By Kenneth Ho
During a Nile cruise between Aswan and Luxor in 1984, my wife and I befriended a judge and his wife from upstate New York. An innocuous comment they made struck a chord. They said, “How lucky you two are to have so many years of travel ahead of you.” They meant we could choose to know more and more about less and less till we know absolutely everything about very little, or we can choose to broaden our horizons. The message was clear – Go forth, travel the world, for there is no better education. We chose the latter.
We are blessed to have visited 65 countries to date through a mix of leisure and work trips, stretching from northernly Iceland to southerly New Zealand and spanning six continents. From magical Machu Picchu to majestic Masai Mara, from happy Hawaii to the heavenly Himalayas, incredible India to incomparable Iguazu Falls straddling Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, from the site of ancient Olympics at Olympia to the site of next Olympics in Paris. From The Great Wall to Great Ocean roads in Victoria and Western Australia to Great national parks in Utah and Arizona and the Southern Alps. From Nippon to Nepal. From the Pyramids of Giza to the Pyrennes in Spain, France, and Andorra. And from amazing Abu Simbel to the ageless and lunar-like Atacama Desert.
It is inherent in our DNA that we thirst for knowledge. Through gathering knowledge, including travel-related ones, we become more motivated and well informed to make good decisions. Fundamental knowledge and life experiences, though, include being aware of the extent of our ignorance.
But so far, this is only half the story. To fully benefit from travel experiences, it is equally important to get under the skin of local issues and understand their cultures to get a sense of each country’s “state of health.” For us, that meant understanding the problems that face ordinary people in the streets of politically fragile countries like Myanmar and Chile. For example, our road trip in 2016 through South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida revealed how much support the Trump campaign gathered through fake news. Far more impactful and balanced than listening to “mutters from the gutter (press).”
On a lighter note, a chance encounter with Tibetan refugees living in Pokhara (Nepal) who we expected to lament over their country’s invasion was more interested in how many children we had. When told we them we had none (at the time), they asked with grave concern whether it was due to something wrong with me or my wife !
Clone of Michael Palin I may aspire to be. Still, having cogitated and deliberated, one of the countries that continue to seduce me with the most evocative memories is the country I journeyed through during my formative years till I was 16 years old, Malaysia—growing up in Petaling Jaya. Devoted parents, walking monsoon drains. Dreading science lessons but couldn’t wait for Brother Lawrence’s English lessons.
Regular outdoor badminton and table tennis with friends interrupted only by refreshments from a passing cendol man… Smothering French fries with ketchup and sugar at the A&W drive-in… Cycling to Templar’s Park and cycle races along the backstreets… As for vice, tempting adult magazines were supplied by a local unscrupulous newsagent and experimenting with cool clean Consulate which thankfully petered out quickly. All priceless memories then, now and I have no doubt, in later years too. Necessity is the mother of inventions – Nasi Lemak, Hainanese chicken rice, roti canai, Hokkien mee, and char kway teow were necessities! I have lived in the UK for more years than I remember, but Malaysian food titillates my taste buds most. School holidays with cousins at our grandparents’ Port Dickson bungalow.
Fantasising about an attractive girl in the next berth on a train journey from KL to Singapore with friends… Remembering Segamat enroute where retreating British Forces on a scorched earth policy in WW2 set fire to our family’s shophouse… And for the coup de grace, unceremoniously given a mandatory haircut by customs upon arrival in Singapore. A haircut that left me close to on par with Kojak. Just as well, I was not chewing gum! The Memory Bank of happiness, joy, and well-being continues to swell.
As for more travels, it is imprinted on my forehead that “Procrastination is the Thief of Time. “The more we see, the more we want to see. The more we know, the more we find out what we don’t know and seek to know, and so on. As John Done, an English poet in the 17th century, wrote. “No man is an island.” Good health and well-being do not always come from medicine. Often it comes from peace of mind, memories of places we have been, and people we have met. These memories will last while dynasties will pass.
Travel has opened our eyes to the world. It has enriched our lives immeasurably and taught us to be more tolerant of different cultures and beliefs. It took us out of our comfort zone to broaden our perspectives, an example being the appreciation that people in many countries tend to value their journey more than their destination.
I wish everyone “Bon Voyage” and meaningful journeys ahead.
Kenneth Ho
Now retired, Kenneth had a long career at British Airways HQ in London. He worked in several roles including managing the airline’s e-commerce development. He enjoys walking, badminton and cooking, especially food from his childhood days in Malaysia. He is married with two grown-up daughters.
