Virgin Rally

The Sg Elections are 6 days away, and I went to my first ever political rally today!!

I feel like I've totally entered adulthood, and the mysterious club of the 'Politically Aware'. =). Actually, probably neither of the above is true, but I feel pretty good nonetheless.

The rally was at Pioneer stadium, held by the National Solidarity Party (NSP). We heard Steve Chia (running in Pioneer), and two other guys whose names I can't remember. The guy who spoke in Hokkien was quite humorous, and even though I didn't understand most of it, the other people around seemed to be enjoying themselves. I came to the realization that Hokkien is a great way to connect with the Heartland masses, partly because complaints just sound a lot better and funnier in Hokkien. (Am now reminded of the Hokkien Star Wars clip that was on radio a few yrs ago)

Atmosphere: we were up in the bleachers, where people were sitting down and mostly passive. But the crowd on the field were very vocal, and obligingly chanted 'NSP! NSP!' at all the right moments. I started booing and cheering, and the others became more responsive also. (I went all the way to Pioneer for this rally.. 17mins by train hor... if it's only to sit and listen I can do that on Youtube. So must create some atmosphere right?)

Speeches: not bad. a mix of Minister bashing (Mah Bow Tan is a hot favorite), number crunching (median income in 2010 was only $1400/mth!! am not sure if this refers to Singaporeans only, or all income tax payees), and specific policy points.

They raised some interesting points:
- some ministers are not just receiving their million dollar salaries, but a pension as well. According to the Prime Minister, this is part of their contracts and cannot be changed.
- the CPF contracts were changed so easily to raise the withdrawal age from 55 to 60. Yet, ministerial contracts remain unchangeable.

- The bottom 20% of households have seen their incomes fall, and costs rise. Currently, they face a deficit of $100/mth.

- Ministers' bonuses are pegged to absolute GDP growth. The easiest way to grow the size of an economy is to increase the number of workers. Thus the huge influx of foreign workers into Singapore. Their assumptions are a little shaky, but the NSP estimate that only 1 in 2 jobs in Singapore are held by Singaporeans.

- In conclusion, the PAP has lost its way. They are self deluded and no longer in touch with ordinary Singaporeans.

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I agree that the issue of ministerial salaries need to be revisited. Even if we accept the bizarre assumption that any one of our ministers can waltz into industry and become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, it is hard to accept that they should be paid according to the top 10 performing industries, when these top 10 will constantly change. So if you were a CEO of say a construction company, some years the industry might be in the top 10, some years it will not. But as a Singaporean minister, you are always guaranteed a spot in the top 10.

But never mind. Worse still is the basing of the bonus on absolute GDP growth. Incentives are very powerful. The PAP believe that GDP growth is the single most important measure of their success (also stated in MM's book. Vulnerability = need strong defense = need money = need taxes from GDP). So it doesn't matter so much if GDP per capita holds steady or falls, as long as absolute GDP increases. However, GDP per capita more accurately measures productivity and standard of living. One reflects real increases in worker quality and can form the basis of sustained growth, while the other is an indication of population happiness. In fact, I think inflation/cost of living has to be included into the equation as well.

So, a more accurate measure of the government's performance should be A) are people better off and B) do we have a more productive economy? The last point especially will totally kill their bonuses. Our productivity growth has been nearly zero since the 1980s. [In contrast, the French worker is one of the most productive in the world. Maybe we should mandate a 35hr work week? This will force all companies to become more efficient. Hmm.. not sure that this is the best strategy. but from personal experience, the more I procrastinate before a dateline, the more efficient I eventually become.]
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Post is too long already. Till the next blue moon... Adieu.

Meandering the Mekong

Happy 2011!

My NYEve was spent dodging a million motorcycles, and watching grown women clutch frantically at each other while balancing on one foot on A4 paper. yups.. more on that later.

On 28th Dec 2010, 6 brave souls (+ guide & driver from vietnambiketours) left Ho Chi Minh City for Cai Lay, a little town on the Mekong delta. Armed with sunscreen and very nice mountain bikes, they pedaled wobbly-ly through narrow roads and even narrow-er bridges. Past coconut, bananas, longans, and magnificent rice paddies, they were greeted by frenetically helloo-ing children, and challenged by fiercely territorial (but not so intelligent) roosters.

It was fantastic =). When we were not fearing for our lives due to threats from bumpy roads, beeping motorcycles and crazily steep and narrow bridges, it was very peaceful. The whole village vibe, hammocks everywhere, verdant fruit trees etc. Not really unique to Vietnam, but a great way to experience SE Asian countryside. Our guide had some money to spend on us per diem, so we stopped frequently for sugar cane juice, durian, fried banana, rice crackers etc from random street vendors. Meals tasted great, partly due to all that cycling. I particularly enjoyed the tamarind-based hotpot, and a chendol-like dessert (beans, shaved ice, coconut milk). Another highlight was visiting the floating market at Can-tho, where heavily laden boats advertised their wares by hanging a sample atop a pole.

The Mekong river is HUGE! Originating from the Tibetan plateau, it flows through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and finally Vietnam, splitting into 9 distributaries in the delta (in Vietnam, it's also called the Nine Dragons River). Read more in Wikipedia. It's easy to feel a sense of awe at this mighty waterway, despite all the murkiness and water hyacinths..

After 4 days of cycling, we developed butts and nerves of steel! Sadly, we had to return to HCMC, where new year celebrations were in full swing. Although nowhere as significant as Tet (lunar new year), the occasion was still marked by lively stage performances, a food festival, and an awesome funfair-- there were the usual knocking-down of bottles, but also stuff like walking across bamboo poles while balancing bowls/baskets on your head and hands, having to strike a gong while blindfolded, and trying to catch a piglet while blindfolded. Low-budget, but tremendous fun (except for uncomfortable ethical feelings about the terrified piglet). EVERYONE was out in their motorbikes, and traffic was horrendous. Crossing the road, which is already a challenge normally, became an Olympic Event. Good thing we'd cultivated those nerves of steel. =)

All the tourist pubs and hotels had events, and our hotel's had sketchy games. One was like musical chairs, except instead of chairs it was A4 paper on the ground. 2 people were allowed per piece, and they had to stand on one foot. The other was played with couples-- one person had plastic flowers stuck randomly on his/her body, and the other person had to pick them, blindfolded. Kinda surreal to see this is Vietnam. Also saw a performance by a couple dancing the Rhumba. The girl was ok, but the guy looked really creepy, especially when he tried to smile... =(.

On our last day, we went for a body massage! I didn't notice the bars on the ceiling of the room, and thus was extremely surprised when my masseuse starting stepping on accupoints on my back. Breathing became a challenging and delicately timed operation. She also cracked a few joints, most memorably the ones in my neck, with swift twists of my head... It was the first time I thought I might die during a massage, and not from happiness... But after the hour, my muscles felt wonderfully relaxed and languorous. So maybe it wasn't so bad afterall?

All in all, a fantastic trip. Much thanks to Shuquan for organizing, and Shirlene, Eugene, Xiao Wei and Chris for a great time.

Happy Birthday to ME!

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

That's what I said to my mother as I packed my backpack for a trip up Mt. Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia. That's what I muttered to my fellow sufferers when they asked why I chose to spend my birthday with burning thighs, endless steep rock, low oxygen, and bouts of nausea.

It was 3 exhausting days, and 2 cold nights, from 1300m to 2600m to 2000m to 2600m and finally down to 500m... unfortunately my summit attempt was foiled by the betrayal of my lungs and circulation, which decided to go on strike after 29 years of faithful service.

But the scenery was amazing. I've run out of superlatives to describe the contrast of craggy mountain peaks, aquamarine crater lake, pristine white clouds, and blue blue sky. The exhilaration of getting to the top banishes all memory of the endless slog to a distant corner of the brain (usually reserved for the Krebs cycle, Green's theorem and structures of amino acids). Only my 3 blisters and inability to walk reminds me that it was actually quite hard work.

Total gain from birthday weekend:

3 blisters

3 leeches

7 new friends (special thanks to Sam and Suzie for sharing their tent.. it was pretty cozy in there. Thanks also to Mandy -and Nick- for organizing and letting me come!)

Gazillion aching muscles and pictures.

Self respect

Desire to climb more mountains... after being able to walk again.

Crater Rim on day 1

Summer School in Italy

Just came back from Rome, Sardinia and Milan. Main purpose of the trip was to attend Immunology Summer School in Sardinia. Supposed to be 5 days of fun in the sun (and er.. lecture theaters).

First stop: 2 days in the Eternal City. Our Roman hostel was the Alessandro Downtown, near the Termini. Decent location, ok beds, 30mins free internet, hard rolls for breakfast, RELIABLE hot water. thumbs up for 30Euros.

We must have walked for miles up and down Rome. Amazing everything. Except for the Roman forum, which had me thinking that archaeology must be more art than science, the other major sites were incredibly well preserved. No need to decipher faded stones battered by jungle vegetation (eg. Angkor Wat and all the Mayan and Incan ruins).

Highlights of my day were the Trevi Fountain (I really like all the High Renaissance stuff), and the gelato near the hostel. Josephine and Preston were also great travel companions (none of that 'punishing schedule' complaints from Peru-- in fact, Preston is even crazier than me).

The next day, we went on the hostel's 'Vatican' walking tour, which included Piazza de Navona, and St Peter's Basilica. Bernini is a genius. Don't know much about his architecture, but his sculptures are magnificent in all their sinewy glory. All the angels on the Angels bridge have different expressions, from stern to beatific serenity. That day's gelato (near the Pantheon) was not as good as the first.

My last morning in Rome, I went to the Basilica de San Clemente (church upon a church upon a church-- sounded cool on Lonely Planet, but without a guide, it was only mildly cool, and very dark), and the Church of Immaculate Conception. The crypt of the latter had 5 rooms, bizarrely decorated with the bones of departed monks and poor Christians. To me it was somewhat macabre, but according to the postcard, it was meant for reflection on the fragility of human life in comparison to eternal heaven with God (or something like that).

In Sardinia, summer school went well, except someone forgot to tell Poseidon and Zeus (I know those are their Greek names, but I'm a purist. and too lazy to check up their Roman ones) that it was summer. Brief, precious moments of sunshine were chased away by clouds, rain, and howling winds. The winds were so strong one day, they blew Preston's DOOR FRAME (and door) completely off the wall.

Got to know some interesting people and facts, including

a) Claire, who is vegetarian, but allergic to wheat, pollen and nuts (she eats rice, vegetables and eggs).

b) Pinar, Turkish but working in UK on cattle TB, generally hilarious and fabulous

c) Antonio and his Milano gang, who are really funny and made a big effort to talk to us in English.

d) Olives growing near the sea taste fruity (acc. to Antonio)

e) French and german people with home-rolled cigarettes are holding good quality tobacco, not marijuana.

f) Small Sardinian beach resorts that cater to aging German tourists, really mean it when they say 'Disco' night. 1970s music was waaaay over-represented.

g) European keyboards have their apostrophes and semi-colons etc. in all the wrong places =(.

Of course, came to know the SIgN contingent a lot better too. They are surprisingly crazy people.

Last day in Italy was spent in fabulous Milan, home to the most magnificent Gothic cathedral I've ever seen. More beautiful than Notre Dame, IMHO. Unfortunately, it was also home to thousands of Inter Milan football fans. 16th May was an epic day for Inter fans-- the team was crowned Italian champions, and people were swarming all over the city centre, waving flags, singing songs, blaring horns. For me, it was fantastic for about 30seconds, then the constant horn blaring started to feel like a very blunt chisel was being shoved repeatedly into my ears. Josephine and I then were compelled to give up sightseeing, for shopping-- er. no ulterior motives there. it was for health reasons that we HAD to shop, you see.

Conclusions: Italy is fantastic, I never want to go back to work. Now, where's my gelato?

Happy New Year!

At work rebelling against all the work I have to do. Screwit. Instead I'm going to destress by watching you-tube and blogging. And the *&^(@ powers-that-be who control internet access here banned facebook, game sites, and peer-to-peer sites. So theoretically, all I can do to de-stress is youtube and blog. I am so resentful and stressed-out it is ridiculous.

My new year's resolution is to try not to lose my mind. Sometimes, it goes away for holiday and can't be found. Especially right now, I think my mind is off skiing at Kirkwood. It's definitely not here in Biopolis.

BBBBBAH. signal to go home, and try again tomorrow. =(.

Stairway to heaven

Some of my loyal readers might be despairing over the dearth of updated blog posts on this website. -sighz-

Sadly, work has come between me and my mission in life: slacking.

Following my not-so-triumphant return to Singapore, I am now safely ensconced in the bosom of A-star, and er.. serving my country. I do this by

1) supporting small business (eating at the food court)

2) buying local brands (eh.. maggi mee?)

3) helping churn the great a-star research machine. one DNA gel at a time.

The new condo is very nice, but very hard to find. The road it's on doesn't exist on google maps yet, and guests arrive angry and frustrated. I should hire the Little Caesar's guy that waves the giant placard at San Antonio, to stand at a strategic corner and point the way.

I also have a new keyboard! I am very pleased with the instrument, but not so pleased with the way my piano playing and sight reading skills have regressed. Please send me sheet music for christmas!! It is my new self-improvement project. My other self improvement project is to do more sports. This involves complex multi-party negotiations with myself, and is currently in the planning stages.

Luz has invited jomo and myself to give a joint speech at her wedding. I think I should start to charge for speaking engagements... a free dinner is not too much to ask, right?

Went to Hanoi in Sept with Jomo. It was interesting, Halong Bay was fantastic, Perfume pagoda was ok, and of course I got to hang out with Jomo (highlight of the trip), and read Battle Royale (incredibly violent and bloodthirsty yet strangely absorbing). The traffic is absolutely crazy, I was very happy because the chaos reminded me of S.America. But something was 'off' about Hanoi. I dunno. People seemed too absorbed with earning money. I got a China vibe. You can feel it when they refuse to bargain, and when you're in the midst of impatient motorists.

Now I want to go to Laos.

Rambles in the cherry garden

Help. I'm trapped inside me.

I want to escape into a dark and quiet place with no feelings.

I wonder if there is a black hole for emotions?

Maybe it'll be like in the Golden Compass, after one has been separated from one's daemon..?

Although it's not quite the same issit? being devoid of feelings vs being without a soul.

Hm. interesting.

Bolivia 8: We become true Bolivianos

I had planned for 3 full days in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, it didn't take us long to realize that there was absolutely nothing to do there. Also, it was the Christmas period so we didn't want to risk taking a bus to the Jesuit Missions, then not having any transport back.

Instead, our time in Santa Cruz was spent slowly morphing into Bolivianos at the Central Plaza. And shopping for chocolate bon bons at the market. And eating a never-ending Christmas fruitcake. I was reading Charmaine's book ('Eat, Pray, Love')-- about one woman's quest for life, spirituality and balance. In the end, she achieves everything (including money because the book was selling quite well). I was half-expecting a how-to manual, hoping that I too would magically achieve life, spirituality and balance, but it was simply an entertaining read. It became less entertaining in the end because she started whining and pontificating, but the first 70-80 parts (it had 108) was very good. My take-home message from the book is: go to Naples to eat pizza. Her description of the pizza in Naples is so mouth-watering that if I wasn't in the middle of a Bolivian plaza becoming ONE with the park bench, I would have been on kayak.com checking air ticket prices.

It's quite interesting what can happen to 2 Chinese girls who spend many hours in Bolivian plazas. A middle-aged man sat on our bench and started telling us how much he distrusted Obama because he is black. Apparently, this guy is Mormon, and dislikes Islam.... It was a weird experience. We also had a TV camera thrust in our faces, complete with lady reporter asking us where we came from and how we celebrate the New Year. We stammered something about parties and families, and in the end wished Bolivia 新年快乐!

After that we totally regretted our lackluster interview. We should have made up some bizarre customs, like 'In Singapore, at the stroke of midnight, we light firecrackers and the king releases political prisoners'.... or something.

Brief notes on Santa Cruz:

1) It's in the lowland, surrounded by prime coca-growing plots. So it has a hot, dusty tropical feel, and it's full of drug money-- big SUVs, major American brands selling genuine merchandise etc. It's the only province of Bolivia that doesn't support President Evo Morales, who wants to empower the large indigenous population and nationalize the oil and gas industry. The city has a comfortable, rich feel. And the trendy magazines feature stories about partying in expensive clubs, and traveling in Europe. Very Very different vibe from the rest of Bolivia.

2) However, you know you're still in Bolivia because crossing the street is an Olympic sport, there are 6 lanes of cars but only 3 lanes of road markings, and the airport checkin counters only open 1.5hr before takeoff so that the queue is as horrendous and chaotic as possible.

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Conclusions on Bolivia:

It was every bit as weird and wonderful as Eujin promised. And deliriously chaotic, more than Peru and Guatemala combined. The people are super friendly, and the sights are incredible. My one regret is spending too much time in Santa Cruz. We should have gone to the Potosi mines, and Sucre, then to SC, or skip that altogether and just go back to La Paz.

I highly recommend Bolivia to open-minded, adventurous backpackers looking for a totally different experience.

Huge thanks to Charmaine, who was brave enough to take yet another S.American trip with me. Xiao mei, you're the best.

Bolivia 7: RUN Pearline, RUN

Cochabamba! Bustling market town in a fertile valley, midway between the Andes to the West, and the lowland jungles/pampas in the East. We were there because I found a website that said that Cochabamba was the paragliding capital of Bolivia. $30 USD/jump. I couldn't resist.

But first-- a stop at the tourist information office. Somehow, I managed to lose my wallet (this is becoming a terrible tradition), and I was looking for a phone that would call the US, to cancel my credit cards. However, the tourist office was temporarily closed because there was a Christmas Event happening. At first we didn't know what was going on, but the massive numbers of children, the christmas tree, and all those women dressed as elves, gave the game away. The people we asked said it was not possible to answer my questions right now, but would we like some free coffee and deep-fried dough?

Anyways, they couldn't help and in the end I used my hp to call America, but the coffee and fried dough was really quite tasty. And we got to watch children receive presents from Santa.

Next day: Paragliding! We arrive early at the offices of Andes Xtremo, and were ferried to the cliffs 15mins away by our instructor Andres, and his assistant. We stop at the landing site, and Andres says that we will take turns jumping: one of us stay there, while the other will be driven to the top to jump, then we will switch.

"Who will go first?"

uneasy looks pass between Char n I. Char looks a lot more uneasy than I feel.

"Ok, I go first", I say.

I get into the car, leaving Char with a book and the camera. I feel pretty excited as we set off-- finally! paragliding! It sounds awesome!! I become less and less excited, the further up we drive. I make the mistake of looking down the edge... It's a hella loong way down. My heart immediately sinks to my stomach, and they both do a little quivering dance.

We get to the launch site, Andres and friend start rolling out the chute. I try not to think about it. Finally, they are ready. Andres ties into the parachute gig, and I'm tied in, in front of him.

"OKAY PEARLINE THIS IS HOW WE DO IT. WHEN I SAY RUN, WE RUN. DO NOT STOP RUNNING UNTIL I SAY STOP."

"Okay."

"OK now, RUN!!!!"

My legs started moving like my life dpded on it, but we didn't move! The parachute is HEAVY. I felt like a little hamster on the wheel.

"RUN PEARLINE, RUN!!!"

"I'M TRYING!!!!"

We eventually start moving, and I was too distracted with the running to pee my pants. Before I knew it, we were airborne! It was so cool! It was exactly what you'd expect a falling via parachute to feel like-- suspended and free, yet supported by a giant blanket. There was a thermal in one spot, and Andres expertly maneuvered us to ride up the rising hot air. Now I know how eagles feel, soaring in the air. =).

After some more floating, Andres offered to do stunts. So we did some swinging from left to right, but most fun was the spiral descent, when we banked downwards and rightwards, and did this whirlwind thing rapidly towards the ground. TOTALLY AWESOME.

We landed nicely at the arranged spot, and it was Char's turn to go up. I told her that it was fun, she'll be fine, and to run when he says "RUN".

Char had her jump without mishaps, and we happily returned to cbba. For breakfast, we finally had a saltena, which the guidebook claims to be a CBBA specialty. (actually, they are found all over Bolivia, but are esp famous in cbba). Saltenas are savory meat baked in a thick pastry shell (think curry puff or mini calzone). We bite into ours and it is Incredible. Steaming hot chicken, swimming in juices, complemented nicely by the crunchy, slightly sweet pastry. Heaven must be full of saltenas.

Full of warm fuzzy feelings towards CBBA and indeed Life in general, we troop off to the bus station get tickets to our final Bolivian destination, Santa Cruz.

Bolivia 6: My heart goes Shalalalala

First stop in the early morning: the fumaroles (steam vents). Not much to say about them, because we were 1) super tired and 2) super cold.

Next, a dip in the hot spring before breakfast. It seemed like this item was on everyone's itinerary, because the little pool soon became filled with tourists. However, the overcrowding didn't mar the awesomeness of the hot water. Total bliss, made all the more so by the brisk morning air.

The rest of the morning was more pretty lake-pretty flamingoes. Lunch was at some random little village. We were hanging out, waiting for yet another flat tyre to be fixed, when I realized that atop a big rock around the corner, was half a propeller plane. Yes, half. The tail half, to be precise. Apparently it crashed about 50 yrs ago and no one bothered to take it down.

The morning was also made memorable by the music being played in our jeep. For the last 2 days, we had been playing music frm Char's ipod. but it was running outta juice, so that morning we turned it off. The driver then decided to play music from his mp3 player. Unfortunately, it had only two songs on it. Yes, TWO. The first one was an English version of a popular Chinese song (Wen bie), and the second one had a chorus that went 'And my heart goes Shalalalala, shalala in the mooorrnning... (etc)'. Those 2 songs were on repeat the whole morning. That's a lot of shalalalalas. No one else seemed to be in hair-tearing agony except for me and Charmaine... We tried our best to sleep, but that nefarious 'shalalalala' invaded my nightmares for days afterwards. I'm not sure if it would've been better in the second jeep. The Australian guys in that jeep openly admitted to being big fans of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, and were conducting free-for-all karaoke sessions in their vehicle.

=)

It was a pretty fun trip.

After lunch we had a 5hr drive back to Uyuni. We stopped briefly at San Cristobal, a (silver) mining town. We could hear festive music in the distance. Our cook pointed out the men sitting by the road drinking beer. She said that these were miners back from work. They get paid at the end of the day, then spend that $$ and the rest of the evening drinking. Apparently, they need to drink because mining is really hard work. We asked about the music, and she told us it was a mass wedding. The Christmas period is a popular time to get married, because most people are on holiday.

The rest of the day was uneventful. After getting back to Uyuni, we hopped a night bus to Oruro and onwards to Cochabamba. The bus to Oruro reminded me of the chicken buses in Guatemala. We had assigned seats, but there were amazing numbers of people standing and eventually sitting and sleeping in the aisles. They are not at all shy about sitting on your armrest, or invading your legroom. It was quite an experience.

I had a good time at the Salar! 3d 2n is a good length for this trip. The landscapes are amazing, the weather was good, and I saw loads of flamingoes (my favorite birds because they can stand on one leg), and wild vicuna and llama. The people on our tour were also really fun to hang out with. However after 3days the endless drives in the jeep became quite boring... plus the food wasn't that good. No regrets though. It's like a 3 day trip to Mars!!--- Totally radical, but you don't wanna live there. [note to self: Jason Mraz songs are a perfect soundtrack for a drive around Mars. The shalalalala song is not so good.]