Hi, I am S. Lee. I was born and grew up in Singapore. My love for architecture started when I was on the front seat of a double decked bus travelling through the Singapore Central Business District, looking at those fascinating skyscrapers. I saw all those famous architectural landmarks overseas on television, postcards, travel magazines and was in awe. My Grandfather and Father worked on the sea, and it was certainly a romantic notion to be an Explorer of Sorts Navigating the world as a Navigator!
First Trip Overseas as part of a family of navigating navigators
At 11, I finally got to travel overseas for the very first time. My parents, having been frugal all their lives, decided that it was time to bring the family on a package tour to Australia – Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The package tour experience was a constant slew of timeslots which we had to adhere to: when to wake up; when to board the coach; when to gather and more so a time limit to the things we want to see. Being in a packaged tour also means not being able to stop by somewhere interesting that may be chanced upon, as well as a stop at a designated souvenir stop, which we really had no interest in. While we were accommodated in comfortable hotels, the comforts and conveniences of one were frequently underutilized.
This all changed when we parted ways from the group for a free-and-easy leg to Sydney. We had control of how we would spend our time. We had the freedom to go to stop by anywhere we wanted to seek out the things that interests us. Seeing the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge from various vantage points were a highlight of this trip.
First Trip to Europe, already a solo Navigator
In the 2000s, I landed a scholarship for a Student Exchange Program in Paris. This was my first time in Europe. It was a dream to see world class museums like the Louvre Pyramid and the Pompidou Centre. Then there were various iconic architecture like the Lyon-Satolas Airport Railway station, and the Ronchamp Chapel. The scholarship was just adequate to cover the airfare, some accommodation and meal expenses. So I had to share a studio apartment with two dear friends. Despite it being small, we had a view of the Eiffel tower sparkling every evening. Many friends visited and bunked in with us. At the peak, we hosted 16 in a single night, and all were awake because one kept everyone up with the snoring!
Being students with limited funds, we had to be very careful with our expenditure, especially when we also wanted to travel around while we were there. We bought train tickets well-in-advance to get highly discounted seats. We also stayed at hostels and bunked in with contacts who were also on exchange in Europe in different cities. I quickly discovered that Europe was one huge travel playground with budget flights that were available at as low as 1 quid, and good connections overland with the extensive rail and bus network at budget prices.
No longer a Student
Having commenced full time work some years later, I thought I would never get the time to travel for leisure again. There were some business travel but they are … well – for work. Then I saw how colleagues would link up leave days with bank holidays and I have been doing that ever since, almost using every single leave day for travel. Some bosses were kinder, allowing me as many as 6 weekends away from work, though I was never far from work itself as I was travelling with a mobile workstation.
I have since navigated my way through the world to some 60 more countries. Most times, I led a group of friends, and set the itinerary. It certainly gave some sense of satisfaction as the Navigator of our trips! Gradually, when friends settle down, have other priorities, I came to be the sole navigating navigator. Travelling solo could be quite therapeutic.
About the Mission of the Navigating Navigator
The purpose is to share with you that it is possible to travel with limited leave days, and also not break the bank! I have now visited 75 countries and you can too! Have fun and your appreciation of my effort helps to add countries to fuel my wanderlust.
About Navigating Times by the Navigating Navigator
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