Su’s parents were second or third generation Indonesian Chinese. They were high school classmates in a famous school in Jakarta and both came from well to do families. In 1951, they responded to calls from the Motherland to return to China to build up the country. They were then 19. They went to universities in…
I did not tell many people I was visiting DPRK before the trip, partly because I had been traveling and partly because I don’t want to make it an issue. I have always tried to keep an open mind on many issues and am mindful that conventional and populist views may not necessarily reflect the…
DPRK is often described as a secretive country that is not open to the outside world, let alone tourists; is hostile to the West, in particular to imperialist America; is poor and where the people have insufficient food and are dying from hunger; and so on. In practice, a lot of what have been and…
Where do I begin, to talk to you about a country on which most people in Hong Kong and in the West have very little to no firsthand information? Partly because of this and partly because a friend dared me to join him for a one-week trip, I took up the challenge, packed a suitcase,…
I mentioned in previous parts in this series that we cut short our trekking in the mountains by one and a half days by hiring a jeep to take us to Pokhara. One of the reasons was that we found out from fellow trekkers that Nepal would celebrate Holi in a big way on 12…
The morning after my last birthday, Facebook told me that they counted 118 birthday messages through their system and made me a short video which I uploaded by reflex, attracting a few laughs I guess. I received additional greetings through emails, WhatsApp, Messengers and Messages – some were repetitive though and some came in after…
I went to the Elderly Clinic for my annual health check yesterday. This is a Department of Health programme for citizens over 65. One pays $110 for a general checkup, which includes ECG, BMI, blood pressure, blood tests, cardio vascular checks, lung, eyesight, hearing and mental health checks, which is good value. The staff there…
Fourteen years ago this week, I stopped holding down the only full time job I had ever had; or in short I retired officially. A lot happened that week which also happened to be the beginning of SARS. I recall a friend coming to my retirement party at Pacific Place donning a face mask; and…
Su and I were the first visitors when he was born. He slept quietly and contentedly by his mother, and I think he had a smile on his small face even on his first day. His mother was brave enough to let us hold him, which we did, and I believe we had some pictures…
Once again, I felt a sudden surge of colours around me as soon as the nurse removed the bandages over the right eye: the images were clearer and the colours a lot faster. My ophthalmologist friend’s first remark was, “Now the sky is all clear?” I looked outside: it was heavily overcast with a thunderstorm…
