Today I leave Singapore to head back home. I'm excited to stop in HK to see an old buddy, but even more excited to get back to JMP and EP, who despite this picture below was not able to join me.

EP Violates TSA Regulations

This trip has reinforced to me that it's just not that much fun to travel for long periods by yourself, even in cool and interesting parts of the world. About the only thing that can be said about traveling by yourself is
that you can get lots of work done–as the title suggests, without the distraction of regular human contact I was able to get some writing done in not a lot of time.

At the same time, it also reinforces that Singapore would be a really good place to bring a family…if you have to go to the other side of the planet, this is where to go. Safer than KL, cleaner water than Jkt, not so much DAve Chung as Seoul, less hedonistic than Hong Kong, more affordable than Tokyo, less pollution than Beijing, fewer revolutions than Bangkok, more orderly than Hanoi/Saigon, easier to get to than Vientiane, not so hot as Phnom Penh, less likely to be kidnapped by the sultan and held as a slave than Brunei. Plus, we have friends here, and it's become clear to me with my successful visit here and my nice lunch with the people here, that there are lots of things for us to do. Who knows if JMP and EP and I will ever come here as a family for a more extended visit, but I wouldn't be surprised.