如果你請想讀漢語版本按這裡: 我是誰？(中文, Chinese)
Who am I?
Navjot Singh pictured in Madeira: Photo Copyright Terry Marsh
I am multi-cultured, multi-faceted, British-Indian by origin, and a world citizen by vocation. I was born in an American military hospital (The Ruby Nelson memorial hospital), in the northern Indian city of Jalandhar, which seemed to me, as a young child, a vibrant and beautiful metropolis (it's relatively close to the Himalayas). I still remember bits and pieces of my somewhat blissful childhood. It wasn’t long, however, before my parents decided to whisk me away to other parts of the world, including London. So therefore, I am a 3rd generation Englishman of Indian origin (for those who are not aware, India was a British colony and part of the United Kingdom before 1947). I have only had two opportunities to go back to India; once in 1989 (New Delhi), and then in 1999 (New Delhi again!) for a 2 week holiday, but I have never had the chance to go back since then, and have no family there.
It was in London that I started to gain an intense interest in aviation and travelling, and, to some extent, my real adventures of experiencing culture shock began. I grew up as a 'Third cultured kid', and because of that I feel very international, even more so than I feel traditionally English. Having been a keen aviation enthusiast since a very young age, and a world traveler, I have grown accustomed to being an expat. Every kid has a dream job they aspire to achieve, and mine was to fly planes. Due to certain pressures in life I had to give up the ambition of flying aircraft- although I have full knowledge of the aviation industry and aircraft in general. Even to this day I strongly affiliate myself to aviation by travelling, and photography.
I am fortunate, and appreciative to have gained my principal education at the renowned Dulwich College - a fine institution of educational excellence situated in South-East London. After graduating from Dulwich, I embarked on a very successful GAP "Year In Industry" with the Timken company in Northampton, an industrial town known for its fine English shoes, and Alan Oswald Moore. During my time at Timken, my project to improve quality by over 25% within 12 months earned me the prestigious 'Young Engineer's Award for Britain - East idslands Region (1999)' as awarded by the UK Engineering Council. From there life took me to Loughborough University, situated in a town in the midlands known for its fine industry, and the ever great English windy weather (!). There I embarked on a challenging course to study a combined Bachelors and Masters degree in Electronic and Software Engineering ((MEng) Hons) - because I thought this was the technology of the future (and it is), and because I highly value hardcore academic thought. It was during the latter two years of my time at Loughborough that I decided to combine the attractiveness of studying (and now work) with travelling. Among other extra curriculum activities at Loughborough, in 2002 I was also the university representative at the BBC TV University Challenge; a general knowledge competition undertaken by groups of (max) 5 students from each university- though sadly we did not make it past the preliminary round (it's the taking part that counts).
Rather than applying for graduate jobs in the UK, I fled to the fascination of applying directly to multi-nationals in the Far-East, namely Hong Kong as a starting point. There I taught myself spoken Mandarin Chinese (learning Cantonese seemed meaningless), and gained experience in travelling and photography while juggling a corporate job at the same time. Since that time, a serious thought has occurred to me that travelling is not just some random hobby of mine, but it is, rather weirdly, part of my DNA and my inner self - almost to the extent that my existence to stay in any country for a long time would be highly questionable by the travel gods.
I lived and worked in all of the major Chinese cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen) for over five years before I repatriated back to London. Since then I have lived in Switzerland for some considerable time, as well as travelling and writing about my experiences. From 2009 to 2012, I lived in China for another long stint as an expat (Suzhou, Guangzhou and Shanghai). I shared some stories here.
I am a professional journalist, and the published author of two niche travel guides to China. The first one is Newcomer’s Handbook to China: Including Beijing Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen (First Books, 2008, 2012); and the second book is China: Business Travelers Handbook (Stacey International, 2009). Recently I have taken a serious zeal towards Photography, specifically aimed at aviation, people, and culture.
- Navjot Singh
It was in London that I started to gain an intense interest in aviation and travelling, and, to some extent, my real adventures of experiencing culture shock began. I grew up as a 'Third cultured kid', and because of that I feel very international, even more so than I feel traditionally English. Having been a keen aviation enthusiast since a very young age, and a world traveler, I have grown accustomed to being an expat. Every kid has a dream job they aspire to achieve, and mine was to fly planes. Due to certain pressures in life I had to give up the ambition of flying aircraft- although I have full knowledge of the aviation industry and aircraft in general. Even to this day I strongly affiliate myself to aviation by travelling, and photography.
I am fortunate, and appreciative to have gained my principal education at the renowned Dulwich College - a fine institution of educational excellence situated in South-East London. After graduating from Dulwich, I embarked on a very successful GAP "Year In Industry" with the Timken company in Northampton, an industrial town known for its fine English shoes, and Alan Oswald Moore. During my time at Timken, my project to improve quality by over 25% within 12 months earned me the prestigious 'Young Engineer's Award for Britain - East idslands Region (1999)' as awarded by the UK Engineering Council. From there life took me to Loughborough University, situated in a town in the midlands known for its fine industry, and the ever great English windy weather (!). There I embarked on a challenging course to study a combined Bachelors and Masters degree in Electronic and Software Engineering ((MEng) Hons) - because I thought this was the technology of the future (and it is), and because I highly value hardcore academic thought. It was during the latter two years of my time at Loughborough that I decided to combine the attractiveness of studying (and now work) with travelling. Among other extra curriculum activities at Loughborough, in 2002 I was also the university representative at the BBC TV University Challenge; a general knowledge competition undertaken by groups of (max) 5 students from each university- though sadly we did not make it past the preliminary round (it's the taking part that counts).
Rather than applying for graduate jobs in the UK, I fled to the fascination of applying directly to multi-nationals in the Far-East, namely Hong Kong as a starting point. There I taught myself spoken Mandarin Chinese (learning Cantonese seemed meaningless), and gained experience in travelling and photography while juggling a corporate job at the same time. Since that time, a serious thought has occurred to me that travelling is not just some random hobby of mine, but it is, rather weirdly, part of my DNA and my inner self - almost to the extent that my existence to stay in any country for a long time would be highly questionable by the travel gods.
I lived and worked in all of the major Chinese cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen) for over five years before I repatriated back to London. Since then I have lived in Switzerland for some considerable time, as well as travelling and writing about my experiences. From 2009 to 2012, I lived in China for another long stint as an expat (Suzhou, Guangzhou and Shanghai). I shared some stories here.
I am a professional journalist, and the published author of two niche travel guides to China. The first one is Newcomer’s Handbook to China: Including Beijing Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen (First Books, 2008, 2012); and the second book is China: Business Travelers Handbook (Stacey International, 2009). Recently I have taken a serious zeal towards Photography, specifically aimed at aviation, people, and culture.
- Navjot Singh
