The asterisk is an indication of a footnote.
I travel for a variety of reasons - personal satisfaction, awe of this beautiful world we live in, and of course, we have all been told how the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page. Furthermore, every now and then, if I feel overwhelmed with personal and/or professional developments, I find that it helps to put in some physical distance, while I recharge myself. Travelling does not solve any problems, but it does give me time to prepare myself to deal with them and put things in a better perspective. On my travels, I am not a collector of antiques, or even souvenirs for that matter. I have zero interest in shopping. But I do appreciate, for instance, a lesser known craft beer with a memorable aftertaste, or the opportunity to shoot an international sporting event or being part of a cultural extravanaganza. I do not travel under peer pressure (gigabytes of photos on a Facebook album). I am not so much of an adventure junky (you will never catch me leaping off a bridge with an elastic band securing my ankle) nor am I a correspondent of any sort. Having said that, certain elements of photojournalism obviously creep in, as my text and images record my observations and personal experiences. Though I do a fair bit of research beforehand, I also like the idea of something unexpected popping up and plans changing for the better, for example, as I meet locals and other travellers. I try to soak in as much as possible of whatever any place has to offer, depending on the amount of time I have to spare, especially if it happens to be a work trip. As I attempt to document my travels in this space, the end result is not a product copy pasted from Lonely PLanet or Frommer's travel guidebooks, but a personal and, if I may say, unique travellogue. In the midst of a hastily changing world (especially in Singapore), some of the info will become time-capsules of sorts. But more importantly, I think it is beneficial for me to have a better appreciation of my own experiences in all these places. So, that was the long version of the story behind the asterisk.
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