Thailand - Alice's Wonderland

Yi Peng Festival, Chiang Mai

2013-11-19T22:33:00.000+07:00

"Yi Peng" Festival, or "Festival of Light", occurs, in Northern Thailand, about the same time of Loy Krathong, and together, these make this time of the year one of the most beautiful!

On the Saturday night before Loy Krathong day once a year, there is a mass Khom Loy (Sky lanterns) release in a temple behind Mae Jo University. The sight, as you can imagine (and looking at the video), is simply spectacular, especially when they are released at the same time.

I had the opportunity to attend this year, and it was spectacular! There were a LOT of people though, as you would expect, so do take care of little children when walking out squeezing through the crowd!

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-14T09:27:00.002+07:00

Originally uploaded by IndigoCM

LOL...it seems a little late...but I would like to wish everyone (if anyone reads this!) a very happy new year?

What are your goals and determinations for this year?

For me, it's will be a year about making decisions, planning, and making causes, dare I say it, for the next 10 years! LOL...I generally live from day to day land leave my life to fate. What ever happens will happen & I will deal with it! However, from now on, things will be different. I will decide what will happen with my life and make it happen!

Back to my goals / determinations for the year:

1. Study Thai herbs and Traditional Thai Massage (well, since I'm in Thailand, I may as well take the opportunity to do this.)

2. Find really good staff / team members for the business.

3. Make more friends, develop deeper friendships with the friends I already have & get back into contact with old friends. [Note to self: have dialogue with new people & contact old friends - at least 1 per week.]

4. ..more to come!

Tips on How to Live Longer - from a 97 year old doctor

2009-04-13T11:08:00.009+07:00

Received this inspiring story via email. Hope you enjoy it!

At the age of 97 years and 4 months, Shigeaki Hinohara is one of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators. Hinohara's magic touch is legendary: Since 1941 he has been healing patients at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo and teaching at St. Luke's College of Nursing . After World War II, he envisioned a world-class hospital and college springing from the ruins of Tokyo ; thanks to his pioneering spirit and business savvy, the doctor turned these institutions into the nation's top medical facility and nursing school. Today he serves as chairman of the board of trustees at both organizations. Always willing to try new things, he has published around 150 books since his 75th birthday, including one "Living Long, Living Good" that has sold more than 1.2 million copies. As the founder of the New Elderly Movement, Hinohara encourages others to live a long and happy life, a quest in which no role model is better than the doctor himself. 
  
 
Doctor Shigeaki Hinohara JUDIT KAWAGUCHIPHOTO

Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot. We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too. It's best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.

All people who live long regardless of nationality, race or gender share one thing in common: None are overweight... For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work.. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat..

Always plan ahead. My schedule book is already full until 2014, with lectures and my usual hospital work. In 2016 I'll have some fun, though: I plan to attend the Tokyo Olympics!
There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65. The current retirement age was set at 65 half a century ago, when the average life-expectancy in Japan was 68 years and only 125 Japanese were over 100 years old. Today, Japanese women live to be around 86 and men 80, and we have 36,000 centenarians in our country. In 20 years we will have about 50,000 people over the age of 100...

Share what you know. I give 150 lectures a year, some for 100 elementary-school children, others for 4,500 business people. I usually speak for 60 to 90 minutes, standing, to stay strong.
When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure. Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone. So why cause unnecessary pain with surgery I think music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine.

To stay healthy, always take the stairs and carry your own stuff. I take two stairs at a time, to get my muscles moving.

My inspiration is Robert Browning's poem "Abt Vogler" My father used to read it to me. It encourages us to make big art, not small scribbles. It says to try to draw a circle so huge that there is no way we can finish it while we are alive. All we see is an arch; the rest is beyond our vision but it is there in the distance.

Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it. If a child has a toothache, and you start playing a game together, he or she immediately forgets the pain. Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients: We all want to have fun. At St. Luke's we have music and animal therapies, and art classes.

Don't be crazy about amassing material things. Remember: You don't know when your number is up, and you can't take it with you to the next place.

Hospitals must be designed and prepared for major disasters, and they must accept every patient who appears at their doors. We designed St.... Luke's so we can operate anywhere: in the basement, in the corridors, in the chapel. Most people thought I was crazy to prepare for a catastrophe, but on March 20, 1995, I was unfortunately proven right when members of the Aum Shinrikyu religious cult launched a terrorist attack in the Tokyo subway. We accepted 740 victims and in two hours figured out that it was sarin gas that had hit them. Sadly we lost one person, but we saved 739 lives.

Science alone can't cure or help people. Science lumps us all together, but illness is individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected to their hearts. To know the illness and help people, we need liberal and visual arts, not just medical ones.

Life is filled with incidents. On March 31, 1970, when I was 59 years old, I boarded the Yodogo, a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka . It was a beautiful sunny morning, and as Mount Fuji came into sight, the plane was hijacked by the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. I spent the next four days handcuffed to my seat in 40-degree heat. As a doctor, I looked at it all as an experiment and was amazed at how the body slowed down in a crisis.

Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do. My father went to the United States in 1900 to study at DukeUniversity in North Carolina . He was a pioneer and one of my heroes. Later I found a few more life guides, and when I am stuck, I ask myself how they would deal with the problem.

It's wonderful to live long. Until one is 60 years old, it is easy to work for one's family and to achieve one's goals. But in our later years, we should strive to contribute to society. Since the age of 65, I have worked as a volunteer. I still put in 18 hours seven days a week and love every minute of it.

Life and Death in the Blink of an Eye

2009-04-04T20:14:00.004+07:00

I couldn't stop thinking about it all day. It was a morning just like any other, until, as I was getting ready to go to work, I heard a loud screech, unmistakably from a car suddenly breaking. As I drew my bedroom curtains, I saw that a pick-up had hit a motorbike side on. The truck came to a halt the other side of the road with the motorbike wrecked underneath. Not far behind, I saw a person with a bright blue helmet lying on the side of the road. He wasn't moving.

I won't get into any more details, but it turned out that the man with the blue helmet was one of my neighbours from our housing estate. I didn't know him myself, but he was known as "Khun Ta", or "Grandfather". Thai people often call older people "Uncle", "Aunt", "Grandfather", "Grandmother", etc, out of respect. However, I knew his family. We would often greet each other in the mornings and evenings as I take my dog for a walk.

Khun Ta was on his daily ride to the market. Moments earlier, he and his family were having a chat as he went on his way, and moments later, he was gone. Doctors said he died instantly from the impact.

Khun Ta's family still can't believe that it happened. His shoes are still outside his house.

Life is so fragile, so unpredictable, one moment still breathing, the next, gone. Do we make the most out of our life, to create the most value we can? Do we make peace with our loved ones, our families so that we are not left with regrets, only with good memories?

Flowers of Chiang Mai

2009-03-28T22:53:00.004+07:00

It still amazes me the numerous types of flowering trees here in Chiang Mai. No wonder Chiang Mai is also known as the "rose of the north"!

Here are just a few from around my home. Enjoy!

Rain, Rain, don't go away! Rain in Chiang Mai

2009-03-20T20:25:00.005+07:00

Finally, Chiang Mai can breath easy again as the rain a couple of days ago and again tonight, washes away all the smog and smoke. We've been living with the smoke for almost the past month, I was having trouble breathing...and almost thought I was back in Beijing again!!

The smog was due to the hill tribes' slash and burn agricultural technique to clear the land before planting their crops. Well, at least the hill tribes get the blame, but it's quite common for the locals around town to burn their rubbish.

Apparently, this has always been normal practice for years, but the smog problem only began three years ago. Some people say it's because we haven't had as much rain these last three years. So there you go.

Incidentally, spring (if there is such a thing in Thailand) has sprung in Chiang Mai. Flowering trees are blooming. Beautiful flowers and blue skies. What else can I ask for?

That Takes Ovaries - Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts

2009-02-28T21:50:00.007+07:00

Real life stories about the courage of women. I was fortunate enough to attend this wonderful play based on the book That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts by Rivka Solomon and adapted into a play by Bobbi Ausubel. It turned out to be a very moving, inspiring experience to listen to the stories of women from all walks of life, and how they courageously stood up for themselves and what they believe in...and it was very witty and funny too!

The play was organised by Zonta International Chiang Mai to raise money for their Grandma Project - to support grandmothers, some of them in their 80s who have to raise their grandkids because their parents died of AIDS.

Approximately 610,000 people in Thailand (end 2007) have HIV, and Chiang Mai has one of the largest numbers of people with HIV in Thailand. In 2005, it is estimated 90,000 people in Chiang Mai have AIDS. Across Thailand, over 250,000 children have been orphaned by the disease and a staggering 80,000 of these children live in the Northern Provinces.

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone!! : )

2009-01-23T17:41:00.010+07:00

How fortunate for us Chinese to have two New Years to celebrate! This coming year is the year of the Ox, and is on the 26th Jan 2009.

Chinese New Year sayings deciphered:

Have you ever wondered what your Chinese friends are saying to each other? Here are a few phrase explained & for you to try out!

新年快乐！－ xin nian quai le - "xin" means "new", "nian" means year, "kuai le" means "happy", so, "Happy New Year!"

恭喜发财 - gong xi fa cai - “gong xi" means "Congratulations" & "fa cai" means "get rich". The whole phrase means "Congratulations & best wish for a prosperous new year!"

身体健康 - shen ti jian kang - "shen ti" means "body", "jian kang" means "healthy", so, "Wishing you good health"

万事如意－ wan shi ru yi - "wan shi" means "All things / everything" & "ru yi" means "as one wishes", ie "all your wishes come true!"

牛年吉祥－ niu nian ji xiang - "niu" means "ox", "nian" means "year", "ji xiang" means "lucky", so, "Good luck in the year of Ox!"

Are you an Ox?

You are an "Ox" if you were born in the year: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1985, 1997, which means that you'll be 72, 60, 48, 36, 24 or 12 respectively in 2009. The Chinese zodiac comes in 12 yearly cycles, so this makes a handy tool to politely (or sneakily) ask for someone's age. So, you can ask someone - "What's your Chinese sign?". If you have a chart, then you can easily work out the person's age (plus or minus 12 years!).

By the way, if you're an Ox, you're likely to be hardworking, persistent and have great memory, but can be a bit stubborn.

Want to learn more about Chinese New Year traditions?

Here are a couple of links:

Chinese New Year

10 Good Luck Foods for Chinese New Year

New Year Wishes

Time to make another wish, and also a good time to reflect on the goals/new year resolutions we made for the 2009 New Year!! So far so good (on some aspects) for me, and a reminder to get going on the others! ...and of course, another chance to wish all of you

"Gong xi fa cai, xin nian kuai le!"

A very Prosperous and Happy New Year!

Brrr...It's been cold in Chiang Mai!

2009-01-17T11:10:00.006+07:00

2002_0815_1ChiangMai81
Originally uploaded by richard_munden

A nine year old girl died this week, thought to be because of the cold spell in the north of Thailand, and children in some towns have been having lessons out in the sun to stay warm. See news report.

It hasn't been too bad in town though, with the night time temperature being a chilly 7 degrees at night and day time around 28 degrees. Now most of you in the northern hemisphere probably think this weather is quite warm! ...but Thais, living in a tropical country, are not used to the cold. Thai houses do not have heating, and a lot of the homes (especially the poorer ones) don't even have hot water heater. It's particularly cold in the mountains and there are even reports of people building fires in their homes (!!!) to stay warm.

My New Camera - Canon Powershot SX10IS

2009-01-09T21:58:00.007+07:00

I love it!

I recently got a Canon Powershot SX10IS to replace my beloved Canon Ixus 40. Actually, there was nothing wrong with the Ixus 40 that I bought several years ago. It's a great little camera and still takes beautiful pictures, especially close ups, and being so small, I took it around everywhere.

However, having started the website for the travel agency, I realised the need to take better quality photos, particularly of landscapes, and I began searching for my perfect camera. I first asked the advice of my cousin, who I would consider as a professional photographer, has a very nice Pentax DSLR . He of course recommended DSLRs, and I was very tempted. However, I was a little concerned about the size of DSLRs, and the need to change lens.

This is what I decided that I want for my camera:

Not too big & heavy, so I can carry it around as much as I can. I was used to take my little Ixus 40 everywhere with me and often take shots of food for restaurant reviews in my travel blog.
Take nice pictures for the website - at this point, I was advised that 6 MP would be plenty for web work.
A video function - I would like to be able to take good quality videos if possible, just in case I want to put videos on my blogs or websites.

I narrowed down my choices to:

Nikon D40 - a 6.1MP DSLR; one of the smaller DSLRs, but no Video function.
Canon Powershot SX10IS - 10MP with 20x wide angle optical image stabilised zoom & takes good quality videos.
Canon Powershot G10 - 14.7MP with 5x wide angle optical image stabilised zoom & takes good quality videos.

In the end, I decided that as much as I would love to have a DSLR, I didn't want the hassle of carrying around lens for the camera.

It was then a toss up between the SX10IS and the G10. The advantage of the SX10IS is that it has a 20x zoom and great video quality, while the G10 is a lot smaller and still takes beautiful photos. In the end, I decided to go for the SX10IS - mainly because of the zoom.

I'm very happy with my decision. When the SX10IS arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the compactness of it. It's of course a lot bigger than the Ixus 40, and certainly won't fit in my pocket (not that I do carry cameras around in my pocket). However, it still fits in my shoulder bag, and I still do carry it around to most places.

It takes beautiful photos - as you may notice from the photos on this page! : ) I've been using mostly automatic mode though, but I'm gradually trying to learn all the different modes.

Here is a "Review" from an amateur & untechnical user (me) - so no talk about ISOs ,etc, etc:

What I love about the SX10IS:

It fits nicely in my hands & not too big or heavy.
I do feel quite professional when I use it! : P
The zoom - to take those far away shots when you can't (or are too lazy) to get closer.
The swivel screen ("rotating LCD") is great and I can see myself on the screen when taking a self-portrait, and makes it easier to take photos at different angles.
Nice video quality, but I'm still learning how to edit it on my computer.
Having read lots of reviews about the camera, I'm sure there are more benefits, but I just haven't discovered them yet! For now, it's doing what I want it to do.
It can take lots of photos successively fairly quickly - a big difference from the Ixus 40- I would have to wait for a while before the next shot can be taken.

The downside?

It seems to take a while to take a shot if the flash is used.
Uses AA batteries - well, some people might see this as a benefit, but I do prefer to use rechargeable batteries, which are better for the environment and last longer. Also, having to handle 4 batteries is a big fiddly, I think. The Ixus 40 used one of those square Li batteries, and I prefer them.
Sometimes, I do feel a bit lazy taking the camera out of my bag to take a photo (due to the larger size and having to take off the lens cap, etc), I think if I was using a smaller camera like the G10, I would probably just whip it out and take a photo without even thinking about it.

Making a decision on which camera to buy can be a difficult, and it's very tempting to get the "top of the range" with lots of functions we're not likely to use, but I think it's important to consider (and keep in mind) what you want out of the camera. Anyway, hopefully I've giving you some insight into the Canon Powershot SX10IS, and may be help you make a decision (if you're looking at buying a camera, that is).

Hopes, Goals and Determination for 2009

2009-01-07T22:57:00.013+07:00

This is the first time I'm declaring my goals for 2009 to the world - I guess it just means I have to accomplish them now, which is probably a good thing. : )

So here goes:

Since I have just started my travel agency, I really hope that business will be good in 2009! Of course, I will have to work hard at it, and there is a lot to learn, but I think it will be fun! Even with the world economic crisis, I still have hope that business will be OK because Chiang Mai is still a wonderful destination, with plenty of things to do an see, people so lovely and friendly, and still quite cheap compare to other places. (a bit of advertising here!) So please consider Chiang Mai for your next holiday! : )
Personally, I will try to balance my work and personal life a bit more - I have been concentrating on starting this business that I tend to neglect personal side of things. So this year I will make more efforts to keep in touch with friends and try to make lots of new ones in Chiang Mai.
Continuing studying Chinese. After leaving Beijing for around 3 months or so, I began lessons in Chiang Mai, but took a break. Now that I've found my book again (well, it's a start!), I must continue before I forget everything . I'm going to study 1 hour a day. I think I'll have to do it first thing in the morning.

Go back to the gym! Isn't this everyone's goals? : ) ...but I was doing really well (really!) going about three times a week till November 08 when I had the ATV accident (good excuse?), now that I'm better I have to get fit again.
As always, I really hope for peace in the world and that people will be able to get along and understand each other better. It seems like an abstract dream, but it really begins with ourselves and those around us - our family, friends and colleagues. When we have conflicts, do we automatically think we are right and everyone else is wrong? Do we really try to understand their point of view and where they're coming from? It may sound simplistic, but I believe if we all try to do this (may be not so easy a thing), I'm confident that the world will be a better place.

Well, that's it for now. Wish me luck! : )

Year in Review 2008

2009-01-03T22:34:00.008+07:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

I guess it's a bit late - with the excuse being that I have been spending most of my time working on my new business website - Indigo Chiang Mai Holidays and t ravel blog. Just to fill you in, I've started a travel agency in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, which have been a lot of fun...but back to the topic...finally, I thought I'd better spend a bit of time reflecting on last year 2008, a pretty eventful year for me.

The year started with returning to Beijing, China to study mandarin. It had always been my dream to study or work overseas, and I guess this is a dream come true for me. Whereas some people had problem adjusting, I loved my time in China and had met so many wonderful new friends. It was also nice to be a student again, with the only responsibility being study! Of course, if was a fantastic chance to travel in a country that I had been so fascinated with.

This time, with my language skills a lot better than last year, I was confident enough to travel with friends (rather than a group organised by the university). We went to Harbin, Chengde, and the big trip at the end of the course - around 21 days backpacking through Yunnan. It was the most fantastic trip!

I had such a wonderful time in China, but it was time to get back to reality. Having already taken a couple of years off, what am I going to do with my life?

That's when I decided to return to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where my parents have been spending their retirement. I lived in Chiang Mai for sometime before going to China and also loved it. It's a very peaceful place, and beautiful too - surrounded by mountains and nature. It has a convenience of a city, yet very friendly. Chiang Mai is a big tourist destination, and I thought I'd start a travel agency here.

It proved to be a lot of fun! When I am not meeting customers or accompanying them on their trips, I go exploring - finding new places to go and testing out new restaurants and eateries. LOL, eating is something our family really enjoys! If you are coming to Chiang Mai for a holiday or break, feel free to contact me to get the low down on all the places to visit and to eat..or just check out my website and blog (see link above) - I was quite surprised that one customer thought it was so useful that she actually printed out my whole website and brought it with her during her trip here! ...and a bit of shameless self promotion - I can also arrange accommodation and transport for you while you are here! : )

Anyway, being a travel agent also proved to be quite painful...especially when I had an ATV accident. Skip this paragraph now if you don't want to know the gory details! Basically, I went to try it out. We were having such a great time too. We were riding on a dirt track in the jungle up this mountain. My ATV hit a rock and I kind of flew into the air to the side of the dirt track and down the side of the mountain. After that, I flew off the ATV, rolled down the hill. When I stopped rolling, the wheel of the ATV fell on my chest and bounced off, flying into a tree. Yes, it was very painful, but looking back, I have been so fortunate not to have more serious injuries, getting away with only a couple of fractured ribs and a pneumothorax (a sort of a little air bubble in the lining of the lungs) which I needed a chest tube for. I still can't believe that I was in hospital for only 4 days, but I was determined to be out to celebrate Loy Krathong!! It was a great pity I missed out on the mass release of Khom Loys a few days earlier.

So this already takes us for to the last day of 2008, when we celebrated with some of our customers in Lanna (Northern Thailand) style with the release of paper lanterns into the sky - releasing our "bad luck" and making wishes for the coming year!

And now it is already 2009. Time to think about the determinations/resolutions for the new year. More to come! : )

But before that - I would like to wish everyone a very happy 2009! I hope that all your hopes and wishes come true. Times will be tough for a lot of people, but please be positive and have hope that you'll definitely be able to overcome any problems. Most of all, keep smiling!

Amazing dancers - one with out an arm, one without a leg

2008-09-07T14:24:00.004+07:00

I could never imagine the what it would be like to lose an arm or a leg in an accident, nor the agony and torment and courage one have to go through to bring yourself together and start life again.

Last night was the opening of the Paralympic Games in Beijing. It was a really beautiful event, and I was so touched by the performances. This blog is not about the Paralympic Games, however, it is about a "junk" mail that I received today. I touched me so much that I have to share it with all of you. I feel the spirit of these dancers would be the same as the Paralympians, however - the courage, the conviction, and the spirit of never giving up.

Here is the story:

"Amazing pair of physically challenged dancers.

You'd be touched when you watch this video. Take a look at the link after you read the following story. It's a remarkable story about tenacity!

There was a Chinese modern dance competition on TV. One very unique couple won one of the top prizes. The lady, in her 30's, was a dancer who had trained since she was a little girl. Later in life, she lost her entire left arm in an accident and fell into a state of depression for a few years.

Someone then asked her to coach a children's dancing group. From that point on, she realized that she could not forget dancing. She still loved to dance and wanted to dance again. So, she started to do some of her old routines, but, having lost her arm, she had also lost her balance. It took a while before she could even make simple turns and spins without falling.

Then she heard of a man in his 20s who had lost a leg in an accident. He had also fallen into the usual denial, depression and angry type of emotional roller coaster. She was determined to find him (apparently he was from a different Province) and persuaded him to dance with her. He had never danced, and to 'dance with one leg...are you joking with me? No way!'

But, she didn't give up, and he reluctantly agreed thinking, 'I have nothing else to do anyway.'

She started to teach him dancing 101. The two broke up a few times because he had no concept of using muscles, of how to control his body, and knew none of the basic things about dancing. When she became frustrated and lost patience with him, he would walk out. Eventually, they came back together and started training seriously. They hired a choreographer to design routines for them. She would fly high (held by him) with both arms (a sleeve for an arm) flying in the air. He could bend horizontally supported by one leg with her leaning on him, etc. In the competition, as you will see, they dance beautifully and they legitimately won the competition. It's ingenious how they incorporate the crutch into the routine!

This is the most magnificent and touching performance I have ever seen. It is living proof that the strong human spirit can conquer tremendous physical limitations!"

Personal trainer - to have or not to have?

2008-08-25T21:41:00.006+07:00

I decided to join the gym. OK, no big deal. I've been to gyms many times before, mainly to stay healthy. I would go every now and then, and the result was, well, wasn't sure if there were any results, but it could also be because I didn't have any goals, just kind of went to exercise.

So when joining the gym I was offered a couple of free trials with a personal trainer. We started off with setting a goal, and he really pushed me during each session that I don't think I would bother if I were to do it myself. A personal trainer can also help to design a suitable training program to help attain your goal, and make sure weight equipments are used properly to avoid injury.

But all these come with a cost. You have to pay! : ) Is the money worth it? I think if you have specific goals in mind - eg weight loss or toning, it's worthwhile to have a personal trainer to help and motivate you to achieve these goals. Also, I think personal trainers are essential for older people wanting to exercise. It's a good idea to have a someone professional to guide you and make sure you can use the equipments safely. Personal trainers are also good if you are recovering from an injury, or have certain physical problems (eg. a crook knee) as they can, for example, design exercises to help strengthen leg muscles to help your knees.

I will keep you posted as to how I go. I have signed up for 20 sessions. The goal is to lose 5 kg and tone my body, especially the legs and thighs. I will be going to the gym 3 times a week.

Heroic Teachers - China Sichuan Earthquake

2008-05-20T21:18:00.003+07:00

This article from the CCTV website tells us the stories of heroic teachers who saved their students' lives during the earthquake.

There are so many such stories emerging in the aftermath of the earthquake. The disaster seems to have brought out the best in people. The Chinese people are very courageous, resolute people, but it will take a long time to recover. Countless people have lost their families, their homes, everything. Just to give an idea of the scale of the effects of the earthquake, I heard that the area affected by the earthquake is about the size of South Korea, and the number of people that need to be looked after and moved to a different area is around about the population of Minnesota.

China Sichuan Earthquake - a true story

2008-05-19T18:53:00.004+07:00

"Dear baby, if you live, please know that I love you."

A woman was found amongst the ruins of a building in a strange position. She was on her hands and knees. When the rescuers found her and took her out of the rubbles, she was already dead. Underneath her was a baby, possibly only a few months old. The baby was sleeping. Next to the baby the rescuers found a mobile phone with the message the woman wrote for her baby, "Dear baby, if you live, please know that I love you."

Unlucky - health and computer troubles : Lucky - Blogger can be accessed in China!

2008-05-03T21:21:00.002+07:00

Although I'm enjoying my mandarin course in Beijing tremendously, it
hasn't been so smooth sailing, at least health wise. Firstly I
injured my knee from playing soccer, I think, and that took over two
months to recover. Read all about it in my Beijing Blog. Then, I
twisted my ankle during a little fall (not too bad this time though)
– one must be really careful walking around BLCU at the moment – a
lot of road works going on and footpaths being fixed (which is a good
thing, I guess), and the latest, I came down with this cold just in
time for the holidays! …back to school tomorrow on Sunday.

Not only am I having trouble heath-wise, my Apple Powerbook G4 had
also been a little "sick". For some reason my top right hand side
menu bar (with all the info such as the time, how much battery is
left, etc) has disappeared – gone & I have no idea how to get it
back. It's also taking quite a long time for some of the programs to
load after being opened. I did do a search on the net looking for
solutions, but being a little (well, quite) technologically
challenged, I have no idea what they are talking about. If any of you
out there are computer whizzes and know how I can fix this problem, I
would really appreciate your help! Just leave a message in the
comment section.

…At least blogger can now be accessed in China – yeah!! Hope this
lasts! (If you didn't know, blogger has been blocked by the "Great
Firewall of China" for some time. – so I am quite happy I can now
access my blogs.)

Have you ever met someone through your blog?

2008-02-25T20:26:00.001+07:00

I know we make new friends and meet new people all the time through
our blogs, particularly through blog communities like MyBlogLog and
BlogCatalog, but have you actually met one of your readers in person?
I met two today!

As you may know, I'm in Beijing studying mandarin. Both persons knew
me through my BLCU Beijing Diary Blog. One of them had previously
contacted me after she read my blog, then somehow found me on
Facebook. The other I met when we were both signing up to join the
gym. When I introduced myself, he said straight away – "Oh, you have
a blog!".

How amazing (and a bit strange)! When I started the blogs, I wanted
to remain anonymous, but what a small world it is!

Language Learning Adventure

2008-02-21T18:15:00.002+07:00

The comment from Stefan (previous post) reminds me of an episode a Korean friend and I had in a Beijing taxi. It was quite stressful at the time, but I fondly look back at it now. We've come a long way…

We were three weeks into Class A7 (beginners) at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU). Our mandarin was not yet enough to get us anywhere. That afternoon we visited my friend at Beijing University. Getting there was no problem, the adventure begins on our way back.

Our task was to drop me off at BLCU then RJ will go to Qinghua University to meet some friends. At least we could tell the taxi driver that! The driver had a different idea though. After confessing that we had no idea what he was talking about and after much hand gestures, we worked out that it would be better to go to Qinghua first. OK, we didn't know how to protest anyway.

Two minutes later RJ's friend called. They couldn't get a taxi to Qinghua. RJ and his friends were to meet at Wudaokou Subway Station (on the way to BLCU). Hmm, I didn't think we've learnt how to say Subway Station. Luckily the subway station was in sight, but we could only say, "Go there!" with lots of hand gestures. The Taxi driver-man of course does not know where "there" is. McDonalds's? No. KFC? No. Finally with many more "Go theres!" and hand gestures, the taxi driver said, and pointing to the Station, muttering something. We had no idea what he said, but we said "Yes!" anyway. It was pretty lucky, because we also didn't know how to say, "Stop here". RJ got off OK at Wudaokou Subway, and I got back OK to BLCU. I think the taxi driver was also quite relieved to get rid of us - he was getting quite frustrated as well!

I can only laughingly look back at it now! Challenging ourselves, getting out of that comfort zone – this is what memories are made of. Hope to have more of it!

我回来北京了。I'm back in Beijing!

2008-02-19T21:27:00.002+07:00

Here I find myself back in Beijing, having touched down at Beijing's
Capital Airport yesterday. I found everything surprisingly efficient
(!!!) from the lady at immigration (although it would have been nice
if she smiled a bit), getting the luggage (already there by the time
I got to the carousel), and even getting a taxi (only waited about 5
minutes). The traffic to the university was also surprisingly good (I
previously loathed catching taxis and buses because of the infamous
Beijing traffic) - no traffic jams! May be Beijing IS ready for the
Olympics, or may be people are yet to come back from their Spring
Festival (Chinese New Year) holidays. We shall see.

...And all that worry about the weather has proved unfounded. It's
actually been quite nice, with a high of 7 degrees C today, and a
forecast of 12 degrees C tomorrow.

I found my Chinese rusty, but somehow still managed to get a free
face massage. A lady managed to pull me into a beauty salon despite
my weak protests of "我听不懂" - "I don't understand!". I only
caught something about "免费" - "free!" and something to do with
massage. "Oh, why not?", I thought. If I don't do it, I probably
won't end up doing anything just because I don't understand, or
afraid of being ripped off. It turned out to be great, and I ended up
getting a free face cream and buying a course of 4 treatments for RMB
100. Not bad.

It's been a couple of months, but I feel like I haven't left Beijing.
A lot of friends from last time have left though, things won't be the
same without them. I'm glad though, to see a few friends coming back.
Last time I did not know anyone at all. To be honest, I do feel a bit
apprehensive about coming back. I don't really know why. I feel like
I'm almost starting over all over again....but that's OK. It's good
to be out of the comfort zone and challenge myself again.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2008-02-06T22:05:00.000+07:00

Happy Chinese New Year too all! We are welcoming the year of the Rat and saying goodbye to the year of the Pig.

For the Chinese, New Year, much like, Christmas, is the time for the family to get together, and our family would usually celebrate it with a big dinner with everyone.

As children, what we used to look forward to most was, of course, seeing all the relatives together, and almost even more so, receiving red packets with money inside from the adults. Red packets symbolise luck and wealth and is usually given by the older generation to the younger generation as gifts. Fortunately I’m still young enough to get a red packet (just!) - only because I have (much) younger cousins so I would get red packets from my uncle and aunts along with the little cousins – not that I’m complaining!

We would also look forward to the food! The Chinese are very superstitious and “lucky” foods are traditionally served. For example, spring rolls and clams symbolise wealth. Sweets are served for a “sweet” year ahead. A whole chicken means unity within the family. Noodles (uncut) mean long life.

Sometimes certain foods are served because of how the word sounds. For example, the word for fish, “Yu” sounds like the word for plenty. Whole fish is served, symbolising togetherness.

A lot of food is usually prepared and served, meaning abundance for the coming year. In recent years, though, we have been opting to go to Chinese Restaurants instead of cooking at home. We celebrated tonight (New Year’s Eve) at the very elegant Fujian Restaurant at the very beautiful Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Hotel in Chiangmai.

It was fantastic! We had suckling pig – roasted baby pig (poor pig – but it was delicious!). The skin was so crispy. It was accompanied with little pancakes, strips of vinegared carrots and cucumber and a very tasty sauce. When we finished with the skin, the meat was then fried with black pepper sauce. We also had, amongst various other dishes, duck panfried with preserved olives served with lettuce leaves; and strips of Yunan ham wrapped with fish strips and steamed. Mmm…it was a lovely meal and the service was excellent.

A good end to the year and great welcome to the next!

"Make money from your blog"

2008-01-27T14:46:00.001+07:00

I have recently joined MyBlogLog. It's an online community for people with websites and blogs. Since then I've met quite a lot of nice bloggers out there, not to mention looked at quite a few fascinating blogs. It interesting that a lot of the "hottest" blogs are about how to blog and how to make money from your blogs or websites. There seem to be a lot of bloggers out there who want to make money from their blogs, as well some who aspire to be "Professional Bloggers", which I think would be a fantastic occupation. I even secretly wish I could do the same! I wonder if there are many out there who actually makes a good living from their blogs. If you are one of them, please let me know (and tell me your secrets!!). : )

I have a feeling it's not all that easy though. Money won't just be pouring in, at least, initially, without sheer hard work to make your blog look good, having great content, and getting lots of people coming through. I think it would be even harder for a technically challenged person like me! As an experiment, I started my Beijing Blog to see how much money I can make. I started putting Google Adsense ads on the site, and six months later, I have made a whopping $1.10!! This blog (Alice's Adventure) have made (drumroll...) $0!!

OK, OK, I know I didn't make the most of my Adsense advertising features and there are a lot more that can be done on my blogs, and a lot more for me to learn. Thanks to some of the blogs I found in MyBlogLog, I got a few more tips in regards to different ad programs. For example, with Adsense, you will have to make $100 before they send you a cheque - I think I will be waiting a long time! So I think I'd have better luck if I also use BidVertiser. They have a $10 threshold and pay through paypal. So, I think if I can increase the numbers of visitors to my blogs, hopefully I can make my first $10 from the internet in the not too distant future!

Wish me luck! ...oh, and I welcome any of your comments and tips. : )

Interesting find in the local supermarket

2008-01-20T15:31:00.000+07:00

I was at the local supermarket when I noticed this in the cleaning aisle:

Sorry I don't know how to rotate the photo!

Anyway, as you can see, it's a gun cleaning solution. I might be a bit naive, but does this mean that there are a lot of people in the area owing guns, so much so that the local supermarket decides to keep Gun Cleaners in stock? What a scary thought! ...Perhaps there is another use for it, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Going green - eat less meat?

2008-01-10T17:46:00.000+07:00

What's the big deal about eating meat? I do like to eat meat, not that I eat a lot of it, and I do have occasional pangs of guilt when I imagine those cute pigs or cows on their way to the slaughter house. That doesn't stop me from eating meat though.

During one of my net surfing sessions for some business ideas, I came across several websites that suggest that eating meat is bad for the environment because the production of meat requires the use of massive amounts of water. I got curious and did a bit more research. There are lots of sites discussing this topic, one of these is Wikipedia.

According to this article:

Livestock contributes to nearly 20% of total US methane emissions.
Factory farming or "free-range animal production" requires the use of large areas of land. The UN found that the deforestation of land for ranching in South and Central America has caused the loss of many plant and animal species.
100,000 L of water is required to produce 1 kg of beef! This takes into account the water used to grow hay and grain to feed the cattle that produces (becomes??) the beef. This is quite a lot of water!! The article also said that the growing of some crops (like rice) in arid areas using ground water may also lead to famine in that area in the long run.
Fossil fuel energy is used to produce food. In the US, the average farm uses 3kcal of fossil fuel energy to produce 1kcal of food energy. The production of beef requires the use of 35kcal/kcal of beef protein produced (if half of the cattle feed is grain).

The article notes that this does not refer to game/wild meat.

The article also mentioned alternate view points:

Alternate farming practises eg organic farming, rotational grazing may have positive impacts on the environment.
In countries where rice is the main cereal crops grown, rice cultivation is the main cause of most methane emissions.
Not all meat production is inefficient use of land - eg. some cereals produced cannot be consumed by humans, they can be used to produce meat instead, thus improving efficiency

I don't eat a lot of beef myself, but the article said that even if an average American (who consumes 97 pounds of beef per year) reduce their intake by a little would still really help the environment. I guess this would be right because if 1kg of beef uses 100,000 L of water, then if, everyone reduces beef consumption by, say, 1kg per month, then they are already saving 3,000,000 L of water each per year - from beef production anyway.

From my point of view, I think while the article is great in raising awareness, the cause of the problem is not really people eating beef, but the way beef (and other meat), even plant crops are farmed and produced. Wild or game meats do not cause the same problem.

If farming done in an environmentally conscious and responsible way, I feel that the problem would improve. The problem (and solution) is very complex. The big challenge is to educate the farmers how to farm in a sustainable way, and the consumers to become aware and demand food produced this way.

Of course, this is only one (may be small) part of the equation to look after our earth, but every little bit counts!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T20:31:00.001+07:00

Happy New Year to all the readers of my blog (if I have any, that is!). This new year has crept up on me. Over the last three weeks or so since I finished my course in Beijing, I have been in three different countries - Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. I have been feeling a bit tired of travelling...but I must say I had a fantastic time catching up with my family in Singapore and Malaysia. My brothers John & Mark came up from Australia, and John also came up with Michelle and their baby son, Henry. Henry of course, is the cutest baby ever - no bias, really! Also had a wonderful time eating all the local food - yum!

What will this year bring? My life is at a crossroad. I will go back to Beijing to study mandarin for another 5 months. I had such a great time last year and don't want to get back into the real world just yet...and also I would like to get my mandarin up to a certain level so as not to forget everything when I leave China next time! I still haven't decided what I will do after the course, but I'm thinking about starting a business of some sort...so wish me luck!