Characters make the book
Dr Tom Mulholland is an Emergency Department Doctor and GP with over 25 years’ experience in New Zealand. He’s currently a man on a mission, tackling health missions around the world.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page,’’ said St Augustine, a 4th-century Algerian philosopher. Profound words written 1700 years ago, when the world was thought to be flat and before the ease of international travel – with budget airlines and fast boats, it’s become almost a commodity. While I am no economist, it does feel like travel is relatively more affordable than when I made my first overseas trip at 22. With budget flights from New Zealand to Asia for a few hundred dollars, more people are reading the worldly book. I’m always amazed how, after boarding a plane in New Zealand and a good sleep later, I can wake up in a different culture, one that is often unaware that our Kiwi paradise exists. Singapore is a familiar ‘‘page’’ and it seems busier each time I visit. The malls and shops are packed and people are spending up large. Consumerism is rife and I shudder to think where all that plastic and packaging, clutched in the hands of the thousands of people streaming through the malls like well-organised ants on a mission, goes. This year’s World Happiness Report ranked Singapore the 26th happiest country on Earth, while New Zealand is the eighth happiest place to live. This index is based on metrics such as honesty, caring, generosity, freedom, health, finances and good governance. Least happy countries Rwanda and Syria came in at numbers 151 and 152 respectively, with the Central African
One of the things that makes me happy about escaping on a mission is the people you meet on your adventures.
Republic bottoming out at 155. Algeria, the birthplace of St Augustine, came in at 53, ahead of Peru at 63 and Hong Kong at 71.
After Singapore, I will be in Switzerland, which comes in at No 4 and then Russia, which is ranked at 49 on the World Happiness Report.
One of the things that makes me happy about escaping on a mission is the people you meet on your adventures.
Like characters in a movie, they pop up and can delight with personality and purpose, and add meaning to the trip.
Taxi drivers have always impressed me as philosophers, comedians, social commentators and raconteurs. The trip to Changi airport was epic with the driver having a laugh that could light up a room and a perspective that was voluntary and, at times, hilarious.
To be a taxi driver in Singapore you must be a resident and be at least 30. This taxi driver made my day. The traffic was almost non-existent as he gave his perspective on the world and the human condition.
St Augustine would have been proud, and my driver’s view of how markedly different cultures within Asia were based on facts and evidence was an eye-opener, despite being a regular traveller to Singapore’s shores.
Meeting the locals, listening and taking the pulse of a country makes it more interesting in my view. It is what makes travel magical as you experience the often-rich tapestry that other cultures bring, and it changes your perspective.
I once shared a taxi with Dr Ernesto Sirolli, a charismatic Italian whose Ted Talk Want to help someone? Shut up and listen has had millions of views.
Its philosophy helps to turn modernday travel into a colourful audiobook, underlining the themes touted by St Augustine all those centuries ago.
Listening and absorbing while travelling definitely makes the adventure a lot more enjoyable and rewarding.