How quickly time has passed, and we are now just a week away from the end of the 6th month mark.

This month, I resumed China travels, starting with Xinjiang which was skipped previously due to falling ill. Had debated whether to go to South America first or to resume this aspect of travel first, eventually decided on Xinjiang since it was nearer to Singapore and felt like the more comfortable option in case anything happened (touch wood). 2.5 weeks spent in China across Xinjiang, Chengdu and Chongqing.  This month actually consisted of no solo travel, as I spent the first half with my dad in Xinjiang, and the subsequent portions with my BF.

It did occur to me that travelling with someone else, rather than solo, might not be helping me achieve the initial soul searching, self development goal of my sabbatical.

But life is a balancing act, and we are more than one character. A part of taking the sabbatical at this particular timing was to travel with my dad, while he was still fit and healthy and good walk easily to explore. I did feel an internal tension at times as when you are with parents, you naturally fall into old tendencies and a particular role that you’ve learnt to adopt with them. This naturally contradicts with the hopes or aspirations of finding or developing oneself as an individual, but again life is a balancing act, and I’m looking to give space and opportunity to both of these different characters in me at the same time. 

And as an ethnic Chinese (third gen Singaporean so my grandparents came from China), travelling in China served other purposes of discovery as well - including a chance to practice my mother tongue.

Reflecting on my travels as a whole, I feel like the experiences have helped amplify for me thoughts on what I appreciate about Singapore, as well as aspects that I hope Singapore can improve on.

I’ve learnt to notice and appreciate the following about Singapore:

• The convenience of it: There is no need to think about the basics and make decisions around that (e.g. food, water, energy) —> although this can be a double edged sword eventually. Given the size of the country and proximity, travel and access is convenient.

• How green we are as a city: Having roadside trees or nature around is not a given in a city, but particularly important for us given that we have no countryside to run to. How can we continue to maintain this?

• Waste management: I’ve always been frustrated by the amount of waste and issues with recycling that we face - but the fact that we indeed have a way to get rid of waste is not something to be taken for granted when there are countries who do not have this at all.

And the areas that I hope we can help build up in Singapore:

• How do we maintain and create more common space, places people can come and exist without needing to pay to be there? How can we provide spaces for people to intermingle and connect with others?

• How can we create an environment where the elderly can age with dignity? Particularly in a future where many may not have children or big families? How do we enable a social environment for them? It strikes me that growing old in Singapore must be particularly lonely for the current generation of elderly - especially as in many families even the grandchildren do not understand the language of their grandparents.

• Travelling has also got me thinking a lot more about supply chains and the competitiveness of Singapore: Innovation pops up when there is a need for solutions, and an environment where it is possible to try. With our current state, people live a comfortable life and there is neither of these aspects in many cases. Our systems reward following a set path. What can Singapore do to enable its relevance and competitiveness in the future?

The past few months for me have consisted of a lot of observation, experiencing and absorbing.

I’ve sought to learn and experience role, but am now reflecting on how I can now channel my energies into contributing to something. It is something that I have not quite figured out yet.