As it was in the beginning.

On my final day in Singapore I awakened to rain. That may not seem like much to you, but it was the tail end of the longest dry spell in the Lion City in the past 154 years. 

The drought conditions were coupled with the daily pungent smell of "haze" from burning brush in Sumatra. The rains were welcomed because it also filtered the air. 

The haze was gone. That was nice. 

The decision to turn travel-blogger also happened on the same day. This trip had been for me one of those life-changing ones. I can honestly say that up to that day I had not experienced a single bad moment. 

On that Sunday afternoon that was about to change.

For years I had been friends with Darren Ng, one of Singapore's most acclaimed travel bloggers with his travel blog Explore Life Lah!  Darren and I along with Hoh Siow Har, another travel blogger whose blog Xia's Journey you can visit here, were scheduled to gather one last time for a farewell dinner. 

 

That changed when I received news that Darren had been in an accident on Batam Island, falling into a drainage ditch and fracturing his shoulder. His mission? Rescuing a kitten. What a guy! Chivalry for helpless kittens was alive and well on Batam that day. 

He and Siow Har left Batam for Singapore a day earlier. He was in a great deal of pain. Our gathering would have to wait until my return to Singapore.

I spent the afternoon taking one last look at my favorite haunts in Chinatown. I was worried about Darren and Siow Har, and admittedly I was feeling blue. I ended up at Chinatown Food Street where many had gathered to eat and celebrate the parting of the rains. The air was clear and clean.

The decision to blog about my travels hit me like a freight train at dinner. My two Singaporean friends helped plant a seed for which I am quite grateful. Here's my final video blog:

Travel Rocks My World celebrates experiences and destinations where life is lived and history is often made in out-of-the-way places and circumstances. 

I am an historian, so you will be bearing witness to important sites and personalities that, at least to me anyway, are fascinating. 

Together, we will also bear witness to the clash between past, present and future. History has a way of unfolding in ways that make us smile -and sometimes throws water in our faces. 

Life and locations are often filled with realities that transcends cultures and national differences. In other words, it is a smaller yet increasingly interconnected world. 

But, our explorations and the people who fill them are often surprise-filled encounters. I celebrate the joys of the unexpected -and that is just part of the fun!