团体行程结束之时

This was neither exactly a full work trip for me, nor a leisure trip. It's somewhere in between. My presence was needed to increase the group luggage allowance and as an extra pair of hands. And in the event that we need to verbally spar with humans, I could probably argue fluently in the language like a local till my face turns purple. :P

I don't have any useful contributions to their music or the intricacies of organizing the shows, or help out with equipment/technical needs. I could make comfortable arrangements to feed the friends, fetch them around via Uber or private hires, and translate/interpret for them, et cetera. You can generically term this job, a 'minder'. Very different from what a band's tour manager does, and said manager would clearly be kept crazy busy on a tour. I might well be the least stressed person on this trip.

The biggest reason why I can travel with this group in these circumstances is because we've all got a job to do. When a trip isn't purely a leisure trip, it's never about us, and it's always about end goals. Mainly because most of the group know how OCD I am, and on trips of this nature, it's perfect because I can be OCD for all I want, freeing them up to pay attention to what's most important- getting their music right. Those who aren't familiar with my OCD-ness probably got a rude shock. Hahahahah! #SorryNotSorry

For the friends, it's their first proper visit to the country; day trips to Macau, Guangdong, Shenzhen aren't counted. The friends gained so many fresh insights about playing gigs in China and how its crew and backline at the venues might actually be stronger and better than what Singapore venues offer. They definitely had a full introduction to the food and different types of accommodation and learnt what they can deal with and how to go about doing that. We came across rude pricks, the nice humans, the weird ones and the fab ones. I say 'they' because I'm already China-trained. Hahahahah! All in all, it has been a good trip to Shenzhen and Shanghai. No one fell ill or had any injury or horrid experiences. Even as I type out this post, Super Typhoon Megi has hit Taiwan bad and is headed towards Guangdong and Fujian provinces; the region's third typhoon in two weeks. And I think Tropical Storm Chaba is...becoming a typhoon by the weekend. Haizzz. Thank God for journey mercies.

Here's a gratuitous shot of the accessories that followed me on the trip. Minimal. 

上海人家 :: 浦东

We had the full spectrum of fantastic meals, good ones, average deals, and crap meals chockful of MSG that we rather not remember. But there was this dinner that turned out surprisingly okay because the kitchen acceded to our request of 'no MSG' (they put fewer spoonfuls) and 'less oil'. The dishes tasted okay and were pretty edible. Serving up Shanghai dishes, 上海人家 (Shanghai Ren Jia) is a big standalone restaurant (in an odd familiar style of a neoclassical Palladian two-storey bungalow) in Pudong near Waigaoqiao frequented by the locals and virtually no tourists, except us.

Clearly there weren't any non-smoking rules in the restaurant. We were assaulted by a curtain of cigarette smoke upon entering. The restaurant was full that evening with lots of huge family dinners dotting the halls and private rooms. The adults certainly didn't care about the babies and children being passive smokers. While we had a private alcove of sorts, it certainly didn't deter smoke from drifting over. Luckily we went late and many people were done with their dinner and were streaming out. So the amount of carcinogens in the air diminished over the next 30 minutes.

The simple omelette was done well. It really went low on oil and NO MSG. Hurrah!!! The pieces of tofu were impressive- they were blessedly bland. OMG. It's so difficult to find bland Chinese food in this area!!! The two items that had a zillion spoonfuls of MSG that they couldn't do anything about were the mustard greens that sat in chicken or pork stock and the scallion noodles. Tsk! I'll never understand this fascination with MSG in commercial Chinese kitchens. Totally must chant the mantra strongly, “不要味精、少油、少盐、不加糖、请别放味精。”

Had fun watching a large family line up at the staircase for a family photo. We were joking about crashing that and photo-bombing them. But we didn't do it. Imagine our howls of laughter when we realized another group of foreigners (dunno if they're tourists too) did it!!! They were leaving the restaurant but the staircase was blocked, so they waited. One dude simply went down the stairs and placed himself in the photo next to the most elderly couple, presumably the patriarch and the matriarch. WIN! And the family didn't object! They graciously posed for a few more shots with the foreigner. Too funny.

滴滴出行 :: Uber China

[As of November 2016, after Uber's update, we can't seem to use Uber China anymore without a local credit or debit card. Maybe it'll allow foreign cards in future.]

Uber now seems to only work for me when I'm not using it in Singapore. The irony. My luck with its Singapore drivers is incredibly poor. Imagine three out of six drivers not knowing where the pick-up/drop-off point is at Orchard ION mall with a specific line of 'just before the taxi stand', and not understanding 'Esplanade cab stand in front of Toast Box facing Marina Square'.

When I last visited Beijing and Shanghai, there weren't any Uber-equivalents. The booking system for taxis isn't even reliable. What a difference three years makes. Uber China is now effectively Didi Chuxing (滴滴出行), retaining the Uber logo, app interface and user database. While the entire group initially had issues with their Uber app and verification codes even on their normal Singapore cellphone numbers, I oddly have no problems with mine or the credit card assigned to it. Merrily used Uber from the first day in Shenzhen.

We're usually out gallivanting in a group of six to eight. Wherever and whenever possible, I grab an Uber-XL or Uber-Black to fit us all. Definitely had to do that for Shenzhen because mine was the only working app. And if necessary, I'll take the rest in a cab. In Shanghai, when the friends finally resolved app verification issues, then we were more independent. Uber-XL can be tough to hail because of the distance we're traveling. We can get two cars ('People's Uber', they call it); all I have to do is to type out the addresses in Chinese and send it to the friends to copy and paste. Heh. Hanyu pinyin doesn't quite work.

(Luckily I didn't run into this sort of ghost drivers. What the crap.)

I generally refuse to drop pin for pick-ups. I key-in the addresses, followed by an SMS if necessary, and I do the same in China. I'm on data-roam and the app is locked to my Singapore number; which means the Chinese drivers are less inclined to call to check where I am. So I need to be very specific. There hasn't been an issue with pick-ups, not even in the heavy rain in small alleys. Only one driver canceled on me out of like...10 trips. Not too bad, considering that in Shanghai on trips heading back to the hotel, we're traveling an hour out of town. Most cabs don't want to drive us 'home'. Boo. Luckily Uber has worked fine for us in China. Well, for me, rather. Hahahaha.

对味精和油的恐惧

酒店的食物有点恐怖。我那盘¥52的干炒牛河是在一滩油里枕着。何况每天早上在酒店吃都腻了。晚餐还是要吃的。还是打车出去了。走了几条街，发现在浦东区近外高桥夏碧路这边没有什么旅客，很local。心想，完了。应该回到昨天浦东另外一边的那间餐厅。

就是一间很普通的菜馆。点了几道熟悉的红烧牛肉面、肉菜云吞、阳春面、葱油面、苏州汤包和扬州炒饭。要求少糖、少油、少盐、别放味精。最后到桌的食物，看起来像样，但统统都含有一摞的味精和盐。汤包的馅更是超咸。哪能吃呀？再饿也吃不下。我们随便扒几口米饭和面条充饥就算了。

说真的，在酒店里煮水泡杯面都比这一餐来得好。至少味精没那么多。再加个燕麦棒或麦片棒，营养充足。我已经这样吃了几餐，挺开心的。再吃多几餐也无所谓。我吃街边摊很少拉肚子，是吃太油腻才会往厕所冲。幸好酒店前有间Lawsons可以买点巧克力饼干之类的零食。这里不是云南，没有淡一点的菜，没有我爱吃的云南佳肴。可能深圳靠海，又近香港，难免餐馆和食客的口味近香港菜肴，也容易找到合口味的食品。但这上海的local口味还真重，又油腻到极点。受不了。😨

Possibly the saddest meal of the trip. Virtually inedible because it was full of salt and MSG.

自己冲咖啡

I brought granola and muesli bars, cup noodles and instant packs of coffee. Sustenance. And to feed the friends when we don't have time to sit down to breakfast or lunch. Luckily I did so. There're some mornings with only time for a shower, boil a kettle of water, get the coffee ready and it's go-go-go.

The cup noodles are for days I rather have less MSG in the system. Ugh. Every meal we ask for 'NO MSG, LESS SALT, LESS OIL', but it doesn't always work. Wanted to do this Aunty-thing- I briefly considered buying eggs from the supermarkets and convenience stores to boil them in the kettle that every hostel/hotel room provides. It's a clean business and will fill me up instead of getting more MSG. But I didn't. Clearly I'm not desperate enough. 😬

Coffee is a MUST. The instant packs are filter bags in the style of kopi-o-siu-dai. Otherwise I'll be damn grouchy. Good coffee isn't easily accessible on this trip and I'm preferring coffee without milk. There're Starbucks and Costa along the way, but I don't quite want those.

The breakfast buffet spread at the hotel has three coffee machines that seem to spoil all the time because when it blinks 'to empty tray' (in English), the staff enthusiastically fills it up with water. Zzzz. Yup, I watched it happen. In this case, I wasn't about to intervene because the supervisor was so fierce to his staff and insisted he was right. I rather have my kopi-o-siu-dai. Heh.

Tiger Beer on Tap

Rolled my eyes a little in Shenzhen when the gig venue's official beer was Tiger. Didn't come here to drink Tiger. I wanted Tsingtao Chun Sheng (青岛纯生). The cans of Tiger Crystal weren't bad though. They tasted okay chilled, and better than what the average can of Tiger taste like at home.

When we rocked up to Shanghai Brewery and realized they offered Tiger on tap, we promptly ordered a pint to try. IT WAS BLOODY GOOD. Ordered more. I've always known Tiger tasted better overseas, but it seems to taste even better now. Like they tweaked the brewing formula and hops for export, but never quite bothered with the range at home. WHY LIDDAT? WHY AH?

While waiting for our Uber ride back to the hotel, we saw two fights erupt in front of us in two languages- English and Mandarin. WAH> HA! So not getting involved man. We literally stood aside to watch the 'shows' and exchanged meaningful glances with one another. Saved the discussion till later when we were safely out of sight and out of hearing.

The bar had chased after a group to remind them about an outstanding bill. The people in question were openly aggressive right from the start and said they paid their share and it was none of their business. We figured they probably had separate bills and someone didn't pay. It degenerated into a full-blown fight with yelling and punches thrown. In the end, someone from the table threw a bill down on the floor and yelled, "Keep the fucking change!" That outstanding amount was either ¥15 or ¥50. Either way, it was an embarrassing amount for the unhappiness created. Totally the table's fault.

Then a cab dropping off a passenger on the sidewalk clipped a cyclist. Naturally, the cyclist went up to block the cab from driving off, and got down to give the cab driver a piece of mind. Loudly. Luckily the cab driver didn't even bother to get out or wind down the window. The cyclist didn't physically attack the cab. That kinda stopped the argument fast. Whewww.

These are fairly common sights in China lah. Less sensational than what we read online. But pretty dramatic. Before drinks, we already witnessed another heated argument between an errant stubborn driver and a bunch of traffic police over stopping and waiting at a no-waiting zone. Okay, I think the friends' China immersion program is more or less complete. Hahahaha. 

Keeping Fit On The Road With Amanda Ling

Screenshots from one morning's video.

Being on the road means we don't have the luxury of a gym, But we can carve out 30 minutes to easily make do with what we have in the room to stretch out. Strength training is easy- there're always gear to carry and stairs to climb. Hahahaha. Plus, we have our very own yoga teacher Amanda Ling dispensing fitness advice daily.

There're instructional videos Amanda sent to our group chat, but I can't be bothered to adjust them to blogspot's specs. Anyway, in one video for the morning (see screenshot above), it's using a face towel, the common sort even hostels provide. Go into plank position, elbows close to the sides of chest to engage triceps, hold, and draw towel into chest with legs using lower abs. Do not cheat. Do not exert quads more than the abs. Repeat 10x. IT WORKS.

Amanda will be hosting a complimentary 'Satori FlowYoga' class on 28 September at 6.30pm at Lululemon Duxton, with instrumental soundscapes from In Each Hand A Cutlass (IEHAC). Wooohooo. I think there're still free slots (as of last night when I took a look). For a preview of the music, here's IEHAC's 'Satori 101' on bandcamp.

Check on Eventbrite to see if this complimentary class is full.

上海雨天吃火锅

Thanks to Typhoon Meranti, the rain washed down in sheets over Shanghai. Best weather for hotpot. Stared at the name of one recommendation. The address is familiar. Realized it's one of my favorites in Shanghai and I've been there numerous times- 捞王锅物料理. Heeeheeehee. It's the one in Jing An (静安) on Wuding Lu (武定路) right across from one outlet of Enoterra.

On a crowded evening, while the friends waited outside for me to do magic.  I stealthily waltzed in, and grabbed a table for 10 at peak dinner hour. Hahaha. What luck! Didn't have to get a queue number and didn't have to wait long. :P Everyone else was waiting in a long line; this group even tried to snatch my table, but the servers decided to be really awesome to us. We sat down at a table within 10 minutes. WOOHOOO.

I'm not this huge fan of hotpot. But this 捞王锅物料理 hasn't disappointed. I especially love its cloudy stock boiled from chicken and pig stomach. It's beautifully peppery. Although I'm also not a fan of pork or its innards, I do have a soft spot for the bovine's stomach when it's all sliced up thinly. At this restaurant, drink the soup first before cooking the other ingredients, and always cook raw chicken last. Loved how the servers gave us so much attention that evening. We left a nice tip.

Since nobody bothered to read the menu or whatever, yours truly ordered whatever the heck I wanted. Sure, there were the token platters of beef and crab balls, slices of beef, and more chicken, and seafood including squid. But that also meant eight different kinds of mushrooms and loads of spinach and my fav type of baby cabbage, 娃娃菜. LOL. Apparently the friends loved how everything made the soup taste fabulous. Had so much Tsingtao Chun Sheng (青岛纯生) that we couldn't even roll across to the other side for more beer at the bars. The table was completely stuffed. It was bedtime! One fantastic meal in Shanghai.

混凝草音乐节 :: 上海

Of all weekends, Concrete & Grass Music Festival 《混凝草音乐节》was held on the weekend of two typhoons swirling in the region. Super Typhoon Meranti brushed by Guangdong and Fujian provinces and swept big winds and torrential rain over to Shanghai. The season's 16th typhoon in the form of Typhoon Malakas was headed for northern Taiwan and up to southern Japan and would likely make the weather report for Shanghai be 'blustery'.

Day 1 of Concrete & Grass was a wash-out by the evening. Amps, speakers, extension sockets and all were cling-wrapped. The wet cables on stage were a scary sight. Didn't even know how the organizers managed to set up the stages and tents in the howling wind in the previous days.

Managed to catch Perth's Rag N' Bone in light rain during their early afternoon set, along with Beijing's Birdstriking. We didn't stay long. By the evening, the huge thunder and lightning and horizontal rain caused Silverstein's 7pm set was canceled, and Shane Told did a strange solo acoustic few songs that was pretty fun. Really liked a new-to-me Shandong death metal band Zuriaake | 葬尸湖, but their set (after Silverstein's) was cut too. What a pity. Apparently they went out to Yuyintang Livehouse to do their set instead. Yup, mud all over, but nothing mud-o-stronomic like Glastonbury.

Day 1: Rag N' Bone.

Day 2 was fabulous. Blue skies!!! Hot! Wow. Typhoon Malakas clipped Taiwan and went up to Kyushu, but drew the winds and rain away from Shanghai. What a huge difference it made to the vibes at the festival grounds. The crowds rolled in early. All the Shanghai peeps came to the festival even though this venue is a good 45 minutes away from town. Ugh. But the fair weather more than made up for it. YAYY! Good seeing everyone and got many hugs.

I literally walked around with a cup of Chicago's Goose Island IPA (only this and no other choices of beer styles lah) all of Day 2. Heeeheee. Plenty of food available at the stalls including Bumbu that sold Indonesian satay and corn begedil. Got SAMBAL. Pretty all right. Woot.

Our very own Singapore progressive rock band In Each Hand A Cutlass rocked out LEFT Stage. Hurrah!!! Not impressed by The Cribs. Stayed on for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. And couldn't resist watching Health and they did a really tight set. It was a really well organized festival. The crew, staff and volunteers worked so hard to get the artists comfortable, and ensured logistics ran on time with as few delays as possible. Kudos to the organizers.

上海，我们又见面了

In the rain. Along the Shanghai Bund facing Pudong.

Our appointed Shanghai drivers who picked us up from the airport had a miscommunication among themselves and initially delivered us to the wrong address where the hotel was shuttered and abandoned. WTF. We've had enough curveballs okay. They did get it right in the end.

Our hotel in Shanghai is lovely, spacious and comfortable, but it's all the way out at the free trade zone at Waigaoqiao (外高桥保税区). Seriously the boondocks man. Never mind that it's one hour each way to and fro town, but the area itself doesn't have anything much by way of half-decent restaurants for half-decent non-MSG-laden meals. There isn't even a McD's in sight. The nearest Starbucks closes at 5pm. Zzzzzz. It was storming like crazy. The rain wouldn't stop. However, a day out and about town, and tummies to be fed with good food was sorely needed. Cabs and Uber-cars (now it's really Didi Chuxing 滴滴出行) were still plying the roads, so we pulled on raincoats, hopped into an Uber-XL seven-seater and went to the city.

Took the tourists to eat soup dumplings at Jia Jia Tang Bao (佳家汤包). Must eat good dumplings in Shanghai lah. There were only two choices left this late afternoon, which happened to be my favorites. Hurhurhur. Hopefully no one is too allergic to crab. The two choices of dumplings were crab with pork, and with pure crab meat (蟹粉鲜肉和纯蟹粉汤包). Bits of roe included. I think the tang bao definitely hit a spot with everyone's tummies. Yummy.

Skipped Xiamen :: Onward to Shanghai

Shenzhen was bloody hot and humid. Mosquitos abound. There was barely a breeze. It was constipated because of the incoming typhoon. You could see it in the clouds, feel and smell it in the air.

I'm OCD like that. Such a trip to China is never easy. And China loves throwing me curveballs to sort out. (Not as bad as Malaysia though. I'll take China anytime over Malaysia.) Am resigned. Hence I was fixated on meteorological sites tracking Typhoon Meranti. Its path could mean that we might have to cancel our second stop in Xiamen.

With Super Typhoon Meranti bearing down on Guangdong and Fujian provinces, one muggy afternoon in Shenzhen, we made the logical but painful decision to skip Xiamen. We have a date in Shanghai that can't be missed. When news and photos of the wreckage in Xiamen came through, our hearts skipped a beat with worry for our friends and relief that we weren't caught in middle of it.

I'm secretly glad that we didn't have to take the D trains to Xiamen then Shanghai. If the rather nice local organizers seriously think our gear can fit, they're grossly mistaken. They've taken those trains up and down the cities. Call me Miss Skeptical. I've done those routes too and I'm extremely acquainted with how the D trains work. Some things don't change. Our keyboards, guitars and pedal boards would have to go into the cargo carriage with no guarantee that every piece will arrive intact. One would need to be pretty optimistic. We can't run things based on optimism. At least I'm not trained to do so.

At the last minute, we managed to secure seats on Air China (国航) from Shenzhen to Shanghai. You know what, it was a full flight and we probably got the last few seats. I resisted smirking. Air China isn't too bad on this route. From a speedy group check-in to in-flight services and all, I honestly think Air China fares better than SilkAir. (We didn't have a pleasant experience with SilkAir from the moment we deposited our luggage at Changi Airport.) We took off more or less on time from hot hot hot Shenzhen, and landed in rainy and grey Shanghai as scheduled. Whewww.

Gee Coffee in Shenzhen

Decided to explore the area instead of simply having our meals at the hostel's cafe. Breakfast is only needed for half of us, so the non-breakfast gang strolled out a few minutes down the street and found very decent caffeine at Gee Coffee OCT-LOFT (华侨城创意文化园). That became our default morning routine during the short few days in Shenzhen.

Gee Coffee is a full roastery sharing space with an art studio. Mmm. I liked the space. My long black was fine without being overly acidic. Dunno about its food because I skipped it. The friends said their breakfast sets were okay, but they took ages to arrive. Eggs sunny-side up, bacon, toast, strawberry jam and the sorts. Okay lor, the food looked about similar to what our middling hipster cafes serve.

The cafe also brewed Gene Coffee Ale. The trend lah, bubbling nitrogen into cold brew coffee. The smaller the bubbles, the creamier and thicker it feels down the throat. This is a really good version, and it looked like a Guinness. Of course there isn't alcohol content. It's simply quite the booster in the stifling 34°C afternoons. The girlfriend sent a photo of her real creamy satisfying Guinness in London. DAMN. I wanted to lick the phone's screen.

Laurel Restaurant :: Shenzhen

Didn't feel like sitting in traffic for an hour to get to the original branch of Laurel Restaurant (丹桂軒) at Luohu (罗湖). The ride usually takes 30 minutes, but this evening was bad. The restaurant serves Cantonese cuisine and has branches in Macau, Shenzhen and Shanghai. There're seven branches of Laurel in Shenzhen, so we went to a nearer-to-us branch 15 minutes away at 香榭裏.

We left J to order the food since he's a huge fan of 丹桂軒. I really enjoyed the dish of stuffed bittergourd simmered with slices of pork belly in superior stock. Not so much of the pork, but it lent a sweetness to the bittergourd. Easily palmed off the meats to the friends and I ate the beautiful slices of bittergourd. The fish soup was gorgeous! But full of herbs. Took an antihistamine after dinner to prevent the eyes and lips from swelling in the morning.

The grilled squid was delicious! It was just that bit crispy yet tender all at the same time. Happy that the kitchen went superbly low on the usage of salt and MSG. Dessert was a papaya and almond milk thing served hot. I skipped it. Totally not into Hong Kong desserts at all. Not into desserts, period. Apparently the salted egg yolk custard buns (流沙包) are great but they weren't available at dinner. Only at lunch and tea. Awww. It gives us a reason to return to try it at one of its branches then.

It was a good meal, and J thought it was pretty all right compared to the original Luohu branch, which is crazy noisy and could take up to two hours of waiting after getting a queue number. This branch we went to was bigger, spacious and quieter. Didn't even need reservations during a week when people dine out more because of Mid-Autumn festivities. Whewww. Nice. 

深圳一游

Tall buildings and plenty of construction line the way from the airport into town.

As much as I'd love to get out and shoot, I made the heartbreaking decision to leave the Leica(s) at home. There's too much to tog around already and I'll be kept rather busy. I'd have to make do with the iPhone. I don't feel secure enough to bring even the Q along (much less the M9) but I feel insecure without my trusty companions. LOL.

First stop, Shenzhen. SilkAir was a pain at check-in. A completely different experience from barely a week ago when we checked-in with Singapore Airlines for Brisbane. The entire bottleneck began with a staff who wasn't well trained, and didn't use her brains at 4.30am in the morning and dared to throw bureaucratic rules at us. We threw them right back because she interpreted the rules wrongly. Anyway, we got what we wanted. Thank goodness. 5am is too early to be in the middle of a heated argument.

The accommodation was erm an eye-opener. No infestation of rats, no roaches or lizards spotted, but the building was swarming with mozzies. It's got a nice enough open-air cafe at the lobby where we could sit and rest. I haven't stayed in something like this for decades. It's practically a dorm. Bunk beds, communal showers. 😑 No lifts. We had asked for single rooms with en-suite bathrooms, so that helped. Some semblance of privacy. The walls were so thin! At least electricity flow wasn't interrupted; there was stable wifi, air-conditioning and hot water. I don't think they clean the air-conditioners or pipes or whatever that regularly. The air quality was pretty bad, the bathrooms and floors covered with a thin film of slime. Unsurprisingly, our Singaporean respiratory allergies flared.

And because the hostel is nicely located northeast of Shenzhen in the OCT-LOFT creative and cultural area (深圳华侨城创意园), the prices of rooms with attached bathrooms aren't cheap and are comparable to prices quoted at three-star hotels 20 minutes away in town. Cabs aren't difficult to get around here, and there're plenty of Uber cars plying the road. This is why sometimes we should do our own homework on accommodation. We could still work within the budget, and get something better value-for-money.

Wish Me Luck

The application process for our Chinese visas turned out exactly as I anticipated. That's why before any trip, I need to do sufficient homework. I'm OCD like that. There's a reason why I'm very very very good at what I do. Now you see why I cannot fathom traveling in a group on a leisure vacation. I deal better with the requirements on work trips. It unsettles me when I'm not commanding a position that gives me oversight to all logistical arrangements.

I'm all for spontaneity but I can't deal with the mindset of "Let's play it by ear" when it doesn't have to be so. To my questions, I don't like non-answers which are provided as redundant lines of "Oh don't worry, it's sorted, the local organizers will take care of it." 还真的是应酬我，当我是小绵羊。I'm not sheep and am certainly not interested in being led by the nose in circles. But this isn't a work trip I'm in charge of; I can't order people around, and our counterparts are certainly not trained to provide details in a format or a structure to my satisfaction. So I have to work around these...limitations.

I can manage hiccups. Those are troublesome and frustrating but easy to resolve. It's when major things go haywire that I must learn to shut my mouth and not reiterate "I told you so." I'm resigned to screw-ups. May I not morph into a fierce Flareon to hiss fire at irritating humans more than twice on this trip.

I've been immersed in the platforms of Weibo (微博) and WeChat (微信). Didn't really bother about these prior, so gotta familiarize myself with them in order to sort out social media stuff and necessary communication. If superficial conversation is necessary when interacting with acquaintances, then shopping, the weather, celebrities and television scripts are the safest topics especially in China. Forced myself to watch three recent Chinese television series, scanning plot summaries and fast-forwarding through the episodes- 'Nirvana in Fire'《琅琊榜》, 'The Virtuous Queen of Han'《大汉贤后卫子夫》 and 'The Legend of Mi Yue'《芈月传》.  I deserve a pat on the back for going through them all. 😒😐😶

'Living Yangtze' :: Eric Valli

The exhibition fleshed out seven locations along the route undertaken- from somewhere off Lake Tai to Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and up to the glaciers in the Tanggula mountains of Qinghai.

Totally forgot about French film director and photographer Eric Valli's photographs on show at the ArtScience Museum until the girlfriend sent me a photo captioned "Doesn't this remind you of Yunnan?" It effectively reminded me that the exhibition was closing and I ought to hurry over for a look.

Part of the larger theme of 'The Art and Science of Sustainability', 63-year-old Eric Valli's photographs are a culmination of six months of travel along and across China's Yangtze River (长江). The river holds different Chinese names at its different turns and points along its route. Most Chinese reference the Yangtze to the lower part from Nanjing to the river mouth. It feeds Yunnan's Jinsha River and Tiger Leaping Gorge. Elsewhere in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Region in Qinghai, it's known as the Tongtian River (通天河).

Fishermen at lunch on East Lake
in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

Titled 'Living Yangtze', on behalf of Swarovski Waterschool, through a set of lens, Eric Valli beautifully captured life in seven communities along seven locations and showcased how they live in harmony with the river that is now facing tremendous pollution.

There has been much documented of the river's pollution, flooding, the Three Gorges Dam and the recently extinct river dolphin (白暨豚) that once called the Yangtze its home. The Chinese alligator, finless porpoise, paddlefish and sturgeons are probably going to die off soon. So sad. I hope the upper portions of the river that runs through Sichuan and Yunnan can be protected and sustainably used. Qinghai and Tibet seem to be doing a pretty good job of protecting their precious water sources.

Loved the photos and how they were themed. Spent more time there than intended. It was a mix of landscapes and portraiture. Interspersed with seven two-minute short films that gave background to each themes, the exhibition truly fleshed out how the communities thrive along and around the rivers, as many ancient civilizations do. Maybe villages look the same. But I swear I've trekked through a Naxi village that looks remarkably like this one in the short film below.



I'm biased. Lingered longest at the final point titled 'The Mother of Water'. Sat and scribbled furiously into the notebook. The photos showed glaciers, mountains, yaks and the nomadic tribes' way of life. Ahhhh....SO GORGEOUS. I want to be back in the snow mountains flying across the 高原 on horseback! Okay, mountain ponies really. Same same.

A final quote from the exhibition was from an eighth century Tibetan poem, exhorting the pureness of a land covered with snow, of the majestic mountains, and clear waters and earth.

“白雪索绕的世界之巅，所有河流的源头，山高、地清。” 

Cynically, I thought, “人心呢？能和雪山一样清高吗？” And what of the darkness and greed of the human heart?

Past Lives in the Present

I hesitated about reading Susan Barker's 'The Incarnations' because her 'Sayonara Bar' and 'The Orientalist and the Ghost' were quite forgettable. Not my kind of genre and provided rather stilted clichéd narratives.

A quick glance at the summary of 'The Incarnations' piqued my interest. Geographically similar, but the plot didn't seem like the author's earlier stories. This book was published last July, but the e-book was strangely not available till this year on 18 August. Downloaded it as a pre-order till it popped up in the Kindle. Hurrah for VPN. (Reviews here, here, here, and here.)

Kinda fun to read about past lives and incarnations while in Zhongdian/Shangri-La where reincarnations are believed. The story's protagonist Wang Jun is in his early 30s, a taxi driver who lives in Beijing with his wife Yida and nine-year-old daughter Echo. Naturally, he had a painful childhood with wayward parents. He seemingly outgrew them and stocially bore the predictable rut of an ill and disabled father and his stepmother. His boring and mundane, if not peaceful life was disrupted by letters falling into his lap detailing his past five lives in a thousand years and oft-complicated relationships and sexuality. The letter-writer claimed to be his 'soulmate'. Like literally. Eioowwww. More like eternal stalker.

The narrative style is a little...strange. Oddly stilted. Like how a word jumps out at me when least expected. For example, in Wang's comment about his long-suffering step-mother Lin Hong who stayed married to his stroke-debilitated father Wang Hu for nineteen years. That word at the end, "fen". It's more Chinese than English- “分”. 'Fen' means 'cent' or 'penny'. 意思是“毫无分文”。Literally without a cent.

She had no say over how much he smoked and drank, or how many whores he fucked and mistresses he financially supported. “I’ll have my lawyer prepare the divorce papers” was Wang Hu’s response to her complaints of marital neglect. He’d made her sign a prenuptial agreement and, should they split, Lin Hong would be left without a fen.

The letters take us through past lives of his 'soulmate'. The events read like a drama serial's run-through of history of China's dynasties and contemporary history, a not-so-subtle comment on Communism, wealth, corruption and privilege. Watch enough Chinese/HongKong/Taiwanese drama serials on reincarnation and soaps, and you'll know how the past lives flow in this narration. To that, it was unsurprising that at the end, through the letters, we learn that Wang Jun's birth mother Li Shuxiang/Yi Moon didn't die, and she was the stalker-soulmate. The story ends with the sudden death of Wang Jun, and the stalker-soulmate transferring her/its attention to Wang Jun's daughter, Echo, who called her 'Watcher'.

Perhaps it's meant to creep the hell out of readers. But it felt more like a statement or comment on how lives are interwoven, and how the belief of past lives affecting one's present relationships (with family members, enemies and friends). 为佛教的轮回— 来世再续今生缘、前因后果、前世债今生还等等。Tales of an unending cycle of debts and vengeance through time and the wheel of karma. The idea of pre-destined relationships and destiny.

"I know you too, Echo," the Watcher says. "I know you better than you know yourself. Recently, I have been dreaming of you." 

Echo is silent. She dreams of the Watcher too. She dreams of the Watcher stalking her through the streets and lurking outside the door of 404. She dreams of the Watcher standing in the corner of her bedroom at night. And now the Watcher has stepped out of her dreams and into waking life, looming over Echo, smelling of old age and homelessness. Though her eyes are shrouded in wrinkles, they are sharp as knives, dissecting Echo with their gaze. 

"The dreams show me who you were in the past," the Watcher says. "Once you were a sorceress, and then a Mongol warrior with a battle-axe-scarred face. Once you were Emperor and ruler of all under heaven, and then a Red Guard called Long March."
Echo shudders. The Watcher is mentally ill, she realizes. Though her eyes are shrewd and intelligent, her mind is deranged. 

"And now in this life," the Watcher says, "you are my grandchild." 

Though the madwoman is lying, Echo recoils at the thought of being her granddaughter.

Forgiveness and Redemption

Wasn't sure about the first few chapters of 'May We Be Forgiven' by A.M. Homes. Sounded like the type of complicated family relationship stories I don't like. It seemed kinda heavy for vacation reading. Oh well, it was a rainy afternoon in Lijiang and I didn't feel like getting muddy.

There's a family murder and an unbelievable number of colossal human blunders and errors that are attractive. The author is known for her genre of suburban goth. (Reviews here, here, and here)

Protagonist Professor of 'Nixonology' Harold 'Harry' Silver had an affair with his television executive brother George's wife, Jane. George found out, killed his wife and was put in mental institutions. Harry's wife divorced him. He then took over the running and administration of George's house, dog, cat, children Nate and Ashley and all their teenage angst. There were boarding school duties, a bar mitzvah in South Africa in the end taking on more responsibilities than when he first started out. Read like episodes in a kooky television series.

I meet with Hiram P. Moody, to discuss the cash flow—he seems to think it's not a problem. "Families are like little countries," he says. "It's an ecosystem, an ebb and flow. Between the money coming in for rent for Cy and Madeline's house, their Social Security checks, and income from investments—they're fine. With regard to Ashley and Ricardo, you function like a human cash machine, but between Jane's life-insurance coverage, George's severance from the network, their previous investments, and the settlement from Ashley's school—you're more than fortunate." 

I try to live within my means; they're limited, but I have the benefit of George's full wardrobe, and when my insurance runs out, I pick up a freelancers' health policy, and beyond that my wants and needs are few. 

I keep track of all the money in dedicated notebooks—one for each child, one for Cy and Madeline, and another for the household and one for myself—carefully noting each expense and from what source it was paid. Not only does it give me something to do, it protects me from a nagging fear of being accused of mismanagement.

It's less a commentary about suburban lifestyle of emptiness than an ironic comment on familial relationships. More than once, there're references to novelist John Cheever who writes short stories of American suburbia and the duality of human nature, By the time it came to Thanksgiving a year later, those present at the table were a motley crew of humans he randomly adopted. It's like a whole new family he has built from the ruins of the year past. It was quite a ride.

In the living room, the television is on—the movie Mighty Joe Young is playing, and I ask Nate to turn it off, and he does. I am surveying the situation, comforted that I can actually feel pleased. In fact, I notice that I feel nothing except benevolence—free-floating good will. 

It is Thanksgiving and I do not fear the other shoe falling; actually, I am not even wearing shoes. There is a distinct absence of tension, of worry that something might explode, erupt, or otherwise go wrong. I note the absence of worry and the sense that in the past that absence of anxiety would have caused me to panic, but now it is something I simply notice and then let go—carrying on.

告一个段落:: 云南之旅

Thr map details routes of the 'Ancient Tea Horse Road' (茶马古道).

With this trip, it completes my visits to most places in Yunnan province. I've spent a lot of time in the tea-producing regions of the south- in Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, Lincang and Wenshan, as well as Baoshan, Honghe and Dehong. Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La remain my favorite areas and it's lovely I get to see it thoroughly thrice. Yup. It's northwestern Yunnan. Something about an area's northwest that I swivel towards. Heeeee.

To me, it's easy traveling around Yunnan. It's quite different from the China usually portrayed in social media. It doesn't seem as rude or devious. We've been treated really well, and not just by hosts who know us. The region's charming and kinda clean. Well, try keeping streets and corners of towns this vast clean the way we know it. Shangri-La/Zhongdian, as a county-level city in Yunnan is twice the size of Singapore. Lijiang as a prefecture-level city is four times the size of Singapore. Of course October 1949 changed Yunnan and all of China so much. Two generations have grown up since then, and they have reset the path to become the China we know today.

Living in a city like Singapore keeps me restless, and a tad stiffled. I need nature, space and the green constantly to re-ignite that spark and zest for life. Grateful for the privilege to do that regularly. I've thoroughly enjoyed this trip. All that space and time for reflection. It truly fed my soul.

Thankful for traveling companions who're long-time friends, people who could dance in the rain, tahan both heat and cold in different conditions, get down on the knees, roll in the mud, and laugh about it. These are people I love and am proud to call friends. Am blessed that they don't mind my company too.

Goodbye Yunnan. I hope it won't take too long before we meet again.

人情 :: 礼物

Before we left Lijiang, had a fair bit of re-packing to do. Sure, our suitcases were way lighter and we 'threw out' many items brought along. Accumulated treasured memories both in the cameras and in my mind. Plenty to cherish. Left Yunnan with an unexpected pile of presents warmly gifted by lovely new acquaintances.

Precious items selected with care. Tibetan keychain with yak-hair and beads, hand-woven yak-wool shawls, and silver hand-made Naxi bangles. They know I'm not fond of bright colors and patterns and all that. So these particularly muted color combinations have been selected with that in mind. Love that little skull on the Tibetan keychain. Since I'm not a necklace or earrings person, the bangles suit me. They sound fun when stacked up against one another.

Was there some sort of bond? Yes. Permanent? I doubt it. We share very little in common, and I'm just a passing human in their lives who doesn't matter in their life choices. But these gifts are a way to remember the good times, the kindness shown to us, shared songs and laughter.

Reach back for the joy and the sorrow Put them away in your mind The mem'ries are time that you borrow To spend when you get to tomorrow 
Here comes the saddest part (comes the saddest part) The seasons are passing one by one So gather moments while you may Collect the dreams you dream today Remember, will you remember The times of your life 

~ 'Times of Your Life' sung by Paul Anka in 1975; melody by Roger Nichols and lyrics by Bill Lane