Missing the walkabouts

It has been a while since I have gone on a trip and I do miss my 'walkabouts'. I am beginning to realize that I quite like travelling - mainly independent travelling - where the itinerary is planned by yourself or someone in your group. I like these type of travel because most of the time you don't know what to expect and the journey is usually as important or more important than the destination. You might take 3 days of walking to get up to a summit but the summit is not the important part, the journey is. The summit is the trophy to tell others that you achieve something.

Many of the things I do revolve around doing these walkabouts - keeping fit, working, etc. I am not sure why I like these type of travel because from a pure economical perspective they are a waste of money. However economical perspective is not everything although being Chinese and Asian, people around me constantly remind me of its importance. Money is important for many things but it is not the only value in life - that is my opinion.

I like the walkabouts maybe because I have insatiable desire to move about and to explore new things. Maybe it is because when I move about I do not have to think or worry so much about what is going to happen next - where life is leading or whether my career is going to the sinkhole. Maybe I like it because I am a better me when I am travelling. Maybe it is because as the saying goes a rolling stone gather no moss and I am fascinated by the 'moss'-less lifestyle. As I age, I am beginning to realize many drawbacks of this 'moss' less lifestyle. I am certainly not religious about not gathering 'moss' as a brief glance around my room will convince you that I have much more stuff than I need.

As I am bounded by the lack of travel these days (due to resources), I am often fascinated by those who are travelling. However, I do find that those who go on packaged tour or business trip usually have fewer stories to tell from their trip. But there are always exceptions so I am all ears for your travel stories. If you sponsor me on a trip, I will be very happy to tell you my stories.

Malaysians fatter than Singaporeans

According to the WHO Global Database of BMI, Malaysia has a much higher obesity rate (% with BMI >= 30) than all its neighboring countries. Malaysia has 16.3% (2006) vs Singapore at 6.9% (2004). Now I did not read through the WHO website to determine how they got the number but isn't the figure a bit alarming for Malaysians? Thailand has only 4.4% and Indonesia has 2.4%. What type of food are Malaysians eating that make Malaysians more obese than our neighbors? Malaysian food isn't more different than Singaporean food. It makes you wonder doesn't it? Maybe it is time to cutback on all the extra visits to the mamak stall for supper. Or am I reading the WHO table wrongly?