Category: My Good Life

 After traveling gazillions of miles across the ocean just to see her, Cynthia did not even realize that I have a “new haircut”! Umph! I protested, and her immediately reply was: it is not a “new” haircut, just a haircut. She reminded me that I have the same hairdresser for the last 10 years and have only changed my hairstyle once. OK, Cynthia might have been preoccupied with the board presentation early next morning … but still …

By the time Cynthia handed me the one million rupiah as pocket money to spend during my stay in Indonesia, I have totally forgotten my new haircut.

After reading that the SeaWorld at Ancol is larger than Singapore’s Underwater World, I wanted to pay SeaWorld a visit. I LOVE seeing fishes, or anything that moves underwater. Whenever I pass by a fish tank – be it as the one that belongs to the restaurant or at the fish market – I would stop and admire those sea creatures. If I was able to swim in midair like what the fish does in water, I would not have the need to take the lift anymore. In fact, if we all had the memory duration of a goldfish (10 seconds I heard), we would not have remembered that the Arwana in front has already eaten our fathers, and our mothers, and our friends, and our neighbors.

World peace cannot be simpler than this.

I tried to take pictures of the sharks but they swam too fast. I tried to take micro shots of some really weird looking tiny sea creatures too. I love the SeaWorld. I don’t think it is that much bigger than the Singapore version. In fact, both look very similar though I think the aquarium in Singapore is more densely populated. I was lost inside the SeaWorld. It is so beautiful. And I think I have lost Felicia there too wondering why a grown up man is so fascinated with … fishes. Not just fishes, there is a Duyung too!

It is an understatement to say that, in return, Felicia has lost me inside two of the malls near Ancol – Mal Mangga Dua and Mangga Dua ITC. I actually had quite a tough time trying to recall how to pronounce “ITC” in Bahasa Indonesia so that the taxi driver would know – with clarity – where we wished to head to. Mal Mangga Dua is huge, mostly packed with IT goods (so many pirated software and videos!). The bridge that connects the two malls has two levels of shopping area. And ITC is just purely humungous. We could hardly see the other end of the mall. We could hardly breathe inside the mall. ITC mostly sells very affordable clothes and shoes that follow closely with fashion. If you were to ask me, I would say fashion is to the eyes of the beholder.

I have had language lessons in Jakarta before but that was long time ago. OK, I didn’t do too badly today, I think. We seemed to be able to understand the price of the goods most of the time, bargain for a better price, ask for different sizes and colors, and shuttle around town without getting lost. Of course I still got things mixed up. Like one time, I thought the dress only cost Rp 20,000 but in fact, the asking price as Rp 200,000. No wonder they kept saying that the price was negotiable and seemed curious why I was not shocked by their initial offer. I greeted people with “selamat siang” and then when I heard them saying “sore”, I suddenly remembered that “siang” is for early afternoon while “sore” is for late afternoon. I kept thinking that “kereta” means car but in fact, “kereta” is Malay and for Bahasa Indonesia, it should be “mobil”. No wonder the taxi driver was a bit lost when I tried to make small talks with him. Throughout the day I was trying to recall how to say “person” in Bahasa Indonesia. And in the late evening, the word “orang” sprang out of nowhere. I thought my pronunciation of the word toilet was near perfect (the fallacy of pride) and when I told Cynthia that people didn’t understand what I said, she immediately bursted out in laughter saying that it should be “kamar kecil” and not “kamakaci” as I have so perfectly pronounced.

The beauty of a foreign language.

Tomorrow, it will be Mark and Cynthia’s off day and we will be heading to the beautiful city called Bandung. Stay tuned.

When my dad retired 6 years ago, my sister Lora bought him a dog. I don’t get to see him often here in Hong Kong, neither do I keep one in Singapore. The things that my dog does never cease to surprise me. He is able to fetch slippers for each individual family members when we return home. When my sister fell asleep at night by the sofa while waiting for the water to be heated, my dog would wake her up gently with his paws. If any of us stay out late, my dog waits at the door. He opens the kitchen gate for my mother when my mother takes the dishes back to the kitchen after the meal. He seems to be able to comprehend phone conversation (my sister just called home from Singapore and he dashed to the door thinking that my sister was at the door). When he learns that my mother may travel to Singapore to visit me over the phone, he gets depressed. When he knows that he is in deep trouble (such as dashing out of the apartment in a spur of the moment when the door is opened or destroying toilet rolls while nobody is at home), he would hide underneath the sofa or dining table and keep quiet … and many more. I know dogs are men’s best friends. But I would not have imagined that dogs can be that intelligent.

There is one thing I do know about my dog is that every time when one or all of us leave home, he barks and screams as though we are leaving him for good and he even goes to the extend of blocking the doorway hoping that none of us would leave the apartment. At times he cries when he sees us dragging the luggage out of the apartment. Before my sister left home for the airport just days ago, she was taking pictures of my dog and towards the end of the photo session, he knew that my sister was leaving soon and he went depressed. At first, I wonder why such a big fuss when someone is leaving the apartment? Then I think, perhaps he is unsure of when we will come back. For instance, my dog will not know that I am leaving for good tomorrow (or later today) and only to come back next year, maybe. If the saying of one man year equals to seven dog years is true, my dog will only see me after seven dog years.

That triggers me to look back at all my friends and acquaintances whom I have now lost contact with or whom have left due to the frailty of life, there exists a time when we say the last goodbye. It is melancholy in a way as at that very moment when we casually say goodbye, we wouldn’t have known that that was the last time we say goodbye. Perhaps each time we say goodbye can potentially be the last time we see each other. Sometimes we knew that we probably won’t see each other but we have this hope that our paths will cross again.  What I learn from my dog is perhaps some goodbyes are more significant than others and we may not aware of that at those moments of biding farewells.

It is hard not to feel that way when my dog does that to me every time I leave home.  One thing for sure, I am going to miss him when I fly back to Singapore on the New Year Eve.

Now that our holiday trip in Hong Kong is coming to an end, I can’t help but to ponder what I miss about Singapore and will miss about Hong Kong most.

Hong Kong has a certain charm. After all, it is my birth town and my parents are pretty much rooted here. I would like to think that I am a local in Hong Kong but I am not. In fact, over dinner at my friends’ place, I conclude that I am not a local in any city or country but rather a world citizen who has a broad sense of what different cultures offer, not necessarily has the in-depth knowledge of the location itself.

Anyway, 5 things I miss most about Singapore are …

1. My friends … you, you, and you of course. I miss all the lunch and dinner and movie dates … and
2. Free SMS. In HK, they charge quite a fair bit per SMS sent and received for mine is a Singapore number. I think I am addicted to SMS. I think all Singaporeans are addicted to SMS.
3. My bed, especially when I am having only half a single bed here in Hong Kong.
4. Strange to say, Wireless@SG. I have never realized how great Wireless@SG is till I visit Hong Kong. In Singapore, Wi-fi is free in all popular locations and malls. In Hong Kong, you have got to pay for any Wi-fi connection. It is not that expensive (one operator offers S$8 for a 3 day pass) but still, nothing beats free of charge Wi-fi connection. I hope SingTel or any telco operators will continue this free of charge service in time to come.
5. The warm weather … it is like this: we always complain about the heat in Singapore and when we are out there in a winter country, we miss the warmth of the typical country.
6. Edit … my pair of glasses. Relying on my pair of contact lens throughout the day is certainly not cool.
7. Edit … okay, I miss my home studio.  In especially my guitars and my songs.
8. Edit … Gosh, new ideas keep popping out of my head … I miss Singapore’s smoke free pubs and clubs and anything indoor.

And how about what I will miss most about Hong Kong?

1. My parents … and my friends. It is not the quantity, but quality.
2. My family’s dog. He is the most lovable creature on Earth. It is hard not to fall in love with him. I never know that dogs can be that intelligent and full of energy. The fact that they demand attention all the time can be overwhelming. But I like the loyalty of dogs … human beings’ best friends on Earth.
3. The food … Hong Kong food is just so yummy!
4. The convenience … everything that I need is just a stone throw away. And the transport system is so efficient. I don’t miss my car at all. There are elevated and sheltered walkway that pedestrians can commute from one district to another without having to go through the traffic lights on the ground. Neat! Singapore could use more sheltered walkway, especially when it rains so often throughout the year.
5. The nature and the parks. In Hong Kong, there are plenty opportunities to have a brief getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. Hiking is a popular hobby in Hong Kong.
6. Edit … I forgot to mention that I will miss the no GST shopping in Hong Kong.  Imagine, everything you buy is an immediate 7% discount!  Think of that LV bag!  Or that Rolex watch!  Or something as trivial as the shaver that I have always wanted to get.
7. Edit … The home cooked food!  D’oh!

I think I ought to visit Hong Kong more often.  And if I get bored of Hong Kong, there is always Macau!

PS. My dad and my family’s dog in the picture.

I need more RAM for my brain. Many friends of mine think that I have lots of friends in Hong Kong but the fact is, before I left the place at the age of 17, I lived my life more or less like a hermit. This morning, I was just going through the list in my head to see who I shall call up to catch up. Out of nowhere, my Thai friend Ja texted me with a Merry Christmas message. I almost banged my head onto the table … (that would have been too dramatic at the dining table in front of a bunch of my parents’ friends over late breakfast).

Back in year 2000, Ja and I and a bunch of friends (then-colleagues) were having a smashing time working at Mauritius. Ja and I kept in touch and she flew into Singapore for business often. Believe or not, I was amongst her first batch of friends who … *evil grin* … interviewed her then-new boyfriend John (now husband). John is a great guy and I attended their wedding at Bangkok with Cynthia and our Filipino friend Barbara (who was also one of the “interviewer” … ha ha ha … so evil). Of course, need not to say, Barbara and I gave John a 5-star rating.

I almost banged my head onto the table this morning because for the last 5 years, John and Ja have been working in my birthtown.  How could I have missed that?! Not only that, their first baby is due in less than 2 weeks! Within half an hour after receiving Ja’s text message, Cynthia and I were at their doorsteps. And we headed to Stanley for lunch. I have not handled a manual SLR camera for donkey years. John surely has some exquisite hobbies.

Gosh, can you guys believe it? Another little one is going to call me uncle soon! I suddenly feel so …

Let’s not get there. The picture on the right is taken from John and Ja’s apartment in Hong Kong. Nice ya?

Last night Cynthia issued a rare non-negotiation order to take her to the Cathedral for a morning Christmas Mass. Going to church is something I feel lazy to do especially when it is yet another night of less than 6 hours of sleep. However, it is also something I feel good after I have received my dosage of holiness that lasts … perhaps till the next time I do something terribly wrong. Then the cycle starts again, and again. Okay, I confess that I should have a regular dosage, something for me to work on in 2008.

I often wonder why the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Singapore is nowhere near to the Hong Kong Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Cathedral in Hong Kong is immaculately decorated, the choir is beautiful, and the sound system is good. I have not heard any choir better than the one in Hong Kong (the Cathedral in Bangkok comes second in my favorite list). Over the years, the choir director and conductor stay the same and they have trained groups and groups of choir members and organists to deliver a performance that I think is as close to the sound of Heaven as we can get. Hymns are supposed to sound like that, in my humble opinion, in order to inspire. I think the vast difference between these two Cathedrals comes down to the location. The Cathedral in Hong Kong is located in an affluent area (mid-level to the peak) and around the Cathedral were surrounded by the Catholic schools (now only one left I think – the one I came from). That could explain the funding as well as the growth and sustainability of the community. Another difference that bothers me much is that in Hong Kong, people are allowed to dip the “host” into the wine during the Communion (hence, the body and blood of Christ) while in Singapore, the celebrant drinks the wine on behalf of all of us. Why is it so? Again, I don’t know.  I am a strong believer in sharing … erm …

Mass, and hymns, and beautiful voices aside, what does Christmas mean to people these days besides just another public holiday, gift exchange, and more reasons to shop? I don’t really know. Inside the Cathedral, I observe that many people were not active participants in the sense that we should all sing hymns together and we should all response during the prayers. Quite a number of them kept quiet throughout the Mass celebration and mechanically stand, sit, and knee as the Mass proceeded. Do they actually believe in what they are doing? Or are they doing what the tradition dictates? I also don’t know. Perhaps all of us should have a refresher course on the meaning behind the Mass once in a while.

Anyway, pardon the question marks in my head, I wish you all a Merry and Blessed Christmas. And for the faithful ones, let’s ponder why Christmas is indeed “merry” and “blessed”.

PS. Picture taken at The Venetian, Macau.