The Passionate Traveller

Date: Saturday, 20 April 2013

Time: 09:00 EST (15:00 SAST)

Place: My hotel business centre, Washington D.C.

It's rather apt that I started my blog and wrote my first post 33000 ft up in the air. Travel excites me to no end! I'm absolutely enthralled by the endless possibility and riveting adventure that I often say is synonymous with travel. Now I know some will argue and say that travel isn't always about exciting expeditions and glamorous gallivanting. Especially when, for example, it's always for work. And yes, to some the thought of leading such a nomadic life can be a bit unsettling. I certainly see where these folk are coming from and perhaps the day may come when I will share in those beliefs. But fortunately today is not that day! For now, I will jump at any opportunity to hop on a plane and venture into new lands, and old :) 

This morning I landed in Washington, D.C. My first (and only) trip to the U.S. was back in 1996 when we visited Disneyland on a family holiday. As you can imagine, that was a child's dream come true! That was in fact, also my first trip overseas. It was back then already that the travel bug started to visit. There was something about this thing called travel that captured the imagination of this curios teenager.  Subsequent to that trip, I was fortunate enough to have travelled fairly extensively - initially mostly on family holidays to the U.K., Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore, India and then in more recent years for work to South Korea, The Netherlands and an incredible opportunity to live in Germany for just under 2 years! Now it was during these past 2 years that the travel bug not only became a more frequent visitor, but happily sunk down an anchor and decided to make itself at home. During my time in Germany, I pretty much conquered Europe. Well, to as far as my Schengen Visa would allow at least! 

Initially the travels were just for fun, for keeping myself busy over the weekends. But then something happened, trip after trip I started seeing a change in me (yes over and above the extra pounds I was putting on as a result of the foodie in me indulging in my adventures). I realised how I started seeing the world through different eyes, how I had become more confident in my ability to navigate through unknown lands (both literally and figuratively) and just how much I was learning about everything from people, food, culture, history, economics, and simply the ways of the world. This is the type of knowledge that one can merely not, as powerful as they are, receive from books or television or word of mouth. I returned home a changed person, one with a different purpose in life and an even deeper curiosity to continue to explore the enormous world of untapped possibility that lies out there. 

So you can imagine just how over-the-moon I was when, only 3 months after I returned, I found out that I was selected to be part of an incredible program (which I will most definitely be blogging more about this in the coming weeks) that would take me to the U.S. for 4 weeks! And this is how I ended up in Washington this morning :) 

I fortunately have 2 and a bit days free before the program officially starts so I am looking so forward venturing out and exploring the city. Any hints, tips, must-do's are most welcome! I can't wait to share in my adventures, so since I can’t check in for another 6 hours, let me sign off here and get started... :))