Sunday, August 20, 2006

Leaving Melbourne,Farewell Melbourne....離 開 墨 爾 本﹐ 再 會 了 墨 爾 本 ...。さよならメルボルン

After 5 1/2 years in Melbourne, i am leaving Melbourne. I have graduated!!!!!! YEAHHHH!!!!! I came bck from Penang about 1 week ago when semester had started already and have been quite busy packing my stuff and putting up ads to find someone to replace me for my room....if not, i would have to keep paying rental until next yr's January!! So i went around pasting ads all over EVERY faculty building's notice board in Melbourne University, posted online on Melb University, RMIT and Monash student housing online sites AND even went to english colleges and high schools in the city to post my ads. I simply walked in and asked students where noticeboards for housing ads can be pasted...i even tapped into the korean community by pasting at a korean grocery store which had a housing board and the japanese community by posting online on a very well known melbourne-based japanese community website (www.dengon.com.au)........ i finally found a Chinese girl to replace me!! So glad!! She is moving in this Friday and i will move out...so with that out of the way, i am planning to leave...

I am however leaving for Sydney!!!!!! I think it is time to move on...5 1/2yrs in Melbourne is enough i think, i would like to change an environment and experience a different city...i had originally planned that i would come to Melbourne for 1 yr VCE (highschool) and then move to Sydney for university...who knew, i changed my mind and stayed on for 4 1/2 yrs more....
so i am busy trying to find accomodation in Sydney which is no easy task...given that i don't know the city very well....so anyone who reads my blog and whom is from Sydney DO leave a comment!!!! I am VERY EAGER to know u given that i don't know that many ppl in Sydney so i am very happy to get to know more Sydney people... Hahaha....I am moving there to get admitted to practice (in case u r wondering, this means get ur lawyer's licence ; a law graduate from uni is not sufficient to become a lawyer, u need to get practical legal training and pass the course before u can be admitted;become qualified to work as a lawyer)...

Past few days, I have been busy packing up , cleaning the room,watching Korean and Chinese drama DVDS, and meeting up with friends before i leave.... 其 實 有 些 東 西 令 我 非 常 不 開 心 ﹐ 難 過 。 。 。 。 但 是 竟 然 要 離 開 了 就 得 開 開 心 心 得 離 開 。 。 。 。 至 少 想 開 點 。 。 。 。 開 心 點 。
The good news is i got to bump into this cute guy i used to see in law library last semester who is like suppppper handsome!!!It was actually so embarassing...i was with my friend's friends and we were walking and i noticed him, i was like isn't that him? It looked like him and as i was looking (more like admiring him, *blushing*) the friend was like do u know him, is he ur friend...i was like gosh i have to make an excuse, can't very well tell her that i was checking out this guy can I?!! So i just said i was looking at the bread on sale inside the restaurant he was in and went in to buy....got more time to look at him, well going to be last time...sniff,sniff*....

Been to many places around Melbourne that i haven't been before like this really cool bistro/cafe/pub in the city called 'Cookies'. We sat outside on the veranda and the night scenery was nice, overlooking Swanston St.....quiet somemore as inside was very noisy,and the veranda is the kind u see in opera theatres where u have ur own and u don't share with others...like ur own little balcony where u can chat with friends, quite nice!!
Ate again at Hardware Lane, really nice place....love the outdoor dining atmosphere...
Had dinner with a friend who uses the word ‘ 朋 友 ’in a very ambiguous way....i learnt it from him and find it quite amusing....it is really very useful if u dun want other ppl to know what u guys are talking about...like '我 和 我 “朋 友 ”分 手 了’and the most interesting one '你 談 過 ‘朋 友’ 嗎 ﹖’They use it in China and i remember i heard it in the movie ‘藍 宇 ’and so the first time he told me he broke up with his '朋 友' i was kinda like....ok...thats weird...the thing is it can be quite confusing, so i have clarify whether i mean the normal kind or 'other' meaning kind in conversations....haha...but interesting...he did share with me some stuff about his current ‘朋 友 ’and i feel kinda bad i was too forward and unreserved...i should have controlled my real opinions as i feel i may have been abit too straight with my opinions 對 不 起 !!


Melbourne, a place that has definitely formed an important part of me, a place where i experienced alot, and leave a alot of memories with, the good times, the bad times, and the memorable times, good or bad, where i grew up and learnt to cope, to live...LIFE....
Farewell Melbourne, 再 見 了 墨 爾 本 :)

PS: If u r living in Melbourne and have been reading my blog but never left a comment and want to meet me, i would love to meet u too..NOW is your last opportunity...leave me a message and we can arrange to meet up... would like to see what my readers is like...and if you have been leaving comments n want to meet me, just call me...u should have my no...contact me soon though, leaving Aug 31st....busy from 28th onwards...

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Bangkok Holiday 2006 (II)....曼 谷 之 旅 2006年 .....バンコク トリップ2006..

Thai Parliament
Grand Palace
Grand Palace
City Centre
Gaysorn in Bangkok City Area
The 'Yellow Shirt' Phenomena
Canal in Bangkok
Chinatown broth

Independence Monument

Day 3 (24th July): Morning dropped off at Hotel Armada in the city by driver....booked city tour of grand palace...walked around city area of Bkk and had lunch at one of the nice restaurants in one of the malls...went to join the Grand Palace Tour at noon....nice place...really grand with fusion of Chinese, Thai, Indian and European influence and architecture as i find most palaces in Thailand to be....also toured Emerald Buddha Temple....in the bus, passed many places including the present Royal Residence and government ministries....Got bck to hotel...went to Sumkhumvit Road....nice place with quite a number of foreigners and there is this alley with alot of Japanese restaurants and a supermarket...reminded me of Tokyo.....had a walk of Emporium.....toured the alleys where u can find many nice restaurants...took taxi to MM's workplace and then went to Suan Lum Night Bazaar...bought a nice Chinese style top.....really nice place, highly recommended for the food and atmosphere....there is a huge ferris wheel there and amusement park as well as a stage where singers belt out songs whilst u eat...i ate the thai-style chicken rice there....came bck...chatted with MM's brother (who is reputedly a womaniser...well, he is indeed very handsome....though personality wise prob not a good husband or bf...or mayb he will tame down later when he gets older....) and MM's sister....watched more cool Thai MTV and slept...

Day 4( 25th July): Woke up really early and went to Hotel Armada Watergate again for the tour to Ayutthaya. Took a coach there which takes roughly 1.5 hrs from Bangkok...went to the Bang Pa In Palace which is absolutely beautiful...toured a few more places in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand and then took a cruise on the Chao Phraya River back to Bangkok which took around 3 hrs. The river cruise was fantastic!! It was actually my first time on a river cruise in a looong time and there was two decks to view the passing scenery....there was countless bungalows and replenished temples along the entire route which made me wonder where does the Thai government get the finances to maintain these temples?? I mean most of the temples were very well maintained... met a bunch of malaysians from KL on the trip and we chatted alot about how bad Malaysia's tourism industry is,etc,etc....got to know the tour guide and he is a friendly guy who is taking Chinese lessons now so he was telling me about how some words are similar b/w Thai and Chinese...we went to Chinatown and did some shopping then left to have dinner with MM at All Seasons Place....nice Thai cuisine....went bck home,watched the cute Toon V6 on Academy Fantasia...but he is abit boyish in character...not my type, i like someone more mature...but still super cute nevertheless..haha...

Day 5 (26th July): Went to Patpong area and had a look...alot of Japanese clubs and hostess clubs (which means sex entertainment venues) as well as visited Soi 4....some interesting stuff happened...Went to Bangkok City Centre again and shopped at Siam Paragon. Bought some thai movie dvds there. The cinema at the top level of Siam Paragon was really nice....had dinner with MM at Siam Central i think and the waiter was kinda cute...MM says i am being too obvious...gosh can i help it? I just find Thai guys so cute...i even find MM's houseboy (he is in his mid-20s think) quite cute...gosh...had an early night...so tired...

27th July, flew back to Penang on AirAsia, thank god no delay this time!! I gave MM's driver a angpao (Chinese Red Packet) which i had bought in Yaowarat, Chinatown....i thought it was appropriate given that he had taken me around the days that i was in Bkk and somemore waited for me and MM whilst we were shopping and eating at downtown Siam area for as much as 4 hrs...apparently this is very common for him to wait for up to 2 or 3 hrs...but it feels good to have a driver... i could tell ppl were looking at us like we were some rich ppl whenever we came out of the mall and the car was there waiting for us..(well MM IS rich, i am not) ....

A few thoughts, i noticed alot and i mean ALOT of tongzhi men in Bangkok, either that OR they are unusually metrosexual and touchy feely...like there were these highschool boys and one boy lay his head on another guy's shoulder in public....another two walking arm in arm shopping which ONLY women do...and then there are also SO MANY and i mean SO MANY transsexuals...i have never seen so many in my entire life!! I mean they are literally everywhere.....i saw at least one working at siam paragon and another at a cafe and so many ladyboys (still physically male or in the process of transition) everywhere and at chatuchak market as well....and they looked kinda pretty...it was the first time i could understand why some men would like these kind of effeminate looking boys cos they indeed had an indescribable feminine aura around them...thailand is quite liberal in terms of these people still being hired to places as high class as Siam Paragon, i mean in many other places in the world, even if there are no legal discriminations, social discrimination still exists and i am sure transsexuals would not be hired which is really sad...just an interesting observation i made...

So tired when i got bck to Penang....didn't sleep enough for the past few days cos everyday had to wake up early and toured Bangkok till night time...but i super enjoyed it and can't wait to go again:)

Monday, August 14, 2006

Japanese Devils...日 本 鬼 子 ...リベングアイズ...

Tomorrow marks the 61st Anniversary of the end of WW2....and of cos, WW2 and Japan being one of my utmost areas of interest,i shall blog about this topic, in the tradition of my blog, whereby i blog about the WW2 issue every year during the anniversary (u can look to the Aug 2005 archives to see my posts on WW2 for last year).....

Some ppl mistake me as someone who loves Japan given that i have been learning Japanese since Form 1/Yr 7, been on exchange in Tokyo for 4 months, love Tokyo life and would like to return to Tokyo to work....however , i am soooo NOT Japan-crazy.....i admire modern Japanese urban life, admire the efficiency and technological advancement of Japan and the Japanese people alot and love the beauty of Japanese language.......BUT i cannot forget nor forgive what the Japanese did 61 yrs ago....it has left a scar so deep that it refuses to heal....ironic indeed given that i did not experience that tragic war...i have already posted before on why i feel so passionately about the issue, examples being: http://chinesechic.blogspot.com/2005_08_01_chinesechic_archive.html
http://chinesechic.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_chinesechic_archive.html

I have heard arguements that the issue is long past and that it doesn't matter anymore what the Japanese did or did not do...i, however, would respectfully disagree...i just don't think it is acceptable that u can go out and kill millions of people, rape millions of women, torture thousands more,and then refuse to properly acknowledge or apologise for it....if that were so, it would be scary to think that a nation could now go invade another nation and kill and rape its civilians knowing full well that,like Japan, it can just ignore calls for apology and reparation and that decades down the road, all will be forgotten...this would simply encourage nations to just kill and rape as much as they want.....my anger at Japan is that it has never officially apologised...they do not want to even acknowledge the pain and suffering they caused as there has been no official apology passed by the cabinet with the sole exception of one in 1995 which did not specifically address individual countries....not a single cent has also been paid as official compensation to any of the Asian countries although they are to blame as well for willingly absolving Japan of any obligation to pay....(China and South Korea , as well as most other Asian countries have officially signed documents giving up their right for official compensation in exchange for unofficial aid)....

Of cos, i am not that angry at Japan for occupying and colonising neighbouring Asian countries...although very clearly colonisation and invasion is wrong, many other White Empires had already colonised large parts of the world at the time, and so its wrong to ask only Japan to apologise and compensate for its wartime colonisation of much of Asia....however, what differentiates Japan from the West was its conduct during the occupation and colonisation which warrant the call for Japan alone to apologise and make efforts to atone for its crimes....Unlike the West, Japan was exceptionally brutal and inhumane. The Western Nations did not massacre millions of people nor did they torture hundreds of thousands or engage in slave labour (ok they did do this and they should apologise with regards to the african slave trade) and they most certainly did not rape millions of Asian women to anywhere near the same extent as the barbaric Japanese soldiers. That is the reason why so many Asians, particularly Chinese and South Koreans, and me, are angry and demand justice...

And i have come to realise that its not only the Japanese who have alot to do in terms of commemorating and preserving the truth on the brutality and horror of the Japanese Imperial Forces before and during WW2, other Asian countries have alot of room for improvement as well....for example, as far as i know (pls correct me if i am wrong anyone) the issue of the comfort women (the thousands of Asian women and girls forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese forces during WW2) and wartime rape by Japanese soldiers is not mentioned at all in textbooks in Taiwan,Singapore and Hong Kong. This is not acceptable. I do not see why it is omitted when it is fact that many women were raped during the Japanese occupation (Hong Kong saw the rape of approx. 10,000 women within the first weeks of Japanese occupation according to esteemed historian Phillip Snow) ....it is as if these countries are helping Japan cover up its crimes by not teaching their children about this....which is obviously not the case.....i suspect it is cos there is shame associated with the sensitive topic of women of your own nation being raped by enemy soldiers. I would strongly advocate the teaching of wartime rape to secondary students as essential for any comprehensive and real understanding of the horrors of war...

Below are some films about Japan and WW2 which give a more interesting and in-depth knowledge on what happened and the roots of current resentment by many in Asia towards Japan and its utmost refusal to apologise nor teach its future generations what really happened in that tragic war, 61 yrs ago...( (anyone remember the S.Korean demonstrations last yr about the Dokdo Island dispute with Japan? It was actually just another small incident which exploded due to lingering resentment towards Japan as were the April 2005 anti-Japanese riots in Shanghai,Beijing, Shenzhen,etc in China where Japanese restaurants and billboards were smashed and there was a boycott called against Japanese brands like toyota and mitsubishi )

I myself, would encourage people to boycott certain Japanese corporations too....i myself try to boycott them although sometimes it can be difficult...now u may say i am a radical but if u spend time and really look into the history of these corporations, they were indeed despicable and horrendous in their usage of slave labour...unlike German corporations who have made compensation towards Jewish slave labour used during the war, Japanese ones have constantly stonewalled Asian slave labourer's claims for compensation with the assistance of their ever supportive Japanese government whom have refused to enact any laws guaranteeing state compensation for Asian victims of Japanese wartime atrocities...contrast this with Germany which has one....companies to boycott who used slave labour (2 million Koreans and 40,000 Chinese) : Mitsui and Mitsubishi...there are many more but these are the recognisable big ones which i am sure anyone would recognise....they do not produce much now except for cars i guess but i think mitsubishi does stationery also which i refuse to buy...of cos i wouldn't buy their cars too...of cos the employees now are not responsible for what the company did in the past but this is the small price they have to pay as employees of a wartime slave machine....for many of the labourers did not survive the horrid conditions and died without ever seeing their families...

I recommend films cos they are a more interesting way to learn about history instead of history books which may seem abit dry to some ppl....however please be warned that none of these films are for the faint hearted given that the Imperial Japanese Forces were absolute beast , no, WORST..and the films are not propaganda which some have labelled under the reason that they show the Japanese as one-dimensional wicked monsters.....i get VERY angry when some ppl label films 'propaganda' or 'anti-Japanese' just cos they show Japanese soldiers as evil beasts....i mean they were evil and cruel beyond belief, how else do u want the films to portray them? Showing some as kind and simply not showing some cruel scenes to be 'objective'?!! That would be called 'whitewashing' 'denial' and not 'objectivity'....which is one reason i hate japanese films about WW2 cos they inevitably show kind hearted young bright courageous japanese men off to fight for their country and how they must endure the tough conditions to survive the war...where in the world are the scenes of them slaughtering civilians like cattle?!! Or the scenes of them pack-raping Chinese and Filipino women?!! This all certainly occured and very frequently too....japanese ppl who grow up watching the japanese films about brave young courageous men are in for a BIG shock when they see the films below and realise their forefathers weren't exactly the heroes they are made out to be...

There are many films touching on the WW2 issue but surprisingly few which focus solely on the Japanese Occupation period....most Chinese films simply use it as a bckdrop or as one small part of the movie and so i shall not mention them...

Brief Mention: English and Korean Films ( i am not familiar)
(Eng)Women of the Courtyard -2003 ( the ending where the japanese invade the small town and kills the foreign teacher whom purposely took their attention away from a group of women and children hiding inside a room)
(Kor) Women Voluntary Corps-1980s movie (about the women voluntary corps which is the women's military brigade whereby during the later end of the war, many young unmarried korean women were forced by the Japanese military to volunteer for its war effort and a few were tricked into prostitution instead)
(Kor) Comfort Woman-1992/93 (A film about korean comfort women in south east asia)
(Kor) Comfort Women Trilogy-1999 (There is a fantastic and interesting three part documentary about the comfort women (sex slaves of the Japanese military during WW2) where the filmmaker spent 1 yr living with the now elderly women at a govt sponsored home for comfort women on the outskirts of Seoul)
(China) May and August五 月 ﹐ 八 月 -2004 (About 2 children and how they survive the Nanking Massacre in 1937)
The 2 photos are scenes from Black Sun (Nanking Massacre)
Black Sun (Nanking Massacre)南 京 大 屠 殺 : (1995)A docu-drama focusing on two extended families as they attempt to survive the horrendous Nanking Massacre committed by the Japanese army in the winter of 1937. The Nanking Massacre or 'Rape of Nanking' refers to the 8 week massacre of up to 300,000 Chinese civilians and surrendered soldiers and rape of up to 80,000 Chinese women and girls in the then-capital city of China, Nanking. Real footages included and extremely gruesome including one scene of a pregnant woman being bayonetted and her foetus taken out....this is the second film of the Black Sun series, the first being 'Black Sun: men behind the sun' produced in 1987 and now a classic in terms of gore...NOT recommended for faint hearted...i haven't seen both films...

Extensive pictures and commentary of 'Hong Kong on Fire 1941' at: http://chinesechic.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_chinesechic_archive.html (scroll down)
Hong Kong on Fire 1941 香 港 淪 陷 : (1994) My favourite film given its focus on women's suffering during the Japanese Occupation...a film by Wong Jing so obviously very commercialised film, in fact i think the whole focus on women was so that he could save alot on budget and not have to shoot battle scenes and cash in on the lust of some (sick disgusting) men who would want to see the main characters and women being raped by the Japanese...still touching film nevertheless on the story of two sisters whose lives are changed forever with the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong...recommended as not as real and horrifying as the other two films...well..except for the scene where one actress is gang raped and another scene where the elder sister sacrifices herself and is raped right on top of the underground shelter where her younger sister is hiding and witnesses the process...


Don't Cry Nanking 南 京 1937: (1995) film on Nanking massacre about a Chinese doctor, his pregnant Japanese wife and their two children and how they survive the Nanking Massacre....quite heart-wrenching as well...producer is John Woo (Face Off) and music by Tan Dum (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)....one of the most memorable scenes and which will forever haunt me is the last scene in the film which will make anyone and i mean literally ANYONE hate the evil japanese....i will not reveal it suffice to say that it involved a group of women and children and a pack of Japanese soldiers barging into the refugee camp ..the film was actually screened at the ACMI in Melbourne a few yrs ago and The Age reviewer also mentioned this final scene showing how much it affects people....gosh after the scene, i told myself i shall not eat japanese food for one week (anyone would feel extremely uncomfortable after seeing this scene...expecially women......BIG HINT)...but i ended up eating delicious sushi a few days after, haha, well..sushi didn't kill chinese ppl...so never mind...

A long post to make up for the long time i haven't posted about this issue and in commemoration of the 61st Anniversary of the end of WW2. One of my goals in life is to promote the education and remembrance of WW2 in Asia as well as for the campaign to obtain a long delayed official Japanese apology, compensation, as well as atonement for the atrocities committed on the Asian people during WW2....i shall NOT forget NOR forgive...for the Japanese have not and have never asked for forgiveness...how then can i, and others, forgive a nation which is not remorseful and does not seek forgiveness?

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Bangkok Holiday 2006......曼谷之旅2006年...

Yaowarat, Bangkok Chinatown at dusk.....
A nice art stall at Chatuchak Weekend Market where i bought one of the wall art paintings for my room in Aus....
FAMOUS BOY DUO IN THAILAND...their album cover was just a tad homosensual n so i took a photo...hhhmmm..dun u think?
THAI FOODLOFT
THE WORLD FAMOUS TUK-TUK
MBK CENTRE photo taken by me from overhead bridge....
WONDERFUL THAI DESSERT...yippeeeee...i LOVE it!!
THAI ICED TEA

This is my first post on my trip to Bangkok, which was my first time there...i went from July 21-27 on AirAsia....i was scheduled to have arrived at around 6pm but it was delayed first officially then again until i arrived at 10pm in Bkk!! I was SO pissed at AirAsia..how can u delay for like 4 hrs...arrrggghhhh....anyways, problems when i arrived at the airport as my friend MM wasn't there and i couldn't find her driver....her phone also couldnt' get thru...finally after 45 mins of pure nightmare...i finally got to her and found out her driver had been waiting at Terminal 2 instead of Terminal 1!!!!!!!!!!!AHHH!!!!! i didn't know there were two terminals at Bkk airport....anyways got home....and omg!! my friend lives like a princess....her house is a bungalow and her front lawn is HUGE...i later asked her and she said the lawn is supposed to be big enough to build another house on so when they marry they can live with their parents, u can imagine how BIG it is....the maid and security boy have to actually cycle to the front gate to open it just like in colonial times...can u imagine having to use a bicycle to the front gate? well u can walk, it'll just take u 1 whole minute to reach it which is a long time .....thanked MM for allowing me to stay and went to bed in the guesthouse which is separate from their house...

Day 1 (22nd July):
Woke up and went to Siam Square with MM and another Thai person who was to be my guide...her driver took us there and dropped us off...met MM's friends from the US and we had lunch at a Thai restaurant with Northeast Thai Cuisine (this seems to be very popular in Bkk)....later they cancelled their Alumni meeting (they were all from the United States at a college at Pittsburg) and we went to Siam Paragon and i had my fav Thai dessert Krung Krup Thep (tapioca coated waterchestnut in coconut milk)....walked around Siam Paragon then went to Karaoke at Siam Discovery Centre...wow, it was a great experience singing karaoke in Thailand!! The thai songs were all really cute and they even had a few Chinese songs!! I of cos sang a few Chinese songs given that i LOVE Karaoke....Went MBK Centre and surrounds...later had dinner at Foodloft Siam Central....they have Foodloft here too!! Then went home....watched Academy Fantasia, a popular reality singing contest which i became kinda addicted to...haha...basically early night as my days in Bkk were which were always early wake up and early to go bck as her parents didn't want us bck later than 9 30pm...

Day 2 (23rd July):
Went to the renowned Chatuchak weekend market which is near her home...i enjoyed myself alot there as they literally sell EVERYTHING...i bought the most stuff there during my entire Bkk stay....it has over 5,000 stalls apparently and is also the largest market in the whole of Thailand...got MM to help me bargain the prices down given that she's Thai (well, Thai-Chinese)ate also...really hot....did abit of ppl watching too....my, i have just come to realise that many Bangkok men are soooo SUPER SEXY...haha....i was going ga-ga over some of the men...they looked so Chinese....i have come to the conclusion that although i think Malaysian men are cute and handsome to the same extent as Thai men, there are simply more, in terms of pure numbers, of cute beautiful men in Bangkok at least, as compared to Malaysia....then i went to Yaowarat, Chinatown and had dinner....they speak Teochiew there, most Thai Chinese being of Teochiew descent, and i could manage quite well given that its similar to Hokkien dialect which i can understand....bought some old Mandarin films....came home...watched Academy Fantasia...i must admit, i watch it cos i support this one girl whom i think is lovely and i like and also V6 Toon, he is like THE MOST handsome contestant and soooo CUTE!!!!EEE!!!! I am like a highschool girl:)...hehe...He is like so gorgeous ok..so fit and cute and nice fair skin...

to be continued.......

Friday, August 04, 2006

Blog Recommendations.....布落格推薦.....

Free Hao Wu

In my blogging life, i have met quite a number of bloggers and also found many things in common with some bloggers. I would like to write about these interesting blogs and bloggers.....

(1) The Plunge: I recommended his blog a few months bck as one of the best blogs written by a caucasian (he is living in South Korea and married to a South Korean woman) about the WW2 issue and Japan. I absolutely agree with almost everything he writes regarding Japan and the War. Since then, i was shocked to find out a few months bck that he has a very serious illness and that he stopped blogging. I wish him the best of luck and hope he recovers soon. Many other readers also wished him well....i do hope he is fine and doing well now....

(2) Beijing or Bust: This blog i came across because it was recommended by the influential China media and advertising blog 'Danwei'. The blogger is quite well known in the blogosphere and was once the North East Asia editor for the well-known blog aggregator 'Global Voices'. One of my blog posts was even put onto their daily roundups of recommended posts around the world because of this blogger. The blogger is originally from China and went to the United States to study and spent years there working as well. He returned to China and resided in Beijing around 2 yrs bck. However, as the blogger is an activist who made documentaries about underground Churches in China, i was horrified to learn that he was arrested and detained by the chinese authorities sometime in Feb this yr i think. He had more in common with me than i thought and i only realised it when he was arrested. As he never used his real name, even on 'Global Voices' , where he used a fake name, i never knew what his name was. However, after he was arrested and detained for a month with his whereabouts unknown, the international blogosphere started a campaign to free him and this blogger actually became quite a 'celebrity blogger' during the time he was detained. A special blog was set up to free him with badges made of him posted on many individual blogs all campaigning to free him...It was then i realised his real name was Wu Hao and that Hao was the same Chinese character as mine....he had added my blog link as one of his friends sometime bck and i was surprised given that he didn't have many links in his blog which means he only adds those blogs which he really likes....it must have been this common thing we had, one chinese character in our names, which he felt affinity with. Furthermore, i was half-taiwanese and his boyfriend is also taiwanese (yep he is Tong zhi), which must have made him feel even more friendly towards me. The thing is the Chinese authorities would have checked his blog AND his links which meant the Chinese INTELLIGENCE authorities must have visited my blog before!!!! And i am sure they would have suspected if Wu Hao was also the author of my blog given our similar names...which means even my links and commenters's blogs may have been visited by Chinese authorities previously!!
Anyways, the good thing is Wu Hao has been freed a month or so bck, after heavy campaigning by his sister and family, and the international blogging community. Actually, even US magazines and US senators apparently took up campaigning to free Wu Hao. I am glad he is free now and i do hope he is recovering well and will remain free.

(3) When Fame is not Everything!: This blog is another recommended one as it is just so frank and true that u almost feel like u know the blogger personally even without meeting him! (well i have so i know roughly what he is like) It has become one of my favourite blogs now as i like really frank and honest blogs where the blogger pours out his feelings and emotions. It is similar to other 'frank and honest' blogs (unlike mine,haha, i just cannot pour out everything in my life to a bunch of strangers) such as Ck's blog and Legolas's blog.

(4) Koyuuken: This blogger is really interesting.....i found his blog thru the comment he left on someone's blog whom i visit regularly who lives in Melbourne.....that time his blog was down but i saw his blogger profile and i found him a very interesting guy since it was filled with his love for Japan and japanese culture. Given that we were both malaysians and both interested in japan and japanese language, i added him on MSN which was given. We didn't really talk until later when he messaged me and i find him a really interesting person. Of cos, my interest in Japan is NO where near his interest in Japan. I find it extremely interesting to find a Malaysian soooooo SUPER INTO Japan that he wants to become Japanese!!!! I asked him before!! Anyone whom has read my archives would know that i absolutely DETEST the Japanese when it comes to WW2 issues given that WW2 in Asia is one of my most interested areas....I like Japanese food, tokyo life and the Japanese language...however i am certainly not crazy about Japan nor do i EVER want to become Japanese...however, Koyuuken wants to become Japanese and he is absolutely crazy over Japan...i find it soo interesting why a malaysian chinese male would love Japan so much?!!! I mean his MSN nick is almost always something in Japanese which is kinda cool cos most of his friend's dun even understand japanese which means its kinda code language for people like me given that i understand sometimes. Other times, even i dun understand as he uses a lot phrases from anime which is too difficult and colloquial for me...sometimes he even leaves comments in other ppl's blogs in japanese!! i mean if u see him, he is just ur average malaysian guy, even his dress sense is normal, not japanese style, so i really dunno why he loves Japan so much....i actually told him about the evils of Japan in WW2 but he says its history.....haha...i am just glad he is still talking to me on MSN after i criticised his beloved Japan...his japanese is improving VERY fast and sometimes he asks me japanese questions on MSN which i find difficult to answer....gosh...i really must maintain my japanese level....anyways i like his blog alot as it has tons of pics and he is very cute in his writing...cos his english is not that good so sometimes the expressions are funny....ganbatte koyuuken:)

(5) 男能可貴: I really like his blog with sections about his life, novels, and MOST importantly......he puts up so many pics of REALLY and i mean REALLY good looking cute guys, i mean these boys are just the type of men i like...i dun even know where he manages to find their pics....and they dun even look like models, they seem to be just ur average boy-next-door...people who have posted their own pics on the web and then re-posted by this blogger...so do check his blog out sometime...in Chinese language..so sorry for those of u who dun understand Chinese.....

(6) Penang Hokkien Podcast: This is a Penang Hokkien language podcast (an online free on-demand radio) by a Penang blogger currently living in the United States...he has his own podcast called Ongline which is also in my links section....i really like this podcast as it is in Hokkien and its kinda funny hearing them talk about stuff in Hokkien, feels really good...actually most of the speakers are Penang ppl currently residing overseas....so thats kinda fun too.....ppl like me...oh, btw, the podcast owner John Ong is a tongzhi too....haha.......

Another note of interest, just to remind ourselves of just how small the world is, i recently came across a Singaporean blog whose blogger has the same english name as me...i was researching on Thailand and the results came out in the hundreds of blogs with posts on Thailand....obviously i didn't know which one to choose...then his name caught my attention given it was the same as my name and further i may not have went to his blog if not for the way he spelled his name...he gave two spellings and it was a common mistake i encountered when ppl tried spelling my name in high school too! anyways, i just realised two of his links are to blogs i have visited before whom are friends of ppl i kinda know...wow...what a small world...


All the blogs i mentioned are in my links section so head there now:)

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Naruwan Taipei!!....納鹿彎台北!!.......

PIC ABOVE: CHIANG KAI-SHEK MEMORIAL HALL NATIONAL THEATRE/MUSIC HALL
I have posted on Penang, one of my hometowns...so now, i am going to introduce Taipei, my other hometown.....Taipei is the capital of Taiwan, an island nation situated east of the Taiwan Straits opposite China...Taiwan has a unique history having been colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and some would argue Han Chinese. It has another name called 'Ilha Formosa' meaning 'Beautiful Island'.....

A Brief History of Taiwan:
It was colonised by the Portuguese and the Dutch and then reconquered by the Ching Dynasty forces...it remained part of Hokkien Province until the late 19th Century, when the threat of Japanese invasion prompted the Ching to change Taiwan into a province separate from Hokkien province....however, after the Russo-Japanese War in 1895, with the victory of Imperial Japan, Ching China was forced to cede Taiwan along with outlying islands to Japan. Taiwan remained a Japanese colony until the end of WW2 in 1945, for 50 yrs.

The Taiwanese were relatively passive towards Japanese colonial rule, in contrast to Korea's fierce resistance movement against Japanese colonisation (Korea was colonised by Japan 1910-1945). As with all colonies, there was a system of discrimination whereby the Japanese went to the better schools and occupied the top levels of govt and society generally. In 1937, just before the start of Japan's invasion of China, Chinese writing, which had already been severely limited in usage by the Japanese, was banned, and in 1940, the 'Kominka' movement started which was aimed at 'changing' Taiwan people into 'Japanese'. Many young Taiwanese men were enlisted into Japan's war machine and some Taiwanese women were tricked into becoming 'comfort women' (the estimated 200,000 women forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Forces during WW2) and sent to south-east Asia.

After the war, the Nationalist Forces(KMT) which was then the govt in China, reclaimed Taiwan and in 1949, when the KMT lost the civil war to the Communist Party in China, fled to Taiwan. An estimated 2 million soldiers and refugees fled to Taiwan from China in 1949 and the following yrs (my grandpa being one of them)..... In Taiwan, the KMT tried to create 'a Free China' as opposed to Communist China and Taiwan actually held the UN seat representing China until 1971. As the Taiwanese had been colonised for 50 yrs by the Japanese and with the 'Japanization' movement during the war yrs, the KMT had to start a 're-sinicisation' movement trying to 'make the Taiwanese Chinese again'. Mandarin was encouraged at all levels and Taiwanese dialect, namely Hokkien, was forbidden in schools, official ceremonies,etc...even on TV and radio, Hokkien could only be spoken a few hours a day and fines would be imposed if there was too much usage of hokkien.

From 1945-1987, Taiwan was under a dictatorship which only ended in 1987. Taiwan is thus the first and only 'Chinese' place to have achieved democracy on its own with Hong Kong having democracy due to the British and China still a dictatorship. Singapore, another arguably 'Chinese' society is clearly still also a dictatorship under the 'Lee Dynasty'.

Taiwan plays not only an important economic role, being one of 4 'dragon economies' in Asia, it is also the centre of 'Mandarin cinema and pop culture' during the yrs China was closed to the outside....indeed, Taiwan is still the centre of Chinese popular culture together with Hong Kong even now. China's entertainment industry still cannot compare with Taiwan's. In the 60s and 70s, popular films and songs from Taiwan filled through South East Asia's Chinese communities....who cannot remember Brigette Lin Ching Hsia林青霞 or Qing Han秦漢? Who doesn't know Taiwan's daughter Teresa Deng Li Jun鄧麗君? Even nowadays, ALL popular Mandarin songs come exclusively from Taiwan, with David Tao 陶哲 , Jay Chou周杰倫, A- Mei 張惠妹, all hailing from this island. Those who want to make it big in the Mandarin scene all go to Taiwan like Singapore's Sun Yan Zhi孫燕姿 and Malaysia's Zhang Dong Liang 張東樑...All famous TV shows also come from Taiwan...even in the area of food, Taiwan has created many trends, the most well known being the 'Bubble Tea' craze which is now found in China, Singapore, HK, Malaysia, and around the world.
Even in Hong Kong, the top HK actress, Shu Qi 舒淇, is from Taiwan.....the most famous Chinese model now Chi-Lin 林志玲 is also from Taiwan....hehe...Taiwanese girls are renowned in the celebrity world for their beauty....

One of the nicest bookstores is also in Taiwan, being 誠品書店 Eslite Bookstore which has a 24 hr store on Dun Hua Nan Lu which opens 24hrs every day with a cafe, and music area attached...This bookstore has branches throughout Taiwan and is extremely popular with Taiwanese and tourist alike. The Dun Hua store even has a lecture hall and small theatre as well for talks held on a variety of issues such as gay and lesbian, taiwanese culture, women's rights, modern architecture,etc...

I personally love Taiwanese food and think its THE BEST in the world...it far surpasses China's food...even Shanghai Xiao Long Bao 小龍包 is more delicious in Taiwan than it is in Shanghai!! Believe me, i've tried it at both places and Taiwan's is MUCH BETTER....too bad everyone nowadays think that Chinese food must be the most delicious in China and go there in hords without trying out Taiwan first....believe me, when u've had Taiwan's food, China's food is just not as nice....anyone visiting Taiwan MUST and i mean MUST try the world famous Din Tai-Fung 鼎泰豐..it serves like the best Chinese dishes i've EVER had...definitely better than anything i had in Shanghai...it has branches in Singapore and Japan and other places so do give it a go if u haven't yet....be sure to order the Xiao Long Bao and Chicken Soup Noodles and Sticky Rice Zhung Zhi....

So please do visit Taiwan, Ilha Formosa, if u have the chance...of cos, it doesn't have the uncountable historical temples and places that China offers nor does its natural scenery overshadow China's natural places...but it does have some qualities that China simply cannot compete with:.....the warmth and friendliness of the Taiwanese people 台灣人的人情味 and the delicious Taiwanese streetside food 台灣美食小吃 ( the best thing about Taiwan is that u can get all the regional food as in China brought by the mainlanders whom fled to Taiwan in 1949 AND local taiwanese food AS WELL AS cheap japanese food, a remnant of japanese occupation!!) PS: For those of u whom wanna see sexy air-hostess in chinese dresses (like me!!), try China Airlines, Taiwan's national airline, where the uniform is a blue or maroon coloured qipao/cheongsam!!...hehe couldn't resist mentioning the qipao as usual....

So......Naruwan Taiwan!! Naruwan Taipei!!(Taiwan's Aboriginal language: Welcome to Taiwan!!Welcome to Taipei!!)

Penang Days (2)......檳城的日子(二).....



VIEW FROM E-GATE OVERLOOKING PENANG BRIDGE
DIM SUM AT ISLAND PLAZA WITH MOM AND CHINESE TUTOR AND HER DAUGHTERS
HOKKIEN MEE AT MOM'S FRIEND'S HOME
PAO AT WEALTHY FRIEND'S HOME
THE DELICIOUS CRAB PORRIDGE
Came bck from Bangkok last week and really enjoyed the trip:) I was VERY IMPRESSED with the development of Bangkok given that my image of Thailand was always that it was relatively backwards in terms of development but my trip this time (which was my first to Bkk) completely blew me away and i am definitely going bck to Bangkok again sometime in the future.....anyways, i shall blog about my Bkk trip later cos i have other stuff i wanna blog about given that it's been awhile since i last blogged...u get lazy...hahaha....

So what have i been up to? Well, visited some of my mother's friend's homes cos i have never been before and it was a real eye opener!! Well, some of my mother's friends are to say the least, quite wealthy, well to be honest, i think they are part of the social elite of Penang and so their homes are simply something u see out of American movies of rich American families...i took alot of pics cos i was simply amazed at how rich ppl were livingi n Penang...i thought u only see it in movies....well, i am NOT gonna post any of the pics up as to respect their privacy suffice to say i was very impressed by their homes....it was like taking a tour of rich bungalows in Penang and i had the priviledge to visit 3 houses...sang karaoke at one of the houses cos they have a private karaoke room at home(u can imagine how rich they are to own a private ktv room!!)......got to meet some of my mother's friend's son's friends....one in Singapore NUS, another in Manchester University and another in.....CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY STUDYING LAW!!!!! YES! IT WAS MY FIRST TIME MEETING A CAMBRIDGE STUDENT....she is on govt scholarship.....so smart man....

Also found out a new hang-out spot in Penang, E-Gate, a line of restaurants and cafes facing Penang Bridge which means u get a view of Penang Bridge day and night!!!!! Went to eat the kaya bread and ipoh hor fun at 'Ipoh Old Town' with my mother's friend and her son and his friends.....

Had Dim Sum with my ex-Chinese tutor whom i still keep in touch...she taught me Chinese since i was young....took some photos with her....i get my stash of 1960s Chinese magazines from her...she managed to keep over 30 magazines from her younger days which are INVALUABLE AND PRECIOUS for me given that they show how society was like bck then and more importantly, have tons of wonderful qipao/cheongsams and even designs for qi paos!! She has already said she will leave me those mags in her will....hehe....only i would appreciate these priceless mags...her children would prob throw them away....i simply adore all the authentic qipaos shown in these 1960s mags, such exquisite and refined qi paos (chinese dresses):)

My Japanese friend visited out of the blue given that she said she wouldnt' be visiting Penang and only KL on her way bck to Tokyo....so took her around Penang which was also a good opportunity to explore Penang myself....went to Gurney Plaza,Chinatown, Thai and Burmese Temple,etc....had dinner at the newly refurbished Gurney Drive Hawkers Centre....said our goodbyes and wished her the best of luck in hopefully becoming a Japanese diplomat (one of her plans but she will have to pass the rigorous test)..then i will have someone to help me get my japanese work visa in my plans to return to Tokyo...hehe...

Another friend Xiao Qiao came from KL to Penang ....actually we kinda have yuan....cos i knew him off the net but due to certain reasons...ahemm....he will know y!...we never talked to each other...until he out of the blue decides to email me THREE DAYS before i was to return to Penang.....and then on MSN he messages me ONE NIGHT before i was to return....i mean he didn't even know where i was from and that i was going bck to Penang like the next day! It so happened that Xiao Qiao, who has not visited Penang in like 4 yrs, had plans to go to Penang this time that i was returning!! I mean that is surely Yuan Fen isn't it??
Anyways, we chat on the phone a couple of times.....he was staying over at his Penang 'boyfriends' place (well...first yes he is Tong zhi and second his relationship with the guy is ambiguous so may b i should just say the guy is a 'friend' who pays for almost everything in their 'friendship'..and no sexual relationship yet as far as i know...)...Thank goodness he had a car as he used his 'friend's' car (this is different from CK's experience...sooo sorry CK!! made u walk for like 2hrs and wasted tons on taxi fare)...had lunch at the Italian Place i took CK to then went to Gurney Hotel Starbucks.....he showed me his first short film called 'PLU Story' which was for his graduation piece....pretty good given that it was the first time i saw a film produced by someone i knew......chat about his 2 yrs in Taipei...he studied media broadcasting there and it was good talking to someone who loved Taiwan and wanted to work there and has a nice Taiwanese accent like me, yes he has a taiwanese accent and i felt like i was talking to a taiwanese person and not a malaysian!! I am glad he had alot of good memories in Taiwan and a short but memorable time with a 'Taiwanese man'...i think they have yuan fen as well......sooo romantic....then went to have dinner at Gurney Drive hawkers centre and treated him as the next day was his birthday..so coincidental 1st time meet him is his birhtday....walked along Gurney Drive bck to carpark and asked him to drop me off at Gurney Plaza...went to buy his presents...

Next morning met him again for breakfast.....gave him his birthday present and card....hung around out Gurney Plaza until the shops open...he told me more of his experiences...in terms of Tongzhi stuff....gosh...seems to be similar to what i have heard from my other Tongzhi friends...lunch at Chicken Rice Shop and why he was like in hurry to leave?!! Like said had to go soon when it was still 1 hr from his appointment with his friend...AND he said the night before he was free the whole day...so not very happy...some negative stuff i shall not put in the blog given my policy of ONLY blogging about nice stuff but lets just say some stuff made me quite unhappy.....anyways, went to buy Penang biscuits which i gave him as presents as well as for my Bangkok friend M whom kindly allowed me to stay at her place....

Said to keep in touch and Xiao Qiao dropped me off....and i returned to get ready for Bangkok...i was leaving on the same day at 7 30pm....