Holidays are tough
Aug 14, 2008 Trips
Are holiday’s really holiday’s when there’s so much effort involved in planning, travelling and er, waking up at 4.49am in the morning?!?!
I suppose I should be grateful ‘cos this time I’m not doing the planning - just gonna sit back, and enjoy the trip. I’m secretly quite excited, as I’ve not traveled with them before although I’ve known them for almost 22 years.
Yup, I’m taking a short holiday to Langkawi with my two good buddies from primary school and, I’m sure they would agree, their better halves.
Not sure about time and access to the Net over the next few days, but I’ll try to post when I can.
Otherwise, just come back here and check out my Twitter. :) Micro-blogging to the fore!
p/s Click on the down arrow to scroll down to catch up on my Tweet in case you missed any (and are interested, that is)
Tags: holiday, langkawi, micro-blogging, Twitter
Papan: Home of war hero Sybil Karthigasu
Jul 19, 2008 Trips
Excuse my not blogging yesterday. I am currently in Ipoh for the R.AGE Trailblazer competition due to begin in barely a few hours. Before I head to bed, I just wanted to share some images with you guys.
Today (well, yesterday technically as it is after midnight), I went to visit the small one-road town of Papan in Perak. It is about 25 minutes drive out of Ipoh and is most known as the home of World War II hero Sybil Karthigasu, who together with her husband Dr A.C. Kathigasu are remembered for their daring activities helping anti-Japanese resistance fighters.
I found the town totally quaint - in fact, I was mesmerised. At first glance, it looked like just any other town but so many gems to be discovered.
One that was particularly fascinating was Law Saik Hong’s “museum” in Sybil’s old clinic. Here are some shots from there.
Someone rares fish in the drain, using bricks as a dam.
Tags: Law Saik Hong, Papan, Perak, R.AGE Trailblazer, Sybil Karthigasu, World War II
Laos Day 6: Parting ways
Jun 25, 2008 Trips
This will be my last post on my working trip to Laos with World Vision Malaysia. I know I promised a 10-part series, but even I am suffering from Laos fatigue on my blog (I will however blog once more on Laos later, about the rest of my trip where I did the touristy stuff). Besides, it ends nicely as my feature article on the trip is published today in Youth2 (cover story of Star2), as well as a video (thanks to Mee Yook who painstakingly rushed it so it would be out on time!).
My article focuses more on the situation in Laos, mainly children living in poverty, and how external organisation like World Vision is helping ensure that they have a better future. In the video, I tell the stories of three families I met - the hardships they encounter and their positive outlook in life.
As such, it is the perfect opportunity for me to reflect back on the journey in today’s post. Much of what I have to say was already published in The Star last Saturday in my The Bangsar Boy column. In the article, I mention that I don’t know if it’s a life changing experience - it would be too naive I think to presume long term impact - but the sights I saw, and the stories I’ve heard, definitely make an impact in the way I view thing.
After all, images like bloated tummy’s from lack of food, a near-skeletal diabetes patient and a 10-year-old child lugging 20kgs of water to take care of her family do not disappear so easily from one’s mind. Truth be told, I still think about those people I visited everyday.
Join the 30-Hour Famine campaign if you want to help. Hinboune, one of the districts I visited, is among the many beneficiaries from this year’s campaign. Link on image above.
The last day of our trip started early as well - and with my kind of luck, history repeated itself. In my post about Michael Wong (Part 3), I mention that Lucent and I were late for dinner on the first night and how bad I felt for making everyone wait. Well, it happened again on the last day - we were a few minutes late for breakfast, as we couldn’t find our room keys.
Breakfast was nevertheless a jovial affair - some of us got Michael’s autograph (hey, I’m still a fan!) - and we were still reeling from the laughter and jokes shared the night before. It was an early breakfast as Michael had interviews with members of Laos’ media at 9am. I myself would have to head to the airport at 10.30am.
At breakfast, we had a final debriefing and a few of us shared our thoughts and experiences. It was obvious that everyone was touched by what they saw, although I was equally as moved by the humanity of those people on the trip - I think it reflects on everyone as an individual how well we got along for six days with each other 24/7, how everyone reacted and dealt with unfamiliar territories.
The whole crew (minus Yee Lee who had returned to KL) in our last shot together as a group.
With a hearty goodbye, I saw them all off on a tuk-tuk. They were heading to do some last minute shopping and sightseeing, while Soukanya had so kindly offered me a ride to the airport.
It was the end of our trip, but what a trip it was. I don’t wish that we could do it again - it wouldn’t be the same - but I sure hope that the bonds were created would bring us all together again many times over.
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Update: There are six parts to this travelogue.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
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9.58am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: guang liang, laos, michael wong, Star 2, StarMetro, The Bangsar Boy, The Star, world vision, Youth2
Laos Part 5: Long journey
Jun 24, 2008 Trips
I’m not sure how the others felt, but I for one was tired. The trip was going well - I had made some great new friends, had experiences I’ve never before encountered and seen things I never thought I ever would - but still the late nights and early mornings was starting to take it’s tool.
Still, I was getting a bit sad. The whole day, I wondered if today would be the last day I’d see everyone, as I would head to the airport earlier than the rest the next morning.
Also, this was the earliest we had to leave - 7.30am - as we wanted to be able to visit and leave the next village by noon so as to be able to get to Vientiane by dinner time. Yes, we had to brace ourselves for a seven-hour drive that evening.
Garlands and flowers awaited us.
The last place we visited was the Nakair Village located in the World Vision’s Phalanxai ADP area. WV was funding the construction of a new primary school to replace a really torn and tattered one. It wasn’t so heart-wrenching meeting the locals, who greeted us with garlands, flowers and later a Basi ceremony, because, like the village from Day 4, it was a little more “well-off” than those we visited the first two days.
I took this picture because I thought it was rather funny.
I was telling the rest that the chickens in Laos are very sexy.
We met many people from that village itself, like the elders, but also others such as construction workers (mostly people from nearby villages) and the school teachers themselves, who briefed us on what the education system was like in Laos and the villages. It was a long gathering - they had lots to tell us, and we had lots of questions as well. After all, this was our last chance to find out all we wanted to know about the people in rural Laos.
The new school being constructed will replace this delapidated one.
The conditions of the primary school currently in existence is rather sad. Walls made of leafs were torn and tattered, there was no proper lighting and there were holes in the ceiling. But some children who go to school there, had sportingly travelled from their own villages, to come and meet us. And they were indeed a cute bunch.
But the most significant sight was that of the new school being constructed. I felt like that was the most touching among everything I’ve seen because it was a sign of a better future for the children and people of Laos.
As there was not much interviews to be done there, I roamed around a bit, getting whatever else I needed from the World Vision crew and some footages for the video (which will be out tomorrow morning!). Everyone else also took the chance to take pictures as this was the last time during the trip we will see many of the WV crew from the provincial and district offices. Only Soukanya and Lee Bee were heading back to Vientiane with us.
The journey was long heading back, and everyone got some sleep, I think. By the time we arrived, we were rested (despite our journey being interrupted by hourly toilet breaks and the inccessant rain which kept starting and stopping every few minutes). The rain was a sign of things to come during the rest of my trip.
We went to eat at this place which had dim sum and duck noodles.
We had a nice dinner together - it was nice being in a “big” city again, and I think the experiences of the past few days had built a strong bond among us - where there was lots of jokes and laughter. This continued on to the Mekong Deck for late night drinks where we had to be asked to leave (well, they just abruptly switched off all the lights).
It was late by then, and our beds were beckoning. But for me, it was hard walking back to the hotel, knowing that this was our last night together.
Update: There are six parts to this travelogue.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
11.34pm Malaysian Time (+8 GMT)
Tags: guang liang, laos, michael wong, Owen Yap, Phalanxai, Savannakhet, Vientiane, world vision
Laos Day 4: Feet first into the paddy field
Jun 23, 2008 Trips
My roommate Lucent and I were early for breakfast, so we went down to take some shots.
My mum calls me a “fan tong”, translated is Cantonese for Rice Bin. It’s a reference to the fact that I can barely survive without rice. Although, in the context of these series of posts I’m blogging on, might not be the most appropriate of analogies.
Still, I have only even known how to eat rice (okay, fine, I can cook it too!).
So, on the fourth day of the trip, when we visited a paddy field, one of World Vision’s Increased Yield Crop programme areas, I took the opportunity to try it out.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Laos’ 11: Yen Hau, Owen, Michael, me, Susan, Suat Peng, Wan Ting, Joanne, Lucent, Yee Lee and Sam.
This day was significant for many reasons. First of all, it would be the only day (other than dinner on Day 3 when Owen and Yen Hau arrived) that the entire Malaysian contigent (including Sam and Wan Ting) would be together. Yee Lee, a producer from 8TV, had to leave for Vientiane that afternoon, as she was flying out the next morning.
Then, it was also the day we explore Savannakhet and the areas we were set to visit were not in as dire conditions as the two villages from the previous days. World Vision has also been in these upcoming areas, some for several years, so the families we would meet would be more comfortable.
However, the road conditions were not any better (in fact, due to heavy rain the night before, it was quite bad) and, you guessed it, one of the four-wheel drive vehicles we were in got stuck. It was quite a sight - and an experience and we laughed it off. Until, it happened again as we left just as it started drizzling. Still, how often do you get experiences like this, huh?
But back to visiting a more “comfortable” village. It was an assumption that proved to be true. Midway through the Basi ceremony, a mobile phone started ringing - and it didn’t belong to any of us. It belonged to one of villagers. The village had reaped lots of benefits from WV programmes including clean water (a water sanitation system had been installed), proper communal toilets, animal bank (goats) and weaving.
Michael and Owen listening intently during the Basi ceremony.
Soukanya is in the purplish-pink top on the left.
We had visited the home of one of the first families to participate in the weaving project and saw a lady at work. Michael had a go at it, and learned pretty fast (or so claimed Soukanya, who was translating for us as usual). As we were leaving, a few of us purchased some of the cloth weaved by the lady (and many others later). I think we eventually bought them out but no one was complaining, it takes them an estimate full day to weave one cloth so each of us easily bought a week’s worth of work.
Then it was time to visit the paddy field. Obviously, Michael had a go at it, and Owen, being one of the 30-Hour Famine Angels, joined in as well. I, on the other hand, was busy talking to the World Vision staff member in charge of the project. I finished my interview as Owen and Michael were planting stems of paddy.
Perhaps sensing my eagerness to help, Susan asked if I wanted to join them. I didn’t hessitate. There was the fact that I’ve never tried it before, but I was also keen to help the villagers - most of us had previously taken a backseat to Michael, who tried of almost everything. So this was my opportunity.
I didn’t break my back, but it ached a bit as I was stopping over planting them into the muddy water. I know they are used to it, and do it on a daily basis, but I have newfound respect for these farmers who toil under the sun day in, day out.
Then it was back to Savannakhet for dinner before we took a walk around the town looking for fruits. We found it, and lo and behold, they sold durians - Michael’s favourite!
It was quite a “party” that night (not really, but since Sam’s room and ours were adjoining, we had lots of traffic). By this time, I think we had already grown really comfortable with each other, and I can’t speak for the rest, but personally, I was sensing that “the end” was near, and wasn’t looking forward to it.
Update: There are six parts to this travelogue.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
11.57pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: 8TV, guang liang, Improved Yield Crop, laos, michael wong, Owen Yap, Savannakhet, world vision
