Are We Alone?

Nope.. it is not an article with SETI...
I was having a conversation with the taxi uncle (making my mthly trip to BKK), when we came across the topic of travelling.
I told him of this SG traveller I met while in Vietnam (amazingly bumping into a SG in a small town can Can Ton, 3 hrs bus ride south of HCM. Not a tourist, but a traveller, some would even call him an explorer. This guy is amazing! He had travelled half the globe overland. Via train, bus, cars, cows, ox, wateva transport there is. Smuggled into Tibet (back then Tibet was still closed to the outside world), caught by Gong An, travelled the Silk Road 3 times, travelled through the Karakoram Highway, slept in train stations in winter time... an adventure at his time, an exploration of uncharted territories. An inspiration.
My travelling is less spectacular, just the lonesome trip to Cambodia. Travelling alone overland via bus and car, not really knowing what to expect. Then he asked me, "Aren't you afraid that you might get lost?" I was quite stunned for a moment as that question never really crossed my mind.
I had my handphone, though i wasn't sure i'll have coverage 24x7 (rest assure thatthe GSM infrastructure is rather good at all towns and along all major roads - dirt road or paved road). I called my sis (my mum would have gotten worried and all sorts). Had a self drawn map. Read the specific instructions given at http://www.et-pumpkin.com/modules.php?name=CMS&op=viewcmscat&mcid=40 , i made my trip. Getting lost alone in a foreign land, such as Cambodia, can indeed be a daunting and frightening to some. Daring? Foolish some may say. i will think tt places in africa or some arab countries would be worst... but i've yet to hear of any experience from there.
Today, a conversation with a close friend led to the discussion that I am actually a selfish person. Wanting things to go my way. Imposing my thinking on people. etc..
As we embark on our career (still a job to me.. not a career), have we grown more lonely? No longer are we kept in a protected school environment where our fellow students share the same hatred for the subject, the same complaints abt some lecturers or teachers, do group studies,, push the project to some other people (hmm.. kinda guilty for that at times). Many of us may find ourseleves in a situation where we have to face it alone. Perhaps a company trip overseas alone, to meet a client for the 1st time alone, stuck in some project tt no one could help, stationed overseas... being independent.
The overseas job alone, the trip alone, is less of loneliness, but more of a personnal experience. An endeavour to be embarked on towards self-discovery, self independence. A time of contemplation and planning of one's life. Mixing with different pple from all walks of life, frm different culture and ethic background, opens up one mind to many other things. The world is so big... Will i ever SEE the whole world with the limited time i have?
Has this lonelines lead to some sort of selfishness or self protection? It is like an armour, waiting to be stripped. (watched Casino Royale =) ). Still fnding my place in this world. Life at a cross junction again. Finding a path to walk...