The Accidental Tourist

It would have been ashamed to have come so far (10 000 miles) and not visit the place.

The primary objective of this trip was to learn and experience. Our travels therefore had two constraints. Firstly, it had to be over a weekend (that meant Friday evening to Sunday evening) and secondly it had to within 4 to 5 hours drive from where we were. The thought of making interstate flights seemed like to much of a hassel.

By the end of our second weekend, I obtained a book titled "Escapades from St Louis" which had 25 travel suggestions lasting between 1 night to three nights and all within 8 hours drive. Three destinations were selected. A river town called Grafton (1 hour drive away), another rivertown,Hannibal(2.5 hours) which was home to Mark Twain (Samuel L, Clemens) and finally the Ozarks (3.5 hours).

During all three trips, it never failed to amaze me of the richness of American culture and history and since both towns laid by the Mighty Mississippi, the grandness of her also never ceased to amaze me. The drives were pleasant and the scenery that accompanied them were equally so.

Time was also spent exploring St Louis City itself - which incidentally is the same size as Singapore. At Downtown St Louis, I was at the Gateway Arch - which is the main symbol with which St Louis is associated, the Art Museum, the Zoological Gardens, the Botanical Gardens (ranked third in the world), the Science Centre and some of the more interesting suburbs such as Ladue.

The art museum for me deserves special mention. To begin with, admission was free. The art museum contained originals of Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and many other incredible artist. Never one who appreciates art very much, I was amazed at how much these originals spoke to me - they were absolutely incredible! The detail, the liveliness, the accuracy with which the imagery is potray is magnificient. In the museum were also many religious paintings and sculptures as well as an egyptian mummy.

A close second was of course the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The area is so large it would be difficult for one to cover it in a day. Of special interest to me was the Climatron which was a huge walk through green house. There were also exhibits of small, live animals and the tiny, colourful (and very toxic) frogs were awesome.