Mutual Influence

I have my friend Blanche to thank for introducing me to European cinema. (She's the one with shades in the photo, taken at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival).



I was a HK & Hollywood film junkie before Blanche came into my life. Met her on the street one day and we just caught on like dry sticks to bonfire. She was studying textile, but much preferred fine art and wasn't really sure what she would do with her degree.

We spent most weekends scouring the library dry renting every piece of European film we could lay our hands on. Never mind we could not understand what was spoken (thank God for subtitles!), it felt close to heaven just soaking in the ambience from the 14-inch noisebox at home, which became a ritual of sorts after a while. We were living and breathing films and even had people over to share the obsession, although some of them petered out after a while.

My first European movie was White from Kieslovsky's classic epic Three Colours. Had a strange feeling after watching it, and then I wanted more. And more. Discussions would ensue after each viewing and it got more intense and stimulating over time.

Blanche and I parted when I left England for good after finishing my 2-year commitment with a Christian organisation. The day before I left, she stayed over for the night and helped me pack. As my transport to the airport arrived, we hugged and said goodbye. She watched me get in the vehicle and I looked as she disappeared around the corner.

Whilst I grew to appreciate the depth, realism and stark reality often portrayed in independant films, Blanche, the last I heard, has gone back to Hong Kong (her birthplace) and enrolled in a Bible seminary. She is now working with young people trying to find their place and meaning in this world.

Happy Food

Aaah... check these out. Had a meal with some friends at The Rakuzen in KL. (clockwise starting at 12: Sashimi, Dragon Roll, Beef slices, Salad, Hotate)

Bento

Dessert

The entire meal was 3 hours long, plus dessert. By the time the bento arrived, we were stuffed silly and unable to consume even one more morsel. Happy but satisfied, I left the restaurant, only to spend another 3 hours in Dome with a longtime friend discussing deity and religion.

Aaah... a day well spent!

Grace Sufficient

Today is my second day in bed. Severe tummy cramps and headache. An ongoing menstrual condition for many years. Everytime I bleed, I collapse on bed in pain... ALL DAY AND NIGHT (sometimes two). During these times I often wonder why my grand plans for hysterectomy didn't hatch; maybe it was because of protests from everyone who knows. But then again, I am hardly one who adheres to popular opinion.

However, this morning a radical thought flashed across my mind. I have never thanked God for menstruating. Always seen it an inconvenient body function, a hindrance, a pain, a curse of fallen (wo)mankind if you will. But I have never thanked God for having a normal body. And Paul said we are to give thanks in all situations.

OK, fine. So I thanked God for my menstrual pain. I really did, in all sincerity and honesty, I burst out in heartfelt gratitude to God despite what I was feeling.

Well, I wish I could say that the pain went away immediately, I was transformed and given a spanking new body with perfectly-formed organs draped over by flawless cellulite-free skin. I wish I could declare that the pain that plagued me every month for years and years was finally gone, and I can go around telling everyone how God has healed me. What a great testimony! What faith it will build in its hearers!

The reality was - the pain grew worse and I could not even go downstairs to eat (much).

Paul also spoke of a thorn in his flesh. We all can relate to that, I suppose, to some degree. Everyone has one embedded somewhere, some of us have more. There is something in God's reply that was universal too. "My grace is sufficient for you."

Is this some kinda joke? What kinda cold, uncaring retort is that supposeda be? Did someone mistakenly slip this statement in the Bible? Why won't God spare us the pain? He loves His children, doesn't He?

To be fair, God didn't spare His son either, when he hung on the cross and bled. And guess who he died for.

Then when I think about it, I am actually thanking Him for the privilege of the pain that helps me draw nearer to Him in a helpless, dependant sort of way. Makes me sound like a loser and wimp, but that's ok. Christians live in an upside down world where the first shall be the last, and what is important in this world (money, fame, health, status, etc) is but a passing vapour in the eyes of eternity. The bigger question is: Am I living like His grace is sufficient?

Gulp.

Faces of Nepal 13

Pokhara: Woman finding respite from the afternoon heat. Just a short distance away, the astoundingly beautiful landscape of the Annapurna range beckons - snow-capped peaks, crystal clear lakes, turbulent rivers with deep gorges and Tibetian monasteries.

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Pokhara: This lady in Tibetian-inspired garb is quite someways from home.

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Kakarvitta (Indian-Nepali border): Young girl, about 4-years old, was running around in tattered garments, playing with an old comb. This is my favourite expression - carefree, innocent and full of possibilites for the future.

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Kathmandu: A woman watches as the world passes her by at the market square.

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Pokhara: Passed from one generation to the next, carpetry is a trade involving long hours, nimble fingers, a good eye for detail and an abundance of patience.

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Pokhara: It is not easy earning his keep, as this elderly peddlar found out. As his wares are targeted at locals, his market in this tourist town is considerably curtailed. Nevertheless, it seemed a good way of ekeing out a living.

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Terai, near Chitwan National Park: "Namaste" means 'may the gods be with you', a standard greeting in Nepal, equivalent to a hello.

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Kathmandu: So what if the gods don't sleep. Local shamans need to take a break. Especially when the afternoon gets long and ... drowsy.

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Kathmandu: Found this woman outside the temple in Durbar Square. She's probably used to foreigners (aplenty in Thamel), but still stared intently at the camera. Being the only Hindu kingdom nation, Nepalese are deeply religious and there are plenty of shrines and places of worship scattered around Kathmandu.

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Kathmandu: Man selling his ware at the busy market of Thamel, where the souk is a perpetual maze of shops, peddlers, restaurants, motorcycles, bicycles, trishaws, tourists and locals. The smells, sounds and sights of this place make great distraction for the traveller en route to the Himalayas and Annapurna.

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Terai, near Chitwan National Park: Children gathered to play and gawk at the camera on a dusty gravel road one hot December afternoon.

A boy enjoying his burden.

These excellent photos were taken by my friend Adriel McIntosh.

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Pokhara: Handwashing her clothes by the alley next to a busy street, this elderly lady shyly obliged for the camera lens.




Despite being the "Disneytown" (re:tourist trap) in Nepal where prices are escalated, poverty is commonplace amongst its folk. 'Retirement' is a hardly-known term for the elderly.

Faces of Nepal

Deep at the foot of the Himalayans, the border of the Kingdom of Sikkim and Tibet: A very young girl carries her infant sibling as she climbed up the hillslope. They do not go to school. The nearest school was miles away, and had no electricity nor water. Her parents worked at the farm. This girl helped to care for her younger siblings. They served salt tea to visitors (no cream). Respect for the local 'Lama' is prevalent and runs deep. "He helps us protect our crops".

Cholesterol City!

Had this (amongst plenty others) for dinner two weeks back at a restaurant in town. Good thing I didn't wipe off the entire plate. Would have needed a plunger to unclog the arteries.

Thru the Lens

Sometimes things become clearer when we use the right lens. This photo was taken several years back in my bedroom in Carlisle, England. I used my old faithful Nikon F50 SLR (a relic now by most standards) with a Sigma-compatible lens mounted.

It worked fine. Did the job despite the heavy beating it took with my crazy travelling schedule back then. I am so used to its timing, settings and everything else that it is getting hard to adjust to a digital counterpart.

OK, OK... given that film cameras are going the way of the typewriter, I am still clinging to my old faithful contraption. After all, it gave me countless snaps of great (and some totally disastrous) shots, and it stuck with me through all the abuse across the foot of the Himalayas to the summer nights at the train stations in Europe to the slums of India and back again to the rainforests of Malaysia. And all that was in between too.

Through the lens of this camera I saw the world. And myself.

I guess one day, I would really have to put aside my film cam and go totally digital... more cost and time effective. But as for now, I am allowing myself to linger...

Go Local

Was at the MATTA fair this weekend with LP and we scoured every available booth selling packages to Egypt. Turned out the cheapest trip was going to blow our budget. Sigh. Blame it on the fuel hike. Malaysian Airlines' profitable route's gonna stay that way to bail out the rest of their no-gooders. Sheeesh...

We were pretty tired after walking around the two main halls and decided to eat instead. Started to exit the building when it began to drizzle. Looked as if we were in for a thunderstorm. So we went back inside and had nasi lemak instead.

By then both of us were fizzled out, LP from disappointment and I from hunger. I wasn't really that disappointed - God must have wanted me to steward my resources in other ways; by using the travel funds elsewhere. It's cool.

Anyways, we decided to go inside Hall 3 to see what's going on. They have some really nice local tours. LP spotted the Kenyir package. I wasn't really that keen, as I had been there before, trekked up the waterfall, visited the caves, survived a raging river with deep undercurrents, fell into the lake while riding the jetski, ran into a really frightening thunderstorm which almost sank our boat, camped at an elephant feeding site, etc, etc... (fun!)

So we booked the Kenyir package, which is open for occupancy all year. Great. Now we can drive across Peninsula and just lepak while sinking our teeth into all those wonderful Terengganu / Kelantan delicacies.

Sinai, Sinai...

Oh no... now that I've discovered St. Catherine's monastery in Sinai, I'll just have to go there. After all, if I am going to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan, what's a little trip eastward to the shores of the Red Sea and then to Mt Sinai???

LP and I spent 3 hours at Borders last Sunday after church so we could pore over every single travel book on Egypt that we could lay our hands on. We wanted to get the Lonely Planet (the ultimate travel bible), but the last print was Jan 2004's and the next one will only be published in May. So we piled up all the other travel guides, settled on the sofa and started ploughing. Of course the staff were none too happy when we turned our sofas to face each other, but they didn't stop us. Hah!

Result - must-go places: Egyptian museum (yay!!!), Islamic & Coptic Cairo, Pyramids of Giza. Fayoum Oasis. Thebes. Karnak. Valley of the Kings (yipee!!!), Temples of Seti, Rameses, Hatsheput, Abu Simbel (if we can make it that far... it's near the Sudanese border).

LP thinks I am nuts. I think she's a killjoy. All I could think of when I turned the pages of colourful artifacts and landscapes were how and when I am gonna get there to photograph them; and all LP said was, "how much is this gonna cost, how much do we have to pay..." I guess we come from different planets. But complementary ones, mind you.

Anyways, I would love to be able to get to Sinai, climb up the mount and do some camping. After spending more than a year studying the life of Moses, a field trip would be a perfect wrap to that experience. :)

Wow... imagine just standing at the shores of the Red Sea and facing the vast impossibility, like what Moses experienced before the parting. Ok, ok... so I am a hopelessly romantic dreamer, but hey, it's free and who knows, maybe I will get to stand on the ground where Moses once stood and relive in my mind's eye the miraculous deliverance of the Lord.