Riding my way through Asia '07

== Contents Page ==

2007-05-26T23:59:00.000+08:00

Photos of the trip uploaded at Drrsk@Webshots.

Day 1 (May 6) - Singapore / Hong Kong
- Pre-Flight
- Roaming Around Hong Kong
- First Meeting
- HK Skyline

Day 2 (May 7) - Hong Kong
- Introductions
- Lunch at Dim Sum Restaurant
- Chung King Mansions
- Avenue of Stars
- Mongkok
- The Peak

Day 3 (May 8) - Hong Kong
- Disneyland

Day 4 (May 9) - Hong Kong
- Sam Tung Uk Museum
- Happy Valley Racecourse
- Bus Ride to Keneddytown

Day 5 (May 10) - Hong Kong
- Ocean Park
- Hong Kong Display of Lights

Day 6 (May 11) - Hong Kong / Guangzhou
- Guangzhou
- Factory of the World
- Hospitality

Day 7 (May 12) - Guangzhou / Hong Kong
- Shopping
- Late Night Shopping

Day 8 (May 13) - Hong Kong / Singapore
- Flight Back Home

Day 9 (May 14) - Singapore
- Chinatown

Day 10 (May 15) - Singapore
- Durians at Geylang

Day 11 (May 16) - Singapore
- Singapore Cantonese Clan Association
- Preservation of Chinese Customs

Day 12 (May 17) - Singapore
- Museums

Day 13 (May 18) - Singapore
- Blaming the Japanese

Day 14 (May 19) - Singapore
- Hua Song Museum
- Haw Par Villa

Day 15 (May 20) - Singapore
- Raffles Hotel
- The Little Merlion

Day 16 (May 21) - Singapore / Malacca
- Malacca
- The Swamp
- Exploring for Food

Day 17 (May 22) - Malacca
- Places of Worship
- Shopping Malls

Day 18 (May 23) - Malacca / Kuala Lumpur
- Kuala Lumpur
- The Fight to Preserve Chinese Culture

Day 19 (May 24) - Kuala Lumpur
- Times Square
- MINES Wonderland

Day 20 (May 25) - Kuala Lumpur / Singapore
- The Debrief
- Post-trip

- Day 20 -

2007-05-25T01:28:00.000+08:00

The Debrief

2007-05-25T01:26:00.000+08:00

Today we concluded our trip as officially over. Some of us have learnt a lot, some less, but we would agree that for many issues, it was really an eye-opener when we experience the culture as it is for ourselves. Being immersed in the different cultures around the world has let us think about our self identity as "Chinese".

One of the things that struck me during the course of the summer programme is how communities around the world view Chinese culture. This very definition of culture is a rather difficult question in itself - What makes a Chinese, Chinese? Is it appearance? Or language? Or the customs and traditions? Or common beliefs? How do we identify ourselves as Chinese? Are we losing our self-identity? Can this change be stopped or reversed? These are all difficult questions that will stay on with us. This trip is not the conclusion or answers to our questions. Instead, it serves as a platform for us to discover new questions to ask.

This is the most important learning from the trip... For many times, it is not the answer to the question that is important, but rather, if the question itself is the right one to ask.

Post-trip Reflections

2007-05-25T01:09:00.000+08:00

The question on the Chinese-ness and the preservation of Chinese culture is indeed a tricky one. Especially with the impact of globalisation, many people are in fact too busy and apathetic to notice the phenomena of the formation of a universal culture, and the rapid erosion of all other unique cultures. This is especially apparent for the Chinese, as Chinese culture used to be very rich in many parts of Asia, but now has been pretty much faded away. I used to think that this phenomena is only apparent in Singapore, where it is invaded by all kinds of global culture, but in this trip, I have found that in various places in Asia, we can hear many people lamenting the decline of Chinese culture in the next generation. And if we were to compare with our parents' generation, we can observe that indeed, many rites and traditions have been downplayed seriously... A sign of the times is that even the "sacred" Chinese New Year holidays, traditionally a time of the gathering of families, reunion and celebration, has been used by many people as a long holiday to bring the family abroad.

Is it the fault of the elders for "not teaching the young well"? Or is the ancient tradition becoming irrelevant in today's age? Can culture be taught, or is it something that can only be picked up ourselves along the way? How does the notion of "culture" complement or clash with the notion of a free and independent individual, that so many people around the world are pursuing?

Upon thinking deeper on such a phenomena, it doesn't give us answers, but it gives us something just as valuable - more questions, and harder questions to answer. What constitutes a Chinese culture? Is it a language? Is it your ethnicity? Is it your place of origin? Is it the place you live in, or the people you mix with? Is it a set of traditions and values? What is the core essence of a Chinese?

This is indeed an interesting question, considering the huge number of Chinese around the world today - people who are all so different from one another in terms of appearance, environment, thoughts, beliefs and everyday living. Are they all Chinese? Or are some more "Chinese" than others?

Searching for the answers is indeed difficult. Three weeks of traveling around the major parts of Asia, yet there is only so much of the deep mystery we can uncover. This brings a rather worrying thought - if this is what we can understand after such extensive travelling and immersion, how can the average Chinese learn about their "Chinese identity"?

Or is there a Chinese identity in the first place?

... Closure of the blog, but the fond memories live on. =)

- Day 19 -

2007-05-24T01:06:00.000+08:00

Times Square

2007-05-24T01:03:00.000+08:00

One of the largest shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur. A rather impressive looking one - modern, clean and well-designed. However, as we explored the shopping mall, we found that many of the shops on the higher levels could not be rented out. And this situation was also observed in Malacca, and even Johor Bahru when I went a year ago. This is probably due to the harsh impact of the economic downturn, leading to less customers, and even less tenants. Indeed, when we were there the entire afternoon, the shopping mall wasn't exactly full of traffic. In fact, the huge size of the mall made the people seem very sparse.. An illusion of emptiness perhaps.

One of the specialities of the shopping mall is that it has an indoor theme park...

The roller coaster...

MINES Wonderland

2007-05-24T00:52:00.000+08:00

Malaysia's own theme park. A tiny, and not too impressive one. But the company was fun!

MINES Wonderland!

Happily sitting on the ledge

The nice lake at the entrance

The Dragon sculpture

The ice bar...

Me and the polar bear

The Musical Fountain

- Day 18 -

2007-05-23T00:51:00.000+08:00

Kuala Lumpur

2007-05-23T00:43:00.000+08:00

Street shots

Architecture

View from Petronas Towers

Another cityscape shot

Another one...

The Fight to Preserve Chinese Culture

2007-05-23T00:42:00.000+08:00

The highlight of today was a dinner together with some student activists in Kuala Lumpur. They were fighting for the preservation of Chinese culture in Malaysia, fighting against the closure of Chinese-education schools, against the unequal treatment of Chinese in Malaysia. Though it is not our fight to make, it's interesting to see their points of view, especially in sharp contrast to the apathetic youths in Singapore.

The general impression of the students is that they are not too organised, nor have they considered the bigger picture of the force of the economy and globalisation. They do not understand the point of view of the government, hence their efforts are at best ineffective to their cause. One of the major points they brought up is against the closure of the nearby Chinese-educated village school by the government. They cited many reasons why the school shouldn't have been closed, and many of them are valid indeed. Yet, the fact remains that the school has been closed since 2001, and there are little plans for the government to re-opn it anytime soon.

Their thinking was - we'll protest and continue to make noise for the government, until it takes note of our displeasure and consider our wants. This might work if you have a big majority of the public voice. But the activist community is rather tiny. They do not realise that the government has much more important things than to worry about a few dozen of people complaining about their local school. Doing what you think is right is call preserverance, but doing the same thing that has failed before, again and again and hoping for alternative reaults, is called insanity.

Perhaps they have not realised the hard fact of life. They do not matter to the government! It is no longer the age of the village head, and justice is brought forth quickly; now, it is the force of the economy and politics that drive almost everything. If we look at the problem from this perspective, perhaps the problem might be resolved more easily. The Malaysian government is probably afraid of the rise of the Chinese power, or for the further segregation of ethnic communities in Malaysia. Having too many Chinese schools around might seem to be quite a threat to the government. If they can convince the government somehow, that they will have courses to integrate the Chinese with the other ethnic groups like Malays and Indians, that they are willing to have government officials sitting on the board of directors... Or, they can even try something more extreme like getting funding from more people, and pledging a portion of the enrollment fees to the government every month to show their support of the government.

But in the end, they themselves must come to terms with their situation. Are they fighting a battle they can possibly win? Or are they like trying to hold onto their old 2-storey shophouses when HDB is clearing the land for building of flats?

They need to know where they stand, and what more they can do. Else, they could well be trying to fix the engine of a car when it has only run out of fuel.

- Day 17 -

2007-05-22T00:37:00.000+08:00

Places of Worship

2007-05-22T00:19:00.000+08:00

Malacca is known to be a cultural town, and this is probably why...

View from St Paul's Church on the hill

St Paul's Church - the ruins...

St Francis Xavier's Church

The houses beside the river...

Another nice building... Haha...

Shopping Malls!

2007-05-22T00:02:00.000+08:00

After visiting most of the attractions and historical sites in Malacca, we decided to experience the consumer aspects of Malacca in exploring the most common type of entertainment - exploring around the shopping mall. The shopping mall is perhaps one of the few in the whole of Malacca town, and we had to walk about 30 minutes from where we stayed.

The mall wasn't anything impressive though... It was like any common shopping malls, complete with shops selling fashion accesssories, clothing stores, cinema, gaming arcade and restaurants. Not particularly large as well.

On the topic of shopping malls, it's interesting to realise how much we all are dependent on shopping malls nowadays. As our professor nicely put it, this is the age of malls. Malls are now the conglomeration of many of the things teenagers spend time and money on - shopping, food, movies, entertainment... Or course, for us, malls were also welcomed sites of air-conditioning else we would be melting in the hot tropical weather. Even us Singaporean students founf the weather quite unbearable.

- Day 16 -

2007-05-21T23:50:00.000+08:00

Malacca

2007-05-21T23:41:00.000+08:00

Malacca was such a small town that we almost went through all of it within one day. Nothing especially impressive - not the famous red Christ Church of Malacca, nor the ruins of St Paul's Church, nor the many temples around, nor the Chinatown, nor the people who seem as if they couldn't care less, nor the shopping mall, nor the row of shophouses that close for the day in the evening, nor the poorly arranged museums as well. But rather, we felt the real sense of Chinatown in the rather underdeveloped town of Malacca. The pace of life was much slower, and people lived simply. Just like the old days?

The Christ Church

The beautiful flowers...

The peaceful stream that runs through Malacca

Streets of Malacca

Temples

Another temple

The Swamp

2007-05-21T23:34:00.000+08:00

On our way back, exhausted from the travelling, we found this swamp which provided some form of entertainment as we looked at the mudskippers wallowing in the mud, and tried to solve the mystery of the unknown trail of footsteps in the mud... I never imagined myself to be travel all the way to Malacca to look at mud and the living community in the swamp. Haha..

Mystified by the swamp creature

Exploring for Food

2007-05-21T23:29:00.000+08:00

After 6pm, the streets of Chinatown seemed to turn all cold - shops were closed, traffic and human traffic were rare, except for a couple of tourists like ourselves. Undeterred, we asked the local guard on the nearest place we could find dinner. And we were directed a rather odd route. We had to cut through a hotel to get to our destination!

We found our dinner place not too far from the hotel. It was a dark street with two rows of shophouses flanking a road, selling several types of food. We finally settled for nasi lemak at one of the stalls, having our dinner on makeshift tables and chairs, right beside the road. I guess it must be quite an experience for the Canadian students with us, since hygiene seemed rather lacking there. But we trusted the many locals who were eating there as well, and gulped down our food. The food was just okay, but when we were hungry and had no other choice, we could live with it.

Malacca night scene

- Day 15 -

2007-05-20T23:24:00.000+08:00

Raffles Hotel

2007-05-20T23:21:00.000+08:00

The reputed hotel of Singapore...

Raffles Hotel

Busy taking photos at the wonderful architecture

View from the top...

The Singapore Sling

The Little Merlion

2007-05-20T23:19:00.000+08:00

Denmark has its Little Mermaid, Singapore has its own Merlion. The Little Mermaid in Denmark had a touching story of unrequitted love; the Merlion and little Merlion at the Merlion Park of Singapore has been created as a tourist attraction. =)

The original Merlion

Me-lion

Postcard quality photo!

- Day 14 -

2007-05-19T23:16:00.000+08:00

Hua Song Museum

2007-05-19T23:14:00.000+08:00

The Hua Song Museum in Haw Par Villa is another attempt at preserving the life of Chinese in the early days, perhaps 50 years ago. It was an interesing sight, as we saw how the lives had been so difficult and be filled with wonder of how they had managed to survive and thrive in those insane conditions. A wave of new appreciation of the comforts of life we have now.

But oddly, I can't seem to connect with the past as well as I thought I should. The relics and reconstructions of the past are impressive, but are just like exhibits. I can't help but wonder - how much would the common people understand and identify with these? Are they only of value to curious Chinese students from all over the world, or the professional academia?

Museums cannot reach out to the public well, but can our culture be retained by the rich historical sites around China for example?

Many of the places of great historical values have been commercialised into tourist attractions. These include places like the Forbidden Palace, Yi He Yuan, traditional living quarters like Si He Yuan and Sam Tung Uk... These have all been "reconstructed and refurbished" for the comforts of the tourists, but in doing so, has the cultural meanings been lost? The palace was supposed to be a place of reverement, a place only for the emperor and privilleged ministers - now it's trampled by thousands of tourists every day, and dozens of shops have sprung up in the scared grounds in place of the old imperial rooms. I wonder what the average tourist would learn from it.

This brings me to wonder - can culture be preserved? Are we "keeping our heritage" and "discovering our roots", or are we trying to keep a portion of the past that is no longer relevant? Can it co-exist with the current global culture?

Hua Song Museum

Haw Par Villa

2007-05-19T23:10:00.000+08:00

Haw Par Villa was built many years ago by the Tiger brothers. Then, it was merely a commercial attempt to gain advertising for their products. To attract the locals who don't have the money to travel around much, they built replicas of many of the world's attractions in the park, include figures of Sumo wrestlers, the Statue of Liberty, and figurines of various gods and dieties in the Chinese tradition. Their main attraction was a cave which depicted the 10 courts and 18 levels of hell. Which was far too short, gruesome and not entirely impressive.

These "attractions" used to be rather popular decades ago. But in this rather affluent society in Singapore, people are often rich enough to travel for themselves. And I can't imagine anyone willing to pay to see a tiny replica of the Statue of Liberty. Has Haw Par Villa turned into a place of the past? Like culture?

Some Chinese official I can't remember

Who'll drive this car?!

Pay to get into Hell...

Hell?

- Day 13 -

2007-05-18T23:09:00.000+08:00

Blaming the Japanese?

2007-05-18T23:08:00.000+08:00

The Eurasian Clan Assoicaiton Museum had its materials mostly on the period of Japanese Occupation in Singapore, with special emphasis on how hard their lives were under Japanese rule, as well as the tortures and despicable crimes the Japanese committed. While all this might be very well be true, I'm concerned about this presentation of information as being overly suggestive. Would it reignite senses of injust, anger or even revenge?

You'll find that the truth is often complicated, since there are infinite aspects of the truth. Indeed the Japanese army have committed atrocities during their occupation of Singapoe and other places, especially towards the Chinese population. But have we thought about what we are doing in fact? We are the assigning blame to a country of people, for the actions of a few! This thinking is actually built on several levels of cognitive errors, which I will uncover in the next few paragraphs.

Suppose someone in your country beat up his wife. What would you feel if another country called you and all the people from your country "wife-beaters"? Since humans are the most skilled animals at killing one another in mass, should we call ourselves mass murderers? On the same note, if we think on a clear mind, how many Japanese were actually involved in the actual atrocities? A couple of thousand perhaps? Or are the soldiers simply evil or perhaps they were just following orders or "following the herd"?

While we have seen how it is unfair to assign the blame to the Japanese, it brings the next underlying problem of still seeing people as collective identities. Why do we have to group people into categories? Grouping people into categories commonly fuels the rise of prototypes (neutral) and stereotypes (negative), and this hinders our interpretation of the individual identities. And of course, it gives us a convenient target to point our blame to.

Categorising people might have been acceptable and feasible years ago. Then, people were exposed to similar cultures within their countries, and grew up with similar experiences, hence we can expect them to be pretty similar in thinking as well. But in this age of globalisation, people are exposed to the global cultures. Is it still fair or neccessary to categorise people by nationality, ethnicity or place of origin? Are we that different from one another? Is it the fault of the individual ofr the country?

The final problem is the issue of blame. Many people have still not learnt that blaming others is merely a refusal to take actions or responsbility ourselves. It is also based on the barbaric mindset of "See? I'm right, and you're wrong!". Can blame be assigned? For hundreds of years, judges and courts have been assigning blame and responsibility to criminals. But what has happened? Many criminals serve their sentences, but have never admitted their wrongdoings.Are they repentent? Have they learnt?

Responsibility is the courage to take action to change what we can change about an event. And it does not only fall on the shoulders of the supposed wrong-doer. Sure, you can blame the Japanese for all you want. But does that change matters? What steps are you taking? What have you learnt from it? In fact, what do we want Japan to do? Do we want to ask the Japanese to pay for the sins of some of the Japanese a long time ago?

So much for human intelligence, isn't it?

- Day 12 -

2007-05-17T23:06:00.000+08:00

Museums

2007-05-17T23:05:00.000+08:00

Singapore National Museum was one of the most impressive musuems we have seen during the trip. Galleries of artifacts, videos, photographs, recollections and interviews about the experiences of various people through the events, complete with a personal electonic guide... It was quite a comprehensive walkthrough of Singapore's history from the early years of Temasek, the early struggles, to the recent history of PAP's nation building policies.

One sad truth about humans is they cannot remember very well. Or perhaps they can, but only there are too many other things on our minds, which we feel are more important. Research has shown that our recall rate of whatever we see is at most about 70% , which falls rapidly through the day. After several days, how much we can really remember really can vary a lot from about 50% to absolutely nothing. And it doesn't help that so many of us are tired from the overwhelming weariness from all that travelling, and all the other museums we have visited so far.

Was it a good museum? It certainly was. But were we in the top form to really learn from it?

- Day 11 -

2007-05-16T23:02:00.001+08:00

Singapore Cantonese Clan Association

2007-05-16T23:02:00.000+08:00

How many times on a trip can you feel as if you were some exhibit or photo opportunity? Well, after the day at Chinese Primary school and the dinner at the Language University in Guangzhou, we thought that the Chinese customary formalities would have ended there, once we left China. It didn't.

The visit to the Singapore Cantonese Clan Association at Bishan can be briefly summarised by a mild, lingering after-thought of "what the heck were we there for?!". The clan association cum crematorium cum temple of worship, which occupied a rather large location, laid smack in the middle of Bishan, one of Singapore's increasingly expensive towns. There, we were introduced to the Cantonese association in Singapore, their history and how they are trying to mould the future generation. Which was kind of interesting to know, but it still doesn't tell us the purpose of us being there.

After the rather formal introduction by the board of directors in a conference room, we were given a tour around the entire premises. After which, we were again herded together for group photos with the board of directors. Photos that would probably be up in their next newsletter... If we are lucky enough, we might even be framed up in some room there too. Is this showmanship a Chinese tradition? Part of the social custom that "if you have it, flaunt it"?

Preservation of Chinese Customs

2007-05-16T23:01:00.000+08:00

One of the things that struck me is how hard they were trying to preserve the traditional Chinese custom of clanship and ancestral worship, and how it seems to be a uphill and rather futile attempt. One simple observation is the membership in the associatoin. We noticed that the 10-men board of directors was made up of old people, of at least 50 years. The only 2 teenagers we see around helping with the presentation, were the children of one of the directors. If you thought that this only applied to the board of directors, like we did, you're in for another surprise - the entire management committee of about 100 members, was completely made up of males mostly over 50 years as well. This makes us wonder, are there still teenagers who are committed to preserving the old tradition?

What is tradition to these people? From their presentation, we could infer that to them, tradition was following the traditional rites of worship. In this age of globalisation and apathy, are these rites still relevant? Especially now when people have started to realise many traditions are really just mere superstition and are getting rathre inconvenient. I remember following my parents in performing some Chinese rites of burning joss paper and paper money for my grandparents when I was small. Then, it was common to see lots of neighbours burning offerings to their ancestors every 1st and 15th of the month, and especially during the 7th lunar month.

And over the years, it has simply vanished. For me, I just couldn't stand the smoke and the smell of incense, and I can't help but think of the pollution we are causing to ourselves, our neighbours and the environment. Another logical part of my brain kicks in too. If everyone in their afterlife is getting billions and billions of dollars offered by their relatives, there must be super-hyper-inflation there, isn't it? And what makes you think that they would need paper cars, paper mansions, paper slaves, or even handphones nowadays? Are they just figments of our imaginations that we want to make their lives better? But just a note though.. Are we treating the dead better than the living around us?

- Day 10 -

2007-05-15T22:41:00.000+08:00

Durians at Geylang

2007-05-15T22:39:00.001+08:00

The fabled king of the fruits. The thorned fruit that is either interpreted as very fragrant, or downright smelly. One of the forbidden items to carry in pubic transport. The fruit, where most people love it or hate it. I love it for the record. Haha...

We led the students to one of our famous durian stalls, smack in the Red-light district of Singapore, Geylang. Besides being introduced to our national fruit (as some claim because of the Esplanade), the Canadians were also given the complimentary view of how the issue of local prostitution is like. Geylang was "cleaner" than I thought - no barely-dressed ladies approaching you for "deals", but just dozens of them lining up the streets, standing around as if they are displaying themselves as wares. Nothing explicit. But there are still stereotypical small "brothel" shophouses, complete with dark glass windows, smokey air, red lights and a not-very-attractive lady at the door "on display".

My first trip around that area. It wasn't too bad, but I probably won't be going back anytime soon.

- Day 9 -

2007-05-14T22:36:00.000+08:00

Chinatown

2007-05-14T22:33:00.000+08:00

We find that in many cities around the world, we can almost always find a Chinatown, with its charateristic architecture of low-level shophouses along a street. It is a place where the Chinese culture is supposed to be the strongest, and often taken as a preserved heritage of the country. It is a place where the Chinese gathered and lived. Often, the unofficial guideline is taken as everything within the gates of the Chinatown is considered Chinese. But what exactly is so "Chinese" about it? The appearance? Or the rows of street peddlers on both sides of the street?

In older days, I would imagine there were many street shop-owners selling foodstuff and some everyday goods. They serve as convenient shops for the residents living nearby. I used to hear my mother say about the times where all she had to do to get breakfast was to lower a basket from the second storey when the"tok-tok mee" man came around.

However, we find that many of these Chinatowns have been adapted to become simple "pasar malam", or street markets, where people peddle goods (mostly fake I guess). These often include souvenirs, key chains, T-shirts, accessories, bags, shoes and toys. And the funny thing about it, is that in many places , it is more of a tourist attraction - the prices of the goods sold there are often not considered cheap to the locals; the shop-owners are hoping to earn a lot more by selling to visiting tourists. Locals know where to get these products at cheaper prices.

It is the brute force of the economy.

Chinatown has the advantage of having tourists who are rich enough, or willing to spend more than the average local. And being a smart stall-owner, there is really little commercial logic why you would want to price the goods lower to the levels local consumption. And with the shophouses being sold (presumably at high prices) for more shops to flourish, and the lure of better housing, the number of residents within Chinatown has dropped so low that trying to make a living selling cheap noodles, like the age-old "tok-tok mee" man, is simply financially impossible.

Unknowingly, Chinatown has evolved over the years from a place where the Chinese lived in all their lives, where we can catch glimpses of their lives, into simply an open-air shopping district for tourists to buy "cheap" goods.

So, what are we preserving?

Teaching Chinese culture to kids

Chinatown, as it is now...

- Day 8 -

2007-05-13T22:30:00.001+08:00

Flight Back Home...

2007-05-13T22:30:00.000+08:00

Ahh... Home sweet home. Only it suddenly seems so hot and humid now. Used to air-conditioning in places like shopping malls for the past week, I've suddenly become unaccustomed to the weather of the country I grew up in. Being overseas helped me to realise the many things I've taken for granted in Singapore, and this time back, I really started to notice the power of tropical sun.

- Day 7 -

2007-05-12T22:29:00.000+08:00

Shopping

2007-05-12T22:28:00.000+08:00

Being right in the middle of the production line of the world, I had to go around looking for cheap goods, right? Wandering around the streets of Guangzhou after lunch, I was amazed at the shops around - they range from the top end, air-conditioned shops selling top brands like "Levis", to small dark shops in the alleys selling anything from bags, souvenirs, unbrellas to cold drinks. I expected the prices of the wares they sell to be very low, since everything could well have been made within a hundred kilometers away, and labour was so cheap. I was wrong. Looking through the wares they sell, I found that they are selling at prices higher than what I'll expect. Cheap for us tourists, but might not be so for the locals. HK$68 for a pair of shoes is considered very cheap for us, though I really had expected the price to be about HK$30, because the cost price shouldn't exceed HK$10.

Streets of shophouses...

Late Night Shopping

2007-05-12T22:27:00.000+08:00

Walking around the streets of Hong Kong was exactly like going for Pasar Malams in Singapore. You can find all sorts of things sold by dozens and hundreds of vendors, from watches to bags, from souvenirs to toys, the branded and the fakes... The big difference in Hong Kong is how everythinng seemed to be faster-paced - loud signboards hanging down from buildings, flashing lights on signs, the idle chatter of people sitting down for dessert, the hopeful-looking vendors, the stuffy environment... Pasar Malam back at home is more comfortable. And in some ways even cheaper as well!

- Day 6 -

2007-05-11T22:25:00.000+08:00

Guangzhou

2007-05-11T22:22:00.000+08:00

Streets of Guangzhou

Old Chinese Houses

Streets of Guangzhou

Factory of the World

2007-05-11T22:21:00.000+08:00

As we rode on the highway on route from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, we can't help but notice along the stretch of road, there were huge plots of land with endless rows of factories - old, dirty and poorly-maintained, and the air pollution there was simply horrible. And we were informed that this is the world's factory. This is one of the production lines of the a major contributor to the goods worldwide, from brandless to the branded. In exchange for dirt cheap goods businesses can sell at much higher prices around the world, the place has been plundered and degenerated into this polluted state... A victim of globalisation and human's unsatiable lust for more consumerism, one that not many would know of, or would even be bothered if they knew.

Hospitality

2007-05-11T22:16:00.000+08:00

One of the traditions of the Chinese is formalities and hospitality. We were really treated as important guests in the places we went to in Guangzhou. The first stop was at The Chinese Primary School (Hua Qiao Xiao Xue), where we were greeted by the friendly principal himself. We were led around the school campus, going around classrooms (and wondering why they are still teaching English in Mandarin), to the school courts where we saw the streams of small school kids running about (pretty much like those found in Singapore, or anywhere else in the world I suppose)... At night, when we visited the Language University, we also experienced the traditional Chinese way of welcome - food. We were treated to a dinner by the directors, one which would probably be considered lavish by their standards. Perhaps not for many of us though. There starts the formalities... First was a pre-dinner welcome speech by the faculty director, where he gave a short introduction of the school and his colleagues, followed by thanks to our professors, before inviting them up to say a few words as well. Of course, toasts were exchanged around the tables too. All done in a rather formal setting, as if there were social rules governing them... That anything less would be considered disrespectful to their guests.

Something that feels rather superficial to me actually. Under the disguise of formalities, we wouldn't know how much of it is just role-playing and acting... A custom that now seems rather irrelevant to me.

- Day 5 -

2007-05-10T22:13:00.000+08:00

Ocean Park

2007-05-10T21:24:00.000+08:00

Following our visit to Disneyland, there is an academic need for us to explore Hong Kong's own theme park built for the locals, Ocean Park. We needed to compare the local cultures, and how it has been influenced by foreign influence. Would it be a replica of Disneyland?

Anyway, I've found that the simplest way to avoid disappointment is not to have expectations. Like Disneyland, by not comparing it to other places made the place more enjoyable for me. I've learnt to try to appreciate things as they are. Life seems a lot nicer this way. Haha...

I've been to Ocean Park!

The small islands of Hong Kong

High-rise along the coasts

The full view...

One of the attractions

The long escalator rides up the hilly place

One of the unknown sea-animals

Hong Kong Display of Lights

2007-05-10T21:21:00.000+08:00

Every night at 8pm, there would be a display of lights from the row of buildings along Hong Kong Island. From the harbourfront on Kowloon mainland, we can see the lights of the buildings flash on and off, change colours to form patterns, while laser beams further enhanced the bright and glowing atmosphere. It was quite nice.. but the practical critic in me kept nudging me with the thought: "What a waste of electricity!".

- Day 4 -

2007-05-09T21:19:00.000+08:00

Sam Tung Uk Museum

2007-05-09T16:12:00.000+08:00

We made our way to Taipo in the morning, where we found a small preserved area of traditional architecture similar to Beijing's Si He Yuan. It was quite a stark comparison to the high rise buildings and shopping malls sprouting up everywhere nearby. These old compounds normally house a huge extended family, all living in houses within the grid like pattern. There must be at least 15 rooms, with each probably housing a nuclear family of 4 to 5. It tells us a lot of how the tightly-knit the community were then. They had to - they depended on the support of one another for just survival.

It draws new light to the situation in Singapore. Increasingly, interhuman relations have weakened - many people don't even konw their neighbours, although they might live right next door. Greetings and conversations in lifts are now rare events as well. People just seem content at looking at the display digit jump till their levels. Such indifference and coldness among the people is a societal phenomena probably brought about by the issues likHe the lack of necessity, the fear of lurking salesmen and the hectic lifestyles people want nowadays.

Is this culture of forming close ties with people around you still relevant? if we have to force it to others, would it still be considered a culture? Should and would a culture stand without any obvious practical use?

Happy Valley Racecourse

2007-05-09T16:02:00.000+08:00

One of the favourite pastimes of Hong Kong people - horse-racing. Like all other forms of gambling, it has evolved to many different systems of gambling, including winning, combo and other complicated rules. It was quite an experience to we watch the filled stadium of people waiting in anticipation, and then the insane cheering of the riders during the races. With a fresh race every 15 minutes, it was not a wonder how they people could spend their entire night at the racecourse, hoping to strike it lucky in the races.

Limin set a bet on the next race, hoping for beginner's luck. Screaming "7, 7, 7" with the rest of the locals screaming their own horses was another experience which was pretty fun. Too bad the laws of probabililty too over, and the racecourse happily and quickly gobbled up Limin's HK$10 as Horse 7 ended up in 4th placement.

The crowded stadium

Warm-up ride

Crazy run to the finish line

At the fences beside the racecourse

From the tram.. A disturbing photo - it wasn't taken through a window.. Neither was it due to my camera lens as the other photos turned out fine...

Bus Ride to Keneddy Town

2007-05-09T15:54:00.000+08:00

Being poor students, one of the things we have insisted on in our trip is that we must be thrifty. And we were advaenturous enough to try out the various forms of public transport. In fact, we didn't take any taxis in Hong Kong at all - we managed to get to our destinations by the MTR train system and the public bus station. But there was only this once where we got just a bit lost.

After watching two races at Happy Valley, we left on a public tram bus, which we thought would bring us back to the nearby MTR station. Or any MTR station. We wanted to get to that harbour coast, where we can take a boat back to the main Kowloon island where our hotel was. In the end, we did get to the coast. Just about 30 minutes away from where we wanted to go. So we went about looking for alternate transports. Do note that it was about 10pm at night then. So we nearly boarded a small bus (xiao ba) that is supposed to be very fast. Only drawback we found out then was it was way expensive... Costs similar to taking a taxi. And being bright and quick students, we quickly found another tram bus which would bring us to the Central MTR station.

It was quite some detour. But a rather fun and adventurous one. How many chances do you have to explore Hong Kong on public transport? Haha... Though trying that when everyone was tired wasn't exactly the best time to go exploring Hong Kong Island. =)

The public tram

- Day 3 -

2007-05-08T23:59:00.000+08:00

Disneyland

2007-05-08T15:53:00.000+08:00

Today is a day where we let ourselves experience Hong Kong as what a tourist would feel like. Or perhaps it's just an excuse for us to visit the Hong Kong Disneyland.

For people who have been to both the Disneyland in Hong Kong and another in US or Japan, most might feel that the Hong Kong Disneyland really cannot compare in terms of the sheer scale and number of rides around. For them, this Disneyland is just about perhaps a quarter of what they'll find in other parts of the world... Completely not worth the HK$300 that we each had to fork out ourselves.

But I felt it was a pretty fun experience. It could be because it's my first Disneyland, that I did not have expectations, but I feel the bigger reason is the good company I was in. Fun-loving, happy people who made my day so much more fun. Note to self - something you can learn... about being able to spread your joy and happiness to others.

On a more academic note, we can see how the spread of the Disney culture has influenced Hong Kong as well. Disneyland is not purely a tourist attraction, as we observed quite a few locals within the crowds. What does it tell us about the notion of childhood fantasy, of the magic wonderland, of a glimpse of heaven and happiness, amongst the Hong Kong people? Has globalisation spread its wings so far as to affect the dreams of the people itself, even in a predominantly Chinese place like Hong Kong?

Disneyland

Mickey!

Street drummers

Nice signboard... But not so much for the interior...

Tarzan's Treehouse...

The view from Tarzan's house

Look Mum! We're driving!

On one of the Jumbo rides

The Disney Show

Disney Parade

One of the parade floats

Another float from the sea

Parade performers

The Lion King Performance...

Waiting...

A child all over again...

We saw Mickey!

Disneyland at night

- Day 2 -

2007-05-07T23:59:00.000+08:00

Introductions

2007-05-07T21:13:00.000+08:00

After being all tourist-y taking photographs around the Kowloon Park, we finally arrived at the arranged classroom. Just about 30 minutes late. In the small setting of the classroom, we were given a quick run through on the purpose of the course, what we know and what we want to know. We got a feel of how the course is to be based on our personal experiences and interpretations of the tour, as admittedly there is only so much we can learn within the classroom. Rather different from the usual structured courses we are used to, but we would be fine. As we always are.

Kowloon Park

Another sign

Disrupting the police...

Lunch at Dim Sum Restaurant

2007-05-07T21:09:00.000+08:00

Lunch was at this crowded Chinese restaurant where we had dim sum for lunch.

Tourism has often promoted Hong Kong as an attraction because of the food they can offer. I have expected to find really cheap and top quality food around in Hong Kong - their staple food of rice of noodles, their specialities, and even still, their street food (jie bian xiao chi), which is supposed to be simply delicious. Dim sum was one of the food I thought would be much better than those in Singapore.

It turns out I was quite wrong. The food in Hong Kong isn't exactly as wonderful as I thought they would be. In fact, there are plenty of restaturants in Singapore which can do as well, or even better, and at cheaper prices too. Rather disappointing.

It was interesting to find out from Linda, that the best dim sum is not found in Hong Kong. Instead, one of the best places to have dim sum is actually all the way back in Vancouver. It turns out that many of the top-notch dim sum chefs have migrated to Canada to seek a better life, and they have brought along their culinary skills which have been further developed.In fact, Linda (UBC) mentioned that the standard of the dim sum was really poor as compared to those back in Vancouver.

A small mental note on how cultures can be exported and refined overseas, while the local cultures have been eroded and decimated. What is the "true" culture of Dim Sum?

One of the mountains of dim sum we had...

Chung King Mansions

2007-05-07T21:00:00.000+08:00

The Chung King Mansions, which is now a cheap housing area and a very run-down shopping arcade stands proudly near the harbour of Kowloon. A rather odd sight, especially in comparison to the new museums, hotels and other huge shopping malls nearby. It is supposed to be a historical site, rated as one of the top ten "cultural places" to visit, a display of how immigrants used to work so hard to make a living then. Life was difficult, and they lived on very simple necessities like food and shelter.

As we ventured into the dark, dirty and gloomy building, we found ourselves in the midsts of many Indians and people of dark ethnicity. Cramped shops line both sides of the walkways, people peddling their stores hopefully to us visitors, people standing around not seeming to do anything... For a moment, it really felt like I was walking through some alley in some unknown parts of a developing country. The air was somewhat stale and the place had a stink of the lack of hygiene.

Undeterred, we went up to one of the motels on the 8th storey, and asked to be let in, on the pretense of looking for a room, just to see how the living conditions really were.

It wasn't appropriate to take too many photos, but this was the general picture. We entered a rather empty unit, roughly the size of an entire floor at PGP residences. When we entered, we were in the middle of a corridor with doors along the sides of the corridor. As we were showed a room, we were quite stunned. The room was perhaps only 1.5 metre by 1.5 metre - just an L-shaped raised platform with straw mat on it. Something we would think is a bed. But the most interesting find was that given the short length of the bed, the person renting the room probably cannot sleep lying flat. He would have to curl up his body to the L-shape.

It was interesting to note how eager I was to leave the place. It simply gave me the creeps -- the levels of cleanliness and hygiene, the stale and suffocating air, the cramped conditions, the suspicious people looking at us, the cold "you're-not-welcome" stares from some... What have I learnt from this trip here? That our forefathers had hard lives? I guess I wanted to get out so badly that I didn't give it much thought. But now, I feel that practicality rules, as always. While the Chung King Mansions could have been an important place in the past for holding immigrants, it is simply not practical anymore in the world today. Is it still something worth preserving?

This leads me to think more about a question that has been bothering me... Can culture be artificially preserved? Is there value in these old artifacts, or are they no longer relevant and should remain part of history?

The nice signboard...

How it really is like...

Avenue of Stars

2007-05-07T20:47:00.000+08:00

The "xin guang da dao", known for the celebrities who have graced the harbour street on their way to the cultural centre nearby.

Bruce Lee captured in his famous pose

The Director

The Actor

View of Hong Kong Island from the Avenue

Mongkok

2007-05-07T20:29:00.000+08:00

The famed tourist shopping district of Hong Kong where you can get cheap goods. By foriegn standards of course.

Vendors setting up their shops

The swarms of people

The Peak

2007-05-07T20:17:00.001+08:00

The peak is one of the highest point on Hong Kong Island, from where we can see the a bird's eye view of the Kowloon mainland from the height. But the climb and descent of the peak is almost as fun as the top itself. To get to the top, we had to take a long long series of escalators, get lost and make our way down half the hill before finding the elusive tram station we shouldnt' have missed. After taking a slow peak tram up, we took a public bus down from the top, which is one of my scariest bus rides yet. In short, riding that double decker bus speeding down the winding roads was like riding a roller coaster down. Rather sharp turns, insane speeding along parts of the road, hard braking at stops... Phew~ Fun.. But I'll rather not risk my life again. One slip, and we'll be tumbling down perhaps 20 storeys into the open seas.

Night view from the top

- Day 1 -

2007-05-06T23:59:00.000+08:00

Pre-Flight

2007-05-06T19:41:00.000+08:00

Waking up at 6am was easier than I expected. Perhaps thanks to the regimental school routine through the semester. Or perhaps it's because I'm excited about this upcoming trip to Hong Kong, Guangzohu, Singapore, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. It's going to be a 3 week Summer Programme, but the most exciting part of the course is we would be joining up with about a dozen of Canadian students from the University of British Columbia (UBC)! I'll get to meet new people from the other side of the world again.

The last time I had time together with students from the United States was a year ago, when Harvard students came to visit on their Harvard College in Asia Project (HCAP). One of the things I've realised, which was actually very simple and obvious, is how we all are similar in so many ways - the problems we face, the things we think about, the insecurities, the grumbling about school work... While I thought it might be difficult to understand and communicate with them, it wasn't. In fact, although our cultures are very different, we are really more similar than different.

Excited. How would the UBC students be? How would the course turn out? Would it be as interesting as the previous trip to Beijing? Waiting in anticipation...

Roaming Around Hong Kong

2007-05-06T19:40:00.000+08:00

Being the first time around in Hong Kong for most of us, we were quick to go around to wander the streets of Hong Kong and to see that's different. Here, we formed out first group of 4, the group which stayed together throughout the trip.

The gang of 4: HuiPing, LiMin, Lina and me!

Guess who?

Lina acting all tourist-y...

Streets of Hong Kong

Alleys of Hong Kong

The harbourfront

View from the top

Art?

First Meeting

2007-05-06T19:00:00.002+08:00

Our first meeting was kinda funny - we first met some of the students at the hotel doorway. Some of us were coming back after a brief roam around the streets of Hong Kong, and we met Jennifer at the doorway who somehow correctly guessed we were the Singaporean students. As she cheerily introduced herself as our student assistant for the trip, the other students in the hotel room right beside, probably felt compelled to come out to say hi too. So there we were, standing at the doorway shaking hands with the line of Canadian students lining up to come out of the hotel room. Though I couldn't recognise faces then since it was so rushed.. Haha...

Dinner was at a posh British restaurant, where we were served medium-rare steaks. It probably would have costed a bomb, but it was a great opportunity to talk to the students informally, where we got to know a few more people. It was an easy event, where we talked about everything.. Well, for most of us anyway. I was just content sitting there, listening to the conversations around me, observing people and their comments and remarks. One of the things I felt was the realisation of many of the things I take for granted are actually privilleges, and how many of the automatic thoughts I have have been conditioned over the years. Many of the thoughts that were "common sense" to us, were actually based on assumptions and habit, and there are alternatives that I have not considered. It's here when it suddenly struck me how Singaporeans and Canadians have so many things in common, yet can see the same issue and have different observations...

Us at Jimmy's Kitchen

HK Skyline

2007-05-06T18:59:00.000+08:00

The skyline of Hong Kong was a sight to behold. Across the sea on Hong Kong Island, huge skyscrapers line the entire horizon, with names of big shot companies lighting up the skies with their brand names. Hong Kong Island seems to be an entire island of commercial skyscrapers, but in fact, most of its developments are along the coasts as the central areas are too hilly. But in any sense, the rather majestic line up of buildings along the coasts is perhaps the stereotypical symbol of the city life.

It is quite a view, but it isn't something that I felt was particularly beautiful. I hate to think about the many city-dwellers whose passions and dreams have been replaced by insatiable greed of money and the material comfort it can bring. I feel that many times, it is a sad place where people lose sight of who they are, or who they want to be. Many of them get trapped in the competitive society they have created, living day after day pursuing other people's dreams, living in days of fear, anger and worry...

One of the things a Canadian student noticed was how the pace of life in Hong Kong was so much faster than in Canada. I find that particularly true, even as compared to the metropolitan Singapore. HK people rush through the streets simply focused on the direction they are heading, not even bothering to notice other people walking by. Walking through the crowded streets in the late afternoon, I also felt there was this overwheling sense of coldness. Most of the people wither were expressionless, or wore faces that showed irritation. There was hardly anyone who was laughing with friends, or even smiling. Except for the salespersons everywhere. It almost seems the pace of life is so busy that the people do not care about other people, or whatever else that is happening around them. They are just concerned about getting to their next destination, getting around to somewhere, or maybe nowhere.

I wonder: do they still have the time to stop and appreciate all the many things life has to offer now? Would Singapore turn out to be this way in a couple of years? Or even worse, would globalisation spread this phenomena around the world? Can we stop it? In fact, do we want to stop it?

Hong Kong Island