Saturday, March 27, 2010
Do you know that just outside of the City at Lorong Halwa/Bukit Brown - south of Lornie Rd and off the PIE near Bukit Timah Rd - is a large piece of long forgotten cemeteries and old tombs, almost overgrown by the tropical rainforest? Today, I joined the Straits Times (doing an article about Qing Ming) and a few founders of the SG-Tao discussion yahoogroup for a photoshot at this place. Many of the tombs dated to as early as the late 19th century and some as late as 1971. Most of the tombs are long forgotten by the descendants of those buried there and overgrown with weeds.
We came across a few grander ones still tended by people, including one with elaborate fengshui water and sculpture features. At that stage of the trip, I was still a bit "pang tang" and didn't take any photos. We visited a temple which used to be the heart of the old Kampong Lorong Halwa but whose roof has almost collapsed. There was a Tua Beh Kong altar but Jave felt that it might be a different diety within...
We also came across a family headed by a 75y/o matriarch there to clear the tomb of her father-in-law buried here 60 years ago. Her son, brother-in-law and the latter's wife was also present. "The young these days do not even care about their living mother...why should they care about these long dead," she said aloud. Interestingly, we ended our trip at a monumental tomb (complete with stone sculptures of Sikh guards) over which a traditional Malay house was built many years ago by a fengshui master. Even the fengshui master had supposedly long past on and the house is now owned by someone. There was neither wall nor door and so we walked right through. The dog even posed for us over the tomb of the dead's spinster daughter.
What a day! An article on this visit would appear soon, possibly Monday.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
BT has an interesting editorial today about GDP per capita of Asia-Pacific countries over the decades. We all have our doubts of the validity of GDP per capita for an open economy like Singapore where the GDP per capita does not translate into pay check per year for the man on the street, but still it remains a valid comparator-indicator. What is obvious from the charts is that Malaysia seems to be faltering behind and statistics have shown more than 300,000 emigrating over a recent 12 month period. Something to do with the political mess the country is in?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
On 12 March, Marymount View played host to another session of sgtravelcafe. We had over 60 attendees this time.
We kicked off with Tristan telling us about his adventures in Iraqi Kurdistan and the intricacies of how to get an entry permit into the only safe part of Iraq. Firstly, you need to have a business card - the Kurds want business people to visit their homeland - and that it's okay for a "businessman" to come by with a backpack(!). Then, you need to have a local contact they can ring up... yes, you can try to find one on couchsurfing! The bottomline is you need to have a good story. Tristan got on so well with the immigration guy that the latter asked Tristan for his facebook contact, and this chap even chatted with him on facebook from time to time.
Patricia told us about how her, a trekking novice at the start of her trip, had a great time doing major treks in the towering peaks of the Peruvian Andes. Don't be intimidated by the mountains. It's determination and perserverence that will carry you through. We were also thoroughly impressed by Patricia's fascinating tales of endurance but also treated to her amazing photography of the spectacular Andes. She ended her presentation by educating the group about how to be a responsible traveller...not to throw rubbish, not to drive too hard and unfair a bargain with the poor locals.
Yet another fantastic evening learning new things, catching up with old friends and making new friends!