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C10TUESDAY, APRIL 5 2011

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The United States?Been there. Central Europe?

Done that. Young Singaporeans are hungry for more unusual experiences for their graduation trips.HUANG HUIFEN reports.

New lab ratGoing to Hong Kongfor the perfect cut

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Mohammed Shakirin Abdul Rashid: Going to Syria.

Brian Ng: Going to be

a porter.

Sandra Eu: Going

to Greece and Turkey.

huang huifen

Undergraduate Sandra Eu, 23,cannot find anyone to accom-pany her on her graduate tripnext month.

She is not without friends.But her taste in holiday venues, Greeceand Turkey, is too exotic for her peers,who prefer tried-and-tested places suchas the United States and central Europe.

“I’ve been to most parts of Asia, theUS and central Europe for my secondaryschool and polytechnic graduation trips.Hence, Greece is a new area to visit,”says Ms Eu, who will be island-hoppingacross the Greek Islands with her aunt,and travelling alone to Turkey during thesecond leg of the trip.

Engineer Koh Tian An, 26, describedhis Tibet adventure in June last year as“the best trip of my life”.

The NUS computing graduate wanteda more subdued grad trip experience andwent on a 15-day sightseeing tour organ-ised by Adventure Quests.

He was floored by the natural wondersof Mount Everest and Namtso Lake, asalt-lake perched 4,718m above sea level.

“The breathtaking sights will foreverbe etched in my memory. It was a worth-while trip as it offered a different experi-ence from the usual sights of Europe.There were no bright lights, comfortablehotels or shopping malls,” he says.

Increasing, there are more like Mr Kohand Ms Eu, who choose more unusual andmeaningful graduate trips where they canvolunteer, work or learn a new language,in part because they are well travelled.

These undergraduates have alreadybeen to many places in the world withtheir parents or schools.

One in three Singapore ManagementUniversity (SMU) students has some sortof overseas exposure in the form ofstudent exchanges, internships, communi-ty service projects and competitions.SMU has 6,500 students.

At the National University of Singa-pore (NUS), 1,445 students went on itsStudent Exchange Programme lastacademic year, with 30 per cent going to

the Americas and 48 per cent going toEurope. Five years ago, the number wasonly 676, with 35 per cent going to theAmericas, and 38 per cent to Europe.

SIM Global Education, which launchedan education abroad initiative in 2009,has sent more than 750 students to 14 des-tinations. About 300 went to the US andEurope.

Travel agencies have noted a shift inthe travel pattern among globe-trottingundergraduates.

Ms Alicia Seah, CTC Travel’s seniorvice-president of marketing and publicrelations, says: “About two decades ago,students went on comprehensive toursorganised by tour agencies to Europe,America and China.

“But in the last decade, the trend has

evolved and we are getting bookings tonearby destinations such as Koh Samui,Phuket and Bali, working trips to the USfor about five months, and volunteerismtrips.”

CTC started offering such volunteer-ism and US packages last year, andexpects revenue from these trips to growby 3 per cent every year.

Currently, the company offers its ser-vices only for the free-and-easy travelportion of the Work and Travel USA pro-gramme. But there are plans to launch afull programme to China next year.

STA Travel, which specialises in youthtravel, has also seen a 15 to 20 per centspike in bookings for its volunteer tripsamong graduating students since it start-ed offering them in 2006.

Some of the newer trips include a tur-

tle conservation project in Mavrovouni,Greece, working with endangered orangutans in Kuching, Sarawak, and teachingEnglish to novice Buddhist monks inLuang Prabang, Laos.

STA, Chan Brothers Travel and Con-tiki Holidays have also received morerequests for less common destinationssuch as Eastern Europe, Scandinavia andGreece.

STA Travel has seen a 35 per centincrease in bookings among graduatingstudents for tours to these three destina-tions since it started offering them in2006.

While the demand for ever populardestinations such as London, Paris andRome is still strong at Contiki Holidays,its director of sales and marketing (Asia),Mr Nicholas Lim, says the company hasseen a 20 per cent increase in bookingsfor Europe tours that include less populardestinations such as the Greek Islands,Czech Republic and Scandinavia.

Contiki Holidays specialises in out-bound tours for young travellers aged 18to 35.

Some undergraduates such as Mr BrianNg, 25, use the trip to experience work ofa different sort.

The final-year NUS psychology majorwill be working as a porter in a resortunder the Work and Travel USA pro-gramme. It is organised by SpeedwingTraining Asia, an overseas work andtravel specialist that has facilitated 7,000students’ work exchange programmessince 2001. About 20 per cent of them arefinal-year students.

Under the programme, Singaporeanstudents are hired by American employ-ers to work in the hospitality sector atplaces such as theme parks, resorts andnational parks.

Students are given a J-1 visa thatgrants them employment in the US for amaximum of four months, and a graceperiod of 30 days of travel within the USafter their employment period. Studentsare usually paid US$7 to US$9 an hour.They have to pay between US$15 andUS$130 a week for lodging in the staffquarters, usually a motel cabin. This is ontop of the $1,400 programme fees theyhave to pay, which does not include air-fare and visa application.

Mr Ng sees his work trip as an excel-lent way to immerse in American culture.

“Being a porter is very different fromother forms of travelling. I can witnessthe daily lives of the locals and knowthem better. It is better than going as atourist, checking into bigger hotels andvisiting the usual attractions. You see alot more of the world this way,” he says.

hfhuang@sph.com.sg

MOHAMMED SHAKIRIN ABDULRASHID, 23Final-year economics major fromSIM-University of LondonTrip: Learn Arabic at the HigherLanguage Institute of DamascusUniversityDuration: Three months

Mohammed Shakirin Abdul Rashid willgo to Syria in June where he wants toimmerse himself in an Arab-speaking+environment and learn more about thecountry.

“It has always been my dream tomaster Arabic so that I can truly under-stand what the Quran means. If youdepend on translations, the meaningsoften get misconstrued,” he says.

Before he gets his examination resultsin September, the 23-year-old will bespending three months in Damascus, thecapital of Syria, to learn Arabic at theHigher Language Institute of DamascusUniversity. He will be spending Ram-adan there in August.

Since last November, he has beentaking Arabic courses twice a week hereat the Al-Markaz language centre.

During his semester break last June,he went on a two-month Arabic Sum-

mer Intensive Immersion programme atthe Al-Diwan language centre in Cairo.

He likes the intensive summerprogrammes, where he learnt Arabic forfive hours daily, five days a week. Hesays that being in a city where Arabic isthe native language will help him brushup his oral skills.

“I want to grab this opportunity tofulfil my dream. Once I start workingand have a family, my roles and res-ponsibilities will evolve and I will nothave the freedom to do what I want,”says Mr Shakirin, who estimates that histrip will cost about $3,000 for airfare,course fees and living expenses.

His parents – mum is a teacher, dad astore-keeper – will be paying half of thecost of his trip and he will dip into hisown savings to foot the rest of the bill.

He will stay with Singaporean friendswho are studying in Syria. They havebeen keeping him updated on the vola-tile situation there.

“They say it is fine as it is just smallpockets of unrest there. But safetycomes first. If the authorities askSingaporean students to return, it showsthe seriousness of the situation and Iwill cancel my trip and go for an intern-ship in Singapore instead,” he says.

He has received a conditional offer tostudy for a master’s degree in economicshistory at the London School of Econo-mics and hopes to clear the misconcep-tion that many of his peers have of theMiddle East.

“Before I went to Cairo last June, myfriends joked and asked me if I wasgoing there to learn to make bombs. Themedia portrays the Middle East as allabout war, terror and unrest,” he says.“But when you go there and see how thepeople live, they are not much differentfrom us.”

He plans towrite a bookon his experi-ences afterthe trip.

SANDRA EUFinal-year business student,Nanyang Technological UniversityTrip: Sightseeing in Greece andTurkeyDuration: 27 days

Sandra Eu visited Los Angeles whenshe was eight, toured central Europeat 16 and visited the rest of the westcoast of United States at 19.

So it is no surprise that for hergrad trip, she has chosen places thatare different from the US and Europe.

Next month, she will be touringmainland Greece for 10 days and skip-ping across to the Greek islands ofMykonos, Santorini and Crete foranother nine days with her60-year-old aunt, before travellingsolo to Turkey for another eight days.The Greece trip is free and easy,while she will be going to Turkeywith a tour group as she thinks it isunsafe to travel on her own there.

Travel agencies say that countriesin the Mediterranean are populardestinations for grad trips.

While in Greece, the history buffwants to visit historic attractionssuch as the Temple of Zeus andApollo.

There will be some socio-anthro-logical activity, too. She says: “Ienjoy people-watching and wouldlike to sit at an alfresco cafe, taking inthe sights, sound and smell of theplace and how the people work,interact and live.”

Her trip will cost about $7,000.Her parents will be sponsoring 20 percent of it, while the rest is from hersavings and returns from her stockinvestment. Her father is a safetyofficer, her mother a secretary andher brother, 26, is a final-year compu-ter science major at the National Uni-versity of Singapore.

Since she is paying for most of thetrip, she does not want to go budgetbut plans to stay in small boutiquehotels overlooking the stunningAegean Sea. The hotels each costabout ¤200 (S$358) to ¤300 for threenights.

“I can’t wait to wake up everymorning to enjoy a cuppa on the bal-cony in my hotel room, while admir-ing the picturesque sea view,” sheadds.

What is the ideal duration for a trip?STA Travel marketing manager TimothySu says: “If you go to a place where youdo not see yourself visiting within thenext five years because of career andother commitments, aim for a month.Spend at least four days to a week ineach city.”

How should I plan the itinerary?Decide on the places that interest youand if you are travelling with a group,decide on an itinerary that matcheseveryone’s interest, says Mr DamienGoh, 26, an IT security consultant whowent on a 13-day backpacking trip toTaiwan with seven friends. They met afew times weeks before the trip tofinalise the itinerary.

If you are going to multiple cities,plan the itinerary in a circular pattern sothat you do not backtrack, saysproduction engineer Ng Yixiang, 25, whobackpacked for four months to India andPakistan.

How do I choose the right tour firm?Engineer Koh Tian An, 26, who went ona 15-day Tibet trip with AdventureQuests last year, suggests shoppingaround and visiting trade fairs oruniversity-organised travel fairs to findout what each tour operator offers.

“If you want a specialised tour or to aspecific region, choose a company thatconcentrates on such tours there,instead of a company that offers a widespectrum of tours. That way, you arelikely to get more experienced guideswho know the ground well,” he says.

How do I choose goodaccommodation?Mr Nicholas Lim, director of sales andmarketing (Asia) at Contiki Holidays,says it may be cheaper to stay in a cityhotel in places such as Europe and benear the attractions than stay in a hosteland pay transportation to get there.

The Internet is the best tool forchecking reviews for location,cleanliness and service. Go to websitessuch as Hostelworld.com orAsiarooms.com

What are some of the safetyprecautions to take when overseas?Do not put all your money in yourwallet. That way, you will not bepenniless should you lose it. Onadventure trips such as trekking theHimalayas, Ms Alice Giam, marketingdirector of Divine International Exploreand Treks, advises travellers not to eatfood they do not know well, avoid routesthat are not familiar and always informtheir guides when they feel ill.

What does packing light mean?It means packing according to the needsof your trip. Mr Lim of Contiki Holidayssays: “I’ve seen too many youngtravellers bringing fancy three-inchheels, only to end up buying comfortableshoes, especially when they are inEurope where there’s a lot of exploringon foot.”

Bring formal attire if you want to dineat a fine-dining restaurant. Those goingon long grad trips such as the Work andTravel USA programme, property agentAlexis Phang, 24, suggests bringing anempty suitcase to store shopping items.

What should I do when there aredisagreements and conflict withinthe group?It boils down to choosing the right travelbuddies. Social worker Lynnette Lee, 24,who went to Nepal and Bhutan last yearfor her grad trip, says: “You cannot havetwo people who want to play the tourguide. One must be the leader and theother the tourist.”

If your group cannot agree on whereto go, consider going separate ways andmeeting for lunch later. That is, if thecity is a safe place to move around alonein.

Grads seethe world

Before you go...

‘Once I startworking andhave a family...I will not havethe freedomto do whatI want’

MohammedShakirin

AbdulRashid

GREECE AND TURKEY: SIGHTSEEING

Backpacking is passe,graduates are signing upfor volunteer trips andgoing to more exotic places

SYRIA: MASTERING THE ARABIC LANGUAGE

Engineer Koh Tian An was blown away by the natural scenery during his 15-daysightseeing tour of Tibet last June. PHOTO: COURTESY OF KOH TIAN AN

ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE

ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

‘I can’t wait to wake upevery morning to enjoy acuppa on the balcony in myhotel room, while admiringthe picturesque sea view’Sandra Eu (left)

life!Ltravel

THE STRAITS TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 5 2011 PAGE C2

GAN QIANQI, 22Psychology major,National Universityof SingaporeTrip: TasikokiWildlife RescueCentre in NorthSulawesi, IndonesiaDuration: Threeweeks

Going to the Singa-pore zoo leaves ani-mal lover Gan Qianqidissatisfied as shecannot interact muchwith the animals.

But next month,she will get to feedthe animals atTasikoki Wildlife Res-cue Centre in northSulawesi, Indonesia,as she will be doingzoo-keeping dutiessuch as cleaning theanimal enclosuresand preparing foodfor the animals.

“I wanted a gradtrip where I could dosomething meaning-ful and something Ilove. Going toEurope is expensiveand all you do issightsee,” she says.

During her three-week-long volunteertrip, she will be tak-ing care of animalsrescued from the ille-gal wildlife trade inIndonesia.

The trip, namedProject Orange, is a Youth ExpeditionProject, an international programmeadministered by the National YouthCouncil here.

Ms Gan, together with 16 team mem-bers from Singapore aged 20 to 28, willstay in a dormitory in Tasikoki and carryout animal-care duties.

The rescue centre, set up by Dutchconservationist Willie Smits,houses ani-mals such as orang utans, gibbons andmacaques.

Besides working at the centre, MsGan will visit Tangkoko National Park, a3,196ha flora and fauna conservationpark and home to a variety of animalssuch as the Tarsius Spectrum, the small-est monkey in the world.

Her team hopes to get $21,000 fromfund-raising efforts and corporatesponsorship for the trip. If they cannotraise the money, each of them will haveto pay $1,200 for expenses.

If that happens, Ms Gan’s parents,who manage a photo-processing shop,will pay for her trip.

The third of five children aged 19 to29, she hopes to find work in an animal-related company to repay her parents.

“This is probably the only chance togo on such a trip where I get to interactwith animals. I have always wanted tovolunteer at an animal shelter here, butcannot find time due to schoolwork,”she says, adding that she plans to volun-teer at SPCA or Acres after her trip.

BRIAN NG, 25Psychology major, National Universityof SingaporeTrip: Mission Point Resort onMackinac Island in MichiganDuration: Five months

Most of his peers on grad trips carrytheir own luggage. But Brian Ng will becarrying other people’s luggage.

For 3½ months, he will be workingas a porter at the Mission Point Resorton Mackinac Island in Michigan. Hewill be touring the country for the restof his five-month trip in the UnitedStates under the Work And Travel USAsummer programme.

“This is the ideal time to go. Once Istart work, it will be hard to get fivemonths off to travel. And after I startworking, perhaps I will not be thatadventurous to try a low-level job. Itwill be good to experience the industryand the local culture,” he says.

He will be going on the programmein June with two friends. It was organ-ised by Speedwing Training Asia.

Under the programme, Singaporestudents are employed in summer jobs

in amusement park Six Flags andnational parks such as Yellowstone andGrand Canyon. At the end of theiremployment period, they will get totravel around the US for a period oftime.

The jobs range from theme parkfacilitors to waitresses and kitchenstaff to chambermaids.

Students pay about $1,400 for theprogramme fees. They have to pay tostay at the staff quarters in their work-place, and are paid between US$7(S$8.80) and US$9 an hour. Recruit-ment usually takes place in Decemberfor the summer programme.

Mr Ng’s father is a semi-retired busi-nessman, his mother is a manager in adistribution firm and his elder brotheris doing his master’s in chemistry inSweden.

Mr Ng, who loves the outdoors andgoes climbing in India, China, Hong

Kong and Thailand, is looking forwardto the activities at Mackinac Island, a9.8 sq km resort island on Lake Huron.

The island has laid-back charm andmotor vehicles have been banned since1898. People move about on foot, or bybike and horse-drawn carriages. Theisland has about 112km of hiking trails.

After his work stint, he plans to tourToronto and Montreal in Canada, andthe east coast of US, before flying tothe west coast for a bus trip throughSeattle, Portland, San Francisco andLos Angeles. He believes he will man-age this on his earnings and tips fromhis porter job.

He thinks the experience is oneworth missing his July convocation for.

“Convocation for a basic degree isso common that it has lost its value asa symbol of academic achievement. Iwould rather be pursuing experientialwealth,” he says.

INDONESIA: TAKING CARE OF ANIMALSUSA: WORKING AS A PORTER AND TRAVELLING

ST PHOTOS: LIM SIN THAI, TERENCE TAN

‘Convocation for a basic degree is so common in this agethat it has lost its value as a symbol of academic achievement.I would rather be pursuing experiential wealth’Brian Ng (above)

‘I wanted a grad trip where I could dosomething meaningful and something I love’Gan Qianqi (above)

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life!Ltravel

THE STRAITS TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 5 2011 PAGE C3