When I signed up for Gofar, I was aware that it would involve going to a third world country. However, I think that the reality that I'm about to leave Singapore to go to some backwater for over two weeks has not sunk in yet.
It will probably sink in on my first day in Dili, the capital of Timor Leste, when I look at the food and realise that maybe I didn't think through my decision enough to join the programme. This is also probably my last break before FYP and I'm about to spend it working my socks off in muddy villages while travelling on pothole ridden roads. I have been told that it's going to be crazy fun, which means that I know a few basket cases who are also eternal optimists.
I love eternal optimists, because they are my FML indicator. When I actually see them anything but optimistic, I know some shit has really happened. That is when I pull out my Forrest Gump lecture, which doesn't really help but I give it anyway.
"Life is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes, you get the expired ones. They taste bad, but you won't die."
Really, I would have welcomed a break after internship. I extended because I enjoyed the experience so much, but now that manliest of manly commitments called IPPT is looming and I have no means of training unless I undergo a guerrilla course in Timor.
Perhaps I could wake my roommate every morning to the sound of me jogging on the spot and doing pushups on the floor while huffing and puffing like an elephant. Because in exercise, no pain, no gain. Sometimes got pain, still no gain, except around the midriff area.
I'm pretty sure at the end of the trip we will be bosom buddies, if he doesn't try to kick me out of the room first.
Really, Timor Leste is really one of those places that I can't make up my mind about whether it's cool to visit. I mean, if I tell people that I went to South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina or some far flung but exotic place, people will start wondering what happened to their lives.
When I tell them I'm going to Timor Leste, they go "Huh where is that? Sounds damn tribal sia." When I try to explain, I realise that their attention has already shifted to something else. And nobody ever tells me that they envy me for going to somewhere so unique.
It's one of those places that people don't even put on their list of 100 places to visit before they die, because chances are they don't even know it exists. And even if they do, it'll probably be the 101st out of 100, and that is me being optimistic.
The most unique comment I've heard so far is that the service industry is extremely good there, particularly of the female escort variety. Well, now you know where to find great chicken.
I'm also rather miffed that I will not be able to play Starcraft 2 back at home. Did you see the number of grown men that shed tears or cheered like little boys at the countdown. It almost felt like they had seen the messiah. It was so big that the Straits Times gave its launch a cover page mention, which must be a first for any game anywhere.
So in preparation, instead of reading reports about the country, I'm now downloading shows to watch, because I realise that every night I will have nothing to do but catch up on them, which isn't really too bad. We're actually getting curfewed. How cool is that. Better buy more insurance.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
So, what do you want to do in the future?
It scares me that I'm now in my final year and I'm hearing this question a lot more often than usual, and I actually have to come up with a real answer. Previously, I would demur and smile and not answer the question directly, telling people that I was still in university.
However, that excuse doesn't seem to work anymore. It's probably because people are starting to realise that I have to choose a place to work, and hence they are starting to foist that question on me with a startling regularity. And of course, like in a game of tennis, if you don't return the hard balls they throw at you, very soon people are going to stop talking to you because they find that you're really no fun to talk to.
Honestly, I'm fun to talk to as long as you don't talk serious. That sounds like a long shot in the funny considering I look really serious, but really, I am full of crap. The face is just an illusion.
To be fair, some of them have offered suggestions. TNP has for one, confirmed that they would like to take me back. But I'm not so sure, because as much as I loved working there, I do realise that I need to work elsewhere to grow, not just as a journalist, but as a person. I'm constantly looking elsewhere and I realise that there is so much more to see, so much more to experience, and with that huge world out there, how could I ever stay still?
And really, after awhile you get sick of doing stories about men screwing other women, men screwing around with each other, women screwing their men, women screwing other women, and children screwing around with screwdrivers and landing themselves in hospital. That's a lot of screwing around but that's essentially the nuts and bolts of TNP.
When I was a boy, I wanted to be a musician. However, everyone knows that Singapore and music don't mix. I would have probably been a musician if I was shit at my studies, because at least my parents would go "okay if seems that you have an interest in nothing else so we're going to let you study music."
However, I love music enough for it to be a passion, but not enough for it to be my life. And I think that making it my life would take the passion out of it. I still love it a lot though, and every day just tinkling the ivories of my piano gives me a simple joy.
And in my teens, I wanted to be a doctor. I figured that saving lives was cool. I probably would have been a decent one, but asked to choose between my two passions, I realised that I preferred writing and reading more. I still remember an internship I did at a hospital during my JC years quite vividly, and it kind of made me realise that maybe, I wasn't cut out for it.
Not because of the hours, or because I felt that I lacked the aptitude, but really because I felt that I would never be as dedicated as I should be. In a job like that, where people place you in charge of the most important thing they have, their lives, being uninspired is the worst possible thing to be. One incident still sticks in my memory, of how the ward I was in lost a patient because the surgeon on duty decided to go MIA.
A patient had suffered a triple A, or acute aortic aneurysm. The aorta is main blood vessel by which blood leaves the heart, and an aneurysm is the term for a vessel rupture. The vessel walls were weakened and they had burst, so the patient was bleeding out, and doing so internally. And it was really shocking how fast it happened. One moment, the patient was sitting and talking, and within the hour, he was unconscious and pale.
I interned in the ER, so I watched as the doctors rushed the patient in, and tried to resuscitate him while pumping him with fluids to try and keep the blood circulation going. And the doctor was screaming and paging for the surgeon to hurry up and save the man, but he was nowhere to be found.
And it was horrible to watch. I watched as the doctors and nurses administered doses of adrenaline to keep the heart going, but it was a losing battle. They also pumped fluid in, so much that when the patient finally passed on, his colour of his blood was clear. The whole shift on duty was devastated, as they always were when they lost a patient.
That incident really left a very deep impression on me, because that man could have been saved, and I knew it. I knew the only reason he had died was because he had no chance whatsoever, as a doctor who had taken the Hippocratic oath to save lives had in fact neglected his duty.
I am not dramatising this incident out of Grey's Anatomy, House, or any of those medical dramas on TV. Doctors in those shows can screw around, and patients die nice deaths with nice soundtracks in the background and nice camera angles. I wish I was, but I live with the knowledge that a man died because someone else didn't do his job. The reality is often gritter, starker, and far more compelling. And it never leaves you. I have a feeling that doctors remember every patient they lose, and it takes a toll on you after awhile.
A doctor is essentially a glorified mechanic, with the only difference being that he repairs machines that are still running, and there is no margin for error. Of course, there are perks in being a doctor, like how everyone fawns and respects your profession, and the remuneration is not too bad either. But it just wasn't for me, because I wasn't sure I could live with the guilt if I ever slipped up.
And now, I'm a journalist and people tell me that maybe I have a gift for it. But I really believe that it is easy to be good at something if you are sincere about learning the ropes, and about applying yourself to it. I don't want to pigeonhole myself into something, because I believe that I have yet to find something that I really want to do, something that I don't have to wake up to every day thinking that it is a drag to go into office.
However, that excuse doesn't seem to work anymore. It's probably because people are starting to realise that I have to choose a place to work, and hence they are starting to foist that question on me with a startling regularity. And of course, like in a game of tennis, if you don't return the hard balls they throw at you, very soon people are going to stop talking to you because they find that you're really no fun to talk to.
Honestly, I'm fun to talk to as long as you don't talk serious. That sounds like a long shot in the funny considering I look really serious, but really, I am full of crap. The face is just an illusion.
To be fair, some of them have offered suggestions. TNP has for one, confirmed that they would like to take me back. But I'm not so sure, because as much as I loved working there, I do realise that I need to work elsewhere to grow, not just as a journalist, but as a person. I'm constantly looking elsewhere and I realise that there is so much more to see, so much more to experience, and with that huge world out there, how could I ever stay still?
And really, after awhile you get sick of doing stories about men screwing other women, men screwing around with each other, women screwing their men, women screwing other women, and children screwing around with screwdrivers and landing themselves in hospital. That's a lot of screwing around but that's essentially the nuts and bolts of TNP.
When I was a boy, I wanted to be a musician. However, everyone knows that Singapore and music don't mix. I would have probably been a musician if I was shit at my studies, because at least my parents would go "okay if seems that you have an interest in nothing else so we're going to let you study music."
However, I love music enough for it to be a passion, but not enough for it to be my life. And I think that making it my life would take the passion out of it. I still love it a lot though, and every day just tinkling the ivories of my piano gives me a simple joy.
And in my teens, I wanted to be a doctor. I figured that saving lives was cool. I probably would have been a decent one, but asked to choose between my two passions, I realised that I preferred writing and reading more. I still remember an internship I did at a hospital during my JC years quite vividly, and it kind of made me realise that maybe, I wasn't cut out for it.
Not because of the hours, or because I felt that I lacked the aptitude, but really because I felt that I would never be as dedicated as I should be. In a job like that, where people place you in charge of the most important thing they have, their lives, being uninspired is the worst possible thing to be. One incident still sticks in my memory, of how the ward I was in lost a patient because the surgeon on duty decided to go MIA.
A patient had suffered a triple A, or acute aortic aneurysm. The aorta is main blood vessel by which blood leaves the heart, and an aneurysm is the term for a vessel rupture. The vessel walls were weakened and they had burst, so the patient was bleeding out, and doing so internally. And it was really shocking how fast it happened. One moment, the patient was sitting and talking, and within the hour, he was unconscious and pale.
I interned in the ER, so I watched as the doctors rushed the patient in, and tried to resuscitate him while pumping him with fluids to try and keep the blood circulation going. And the doctor was screaming and paging for the surgeon to hurry up and save the man, but he was nowhere to be found.
And it was horrible to watch. I watched as the doctors and nurses administered doses of adrenaline to keep the heart going, but it was a losing battle. They also pumped fluid in, so much that when the patient finally passed on, his colour of his blood was clear. The whole shift on duty was devastated, as they always were when they lost a patient.
That incident really left a very deep impression on me, because that man could have been saved, and I knew it. I knew the only reason he had died was because he had no chance whatsoever, as a doctor who had taken the Hippocratic oath to save lives had in fact neglected his duty.
I am not dramatising this incident out of Grey's Anatomy, House, or any of those medical dramas on TV. Doctors in those shows can screw around, and patients die nice deaths with nice soundtracks in the background and nice camera angles. I wish I was, but I live with the knowledge that a man died because someone else didn't do his job. The reality is often gritter, starker, and far more compelling. And it never leaves you. I have a feeling that doctors remember every patient they lose, and it takes a toll on you after awhile.
A doctor is essentially a glorified mechanic, with the only difference being that he repairs machines that are still running, and there is no margin for error. Of course, there are perks in being a doctor, like how everyone fawns and respects your profession, and the remuneration is not too bad either. But it just wasn't for me, because I wasn't sure I could live with the guilt if I ever slipped up.
And now, I'm a journalist and people tell me that maybe I have a gift for it. But I really believe that it is easy to be good at something if you are sincere about learning the ropes, and about applying yourself to it. I don't want to pigeonhole myself into something, because I believe that I have yet to find something that I really want to do, something that I don't have to wake up to every day thinking that it is a drag to go into office.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Yunnan, China (27/07/2010 - 04/07/2010)
China is a place that divides opinions. Sure, it is a place that can be breathtakingly beautiful, however, the mannerisms of its populace can often be a stark counterpoint to the beauty of its landscape.
I was in the toilet one day and I walked past this man who was taking a piss at a urinal. He farted. Right into me. I jumped because the sound of the fart was so loud, and because I was genuinely horrified at having been the target of a fart jet.
I know this probably sounds disgusting but I have no other way of putting into words just how mortified I was. It was so bad that the two men beside him, who were his friends, immediately went "wah!" For two Chinese men to exclaim at bad toilet manners, it must have been bad.
While in China, I took many a bus ride through rundown villages, where cows grazed alongside humans working in the fields, and pretty yellow flowers would dot the landscape for miles around. I saw a vast field that was covered in white canvas tents, and only later did I realise that under each tent was a little watermelon greenhouse of sorts. And inside a shed next to the field I saw a mountain of watermelons, which was amazing because I'd never seen anything like it.
I also walked through many cities, some old and some new, some rural and some slightly more modern, and in every city there was a distinct and unique character. I would write more, but I prefer to let the pictures speak for themselves.
The Stone Forest (石林）, Kunming
Well, this place is exactly as its name suggests, a forest of stone. I would be more descriptive but my descriptions would probably go along the lines of "Okay there were stones, and more stones, and even more stones. Some of the stones looked like pigs, some like cows, and others just looked like stones." But still, absolutely worth the visit, simply because it is very spectacular.
Jiuxiang Caves. When you are in China and you decide to visit a cave, be prepared to climb lots and lots of stairs. The cave though was extremely cool inside and well lighted with all sorts of coloured lights to give an outerworldly fantasy feel. But yes, the stairs. Last I counted there was a flight of 80 stairs that you have to climb up at one shot if you ever want to get out of here. You have been warned.
However, for 50 or so RMB you can get two Chinese "slaves" to carry you up the stairs. I don't envy their job, because the only people who would need them are likely to be overweight.
Cultural performance. I would put up more shots, but there were like 50 tribes all in different costumes. At least I got one of them mid jump.
Kunming and Yiliang, a small town outside Kunming. Despite being just an hour apart, they were really worlds apart in every sense. And China is full of such contrasts, cities developing rapidly alongside small towns left behind by the pace of development.
I've forgotten what this place was called, which is quite a waste. The pictures don't really do justice to the place. The photos were taken from the start of the river, before moving further downstream.
The Black Dragon Pool and a cute kid I found there. Don't ask me why I like to take pictures of cute looking kids. I know it's a recurring theme, but that's called style.
On the way to Dali. Check out the road. On the way there I got a two hour free massage on the tour bus. Better than OSIM.
Inside the movie city of Dali. Apparently all the Louis Cha novels are shot here, like Tian Long Ba Bu and so on, for all those who follow those novels.
The old city of Dali. The main product they sell here is silver, but if you're not familiar with silver, don't buy it. They will tell you that it can cure cancer and all sorts of shit.
And the old city of Lijiang. The standard tourist attraction shot. I replicated it according to just like how I saw it on websites. Search Lijiang on Google and you will find many like it.
The old city itself is quite charming, if a bit commercialised. There was a shopowner here who would really fierce. She would get angry if you didn't try her clothes. And there was another one who didn't seem to care if he made money or not, seemingly more interested in lottery results on the radio.
More cute little kids! :)
On the way to Shangri-La. Breathtaking scenery. Taken from the bus.
From the look of this dog you wouldn't think he was in Shangri-La, but he was.
Yet another old city, but this one was in Shangri-La, or Zhongdian. It was the ancient city with the most character, probably because it was the least touched by tourists.
I personally found this the nicest of the three old cities. There is a Singaporean run cafe here called the Compass, which was pretty strange to find. It's ideal for backpackers.
Shika Snow Mountain. 4500 metres above sea level. Summit. The highest point I've been to in my life, up to now. For a snow mountain, it certainly wasn't very snowy. But I thought I'd end on a high.
I was in the toilet one day and I walked past this man who was taking a piss at a urinal. He farted. Right into me. I jumped because the sound of the fart was so loud, and because I was genuinely horrified at having been the target of a fart jet.
I know this probably sounds disgusting but I have no other way of putting into words just how mortified I was. It was so bad that the two men beside him, who were his friends, immediately went "wah!" For two Chinese men to exclaim at bad toilet manners, it must have been bad.
While in China, I took many a bus ride through rundown villages, where cows grazed alongside humans working in the fields, and pretty yellow flowers would dot the landscape for miles around. I saw a vast field that was covered in white canvas tents, and only later did I realise that under each tent was a little watermelon greenhouse of sorts. And inside a shed next to the field I saw a mountain of watermelons, which was amazing because I'd never seen anything like it.
I also walked through many cities, some old and some new, some rural and some slightly more modern, and in every city there was a distinct and unique character. I would write more, but I prefer to let the pictures speak for themselves.
The Stone Forest (石林）, Kunming
Well, this place is exactly as its name suggests, a forest of stone. I would be more descriptive but my descriptions would probably go along the lines of "Okay there were stones, and more stones, and even more stones. Some of the stones looked like pigs, some like cows, and others just looked like stones." But still, absolutely worth the visit, simply because it is very spectacular.
Jiuxiang Caves. When you are in China and you decide to visit a cave, be prepared to climb lots and lots of stairs. The cave though was extremely cool inside and well lighted with all sorts of coloured lights to give an outerworldly fantasy feel. But yes, the stairs. Last I counted there was a flight of 80 stairs that you have to climb up at one shot if you ever want to get out of here. You have been warned.However, for 50 or so RMB you can get two Chinese "slaves" to carry you up the stairs. I don't envy their job, because the only people who would need them are likely to be overweight.
Cultural performance. I would put up more shots, but there were like 50 tribes all in different costumes. At least I got one of them mid jump.
Kunming and Yiliang, a small town outside Kunming. Despite being just an hour apart, they were really worlds apart in every sense. And China is full of such contrasts, cities developing rapidly alongside small towns left behind by the pace of development.
I've forgotten what this place was called, which is quite a waste. The pictures don't really do justice to the place. The photos were taken from the start of the river, before moving further downstream.
The Black Dragon Pool and a cute kid I found there. Don't ask me why I like to take pictures of cute looking kids. I know it's a recurring theme, but that's called style.
On the way to Dali. Check out the road. On the way there I got a two hour free massage on the tour bus. Better than OSIM.
Inside the movie city of Dali. Apparently all the Louis Cha novels are shot here, like Tian Long Ba Bu and so on, for all those who follow those novels.
The old city of Dali. The main product they sell here is silver, but if you're not familiar with silver, don't buy it. They will tell you that it can cure cancer and all sorts of shit.
And the old city of Lijiang. The standard tourist attraction shot. I replicated it according to just like how I saw it on websites. Search Lijiang on Google and you will find many like it.
The old city itself is quite charming, if a bit commercialised. There was a shopowner here who would really fierce. She would get angry if you didn't try her clothes. And there was another one who didn't seem to care if he made money or not, seemingly more interested in lottery results on the radio.
More cute little kids! :)
On the way to Shangri-La. Breathtaking scenery. Taken from the bus.
From the look of this dog you wouldn't think he was in Shangri-La, but he was.
Yet another old city, but this one was in Shangri-La, or Zhongdian. It was the ancient city with the most character, probably because it was the least touched by tourists.
I personally found this the nicest of the three old cities. There is a Singaporean run cafe here called the Compass, which was pretty strange to find. It's ideal for backpackers.
Shika Snow Mountain. 4500 metres above sea level. Summit. The highest point I've been to in my life, up to now. For a snow mountain, it certainly wasn't very snowy. But I thought I'd end on a high.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Big Walk
I finally found some free time to reset this blog back to its original state. While I was on my short hiatus I had lots of people asking me if I was fine. I guess my blog has actually become an indicator to the state of my health. Ministers have newspapers, most people have MCs, and I have my blog.
The answer is, I am very fine, thank you very much. I would be finer, but no one has looked at me and gone "that dude sure is fine." It probably won't happen any time in this life, but the day it does, I will buy everyone lunch.
Okay, now come and call me fine and make a dream come true.
The biggest event of the past week for me has probably been the Big Walk. I met many interesting people from all walks of life there, and it is an event I will probably join every year from now on in the future, because it showed me a side of Singapore I seldom see.
People rushing for their goodie bags at like 6.30am in the morning.
Some of the kids I interviewed on assignment.
There are camera enthusiasts, and there are pervs.
Dogs can walk too. So if you have a dog, bring it for the walk!
Helix shots. These two kids just killed me man. Ridiculously adorable, with their oversized shirts and mickey mouse ears.
We have a waterfront now, for better or for worse. I guess it makes Singapore a little nicer, but when I was sitting here looking out at the skyline, I couldn't help but feel that Singapore is starting to look like Hong Kong.
The answer is, I am very fine, thank you very much. I would be finer, but no one has looked at me and gone "that dude sure is fine." It probably won't happen any time in this life, but the day it does, I will buy everyone lunch.
Okay, now come and call me fine and make a dream come true.
The biggest event of the past week for me has probably been the Big Walk. I met many interesting people from all walks of life there, and it is an event I will probably join every year from now on in the future, because it showed me a side of Singapore I seldom see.
People rushing for their goodie bags at like 6.30am in the morning.
Some of the kids I interviewed on assignment.
There are camera enthusiasts, and there are pervs.
Dogs can walk too. So if you have a dog, bring it for the walk!
Helix shots. These two kids just killed me man. Ridiculously adorable, with their oversized shirts and mickey mouse ears.
We have a waterfront now, for better or for worse. I guess it makes Singapore a little nicer, but when I was sitting here looking out at the skyline, I couldn't help but feel that Singapore is starting to look like Hong Kong.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)