Conundrum

Travelling can be a beautiful thing, especially if you find yourself in a plane, a car, a train, a tuktuk, or jeepney, with someone you love and appreciate.

What happens, though, when you find yourself at a loss for what to do and where to go? What happens when budgets don't match? What happens when something unexpected happens in as far as itineraries are concerned? 

Well, you could just pack it in and call it a day, or, you could improvise. Recently, I had thought long and hard about visiting a country I had never been to before- Malaysia. Apart from having friends who live there, I had always been intrigued by Malaysia's food culture, how its predominant Muslim color affects the country's way of life, and how the "old meets the new" especially in places like Kuala Lumpur and Penang. The trip-upon doing the accounting for it- seems cheap, and the warm encouragement for visitation from friends long removed from a certain tour in Europe always helps. 

Having said all that- why, then, am I now contemplating a visit to Singapore? 

I had gone to Singapore for the first time in 2009 with my sister and dad. All in all, it was a fun trip. I have yet to go out of the country alone, though (even on business), so, that would be additional motivation for me to fly- to a familiar city, no less. Singapore, some have said, is a bit "soulless", in that, it has been described by certain critics to simply be a cacophony of buildings and modern age structures. To me, it is a bit of a safe haven as well, a place where you can be an adventurous sort of travelling but feel secure at the same time. Some may find me to be a trifle strange for saying this, but, that's a how I see Singapore. It's a beautiful contradiction that makes perfect sense. 

Then again, a trip to Malaysia for 3-4 days does not seem to be such a bad idea. It provides a lot of options in as far as Indo-Asian food is concerned, and of course, because it is a place I have yet to visit, the floodgates of my own personal curiosity about the place have been swung wide open. 

There are pros and cons to all things set in motion by choice. A friend recently recommended that I defer a trip to Malaysia to next year, given that 2014 is what she referred to as "Malaysia Year". In bargainers' parlance, 2014 is set to be one which offers many deals that can keep bankbooks shiny and happy. Malaysia, say some, and Kuala Lumpur, in particular, is a place that is not all too "exciting" in terms of it being a tourist destination. KL has been tagged as a place which is likened to Manila "without the towers". Unfortunately, this comment resides on the negative side of the polarity scale. This comment implies that KL and Manila are crowded, teeming with oddities the first time tourist need not discover, along with other similarities that may not pique the interest of a Filipino, given the "close proximity of the two cultures to one another". Singapore can tend to be wonderfully confused, with it sometimes swinging British, and other times, going Oriental. I guess its that type of blending that gives Singapore an inimitable charm, and a spic-and-span familiarity which can't be missed. 

So where will this fellow take his black backpack and roundneck theme shirts next? 

Hopefully, the answer to this question will become clear as a newly polished car window soon. 

Sans tint. Sans any tint.

MC