Below was the email which I sent out on Friday,7th Mar to friends to inform them about my upcoming trip. Just thought that I want to post it here too. Kind of form part of my blog for that day. Here goes...

Harlow everyone!!

I hope this email finds everyone well. It's been a long time ever since I sent out a mass mail. :) And there's reason to do this cuz I am going for a trip again! Well, for those who do not know yet, I am flying to the country where Heaven and Earth meet, where the highest peak in the world is, and which boasts of some of the toughest people in the world. If u have not guess it, yup, it's Nepal.

My trip will last for 18days, from 15^th April to 2^nd May. I will trekking the Annapurna Circuit, and should be able to complete 80% of the route, if all things go well. My team consists of a total of 17 members, where I am the youngest. Hee.... Most of the others are middle-aged and above. Well, not that this is the 1^st time I?m traveling with people much older than me anyway.

During this 18 days, I would not have any access to communications means, unless I'm in the towns of Kathmandu and Pokhara. But time is precious as we do not have much of it to spend in either towns. Most likely, I would not be writing back at all. My handphone would be off as well. Cut off from Singapore for this period. Just what I prefer on any other trip. :p The last time this occurred was in Myanmar where there was no Internet access also!

I had wanted to write this email 2 weeks ago, but wanted to further confirm everything and wait for myself to be truly excited before I write this. Finally. One week before leaving. It's not too late this time round, right, folks? It's not those just few days before kind of email. And I am really excited right now. In fact, I just finished compiling my list of 'to-brings' and read the LP Nepal guide. Oh gosh, one of my childhood dreams is coming true! I have this list of countries which I have always wanted to go since young. And I mean, really young. At the primary school level? When my age was still a single digit. Those countries are Egypt, Nepal, Tibet, Rome(din know this was not a country at that time!) and Greece. Of course, the list of countries just kept getting longer. My focus had shifted as well. Rome and Greece were because of the Roman ruins and the many Greek mythologies and legends that had fascinated me since young. Egypt: Guess no further explanation needed right? Nepal and Tibet: Because of the mountains, of their elusiveness and of the rich Buddhist culture that fascinated me at a very impressionable age.

As I grow up, the various trekking tales caught my imagination and fascinated me. I had dreamt of becoming an archaeologist before(hence the appeal of the countries with ruins) and later on, a mountaineer. Or maybe perhaps, just a mountain trekker. Haha. Somehow, somewhere along the way, those dreams get blurred and indistinct. U have other obligations to fulfill. U have to walk down a certain path that has been laid for you. U are bound by circumstances. U have to do something else because it's basically impossible to be an archaeologist or a zoologist or a mountaineer or a marine biologist in Singapore! Or simply because, those dreams are not REALISTIC at all in the eyes of those loved ones around you! Ironic, isn't it? How your loved ones should stop u from becoming the person u want to be at times?

At least I have my freedom to pursue my dreams at this moment. A person only has this one life and that much time on earth. It's already April 2006. I realized that it has been almost a year since I traveled independently. My last trip to Iran was in May last year! Time flies, especially more so when u have so many things u want to do and everyday just whiz by with the list getting longer. Hey, it could get shorter too! If u are constantly ticking out those boxes on the list! :)

On a last note, just wanna share with u guys something that happened a few days ago at my workplace. My immediate boss in this department that I am working at now(A&E) is very open and outgoing. He loves to travel too and we often chat a lot about travel-related issues. He had asked me about Vietnam last week as he is going there tomorrow on Sat. I wrote him my itinery when I was there in 2004. When he knew I was going to Nepal, he offered to help me get any medications at discounted prices I might need for my trip from his niece who's a nurse.

This week, there were 2 students on attachment at the department and from our conversations, they know I am going to Nepal. I think they asked him something regarding me and traveling. My boss then told them, "This girl is a traveler. One day, she's going to cover more countries than any of us here." I was washing my hands then after having tended to a patient and he turned to me, "Right or not?" I gave him a very definite answer. "Yeah, I want to!"

In my mind, I was actually thinking of saying, 'I hope to.' However, 'hope' is not strong enough. 'Want' would ensure u will achieve your target. I did not feel I was being boastful at that time, for it was him who came up with that statement! Heh... Anyway, I guess I have in fact covered more countries than most people in that department, or as compared to anyone around my age.

I will always remember what I promise to myself. And make sure that dreams do come true, just like the next trip I'm taking. To the kingdom where u can almost touch the Heavens, where superb sceneries take your breath away and where adventure and magic will unfold themselves in the soaring mountains... :) Nepal, here I come... A girl living out her childhood fantasies...

Warmest Wishes,
An ecstatic Eunice!