Sunday, October 2, 2011

雨过天晴的吴哥窟

雨后的城市果然美多了。 这是今天跑步时最大的发现。哈哈。
原来雨真的能清洗城市,让它发光,发亮。

我想起了几年前的Siem Reap之旅 - 导游说雨季是到访当地的最佳时候。因为雨后的吴哥窟最美。 雨带走了灰尘,让它恢复原本(几乎)的风貌。
吴哥窟很美。好想在雨季重游更美的吴哥窟。

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Happiness Project (in Club Med Bintan?)

I just came back from a holiday in Club Med Bintan. Was supposed to start on the book 'The Happiness Project' but did not managed to do so - too much (food, activities, conversations) occupied me for the last few days.

There's no pictures yet (I did not take a lot anyway) and I really want to share a conversation I had with a G.O.

Was talking to a G.O. from Philippines last night - nice chap who came to talk to me when YK went to the dance floor :) There's a lot of human touch in Club Med - not really me because I really don't like to talk that much but definitely interesting. He came across as very talented - rock singer, water sports/extreme sport athlete. I remember we talked about diving - he can dive but doesn't have a licence because it's too expensive. And what came to my mind was: so many singaporeans just take diving lessons for fun, get a licence and add it to our collection of papers. Maybe dive once or twice a year. It's like we take too many things for granted - some of the many things that we can achieve easily in Singapore could be a luxury for many others.

Back to 'The Happiness Project' - does this make us happy? I don't know.

Am I happy? Yes, I think so. I am contented with what I have in life. But...am I really happy? Could I be happier? When was the last time I felt really happy (or really sad)? When was the last time I shed tears of joy? And tears of sorrow? When was the last time my heart beat with so much excitement that I thought it was going to jump out from my mouth? And my heart beat with so much pain that I thought it was going to die. I cannot remember and it's kind of scary - it's like I am in so much control of my life that I forget to carpe diem (to seize the moment) or diem carpe (if it can be translated like this, to let the moment seize me)?                                                             

I'm going to start on 'The Happiness Project' book soon - will it make me happy or happier? I don't know. But it's worth a try.

And to the G.O., thank you for the conversation - it really set me thinking. I hope you get a diving licence soon (somehow I got the feeling it's not something you really want because I am sure you will achieve what you want if you set your heart to it). G.O.! :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Voyage Night Festival 2011

We visited many museums when we were in Italy and Paris in March. I was amused that we needed to book tickets in advance to visit the museums and there were so many visitors. In some museums, like the Vatican City, it was so crowded that you just moved along with the guide and get pushed along by visitors. I really hope that one day, the museums in Singapore will be like those in Europe - so vibrant and sought-after. Perhaps that inspired me to volunteer for the Voyage Night Festival 2011 so I can contribute in some ways.  For me, it was a different experience, a voyage of some kind to see our museums transformed at night ...




National Museum of Singapore






Singapore Art Museum