Anyone interested in touring Tibet?

Am helping out a fren based in China. He was actually my tour guide for my Xiamen trip, who has now become a friend. He has plans venturing into Tibet so am helping him spread the news.

I have the itineraries with me – 6D/7D/8D for 2 or 4 to travel. Places to visit include 拉萨 (capital of TAR), 羊八井 (geothermal belt of Tibet), 日喀则, 林芝...plus one can choose to arrive Tibet by plane or train. Not only one can customize the traveling route but we will also be skipping the middleman (which translates to cost-saving!) Good rite?

As for the best-time-to-visit-period, seems that people are suggesting different times – my fren here says Mar-Apr is good (one can get to see snow), the previous guide from my Tibet trip suggested May or Sept, another fren suggested July…*scratch head* anyways, I think one just needs to avoid Oct-Feb period.

So come lah, come visit the place and u will know why I am so smitten by it (click here to view pixs). Contact me directly or drop me an email if interested and I can help u link up :) help me pass the word around to your friends too – thanks thanks!

久病床前無孝子

…that’s what the Taiwan consumers are saying (am working on a project involving senior citizens). How aptly put. Though I am still far away from the senior age bracket, this is something that I am wary of.

Our common fear: fall sick and become a burden to others. As much as we say we want to ensure our healthiness and make sure we don’t fall ill in the most miserable way, we can’t run away from the fact that we indeed need someone to care for us in our later years. Or even just to check on us (to make sure we are still alive and kicking, not ‘departed’ without anyone knowing).

Recall the story reported in the papers sometime back - an elderly Chinese couple who puts up a ‘recruitment ad’ for a daughter? They are looking for a “daughter” who can look after them, despite them having a real daughter living in the States (can’t remember the exact details). It’s depressing…but that’s the reality. No matter how filial a child is to a parent, there’s a threshold of so much one can take. It’s a good thing that some organizations are creating awareness about supporting the caregivers currently. Likewise, being part of the aging population myself in future, I also see that it’s my responsibility to embrace the fact that I will need to rely on people somehow in my later years.

Saying this reminds me of Tuesdays with Morris (one of the books I would recommend if one wants to understand about living and humility) – learn to let go and be humble.

Night sky and I

Finally, the sky has cleared up. At least for now. It’s a cloudless night and the stars are being unveiled again. The woodpecker in my backyard is at work as well. I love the night sky. I like its vastness, its darkness…and of course the stars. No matter where I am – in my home front yard, from the hotel window in Sapa, or in Tibet, or on the streets in Prague – I always feel the same closeness toward the night sky. It’s like “I’m home” (No, I am not talking about ET)...it's about being part of this world, being part of this universe. And we are all in it cuz we share the same sky.

Afternoon tea

Ever since I returned from Xiamen, I have developed a habit of drinking Chinese tea every weekend afternoons with my family. Perhaps it’s the novelty of using my newly-bought teapot – it serves as a teapot, strainer and serving jug.

So easy to use – put an appropriate amount of tea leaves into the inner compartment, add hot water to it and cover. Allow it to seep for a while and then press the top button (that controls the water-stop ball) to let the tea (filtered automatically) flow into the serving jug. Tea is now ready to be served…it’s that simple!

You have no idea how impressed I was with this Chinese tea-maker that I searched high and low for it. You know la in China, the same thing can be sold at different prices in different places, and I wanted to make sure I got a good buy. Haa…which I think I did (I hope!), mine cost me S$5, while some stores sell it at S$40 ;)

Well, it’s brewing-time now...feels especially cozy drinking hot tea during rainy days...

静静的...

聆听这首歌...庾澄庆《静静的》

I rarely listen to radio stations these days…only receive my entertainment dosage from the papers. Thanks to a fren who recently recommended me this song :) Am not sure how popular this song is or how out-dated I am. Hee…but I am drawn to its simplicity.

Simple lyrics, simple tune…nothing fanciful…it simply creeps into my heart quietly.

《静静的》
作词:林唯 作曲:梁介洋 编曲:陈飞午

空气里躲着什么
有点浪漫的心动
我偷偷看你
你也偷偷看我
世界上多了什么
好像变得很不同
站在你身边
这一切都好宽阔

我还在等着你
静静的爱我
只要有你陪我
静静的就足够
你也在等着我
静静的温柔
就这样手牵手
静静的看着天空

心里面藏着什么
你只想要让我懂
原来我的梦
也就是你的梦
哦
纸条上写了什么
我好想要听你说
让字字句句
充满我们的笑容

永远要记得那天彼此许下的承诺
瞬间点亮的火花
是我们的拥有

静静的手牵手
是最简单的梦

Creating self-awareness – is it possible?

I remember Miew, Bak Chew and I had discussions on self-awareness on separate occasions. Could be due to our nature of work or certain similar traits in us that we often find this topic intriguing. This topic surfaces again in my mind when I was traveling with my young cousin. Is it nature or nurture that one has a high degree of self-awareness? Can it be cultivated? Does it take place unconsciously, sub-consciously or consciously?

My stand so far has always been that it’s a nature-nurture interplay. Perhaps a child is born with the predisposition and with the optimal environment + parenting style, the child grows up with a good sense of self-awareness (notice that I am not using ‘best’ or ‘good’ to define the environment. Personally, I feel that it depends on the ‘fit’ between the person and environment).

I have been toying with this idea recently. If I like my child to grow up to be a considerate person, someone with high self-awareness, understanding that one’s actions may have implications on self and on others in later stage (the notion of karma/karma-phala), how do I go about with it?

To back-track a little (and to set the context as well), in my generation, parents do not ask us for feedback, do not give us options. We were told to do this or that; take it or leave it. Authoritative style. Looking at the parents now, they like to ask kids for their opinions, give them options – what would you like to have today for lunch? Where do you want to go? Which one do you prefer? Etc. Hence the child learns that they have a say, they can make a choice à which in turn cultivates their sense of individuality. And they know very well how they feel when they get their way vs. when they cannot have what they want ;)

No doubt we want our children to grow up to be independent and with a strong sense of self, but I wouldn’t want to see them grow up to be some egocentric, self-centered adults. So how do I then extend this sense of individuality to encompass a wider scope, i.e., to be more self-aware, more sensitive to others?

Maybe having the child to interact with people might foster the sense of self-awareness – BUT not with family or friends wherein the child is familiar with. It’s interaction with strangers. Exposing the child to strangers (particularly needy people), lending a helping hand…directing the child’s attention away from self and shifting to others. Instead of answering questions pertaining to self wants/needs, it’d be asking questions to others’ wants/needs so that the child would learn to be more aware of their surroundings and conscious of their actions. This could be one of the ways in honing one’s self-awareness.

Uh...well, I am not a parent yet so I can’t really know this (something that parents and Piaget/Kohlberg’s followers might be interested in). But it does make sense to me. What do you think?

Welcome...

…to my new BLOG space. Will be using this space to blog my thoughts, things I see and experience. Once again, feel free to drop by and give comments if you like :) Ah yes, friends who like to comment but not able to do so previously at multiply (as you need to sign up) can do so now easily.

Shall play with the html template and see if I can make this space more personalized and easier to navigate =)