After the Rush

hi.

2007-04-24T21:12:00.000+08:00

I have submitted my thesis.
I have booked my flight to Krabi.

That is all.

No. That's all that matters.

Exams?

And don't ask me what I'm going to do now that I've (almost) graduated. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, my life in Singapore will be suspended when I go back to Thailand. Yes, I've waited far too long to back to my beloved ~~Singha~~ country.

Hopefully I will be writing a lot more this time when I am there.

Drinking. Writing. Writing with a hangover. Writing with a hangover while travelling. Hello Jack Kerouac.

EMPHATIC

2007-02-27T15:32:00.000+08:00

WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE FOR AN ICE COLD SINGHA OR LEO NOW

Thesis writing sucks.

*

I'll be leaving for Chiang Mai somewhere around the second week of May, will be going around exploring more of the north and north-east. If anyone else is going to be in the area during the time, give me a shout out, particularly if you're keen on going trekking at Doi Inthanon.

Chiang Mai, actually

2006-12-16T18:12:00.000+08:00

I'm back in C. Mai. The longer I spend in Thailand, the more I feel like I've come home after 6 months of studying in Singapore. There was an earthquake in C. Mai a few days ago, but I'm here now and so far, no aftershocks or tremors. I'm sure the geographers amongst you would love to be here when a mild quake happens.

I took the train here, second class upper bunk. The one we were supposed to take to come up during FS but couldn't because of the flash floods. Eh. It was a less than comfortable experience but a valuable one nonetheless. What was supposed to be a 12 hour trip turned into a 15 hour one because of train delays. I was about ready to strangle somebody when I got off. I'm sure I'm exaggerating, but let's see... how do I best describe it? I think it would have been far more comfortable if I had opted to take the lower bunk instead of the upper one. I got blueblacks climbing up and down my bunk... I'm sure the guys who've gone through army would call me a n00b, but yeah, at least I managed to fall asleep, at least. Oh, and I forgot to take my toothbrush out of my backpack so yeah... I couldn't brush my teeth, which was quite disgusting.

Well I'm here now... going to meet up with Fye sometime over the next few days. I'm also considering doing a one-day trek in Doi Inthanon and things I didn't manage to do during FS.

*

I was in BKK for three nights before this, stayed at Suk11 again. Shyuan was there for the last two nights that I was there, and I managed to go shopping with her yesterday. I actually wanted to stay on in BKK for another night or so, so I could club and head to Chatuchak today, but Suk11 was full. Also, was initially supposed to meet Tom because he's doing his job training in BKK now, but he had to do OT so we didn't manage to meet up.

Thailand isn't the same without you people here.

life is good

2006-11-06T19:45:00.000+08:00

Stress can be good too, if you're interested enough in what you're doing and prepared to slog your ass off for it. This semester has been bereft of interesting things for me to read and stew my brain juices over... except now, working on my last essay. I won't geek out by talking about it since I get the feeling no one really cares, except that the topic interests me greatly and I look forward to writing it.

I'm not someone who can work just for grades, and there's really no point in doing something that you detest, for "practical reasons". I learnt this lesson well enough when I decided to switch from a psych/lit shared major to being a pure lit major and I've never looked back. Even if I have to complete my BA(Hons) in 5 years instead of 4... even if I'm only going to get a second lower honours degree... I will beg and plead and put aside my self-dignity to secure a place in some hopefully decent university to do my Master's.

Why am I talking about this? I believe in obsession. I believe that moderation is overrated as some of you might have surmised from my hard drinking habits. Of course it can get unhealthy, which is why you need close friends and family to tell you when you're going overboard, but I always say, there's nothing stopping us from toeing the line, pushing the envelope, to use highly cliched and overused phrases.

*

Also, I will be leaving for Thailand in the middle of December, and will be back just before Christmas. Do drop me a msg if you will be in the area at the same time. It'll be nice to meet up for a meal and a drink. Non-alcoholic, if that's what you prefer.

2006-10-26T00:22:00.000+08:00

Hello all,
I hope everyone's holding up okay so far. Holding up can mean "barely surviving" as I know I am. I won't complain about this semester because I do it at least once everyday and why do I want to taint this blog by writing about school...

I'm 23 this year... but this year I've celebrated more 21sts than when I was 21. Ah, you know what they say, having youthful friends is good for the heart because it keeps it youthful.

Actually, no one says that. Except for when I said it 10 seconds ago.

Anyway... I was trying to conjure up some Thailand memories when I was feeling down awhile ago, and I cannot stop laughing to myself when I think about the BM-Pub is Mae Sai. If you don't already know, BM stands for Batman. I frickin' kid you not. Think expensive beer (90 baht for small Singha sia...), Thai techno, complete with practically half naked dancers of both genders. Especially guy in tight shiny suit with the pieces of cloth missing in ass area.

Also, sitting by the Maenam Sai in Monkey Island by myself. One of the rare times in my life I had so much silence. No traffic, no music, no mahjong. Nothing. Silence, except for the gentle ripples of the water. Sitting there on my own, with my laptop in front of me as I tried to churn out the project report as SHAMMY had conveniently fallen asleep. My field journal was next to me. It was dark, but with just enough light to write by. Rare moment of tranquility. Dominique was still awake too and he joined me for a bit because Bernard and Shammy are the ones who need the most sleep... I only needed sleep in the afternoon because it was just so freaking hot all the time. That night I remember staving off the sadness of knowing that FS was coming to an end... it was the night before we would return to Chiang Rai. Knowing that I can stay two weeks at a place and not notice lots of things because you get used to it, I made a mental note of everything I was receiving through my senses. The sounds, or lack thereof. The feel of the wooden tables and stools, smiling when recalling nights that Tom, Jake and Haq were with us, and I made Jake drink with me and laughing so loudly that the owner had to come tell us to tone it down. Also, the smell of freshly laundered clothes... I was the only one who did my laundry every 3 days. The three boys were content to wait until they'd completely run out before doing their laundry. How they managed that, I seriously don't know since I had the most clothes out of the 4 of us and we perspire all day long.

I ramble. I must not fall into nostalgia now.

I don't know what the hell happened to my tagboard either, but comments are still appreciated.

Winston's back!

2006-10-05T18:12:00.000+08:00

I'm sure most of you are already aware that Winston is back. I'm hoping to organise a dinner next week... yes, I realise that this is the time of the semester when the shit hits the fan. I myself have two presentations, 3 long assignments and a few short ones due in the course of the month. But hey, you still gotta eat right? I will check back with him when's a good day and time and let everyone know via email.

Americanised National University of Singapore

2006-09-16T02:00:00.000+08:00

Okay this is the closest I will get to "student activism". I'm going to write an article and submit it to Campus Observer about the stupidity of seminar-style classes in NUS. Seminar style classes last for three hours and was initiated as a move to increase student participation and for students to facilitate their own learning. It was a move, I think, away from the traditional system of lectures and tutorials (British style) to something that is supposedly modelled on the American university system which is supposed to be less rigid. I don't know how classs are conducted in the US, so I can't verify this.

See, I think that the reason cited, of having "student-led learning" (or whatever it is in official speak) is bullshit. Students still attend three hours of classes a week for one module, but academics are freed up because they don't have to conduct tutorial classes anymore. This leaves them more time to do research.

What "student-led learning" effectively means is that two out of three hours of the class are spent on student presentations, which are invariably boring and mediocre. This isn't so much a fault of the students as it is of the system. Given our heavy workload, we can only afford to start preparation for presentations a week in advance. If the article to be presented on for that week is particularly dense (i.e. Spivak's "Can the Subaltern Speak?"), the hapless student usually just ends up summarising the contents of the article. If the presentation is on a particular novel or poem, that presentation is ALWAYS predictable, and the points are never novel or thought-provoking.

Point is, I don't see the point of attending three-hour long classes of which two hours are taken up for student presentations. I find the lecture and tutorial method a lot more effective way of learning. I'd rather the lecturer provide a framework of the text or article that we're supposed to read during lectures, so that it provokes us to think deeper about it and come prepared to discuss it during tutorials, rather than have the student grapple with just trying to understand the texts (especially if they are particularly dense or opaque), such that their presentations either become summaries of the text or article or are very superficial readings and predictable readings of it.

So like NUS to start initiatives that look good on paper but are fucked in practice. I'm not criticising the American system. I'm aware that the Singapore Management University (SMU) models itself on the American system, and from what I hear, it is implemented very effectively; the students are active participants in class and are apparently very deeply engaged in their learning. Clearly, this is not happening in NUS despite the bureaucracy trumpeting the merits of the American system. Which just goes to show that somewhere along the way, we really haven't worked out how to implement the system at all.

-

Put it another way, I don't pay close to 4k a semester to attend a damn reading group lor.

My reality is better than your reality

2006-08-31T01:46:00.000+08:00

I am fully ensconced back in my reality; my reality where phrases like "the mimesis of the material antecedents of perception" are casually bandied about. Where I start using words like "ensconced".

It feels both familiar and unfamliar at the same time. This reality is a zone I am comfortable in, but at the same time, I have to deal with the cognitive dissonance that my major has little "use" (oh, horrific word) in "real life". Please note the apostrophe marks. I tell you what I like about my major. I like it that I can learn so much about life and lives just by dedicating a few days to reading a book. I like it that I gain so much perspective with regards to things like evil, morality and love.

What I am struggling with, is the fact that I don't know how I can help people in "real" life armed with this knowledge. I despair at the fact that so few people read fiction and poetry because they regard those as belonging in the domain of an elite few. I belong to the camp which believes that art can and should be accessible to many. But so what if it is? If it faces so much resistance, what hope does it have of changing the world?

If I were to pursue my love for literature to its practical ends, I would have to come to terms with this. I would have accept and be resigned to the fact that I will be in an ivory tower, although not by choice. I will be living my life passing on my knowledge to all those who will feel the way that I feel now and by bandying phrases like "the mimesis of the material antecedents of perception" with other people in this field.

And this is what bothers me.

SoaP

2006-08-26T00:59:00.000+08:00

It's good, go watch it. It barely has a plot and is COMPLETELY predictable but just hearing Samuel L. Jackson say, "That's IT! I've had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!" is worth it.

I said I would't blog anymore...

2006-08-21T23:05:00.000+08:00

...but I decided to do a Tyra Banks (please refer to the most recent episode of America's Next Top model (I have descended to new lows)) to say HELLO I'M STILL HERE!!

I was deprived of attention when I was a little kid, you see.

My lessons aren't interesting me as much as they should be, starting off the semester with a lot of literary theory isn't the way I'd choose to get out of a 3-month stupor... it's like being in a coma for months on end and then getting out of it by tumbling right out of bed.

Not very pleasant.

Besides, I have been plagued by Very Important Questions such as:
- Why is it that when I have 3 months to read whatever I want, I choose to do so only when the semester starts (ie reading everything else than the required reading for lit modules)?
- Why is it that out of all the FS people, I only seem to bump into Guoyong in school?

I must be stupid because after years and years of lit training, I don't seem to understand that rhetorical questions are never meant to be answered, the result of that being, I spend time trying to think of answers to these Very Important Questions.

Can you see how much I'm trying to put off doing my reading? The next important thing I shall be pondering about for the next few days--and this is a question that begs a real answer--how am I going to scrape together the money to buy the very expensive Irish Poetry anthology I need for one my classes?

So many questions, not enough brain resources to answer any of them.

Oh well, I have an answer (courtesy of a placard that Shyuan gave to me, thanks girl) to a VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION which is

Why do I drink so much beer?

I'm sure a certain tattooed Canadian and a recent Life Sciences graduate major would agree.

Farewells are not forever

2006-08-17T22:39:00.000+08:00

I won't be updating this blog very much anymore. This is going to be a killer semester for me; my readings are piling faster than you can say bangkokchiangmaichiangrai, and it doesn't help that I'm fantasizing more about my trip up to N. Thailand in December than thinking about things that would have a greater impact on my future; like a possible thesis topic.

My interest in literature from around this region has been sparked, thanks in large part to FS... I will be crashing in on a hons/master's class by the SEA department on SEA literatures, so that should be really interesting. Perhaps I will have something substantial to say the next time Dr. Carl asks me how my literature background has aided me in FS.

Another thing... during Lit class today, it finally came to me why I don't have that many friends who are Lit majors when I heard the obligatory fake American/British accents by people who can't pull it off to save their lives... You Geog people are such a nice, down-to-earth unpretentious bunch. And the other people from the other departments and faculties I met on FS. Except for when the two JKs started doing some random physics calculations while on a long songtiaw ride one day... that was kinda freaky.

I'm just joking la, guys. (But only half)

Liam will be down in Singapore sans Chen Fye on the 22nd of August.

And he's just informed me that I'm scheduled for another interview. This Lit major is doing some major Geography FS PR.

Good luck to the rest of you, and sporadic updates to follow.

Stupid Denise

2006-08-07T15:46:00.000+08:00

So the crux of the matter is that I nearly screwed up my academic planning which saw me today frantically re-shuffling modules around, dropping one and adding two. Now that it's round 2 of bidding, it's actually not that easy to get the modules I want so cross your fingers for me. The really shitty thing is now I have school everyday of the week, and on Wednesday, my only class is an hour long tutorial. This is really shitty... and I suspect that more than half my life will be spent in school, mugging like crazy because not only do I have to contend with 4 lit modules (including some honours modules) and and a breadth, I also have to write thesis proposals in the second half of the semester.

Somebody shoot me now please.

Anyway, the modules I'll be taking (if I get them all) are:
Research Workshop (a how-to course on writing theses)
Contemporary Irish Poetry
Asia-Moderns
American Literature II
History and Theory of Western Architecture

I'm going to die!!

Keeping abreast

2006-08-06T00:25:00.000+08:00

To be honest, when I decided to go for FS, it wasn't for any prior interest in Thailand or Southeast Asia. In fact, my knowledge of the region was close to zilch, limited to the little that I learnt from history textbooks back in secondary school. And even back then, I was displaying highly Eurocentric tendencies... my tastes in literature were shaped by the traditional English canon and I had a love affair with European history which stemmed from an unhealthy obsession with Hitler and Lenin (another post for another time).

While my academic interests still remain largely similiar, I have since added another one to that palate--Southeast Asian history and culture, due in no part to my experience in FS in Thailand. What's great for me as well is the realisation that this new interest need not be one that is completely disparate from my existing interests but one that can be very complementary. For Lit, I hope to specialise in postmodernism and postcolonialism. This is something very close to my heart because we are all undeniably postcolonials, and that there is something about our former colonial past that has shaped our identities today. I am hoping to write something on Pramoedya Ananta Toer's The Buru Quartet for my thesis. Pramoedya is an Indonesian author who is deeply engaged with the issue of Indonesian identity in relation to Indonesia's colonial past (in a nutshell), as well as astute political observer and critic (who has stepped on Suharto's toes and whose works are banned in Indonesia for that reason).

Okay, I didn't mean to geek out on Lit again... my initial intention of writing this post was to just talk about my newfound enthusiasm for SEAsian literature, history and culture which has been in large part cultivated by the 6 weeks that I spent in Thailand with you guys. I have been devouring everything I read about Thailand in the Straits Times ever since I came back, as well as perusing the Bangkok Post and The Irrawaddy online. The Irradwaddy is actually a news magazine which "covers Burma and Southeast Asia" and from which Dr. Carl took some of the articles for us to read during FS. It is an excellent magazine with very well-written columns in addition to news about the region. I have added it to my list of links on the right. Just today, I came across this article which I have posted below which might be of interest to some of you on the issue of China building hydroelectric dams which would inevitably impact on the rest of the region. The phyiscal geographical details are completely lost on me, of course, but the social issues are of great interest to me. I've also decided that it would be great if my blog could also double up as a forum for discussing such issues, as I'm sure that some of you would also be interested in the same kind of issues as I am... treat it as a warm up exercise to the coming semester after nuaing for the past few weeks or so. :)

A Damming Indictment
By William Boot
August 2006

More than 30 dams planned across mainland Southeast Asia will bring electricity, population upheaval, food shortages and ecological destruction

Strange things are happening along the mighty Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, which sustains 60 million people on its 2,610-mile (4,200-km) journey from Tibet to the Vietnamese coast.

The river’s flow has begun fluctuating wildly as it courses through the borderlands of Thailand and Laos, washing away fertile farming land and scores of homes.

The cause is not global warming-induced weather change, nor glaciers melting in the Himalayas, but China’s steamrollering economic growth, say environment protection campaigners.

Chinese engineers are building eight hydroelectric dams along the Mekong in China, where it is called the Lancang, blasting away rocky rapids in order to tap the river’s energy for electricity generation and transport.

These alarming developments are just a small segment of a multibillion dollar region-wide effort to harness rivers, threatening to unleash enormous human and ecological problems which will far outweigh the benefits, say environmentalists. Tens of thousands of people—mostly ethnic minorities living in isolation—face forced displacement, and the ecological damage could be unprecedented, undermining food supplies.

Dams are planned or already under construction in southwest China, Laos and Burma.

China’s ethnically diverse Yunnan province, part of which is listed by UNESCO as a huge World Heritage Site for its ecological uniqueness, has the biggest potential in East Asia for hydroelectric power generation. Chinese scientists have calculated that the province could provide more than 25 percent of the country’s total hydropower. In addition to the Mekong projects, up to 13 more dams are on the drawing board in Yunnan, along the Salween, or Nu as it’s called by the Chinese.

Jeff Rutherford, an environmental politics researcher at Chiang Mai University, told The Irrawaddy: “Turning a natural river into a series of huge bathtubs is going to have a hideous impact on the ecological integrity of the Salween. Fish migration routes will be destroyed. Downstream, some of the last great teak forests on earth will be buried under water.”

China says its dams will benefit everyone, from the 43 million inhabitants of its Yunnan province, who presumably want to enjoy 21st century electric-powered comforts like their richer fellow citizens in Shanghai or Guangzhou, to the downstream Mekong dwellers who will be spared seasonal flooding.

Pianporn Deetes, a researcher with the Thailand-based Southeast Asia Rivers Network sees it differently.

“The Mekong has drastically changed. Velocity, sediment levels and, most acutely, water fluctuations have caused great ecological damage and deterioration,” says Pianporn. “The environment will affect the livelihoods of millions of people living downstream in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.”

Across much of mainland Southeast Asia and China, the need for energy to fuel economic growth is leading to a rash of hydro dams. More than 30 are planned or under construction in China, Laos and Burma. They will necessitate the uprooting of countless numbers of people.

These dams—which collectively could generate well over 100,000 megawatts, or enough electricity to power four countries the size of Thailand—are being built in countries where people cannot effectively object.

Thailand has solved the problem of effective public protest against unpopular dams by using its neighbors in Laos and Burma as proxies to supply hydroelectric power.

In China’s Yunnan province alone, 50,000 mostly ethnic Shan, Nu, Bai and Lisu face being evicted from their homes and land to make way for dam flood waters, estimates the US-based International Rivers Network campaign organization.

Rutherford says China has a dismal record on moving people to make way for dams. “There’s plenty of evidence of that. In the Nu river valley, an ethnic Nu village was relocated to make way for a small hydro project. They ended up with 10 percent of their original farmland and a cinder-block slum.

“Lacking wisdom and caution and any understanding of the workings of the natural world, hydropower is a tempting solution for China’s leaders. And big dams make a handful of people rich.”

But dams do not come cheap. A US $1.25 billion hydroelectric scheme now under construction in Laos is being controversially underwritten by the World Bank in its first support for such projects for several years. The Nam Theun 2 is the biggest foreign investment seen in Laos, but its main purpose is to supply more than 900 megawatts of power a year into Thailand’s electricity grid for 25 years from 2009.

Ninety percent of the 6 million population of Laos have no access to electricity. Nam Theun 2 will also provide an income of around $2 billion for the Lao regime, flood an area almost the size of Singapore and which is the habitat of two wild elephant herds, force the removal of 6,000 subsistence farmers, and disrupt fish stocks along the Theun river on which many more people depend for a living and for food.

The World Bank, which faced a chorus of objections before agreeing to back Nam Theun 2, says the land to be flooded in Laos is already degraded by logging. The income generated will benefit the people of Laos, the bank believes.

Vietnam has also turned to poor Laos to help fuel its rapid economic growth. Its biggest-ever overseas investment will be a $273 million hydroelectric dam in another part of the country. Details are scant.

The Thai energy ministry said Nam Theun 2 “will be a vital cog in the development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Power Grid, in particular the Greater Mekong Sub-Region, known as the GMS.”

There have been no similar justifications or details provided on the region’s newest hydroelectric dam development, a $1 billion 600-megawatt project at Hatgyi on the Salween river in Burma, also close to the border with Thailand.

The Hatgyi project, in Karen territory where the Burmese military have been violently evicting villagers and burning their homes, is shrouded in secrecy—as are plans to build another three or four dams also on the Salween inside Burma.

Hatgyi is the biggest single economic deal involving Burma, Thailand and China, whose state-controlled Sinohydro Corporation will be the main construction contractor. Again, Thailand will get most of the electricity generated.

China’s state-run media hailed the Hatgyi deal. The government-controlled Xinhua news agency quoted an official saying the project is “strategically important in terms of the development of regional economies, business ties and international relationships.”

That is not a view shared by Zao Noam, a Chiang Mai-based political ecologist, who told The Irrawaddy: “These dams are nothing more than another advanced stage of war by the Burmese dictatorship, only this time bringing Thai and Chinese governments into the war zone, and state authorities profiting immensely.

“The lack of information transparency has been a serious concern throughout the process in planning for the dams. All agreements among the Thais, Burmese and Chinese authorities have been done in secret, with direct clauses written into contracts not to disclose any information to outside parties. That is an act that directly goes against the Thai constitution.”

A Thailand-based coalition of environmental and human rights groups, Salween Watch, says there has been little scientific planning for the dams planned on the Burmese stretch of the Salween, which is Southeast Asia’s last major free-flowing river. For example, the height of the Hatgyi dam could exceed those further upstream penciled in to flood narrow steep-sided gorges. The other confirmed Burmese dam sites are at Dagwin, Weigyi and Tasang.

A spokesman for Salween Watch said aside from the human rights abuses at the heart of the dams’ development, the river’s fragile ecology will be damaged, especially in the delta region where it spills into the Andaman Sea. “It will have serious effects on the fertility of the flood plain. The delta area will start retreating. The mangrove forests will start retreating, with knock-on effects for fishing and especially the fish-spawning grounds. River fish stocks will also be damaged.”

If all the dams planned on the Salween in Burma go ahead, observers estimate that the investment could expand to an unprecedented $15 billion and generate more than 12,000 megawatts of electricity—the equivalent of almost half Thailand’s current annual power needs.

Few critics of the Burmese regime see these developments improving the flickering electricity supply within Burma, where much of the 50 million population still lives without a regular power supply because of inadequate generation and transmission infrastructure. The military and government-run businesses garner priority supply. However, the dams would financially sustain the regime, as does the export sale of another major natural resource, gas.

“What’s really cynical about these Burma dams is that they are being built in war zones,” says Salween Watch. “It’s almost as though that is an attractive point for the developers because they don’t have to pay people any compensation. The UN and Western countries eventually pay the cost—in refugee aid and resettlement.”

One estimate, by the Karenni Development Research Group, suggests that more than 30,000 people, mostly Karen, would be displaced by the dams and over 30 villages and small towns abandoned.

The main beneficiary of Burmese hydroelectric production would be Thailand, which is seeking to reduce its dependency on oil and gas.

“The involvement of the Burma army in any major development project will bring misery to the local people,” says Rutherford. “The bigger the project, the greater the misery. It is a great moral crime for Thailand and China to invest in the Burma dams.”

But if the proposed 13 dams go ahead on the Salween in China, the dams on the river in Burma could be stillborn for the simple reason that there may not be enough water flowing through to drive much more than a few windmills.

The so-called cascade system to build dams along the Chinese Salween in Yunnan aims to capture the river’s power as it tumbles through gorges set in one of the world’s last great undamaged areas of rich biodiversity. A large area of the terrain has only recently been designated a World Heritage Site.

UNESCO is so alarmed by the threat of the dams that it sent an investigation team to check in April this year. Despite assurances from the Beijing central government that plans are on hold pending a full environmental impact study, the investigators were dismayed by what they saw happening and issued a statement expressing “gravest concerns.” (See Eyewitness On The Salween).

The issue is so sensitive that a German journalist working for Die Zeit newspaper was arrested briefly in Yunnan last month and made to hand over to police notes he made while trying to interview people about the dams.

UNESCO’s citation designating the Yunnan heritage site says: “It is the area of richest biodiversity in China and may be the most biologically diverse temperate region on earth. As the last remaining stronghold for an extensive range of rare and endangered plants and animals, the site is of outstanding universal value.”

The UN body was meeting to discuss the dams issue towards the end of July, but few observers believe China will leave the region intact, whatever Beijing is saying now. China is desperate for energy to continue driving its huge economy forward. Central planners in Beijing are under pressure to reduce the country’s use of coal, which is polluting the air and land with unprecedented levels of sulfur dioxide, and is blamed by the World Health Organization for causing up to 400,000 premature deaths a year.

“Clean” hydroelectric dams offer Beijing a solution—at a huge social and environmental cost.

“The dams would displace 50,000 people, and indirectly affect the livelihoods of millions living downstream in China, Burma and Thailand,” said the International Rivers Network’s campaigns director Aviva Imhof.

Her estimate could be very conservative. Yunnan’s Resettlement and Development Bureau was quoted in the Kunming Evening Daily in May forecasting that “starting from this year Yunnan Province will have to move on average 40,000 people every year to pave the way for hydropower development” involving 33 dams up to 2020.

The financial cost alone of building dams is often unjustified by the return. Probe International, a Canada-based anti-dam campaign body, says China’s second-largest hydroelectric scheme, at Ertan in Sichuan province, which displaced 46,000 people, is losing $15 million a year selling electricity below cost and has had to be bailed out by the Bank of China to help repay $1 billion in World Bank loans.

Supporters of hydro dams say they bring economic development, jobs, better water supply, and renewable energy in a world of depleting oil and gas. But dams might not be so clean: scientists argue that the flooding of large areas of vegetation leads to huge quantities of carbon dioxide being generated into the atmosphere from decomposition—fueling global warming.

“If the dams are only used for electricity production, then the impact in terms of water volume downstream probably won’t be as great as its opponents fear,” concedes Jeff Rutherford. “But it is hard to believe that the Chinese will be willing to let all that water flow into Burma. We know that the Chinese have both the capacity and the myopia, like their American trendsetters, to wreak havoc upon great rivers.”

Rutherford says China is indulging in a “great plumber’s fantasy” of seeking to irrigate the country’s vast arid north with water from the west.

“If they realize the plan to divert water from the great rivers emerging from Tibet—the Brahmaputra, the Salween, the Mekong, as well as the Yangtze—then their downstream neighbors are in bad, bad trouble.”

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

2006-08-05T01:50:00.000+08:00

Liam and Chen Fye are gonna be Singapore later this month... I sense another gathering coming up. (And my sense is gonna be 100% correct cos I'm going to be the one organising it...)

Send me nice pictures of them (preferably in the same photo) so that I can blow it up and make another poster. Except that this is one is gonna read "HELLO CHEN FYE AND LIAM". Hellos are so much nicer than farewells, don't you think?

I await further news.

Also, Chinthaka and Shamraz will be back on the 10th of August... last I heard, at least.

And just in case you forgot who Liam and Chen Fye are...

Actually I didn't really think that you'd forgotten who they are... I just wanted a chance to put up goofy pictures of them.

Hello and uh...

2006-08-02T23:35:00.000+08:00

JK asked me earlier on today (or was it yesterday...) why I haven't been updating my blog. My intentions when I started this blog were that it was supposed to function as a repository for FS memories. I think I'm pretty much done with reminiscing about Thailand not because I don't miss it anymore, but I'm just kinda trying to get on with my life... you know, like how you would after a break-up.

To continue with this analogy, take comfort in the fact that at least Thailand is like a lover to whose bed you will always be welcome. It might be different with each successive visit, but maybe, just maybe, it could only get better.

Well since this was titled a POST-FS blog, I supposed I'm entitled to write about my life after FS, which, take it from me, you probably don't want to read about. I spend my days mulching around at home, sometimes by choice, sometimes by the direness of my monetary circumstances. I don't think I'll have anything to deposit into my Europe fund this month, it being the month of the inaugural Singapore Theatre Festival and of going back to school and buying new books. I will be watching two plays by two of my favourite local playwrights, Alfian Sa'at and Eleanor Wong, titled Homesick and A Campaign to Confer a Public Service Medal on JBJ respectively. They should be quite good, going by the track record of those two playwrights thus far.

On Fridays and Saturdays, I slog my ass off at a certain cafe in Siglap so that I will not have to resort to photocopying my texts at the school library next semester. Like most anal Lit majors, my texts need to be virginal, and free of any markings by the previous owner("Sloppy seconds ain't my style..."). I am not so anal about the books I read for leisure, however. In fact, nothing gives me greater pleasure than sifting through a ton of trashy novels at a second-hand book sale to pick out that one gem... I am only anal about lit texts because I don't like being influenced by stuff that other people have highlighted or annotated by the side.

If you read this far, you must be hella bored because that's as exciting as my life gets these days. I've been reading a lot, and I want to correct a common misconception that non-Lit majors shouldn't talk to me about books because they're not worthy. That's silly... and that misconception makes people afraid of picking up books that aren't on the top 10 bestseller fiction lists because they just think that they won't "get it". I don't get everything I read the first time I read it... I need a second or third read and this is something I only do with my Lit texts out of necessity. I am of the opinion that books teach you about life... yes, it is not the same as and comparatively inferior to real-life experience but you can't go out and experience everything, can you? You wouldn't ever know what it's like to be living under the apartheid in South Africa or what it's like to be a mafia drug lord. On some occasions, books have saved my life. Sometimes I feel like the only thing that prevents me from killing myself out of the boredom and absurdity of life sometimes is a good book that articulates that boredom and absurdity and turns it around to ask me, "Are you going to let life beat the crap out of you?"

I always invariably answer with a resounding, "Fuck, no."

I bet JK is already regretting that he ever asked me to update my blog. Once I start geeking out on my major, it's difficult to get me to shut up.

Anyway, just in case you're actually inspired to pick up something to read out of sheer boredom, and you want something that is a really awesome page-turner... look no further than Truman Capote's In Cold Blood which the movie Capote is supposed to be be based on. It's non-fiction written in a literary manner, where Capote basically tries to reconstruct a murder that took place in a small town in the United States, delving deep into the psychology of both victim and perpetrator of crime. I don't normally like crime novels, but I took to this one like a duck to water.

For a little more light-hearted entertainment... check out this video of contestant Ryan Star on Rock Star Supernova... I'm not above trashy reality TV... particularly when it has Tommy Lee as a judge (always secretly thought he was hot), and when I saw this amazing performance by Ryan Star tonight. Shit, any guy who looks that good, plays the piano and sings like an angel can front MY rockband...

On reality

2006-07-27T23:51:00.000+08:00

I will post some pictures of yesterday's gathering when I feel less lazy.

It's back to reality stuff for me, and I guess, for everyone else as well. I've been trying to plan my timetable for school next semester so that I'll get at least one day off. My timetable so far is pretty decent... my days start at 9am or 10am and end by three. I'll be taking

Research Workshop (a Lit hons module)
Women Novelists: 1750-1800
Contemporary Irish Poetry
History and Theory of Western Architecture (which sounds like the most artsy non-arts module there is on offer)

I also have to take one more breadth as I got a U for General Bio the last time around. Any suggestions? I can never get a nice, clean scoresheet. I kicked ass for my three Lit modules last sem; I got three A-minuses, but it was marred by that stupid Unsatisfactory grade for General Bio. Take it from me kids, General Bio is NOT FUN, and there is no way you can pass a module by attending zero lectures, and not flipping through the text until your open-book exam.

*

One of the really good things I got out of the FS trip is new-found motivation to do stuff with my life. Before the trip, I couldn't be arsed to think about my future... I'm the kind of person that ambles through life. I work hard in school, and my schoolwork is one of the few things I truly give a shit about because I love Literature, but my future also always seemed kind of bleak because there is a high chance I'll be stuck doing some dumb office job that I don't care about, where I won't see the end products of my labour. That really sucks. And I know where my talents lie, but for ethical reasons, I refuse to go into the industries where those talents (if I may even call it that) will be put to good use, like advertising or journalism. So what's left for me? I don't know. Like I said, the only thing I'm passionate about so far in my life in Literature... and to pursue the academic route will be a long, tiring and draining task, not to mention expensive. the long, tiring and draining part I can deal with, but not so much the expensive part, because I don't think it'd be possible for me to get a scholarship with my grades. My grades are decent, but not stellar. I guess my family can afford to send me overseas, but I wouldn't feel good about it all the same.

Still, I am toying with the idea of doing a Masters in Literature in the UK. It might not be that expensive since I'll be a full-time student and it would only take a year, but still, a lot of that decision hinges on whether I'll be able to get a TA job in NUS once I graduate with a Master's.

If I don't take the Master's route there is an endless stream of possibilities of what I can do with my life:

1. Travel first, work later. I'm starting to save up to get my ass to Europe for my graduation trip next year. I'll probably go to Eastern Europe because it's cheaper. Probably make a stopover in Germany and some parts of the UK to say hello to Bernard, Dominique and a couple of other friends studying there.

2. Work and Travel UK. This will be a 6-month stint, I think. Also, if I do opt for this, I'll get the chance to check out the English universities.

3. Get a certificate from the British Council to be a certified English teacher and then head off to Thailand to ~~whore~~ ~~hawk~~ put my skills to good use

4. Stay in Singapore and work in some shitty job I don't care for so that I can partially fund myself when I do decide to do my Master's.

Random music recommendation from me to you:
The Fray - Over My Head (Cable Car)

แม่สาย

2006-07-24T13:00:00.000+08:00

Hello Shammy,
I wonder how you're doing in Sri Lanka.

We'd already spent two long weeks in Mae Sai, that strange, strange town. A few days before our last night, we walked around the area near the border checkpoint, looking for pi pa gao because you said you had a sore throat and I had recommended it as a remedy (my knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) extends as far as pi pa gao). I recall seeing a TCM shop in the vicinity but in typical Denise fashion, I'd forgotten exactly where it was. We stepped into a shop run by Chinese selling an assortment of daily necessities (as did every other shop in Mae Sai), and I spluttered out what little Mandarin I could grasp at, asking where we could find pi pa gao. We walked on after receiving instructions from the nice Chinese man behind the counter, but as predicted, we couldn't find it because I couldn't figure out the exact directions he referred to.

In the end, we stopped at 7-11 for Strepsils, and you also bought some drink, because you wanted to fulfill your goal of trying every single new-fangled Thai drink they sold. I don't think you ever accomplished that.

*

Some days later was our last night in Mae Sai. Can you believe we spent two whole weeks there without wandering off the main road? That night, after an early dinner, we decided to explore the area. I was hungry, and that's why we left the Germans behind at Monkey Island. You were always so accomodating to my whims. I think it's because you're slightly whimsical yourself. Where did we eat? At the break fast place? I can't remember now. Maybe along the road side. But most likely at the break fast place. After that we wondered into the smaller streets off the main road. We walked for a long time, maybe about two hours or so, wandering up and down the streets. There was one long stretch of road along the back of Tai Thong Hotel... there were no less than 20 hairdressing shops there. Many of them had one or two customers in it even though it was already 7.30pm. I was contemplating cutting my hair, but I was worried about not getting my instructions across with a combination of my shitty Thai and hand gestures. So we continued walking. We chanced upon a clothes store that sold girls clothes. It looked like something out of Far East Plaza. And that's when I decided to buy the skirt that would arouse much astonishment during farewell dinner when I wore it. You thought I looked nice in it, but strange because like everyone else, you'd never seen me in a skirt before. I bought it after the usual amount of haggling and we walked on. Up and down the streets, crossing from one into another. We walked past A&P supermarket where Bernard and I had interviewed the owner with Chen Fye acting as translator about a week before. We walked for ages... you stopped by a provisions shop along the way to buy an assortment of stuff that you needed including razors and Birdy coffee. I needed cigarettes but they didn't sell Marlboro menthol lights as predicted. As we walked on further, the number of shops became fewer and fewer in number, and we saw a road that looked like the road that marked the start of Mae Sai... most likely where our song tiaws made its entry into the town when our whole FS group came for field site visits. You took a photo with me and the sign saying "Welcome to Mae Sai". Was it after that that we came upon a shop selling king's T-shirts and drinks and the owner who said that he came from Bangkok and talked to us for about 10 minutes or so? He cautioned us not to walk on further even though we wanted to because he said it wasn't safe, especially since I was female. He spoke the best English out of anyone else we'd thus far met in Mae Sai. He said we could meet danger in the form of Burmese military police if we chose to continue our sojourn. But he must have been mistaken, or we could have misunderstood him because there was no way Thailand would have allowed the Burmese military police into Thailand.

We turned around and made the long trek out after concluding the conversation with him (he was quite amazed that nak sueksaa from Singapore would choose to do a research project in Mae Sai. Also, he was selling Tesco detergent, remember?). It was time for supper so we stopped by the usual yu tiao and soyamilk place. I wanted a photo with the vendors but they were too shy, so we didn't get one in the end. The lady tending the shop had really pretty eyes, I remember that. And her daughter was laughing at me (or was it you?) one night because I was wearing my FS t-shirt.

We probably returned to Monkey Island to watch more World Cup matches after that... or it was most likely in Bamboo House.

I think if the World Cup wasn't on, we would have gone to the BM-Pub a lot more.

I am really grateful...

2006-07-20T12:38:00.000+08:00

...for the firm friends that I've made in FS.

Mambo@Zouk was really fun last night. We should make it a monthly affair! Or weekly til we know all the moves and can go to the podium without shame. hehe.

I hate farewells.

2006-07-20T04:07:00.000+08:00

The mambo was good.

(Does Kar Yan look hot or what?! Credit to Bon for the picture)

But the farewell wasn't. Farewells never are. Byebye, Dominique.

Whatever happens in FS, stays in FS, and that includes what happens post-FS. haha! I am being deliberately reticient about it. You may ask the relevant people about it though. But you never heard it from me.

We should go for mambo again.

On farewells

2006-07-18T23:58:00.000+08:00

I must say going to the airports 4 times in a month to send dear friends off is a record for me. Bernard, Dominique, Winston and a friend studying overseas who will be leaving in a few days. To me, such sending-offs are always bittersweet affairs; on the one hand, it's always sad to see them go and yet on the other, it's an affirmation of the bond and friendship between yourself and the person you're sending off.

I think I've told Bernard and Dominique that I sometimes wished I didn't choose to do my project with them... there's a world of difference between sending a Singaporean friend off whom you know you will see in half a year's time and between sending off a friend you don't know when you'll see again. Yeah, I know that there's this thing called technology which facilitates ease of communication between people around the world, but still. It's different, and to me, a poor substitute. If anything, I feel that technology has contributed to the impersonalisation of relationships but that's another post for another time.

I wonder how Bernard is doing. I think he's gone back to Leeds from Germany where he spent the past couple of weeks, and if I'm not wrong, he should be embarking on an internship with some company in England doing transport planning.

Oh well, on a happier note, there is the arrival of Shamraz and Chinthaka to look forward to. I don't know how it happened, but I somehow did my projects with all the non-Singaporean people in the group.

Oh, and Chinthaka will only be arriving in Singapore on the 3rd of August, instead of the 22nd of July as initially planned. He's busy doing stuff in Sri Lanka.

Farewell, Dominique

2006-07-18T14:27:00.000+08:00

I'm only putting this picture up as a testament to my wonderful artistic skills. I suffer for my art; my hand cramped halfway through squeezing the glitter out of the tube. Also, please note the colour scheme which was subtly done up in the colours of the Deutsch flag. And by the way, it's not yellow. It's gold. (Credits to Edina for the picture)

On field work in Bangkok

2006-07-18T14:03:00.000+08:00

I was grateful that I had really good project groups for both the Bangkok project and the Northern Thailand project.

This is Baiyoke Tower in Bangkok, where we did the most amount of fieldwork. Our project was on the African trade enclave in Pratunam, where Baiyoke Tower is. What we found out was that the African traders were essentially "prisoners of space", and that they haven't been able to move out of that particular area to trade in other areas because they have difficulty assimilating into Thai culture.

My Bangkok project groupmates and I during the farewell dinner at Rimkok Resort in Chiang Rai. L-R: Chang Yi, Jonathan, myself, Chinthaka and Cheryl. (Credits to Jonathan for this photo)

(I proceeded to get massively wasted at that particular dinner.)

Dominique's Farewell.

2006-07-18T13:41:00.000+08:00

Since I don't have any pictures of yesterday's gathering as yet (but you can find some at JK's blog), I will just talk about it.

Headed down to Golden Mile for an early dinner with Dom, Nora and Daniel before the gathering. I had krapow moo with a fried egg at a different eating place from my previous visit to Golden Mile, and it was a lot better. A lot more basil leaves, and for the same price as the previous place, you also get an egg (though Daniel and Nora insisted that paying $1 for the egg was a bit too much because they got it free in Chiang Mai). Accompanying our meal, we had Singha (of course) and Dom had Spy Red (haha). Spy Red is dubbed a "wine cooler" (I don't know wtf a "wine cooler" is though) and it's like Ribena that's alcoholic. I think you need to polish off 5 bottles first before you can feel the alcohol though, which is something that only Dominique can do because Singaporean tastebuds are not weaned on sugar.

Yesterday's turnout at Prickly Bush was admittedly small, but I suppose it was cozy that way. Yay for Winston who turned up. I distributed copies of the FS soundtrack (henceforth FSOST) which I spent two days burning, til my burner started screwing up on me. I will probably leave the rest of the copies with Songguang at the Geog department when term starts if the rest of you guys who want to pick it up. Liam insists that I need a cover for the OST as well, but since I am deficient in the designing department, I will gladly let someone else design it if they so wish.

So our original plan was to continue drinking in a room at a budget hotel, but suddenly, the "budget" hotels in Little India turned out to be not-so-budget at all and wanted to charge us over a $100 for the night, which was crazy. In the end, Chang Yi, Edina, Dom, JK and myself found ourselves walking past where JK stays at Veerasamy Road, where we parked ourselves at the first open space that we saw near some of the residential blocks. Between Dom, Edina and I, we had 4l of alcohol, which was crazy. I am proud to declare that we showed remarkable restraint and did not finish it all. We were all a little bit drunk by then, I think. With the exception of JK who doesn't drink. We sat there for over two hours just sipping drinks, eating chips and talking.

Dom will be flying off tomorrow at 3am. Before going to the airport to send him off, I will most likely be at Zouk for a little while with Xueying. You're welcome to join us.

Send me pictures...

2006-07-18T12:49:00.000+08:00

...of Dominique's farewell gathering. My camera died on me last night and I didn't take any.

Don't believe everything you read in the papers...

2006-07-17T14:17:00.000+08:00

...John Lennon is not dead. He's currently residing in Mae Sai.

Or not. But there was definitely this guy who looked exactly like him... from the hair, to the shades, to the purple fisherman pants, ethnic-printed top, and Akha bag.

You don't see authentic hippies like that anymore.

Too bad I don't have pictures as proof.

The Tachileik Edition

2006-07-17T02:20:00.000+08:00

According to Dr. Carl, it was a good thing that my group did field work in Tachileik. Other than collecting surveys and conducting interviews, it was really an eye-opener to delve deeper into Tachileik past the farang-ised markets close to the border, particularly since we had Sai Moon, our Burmese interpreter who could offer interesting tidbits about the place. What those tidbits are, I will have to refer to my field notebook to write about (but it has since mysteriously disappeared). What I offer are pictures, which might be interesting to you. Or not, I don't know. And maybe I will caption them another day, but I'm far too lazy tonight.

Denise is bored

2006-07-14T12:09:00.000+08:00

Taking requests for mixdics from my (if I may say so) rather extensive music collection... just state preferred genre or if you want me to surprise you.

Also, support local music! Go for Baybeats, a (FREE!) local music festival held at the Esplanade featuring a whole lineup of local and international bands. I'll be going on the last day, Sunday.

Note to self

2006-07-14T00:08:00.000+08:00

I have to stop writing in present tense.

The Thai Buddies Edition: Part II

2006-07-13T22:16:00.000+08:00

Hello Jake and Haq,
I only have two relatively clear pictures of the two of you. :)

Tom, Jake and Haq, thanks for the memories. Thanks for making the process of doing our project so enjoyable and for being so patient while we did what we had to do. We couldn't have done it without you.

Haq

Jake

Dominique's farewell aka FS Gathering 2, 17th July

2006-07-13T15:01:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone,
The time has come for Dominique's farewell cum FS Gathering 2. It will be taking place this coming Monday the 17th of July and it will be held at the same location, Prickly Bush on Dunlop St, Little India. Once again, it is the third lane on the right coming in from the main road. The party starts from 7.30 onwards. Please note that outside food will not be allowed.

Also, I have received feedback that midnight is far too early for the cessation of any party (when the PB closes) and I am inclined to agree. What I propose is that for those who wish to stay on, we can book a budget hotel nearby the Prickly Bush (should be less than $50 a night), so that we can store whatever bottles of alcohol we wish to bring along with us and continue making merry into the wee hours of the morning. The costs of the hotel may be split amongst those who wish to stay on past midnight. It wouldn't cost very much if there are quite a few of us who wish to stay on.

What do you guys think of this plan? Feedback much appreciated, and as soon as possible please, so that the appropriate arrangements may be made. Hope to see you guys there

Thanks!

Love,
Denise

Golden Mile

2006-07-12T23:29:00.000+08:00

One of the proven symptoms of post-Thailand hangover is that you take to hanging out at Golden Mile Complex, also known as Little Thailand. I met Chang Yi and Edina for lunch there today... I was craving krapow moo with a vengeance.

Like the truly dorky people we are, we wore our respective (what Bon would call) Thailand tourist uniforms... me in my BKK skyline-sketch T-shirt, Edina in her Singha singlet and Chang Yi in his yellow king's jersey.

Imagine our joy upon stepping inside and being greeted by a paraphernalia of Thai products we've come to know intimately and love... from Singha and Leo, to Clinic Shampoo, Birdy coffee (YES!!!), Vita Soyamilk in a bottle, Mekong whiskey...

After happily being filled up on rather authentic krapow moo and khao pad gai (which could have been better, according to Chang Yi) which cost us $4 each or 100 baht (the travesty!), we headed off to another shop and had... what else, Singha. $7 a bottle (ouch again), after which we took to walking around the complex where we bought Clinic shampoo, Thai music CDs, and Thai FHM.

Hopeless Thailand lovefools, we are.

Yeah I cut my hair.

Lady tending the shop was laughing at Edina when she ordered Singha as she was wearing a Singha shirt.

Singha makes you happy!

And so do hot Thai babes.

Clinic shampoo is pretty fucken good.

Clash is pretty good.
Two reasons why I bought it:
1. They have the same name as one of my existing favourite bands.
2. The lead singer is rather fetching.
But the music is pretty damn good too. You may check them out here.

2006-07-12T11:03:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone, a quick search on blogger with "Chiang Rai" turned up this wonderful blog http://doi-tung-chiang-rai.blogspot.com/, on aspects of Chiang Rai, written by a Thai (I think).

Our room in Monkey Island

2006-07-11T02:13:00.000+08:00

This is a picture of our room before our (Shamraz and I) combined messiness made walking through our room like going through an obstacle course; virtually a safety hazard. And am also putting up this picture to prove that there is really nowhere for me to hang stuff in the room, hence

"I need to get my underwear from Bernard's room."

(They have a cupboard in theirs)

What were you thinking?!!!

The view from Monkey Island

2006-07-11T01:45:00.000+08:00

Of all the rivers we've seen, this is probably the least impressive of them all, but the one I am most attached to, since it's the view I wake up to every morning, and the one we throw lychee seeds into. Hello, Menam Sai, also known as the physical boundary separating Myanmar and Thailand.

When you're in Mae Sai...

2006-07-11T01:38:00.000+08:00

...do what MaeSai-ans do, drink Yellow Surprise.

(BTW, am I the only one who thinks that it's a typo and should have been Yellow Sunrise instead? Either way, I guess it doesn't make sense.)

Traces of Singapore in Tachileik

2006-07-11T01:34:00.000+08:00

2006-07-11T01:29:00.000+08:00

Shammy says that our group wins the prize for "Coolest mode of transport to project site". I have to agree.

This is Tom

2006-07-10T17:00:00.000+08:00

He's gonna cut his own hiphop album one day, I can feel it in my bones.

Here's one for the Germans....

2006-07-09T06:05:00.000+08:00

...after their valiant and commendable third place win against Portugal. :)

I'm looking to put 10 bucks on France tonight, simply because it personally doesn't matter who wins tonight's game and I'm only sore that the damn Italians cheated their way into the finals.

Last night's third-placing match was a joy to watch... sure, no one will remember it in a couple of months, but I suspect that Schweinsteiger is going to have a brilliant career ahead of him for what he did. The first half was exciting enough, even though no goals were scored. I'm proud of the Germans for playing quite cleanly most of the time (except for you, Frings, tsktsk), and not resorting to bloody Cristiano Ronaldo's diving tactics.

Schweinsteiger's first goal was brilliant, and I'm waiting for the replays so that I can see his second (which I heard was almost like his first) as I was already falling asleep at the time.

Overall, Deutschland, you may not have won in the WC, nor even got into the finals, but I'd say, what with Schweinsteiger's brilliant showing, Klose being top scorer and Podolski being young Player of the Year, you have a lot to be proud of.

And more reflections

2006-07-07T22:56:00.000+08:00

Perhaps I might do better in the reflective sections of the grading processes of FS if there was a post-FS segment... I haven't felt so motivated to write so much in such a short span of time in quite awhile.

To me, one of the wonderful things about FS is how it has re-taught us the beauty of face-to-face human interaction in an increasingly technologised, impersonal world. I have learnt how to deal with the quirks and idiosyncracies of others around me; and for me, personally, the straightforward method appears to be the best. It doesn't mean that I necessarily have to be tactless, but I work best with the implicit assumption that others will not hold it against me should I choose to be straightforward about how I feel if something is not done in the most efficient or effective way possible and that they hold will hold no grudges against me if I voice my opinions in the most sensible way possible. So far, this has worked well.

Having said that, I know that there are times when my fuse runs a little short, and I start getting grouchy and irritable especially past 1am in the morning and we're still doing work. I apologise for the times that I've been snappish or irritable to anyone... I've never been good at working late into the night.

Shoutouts to all my project group members both in Bangkok and Mae Sai - Chinthaka, Chang Yi, Jonathan, Cheryl, Shamraz, Bernard and Dominique. You guys were awesome.

And a big hug to my roommates, Wenjie and Daniel.

And another one for those who took care of me when I got drunk during farewell dinner, heh.

Random music recommendations from me to you:
The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
The Clash - I Fought the Law
The Clash - Police on My Back
David Bowie - Waterloo Sunset
Poe - Angry Johnny

(Let me know if you want them)

Phenomenon you will never see in Singapore

2006-07-07T13:16:00.000+08:00

Funny how things turn out...

2006-07-07T10:16:00.000+08:00

This picture was taken in Bangkok, by a roadside drinking place. I didn't even have the slightest inkling who my Northern project group members would be yet, and yet here we were. I didn't know any of them at all. It was completely random, our first group photo.

Mad, mad craving for...

2006-07-06T19:52:00.000+08:00

...too-sweet-too-thick coffee from my usual roadside vendor in Mae Sai.

...4-baht fresh soyamilk, accompanied by yutiao, at 1-baht each. From another roadside stall in Mae Sai.

...huge-ass 80-baht American breakfast from the shop that my N. Thailand group members and I call "breakfast place" (because of the sign outside that states, very simply, "break fast") ... even though we go there for lunch and dinner quite often as well.

...minced pork omelette with rice.

...krapow gai/moo. pet pet.

...and of course, Singha beer.

What are you craving?

A moment of connection

2006-07-06T13:26:00.000+08:00

Wandering through the lovely messiness that is Chatuchak market in Bangkok on my own; I'd lost Wenjie and a few others even though we'd arrived together as I had to go to the toilet. I chanced upon a stall that sold an assortment of pirated "indie" things like Belle and Sebastian CDs. The guy manning the shop had dreadlocks in his hair and greeted me with a friendly smile as I stepped in. I wanted to stay a little bit longer but I had to look for the rest because knowing me, there was a high chance I wouldn't have been able to make my own way to Nana station; as it is, I was miserable because it was rainy and cold, and my orange fisherman pants was splashed with mud and dirt and I badly wanted to go back to Suk 11 to shower. Just before I stepped out of the store, I saw that the guy was reading something with a familiar cover; it was Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, although he was reading the Thai translation of it. Murakami is one of my favourite authors in recent times. It was the exact same book I was reading just after the exams and before I left for Thailand. It was a strange moment of unexpected connection (but what did I expect from the owner of a stall selling pirated Belle and Sebastian CDs?), and I exclaimed in delight that I'd just finished reading the same book. He smiled at my enthusiasm and said, "it's a good book". I wanted to stay and discuss it with him, but it would have been pointless, because of the language barrier.

It was strange. Someone with my taste in music, and my taste in literature, but from a completely different culture. I wanted to ask him what he thought about the book, but I didn't.

Later on, unsurprisingly, I couldn't find the shop again, when I wanted to go back.

Caption this, if you will

2006-07-06T00:19:00.000+08:00

On Germany crashing out of the semis

2006-07-05T05:49:00.000+08:00

Bernard and Dominique, I feel your pain.

:(

The match was so stressful, I finished all three cans of the Tiger Classic that Bernard gave me just before he left.

(Thanks and kudos to Xueying for the user icon!)

2006-07-04T23:07:00.000+08:00

You know what's great about the Field Studies trip being 6 weeks long? It allows you to create so many memories that there will always be one more to uncover. The one I just uncovered is of myself, Bon and Kar Yan having a 100 baht bowl of bird's nest by the roadside in Bangkok's Chinatown. And for some reason, I was feeling terribly, terribly homesick that night. It must be the depressive mood of that particular Chinatown... I don't know why, but that Chinatown is so much less lively than the other ones I've been to.

There was only one other night where I felt homesick, and that was when my project group mates and I spent the first night in Mae Sai. The absence of a significant nightlife in that town came as such a shock to me, particularly since I'd been spending the nights before in the constant company of many people and many beers.

Oh, I'm still looking for the contact details of Thai buddies, Haq, Jake and Tom. If anyone has them, please leave a comment!

Unrecorded and quoteworthy

2006-07-04T13:29:00.000+08:00

(Dominique walks into the room I am sharing with Shamraz in Mae Sai)

Dominique: Shammy, where is my stick? I want my stick back.
Shammy: I'm still using it.
Dominique: I want it back. Pull it out and give it to me.

(They mean USB stick. But you'd be forgiven for thinking something else.)

Farewell, Bernard

2006-07-04T13:21:00.000+08:00

On Field Studies (1)

2006-07-04T13:15:00.000+08:00

You know what the feeling of missing Field Studies is like?

It is remembering waking up to a huge mess on the floor where your backpack is and clothes half-strewn all over the place, spilling out of Ziplock bags. It is remembering sharing a 3-room pub-cum-guesthouse with only one toilet, and it reeking of piss because all your project mates and Thai buddies are guys and naturally, that’s the way toilets smell when all but one of the inhabitants are male and the toilet does not get washed regularly enough. It is remembering working in uncomfortably hot conditions, where hygiene becomes a matter of inconvenience even for the most hardcore hygiene freaks. It is remembering being ripped off by taxi drivers in Bangkok. It is remembering trying not to vomit on the song tiaw, as it is making its way up the narrow, winding roads of Mae Salong.

It is remembering how, after staying in one place for a week, you become a familiar sight to the other residents and stall vendors of the street, and you wave to them like old friends as you walk past. It is remembering the smile of familiarity from the roadside coffee seller when you get your morning caffeine fix. It is remembering making your requests known through a combination of your poor command of Thai and hand gestures. It is remembering riding pillion without a helmet, amongst other unconventional modes of transport, like sitting on the back of a lorry, with the sun on your face, wind in your hair, mountains in the distance (all the while thinking to yourself, I will never experience something like that again, and relishing every moment of it). It is remembering how you got over your fear of deep water when you swam across a lake with a friend next to you all the way making sure you don’t drown.

It is remembering making friends with people, regardless of age, and language barriers. And remembering the amazing camaraderie shared with the rest of your Field Studies mates and Thai buddies. And how you never had so much fun before, just enjoying a few Singhas with a bunch of people who took turns strumming a guitar, and everyone just singing along.

And when the rush is over, even though memories and photographs are the only things you take away with you, they’ll be among the best ones you’ll have in your life.