful, even sublime. I am going now because I need a new inspiration, a new insight.

What makes it possible? - Yes, money does make it possible but I also have responsibilities. My biggest responsibility is to my parents. At this point of time they are getting older but they are still healthy. I want to take this trip sooner than later so that if I have to look after them, I can do it whole-heartedly. I ran a studio and had full time staff for about eight years. I let them go at the end of 2008 to become a freelancer again. This meant that I am no longer responsible for the welfare of my staff. I have been thinking of this trip for a while now and I wanted to do it about five years back, but I was engaged to someone who did not travel well and did not want to be separated from me for too long. So I did not do this trip back then. The relationship did not work out and I am single at the moment. So a relationship is also not something that is holding me back. I think that being relatively free of responsibilities at this point of my life makes this the most opportune time to take this trip.

1 comments:

ChiKuang said...

Ngiap Heng, good on you for doing this. It's so great that you are still seeking passion in your life and undertaking this journey. I wish I could join you on this journey. It sounds amazing. Be safe ok.