More pictures of Rhosili and Me

A Break In Between - Bjorn & Rhosili

In the ten days between my 2 exam papers, I decided that I would take a short break and ease my brain. Thus, I invited Bjorn(who had finished his exams) over to Cardiff. We spent the first day walking around Cardiff. I realised having brought so many people around, and having walked around myself quite a bit, I was really quite able to show him many different parts of Cardiff. The night was spent talking. We talked from ten till about three in the morning. There seemed to be so much to talk about, sharing our experiences in the last 4 years since we left Hwa Chong, and then reminiscing our times and teachers in Raffles, and HC. I wouldn't say we ever were the closest of friends, but the quantity of time spent together, coupled with the quality of life we experienced, made for a night of many stories and memories.

I then planned a trip west to the Gower Peninsular in Swansea to view what was voted last year as one of Britain's finest sight. Rhosili Bay isn't your major international tourist attraction, nothing much in Wales actually is, perhaps overshadowed by England, or continental Europe. However, it has always intrigued me to go to these lesser none places of outstanding beauty, where there are fewer tourists, but more of unspoiled nature. You get more the feeling of being an adventurer than a tourist.

Rhosili Bay is quite a picture of rolling hills, meeting the sea across a long and wide stretch of sandy bay, with a little island Worm's Head in the distance, and rocky cliffs at one end of the bay. I never am able to describe scenery well, and will leave the pictures to do the talking. Perhaps the biggest regret of the trip, was out inability to cross over the Worm's Head. This was due to the high tide, covering up the pebbled causeway. We were about half an hour late and got as far as 200m from the island, before we had to turn back. Why the regret? They are seals and seal pups on the island! And I missed my opportunity to see seals in the wild for the first time. What a waste!

However, one really can have no complains about the view and sense of exhilaration one feels upon reaching, seeing and feeling Rhosili. The hour's train ride from Cardiff to Swansea, and then another hour's bus ride from Swansea City Centre to the coast, was all worth it. By the time I got back to Cardiff, and Bjorn returned to London, while physically, my legs were worn out, mentally, my brain was refreshed and ready to mount my final ascent of the year. June 1st 2007, my final paper in Year One. Marx and the Frankfurt School.

And in four days from now, I will be home.

On Overseas Vacations

I was scrolling through some news articles on Channelnewsasia.com when I came across a remark which put me off for quite a while. With reference to Singaporeans going on overseas vacations, CEO NATAS Robert Khoo had this to say, "…anything below $2000 nowadays is easily affordable for Singaporeans." I think the first immediate thought that came to my mind was a calculation for such a vacation for my family. Five of us (my parents and three children), multiplied by even $1000, is $5000. Considering an average pay of $2500 a month, in a single-parent working family, that is equivalent to 2 full months of pay. That definitely cannot be easily affordable for most or even a slight majority of Singaporeans. Perhaps what he meant was, for individual working adults going on holidays, a vacation under $2000, is getting more and more affordable. But for families, I think there is still quite a long way to go, especially when you have three non-income earning but income-sucking children.

And as I was thinking, I grew to fully appreciate the almost yearly overseas vacations my family used to take when we were a younger family some 8-10 years back. Now as I am all grown up and able to afford to fly all over the world, it might be easy to think that travelling overseas is no big deal anyway. But it was a big deal. I always looked forward to the year end travels when I was younger, the airplane rides, the first time seeing Australia, China, the comfort of just enjoying the place without worrying about the luggage, the costs (which were all settled by mum and dad). It is a unique and irreplacable experience. Lucky are the children born to enjoy such moments, born to parents willing to work hard and spend the money on such moments for their children. And yet, I wonder, how many children actually get this opportunity? How many parents are there out there, who try so hard to earn money so that they can bring their children to that one end of year treat after the exams? And yet how many others, who will never earn enough to feed the mouths, much less go on holidays? If you really think about it, its not forever that you can travel with your family overseas when you are a child, at most, the opportunity time span is 8-10 years, from which you are maybr 5 to 16 years old? Thereafter, you are no longer a child, you want to travel with your friends, you think you can take care of yourself, and you are less willing to take care of your parents instead?

We used to take many photographs on our family vacations, with album after album kept at home, from Korea, to Beijing, Perth, Gold Coast, Jakarta, Hainan Island, Japan, Taiwan.....I think the majority of family pictures were taken overseas, that's not unusual as few people take pictures when they are at home, or in their home country. (A sidenote: I know friends who go overseas and start taking pictures of all meals they eat overseas, even if it is just fish and chips. I find it quite ridiculous. Why dont they take all the food they eat in Singapore then, surely it is no less good-looking.) So, I think when people look back, it is overseas vacations that surely does give many memorable moments of a concentrated period of enjoyment, relaxation and joy. I think I wrote somewhere before that all students in Singapore should be given grants to go overseas at least once when they are in school, I think I will add to that now - they should be entitled to another once, this time with their entire family. I think using that bit of taxpayers' money to reward a family with family memories is definitely a worthy cause. Quite idealist again, eh? But then again, without dreams and ideas, this blog wouldnt exist.

Singapore is Not a City...

but a Country.

The announcement by Minister of State for Trade & Industry that Singapore would be hosting an F1 race right in the city centre next year would have been met by excitement and enthusiasm across Singapore, with perhaps the glaring exception of the Traffic Police who will already be messing with their brains on what traffic plans to put in place to ensure the roads designated for the race are blocked off, other roads that may pose a threat to terrorism are blocked off, and yet, access into the city doesnt come to a halt. One must surely hope that there won't be too many road blocks resulting in a repeat of IMF 06, where instead of generating more visitors, retail hotspots such a Suntec City experienced record low crowds as people avoided going into the city at all. But that, won't be the crux of this rumblings.

It is admirable, maybe even necessary for our economic miracle to continue, that Singapore has chosen to 'take the plungé' in recent years to really liven up the city. From attempts to invigorate the night life through brining in international clubs such as MoS, Crazy Horse (which has since closed down), to the endeavours to attract high-rollers by having not one, but two landmark casinos; to beautify yet further our already beautiful city with a modern landscaped parks right in the middle of the city centre, to have a postcard recognisable skyline with the Esplanade, and the Singapore Flyer, and not forgetting to enhance sports and leisure in dramatically renovating the Kallang waterfront; to say that change is in the air would be an understatement. And now, F1. In the space of less than 5 years, this supposedly çonservative state, has sought to emulate and combine the jewels of London (think London Eye & MoS), Paris (think Crazy Horse), Sydney (think Royal Opera House), Las Vegas (you are already thinking it), New York (think Central Park), Monte Carlo (think F1); all into this small island. Copycat or not, one cannot help but marvel at the boldness of this masterplan unfolding. My youth and love for excitement and risk-taking tells me I love all of this. And yet, I will not discuss the possible economic repercussions of such a masterplan, as that would take an entire thesis by itself. (For the record though, I do believe this is the way to go as far as making Singapore a fun place to be is concerned. )

The point in this post, though, is right at the beginning of it.

Notice I said London, Sydney, Las Vegas, etc.etc, and not UK, Australia, US or France. 'Financial hub of Asia', 'Metropolis of Asia', 'Garden City', etc.etc., how used we have become to such descriptions of Singapore, given by none less than various ministers over the years since independance. But it has struck me hard, that Singapore is NOT a city, it is a country. Small yes, with maybe no land for countrysides and farms yes, with maybe a strong reliance on international trade and tourism yes... But for all that we are, we are not, and should not, and can not, see ourselves as a London, or New York or Paris! For, for every London, there is maybe a Bath, a Cornwall, for every New York City, an Ithaca County, for every Paris, a Bordeaux; but for every Singapore, there is still only, another same Singapore. And I don't know why, and can't fanthom why anyone who loves Singapore, actually actually wants it to be a London or New York City.

I hope the masterplan for Singapore is not as single-tracked as it seems. I hope that for every Singapore City Centre development given attention, thought, hardwork, ingenuity and bold change, equal attention is given to the Bedoks, the Jurongs, the Toa Payohs, the Ang Mo Kios. (where incidentally, the majority of the population does reside in, and not the city) .We are such a unique country, a country the size of a city! And I feel we can aspire to develop our country, with individually distinct and characteristic local areas, within this small space of a city. Sure, efforts have been made by HDB, to redevelop and regenerate the older estates such as Toa Payoh, but what I am really thinking about, is to go beyond that. Bring that same amount of boldness in transforming the city, to the heartlands. Things such as our coffeeshops underneath our flats is something special and unique, and we can choose to focus new plans on how to best create good social spaces in our countrysides (yes! OUR country sides, Jurong, Pasir Ris, Woodlands, are at the side of the country!) as well to complement plans for the city.

My dream is that in 10 years time, packaged tours to Singapre will include Tampines Town in its itinerary. Because that's what we are.

Just to let you know how I am doing. ..

It is not everyday that there are vacation journals and mesmerising sceneries to share.

It is not everyday that there are thought-provoking philosophical discourses to give.

It is not everyday that the heart is moved to write little poems.

And that is why, once in a while, a post like this appears. With no other purpose, but to let you know how I have been doing.

In a month's time, I will be packing my bags, emptying this tiny room of mine, and returning to Singapore, after close to 5 months away from home. I will miss this tiny room, and more than anywhere else in the world has ever been, it has been 'my' space. In here, I have absolute freedom. To different people, freedom may mean different things, and at different stages of our lives, it may differ greatly still. There will be a time where freedom means being able to watch a movie or going to a party with friends after school without having to inform parents, or being able to drive around yourself in your car, or having a holiday with no exams or work to be worried over. But to me, freedom, is simply, the choice of being alone, and undisturbed.

A few days ago, I put on my MSN nick 'everyday is a holiday'. Indeed, this past year thus far, everyday has been a holiday to me, albeit a very different kind of holiday at each time. In Cardiff, it really is a 'retreat', where I can sit back and think and contemplate about issues that seem so important to the rest of the world, but which I cannot put a single face to, where I can evade from all the thoughts and problems of personal human relationships. Vacations like North America are 'éxplorations', where the heart is thrilled by the different sights and the mind takes in the vastness and diversity of this world. And finally, to go home to Singapore, after an extended period away, brings the subtle expectations of experiencing the 'familiar' once again. I call it the 'homecoming'. Obviously, each of these holidays have their own unique problems, during 'retreats', I worry about not worrying enough about home, during éxplorations, I worry about getting lost, and during homecomings, I worry about all the delicate relationships I must balance through. But these problems are reduced to a minimum when there is always something to look forward to in a few days, or in a month or two.

For my final month as a fresher, I have one more coursework (project) due on the 11th of May. This is a presentation for a group work we have done, a neighbourhood masterplan for a site in Newport, Wales. Our concept strategy is 'a hospital within a park and leisure wonderland', where the chirping of the birds, the blooming of the flowers and the laughing of the children will provide the best surroundings for recovery and rest. About a week later on the 21st, I have an economics examination, and another two weeks after that on the 1st of June, an examination in the key ideas of social science. The masterplan actually worries me more than the examinations, and it is also a greater challenge. During this time, I also need to finalize my accomodation for next academic year, which has been delayed for quite a while but seems almost certain to be settled next week. You will know why I took so long when you see my apartment next year, it is quite brilliant. And finally, from the 1st to 3rd of June, Hiu Yeung who is studying in John Hopkins will be visiting from the US. He will be the fifth and final person to visit me in Cardiff this year, after Qihui (Cambridge), Yun Ching (Warwick), Ping Khuan(Carleton), Jieming (Singapore). Closer to the date, I will plan something interesting for us to do.

And at 1125hrs on 3rd June, I will depart Cardiff Central Station on rail to London Paddington, from which I will take the tube to London Heathrow for my 1805hrs flight to Frankfurt onboard Lufthansa. Thereafter, I will take the connecting flight to Singapore and on 4th June 2007, at 1550hrs, I should touch down in Changi Int'l Airport. And that rounds up my little update.

Oh yes, Happy Birthday Papa on the 6th!