About

Where I grew up in the bustling skyscraper city of Singapore, only homeless people went ‘camping’. Even then, they were a rare find because the infamous social engineers of Singapore were quick to spot them and usher (read shove) them back to civilization.

Think about it, if it’s illegal to chew gum in that country, you think they’ll let you lie on a grass patch in the middle of tourist-ridden Orchard Road to gaze at the Big Dipper?

Then I came to the United States for college. When my plane landed, I was expecting glorious scenes from “ Dallas” and “Wonder Woman” - the TV series that symbolized Beautiful America to all Singaporean teenagers. Instead, the plane door opened to the vast corn fields of Wyoming. My first stop in the U.S. clued me in that Wonder Woman country might not be what I envisioned all along.

But after my first taste of camping near the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, there was no turning back. Wonder Woman country or not, this is my country.

Fast forward twenty years and I’m still camping, now with a husband, two kids and a Suburban truck in tow.

Blame it on my brainwashed upbringing in Singapore, blame it on technology, I refuse to leave my creature comforts behind when I go camping. Let’s face it, we are products of the 21st century. What’s wrong with packing my George Foreman grill or my iPod?

I, for one, have an irrational and almost overwhelming fear of propane. Don't ask me why I fear propane–I don't know. I don't believe I've ever had a bad experience with it, yet I always expect propane use to end tragically.

A portable DVD player for the kids? Eggs Benedict for breakfast? Geocaching side trips? Electric scooter to zip to the camp store for a Dove ice cream bar? Brilliant, I say.

My co-author on the other hand, is a die-hard roughing-it kind of camper, an Eagle Scout. I was told that’s like attaining the Six-Million Dollar man status for outdoors survival. Watching him build a fire with one match (significant: one match) is a beautiful thing.

Not to take away from the deeeeeep gratitude I feel to the inventor of the electric firelighter.

Enough about me. Suffice to say, camping in the 21st century offers a wide variety of options and comforts. Whatever your camping style, our goal is that you are blessed with the best camping experience in your venture outdoors.

As Richard Langer so aptly puts it in his book, “Joy of Camping”: “Stowing away to nature, if sometime only for a weekend restores the spirit as little else can. Once in a while we should treat ourselves to counting falling stars between the branches of a sheltering tree above our heads or just beyond the misty gauze of our netted tent entrance while other folks are home watching late night movie reruns.”

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