A Movable Feast

Putin - 2.0 reloaded

2011-12-12T09:46:00.002Z

Do dictators ever change? I can't think of one that did, although apparently Putin's team is ready to launch Putin 2.0 as a much open minded man promoting for changes. I wonder where they will get the new programming from - they might have to look as far as Hollywood to get some inspirations!

Arab spring has turned into winter, the changes have been painful but worthwhile in the long run. It seems there might be signs of cracks in the freezing land of Russian winter. The young and middle class participation in the protest send alarming bell to the authority.

Britain on the sidelines of the new union

2011-12-09T11:24:00.005Z

More than a decade ago, when the Euro was first introduced, it was like a fairy tale finally coming true. There were skeptics a the time, but majoriyt of us liked a modern day fairy tale and the idea of belonging to a big united family on this vast and diverse continent.

I remember Euro had a shaky start, but soon it gained more and more popularity. For years, I had wondered why some countries like UK, Sweden and Denmark had dragged their feet on this. The benefits seem to be obvious.

Now Euro, the very foundation of this economic union is on the brink of collapse, we suddently discovered that this single currency and united fiscal and financial policy was more of a dream than reality. Countries on this continent might have a long history of interactions (particularly through the monarchys)but we are still very different individuals with distinctive objectives for our own nations.

This new treaty provides a new platform for EU, this seems to be logic choice and long overdue review. Britain, not surprisingly decided to opt out of this. I think time will tell if this will be a wise move. We are a proud nation and our love affair with Europe has always been cold and warm throughout the years. Now our neighbours house is on fire, the decisions we make today will obviously have a long team effect on our relationship with them.

We are all in this together

2011-11-30T14:20:00.002Z

Today we have the classic English weather in London, for one moment, it is a sunny day with blue sky and white clouds, for another moment, the clounds thickens and the sky is covered with dark clouds. It reflects the mood in the financial market in the last three months, swining between optimistic and pessimistic. But it seems there is one sure thing, it is a global market and global crisis and we are all in this together.

The central bank in China made a surprise move today by lowering the capital reserve requirement. Actually if you have been reading the news on Chinese website, you should not be too surprised. Both export and manufacturing index has dipped to a three year low, and the property market is showing sign of cooling down. The government, which will face the transition to the next generation leaders, face a real challenge of keeping the growth. Social unrest is spreading, and they know social stability is the key to keep them in power.

It is an interesting world we live in. Europe has the most enviable life style, but the idea of one great union seems to have gone out fashion now given the reality just does not add up. The America model seems to lack the human feeling and need at the core. The Chinese, contemplating on the recent success, also knows disasters are never far away from feeling complacent.

We are all in this together, searching for the better solutions to the world problems, there is no magic pill - hopefully the lawmakers will learn more from this lesson as when recession hits, people at the bottom are hit most.

Santorini - we are back

2011-08-23T15:59:00.004Z

We visited Santorini three years ago and had a nice time there. We stayed in Kamari, a small town on the beach with a street by the beach full of restaurants, hotels and shops. Luckily we stayed in a lovely hotel Anthena on a slope going up to the hill. We discovered Perissa beach, a relatively quiet beach where we can relax and have a good swim. I remember getting the first boat out to Perissa every morning, the beach umbrellas made of hay swaying gently in the wind and watching sunset in a restaurant on the beach. Oia was a bit overrated, watching the sunset in the sea with hundreds of people is not my type of romantic experience.

We decided to come back and stay in Perissa for a week this time. We booked Zorzis hotel based on recommendations from tripadvisor. It turns out to be a lovely place to say. The rooms are small, but with balcony and a nice pool and lush plants and flowers around, it is a very enjoyable place. I especially enjoyed the evenings we came back from our dinner, the hotel owner Spiros would invite us to join him for a glass of wine, sitting in the courtyard and chatting into the night. He was a captain on trade ships going around the world. Under the dark blue sky dotted with bright yellow stars, he started telling us about his first love. It was Roseline, she is an English girl, they met when she was 20 and he was only 19 working as a sailor. "She was a good girl", he said in a deep and gentle voice, his eyes looking into the distance, "I loved her, We were together for four years. she wanted to get married, but you know when you were only 19 and had no money, this was not possible." I sensed the sadness spreading, like a delicate flower dropping from the tree, only a light sweet aroma still lingering in the air.

Perissa seems to be a little quieter than last time we visited three years ago. We were surprised to learn from Spiros that there is no main water supply system here in town, so water is brought in by a lorry every week to all hotels and houses. There does not seem to be much urban planning either, I guess anyone can buy a piece of land and build a house. It is a beautiful town by the beach, with better planning it would look much more attractive than it does today. There are quite a few cats gathering outside the house in the afternoon when the owner put out food for them, apparently in the winter time, there are only a few hotel/restaurants staying open, so the number of cats increase by two fold. We had a rather lazy time there, I did a few sketches, a first attempt in my life, and I was quite pleased with the result. I read the novel "one day" and found it slightly disappointing as it is a bit too predictable as one of my friends warned. I read the Obama book "the dreams of my father". I only picked it up from a pile of books left by the hotel guests. To my own surprise, I was quite drawn into the book, especially the part about his childhood.

The Economic situation in Greece is pretty dire, people worry about putting money in the banks because they think it is highly likely the government will pull out from Euro zone and they will be issued with local currency replacing the Euros they saved in the bank. And of course high inflation is the only to get out of the deep debt. This year, there are very few people from Atheners coming to Santorini. Spiros is worried the Italians might stop coming next year judging from their economy. We assured him the British would still come, well, given the rainy weather we have in Britain, we have to come here to soak up the sun - for our sanity really. We found a few nice restaurants in Perissa, the gods garden and the volcanos are the best ones. I like greek food, it is honest, fresh and good hearty good, the trick is not to indulge yourself too much...The greek are nice people too, they have a relaxed attitude towards life, and I really hope they will pull through this crisis.

London is on fire

2011-08-08T19:37:00.001Z

London is calling and London is on fire!!!

I think, many people like me, still find it hard to believe this is happening at our door steps, one of the most dynamic and vibrant cities in the world. I am sure there will be a lot of soul searching after this, but at the moment, I believe we should not try to justify the riots in any way. It is a slippery slope, it does not get us anywhere. Whatever issues and challenges we face in the society, the ruthless damage and complete lawlessness must stop - unconditionally. The government and the police are here to protect innocent and decent people in the society, not the criminals. In this green and pleasant land, we can not accept the behaviour that undermines the very basic moral values. We are in the deep recession, the last thing we need is loss of public confidence and national image.

I find the government here is too soft, too concerned about being politically correct. The society is built based on trust and respect, and innocent people and their hard earned livelihood. The police apparently has been timid since the shooting of young boy in Totternham last week, but they need to be empowered with the necessary tactics. The home secretary said water cannon is not allowed. Why not? When these young people turned violent and started burning down houses and looting shops, they have lost the decency and dignity, the trust and respect is broken, so they must be told and learn in a hard way this is not an acceptable behaviour in a modern and civilised society. They are not "kids", even they are still young, but they are old enough to know this is not right.

I don't buy the argument that young people have to turn violent and destroy the very community they live it to get the attention from the authority. This is not a political statement, you only need to see the decoded messages they send through the blackberry "it doesnt matter what gangs you are from, join us and get in there and get free stuff". I am sorry, but this is not a way to call for change in the society.

There are a lot of challenges today in Britain, and the young people naturally are more affected naturally. But they can't blame the government or community for all their problems. I find a lot of young people here are simply not hard working and driven enough to make a difference in their lives. One of my nephews from my husband side decided when she was 25 that she wanted to become a single mom because this is the best way out. She does not want to get a job (ever!), becasue she has to get training and practice that she didn't want to bother. She was given a nice flat with a garden after the child was born, she immediately kicked out her boyfriend who had been supporting her financially. Now she is happily living on benefits, spending her days going around to see her friends in similar situation and now has a new boyfriend and planning to have another child so she can get better accomondation. She is a sponger of the society, creaming off what she can get from other hard working people. And you want parental control? It is impossible if you have a system that encourges single moms and runaway fathers. And we all know broken family has its consequences on the child's education.

Authority sometimes is considered a negative word in the west, but it does not have to be. You look around Asia, Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, the list goes on. Law and order is needed in any society, and so are the discipline, and this starts from parenting. The kids need to be told what is not acceptable and the consquences they have to face. And young people have to be prepared to work hard and have self discipline and esteem and respect for others.

There is high unemployment among the youth in Britain, but you have millions from other parts of Europe livinng and working in Britain, most of them are not skilled workers. Today, you will hardly find any English bartenders or waitresses/waiters in a cafe/bar/restaurant in London. Why? Because the young people her don't want to do this kind of low paid jobs. Same thing with a lot of low skilled building works, now dominated by easter Europeans.

The benefit system is killing this country. Young people need to understand working is the only way out of the dreadful trap they are in. They can't expect a life all crafted out nicely for them. They need to look up the role models who come from a unpreviliged background and become successful. There is no short cut to success in life. It is years of hard work, sweat and tears. It requires sacrifice and discipline. That is the succesful formula that is proven in Asia.

You can never give a person enough state social welfare. The society will not progress when there are too many spongers.

There is no silver bullet for building a harmonious society, it is a tough balancing act between Keynes and Friedman. Too much state benefits encourages laziness, too little create unstability. My personal view is that free health care should be provided for everybody, but state should provide very little benefits for other benefits. You will be surprised to see how people's potential can be unlocked.

Christchurch - a little town near Bournmouth

2011-07-06T15:52:00.000Z

From Lund in the Nordic sun

2011-06-28T18:53:00.004Z

It is truly amazing how weather can change your perceptions about a place. Here I was, strolling through the Lund city centre in the early evening sun. I don't know how many times I have been here, 18 times maybe, which in any case a lucky number. The city seems to be bursting with life. I only noticed today that the whole city centre is cobble stone paved, which makes it just as charming as any medeterannian cities. All the restaurants, bars and cafes have their tables and chairs out in the sun, people are drinking and soaking up the sun. They all look really happy. You come to appreciate the warm sunshine more in a Nordic country, as the summer is short, yet when it comes, it is warm and sweet and it lights up life like wild fires. The sun beams down through the red tiles on the roofs, casting gentle shadowes on the cobble paved street. It is almost post card perfect.

I got an ice cream and walked around the streets, I felt I was rediscovering Lund. I never noticed there are so many restaurants and bars in this small town. I had the impression of Lund as a dark and gloomy place and the town centre is small, with only a few shops and restaurants around. Maybe some restaurants and bars only open in summer or the Swedish economy is booming against all the odds in the Euro zone? Whatever it is, I was enjoying what I saw. Then I thought of Gainesville, the college town I lived in Florida. It is similar to Lund, with students making up big part of the population. I remember being enchanted by the perfect lawn, squirrels jumping in the big oak trees, red tiled building dotted in the green campus, and of ocurse the forever sunshine. But compared with a small European city like Lund, it lacks of certain charm and flair. It is hard to say what the European charm is, but it is kind of life style too, you know when you see it. In Lund, a typically small Scandinnvian town, on a sunny and warm evening like this, you feel the sense of enjoying life and relaxed attitude in the air. I think it has something to do with their society as well, people are more equal and it is a very safe and peaceful place where you see more the bright side of life.

Thinking of bright side of life, I almost wanted to have another ice cream, but then I thought of the quote "you can't have too many of the good things", well, maybe another time then.

Talking about life style, I suddently realize that there is one priceless thing Europe could export, which is life style. The old engine of industrilization might be in trouble, but the culture side of things have not died. And I know as a Chinese, we know there are many admirers in China who want to import that life style. And the golden key to this life style is: focus on quality of life rather the quantity of material life. I know there is a top job I could not refuse, that would be the life style embassador of Europe to China.

Munich - a charming city in south Germany

2011-06-23T15:42:00.001Z

The inner strength of a nation

2011-03-24T15:41:00.000Z

The inner strength of a nation is reflected in how the people react to a devastating event. I have been deeply impressed by the way Japanese come to terms with the effects of earthquake and Tsunami. I admire their courage, the emotional depth and the controlled and dignified way responding to the disaster. One colleague in Japan wrote in her email to me, “there are a lot of disruptions in the public transportation in Tokyo due to power cut, but nobody in the office complained about it…” I think this is the very Japanese way. They don’t complain and blame, they just take it in stride.
There is a little Japanese restaurant Suzu around corner from our office. Today they are doing a donation to the relief efforts in Japan. Maki, the owner of the restaurant has lost friends and godson in the earthquake and Tsunami. I went there at lunch time, there was a long queue of people getting their sushi boxes. Apparently the news has gone out pretty quickly, the office workers around came out. All the proceeds today will go to British red cross. I got in the queue feeling sad and happy at the same time. It is a warm sunny day, the flowers have come back to London. There is a guy name Masa playing a pop violin in the restaurant. The tunes were enchanting with a touch of sadness. Gazing into the blue sky, looking at the busy staff preparing for the sushi boxes and the crowd around me, I felt very moved.

A risky strategy from the west in Libya

2011-03-23T10:20:00.003Z

It sounds all terribly familiar, the force from the free world wanted to help the people suppressed by dictators. It sounds good on paper, although with no clear exit strategy or any milestone as targets for the plan, it is a very risky approach as we have learned in Afhganistan and Iraq.

I think we all agree Gadaffi should go as he is mad and brutal, but Libya's future has to be decided by their own people. The opposition is ill equipped and badly organized and so far has demonstrated very littel leadership to rally the country behind them. It is a very difficult situation compared with Egypt where the protestors had managed to convert the army.

It seems to me that the air strikes can only keep Gaddaffi's troops from advancing rebel's stronghold, but as soon as air strike stops, rebel's stronghold areas will fall into Gaddaffi's hands. This friendly support offered by the Allies provides no clear winning formula for the rebels. It is a half cooked formula that does not really help Libya people.

My honest opionion is the west came too late when the situation had turned into a civil war. Now the only way to protect libya people is to get rid of Gaddaffi, but that is not a task west has committed to. The danger of this half way strategy is that they will be trapped there for a long time and libya people will suffer from prolonged civil war and air strikes. The reality is that the west should have a more determined approach, either do not come at all or go all the way to get rid of Gaddaffi.

I think the justification of the west air strikes offer little comfort, as they don't seem to mind other injustice and civilian casualties elswhere around the world, for one, they seem to think civilian casualities in palistine is not a big deal and ongoing brutality toward protestors Bahrain, Yeman, etc are ok. Why help people from all countries that suffer from injustice and cruelty. The seletive favourism does not go down well.

The truth is that the world is a complex jigsaw, with countries in different development phase in terms of democracy and economy. Ther is no one size fit all. The road to freedom and democracy is bound to be a bumpy one, with huge sacrifice by the pioneers. However slow and hopeless it might seem at times, I do believe we will get there eventually, maybe in our different ways.

It is a beautiful sunny day here in London, and cherry bloosoms and daffidils are in full swing. I can't help to appreciate the peace and simple pleasures in life and at the same time feel deeply sorry for the people who are struggling in our big world.

2011 - we will remember

2011-03-11T16:26:00.002Z

It seems that 2011 has kicked off in a quite memerable way, it started with the unrest in the Middle East, now the huge earthquake and Tsunami. We don't know what will be in the store for us yet for the rest of the year, but 2011 is certainly a year that will be remembered.

Be careful of what you wish for

2011-03-04T14:03:00.002Z

It is Friday, and like the "day of departure" announced by Egytian revolutionists three days, Libyans are geared up for a day of victory or death to topple Gaddafi. Interestingly, from the definte tone of refusing foreign aid, they now are asking for foreign help to set up no fly zone.

Foreign interference in a country in an open civil war is not a good idea. This tool, is a double edged sword, both west and east have learned this in a hard way. We should not be naive here, there have been a lot of countries in Africa in a civil war and west have not shown much of interest to "help to speed up the democratic process". There is no free lunch in this world. If Libyans get foreign help to overturn Gaddaffi, in my opinion there will be a permanent scar to this revolution. Yes, without foreign help, they are under immense pressure from much more well equipped Gaddafi troops, but if they don't succeed today, they will succeed in the near future, because justice is on their side and justic will prevail in the long run. The complications arising from foreign involvement is not something easy to manage, and could trigger discontent from certain part of the population.

Revoluationary heart

2011-02-23T16:36:00.000Z

It was an unusual sunny day in the gloomy Feb, it was Friday and I was walking along the fulham palace road amid the busy morning traffic. This is not an attractive road in west London, too many odd little shops dotted along the side of the street, many of them represent the business from the past, now on the downward spiral of dying out. But my mind was unusually active in the early morning sun, I was still exited by the development in Egypt last night, looks like Mubarak was definitely on the way out. I passed by charring cross hospital, a grey 70s building on the roadside, a man standing on the side of the street was handing out some newspaper, and it reads “Mubarak goes” in the bold headline on the front page. My heart jumped with enthusiasm for a moment, I rushed to the office hoping to have a quick glance of the breaking news on the Internet. But when I opened the Reuters news page, I realized he has not resigned. However, this day later on proved to be the day of his departure.
As a total outsider watching these extraordinary events unfolding, I was amazed and stunned by the Egyptians courage and determination. The scenes in Tahrir square are not completely foreign to me, I can well relate them to my own countries and my own experience. There was not a clear leader or organizer in this movement, but they did with sheer enthusiasm and persistency. It will be a long road before the true democracy gets established, but it brings hope to desperate people.
Revolution is a big and loud word, and it is a word all dictators were afraid of. Democracy is a beautiful thing, it brings freedom and tends to be associated with prosperity. But looking around in Asia, you can argue that a country can still develop economically even without a democratic government, so democracy itself is not a cure for poverty. The leaders in Asia, particularly in China, cleverly acknowledged the need of economic development in the society, it is a good way to keep the majority of the population from taking to the street. And the Chinese society, rooted from farming oriented self sufficient and self preservation culture, seem to be quite content with the unparallel path of economic and political reforms, at least the affluent middle class. Although we learned in history that the elite in the society rarely are the drivers of the reform and revolution, it is always the underdogs that see opportunities from the changes.
The Middle East seems to be caught in the wildfire at the moment, inequality and poverty are always triggers of the political movement, when the basic needs of human beings are not fulfilled, they will fight for a better life. The revolution in the western society happened quite some time ago, although there were vivid examples that all rights had to be fought for, they were not given for free to start with. I always think I have a revolutionary heart but fall short of courage and determination.

Milano - first impression

2010-06-01T16:18:00.002Z

I was looking forward to this trip since I booked the tickets a few days ago. Did some reading on the plane about the history of Milan, it seems it has been ruled by Gaules, Lombardis, Romans, Barbarians, Spanish and Austrians among a few others, quite intriguing really. As it boasts as the Economic centre of Italy, before I came to Milan, I had in my mind a rather industrial city featured by shiny high rise buildings and wide roads packed with cars. But it is also completely opposite. During the taxi ride to the hotel from Cadorna, I noticed most old buildings we passed by and narrow streets in between traditional Italian style buildings with wooden shutters and small balconies with delicate iron fences. It was 6:30 in the afternoon and it was very sunny and warm, I came out of the hotel, the first thing I noticed is that the famous cathedral Duomo is just five minutes away. Following the big spire at the top of the cathedral, I came to a nice square with fountains in the middle, and there are roses blooming lovely in the sun. The season for roses are apparently a bit early in Italy than UK.
The Duomo cathedral is magnificent, just as you would expect for a historical place like this. The stones have been cleaned up on the front but they are still doing some work in the back. I had a stroll in the wide square in front of it, enjoying the scenary in the late afternoon sun, it definitely feels warmer than UK. There is a Galleria of posh shops and cafes on the side.
When my colleague from Sweden arrived, we came out to have dinner in a restaurant near the cathedral. This must be one of the most touristy places in Milan, as this is certainly reflected in the prices for wine. A glass of wine costs between 10 to 15 EUR, that is nearly twice as much for a restaurant like this in London. The food was average, but weather and atmosphere makes up for it.
Our office is located in central Milan where the financial district is. Nice location with stock exchange in the back, this must be where the money is. A good meeting, started a big difficult, but we overcame our differences and reached good conclusions on the way forward. Looks like I will be here for a few more times this summer.

Life in Scandinavian style

2010-05-18T18:48:00.005Z

I am back in Sweden this week, after a quiet time with no travel at all for four months, I found myself looking forward to this trip. OK, I know it is only a work related short trip, but I felt there is a voice yelling from deep down - let me go and see the world again. So against all the odds and right after heathrow was reopened on Monday morning, I got on a flight to Copenhagen.

And I have to say, so far I have enjoyed every minute of the time I have spent here since I arrived. Yesterday, on the train crossing the north sea from Denmark to Sweden, I gazed at the big white wind turbines line up like proud wedding brides across the shimmering dark blue water, it was quite beautiful. The late spring in Scandinavia is an understated beauty, wild yellow flowers dotted on the green grass across the countryside with humble farm style houses. There is nothing flashy, yet it is so peaceful and pleasant for the eyes that you can't help admiring it.

By four O'clcok, the office was nearl empty except a few hard working managers still churning out emails and talking on the phone. I got back in the hotel at 6:30 and decide to talk a walk in the little village behind the hotel. It is a lovely neighbourhood, featured by houses with quite large gardens (seem very large to me compared with my two metre wide garden in London). I noticed there are bicyles and kids toys lying around outside the house, apparently a very low crime area. The smells of the cherry blossoms and fresh grass is truly invigorating, I feel refreshed and happy. In the little playground, I got on one of the swings and enjoyed a little childhood fun. I start to think the scandinavian value is quite a good one, it is a welfare state, people are fairly relaxed and there is a very good work life balance. Ok, maybe they don't produce as much as the Koreans and Chinese, but they enjoy a better and happier life (except the weather) in a lot of ways. Overworking is a big problem in our modern society, we certainly work much harder than our parents generation and we might have more gadgets and things, but this does not make us happier. Then I thought of the company I work for, what is a strange culture mixture, the Japanese and Swedish, they are almost like completely different species. It is almost a mirachle we still work togther.

Then I had a nice dinner in the hotel, pork belly for main course, it was very well cooked probably one of the best pork belly I ever had. I enjoyed a glass of white wine while looking out of the window, still very light even it is nearly eight O'clock. There are a few cherry trees in the back yard, the thick blossoms make the branches look a bit overloaded, swaying gently in the evening wind, while the sun casting a shadow on the grass.

Life in a Scandinavian spring is good.

The hill overlooking the sea

2010-03-14T11:49:00.017Z

This is my first attempt to write a short story in the last twenty years, the last attempt failed miserably after just one chapter, but twenty years is a long time, I think it is better to try now instead of waiting for another twenty years.

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The city life is in full swing. Cars are moving steadily along the third ring road, this is just past the morning rush hour, so they seem to be moving at a reasonable pace. She just finished the breakfast and is gazing out of the window from her 20th floor apartment. It is early spring and hasn't rained for weeks, the sky looks greyish, casting a thin layer of smog in the air. She is getting mentally ready for the busy day ahead of her. She has been back in Beijing for only three months, but certainly it feels like her home again. One day this city is going to be the capital of the world, she thought to herself. In front of her, the shiny high rise office towers and hotels dominate the skyline. There is a communal garden in front of her building but the grass seems to be in a permanent state of thirst for water. For a minute, she misses her home in London. This mega city is more exciting and modern than London in a lot of ways, but it is certainly not as green as London. Or maybe the grass is always greener on the other side of the world.

It is her big day today, as the new CFO of Softech, she will give quarterly financial update of the company to the board of the directors. She has had occasional email inquiries from them, but as she only formally took over the CFO position a month ago, she has not got any tough questions so far. Anyway, the company is in good financial form with another strong quarterly result.

I think I am as well as prepared as I could be really, she thought, flipping through the notes for the presentation. She met most of the board members during the interview four months ago, they don't seem to be particularly demanding so she is not too worried about today's presentation. However, there is one particular person she feels a bit uneasy to meet today,

Peng Hao was the name that jumped out of her computer screen when she first saw the names of all the board members two months ago. Could it be him? The classmate from her high school. That would be a very unusual coincidence, and very unusual indeed that they would meet in this occasion again after twenty something years.

There are some distant but very nice memories from the days in high school. The self-indulgent innocent days. She remembers those long and quiet afternoons she spent in the school library and her mind and emotions were occupied by the stories and characters from the books. They were both very fond of writing and dubbed by their proud Chinese teacher as the most talented writers in the class. They became friends when they started a school literature magazine together. She can't remember how they started it, but they soon became the co-editors of this little establishment. They both wrote journals as well, and eagerly shared with each the new inspirations for writing. Saturday afternoon was the time they met to discuss their magazine. The campus was usually quiet and they would be looking through together the articles they received. She remembered those sunny afternoons, she would occasionally rest her eyes by gazing out of window, looking at the shadows of the trees and hoping time could just freeze at this moment..she was very very happy with this moment offered her

The ringing of her mobile brings her back from the old memories. It was her driver, calling to say he is downstairs to pick her up to the meeting. She takes a minute to gather her thoughts and carefully put the notes folder into her bag and head off to the elevator.

The meeting has formally started with CEO giving a business update to the board. She feels slightly distracted after the greeting session. The management team each shook hands with the board members, most of them already knew each other. she was introduced to the board members she didn't meet before. And there was him, extending his hands to her, "Peng Hao, nice to meet you." He still looks slim, although definitely a much more mature figure compared with the one from her memory. she thought, I guess time has marched on and we both aged. Their eyes met for a brief moment and then both looked away quickly. It is probably not the best time to acknowledge your old acquaintances.

She cruises through her presentation without too many interruptions from the audience. They seem to be pleased to see yet another strong quarter and the management's ambitious plan to expand internationally. She tries to avoid looking at him directly, but as he is sitting across the table it proves almost impossible. "Any more questions or comments?" She asks, feeling almost relieved that the most challenging part of the day is almost over.

"Yes, I am wondering if you could tell us of your assessment of the latest allegation of patent infringement, what is the financial impact on company's cash flow situation and planned listing in Hong Kong stock exchange". Peng Hao says, looking directly into her eyes.

She is a bit taken back by the sharp question from him, but regained her posture quickly. "I have spoken to our legal team and according to them we have a good chance to settle this at a reasonable price by the end of next quarter. Obviously our PR team has been working very hard to eliminate the negative press from this. But as you know, in this industry we all have to battle against these litigation issues all the time, but we are confident with our growing patent portfolio, we are still very attractive to our investors. The payment will have an impact on the second half cash situation, but we have secured potential funding from the bank. Overall I think this kind of one time event will have limited impact on the investor confidence."

'That is good to hear, thank you." Peng hao says approvingly with a smile on his face.

Dinner was set in the restaurant called "South Beauty", this is a top end Sichuan restaurant catering mostly business customers. They have set up branches in half of the office towers in Beijing so you can feel their dominant role in this niche market. He is sitting at the far end of the table so they didn't get a chance to talk much. Everybody was a bit weary after the back to back meetings. One of the board members asked her, "so I heard you lived in London for many years, is Beijing your home town and how do you like it being back?" She thought about it for a second, knowing the part of the question is tricky to answer. "Yes, I grew up in Beijing, to be precise in the west suburbs. I have really enjoyed being back, I think Beijing these days is a more dynamic city compared with London." She stopped, downing a bit wine and searching for words to continue.

It is nearly five o'clock now, she is looking out to the pavement anxiously. She has been feeling mixed about this meeting ever since she got the call from him two weeks ago. That was about three weeks after the board meeting, she got a call from him one day, completely out of blue.
"It was good to see you at the board meeting" he said on the phone, quite business like.
"Yes, same here." She said, not sure if she should mention the question he asked at the meeting.
"Do you remember our high school in Chang Ling? It has been completely rebuilt a few years ago and the town changed a lot as well. I thought you might be interested in having a look around there sometime? You will be surprised."
She can feel there was a long pause on the other end of the line, then he continued,
"unless you are not interested since you are British now."
She can feel there is a tiny sarcastic tone in his voice.
"Yes, of course I am interested, it's been such long time, I guess I was just a bit overwhelmed. Anyway, do you have a time in mind?"
"I am planning to visit my uncle in two weeks who lives not far from there, shall we say five o'clock on the Thursday 18th? We can meet at the upper island cafe near the chang Ling train station."

She arrived a bit early by the train. She decided it is best that she didn't come with the driver as she finds they tend to be a bit nosy about their boss's private life. She had a stroll in the street behind the school where she used to come with her classmates for a cheap lunch. There used to a cluster of one story small stores and restaurants on one side of the market street, but those shabby stores and restaurants have disappeared, replaced by some smart super market, Mcdonald, KFC and coffee shops. She remembers this little restaurant run by a couple and she and her classmates used to come for a noodle dish, it was about 24 cents. It was a simple dish with some fresh vegetables and not much meat. Apparently those cheap and cheerful meals are not on offer anymore. She felt little sad and nostalgic, long gone those days when simple things could make you happy. She looked around, the sky just turned a bit dark and started to drizzle. She decided to come in the upper island cafe while waiting for him.

Shortly after she got a coffee and sat down at the table by the window, she saw a black BMW pulling up on the street outside the coffee shop. She knows it is probably him. he greets her, "I hope you haven't been here for long, a bit traffic jam on the way here."
"No, I got here a bit early and had a quick stroll in town."
"It looks quite different now, isn't? I gather you haven't been back for a long time?" He looks at her with a inquisitive smile.
"Well, actually I haven't been back since we graduated from high school. We moved to Hai Dian district when I started University."
"so when did you move to England?"
"About twelve years ago, it feels like a long time. How about you? How have you been?"
"Me, not as adventurous as you are. I have always been in Beijing since I graduated from University."
"You know, I think you are lucky to go to University in Dalian, it is a beautiful coastal town."
"Oh, yes - the summer there is very beautiful, you had first hand experience - I was not the best host though." He said, referring to her trip there when he was studying in Dalian.
She is surprised he mentioned that summer, not sure what to say, she smiles, looking at him. He has a few fine lines around eyes, but cheek bones and sharp jaw still shape his face in a very unique way. She also notices his hair is thinning out in the middle. He caught her eyes, "you haven't changed much, the English weather is gentle to women apparently."
She feels a bit blushing, "Do you want to show me the new school you told me about?"

To be continued...

The day when the wall came down

2009-11-09T14:26:00.006Z

Twenty years ago, this was the historical moment. The Berlin wall came down after more than twenty years of isolation and persistent fight for freedom. It was not widenly reported in China, as it was post 4th June period,and it was politically sensitive time.

I visited Berlin five years ago, thoroughly instrigued by the history. The small museum at check point de Charlie tells many heartfelt stories, most of them with tears and blood.

It set a landmark closure to the cold war, and once again, history proves that nothing could stop people from communicating and connecting with each other, however difficult it might be.

It was the time East Germany said Goodbye to Lenin and embrace the unity of Germany.

And for the domino effect on Easter Europe and the rest of the world, a big party for the 20th anniversary sounds like a great idea, especially now Germany has officially come out of recession.

Windy city suffers the defeat

2009-10-04T13:27:00.001Z

Chicago lost its bid for 2016 Olympics, I was disappointed, but not too surprised. I only lived in the city for one year, arrived in steamy hot summer and survived the long harsh winter. The weather is not the best, but it is quite a vibrant city and has its own charm, especially the lake front and jazz festivals in the summer. I also enjoyed the shops along Michigan Ave, almost as good as the shops in London, with the exception of course I think London is a more trendy place than Chicago. I probably won’t put Chicago on my favourite cities list, but as a city in the mid west in America, Chicago is as good as it could get, and in a lot of ways it deserves an Olympics.
I admire the fact Obama and his wife made a personal push for their city, the city they still see as home. They did their best, the first lady speech showed class, integrity, and strong, determined character. The message was personal, intimate but utterly convincing at the same time.
America was voted out, almost humiliatingly in the first round. It was political vote in many ways, it shows an united front of countries that are anti America, using this as a perfect forum to stage their protest. And Chicago became the victim of this.
It seems to me there is a bit taste of “sour grape” in the world arena, when one country has been super power for too long, especially if the country who has adopted an aggressive foreign policy, it causes resentment and hatred. I start to wonder when China becomes the next super power, if the same fate could also happen to us. Being the biggest, strongest are not necessarily a blessing, it could be a curse sometimes as well.

Property Mad

2009-10-02T14:04:00.002Z

I must have gone property mad, or at least I am obsessed with property search at the moment. No success so far, we have decided to expand our search to Chiswick area in a desparate bid to get a house.

According the article today on BBC, the house price has gone back to Sep 2008 level, which is not far from the peak price. Strange phenomenon, where does all the money come from? I was at the westfield shopping centre last weekend,the popular shops are packed,Recession, what recession??!!

Anyway, the sun is still shining, so there is still hope! It's been lovely weather in the past four weeks, no rain for nearly two weeks, must be setting some new record...

I guess it is like everything else in life, you have to be open minded, flexible and understand there is no such as perfect house, just how much you could compromise...

Three viewings tomorrow, fingers crossed!

I Love London, just not the property prices.

2009-09-24T14:02:00.001Z

I was on central line from Holland Park heading into city, it was eight in the morning, it was packed of people dressed up for work, quiet in their morning journey to work. I realized how lucky I am to be able to walk to work every day. I have to admit I quite enjoy this occasional visit to the city on a workday morning, a change of usual routine and atmosphere.
And it was such a lovely morning, it has been a good September, like this morning, dry and mild, the early morning sunshine beaming on the concrete buildings and casting its glow in the water of river Thames. I was going to the IBM building on south bank for a seminar. Walking on the pavement by the river, I started to wonder if I would enjoy more working in the city.
Back on tube at mid day, when I was on the stairs going up to the station, some quite mellow singing with guitar drifted from the walkway of the tunnel. I realized that this is the London I love, always on the move, always vibrant, diverse and dynamic.
We will have another busy weekend doing house hunting. We were a bit shocked yesterday when we learned one of the houses we planned to view again this weekend has gone under offer. Even we think it is massively over priced, but apparently they still get snatched up in this desirable area. We have expanded research from Brackenbury village in Hammersmith to Fulham/Parson’s Green area, so hopefully some success.

Eight Years On

2009-09-11T12:12:00.004Z

I woked up to the fresh Autumn air this morning, here in London, the sky was a bit cloudy but it looked promising that the sun could break through soon. Then all of sudden it hit me that it's been eight years since the world was devastated by the tragic event in 9'11.

Eight years on, most of us seem to have put the horror, sorrow and anger behind us (at least for those who were directly affected by the event). But are we livinig in a better world now vs. eight years ago?

Afghanistan is still in a mess with no basic security and a flawed election does not help the democratic progress. Too many young soldiers from US and Britain died, but the real question is if this is a war that could be won in the traditional way. Terrorism could be subdued but never eradicated by war, unless the underlying conflicts in the ideology and long running Israeli and Palestine issue is being addressed and resolved, we could not win this war. We need more dialogue and the will to make compromises to build a brighter future.

Iraq war is a costly mistake that America made, acknowledging it doesn’t necessarily grant the solution. In the eight year post 9’11, sadly the Middle East conflict has not been mitigated or resolved, in fact it has been intensified, and now spreading to other countries as a consequence.
There has been interesting development in the world political and economic stage, China, as the wise men predicted in the 1990s, is becoming a new economic powerhouse. It goes with the Chinese saying “20 years on the east of the river and 20 years on the west of the river”. The world is round, the economic development is going around in circles as well, and it will be interesting to see where the next super star will be born. And it seems that the Economy is still going in boom and bust cycles, and we learned that in the past twelve months that history or glory of an institution could be created but could disappear without a trace, lessons learnt is that if things sound too good to be true, they are probably not true.

Ten years ago, I decided to go and explore a new world. I am still glad I spent three years of my very prime time in America. I learnt a lot there, mostly not in the classrooms. I guess the most important thing I learnt is to live on my own through difficult, challenging time; you get emotionally resilient by holding faith on yourself. I found America is quite an easy country to live, provided you have a good professional job. But except New York and San Francisco, where I do find the diversity and variety, I found most other places a bit boring for me.

The day eight years ago, I will always remember. I was working in an office building in downtown Chicago just across street from Sears Tower when the plane crashed into the first twin tower in NYC. I was reading news on Bloomberg website, thinking it was just another aviation accident. But when we were sent home an hour later, it became very clear something had gone very wrong there. I remember calling my close friend – it was turning chilly in the autumn air in Chicago and I was wandering on the empty ground outside my apartment building. Friends, in turbulent times, are the best assets in the world.

I always wanted to explore Europe, although I never thought I would be working and living in London, life is full of surprises, and this is one of the best ones. I guess in some way I could say I am living in my dreams. In the past eight years, I have been fortunate enough to meet some wonderful people, explore the Europe continent and progress my career, now living in my dream city with someone I love, what more could you ask? Well, we want our dream house, this would be the goal for the next six months. And some day, I will start writing again. It is never good to be too indulged in your own nutshell. It might not be a perfect world out there, but I am still glad to be part of it.

Ciao, Sicily!

2009-08-09T16:46:00.008Z

After a couple of sunny weeks and warm weather in June, summer seemed to reverse to the usual English summer: rainy and cold. Showers every day in the first three weeks in July in London made us really look forward to this holiday in the sun.

And Surely there was plenty of sunshine and heat waiting for us in Sicily.

Before we arrived in Catania, a city in the east coast of Sicily, I had pictured Sicily as an island of a rural and rusty landscape, lemon and olive farms on the hills, wild flowers in bright colours, quiet seaside towns with miles of sandy beaches. But I was to be disappointed to find out that nearly all seaside towns/villages have been overdeveloped, and even in the recession year, the beaches are packed out with hundreds of umbrellas and sunbeds. There is really nothing secluded about it at all, it is just a big commercial scheme to serve thousands of sun seekers, mostly from Italy but also from UK, Germany, France and else where.

Taormina is a charming town, located at top of a hill overlooking the sea, it was built by Greeks and then Romans and others. On a not so hot evening (although it is a rare thing in mid July to mid Aug), it is nice to have a stroll through the narrow streets with fashionable shops on the side. But it was a bit too bustling with tourists, making it lack of any original Sicilian appeal. The beach near Iso Bella is crowded, but the sea near the rocky beach has very clear water, you can see lots of fish swimming there.

Letajanni is a fishing village (as they call it but it is a small town really) that we are quite fond of, the beaches are a little bit quieter than Taormina or Gidiarni Naxos, and the sea was lovely and relatively calm. We ran into a French guy name Nino near the train station there, he turned out to be a Sicilian origin but brought up in France and works near the border of France and Germany. He is an interesting character, who loves traveling in South East Asia. He talked about Thailand, Indonesia so affectionately and said he would love to retire in one of those countries. I started to wonder if he is still single and thinks of finding a wife/girlfriend there as well.

It was extremely hot most of the time during our stay in Sicily, so we spent most of the time dipping in the sea and sitting under the shade of the umbrella on the beach. We did one walking trip from Gidiarni to Taormina and Castelmola, which was quite interesting. You get wonderful view on the hills looking out to the sea and Mt. Etna not so far away. There are a lot of wild Cactus, and some have grown into big trees with trunks looking like a real tree. In Castelmola,a little sleepy village on top of a hill, you get nice breeze from the sea, and it was a real treat on a hot day.

The excursion to Mt. Etna was not as exciting as we expected, the bus took us to 2000 meters above sea level, then it is a combination of cable car and land rovers taking us to 3000 meters, where you can see the top (3300 meters) up close. It is a very active volcano, with smokes coming out in several places near the top. At 3000 meters, looking down you will find a lot of lava trails from past eruptions. Some of the villages at the bottom of the hill were rebuilt after the eruptions in the last thirty years. You can also see wild flowers in red and yellow blooming on the lava sand, a strange landscape you don't come across very often. They have a few ski runs from 3000 meters to 2000 meters, so the same cable cars will take the skiers up hill during winter time.

We enjoyed a rather lazy holiday in the sun, but by the end of the two weeks, we were worn out by the hot weather. When we were back in London, on the bus going from Gatwick to central London, the familiar green landscape under cloudy sky greeted us and we both felt relieved to cool down a bit in this English summer weather, after all, 40 degree was a bit too much for our bodies. So it is home sweet home for us in London and back to work next day.

Long road to a brighter future

2009-06-19T13:14:00.002Z

One week on, the rest of the world still hold their breath watching the biggest movement in thirty years in Iran. The truth of the election vote count, none of us know and we are probably not in the position to judge, but the high participation of the protest says something for itself, the courage and enthusiasm of the people reflect a nation waking up from its past, and ready to take in control of its future. This reminds me of the event twenty years ago in China, there are astonishing similarities, the fearlessness and naiveness of the youth and sometimes rather disturbing and brutal reality they have to face.

They might not get what they want, the road to freedom and democracy is never easy. It is a rare opportunity, given the power of the opposition party led by Mousavi, but today's speech by the supreme leader is a clear signal that this movement might be just another brave attempt in vain.

I like the speech Obama gave in Cairo, he is inspirational yet he is realistic and taking a progmatic approach towards complex issues. The issue between Israel and Palestine is not just political or religious, it is an economic conflict essentially for the people. When people start to believe they will have a more comfortable and secure life, they will choose to live rather than becoming a martyr. There has to be hope for them in the future. And compromises have to be made on both sides.

The west wants to see a more liberal and open Iran, however, they must be prepared the progress there could take long time and the process could be quite painful, and there will be set backs as history does not evolve like one straight line. Obama is right about letting Iranian people choose their own destiny, and history has proved the internal force within the country is ultimately the driving and determining force in the development. In the meantime, regardless how worried we are about the situation, we have to let the nation take its own course. They will get there, but it will be a long bumpy road.. .

Beijing and Guilin

2009-05-24T15:11:00.012Z

It's been more than a year since I went back to China last time. Now it is spring time, the change of season is usually very swift in Beijing during this time of the year. I had been looking forward to this trip back home for a long time, a lot has happened during the last year. The Beijing Olympics was a great success, but then the world recession is hitting the world's factory China very hard as well. I was very keen to find out how things are going in China and I also organized to meet my close friends (one of which was a long lost friend from University time).

Arrived in Beijing on an unexpected rainy day. It was great to see my parents, my sister and her husband. They were joking that we have brought the rain from wet England, as it had not rained in Beijing for nearly two months.

It was nice to be in my flat again, it seems to be quite spacious compared with our flat in Holland Park in London. now there is new subway station within 5 minutes walk. The area has gone through so much new development with upmarket shopping malls and coffee shops spiraling along the third ring road.

We had a lazy lay in the next morning, and then we had a stroll to the French cafe "Le Tout les Jours". It is a new cafe chain, with modern decor and furniture. The staff were very young and friendly, as you would expect in a upmarket place like this in the city. The coffee tastes surprisingly very good, while we sat down by the window table and looking out, we both thought of Paul, the French coffee shop in London. The Paul in Holland park is very nice, but it is more on the rusty side of the old French style. This cafe has more young and chic flavour, equipped with wireless network. Can you see yourself spending lazy mornings here with your laptop, I asked Mark, oh, yes, I can. Mark said, with a smile on this face.

Still jetlagged, we embarked on the train to Guilin. It was Marks' idea to take the 22 hour train down to Guilin. I warned him before we came, "The Chinese trains are not as advanced and modern as these in Europe". Equipped with the idea of expecting the worst, we found the long journey quite bearable. We had an interesting family in our so called “soft sleeper” carriage. The Chinese man was with his mom and 11 year old daughter. He actually works and lives in UK for more than 10 years, the girl speaks perfect native English. They were back in China visiting family and taking his mom for an operation in Beijing and now on their way to their hometown in south China. The girl is very cute and a lively character. We had a chat with them from time to time. Most of the time during the day, we sat by the window and watched the landscapes passing by. At one stop in a small station, we saw a small old man from local village made a swift dive through the bottom of the train, before we moved to the other side of the train to check if he made through safely, he was already through the rail, and climbed up to the road by the side. We smiled, and I said, “that was impressive, wasn’t it?” Mark looked at the little figure disappearing in the narrow country road, said “Yes, he probably had done it hundreds of times, practice makes it perfect.” The food on the train was just as bad as I could remember from 20 years ago on the train, probably worse as the food standard in China has improved significantly in these years. And the dining carriage is still managed very much like as communist canteen although they charge you a hefty price (by Chinese standard) for some terrible meals. But we survived, the train passed the Yangzi River at night, I was drifting in and out of sleep while the train made a few stops in some major cities on the river.

Our spirits were quite high when we got off the train, it was early afternoon, the warm and humid air embraced us. We were very glad to have had this train journey, it was more fun than taking the plane except the tiredness from the long hours. On the way in the taxi to Sheraton, we got a glimpse of the city. Lots of bicycles and motobikes, a green and fresh looking city with a few small lakes and rivers running through. Sheraton is just located by the famous River Li, it started to drizzle a bit when we went out to have a walk along the river bank. It is the “Plum Rainy season” right now in the south, so we expect to get rain here.

The next day we did the usual tourist thing, a group tour on the boat cruising down the river. It was a bit unusual experience for Mark. We were sitting with some people from Northeast region in China, which are known for their rather outgoing characters. They were really enjoying themselves during the trip, laughing and talking quite loud. Fun crowd, we thought although slightly on the noisy side. The scenery we passed is beautiful, with green limestone hills in various shapes. And we were being blasted nearly all the time with broadcasting from tour guide on the different attractions and legendary stories in this region. The view on the 2nd level of the boat was fantastic, you feel as if you were travelling in a giant refined Chinese painting. One highlight of the trip was the “pig haggling”. While we were sitting on the boat, there are a few bamboo rafts coming close to our boat, and after hooking their rafts on our boat, they started selling various art objects to the passengers on board. The objects are some crafted stones looking like cabbage, Buddha and some animals. One thing caught our eye was a pig, it has a cute looking around face and body with an innocent smile. We waved to the vendor who was holding the pig in his hand, he came close to us and showed us the pig, it was a lovely silly creature, we asked the price and within a few minutes, the deal is done, we got it for 50 yuan (5 pounds). Pleased with our purchase, we put it on the table and play around with it. This pig drew some huge attention, soon everybody at our table asked for a pig, they started bargaining with the vendor as a group, within 10 minutes, all the pigs on the bamboo rafts were sold out. We had a real good laugh about it and gave the pig to my parents when we came back to Beijing. Both of them and my sister love it. Well, it is a very small price to pay for a simple pleasure.

After the big boat cruise on the river, we decided to take a less commercialized scheme to see more of the countryside. We got a small bamboo raft the next day. Most of these bamboo rafts are run as a family business. We met a woman on the river bank, who turns out to be the sister of the guy who owns the raft. We had a brief chat with her while she walked us to the other side of the river to meet her brother. She told us he couldn’t pick us up on this side of the river because the local police patrol are in operation around here and they are prohibited from taking customers here. She and her husband have a boat as well, and they have a son who is finishing University this summer but fears there is no jobs for him due to the Economy downturn in China. In the past, these new graduates usually go to Canton, a more prosperous region driven by the export business in the south coast, but now even there the jobs are drying up. I feel bad for her and her son, they have worked very hard to send him to University but now there is no job for him.

We got on a bamboo raft and started our second day of cruising down the river. This turns out to be a more interesting trip. It started raining very heavily, so it became very quiet and peaceful on the river. All the tourist boat seemed to have gone and only us the mad ones were still on the boat enjoying the tranquillity and beauty of nature. We were actually sheltered from the rain as there is a roof on the raft. The water is very clear, with reflections of green hills. We stopped from time to time to visit local fishing villages and have a look around. It must be tough life to be a fisherman here compared with more lucrative jobs these days in the city. There is one ancient town called Da Xu is the most intriguing one. There is one narrow alley running through the town, with wooden houses by the side which are 300 years old. Some of the houses are in quite distressed condition. We saw one young woman making a bamboo basket in her yard, and we tentatively stepped in when an old granny looking woman waved at us. She must have seen us looking very curious, she smiled us and asked us to come in and have a look. We walked into the house, she started showing us around – the interesting small hollow yard in the middle of the house, where the rain water drops through to the ground. I guess it is designed to get more light inside the house. She pointed out some well-crafted old wooden furniture on the side and said it is 200 years old. “this is where my grandchildren live”, she said it pointing to the small loft on the top. We can see the whole house is in a very bad shape, needing some major renovation work. While we were at the back garden, she proudly showed us the potted plants she has, “aren’t they beautiful”, she said to us. Out of curiosity, I asked where the toilet is, she must have misunderstood me and said “just here”, pointing to the back where there was a small brick walled shed, “do you want to use it” she asked me. I felt a bit embarrassed. “No, actually no”, I replied. We left her with 20 yuan, she thanked us graciously and we said goodbye. Walking back on the alley running by the side of the river, we noticed there were some new houses being built along side the houses on the street. It is really like seeing new China clashing with old China in one miniature version here. Obviously the villagers who decide to stay in this old town have not had the equal fortune as the ones ventured out to the cities, but on the other hand, who is to say the city life style is necessarily better and they might be more happy here where their ancesters have lived for centuries.

Our last day in Guilin, we went to see the terraced mountains in a county with 2 hours drive from Guilin. We got a taxi outside the hotel. The driver is an outgoing character and very keen to learn English. He surprised us with the English words he knows. It is not easy to learn a foreign language for an adult if you haven’t studied the basics, but he managed to learn a lot of words from his customers from English, America, etc, just little by little. I admire his drive for learning, I wish we have more taxi drivers like him in China, that would make the foreign tourists life much easier in China! The terraced fields were very impressive, they are rice fields built on hills, there are so many of them in that county. There are two minority ethnic groups living there. Their hard work from 500 years has created a very unique and breathtaking landscape that thousands of people admire today. Now this place has become a tourist attraction as well, there is a village in the centre of the terraced hills where there are guest houses and restaurants for the city people to “experience the farm life”. We walked all the way up to the highest fields, it was a nice walk with terraced fields running up and down the hills around this. We noticed there were some road work going on the other side of the mountain. Later on we learned from the driver this is another road being build which will take tourists to other villages as well. We feel a bit sad about this, soon the unique landscape here will be cut to pieces by the big roads crossing through. In a developing country, it is not easy to get the right balance between development and environmental reservation. A typical example is in Yang Shuo, a beautiful small town with a lot of limestone mountains along the River Li, there is a big motorway going through the town, with very little traffic on it. This was a very controversial project when it started, a lot of scientists and geologists objected to the idea, but it still got built partly due to the ambitious local government.

When we came back to Beijing in a week later, spring has leaped into the summer, it was sunny and very warm. We went to the art district 798 factory, where the Chinese modern art is really thriving. Since our last visit a year ago, some of the Chinese artists have become well known in the International arena. We also went to see a contemporary art exhibition called “Art Beijing”, which was apparently a commercial scheme to push the sales of modern art. On the way out, we saw a few guys selling the exhibition catalogue. The official price is 180 Yuan but we got bargain from them for 35 yuan. It is not fake, judging from the fine paper and good print quality. We suspect they got them very cheap from people who got them free, so this is China – you should always look around and shop for a bargain!

We spent a day at my parents townhouse in the countryside, there has been new additions to this huge luxious development. Apart from the existing town houses and detached houses, they have built a lot courtyard houses mocking the southeast China style, with grey brick walls, bamboo by the pond, and some rock sculptures in the garden. The new rick in China is definitely still growing at impressive speed everyday. We played Ping Pong with my parents, my dad is still very good at it, we had a few double games and a few mixed double games, of course most of the time the Chinese team beat the English team...

Before we arrived in Beijing, I booked us for two hiking trips in the mountains around Beijing with my favourite hiking group “Beijing Hikers”. They have been doing very well, now the founder’s sister is getting married with a New Zealander. They certainly don’t have to worry about lacking of customers, since I left China, they have bumped price by 80% but they are still fully booked in every trip. I was just so happy to be back hiking again, walking on the old wall, looking at the broken towers on the rolling hills, enjoying the perfect combination of nature and culture. The second hike was quite hard-core, Mark and I had to take turns to carry our rucksack as there was some very steep path going up. But the view was fantastic on the top and we enjoyed the climbing as well. Lunch was arranged in a village after the hard climb, the food was surprisingly good, a lot of fresh vegetables and some barbecued fish. As usual, the crowd was friendly and quite sociable.

When we were in Beijing, most of the evenings we were busy meeting up my friends. A few of them had babies in the last two years, and I can see the focus of the family certainly have changed a lot. One of the evenings we went to have a drink in a swanky bar on top of the tallest building (so far) in Beijing, it is part of Hyatt hotel. The view was nice, but the cocktails don’t come cheap, actually they almost charge you London price. We ordered two cocktails and one non alcohol cocktail, it came 400 yuan including service charge.

One of our favourite places in Beijing is still the Hu Tongs, we had a good day out going around the Hu Tongs, this is where you still get a glimpse of “old Beijing” which is moving over for the big modern developments. One evening we went to the Vienamese restaurant Nuage for dinner, excellent food wand great view, just as I remembered.

On the day leaving Beijing, I realized how much I enjoyed being back in my home town and home country. It is an exciting place to be in, and we are planning to come back for a holiday next year as well. Who knows, we might decide to relocate to China one day, not a bad idea, uh!

Weekends by the seaside near Bournemouth

2009-04-17T14:39:00.009Z

We went down to the seaside near Bournemouth a couple of times on the weekend, first in the middle of March and second time during Easter weekend. We were very lucky with the weather, and I have changed my view on the British seaside, actually when the sun is shining, it is really lovely. It has its own charm, not so flashy, not so steaming hot, but mild, clean and peaceful.

We had a few cricket games on the beach (only plastic bat and ball) and I really enjoyed it. I am actualy not a bad batman - thanks to the practice from tennis and pingpong!

We stopped by a stately home for afternoon, there was a wedding reception going on, pity we were not invited for a glass of bubbly!

London - the focus of attention

2009-04-02T15:55:00.003Z

London is definitely a happening place in the past two days, although it seems quite business uausal in our small corner of west London office.

The Obama couple has enjoyed a warm welcome in London, you can't get any more high profile and British than a day like this in London - started with breakfast in Downing street, meeting selected elite of world leaders, meeting the queen (she got a ipod, but I wonder if she would ever use it) and Mrs Obama finished off the day dining with J.K Rowling and Mrs. Brown, cooked by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

They are the style icon, with his trademark smile and relexed yet influential manner, and her ever impressive wardrobe, they are the media favourite but they also have a magnetic appeal to general public around the world.

And they are very very lucky with the weather!

I almost wished Mr. and Mrs. Brown were a bit more glamourous, as the guests are certainly stealing the show here. But they have done a wonderful job being the host of a event watched by billions.

The scale and impact of the protests are not as serious as expected, and seem to be limited to specific groups at the moment.

The hype around the G20 and the rally in the stock market reminds me of the Obama campaign slogan "Hope", indeed in this deep crisis, hope and confidence is the key to lead us through the storm and come out strong. But hope does have to materialize but promises have to be fulfilled and delivered with concrete actions.

The sun is shining, and it also seems there is a fair share of optimism in the market!

Spring London

2009-03-20T19:53:00.003Z

It's been lovely weather this week, almost feel like we are living in a miracle - sunny and warm ( a bit chilly in the air still) and the gardens are in full blossom. It is the London we all love, but we don't get so much.

Talking about miracle, that is what we need for the economy really. So far I still have a job, although the golden days in our industry are long gone. Now it is neck breaking competition.

I am going to the seaside in the south coast this weekend, Mark is already down there with his dad. His sister and I will join them tomorrow. Boscombe has attracted quite some attention in the recent year since they started the artificial surf reef a few years ago. Things are taking in shape. We were there in July last year, while the seafront flats were selling as "hot cakes" (according to the sales lady). I am quite interested to see the progress in the past 9 months.

What I am really looking forward is the home visit in mid April. We will go to Beijing and then off to Guilin for a few days sightseeing. It would be great to see my old friends, one of them I haven't seen for eight years. The recession in the west has hit China quite badly as well, and it is quite a difficult job to manage a economy with such a vast population and still largely unskilled workers. I don't agree with the government on a lot of issues, but I would like to give them some credit on the management of economy.

It is a rather interesting new phenomenon. I remember 20 years when China was just opening up, everybody in China looked at the west with full admiration. And not surprisingly in a lot of industries, the benchmark has been the western companies/banks. My sister works for one of the biggest commercial bank in risk management in the head office. They used to have RBS as their strategic partners and there are some "RBS experts" stationed in their bank for years doing training and lectures. She recalls last year in one of the seminars they were shocked the loose lending policy RBS had taken, but when they questioned this kind of very risky practice, the answer is that they "understand the risks and they have a system to manage the risks." Well, maybe not! Thinking back, she is glad that their bank didn't adopt the "expert practice".

Friday evening, I am home alone, a bit usual, but in a way it is kind of nice to have some time for myself.

And in this lovely spring sunny day, I can't really complain. On the way back from work today, I walked through Holland park, and I can't help to think how lucky I am to have a wonderful park just in the door steps!

Auction - Legitimating Looting?

2009-03-02T15:07:00.003Z

This week the auction of two bronze sculptures in Christie’s have made headline news on the Internet. This is a typical story that reflects the conflict of values between the west and China that media loves. Although as a Chinese, this is a bitter tale that I find it hard to tell.

I think patriotic motive of the Chinese bidder is very obvious, which I totally understand although I am not convinced this is the best idea. But maybe given the state of the relationship between French and Chinese government, a more diplomatic resolution to return the treasurer to China was probably considered quite unlikely.

To understand why we are here today, it is important to understand the historical context. I believe we actually have the same facts – more or less anyway. Maybe I could borrow Victor Hugo’s words in his letter to the French capital regarding the “China Expedition”.

“It was a kind of tremendous unknown masterpiece, glimpsed from the distance in a kind of twilight, like a silhouette of the civilization of Asia on the horizon of the civilization of Europe.
This wonder has disappeared.One day two bandits entered the Summer Palace. One plundered, the other burned.
……
And back they came to Europe, arm in arm, laughing away. Such is the story of the two bandits.
We Europeans are the civilized ones, and for us the Chinese are the barbarians. This is what civilization has done to barbarism.
Before history, one of the two bandits will be called France; the other will be called England.
……
I hope that a day will come when France, delivered and cleansed, will return this booty to despoiled China.”

So this pair of sculptures were looted from China! As much as I respect the interest of its private collector, in this case, it is the legendary Yves St Laurent, I don’t support the auction. To me, it is one thing these national treasurers are held in Louvre or British Museum, but it is completely different matter if they go on auction. To me, or to whoever has a respect for culture, auctioning them is a process of legitimating the looting.

Time may have passed, history may have evolved, but it doesn’t change the nature of theft. So in theory, these national treasurers should be returned to China unconditionally. But in reality this is a much complex and delicate matter. Today the treasurers are held by private collectors who had paid a handsome price to get them in the first place. In my opinion, the more practical solution is to use diplomatic means if possible, otherwise buying them at the original price the collector paid for is not a bad idea. And for the looted treasurers now displayed in Louvre or elsewhere in museums, if we can’t get them home back to China, at least we should demand lending them on short term basis for free for exhibitions in China.

I was a teenager when I learned this tragedy of the imperial gardens, and I remember standing in the middle of its ruin site in Beijing, trying to imagine its splendid past – a silhouette of the civilization of Asia on the horizon of the civilization of Europe. The ruins, even after these years are still impressive, especially during the sunset when the warm glow casting on its finely carved white surface. Strange enough, the feeling of anger didn’t last, after a while, it is pure sadness, over the colossal loss of intractable beauty.

I think we have to respect history, and respect the achievement of all civilizations. And personally I think the culture should be shared across borders, so I have no problem with having our stolen national treasurers displayed in foreign museums. But to be also fair and practical, we should have the right to borrow any stolen treasurers for exhibitions in China, not for the sheer national pride, but for education of our own children. All nations need to learn their past and art is one of the best ways to learn their culture and history.

****** Updates *******

Some more development during the week:

The Chinese bidder is a successful business man who made his wealth from clothing business and in the past he has set up a fund helping channeling the return of Chinese stolen treasurers from overseas and he is on the VIP list in Christie's (OF COURSE NOW HE WILL BE ON THE BLACK LIST). And apparently he never intended to buy these two items, as this is against the principle laid out by Chinese government. In this particular case, Christie's revealed that they had secretly approached Chinese government before the auction, offering a relative low price but turned down by the Chinese government.

The main purpose of the intentional bid with no payment is to make this auction a miscarriage, which seemed to be a success so far. According to the current owner of the sculptures, he has told the press that if the Chinese bidder doesn't pay within a month, he will keep the items. I guess this is probably wise given it will be bad publicity for him and Yves Saint Laurent family if this goes to auction again and would certainly also put French government in tremendous pressure trying to amend the relationship with China. Also according to the online survey done by La Monde, more than 70% of the French public think these sculptures should be returned to China.

Interestingly, the forum on the Chinese website offers mixed reactions from the Chinese public. Not surprisingly, there are hails to support his patriotic act, but there are also criticism of his bold move, citing concerns of the negative impact on Chinese's credibility and trustworthiness overseas. One blogger says, this kind of act is naive, and could jeopardize the goodwill and faith we have endeavoured to establish in the eyes of the west.

Back in the social scene

2009-02-27T17:02:00.001Z

Spring is arriving in London, at least for this week anyway. As part of my new year resolution, I have decided to get out and socialize more this year. Now looks like at least weather has kicked off a good start.

I was in the city earlier this week for a seminar at IBM office in southbank. It is one of those ugly, characterless buildings, but southbank area always gives me a nice feel about London. The river, theatres and buzz ling crowd makes a good dynamic city that enchants many hearts. Sometimes I think Hammersmith is a bit isolated, it is a buy place during work hours as there are quite a few big companies here (Coco cola, universal studio) but somehow it just doesn’t have the viber that the city offers.

I was talking to H, one of my Swedish friends on the phone last week, she is moving to San Francisco. Nice place. I think it is a good time to be in America – they have got a charismatic leader who hopefully will revitalize the country.

I have not been going out to social events since Mark and I started dating about two years ago. I guess it is partly because we get too comfortable and lazy and work gets quite stressful sometimes, but now it is time to get out of our shell and interact with the big world.

“Why don’t you try oriented?” H reminded me that was where we met in Beijing. I checked out their website, seems like they have been expanding to more cities around the world since three years ago.

So here I was, standing in the middle of this Italian restaurant/bar called Vapiano just off oxford street. I realized I am no longer “savvy” at socializing anymore, of course I blame it for lack of practice. But I quickly gathered my guts and hid away my shyness. Within a few minutes I was in the mingling crowd.

It turned out to be an interesting night, and I even bumped into someone I know in London, whom I haven’t seen for at least two years. It was quite civilized crowd, a mixture of British Chinese, other nationalities who have China links, and Taiwanese and people like me from mainland China. The only disappointment is that I was hoping to speak a bit Chinese but it seems everybody is keen on speaking in English.

Winter Wonderland in London

2009-02-02T19:17:00.002Z

When I got up this morning, it was a delightful surprise that outside it has turned a winter wonderland. The snow started in the evening yesterday, apparently had been snowing all night long, and it was still snowing when I left for work. The snow on the untouched streets was deep to my ankles.

When I got to the office after 40 minutes (usually it is a 30 minutes) walk, it turned out I was one of the few people who made to the office as most public transportation had stopped running. I enjoyed a quiet day in the office and went home at 15:00. A nice change really compared with normal working days!

In the last ray of sunlight, we made a snowman in our communal garden. It was wonderful to have a day like back in the childhood.

Now I have become Mrs. Robinson

2008-12-30T14:54:00.000Z

Just before the Christmas 2008, we got married in the registry office in Chelsea town hall, followed by a wedding reception at Julie's with close family and friends. My parents were here, and they were really pleased to see their little pearl finally finding a happy home.

So now I have become the famous Mrs. Robinson, not that I have resemble in anyway to the lady in the film, and I certailny didn't choose to marry him because there was already a song for me! :)

Some photos from the wedding....

Lazy Sunday afternoon on Autumn day

2008-11-16T17:02:00.003Z

It has been a busy year, and before I know it, Xmas is around the corner again - another year has almost gone by. It is a typical late Autumn day here in London, cloudy and mild, leaves are changing colors and showing off their last golden glamour before giving up to the winter.

We went to the garden centre and got a new plant for the balcony. Our flat on the first floor facing the communal garden, the lush summer green has long gone, replaced by half bare trees branching out to the street underneath our balcony. It is a very wealthy neighbourhood in this prime location in London, but it is usually very quiet on a gloomy weekend like this. It seems that people just retrieve to their 2.5m home for comfort.

We love this area, but living in a 40 square meter flat is nothing of great comfort. We are getting married next month and hoping to buy a small cottage in Brook Green area in a few months. I love the old houses in London, they have a charm that gets better with age. I am glad in a way I found my first flat in this area when I moved to London two years ago (almost three years now!). It has a village feel to it, close to Holland park and great transportation link from Hammersmith to the city. We wish we could move the French cafe Paul from Holland Park to Brook Green, that would make it perfect.

Looking back at the past eleven months, it seems that my life these days have been dominated by slaving in the office, shopping, traveling and time to just relax and not doing anything. I suppose that what has plagued most of us in modern time, the pressure to be successful at our career, making more money, buying nice things, enjoying nice things, wanting more nice things, trying to make more money, buying more nice things, but is there an end to this really? It seems that we push ourselves to a giant flywheel and could never get off again. When I contemplate on this thought, I have to admit I get a bit scared. Maybe it is time to think about being and so much doing all the time.

I am looking forward to the new year though, I will be a married woman again - after nearly ten years, and we will hopefully be moving to a small cottage house. A little of my own space would be nice, I really need to catch up on my blog. And it could be an exiting year, we will be slowly getting out of this current economic mess, and America finally has a strong, liberal and charismatic leader, that is one very encouraging development, isn't it? If the old sterling ever claws back to the two dollar exchange rate again, we will definitely make a visit to the key west, something could be a belated honey moon.

Update

2008-04-26T20:27:00.002Z

It was a lovely day in London, spring or rather summer is in the air. Well, I haven't been hibernating in the past six months, but have been pretty much tied up with work and travel. Since the trip to Beijing after Xmas last year, I had three business trips to Sweden, one ski trip to French Alps and one business trip to Munich. Traveling is not something I particularly enjoy much anymore due to all the hassles at airport. I feel I have lost my writing impulse due to the stress with work and travel.

Before my two year contract in London was up this February, I got a promotion and extended my contract for another three years. It has been a great experience with the company and I love the London a lot so of course I decided to stay. Mark and I had a great ski holiday in the French Alps - La Plagne. By the end of the week, I was skiing in the red runs without much difficulty. I have to say I was very pleased with myself.

Two weeks ago I had my 36th birthday - we had a dinner out and then I had to pack for a trip Munich the next day. The beauty of getting older or mature is that you don't necessarily get wiser but you get calmer about things.

One of the interesting books I read recently is "English-Chinese dictionary for lovers." It is quite a light hearted read, but there are some vivid portray of culture differences made me laugh and ponder. I can actually related some of the characters to the people I know. Sometimes it feels like a nice retreat contemplating on cultural footprint in the way we live and love.

Autumn day in Hampstead

2007-10-22T20:05:00.000Z

There has been a lot of sunny weekends since autunm arrived in London. Sports wise, it was a disappointing last weekend, as England's dream was shattered in rugby first and then in the Grand Prix. Pubs and park were all busy though, people were out enjoying the lovely autumn. Leaves are changing colors, painting a very romantic picture of the city, giving it a bit golden and warm orange glow. We went to Hampstead for a walk on Sunday afernoon. The big oak trees are turning yellow and brown, covered the ground with fallend leaves.

Amalfi Coast

2007-08-31T12:16:00.000Z

We had been looking forward to this holiday for a long time. I was quite fond of Rome when I visited there last year, and heard Amalfi coast is beautiful and there were some great walks. It is in south Italy, where it is sunny and warm – well, could be a bit too hot sometimes!

It was busy in Heathrow on a Saturday morning, there was a long queue for the Alitalia counter, I guess there are a lot of people who want to get away for a real hot summer.
I was reading Graham Greene’s “Quiet American” on the plane. I saw the film a few years ago and like it very much since it unveils both good and bad sides of human beings and it makes you ponder and think. Reading and travelling are the two things I enjoy a lot in life.

The landscape gradually changed from dry plains to green hills on the route from Rome to Naples, when the plane started to descend, we caught a glimpse of blue ocean, shimmering spectacularly in the bright afternoon sun.

Coming out of Naples airport, the air was hot but quite pleasant; we got on the coach taking us to a village in Sorrento. After about half hour, we were driven into a mountainous area with narrow and winding roads built along the mountain ridge. The sun started going down, painting the mountains in orange and red, giving them a bit mysterious appeal. Then I heard someone pointed out to a hill and said in an excited voice, “that is volcano Vesuvius.” There, not far away from us, there is a rocky mountain and its top is rather flat, looks like part of it has fallen off. The sunset casted a warm glow on its greyish rocky face, making it look like a burnt ancient monument. This famous volcano is well recorded in history book for its eruption in AD79 which buried the whole Pompei city.

When we came out for dinner in the evening, the air felt cooler, maybe because we stayed at the hotel in the village Bomerano about six hundred metres above sea level. The hotel treated us with a wonderful Italian dinner, all made from fresh local produce, in fact most of the vegetables are just from their small field behind the hotel. We had a stroll to the village centre, which is just a small square with a few shops around. People were sitting around and having a chat, kids riding their bicycles around.

We did some walks around the coast to Amalfi and Pacitano in the following few days. In our day 5, we walked through the Valle de Ferriero National park, which is a dense woodland up in the mountain range just above Amalfi coast. The walk was very pleasant, going through the woods, savouring the tranquillity and beauty of the nature. We actually spot a snake on a tree, but obviously he was more scared than us, crawling away from the scene as fast as he could. And it is certainly a very rewarding walk. At the end of walk, we started to hear the sound of stream running down, we looked up, there are several stream flowing down from the green hills down to a small pond. We followed the leader, who led us into the upstream of the pond, after a few turns around the rocks, a big water fall came right in front of us. Then we looked around we saw multiple streams dripping through the grass from different directions, all feeding into a big pond. The water is clear but rather chilly, we can see small frogs clinging onto the pebbles. We decided to stay around the rock pond area for a while. We put our feet in the water, it was freezing cold. We sat by the pond, feeling the hotness of sunlight on our back. It was nice to be in a secluded spot away from the crowd for a while. When we carried on, the afternoon heat started to kick in, we passed the old roman channel systems, it was built to divert the streams from mountains to irrigate the fields on the terraces around. Quite an achievement for ancient Romans.

On the way down following the stream, we saw a family doing barbecue, they waved to us and said something in Italian, judging from the body language, we knew they were inviting us to join them. The smell of barbecue chicken was quite tempting, but we had plans for the afternoon in Amalfi, so we thanked them and moved on. We passed by a lot of lemon fields down the hill, obviously benefiting from the streams flowing down from the hill. Most of the fields have water pipes on the side. There are green curtains covering some lemon trees in the heat.

The Amafi coast has a very unique picturesque scenery, with steep cliffs dropping to the oceans from very high up, and the narrow roads winding up and down the mountain ridge to connect the dotted towns around the coast. Most of the days it was hazy along the coast, making it like a true beauty unwilling to unveil her lovely body curves. On a day with good visibility, we could see Capri which is an island within a short ferry ride distance. The last walk was called “the walk of the gods”, it was a lovely trekking through the bushes and exposed rugged trails along the coast. It was an extremely hot day, we arrived at Pacitano feeling a bit too hot. It was certainly baking on the beach. Mark went for a swim in the sea when I was wondering in the shops absent-mindedly. As if we thought the day had not been a good challenge for us, we made a decision to walk back to the village we were staying. It is a walk about three and half hours each way. But we were motivated by the idea that this is our last day walking here so we had to make the best out of it. It turned out to be a rather difficult walk. The first fifteen minutes were steep stairs that look almost vertical, we were a bit out of breath when we got on the top. We carried on for a while, drinking lots of water to keep off the heat. It was only thirty minutes after we started we realized our bottled water was running low. The next shop along the way was still about thirty minutes, I began to get quite worried. Then following a pavement in the narrow alley, I saw a sign in front of a house that looks like a small restaurant/bar. I went in only to find out it is a farmer’s house, well quite a big one actually. An old couple sitting by a table in the courtyard. The man was cutting some vegetables on the cutting board. I gathered my courage and asked them if they have any drinking. The man looked at me, confused first, then said “ah, Aqua, si.” And then turned to the woman and said something in Italian. The woman went into the kitchen and started some work. I waited there, rather nervously looking around. It is a big house with a nice view of the ocean. It must have been 10 minutes also the woman came out with a big jar of fresh lemon juice. I was delightfully surprised as I was only expecting some water. We thanked them and left a few euros and moved on with our journey.

The fresh cold lemon juice did give us a magic boost that we need. We carried on with the walks in the heat for another three hours, when we were finally descending to the village we were staying, the sun started to go down behind the hills, and there was little breeze coming from the ocean as well. It was definitely cooling down quite a bit. When we walked in the hotel, a group of guests sitting in the terrace greeted us and one of them said to us “you guys are mad, do you know it was 42 degree this afternoon?!” well, we didn’t know that, we would not have done it if we knew. But we made it, that is a victory and worth celebrating. Later on in the evening, our guide told us that we were the very few people who ever walked back the trail on the same day.

The hotel kitchen did a pizza making show on one night, Naples is the hometown of pizza, one of the great Italian inventions still loved by millions around the world. To this day, they still use the traditional stone oven invented by the ancient Napleans, and the temperature in the oven is around 400 to 500 degree, so the pizza gets cooked in a mere three to four minutes.

The evenings in the village were generally quite uneventful, we sometimes had a stroll down to the square and had a Gelado (Italian ice cream) treat. We found a place to play table tennis at a local bar, that was a good past time in the early evening. On our last day, we went to the town centre, while having a cold beer at the table outside the shop, an Italian guy came to our table, he is a short man with sun tanned skin and hard wrinkles on his face. We looked up at him, he was smiling, and then he tried to say something but hesitated from a second, then it seemed that he gathered his courage and said to me, “Are you from Japan or China?” I was confused but then understood, I said “China”. Then he was trying to say something about his house I thought, which I could not quite understand, I looked Mark, half confused half embarrassed. After the man was gone, we looked at each other and laughed. That was a strange encounter, “I guess he think I look very unusual, since they don’t see many oriental people here.”, I said to Mark.

It was certainly a memorable trip, when we came back in London, English summer seemed to be in its last leg. I start to miss the sun baked tomato fields, the breath taking coastal line in the mist, the orange tiled houses dotted in the hills and terraced lemon and grape fields. South Italy is certainly an enchanting place that makes beautiful dreams.

War, love and literature

2007-08-17T15:39:00.000Z

I have always been a fan of Hemingway, I am intrigued by his courage, adventures and drive for a sense of self fulfilment and his unique contribution to the 20th century literature. “For whom the bell tolls”, is one of his finest works and I finished the book last night. Closing the book, I cried in the dark, not only moved by the dramatic sad ending but also by the stark reality it unveiled about war, love, life and death.

As in most of his other novels, his main character is usually a vivid reflection of himself in a lot of ways, not only the events he has been through but also his inner world – his thoughts, his belief and his struggle to find true meanings in life. They are generally strong and self driven characters but they also have a very sensitive heart. Slightly glorified by the heroism, deep down they might be confused, questioning the purpose of his act from time to time; they are also ultimately romantics, they believe in true love and self sacrifice for love.

The book is centred around one big mission carried out by the American volunteer Robert Jordan and his interaction and observation with the guerrilla group and other parties involved in the civil war. Roberto, he believed in fight for the cause, but still he was troubled by what people have to go through in a war which he thinks justifying for his cause. He believes winning the war is important and there is a price to pay, however he is not convinced that being ruthless and brutal is the way to defeat your enemies. He was not so afraid of death as such as he believed his act was the best way to fulfil his vision. But he challenged the notion when he met the love of his life, because spending time with someone he loves gives his life a new meaning that he didn’t realize before.

I have to admit that I was not so excited about the book when I started, it was a rather slow pace in the first 100 pages. However, as a good writer, Hemingway knew how to raise the interests of the story by slowly adding more twists into it. Little by little, we were brought into the whirlpool of conflicts, confrontations, intensive love affair, loyalty, betrayal and climax of the events. The ending, with its subtleness, is sad, however, from heroin point of view, he had accomplished his mission, and as he was lying there waiting for his death, he was content in a way he has had a full life, even that means only three days and nights.

Hemingway was a passionate supporter of republic in the civil war, yet he witnessed the bureaucracy, ignorance and lack of discipline in the army that he had high hopes for. This was very well portrayed in this novel, it is hard to believe, an army and government under the threat of the fascists could be so complacent and laidback. Sad, but it is the truth. He is an idealist, as he could die for his belief but he doesn’t regret this kind of choice. In this novel, we can see the shift in Hemingway from a pure enthusiastic young man (when he wrote farewell to arms) to a mature warrior. Having experienced first world war and Spanish civil war, he started to question the cause for the war, is it ok to fight for its cause when the process itself might be utterly painful and brutal? This is a rather profound question, which I believe we still could not answer today.

War, hunting and bull fight, are Hemingway’s favourite subjects, partly because that when he presents the characters confronting life and death and in the fight to become a heroine like human being. Just recently, I learned, in contrary to my assumption before, He was not particularly strong physically even he liked to be a strong man. But he certainly had a full life given what he was born with. Not many writers in the world could compare with him in terms of the variety of things he had done in life. And that certainly gave him a ubiquitous edge that others find hard to imitate.

Live to the full and express it to the full in writing, which is what he had done, when he realized it was all over for him, he had only one choice. Death is not something he was particularly afraid of, as he is a man with strong desires to explore, when he can’t do that anymore, death is the only exit.

I do believe your best writing come from things and people that you are most close to, that is an inspiration as well as a strong bond and connection. But do people have the same interest on the ordinary drama in a everyday life as compared with the dramatic setting such as war, I am not sure. I think sometimes we are all looking for something more exciting, challenging and fulfilling than our own small world, and literature could be on way to explore it.

Gone are the glorious days of independent journalism?

2007-08-09T09:25:00.000Z

It has been a rather sad year for proud, independent news agencies who have been around for more than a century. Reuters and Dow Jones, the two well respected companies in the editorial world, have fallen into the hand of media conglomerate, namely Thomason financials and News Group. Both Reuters and Dow Jones used to be an icon in their industry, and they partly formed and revolutionized the modern journalism and news industry.

Money talks these days, and if someone got a deep pocket, that certainly wins a smile and nod from profit hunger shareholders. It was only a matter of time really for these companies to be acquired by bigger media companies. Their operating performance in the past ten years haven’t been satisfying to the shareholders, and both struggling to compete with new rivals. They made themselves a natural and easy target for the conglomerate looking to expand their business and presence.

Big fish gets all, and their ambition and interest will be the commercial value of the business. Editorial independence will probably be kept as long as they are not in conflict with their commercial interest and profit goals. News group is well known for its rather cosy relationships with governments so that they get green lights to run business in countries with strict media censorship.

The truth is though, there are many journalists out there filming and reporting from the disaster hit area and battle fields and money is the last thing they want to think of – who would if you had to risk your lives? The devotion comes from a strong belief and faith in the integrity and independence of journalism.

I see shadows start to emerge under the two bright stars in the news industry, they will still shine but the magic glow around them is fading. There is something money can’t buy.

Canary wharf and Greenwich village

2007-08-02T09:53:00.000Z

If you really want to get a good feel of a metropolitan city feel in London, then canary wharf is the place. After 17 months since I moved here, I paid a rather belated visit to the area on a fine summer day. And right after I came out of the tube station, I saw the Reuters Square, where they have their logo on top of a high rise office building and the bill board screen showing the stock prices. Such a familiar look, that is the company I worked for three and a half years and it was literally my first job, certainly the first one with a multinational company. So much has changed since 1995 when I joined the company. And Reuters will soon be the Thomason-Reuters, a Canadian-British company. And here I am, standing in front of the building, contemplating life is a mysterious spinning wheel that you never know where you would end up in ten or twenty years. One thing I do know though, I am not back to where I started, I am just passing by my old memory in the unexpected way.

Greenwich village is an interesting place, now with cutty sark being renovated (burnt down with severe damage two months ago), it is a quieter than expected on the street. But it is school holiday time, when I reached the top of the hill in the park where the maritime museum is, I saw the groups of school kids packing out right in front of the entrance. It is a good viewing point on the top of the hill, you get to see the panorama view of the canary wharf.

Enchanted by the Spanish charm

2007-07-27T15:52:00.000Z

Second month into summer, the rain and clouds are still lingering in England and it feels rather like early autumn. Even it is nice to see “the green and pleasant land” every day we decided that some warm sunshine from Mediterranean could give us a bit taste of real summer. I packed the Hemingway book “For whom the bell tolls” into my bag hoping to finish this book during the holiday there, coincidentally the book is about Spanish civil war. We embarked on the charter flight from London to Palma in Majorca, a small island in the Mediterranean close to Spain.

It was an early morning flight, the security check at terminal 1 heathrow was quite smooth. When we were getting our breakfast at Café Nero, Mark spot Alan Titchmarsh with his wife, obviously going somewhere for holiday as well. He was wearing a pinstripe suite and looked fairly relaxed. I have seen some of his programmes about British natural history and found them very informative and interesting.

The BMI flight to Palma landed on time, and when we were going through the passport control area at Palma airport, the guy studied my passport with great interest and curiosity, flipping the pages and looking at the 30something stamps I got on my passport. He finally stamped on my rather busy looking passport and let me through. Mark was just behind me and passed through within a second, he said “that guy must have found your passport very unusual, he probably rarely came across a Chinese passport”. I looked around, well, it is fair to say that you don’t see many Chinese tourists around here.

We were lucky to get on Palma-Soller train (boasting one of the oldest railways in Europe) just before it departed. The train has a wooden framed body, and in the first two miles it was running on the trail which is laid in the middle of the road with cars driving on the side. I have to admit I haven’t seen any train like this before. And the warm air started blowing in through window, and the mountains dotted with olive trees on the lower slopes came into sight. They have built a lot of terrace fields along the ridges of the mountains, mainly to grow olives, must be hard work in the old days to build them. Under the slightly hazy blue sky, the land looked dry and baked by the sun. This is certainly a very different summer feel compared with the washed out wet English summer we had so far.

After going through a few long dark tunnels, the train finally pulled into the station Soller. We were delighted to find the fresh lemon juice at the booth by the train station, that is what we needed on a hot Spanish summer day. After a quick lunch, we got a cab to Deia, a small town (or rather a village) where we would be staying. We arrived at our hotel, a smart and cozy four storey house built on the hill.

In the early evening, we had a stroll around the main street in the village. The 500 metre long street is obviously the centre of the actions. Restaurants, cafes and shops have a warm and laidback style which suits the taste of holiday makers here. We had a few cold beers in Bar de fonda, the most popular (well, they have a few bars in the village anyway) there. Mark told me this was a lively place in summer nights, and he had been here during his previous visits. While we were having some cold Spanish beer, he said “I think I know that guy over there, his name is Paul, I met him five years ago when I was here, but I think he doesn’t recognize me anymore.” Following his eyes, I found a 70someting man having a conversation with a lady in the table just around the corner. Mark then told me the story of this man and what his friends told him. He had met Paul a few times in this bar, and had to buy him drinks every time they met. First he thought Paul was a unsuccessful artist so he couldn’t afford any drinks even he likes to hang out in bars in the evenings. But later on he got to know Paul’s friends who told him that Paul is basically very mean but he is a rich man. He has a big house with swimming pool in Paris, and a nice house in New York (where he is from). He had a beautiful wife who gave up her career to be with him but he was so tight with money that they had to eat very poorly and he never wanted to buy her any clothes. They finally got divorced. And his friends told Mark “you are not alone, he doesn’t want to buy any drinks when he goes out, he always expects someone to buy drinks for him.” After I heard the story, I said to Mark, “let’s see if he will be successful tonight to get any free drinks.”

Deia is not new for artists, in the 1930s and post war period, the English Robert Graves lived here, which largely expanded its fame as a beautiful and charming village tucked in a picturesque valley surrounded by mountains. Most of houses are built along the slopes of the mountains, with lavish sub tropical trees and flowers running up and down the hill, and ocean on one side, no wonder artists found their muse here.

The next morning, we woke up to the roosters's crow, it was only 5 clock in the morning, I was a bit annoyed, and realized it's been a long long time since I heard the rooster crow. I guess the people in the village used to this and they are not bothered at all. The nearest beach Cala de Deia is only 20 minutes walk from our hotel, and it is a enjoyable walk, in which you walk through the fairly dry ground (no green grass as you would find everywhere in England), you can see a variety of trees here on the side of the trail. It seems there is an oversupply of lemons here, we saw a lot of lemons rotting in the trees or on the ground. I guess there are too many of them here they can’t even bother to pick and sell them since the price is probably quite low.

The beach itself is not fantastic, it is not a sandy beach but the rocky cove looks nice in a fine day. There is a small beach café/restaurant nearby, serving very good fresh fish from their daily catch. We had two superb lunches and enjoyed our lazy time on the beach. It was a local/tourist mixed crowd on the beach, and surprisingly I saw quite a few attractive women going topless on the beach. Europeans are generally quite liberal and have no problem with nudity. Although I remember last time in Phuket the only topless women I saw were some old Nordic women (Sorry to say but I don’t think sagging and loose skin is particularly nice to show off). Maybe I am just being too conscious of image.

In our second evening, while we were having dinner at the most popular restaurant, we saw Paul again, this with another lady and they seemed to get along well. During the course of our dinner, they had two glasses of wine. Guess who is paying? Well, we wouldn’t know, would we? Anyway, stop being so nossy!

Most of the tourists here are British, but there are quite many Germans now as well in Majorca. During our last night there, we were hanging out in Café Fonda again as we heard some live music coming from there. The lead vocal in the band is a short and slim girl with a nice voice, she sung a few police and Sting song with a big pop flavour in them. She definitely got the crowd going, who were genuinely happy to be engaged in music and the moves. We were dancing with the crowd, a mix of local and tourists/expats, we noticed a few Germans around us were not participating in the dancing/singing scene. Well, maybe some of them are a bit square minded, but for us, it is all good fun and who cares if we behaved a bit silly?!

It was almost midnight when we left the bar Fonda, we decided to have a walk around village. It was our last night there and we wanted to make the best out of this trip. In the travel book it says under moonlight Deia looks at its best, and I found it is not just a self boasting statement. It is mostly quiet on the street except the noises from the drinking crowd in bar Fonda, we walked up and down on the pavement through the village, occasionally seeing one or two people strolling by. There were many stars in the sky, some of them are very bright and blinking from time to time. The night scene were outlined by dark mountains and shades of the trees and houses dotted on the hills. A cat came out of some’s house while we were sitting on a small panel by the water. Listening to the streams quietly running behind us, I said to myself this is definitely tranquil place compared with ever bustling London, and compared with Barcelona, this is a more a coutryside feel than a city.

It was a wonderful trip, we enjoyed the sun, the ocean, the picturesque village Deia and certainly the lovely Spanish food that spice up your appetite.

Royal Ascot - the drink and show time

2007-07-14T20:39:00.000Z

Horse race is one of the favourite pasttime in this country, well, maybe not so much anymore, but it is certainly a big drink and show event. Drink for guys, show time for girls. Our parent company is one of the founders of Royal Ascot, and we had a big employee+guests party of around five thousand people there on a sunny Saturday. We were very lucky with the weather. It had been a wet wet summer.

We were hanging out in those white tents they set up for this party, free booze of the whole day and people were really taking advantage of it. Drinking seems to be a national phenomenon, you find some popular pubs always busy regardless if it is raining or sunny. Of course, gambling is the theme at Ascot, even most people seem to know very little about the horses or the races. We put our bet in three races, and take home profit of around fifty pounds, deducting the loss and tickets for train journey. well, I lost all the bets, completely hopeless. Not bad overall I guess. But luck always has its flip side, Mark's old watch stopped working and the travel agent taking care of our holiday booking managed to mess up our flight booking and we had to pay 130 pound extra for the trip. See, there is no pure luck in this world.

Show time for women. Even these days not many wear those fancy hats anymore. I had a big white hat from Accessorize, nothing fancy but practical for a sunny day staying outdoors. I was pleased with my new dress, and didn't see anyone wearing the same one!

It was an interesting day, and it was fun to watch the horse race. It is a strange arrangement, you can't see much during most part of the course, it was only the last 30 seconds you got to see the horses with the jockeys racing through to the finishing line, but they are so fast so you just get a quick glance. They are beautiful horses, big muscles on the upper legs, all trimmed shinny and smooth.

We are not really into the drinking scene, a few nice summer drinks is fine, but getting drunk is nothing we are interested in at all. But it seems that drinking tends to be in the center of a lot of social activities here.

Live update from Hammersmith

2007-07-03T10:27:00.000Z

It started as a normal working day, I got in office around 8:45 am, getting ready for the busy day - had been told that we might need to work overnight today to have the material ready for an important meeting tomorrow.

Then I was told that Hammersmith broadway station and shopping center was sealed off by police due to some bomb suspect. Several people came in office reporting the big chaos in rush hour traffic around this area.

Later on it was reported that police has carried out a controlled explosion on the suspect package, and it was not an explosive device.

It might have been a hoax, but in light of failed bomb attacks in Glasgow airport, I understand the police took this seriouly. This reminds me of the anthrax attacks in the USA after 911, people reported seeing all kind of suspicious white powders from baby powders to flour.

One thing has really impressed me is that British people seem to take all the potential terrorist attack in a very calm way, partly I guess it is the fact they have been through similar threats before, the IRA bombs, and London was bombed for months during the war, and people certainly estalished the resilience.

Its been a tough week for the new Prime Minister, but I think there will be more people asking questions on why the british troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan in the first place. Of course we should not yield to terrorist threats but question needs to be answered - does Iraq war make the world a more peaceful place? Maybe not.

And in the meantime, we will continue to celebrate life, after all we have to focus on the positives in life. It has not been a great summer weather wise, but we will make the best out of it. Let the rain wash away the dust but not our spirits.

The history not forgotten

2007-05-27T18:27:00.000Z

China has always been a country with a sense of mystery, covered by its own glory past as the easter empire, the troubled 19th and 20th century tangled between civil war and foreign invasions, and now more importantly an emerging power of the 21st century. There are certainly a lot of interests in china, and the British media certainly has chosen China as one of their favourite subject.

Channel four has a correspondeant in China who obviouslly loves to report all the dark corners of the society which looks to be poised for fastest economy growth ever. While they are dragging on the human rights issues, Channel five has taken a more historical view on things that have shaped China over the past century and also try to find the links between the past and today. Variety is always a positive thing, for viewers you get a more fully rounded picture and you can make your own judgement based on the input from various angels.

There has been a series of programmes on Channel five covering the red army's long march, the cultural revolution and also the Paul Merton in China - which is showing the life in today's China. I was impressed by the very objective and neutural view from the commentators in these programmes, it shows a good sense of maturity, understanding and putting things into the perspective and circumstances in which the events occured.

In the programmes about cultural revoluation, it shows the historical moment when Nixon was visiting Beijing and his meeting with Mao, whose health at the time was deteriorting. But both looked exicted about the occasion, and then Nixon was taken to the entertainment in the evening, where they were watching the red guards (in their very distinctive uniform) dancing and chanting the long live Mao songs. I can imagine he must have been feeling a bit disturbed watching a performance like that, not really the sort of entertainment he expected, but nevertheless he had to look interested. And then it was when Henry Kissinger was visiting Beijing, Mao was obviously amused when he saw Kissinger's very tall wife (who was probably a former volleyball player!). He was a whimsical man, who had a side of artist.

I was only very little when the gang of four was sentensed (the trial was broadcasted throughout China). But I certainly remember the atmosphere in the room where the crowd was watching TV. It was a momemnt never to be forgotten for a lot of Chinese. But how much do the new generation know about this history and its impact on China, probably very little. I guess sometimes the baggage from the past could be too heavy to carry along the way, and maybe it is too much to ask the young people today to make a connection with a past they never experienced.

Peak District

2007-05-10T20:49:00.000Z

We had a laidback day in Buxton, a sleepy town on the west edge of peak district national park. It is a small town known for its spa and obviously had flourished during Victorian time when many people came here for a spa leisure holiday. There are quite many hotels for a relatively small town, and the spa water is still running and we saw a few people waiting in queue to fill up their bottles. And the legendary swimming pool is still there, although looking a bit outdated. I was surprised when someone told me that the Beatles once played at the pavilion gardens in the town centre in the 60s, I guess that was before their fame took off across the Atlantic. We went to see the Opera in the evening, which was in this opera house built in the Victorian period, certainly you can find traces of the past glory there.

I joined the guided walk “Secret Kinder” taking place in the moorland part of the national park. It was a sunny day, a bit hazy, but very windy, especially when you are walking on the ridges of the hills. Several times the wind was strong that I felt I was going to be blown away any minute. There was one difficult up and slightly difficult down during the whole walk, which I enjoyed the most.

Kinder Scout is an interesting area for environmental and some historical reasons. The ranger from National trust elaborated on the stories around its past, and he is a good story teller knowing how to get the audience attention and intrigue them. He told us about the story of George King, a guy started a sect many years ago and according to his sect, the stones could be charged with prayers, and the charged stones can release their energies from within to save the world from disasters. At the end of the story, he said in a joking way, “maybe we should try to ask the charged stones to release the energy to save the world from George Bush.” We all laughed, obviously this was a popular political joke that most people find funny. Some of the area we walked past has massive exposed soil not covered by any grass or trees. We learned from the ranger that this area was swept through by ice sheets during the last ice age five thousands years ago, and the trees got slammed down and decomposed into the soil. The remains we see today in the soil are those trees from ice age and this soil is very poor and it takes long time for grass or any kind of plants to grow back on this soil.

A few letter boxes were found during our walk, I think the two rangers know where they are hidden approximately. I flipped through some pages in a notepad in one of the letter boxes, and one comment said “When is the end of summer? It is 25 degree but I want -5 degree.” Well, there are certainly some people with the opposite minds.

Sunny days in London

2007-04-18T13:58:00.000Z

Amazingly, it hasn't rained in London for three weeks, must be a new record here. I have to admit I am not used to this, and almost start to miss the rain. With lots of sunshine and warm temperature, the gardens are looking really good.

An Easter holiday by the seaside

2007-04-12T16:34:00.000Z

The sea is shimmering under the sunlight, seagulls hovering around the rocky coast and making occasional dives into the water. The water is in greenish blue, with waves hitting the rocks and there are patchy sandy beaches along the coastal line. It is an enchanting landscape, something very beautiful but something also raw and compelling.

Our hotel is located on a cliff overlooking the sea, and there is a small island within1 km from the coast. The current is quite strong in this cove area, so swimming to the island is not recommended. We had a relatively smooth drive coming to this coastal town, which is a village compared with bustling London. After a short stop at the hotel, we put on our hiking boots and set out to the town centre. The town centre is quite small, with a few restaurants, pubs and stores scattered around the crossings of two main streets. “Look, there is a gallery, let’s go in and have a look.” The gallery owner is a fifty years old bald guy who warmly greeted us and started introducing his work. “I draw and print on this particular Japanese paper, if you like I can show you my workshop and how I paint on those papers.” We looked at each other and thanked him and told him we were on our way going out of town, maybe we will come back and visit him another time. “This kind of place is a bit cut off from the outside world,” My boyfriend said, neither of us liked the extreme purple, red and blue colours he used in his painting. But I guess it is not a bad thing people find some thing to indulge themselves to.

It was a lovely and romantic evening, had a three course dinner in the hotel while watching the spectacular sunset in the sea. We were both looking forward to the coastal walk the next morning. This is a well deserved break as I had an extremely busy week at work.

The second day turned out to be a serious walking day. With a map on our hands, we felt the urge to explore the wild coast from Mullion cove to Lizard Point, which is the most southern point in Britain. We walked two miles east of Lizard Point and then back to Lizard Point for a lunch break. There is a café on a cliff of Lizard Point, with a sign said the most southern café in Britain. Quite a nice place, a bit breezy and chilly since it is high up without any shelters, but the food was better than we thought. We only ordered some sandwiches, but they were freshly made and came with nice side salads. The bread tasted quite nice as well. Walking had made our appetite extremely good. It was another eight miles walk back to Mullion cove, with more dark coloured rocks shaping the coastal line and small beaches sheltered in between. Walking on the soft grassy path is a pleasant experience and seeing so much green made my eyes feel much better.

On the second evening while having dinner in the hotel, we noticed the three people at the table around the front corner had changed their seats. That was a rather amusing crowd, one old man with two old women, judging from the way they talked, we concluded that they are brother and sisters. The funny part is we saw them in the first evening, they were sitting at the same table with the man in the middle and two women on each side side. The two women were about same body type and dressed up in similar style, the three of them almost formed a perfect symmetrical picture. We joked about in the first evening if they would change the combinations, and they did on the second night. We giggled over this coincidence when we came back in our hotel room.

The second walking day was a relatively easy one, although both of us were feeling a bit tired. We walked from Mullion Cove to the Porthleven harbour, seeing a few smooth, long and wide sandy beaches along the way. While walking on a hill overlooking the sea, we saw a nude man wondering on a rather deserted beach, it was bright sunlight, and he seemed to be enjoying his own company. He probably noticed that he was being watched, because he turned back his head and looked around to the hill we walked on. “I think he saw us.” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. We walked on, didn’t get much distracted by the unusual scene. Then the real distraction came when I almost stepped on an adder. I noticed it when it running fast into the grass just two inches from my feet. I was glad I was wearing hiking boots. I screamed and quickly retreated from the spot. To comfort me, my boyfriend said it was actually lucky to see an adder since it is not something you will see in the city and they are totally harmless. I was not totally convinced, but decided to carry on anyway.

We stopped at a place called beach cafe, the owner who is a dutch lady runs this café in their front yard. She brought some very nice muffins, cream, jam and tea. We sat in the sun, watching the waves and seagulls and enjoyed our refreshment. The tea pot had a funny woollen tea cosy that looked like black sheep. It looked quite amusing and made us laugh.

Coming back to London turned out to be a difficult journey, when we finally managed to get to Bath, which is about 80 miles away from London, we were quite happy to have a big stroll in the city. Stopped in a café for a quick tea and some paninis, obviously it was a lively afternoon in the city centre, people coming and going and all seemed to enjoy the sunny weather and the holiday. For us, we were simply very happy to be back in a city again, where there are more life and actions. Nature and simple small town life is nice, but for city kids like us, we already started to miss all the liveliness and chaos in London.

From Mr. Chip to Bustling Stockholm

2007-03-22T22:16:00.000Z

“You are such a jetsetter.” My friend said to me, well, I guess I am in the past three months. Two trips to China with just three weeks in between, and now here I am at Heathrow again, the third trip in this year. Standing in the queue for security check, I was feeling quite tired, I think frequent travel plus long hours in the office certainly put some mental drain on me, and the post 9/11 and 7/7 don’t make things easier for any of us. Surprisingly though, people don’t seem to be discouraged from travelling despite all the hassles and environmentalist’s far cry for cutting carbon emissions. It is amazing how the horizon for individuals has expanded over the 20th century and this momentum seems to continue in the new century. I have always liked HSBC’s ad, well, not so much “the world’s local bank”, but the posters on different people and different views. The world could be a much better place if we could accept and appreciate the differences.

I had a relaxing stroll in the duty free shops and went to the juice bar to have a fancy smoothie “groovy muesli mango”. Organic is a concept that could sell these days, sometimes I wonder if it is a mental thing than anything with substance. But I certainly felt quite good after this vitamin shot. Just when my spirits got boosted, the first sign of delayed boarding showed up on the screen. 18:40, still no sign of boarding, I started to get a big grumpy – I should be home having a glass of wine and enjoying my supper!

Finally the gate numbers showed up on the screen, with a much relieved sign, I gathered my bags and started walking toward the gate. And strangely enough, we were led to another security check. A bit ridiculous really, do they think we could make a dirty bomb out of some perfume bought at the duty free shops? I knew I was definitely at the right gate when I was soon surrounded by tall blonde guys and girls. Well, I was almost already in Sweden!

Early next morning, when it was still chilly in the air, I walked from hotel to the office. It shows 0C on the big illuminated board, bare trees and no sign of spring flowers,
Spring is a bit late in a Scandinavian country. I had to walk as fast as I can as my legs were freezing in the cold.

I have been to Stockholm a few times now during the past four year, this is where the action is for the one million residents, and it is actually a beautiful city especially in summer. But in the suburb where we have an office, it is more like the silicon valley of Sweden, with many chip companies research and development centres. And ironically the hotel I was staying is called Mr. Chip, a bit too explicit I thought, but much to the point anyway.

I had a dinner plan with a friend in the city so I took the Ubann (the subway system in Stockholm) to the city centre in the evening. As usual, people are very disciplined and quiet on the train, and the sun just came down and shed golden glow on the pine trees outside the window, for a minute, I can’t help to appreciate the secluded beauty of Scandinavians. It is something not pretentious and showy, and gives you comfort and peace.
the world could be a much better place if we could accept and appreciate the differences.

It was really nice to see her, my Swedish friend I met in China. And the best part is, we could have girls talk in the restaurant where nobody else understood us. I was amused when she used Chinese word "appetite" but what she really meant was "sexuality" or in Chinese sex appetite not the appetite as for food. Again we were both amazed by the subtlties of languages and cultures.

The Early Sign of Spring in London

2007-02-27T16:31:00.000Z

One day after I got back from China, to my delightful surprise, spring is already here in London. On the way to work today, I noticed that Daffodils are blooming at the side of the green, and cherry trees and magnolia trees are in full blossom. It feels so good with those bright colors in the gardens along the street. There is a beautiful magnolia tree in my next door neighbor's garden, it looks so lovely and alive.

We had a very mild winter, now spring is in the air. And Easter holiday is only a month away. I feel the crave for some sightseeing travel again. But first, I will have a short trip to Stockholm and Munich in a few weeks, a good time to explore the spring there!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2007-02-19T14:17:00.000Z

The year of the golden pig, and Chinese New Year seems to be a popular scene around the world. And Chinese new year greeting "Gong Xi Fa Cai" is the quote of the week on the street. It literally means good luck and prosperity, and it originates from Catonese, as people there have a strong drive for getting rich. Well, in a fast moving society swept to the ground by material values, this is hardly a surprise. And today is the 10th anniversary since Deng passed away, who was a paramount leader in the late 21st century in China, and who imported the idea of market economy to China which led us now into one of the most enviable fast growing economies in the world.

His famous quote "Black cat or white cat, as long as they can catch rats, they are good cats. " on his south tour is probably still resonating in a lot of people's mind, and most of them, thankfully, since they have seen real difference in their lives between now and 30 years ago. The quote itself does sound a bit promatic, you would argue, but it was a big motive and encouragement e that is desparately in need after the chaos and depression of cultural revolution. It serves its purpose perfectly well, and almost in a miraculous way.

However, when part of the nation and people are going in full speed to catch up the western world, I am very glad to see that that this year we have a new focus on the crowd we have long forgotten - the less fortunate ones who need to share the benefits of the thirty years of economic development and make the same progress as we have made.

This is indeed a very positive note captured also in the widely watched new year party hosted by CCTV (China Central TV, not the security camera!). The immigrant workers (the group of people who come from countryside to big cities for work), their hard work, their tough life on the edge of the city, and their strong determination to fight for a better life for themselves and their children had not been recognized, appreciated and admired by the rather spoiled people in the big cities. Some of us used to despise them because they look dirty and eat crap food and live in poor conditions.

When in one of the programmes during the new year party covered by national TV, the children of the immigrant workers living in Beijing said in a clear and determined voice, "when other children compare their parents with mine, I compare my future with them instead." Everyone in my family was touched to tears, and obviously one of the hosts on TV as well. We are not born to be equal, but we should all strive for a more harmonized society, a place where everybody has a future to dream and we should help those, the less fortuntate ones to realize their dreams as well. This should really be the theme of the year, and maybe we could all be happier when we make other people happy.

Snow in London

2007-02-11T01:10:00.000Z

Thursday morning, 8 Feb - when I got up in the morning, there was this snow covered wonderland waiting for me outside the window. When I crossed the green to work, there were some kids playing football in the lawn covered with light snow. They must have found really fun! A unusual event got them quite excited despite the chilly weather. I took a few quick shots, before the snow scene vanished in a few hours!

An old but still dynamic city

2007-02-01T14:16:00.000Z

After a few rainy months, it seems the weather finally decided to take a positive turn here in London. Since I came back from Beijing, I have been embraced by sunshine and blue sky, which certainly has made the old city more attractive. Yesterday evening, when I was walking around with a friend in leicester square area, I asked him how long those old buildings will be around, "do people get worried that those buildings will be knocked down one day and replaced by some new modern but less stylish high rise buildings?" he said "I guess people just assume they will last forever, or at least in your life time. " Well, I certainly hope they will, since they are part of the appeal of the city.

The view of London from a plane is quite different from New York, for the most part, London feels like an old city, but once you are inside the city, you feel the vibre, the ever moving spirits in the air. The European immigrants in recently years certainly contributed to this dynamic scene, and makes it more well positioned to claim the title as the capital of Europe - although I am sure the French would argue that Paris is the real cultural capital of Europe.

Going, going, going, gone...this is an ad I saw at London underground, quite an eye catching ad, a quick snapshot of the pace of life here. The musicians in the tube (especially the ones in Picadilly circus and leicester square) are one of my favourites in the city, I got a mental boost when I heard the music when walking in the crowd coming out the tube. And then I often think of the movie "Notting Hill", and what Julia Roberts said at the end of the movie (during a press conference when someone asked her how long she would stay in London), "Indefinitely", she said.

Having been moving around between three continents in the past 8 years, I started to think maybe it is time to settle down in one place, it is fun to be able to experience different cultures in your twenties and early thirties but maybe it is not such a bad idea to set your foot in one place when desire for thrill and adventure has slowly been replaced by the desire for a relatively easy and stress free life style. Maybe I am getting old? An reality still find it hard to accept!

A short winter break in Beijing

2007-01-30T14:53:00.000Z

Almost one year has gone by since I moved to London, and here I am, back in Beijing on a short business trip. It was a sunny and a bit chilly morning when the plane touched down at the airport. The plane was unusually empty in the premium economy cabin, but I still didn’t get much sleep – my back hurt after sitting in the same position for too long. The young guy sitting next to me is Chinese, who has spent eight years in UK, and got his masters degree last year and now waiting to get his immigration visa. I asked him if he will be looking for a job, he shrugged and said he might take the PHD degree if the university offers him. I thought to myself, another rich kid from a well off family who doesn’t have to be worried about tuition and living expenses.

I can’t help to compare the generations of Chinese students going overseas for study, which is a vivid reflection of how China has developed from a poor nation to an emerging economic power and how the globalization has brought the world closer than ever. In the late 70s and 80s, most Chinese students studying overseas had to do work ten hours a day to pay their tuition and living expense and they lived in cramped apartments . From mid 90s, some relatively affluent Chinese joined this wave, but with more savings in the bank so they don’t have to work while studying and can even afford to buy cars and live in nice apartments. I went to USA in the late 90s, with five years saving and a scholarship, I managed to live a fairly comfortable life while studying. It was during the first two months looking for a job in Chicago after graduation that I had experienced some real hardship. Now the new generations in China (at least the ones who have benefited from the economic reforms) have enjoyed enormous opportunities that my parents, even me could never think of.

I looked out of the window while waiting to get off the plane, blue sky (by Beijing standard anyway) and the city was covered in a thin layer of smog. This is how a good day looks like, I said to myself. Compared with UK’s green land with lots of tree and well kept gardens and parks, my hometown Beijing looked like a beauty covered with dust.

Getting to the hotel is a relatively smooth ride, we passed by numerous construction sites along the airport express way, and trees with bare branches hanging in the air. The sun shines through the car window, right in my eyes, I could not see very well but feel the warmth flowing through my body. Despite lack of sleep, I was in good mood. The cab driver was not too happy when he heard I was only going to the hotel quite close to the airport, but he didn’t complain too much. I left him with some tips when I got off the car, I believe empathy could only be shared with people who are not complainers.

The following nights were spent with whirl of friends dining out, it was nice to catch up with them. The food was wonderful, I might have put on a few pounds by eating a bit too much every night. But it is authentic Chinese food, something the Chinese restaurants in London can’t compare. On one evening, I was out with two friends in a restaurant near workers stadium. One of the guys has recently become a general manager for a small but quite profitable western company based in Beijing. At age of thirty two, he apparently takes price in his achievements, but what he said surprised me. He said, “it seems that the more money I make, the more unhappy I become, he feels tired and stressed everyday and doesn’t have much time for anything.” “Do you still go out a lot?” I asked him. We used to go clubbing a lot with other friends on the weekend. “Not very often , only once or twice a month. On the weekend, I just want to catch up some sleep.” He said.
That is quite a change of life style, I thought. He used to be the clubbing king, and always out and about. Then I mentioned the pollution problem in China which has been widely covered in the UK media recently. “You know, a lot of people in Europe and around the world think China is an environmental disaster, with new coal firing power plants opening everyday, offsetting a lot of efforts that have been put into tackling global warming and environmental issues by western countries.” I said with a rather worrying voice. He sat back, looking at me, struck by my words clearly, but didn’t say much. I guess he is simply too busy with his work and travel. We switched topics to his family. His wife will move to Beijing quite soon and they plan to focus on baby making as part of 2007 new year resolution. I wished them good luck. It is not easy to fit the babies into the picture when you are fully engaged at work. Somehow I can see the picture of overworked middle class in China trying to reach the higher position in the social ladder. The hunger and drive are certainly here, I thought. But is this all good for the mental health, I am not quite sure. I guess it is true when someone said money can’t give you happiness, but you can’t be happy without money. And we Chinese are probably just as pragmatic as anyone else, if not more. But how do you define the quality of life? For me, being able to breath clean air, walking around in a park and knowing the generations after us could still enjoy the beauty of unpolluted nature, makes me happy.

I was working in the new office on the following day, which is in a newly developed telecom park, with big multinational companies moving in and expanding their offices at stunning speed. Everyone looks quite busy in the office, and I guess that is in line with company’s goal of gearing up for growth in 2007. I walked around the building in the afternoon, took a deep breath and smelled a bit coal in the air – I am not quite sure if I am just being too sensitive or it is purely mental. However, one thing for sure, the environmental issues will take its tolls, and that is going to be an expensive price to pay.

New Year in London

2007-01-03T17:09:00.001Z

It was my first Xmas and New Year in London, and I think the festive atmosphere is quite good. I paid my first visit to Tate modern, which is really nice, the style and layout of the building match perfectly with the paintings/works exhibited there. The spiral slides in the main hall are quite impressive, there are three of them, I will definitely come back and try them. I had lunch in the coffee/restaurant area on the first floor, with high glass windows offering good view of the south bank.

Had a walk around in Oxford Street before Xmas, the lights and the crowd really lighten up the city. And inside the club tiger, the pre Xmas party was already in full swing. I had a redbull Vodka and quite enjoyed the music, although I have to admit I don’t feel I belong to the crazy party world anymore. Having done all the late night out on the weekends in Beijing for two years, I feel I want something different that stimulate me, other than the loud music and heavy drinking.

New Years eve climaxed at London eye, I was with some friends watching the fireworks. We were very wise to get there early enough that we got a good spot where we can see the whole London eye. It was windy and a bit chilly (compared with Beijing it is still quite mild for winter) We were standing next to two boys and girls in their late teens, and the girls in mini skirts were trembling in the wind. For some reason I still don’t understand, some girls here seem to think the less they dress in winter, the sexier they are.

The crowd was cheering and screaming when the big illuminated numbers came up in the high rise building just behind us. The countdown started and the crowd was in good spirits and it was a good feeling to be there when the first fireworks broke up in the sky behind the big wheel (London eye). It was spectacular display and the whole sky on south bank was lit up with beautiful fireworks cracking on and off. Champagne was sprayed and people started hugging/kissing their friends, I got a kiss on the cheek from a friend and four of us hugged together. This was certainly a new year celebration I will remember.

It was a long journey coming home (long not in terms of distance but the time spent on walking back to waterloo tube station which was only five minutes away). After losing my friends in the first three minutes, I decided to fight my way through the crowd. There are some advantages of being alone sometimes, it is easier for manoeuvre. Fortyfive minutes later, I found myself in the waterloo station and from there it was an easy way home. Got home around 2 am, and woke up at 8:30 to the sun shining through my window, looks like a beautiful start of the new year!

Double Rainbows in Stonehenge

2006-12-30T19:34:00.000Z

On the way to Stonehenge, the rain starts to pour down again and it gets so heavy for a while that the road is almost flooded and it feels the coach just swimming across the water. But then rain starts to get lighter, and when it is still drizzling, there are two beautiful rainbows hanging in the sky. “rainbows!” someone shouts, and “two” I can’t conceal my great surprise, and they are two full rainbows, so perfect that it is almost surreal.

Ten minutes later, we arrive at the Stonehenge, which is located on a massive open land. And to our deepest joy, the rainbows are still there. I rush off the bus and take some photos of the rainbows. Who knows, the rainbows in this sacred land might bring good luck for the new year!

The wind is really strong when we are circling the Stonehenge, but the late afternoon sunlight shed beautiful glow on the stone, making this an ideal time for photos. I am delighted to take photos of the stones from different angles and with different light effects while listening to Hilary telling the myth of the Stonehenge and the latest research on this site. It is very chilly up there with the wind, but standing in the middle of prehistoric site which is listed as world heritage makes it all worthwhile.

And almost right after we get back on the coach, it starts to rain again, and actually quite heavy as well. So we nearly just escape the worst and I say to myself, maybe it is a sign that I will get lucky in the new year. After all those drama in 2006, for sure I need a fresh start and outlook for the new year.

Salisbury Cathedral

2006-12-30T19:09:00.000Z

After two weeks of foggy, misty and gloomy weather, this morning the clouds start to move away and it looks it is going to a good day for outing. I have signed up with London walks for an exploration day to Salisbury and Stonehenge. The train journey going to Salisbury is quite uneventful, it is southwest train off London, passing through a lot of farm lands (two thirds of Britain is covered by farm land).

The Salisbury cathedral was built on water meadows in 13th century, a bit unusual for an architecture of this scale as it has the tallest spire in Britain. The foundation is only 4 foot high which is not that much considering the height and the size of the cathedral. It is noon when we get there, a quiet but very picturesque small town. There is a fisherman standing in the water fishing trout. Hilary, the guide from London starts telling us the stories behind this legendary cathedral. Legend says that the founder of the cathedral shot an arrow to decide where the cathedral should be built and the arrow landed right on the water meadow where the cathedral stands today. It’s been an inspiring place for a lot of writers and artists. Constable had a few famous paintings showing the cathedral and its surroundings.

As we walk passed the old houses around cathedral, we heard more sometimes rather amusing stories about the old owners/founders of these magnificent houses, one of which until today has been a house for widows. And across the street, there is a big house which used to be kings wardrobe, a bit mind blowing really to imagine the royal family life in the old days.

The cathedral is quite a massive building in typical early English Gothic style, and my eyes are soon attracted by the blue tinted glasses in the back of the cathedral where the high altar is displayed. I have seen many churches/cathedrals around Europe, and nearly all of them have beautiful tinted glasses, but the blue ones here are really eye catching due to a very distinguishing blue colour they used. There are quite a few tomb stones laying on different parts of the cathedral, and the stories behind these stones are anything from mysterious, enchanting to bloody and violent. Then we are led to the high altar where there are a few white angels hanging in the air.

The chapter house connected to the cathedral is a historical treasure due to some very important documents stored here. Magna Carta (1215), the first and closest version of the rights of the liberty has been kept here, which is one of four surviving copies to date. Personally to me, it is amazing to realize how history has evolved in the development of democracy. I guess it is fair to say that democracy is a long bumpy road but we have to take.

A long journey home

2006-12-20T20:58:00.000Z

One week before Xmas, the holiday atmosphere is definitely in the air. It is the time for last minute gift shopping and wrapping. In all those years I lived abroad, Xmas always imposed a strange feeling on me. It is a holiday for families to get together, but what if you are the only family member in that country, you don't really have any family event to go to. But I still enjoy the Xmas lights on the streets, but not so much those plastic Xmas trees every where these days.

I had a short business trip to Sweden. This is not a smooth trip to start with. We landed in Copenhagen on time, but the train going to Sweden was delayed for almost an hour, so here we are, waiting in the cold and finally got on cramped train. I have to appreciate the Scandinavians for their mild temper and good manner. In the jammed train, nobody really complained and pushed around. Maybe those nordic countries are not the most exciting places to live, but their well educated people really make their countries a more attractive and welcoming place. The train delays are not so often, but it could happen when union strikes for better pay, etc.

Had a two rather uneventful days in Sweden, everybody seems to be in good spirit - well, why not, we have had an extremely good year in our business, as they say, money pouring in, and Xmas is a few days away. In a country where everybody is relatively equal in terms of living standard, they are in preparation for a merry Xmas and new year.

The jouney back home is a bit ordeal. Again, plane landed at heathrow on time despite the fog. But then it turned out that tube from heathrow was shutdown due to some fire alarms. We were directed to tak the bus to Hatton cross so we can get on the tube from there. In the overly crowded bus (totally like in a third world country), a very loud frenchwoman just can't stop her criticism of all the woes in Britain. And when we were finally getting off the bus, she shouted something very loud "I never want to come to your FXXXing country anymore". I turned to her, can't believe some people could be so rude. All of sudden, I start to appreciate the patience and decent manners of Scandinavians. After all, complaining doesn't get you anywhere, and tolerance and understanding could help big time in a situation like this.

Apparently London is a popular destination for tourists around Xmas and new year. Standing beside me was an American woman and her French companion (very usual indeed!) and they had Eurostar train to catch in Waterloo. They were looking at the tube map trying to figure out where to transfer. I pointed out the jubliee line they should take from Greepark, and they asked me if they can still catch the Eurostar departing at 7:40, I said "it will be tight", feeling quite sorry for them. The tube system in London is not great, and not that reliable either, there are unexpected delays all the time. But what can I say, obviously this hasn't stopped people from coming here!

Welcome to my virtual place?

2006-12-03T19:02:00.000Z

Myspace has been agressively pushing into China, a hot potato that is not so easy to eat for a cyber community based business. Obviously, online community has been the new hype, ranging from my space, Youtube and virtual place where you can build your virtual world. I am not sure if I am just too old fashioned to get too excited about the new hippy thing, believe it or not, I do have a home page in myspace, but I rarely use it. The reason is very simple, I find it way too superficial, and most people profiles tend to be very graphic than narrative. But I guess it is not really the thing targeting poeple like me anyway, I was not raised in an environment where cyber space is quickly transforming the community we used to be familiar with.

A friend of mine questions that 11 hours a week as average usage of Internet (based on the statistics) is too little, as one of the averge users, personally I think that is way enough. I think I spend 30 minutes reading the news, 30 minutes doing my emails, and occasionally doing some online shopping and chatting with friends. That is really about it, well, yes, my blog which I might spend 3 to 4 hours a month to keep it alive!

Computer and Internet, along with other modern technology, has brought us wonderful things - information becomes more transparent, fast and no boundaries, and we get to talk with people from anywhere in the world. And of course, Internet has facilitate across-border tradings and gambling. And indeed Internet has created a lot of innovative new jobs that you wouldn't think of otherwise. In essence, Internet represents speed and sharing.

However, is speed always a good thing? And the bigger question is, is the online (virtual)community ever going to replace the real world/network/community we live in? Or at least is it healthy to spend more than two hours on Internet unless that is your job? When I see a seven years old boy completely addicted to computers games, I get quite worried. And I still couldn't understand the appeal of that virtual world, or any other virtual world really? Recently there are some savvy computer programmes that enable you to build yourself in the virtual world, where you build your house, dress up yourself and invite your virtual friends to join your party. I still struggle to understand how people could spend hours building their fantasy in this online wonder land.

My childhood was a typical example of pre computer/Internet era, I spent eight years in countryside where I joined other kids running in the field, climbing the trees and playing those simple games. I admit they are might not be as inspiring for the brain as computer games, but I had a fabulous time and it was certainly good for me physically as I was a very weak and small child when I was born. And I still believe fresh air, the green and outdoor fun help the children build relationships with the nature, which is not something you get by playing computer games five hours a day.

I guess I would be classified as nostalgic, don't get my wrong, I emrace modern technology as everybody else, I certainly don't want to go back to caves and hunting for wild animals :) I wouldn't be able to survive in that kind of harsh environment. But I think it is about a fine balance between making good use of technology but not letting it take your life away. Sometimes I don't think faster is always better, life becomes so fast paced in most big cities these days, it is nice to have a break from all these noises, so we have time to think and indulge. And I am still a strong believer in human contact, hopefully we won't enter an age when everybody only meet everybody in their virtual place, that would be a bit sad, wouldn't it?

Happy Anniversary Blogger!

2006-11-26T21:06:00.000Z

Today I am celebrating for being a blogger for one year! Last year on the same day, I started my blog with the first journal "break away", it was an emotional piece in a lot of ways, by then I already knew I would be moving to London in three months. Now I have been a proud Londoner (if I can claim that) for ten months.

When I was walking down the street in Notting hill this afternoon, the sun just started to come down, painting the clouds in lovely pink and orange colours, I suddently realize why the sunset is more beautiful when there are clouds in the sky. It is the same in life, when everyday is as peaceful as a sunny day with clear sky, it might be too boring. We all need something to inspire us. The thunders and storms in life just make us appreciate the sunshine and peace more.

I actually feel quite settled here, the feeling I never had during the three years in the USA. Don't really know why, maybe partly because I grew up reading English literature, so somehow I find connection here. So far it has been quite an interesting experience, and I love the diversity and dynamics here. And in terms of blogging, this is probably one of the most liberal places to be.

Another Wave of Takeover Race

2006-11-23T21:40:00.000Z

This week Nasdaq has launched another attempt to acquire London Stock Exchange, and again has been rejected by LSE, as no surprise even to outsiders. As much as a lover of globalization and enthusiast of cross-Atlantic marriages, I am not sure I quite like the idea. This is not new headline story anymore, the new economy rejuvenlized after the Internet bubble, has been gaining more momentum and launching a full scale contest with old, traditional industry. We live in a dynamic world, Google's share price has hit new high -$500 a share, forget about old texbooks on valuation, this is the new generation!

And yet, I have some reluctance to have all American companies rule the world economy, although like it or not, that is what is happening. Airbus, is losing the game to Boeing. And I used to work for Reuters, still a big name in journalist world, but has already lost its edge to Bloomberg, a firm started by Michael Bloomberg only in the 1970s.

Maybe I am just nostalgic, there is a Chinese saying that the new wave will push the old waves, it is a given I guess. But if both the world military, political and economic power is centred in one country, I am not convinced it is a good thing. To overturn this trend is not an easy task though, our beloved European fellows (or maybe China) has some serious catch up job to do.

Journey via Euro Tunnel

2006-11-21T22:32:00.000Z

It was 2 o’clock on Saturday morning, we started driving to Folkstone where we would take the Euro tunnel to France. The country road was a bit dark, but there were many bright stars shining in the sky. We arrived in Euro tunnel terminal starry eyed. It was only 4 O’clock, the terminal was empty, with only one coffee shop open. While having our morning coffee in the rather cold building, I was getting quite excited about the journey. We drove onto the train carriage, inside which there are several divisions. The loading and uploading or the drive on and drive off process were rather smooth, and it is only 35 minutes through the tunnel. And when we drove off from the carriage, voila - we were already in Calais, France.

At the crack of dawn, we stopped at a small town Arras on our way to Paris. The morning light shed warm glow on the old buildings in the big square at the city centre. The square and lots of buildings were rebuilt as they were destroyed during the 1st war. The Saturday morning market was in full swing, offering great variety of vegetables, meat, fish and cheese. I was especially intrigued by the green sausages covered with herbal ingredients, very exotic looks! There were plenty of cheap clothes, toys and plastic utensils sourced from China, apparently global economy has reached the farming community in France. And for a town of forty thousand residents, this Saturday market is quite impressive.

It was still drizzling on the way to Paris, but the autumn scenery was very appealing with trees changing colours and green fields stretching miles after miles. French countryside has its own charms.

The hotel in Paris is on a tree lined street in Latin Quarter, very close to Montparnasse. Rain had stopped and we were greeted by the clear sky and beautiful afternoon sun. We took a stroll at the Cemetery in Montparnasse, very quiet and peaceful. A bit chilly in the air, but the sun was casting nice shadows on the pavement. Some of the tombs were quite old, with rather broken and shaky sculptures on the top. A lot of artists and painters were buried there, which is not a surprise given the popularity of Paris as an inspiring place for art.

Luxemburg park is a small park in the city centre with nice trees splashed by lush autumn colors, sculptures and fountains scattered around. We walked along the trails covered with falling leaves in the park and it was just the time they were about to close, there were policemen whistling to get people out of the park.

The metro system in Paris is still as good as how I remember it from last time in Paris three years ago, and fare seems to be staying on the same level, much cheaper compared with London. The trains are lighter, running on rubber wheels and they are quite frequent with no strange delays caused by the rather cumbersome signal system in London underground.

The Corneille concert was in a development area at the north of the city, with modern new complex consisting of cinemas, theatres and opera/concert halls. Obviously it was a very popular show and security was high at the entrance. But the queue moved fairly quickly, we just got in on time. Music is really the centre of young people’s life these days, I also spot my company’s ad on the big screen outside the concert hall. Well, I guess this is our target audience and that goes together with our music proposition.
One and a half hour later, after two bands warming up the stage, the long awaited Corneille emerged on the stage. Sitting in the back row (it is free seating, we didn’t get in early enough to get the good seats), I can’t really see his face very well. But his songs, seamlessly go together with his unique style, dark, enchanting smile and warm character. The crowd went crazy for him, especially the young girls in the inner circle, all stretching out to give roses to him.

When we walked out of the concert hall, rain unexpectedly poured down. Catching the last subway back to hotel, I literally fell asleep several times on the train, I think the lack of sleep just caught up on me.

After breakfast at a local brassery, we decided to go for a walk along the river. This was part of the river bank I didn’t walk on last time, quite different landscapes compared with more touristy part. There are quite a few high rise buildings on the side of the river, which reminds me of the south bank area on the river Thames in London. Some new development is still on going, with big signs that said “Nouveau Magasin” (new shops) open soon, that actually reminds me of Beijing, so many constructions are going on right now, I might hardly recognize my city when I am back there in January.

In the afternoon we rushed ourselves to Galleria Lafayette, to our big surprise all the shops were closed, and that was only 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Well, I guess French enjoy a much laid back life style. Coming from Asia, this is still a cultural shock to me once in a while since the shops in Asian open 7 days a week and 12 hours everyday. I was spoiled in that sense.

After just 24 hours in Paris, we started driving back to Calais again. It was quite beautiful landscape all the way back, with clouds hanging in the sky like Chinese painting colours. Not much traffic on the road, we were driving at 100 miles an hour most of the time, and French police didn’t seem to be interested in stopping the English tourists. After all, they are the ones buying loads of French wine, cheese and chocolate.

Real Heroes vs. Action movie stars

2006-11-16T16:25:00.000Z

Yesterday I saw the “Casino Royale”, just as every blockbuster movie I have seen, it’s always been a rather disappointing experience. Don’t get me wrong, I do think it was quite entertaining, but I do have to admit that my mind drifted away when there was the endless car chasing, car crashing and gun shooting. This is the kind of stuff never grip me or make me engaged in any way. And to be honest, I am still puzzled why people haven’t got tired of movies like this – don’t they just tend to tell very similar stories and the “heroes” in those movies are so homogeneous that in a while they become very blur and I always mix them up when I think about those action movies I have seen.

Without a doubt, these movies still generate the hype, boosted by the huge marketing campaigns, and yes, admit it or not, it is probably a vanity thing, but don’t we all like stars for its sheer glamour.

Maybe I am simply too old to be attracted to a hype like this, however, I can’t recall I have ever been attracted or remotely inspired by those action movies. I have long thought it is a big waste of time and money to make movies that don’t reflect the realities in life. But maybe sometimes because reality tends to be bleak and imperfect, so seeing a hero fulfilling his mission in a action movie helps a lot of people mentally. I am not sure.

I found myself more touched and inspired by reading stories of real heroes in our life. The other day I was reading an article on Reuters, it was about a young journalist who had been covering the civil war in Sri Lanka. His neck was broken during a roadside ambush, and he has been paralyzed since. He is still in hospital, but he is determined to go back there to cover the stories in the battle field whenever it is possible for him. “I will go back, in any form I can. “ he said. There is no regret about going there – he was aware of the danger, and he is only 25 years old, he could enjoy what life has to offer, but he picked one of the most dangerous profession in the world, and he is still passionate about it.

Sometimes I think maybe most of us are cowards in a way we don’t dare to live a life that might be short and fulfilling. We get so carried away by the comfort of modern life and the thought of sacrifice of all these make us scared. But is it really better to have a long but ordinary and most of time boring life or to live life to the full even just for one day, because on that day we feel so much alive.

Still not sure I know the answer yet. But I guess I am not alone.

Should we give nature a helping hand

2006-11-11T19:37:00.000Z

In the BBC programme “planet earth” this week, there is an interesting story which triggered some debate around the topic “should we give nature a helping hand”. When the TV crew was shooting the penguins in South Pole, they spot this new born baby penguin stuck in an ice pole and couldn’t get out. Her parents were helplessly watching their baby trembling in the hole trying to get out but couldn’t help. The TV crew, who have been there for months in that cold winter filming these penguins, first thought they should stick with their rules – don’t interfere, let the nature rule, but later on decided to help the poor little thing to get out of the hole. The baby penguin joined her family, though the question remains for the TV crew and the audience, should we give month nature a helping hand?

Personally I think it is very difficult not to, when it is such an easy job for us to help out the vulnerable, why not. After all, we all have sympathy for the vulnerable and less fortunate ones. And consciously or subconsciously, we always have been interfering or trying to influence what is happening in the nature. Admit it or not, we human beings, is the biggest enemy of nature. We have done so many terrible destructions to the forest, and endless poaching has driven a lot of animals into extinction. Needless to say, global warming is testing the limits of how far this could go before we have to fight for our own survival.

On the other hand, we have been gearing up efforts to help the beloved animals. Panda presents a classic example of an animal which is very vulnerable to climate change, destruction of the certain forest, but let’s face it, this is not an animal equipped to deal with the change. And its poor ability of breeding contributes partly to its rapidly decreasing number. Yet, we decided since all children and adults love this cute bear, so we have to help them to survive. And how far we have gone, well, we have forced the panda couples to watch panda porns so that they would be more interested in getting intimate with each other so that they could make more baby pandas for us. I am sure there are a lot of other animals out there on the verge of extinction but we choose not to “interfere” that much because the nature of the law has to rule. Well, in Panda’s case, we are very reluctant to let the nature rule. But other less fortunately animals, such as crocodiles, even they are being killed by human being for their skin and meat, we don’t seem to worry that much, after all, they look quite scary and they are aggressive animals and they might attack human beings.

The land of Gossip

2006-09-26T19:55:00.000Z

The land of Tabloid newspaper, and the center of gossip. And today, it is proved that even the serious political event can turn into soap opera. Tony has to go, we all know that, and his legacy (if you can call it legacy anyway) is ending with a quite controversial note. And Cherie, his lovely wife, is certainly not helping at this point of his career. She has been allegedly reported saying "that is a lie" when Mr. Brown was giving his tribute to Tony. Well, we don't know if she really said, it would surprise a bit if she did, even though we know by now she is a very outspoken first lady who won't just sit around as supporting wife and mother for the kids. But a lawyer by training, that is a bit losing grip?

"You know the biggest newspaper (by circulation) in this country is those Tabloid newspaper", when my friend told me this a month ago, I was quite surprised. Well, I guess we all like gossip news these days, some pressue in our own life is taken away by talking lightheartedly about the "celebrity" gossip, after all, mocking other people is always easier than solving our own issues!

Is this why (at least partly) the tabloid survives and thrives? After all, those "stars" are the lucky birds, for a fine balance, they should take some heat as well!

Late English Summer

2006-09-20T21:34:00.000Z

After an utterly depressing August, we have had a lot of sunny and warm days in Sep. Some Swedish folks in the office said, "actually weather in London is not that bad compared with the rest of UK, you sometimes get this very nice late summer weathter in Sep, and if you are lucky it could be quite warm around Xmas. " Even though I think this comment is in relative terms, as weather here is better than most part of Sweden. But there is still some truth in it. London is relatively dry and sunny compared with west coast and certainly better than the weather in North island. So in that sense, I am quite lucky to be in London and I certainly have enjoyed the fabulous late english summer so far!

After six months being in London, I thought I should make a move on my "cultural education". So I went on and got myself a ticket to see the play "Antony and Cleopatra" at Shakespeare globe on south bank. It is a semi open air theatre right beside Tate Modern, so only good time to go there is summer. I was glad I was able to catch the last glimpse of summer glow before it gives away to the autumn! When I got settled in my seat in the upper gallery, I was geniunely delighted to find out that this is a rather old fasioned place. Small, mostly wooden structure, simple, cozy and you hardly find any touch of modern architect. It is a perfect fit for what is being played there, I thought. The only downside I found is that the seats are not very comfortable, there is no seatback, so after a while, your back starts to hurt, and the play was three hours. There are also standing seats, where people just stand around the stage. I actually think it is a better spot to be in. Although I didn't find any old people there, I guess standing three hours is a privilege reserved for young people. And sadly I am nowjuggling between youth and mid age. Crisis stage in life :)

The acting was very good, although the guy playing Antony is a bit old - maybe 55 to 60 I think, not much hair left, I thought Antony was a bit more handsome than that! Listening to a Shakespear play still imposes a quite challenge on me, as the English is a bit different.

Walking out the theatre, I saw the fireworks lighting up the night sky over the river bank. It was fabulous display, people are lined up on the bridge watching it. On my way to the tube station, I gazed at the St. Pauls cathedral illuminating in the distance, for a moment, I was quite content with life.

A day to remember

2006-09-11T22:09:00.000Z

A day to light candles, but for a better day tomorrow, maybe it is better to learn from yesterday than indulging ouselves into sadness, anger and fear. We won't forget that day, marked by shock, sorrow and devastation. I closed my eyes after watching the BBC movie "the path to 9/11. ", my heart is still unsettled. It takes more than five years to wash down those vivid memories, even I was not eithe the witness or the victim family members. But I was there in America, and working in an office building right across street from Sears tower (the same height as WTC towers) when the first plane hit the WTC.

I am not sure it is just me, but on a positive note, I think being there and experiencing the fear, anger and sorrow somehow made me a stronger person than I was before. The truth is, the terror won't go away, most likely we will have to live with it in our generation or even longer. And as more materially affluent than ever, we are not necessarilymentally stronger than the generations who had been through wars.

We all like watching dramas, but experiencing them ourselves, I can't say all of us are mentally equipped to deal with the roller coaster ups and downs. However, the reality of life, as the way history evolves, is rather a bumpy road with a lot of confusing detours and unexpected dangers and risks from the collisions.

Three years anniversary since first visit to Sweden

2006-08-18T21:59:00.000Z

Yesterday marked my three year anniversary visiting Sweden. And I am staying in this exactly same hotel. That was a warm sunny day three years ago when I arrived here, and the sun was just starting to come down. It was early in the evening, I had a walk around the hotel and was quite impressed by the tranquillity and the green here.

Now I have been to Sweden for at least ten times, though embossing enough that I still don’t understand much Swedish at all other than “hej”. It is so easy to get around since everybody speaks good English. To celebrate my three year anniversary for being a regular visitor to Sweden, I decided to take a long walk after work yesterday. When I was walking through the green with country houses in the woods, I was quite indulged in this peace and utterly refreshing scene. This is the kind of Scandinavian beauty, simple, fresh, peaceful and humble, but I can certainly see the attractions here. I took a deep breath of the crispy air mixed with fresh grass smell, I could almost feel the clean air going deep down through my lungs.

Apart from the weather, Sweden is a lucky country in a lot of ways, but obviously the government has done a good job to make it an industrialized country but at the same time preserving the natural environment. Its success is built on highly educated population and well run welfare system that give most people a comfortable life. And even famous for being a liberal society, the traditional family values are well reserved. And it is also a very equal and harmonious society, class is not something people tend to have in their mind.

South Sweden (represented by Malmo and its vicinity, which used to be ruled by Danish hundred years ago), it is quite different from Stockholm. Clearly, there is subtle competition going on between the south and the north, like in any other countries. It is warmer and sunnier in summer, and it has much more open land for houses and it is generally a more laidback life style.

While I was walking along the road along the forest, there are bird with very pretty long colourful tails flying over the bushes and trees, and wild blue berry tree spread all over the small hills, it was such a good feeling to be so close to the nature.

Coming from a country so populous and still poor at large, sometimes I can’t help to envy a country like Sweden. However, it is much easier to run a small country which has enjoyed two hundred years of peace and with much ample per capital resource. As for China, there are too many issues we need to tackle at the same time.

A overdue promise

2006-08-14T22:20:00.000Z

I was watching the documentary "promises", and tears welled in my eyes. It was such a good documentary, it didn't focus on shooting on the war torned Jerasulem, the kiling and being killed. It makes us think, as part of human nature, we always try to find shortcut for a rather complicated issue. But in this case, we have long come to realize that it is such a complicated issue tangled by clashes of culture, religion and ideologies and the peace mission if it ever materialize, will be a long bumpy road.

The world is not on childeren's hands, but maybe the hope of the peace is on the childern's hands. That is one of the key messages the film sends out. When the parties in the middle of the conflicts only get to see one sided stories everyday on TV, the hatred is natural. However, peace could never been won by war or carrying on revenge.

Peace, can only start from understanding each other (the differences and similarities), take part of the existence as given, remember the history but prepare to move on. And compromise and forgiving, it is part of the peace formula.

Chinese had a long war with Japanese during second world war, both nations suffered, as the invaders, the Japanese had to be held responsible for the war crime and killing of millions of Chinese civilians. And I am sure taking revenge has always rooted in some Chinese's mind, but is it something that should be encouraged and glorified? No, peace only starts when we are ready to reconcile and make compromises.

Peace in the middle east, such a remote dream to come true, and for the kids in shattered homes, that is a overdue promise. Our hearts all ache when we see the endless killing and destruction of ordinary life, but sometimes I doubt if the rest of the world has really done enough to help. Children, when their minds are still not tinted by one sided stories, could be something we put efforts on as a long term solution. In the end, I believe mind is more powerful than guns.

Hampton Court

2006-08-12T15:03:00.000Z

It was a beautiful sunny day and it was Saturday - the best day of the week. I had a long walk along the river from Richmond all the way to Hampton court. There are old houses and modern buildings on both sides of the river, under the warm sunshine, people are fishing by the river, cycling around the river path, and kids are playing in the water. It is a 6 mile walk, I enjoyed it very much except when I finally arrived at Hampton court, my feet started to ache a bit :)

No pain, No gain or lots of Pain with no gain?

2006-07-27T12:39:00.000Z

We all used to have a lot of sympathy for Jewish people, given what they had suffered during the second world war, which nearly put the whole race under extinction. And we all have a lot of respect for them too, given the fact they are very talented and hard working people who have contributed tremendously to the world. And personally, I think they share a lot of similarities with Chinese. And we at somepoint all braced the idea of giving them a home - establishing a Jewish state.

And it is absolutely right for Israel to defend their country and its people from terrorist attacks. However, self defence should have guidelines which says they should seek best possible ways to avoid casualities of civillians and help the affected in whatever way they can.

Lebanon didn't support the hizbollahs and they didn't choose to be the base for the hizbollah guerrillas. And yet, the people in southern lebaonon are forced to leave their homes and their businesses which they have relied on for a living and go on to seek refugee somewhere. "We have given you ample time to leave, and you stay then you will be treated like terrorists.". That is the voice from the people whose grandparents had been forced to the concentration camps. But why I should flee my own country and end up in a refugge camp (if I am lucky) or end up on street begging for a living? My home is the only thing I have and there is no possibility for me to make a living elsewhere.

Well, tough life, if you don't want to be killed in the air raid, you better leave, cause whe we drop bombs even UN observers might be killed. So no one is safe to stay there.

Theoratically, whoever starts the war and make the damage should be responsible for reconstruction and providing aids as well. You can't just throw people out of their own homes and don't care about their well beings. All lives require same respect.

Unfortunately we can't count on the Israelis because they are too busy defending their own state. So here comes the UN, the organization set up after the second world war to safeguard peace in post war era. Although as a weak, bureaucratic and probably corrupt organization who have failed to do anything to prevent war or promote the diplomatic corridor for peace, the only task he can take on is providing aids. Pathetic!

I am still puzzled by what is going on there. So it seems self defence is a justified cause even it means flattening out half of a sovereign country. If we follow this logic, then whenever there is a conflict, we don't go out and seek help from internaltional community we just go in and do our own job and let the UN and international community clean up the mess and take care of post war reconstruction. Because we don't believe negotiation and diplomatic means could lead to ceasefire and avoid humantarinian disaster.

I am worried, if this simple logic applies, then we can abandon police force in every country and just let the victims or their relatives try to catch the criminals by themselves, even that could mean a lot of irrational act and unneccessary damage to other people's lives.

Something has gone very wrong here.

And do I believe this single minded military act will root out Hizbollah completely? No, I don't. On the contrary, I worry this will provoke more hatred and violence in the middle east. This might be a war with not much gain. And it certainly doesn't help Israel's image in the Islamic world.

Roman Holiday

2006-07-25T15:13:00.000Z

It is a city embraced by the history, a place where you stand in the ancient ruins and fascinated by the past glory. Yet the modern Romans have a life style that I admittedly envy. I was certainly overwhelmed, after walking for two hours in the 36 degree heat, and all of sudden, in the middle of the busy road, I saw this giant amphitheatre there. The sheer scale catches your eyes, but it is the complexity of the building and the thoughts what had happened here make you really wonder. The fearless (or rather frightened) gladiators, the fearful and agitated animals were set on the stage and the privileged crowd were sitting there and being entertained by the fight between the live and death. That would have been such a visually disturbing scene. The forum, with arches, temples and monuments built in a square stretching for a mile, and sadly it is only ruins. When I was there, it was sunset and I was truly amazed by what I saw. The ancient ruins, painted by the warm glow of sunlight, looked stunningly beautiful and surreal. For a moment, I was deeply indulged.

That was definitely the highlights of my day two in Rome, but I was also very delighted by the riverside Trastevere too. It is a fashionable residential area, a lovely blend of old buildings, small squares, local shops, restaurants and cafes. Having stuffed myself with lots of gelato, pasta, cheap but fine house wine, I took a stroll in the neighbourhood, all restaurants and bars were busy, people sat outside enjoying the summer evening blessed by nice cool breeze. And then in a little square, where they had set up some books stalls and a small stage, there was a guy playing electronic guitar. Very nice acoustics, I thought, and noticed there were a big screen set up on the stage and it read “La Notte di Q”. I wonder if it is a movie or a musical… Very vaguely I remember Notte means night in Italian, so it would be “The night of Q”. I was quite intrigued and tempted to stay and watch but then it was late in the evening and I was exhausted from the 8 mile walk during the day.

I found Spanish steps a bit disappointing and trevi fountain too crowded. Although I do love the fountains they have all round in Rome, such a nice treat when you splash some cold water on your face during a hot summer day in Rome. The Sistine Chapel inside Vatican museum is a real gem but moderated by other treasures in the museum. I just love Michelangelo and his devotion to the ceiling paintings. In some way, I always think artists (painters, musicians alike) live in a wonderful world that none of us boring corporate people could experience. It is a never land built for the pure mind and sensitive heart.

It is 7th of July

2006-07-11T16:36:00.000Z

It is 7th of July, I am on a tube to Wimbledon to see men’s semi finals. There is a two minutes silence in the office to commemorate the ones who were killed in last year’s bombing in London. Across London, there are various of memorial services to remember the death and injured.

There are some light showers during the day, as if it knows the pain the city and the nations suffered one year ago. The matched are delayed due to the rain, but when it finally starts at 3 pm, the stadium is absolutely packed. During the breaks, people walk around and have their favourite summer drink “the pimms”. It looks just like an ordinary day. I am impressed by the resilience and upbeat spirits of the people here, and indeed this is what we need for this great city that should never be let down by any terrors. This is a city that has been through a lot. It survived horrendous bombings during the second world war.

I have to admit this is just kind of the attitude that I like about the people and the nation. It is important to remember the death, the existence of terrorism, but more importantly, for the people who are living, life should be cheerful, fun and most importantly worry free. When I was at the USA during the post 9’11 period, I often felt the government is intimidating the nation and its people by the propaganda on the war towards terrorism – we are at war, and it is inmiment, look at our enemies, they are using all kind of mass destruction weapons against us. The anthrax thing was unfortunate amid of all the after shock. It is by no means a normal life if people start reporting white powder popping up everywhere, which later on all turn out to be either baby powder or just coax. Mentally and psychologically, this kind of propaganda only pushes the nation down to a very unhealthy and depressing situation. And I am not convinced that what the people needed at that point.

Life, as the way it is, is in the hands of people who are alive, and we should never live in fear. I agree as the government needs to do for national security but the blasting of terror and war every day is not needed. Put the shadow behind us, remember the death and the pain but move on to a hopefully better future.

Wimbledon is nice, the stadium is massive and I also enjoyed my walk to southfield.

Swedish countryside

2006-07-08T21:55:00.000Z

Spent last week in Sweden, a city in the south with only 45 minutes on the train to Demark. Have been there for so many times, I rarely feel that is an exciting place, and after two gloomy days, I was getting very bored there. Then on the last evening there, the sun started to come out and I decided to take a walk in the woods near my hotel. Then slowly during my walk I started to appreciate the peaceful and green Swedish countryside. It is the tranquility that really strikes me and the simple style of farm houses, nothing showy but has its charm as well.

Paradise now

2006-06-26T12:23:00.000Z

It was late Sunday night, I just finished watching “Paradise now”, my mind was filled with something rather heavy and gray, and I was still very much absorbed by this provoking story about two young Palestinians. This is such a mature, intriguing and sophisticated movie. It is a movie telling the dark truth of people living in a world that is rarely well covered by the media. And it makes you to ponder, to think deep on the complicated issues we are facing in this world. Also it is a good movie because it is using its very sharp observation to present the facts, the different perspectives of thinking and they are all woven into a very intriguing and grippinng journey that this movie takes us onto. And unlike a mainstream movie which a lot of time serves as a propaganda machine, it doesn’t give you answers to the issues or provide solutions, because the movie maker knows that these are extremely difficult and complex issues and there are no easy solutions to them.

Murdering of innocent people can not be forgiven or justified, that I fully agree. However, what we do need to understand the underlying courses of the acts by those young men who volunteered to be the suicide bombers. There is not much hope in their lives, it is all shattered dreams, miserable childhood, isolations by their own society and above all, there are no lights at the end of tunnel. The emotional despair pushed them to this belief that if they fulfil this special mission their god would save them from the misery in life and they will become someone more respectful in heaven.

It would have been a rather dark and utterly depressing movie if there was not the very lively female character in the movie, which represents more liberal and civilized views of young Palestinians who are lucky enough to be educated in the west and have developed more balanced view and prefer more peaceful solutions. She is a like a refreshing breeze blowing through the world that is torn by endless war and poverty. The character might be too perfect so it feels a little bit surreal, but it certainly paints a nice warm glow in the story that is centred on a suicide bomb mission.

It is also a very sensitive movie, with subtle touch on humanities, the good and bad side of human nature. One of the scenes in the movie, which I think it is well done, is when they accidentally find out that the videos of suicide bombers and or the traitors are both on the shelf for sale or rent. I could feel a deep sigh inside me, so what perceived as martyr or enemy may as well be good entertainment material for others. That is sad, but it is the cruel truth we live in.

Two thumbs up for this first Palestine movie, very insightful and delivering heart felt insider view from a well rounded perspective. Personally I think movies like this help us understand better the conflicts on the other side of the world, we may not have immediate solutions, but understanding in a profound manner, could be a good start.

English Countryside

2006-06-24T23:43:00.000Z

South Coast - Eastbourne and Brighton

Beautiful coast with white cliffs.

Cookham - very typical English countryside, lots of green, nice gardens on the hills. And the walking finishes off by the river Thames. Lovely sunny day!

Security and Prosperity, the Rich and the Poor

2006-06-24T22:58:00.000Z

Do I have sympathy over the people killed on the plane United 93? Yes, I do, just as million of others. But not to be simplistic and naive here, one reason we do feel sad and devastated is that because this is something we easily relate oursleves to, something that could happen to ourselves.

How many people got killed during 911 compared with how many people who got killed everyday in Africa and other developing nations due to hunger, disease and war? That is an easy math. One of the reasons these people have long been ignored by the wealthy nations is that the people in those developed countries can't really relate themselves to them, it is something they don't really encounter in their lives, so they just don't feel the pain.

I believe all good natured human beings deserve love, security and prosperity. Those hijikers on United 93 should be condemned but don't forget when we spend a lot of resource and time on anti terrorists, there are million of others who desparately need help. Are we better off trying to help these people, so at least they get to enjoy a fraction of what we enjoy in life, or should we sit here mourning the dead and condemning the terrorists? For me, there is a clear answer.

How much do we know about the lives in those poor nations and how much do we know about war against terrorism? The media coverage can tell us quite a lot. It is so easy to say "the trouble in those countries is their own trouble, we should focus on our own people", but the reality is if the countries and people who have resource to help but not doing it, who else they can count on?

911 is a wake up call, but it seems that for a better world and a better earth, maybe we do need another wakeup call on other ongoing devastating issues. After all, even we are not born to be equal but we should try to give everyone equal opportunities.

Three very distinct movies

2006-06-23T12:34:00.000Z

The three movies I have watched recently: the Da Vinci code, Crash and United 93. Very distinctive movies, from the storyline, the characters to its target audience.

The Da Vince code, a Hollywood blockbuster type of movie, leveraged on the hype of the book, didn't make me either disppointed or thrilled. I simply didn't have much expectation for this type of commercial movies. I thought it was quite entertaining, and Andrey Toutou didn't look as great as she was in "Amelia" but that was 6 years ago, she was much younger by then. I think French women have a charm and elegance that are hard to beat.

Crash is such a good movie that it blends the racial issues, humanity and social and moral values into one box and shakes it up, make you really thinik deep and comtemplate on who we are and what are the secret hidden thoughts inside us. It is a rather sad movie, which I prefer in some way, because happy ending usually doesn't leave much space for you to linger and digest. On the other hand, I think dramas with a rather sad, sentimental ending are more powerful and it puts a weight on your mind.

United 93, a very vivid restrospect on what could have happened on that day on that flight, the story itself is gripping and heart-braking enough, although at the end I was surprised I didn't shed any tears. I think maybe it is much of a documentary than a movie, so I don't feel it really extends beyond the story itself which we probably already know the piece by piece details from media coverage. One of the extension or inventions by the movie is one of the hijikers who looks rather scared and nervous, and less determined than others. This is a character who was struggling between justification of his act, his love for life and the shadows on his heart. I like the way this role is portrayed in the movie because it gives a certain degree of sophistication behind the drive of human beings.

Dead people don't talk

2006-06-15T22:32:00.000Z

Why people committed suicide ? That is always a mystery when they were already dead. Though we live in a world that this kind of drama do happen, and certainly boosted by media coverage early this week when it was unveiled that the three prisoners hanged themselves at the Guantanamo bay detention center. It is an act of war cause, the Washington official said. Well, too late to prove it is really an act of Jihad, or rather it is an act out of desperation or mental illness. They were not charged or convicted before they killed themselves. Now it seems we can inteprete what prompted this in whatever way we want to, after all, dead people don' t talk.

One thing, I realize recently, is that we are facing a choice between "innocent until proved guilty" or "guilty until proved innocent". This famous hypothesis , which I learned also in school how to use statistical model to project its probability. But mathematics itself doesn't give us answers, the fact even the probability of danger is small, like the recent police raid (which proved to be led by faulty intelligence later on) in London, we still have to pursue it, because the potential damage could be huge. Living in a world troubled by certain conflicts for which we don't have a total solution, we simply can't afford to take chances.

But is this approach "Guilty unless proved innocent" the right thing to do?

Well, the question is, is there a better approach?

In love with the green

2006-06-08T22:02:00.000Z

It's been more than four months since I arrived in London, somehow I feel it is a landmark time, from now on I can't really call myself as a newbee in town anymore. But the truth is, I think I have fallen with the city. Summer is late here, and so was spring, but even before it finally warmed up, the tree lined streets with old buildings on the side, the gardens in the park or even your frontyard and backyard started to show its resistable charm. For someone who had been fed up with the dust and dirt in a deeply polluted mega city, this is a real blessing. Just a few shots to give you a flavor of the beauty of the city and its vicinity.

This is the massive botanic garden "Kew garden", quite a nice place to spend a lazy Sunday strolling around, have ice cream and do some reading.

I also had a walk through St. James park on a rainy day, after passing by the famous big ben and heard the chime. It was quite a nice feeling. And St. James park in the rain looks a big foggy.

London's bazar

2006-05-31T16:12:00.000Z

I had heard about the market at Camden town, but it was only when I was there on last Sunday, I came to realize this is London's bazar - vividly reminds me of the night bazar in Thailand. The similarities is that they both carry a lot of stuff from Asia, but the difference is that the market here is mostly indoors, fairly organized and less haggling than you would do in Thailand.

There are some interesting shops, and as the achievement of the day that I bought a coffee table for my living room. It is in simple style but quite nice looking, and good size to fit to my place. And a real wooden coffee table for 69 pounds is a bargain in London.

I always like walking around in the market, everywhere I go, sometimes not in a mood of buying anything but just sheer flair of so much life there is amazing!

Back in Beijing as a visitor

2006-05-26T16:46:00.000Z

The plane slowly descends through the grey smog and land at the Beijing capital airport. I look out of the window, the sky is pale grey, and people are going around in summer shirts. Welcome home! I pick up my luggage and jump into a taxi outside the airport. “Where are you going?” the driver asks, after learning that it is only a short ride, he starts complaining, “I have waited for four hours in queue just to get a job like this…” Well, now I really feel I am home, having to deal with tricky issues like this again. I want to tell him that it is his choice to come to the airport and it is not my choice that I have to go to this hotel that happens to be just off the airport highway. But, I keep my mouth shut. It is no use arguing with him, it is only making it worse. They only want me to pay them some nice tip, but instead of offering a good service, they get grouchy and hope to use this to win your support. Sad really, I am sure this kind of trick would ever work for anyone. When I arrive at the hotel and pay him the taxi fare with a few Yuan extra, apparently he is not satisfied with my tip, so he just sits there and don’t even bother to open the trunk where my luggage is placed. I have to ask him very politely “could you please open the trunk so I can get my luggage”? Then he slowly pushes the button, fortunately by then the guy from the hotel lobby has come out and help me to get my rather heavy luggage from the taxi.

So three months have passed since I moved to London, the first impression is that the service level has not improved much in Beijing. The same ordeal you still have to deal with!

Taking a deep breath in the hot and dusty air, such a different world here compared with mild and cloudy weather in London. The traffic is not getting any better, but I noticed there are new grass and flowers planted along the third ring road – after all the government is trying hard to improve the image of the city.

It is a bit strange to be back in Beijing as a visitor and stay in a hotel. When I am out in the famous Yashow market and seeing the tourists doing the haggling, I have to say I am impressed by how lively the business is here. I guess the universal rule for shopping is that to get more for less, and that is the attraction for most people at least, and with the variety of things they carry, no wonder they think it is a heaven for budget shoppers. And I am even more amazed when I accidentally leave the market when it is just closing for the day. The crowd, including both shoppers and vendors are going out at the same time, moving like a wave in the sea to the main gate. The scene reminds me of the Chinese word “the human air” (Ren Qi) which I haven’t found the right translations. It basically describes a phenomena that presence of mass population makes the place or event more appealing and exciting.

On the last evening I am hanging out with some friends in a bar, it turns out two of my friends are leaving Beijing soon too, we are joking maybe 2006 is the year of leaving Beijing (not a bad choice considering the fact it is a major construction site right now), though I am sure there will be more people coming as well. This is a city still attracts people with its dynamics, history and unique culture. I would hate to see my beloved city turning to be just any of those metropolitan cities with no character. I have liked London a lot since I moved there mainly because it is a city with a character, that is what makes it an enchanting place to live. My worry for Beijing is that people tend to focus too much on material things, after all modernization doesn’t mean just ugly tall buildings which would only do further damage to the environment which is already endangered.

The race just started

2006-05-18T16:06:00.000Z

Today the "super jumbo" had the test run in London heathrow airport, the new airbus A380 that will take up to 555 passengers for long hauls, and with less noice and more fuel efficiency.

The white monster looks fantastic, though airports have to expand their runways and other facilities to accomondate its size. It remindes me of the long gone concorde. What a beautiful plane and it really stretched the limit of our fantasies. At lease I knew part of my dream was shattered when the last concorde retired.

Boeing, on the hand, is suspicious if this kind of huge plane would be the way to go for the future. Instead of big, more efficient planes flying from hub to hub, they think point to point short commutes are where the growth is.

Well, I certainly hope this giant thing will fly our dreams across the globe. Though it is a huge investment, 200+ planes are needed to break-even.

This could be a very good business case study for the MBAs, the race between two giant airplane makers betting on the future market. Sometimes, being creative, courageous and taking on risks could get handsome reward as well, but sometimes they will fail and left people with its past glory, like the beloved concorde.

Dynamic environment and multi-cultural babies

2006-05-10T14:06:00.000Z

Anther ordinary day in the office, yet, the rainy weather is finally over so we are blessed by sun and blue sky again. While sitting out having lunch, one of them said, “don’t you realize that we work for such a dynamic company, we have people from every continent in our office.” I guess I never really thought about this, well, I always know that I work for a multi-cultural company, the fact we are a joint venture between east and west does make a difference on the company’s culture.

Then I got into thinking, so exactly how many nationalities we have in our office in London.

Here is my count:

Come in office in the morning, I would be greeted by two nice South African girls at reception, and on the floor I work, we have Chinese, Japanese, English, Scottish, Dutch, Swedish, Chilean, Australian and American. And we also have Italians and French working here.

Considering we only have 70 people officially based in our office in London, that is quite a good representative of the continents.

Personally I am not a big fan of corporate conglomerate, even I have always worked for big multinational companies. And the truth is, in this new century, we have seen more than ever the flow of people across countries and continents.

But is it the dynamic environment that creates those multi-cultural babies who at least speak two languages and who thrive in a fast moving, seamlessly integrated global market. Or rather it is those people who are the driving force of the free flow of goods, services and naturally the people across boundaries?

Foreign National

2006-04-23T10:25:00.000Z

Back in London, well, not quite yet, I am standing in the long queue marked as "other foreign national" in the passport control area at heathrow airport. This is my third time coming into London from overseas. It seems this time I got lucky again - my flight from Copenhagen happened to arrive about same time as two flights from Mumbai and one from Bangkok, so there is a big crowd waiting at "other nationals" to get through the passport control.

Maybe it is just me being sensitive, but I kind of feel there is probably no other airport than heathrow airport that makes you think we still live in a world that is divided by first, second and third world countries. There are three different paths at passport control - UK and EU citizens, commonwealth countries and other nationals. And even Japanese natually should fall into other nationals but as some sort of exception, they can stand in the line for commonwealth countries.

Standing in the long line consisting mainly of Indians, I can't help to think why they don't get any special treatment for once being the colony of the British empire. I guess that is one of the differences between a colony and one of the "commonwealth" countries.

After one hour waiting in the queue, finally it is my turn, the officer in charge didn't give me a hard time. She looked at my work permit visa on the passport and asked me "so which company do you work for?" After hearing my answer, she gave a "Ahh" with a grin. I was cleared through within a minute.

Now I am back in London, a place I could almost call home, and yet it is a long way to come home!

Spring in London

2006-04-12T09:16:00.000Z

I like taking a walk in hyde park on a sunny day. It makes my mind completely free.

This year spring comes quite late in London, now it is mid April but weather wise it still feels like March. But if you walk around the London, even with the chill in the air, you will feel the spring is here, and it is very lovely with the cherry trees and the green everywhere.

this is the green in my neighbourhood, every morning I pass it on the way to work and every evening on the way back home. I like it there, there are always people walking their dogs, kids playing balls.

Immigration

2006-04-11T12:10:00.000Z

Immigration seems to be a hot topic these days. There is upheaval by the latinos (mostly Mexicans) in the USA and there are occasional anti-immigration moves in Europe as well. Immigrants, whether cross the borders or between different regions within one national border, is a natural phenomenon fuelled by economic needs. Cheap labours go to more developed countries for better pay. And in the USA, the immigration policies have shifted so much over the recent years, a few years ago when Bush just came to office he was talking about giving green cards to thousands of illegal Mexican workers in the USA and now they are taking a step back – a 600 mile wall might be built near the US/Mexico border.

I always have mixed feeling over immigration issues. I have lived overseas, so I understand fairly well the identity crisis for immigrants. I can’t imagine myself working under illegal status, but I do admire their courage. After all, people are stretching their limits for a better life should be respected. I have a lot of sympathy for them, but of course those illegal acts should not be encouraged, partly because there are always crimes and mobs involved in those illegal labour trafficking.

The economic benefits of those immigrant workers should not be undermined, unfortunately it could be in conflict with nationalism a lot of times. There is no easy solutions, if you open the door, they will come, both legal and illegal ones, if you close the door, they might still come driven by the prosperous of living in a land of opportunities. For people living in poverty, there is not much to lose really.

Maybe we should have a more liberal view about the world. Who is to say that Europe has to be “pure” Europeans’ Europe, and America should be dominated by the descents of Anglo Saxons. The globe is round, and people can move easily thanks to the modern air line industry which revolutionized our lives. People should be allowed to choose where they want to live as long as they are contributing to the society and community and help to build a more dynamic, open minded and diversified world.

You are beautiful

2006-04-02T12:40:00.000Z

It was Friday evening, I was taking the tube to Piccadilly Circus, on the stairs going up to the street, I heard this song by James Blunt “You are beautiful”. The singer was a girl with a guitar, standing in the middle of the platform, her voice was very pure but also profound, drifting in the air. For a minute, my eyes just turned misty. Not that I was so much touched by the song, I have the CD and have listed to it many times, I actually didn’t think it was my type of song. Somehow I have to admit I am in a sentimental mood right now, and easily get very emotional about things.

I had a stroll in Hyde Park one evening after work, it was a day of tremendous emotional turbulence in the middle of crazy work trying to meet the deadline. I was stressed and sad, walking along the green in the Park. It was early evening, a fairly relaxed atmosphere in the park, I can see the white birds flying over the pond in the distance. Kids are playing on the grass, people walking their dogs and there are some serious joggers sweating themselves on the track. Then strangely enough, I feel my mind start to feel settled, for a second, I feel free and become part of the beautiful and peaceful nature.

Then little by little, this soothing effect kicks in, all the emotional ups and downs and endless struggle in my life start to disseminate. Life as the way it is, you have to live it to the full but at the same time not to push it too hard. Nature has its own rules, and so does life. You can join the force to influence and enrich it but you can’t fight against the rules. Certain things are meant to happen, when it happens you grasp it and enjoy the ride, when things have to go you can’t take it back.

There are people and moments in your life that are so beautiful, it is so hard to let it go, especially when they become part of you. But you are who you are and they are who they are, it is a game with no winners if you fight with it.

London is beautiful, and its beauty is not limited to skin deep. Sometimes, its charm, class and sophistication are not so obvious, but you will find them when you walk around the backstreets with old buildings, little stores around corner, the gardens illuminating in the sun and its unpredictable English weather which could change from sunny to drizlling in one hour.

Environmental Consciousness

2006-03-28T14:53:00.000Z

It is a sunny day in London, as I cross the green on the way to work, I can’t help to appreciate this quiet and nice neighbourhood. Environment does have an effect on our mental health, which is becoming a problem in the modern society we live in. A peaceful, clean and eco logically balanced environment could help us calm down, relieve pressure and create harmony in life.

On the first day I moved to my new flat in London, I found a roll of trash bags in the hallway. Later on I found out that these orange bags are not just “free trash bags”, they are used to collect recyclable items from households. And they have very detailed instructions on the bag what can go in as “recyclable objects.” I have started sorting my household trash and find most of the trash items can actually go into these big orange bags. Well, I admit it takes a little more efforts to sort your trash but it is worth the time considering the benefits for the environment.

Europe is more advanced in environmental protection than other continents I have lived. The first time I was travelling in Europe (that was one year after I left the USA) I found that most of the soft drink bottles are made of glass instead of plastics, apparently because they can be used/recycled even glass bottles are heavier and easy to break so it is probably not cost effectives in terms of the logistics. And also I found in many hotels throughout Europe, they have started using the refillable Shampoo/Body wash bottles (those bottles stick on the wall) to replace those disposable little bottles.

Three years living in the USA, I rarely saw good initiatives to protect the environment. In a way I guess they don’t have to worry that much as Asians and Europeans, where the land has been used for thousands of years and certain measures have to be in place to prevent the deterioration of the environment.

In China, I find there is a tendency to get things started, but not getting it done so the expected result is never achieved. In the apartment I used to live, which is in a brand new modern complex, there were two separate trash bins, one for recyclables and one for non-recyclables. But there is no clear instruction what should go in which one. So in the end, most people just dump everything to non-recyclable bins.

Then today I read this interesting article on the “recyclable phones.”

The UK's Science Museum is due to open a new exhibition this Wednesday which is to showcase pioneering phone technologies as well as the environmental impact of mobile phones. The exhibition, opening in the science and technology news gallery of the Science Museum - will include the first UK display of NEC's phone with a biodegradeable cover? currently only available in Japan. Also on display is a prototype phone cover with an implanted sunflower seed. As the sunflower grows, it gets additional nutrients from the biodegrading phone cover. This unique design, yet to hit the shelves, should give you the option to simply bury your used phone cover in your garden? thanks to researchers from Warwick University and materials company PVAXX.

Phone with a real sunflower growing on it, that does sound quite innovative!

News Coverage

2006-03-23T10:30:00.000Z

I was sincerely expecting to see a broad range of news coverage on the British TV when I moved here. Coming from a country with news censorship, I am happy to embrace what the free press has to offer. But I have to admit so far I am very disappointed by the news coverage on the five channels I have. The local news is dull, dominated by crimes (bank robbery, missing persons, etc), polictical scandal and sports. The international news coverage by BBC world is more or less like CNN and other news channels. When there is a "breaking news" like bird flu, sharon is gravely ill, the news channels will be bombarded with the close watch on the development of the case...As if this is something on everybody's agenda!

I once talked to a friend who is a senior producer at CBS, and surprisingly he has the same frustration about the variety of news coverage. He said he even sent a letter to the president in their news division with a proposal on reforming the news content and production so that news could be something more interesting, enlightening to watch rather than the same story repeated by the different network TVs.

It is fair to say that reading news on Internet is a good alternative, it has all the information you want to know and you can customize it to your own interest and taste. The downside as compared to conventional TV news is that it is not as multi media as TV news (this of course will improve with broadband and streaming technology). Also people tend to have their TV on when they get up in the morning, so they can do multi-tasking but with Internet news, you literally have to sit there and click your mouse. But who knows, we have video on demand now so news on demand is probably on the way.

Three years, Peace is still a remote dream to come true

2006-03-21T14:39:00.000Z

Three years after, the country is still on the brink of civil war, and very doubtfully the life is getting better for the average citizen in Iraq. Dictatorship has to go, but the question is what kind of benefits this has brought to its people. Free Election is one step further towards democracy, but do most people gain anything practical from this? A sense of pride, participation and making decision for themselves, yes maybe, however, when the basic security is not guaranteed, it is a bit like asking someone living below poverty line if he likes a luxury cruise in the Caribbean’s. Of course, it is something nice to have, but how much help that really is for someone who is looking to have his bottom line secured.

There tend to be a big gap between the reality and illusion. The reality is that the world, as much as the complexity of life itself, is a place with imbalances and inequality everywhere. The illusion is that we think there is a cure for all the issues we have in life, once we get the action in place, the world will be a better place. But the trouble is, do we always have the golden formula for all the complicated issues we have, not really. So maybe it is wise to wait until we make a bridge between what we think they need and what they really need.

Everybody's London?

2006-03-19T17:09:00.000Z

"It doesn't get more international than London." Someone in the group said. I was at a London internatonal community social event, a few local Londoners, mostly people from other parts of Europe, and as usual, I was one of the few people from Asia. I looked around, well, yes, I guess you can say that, even though to me, Europe is like one big family and even culture and economy wise, there are still distinctive differences.

It is always a good idea to get 0ut and meet people, I admit it is a bit difficult to be in a foreign land again, but then again, I am not alone. It was a rainy night, and it was my third week in London, I was very glad I didn't choose to stay in the hotel room. That would be a pity, for being in such an exciting city.

Then I was surprised to hear some comments about British by some of the newcomers to London. "I feel people are kind of cold here, I have been here for 3 months now and still don't have any local friends. "

Well, I think it is never easy to the newcomers to any community, especially in big cities, you easily get lost - you see the excitement and dynamics of the city but you feel isolated and not part of the aciton. I don't feel I should make a judgement yet, after all, four weeks is too short time to get to know a city and its people.

Loneliness is something we as human beings always have to fight against, it is natural to feel lonely, because essentially only you knows yourself the best, nobody else does. But should this stop us from communicating and sharing with others? the answer is no. I always believe it adds some real meanings to my life when I am connected with others.

After a few emotional ups and downs in the first four weeks, I start to feel quite happy with being here and eager to explore what is out there in this city.

And it is a sunny day today, my fourth week in London. Had a nice walk by the river Thames, lovely day. When I was sitting in a polish cafe in Ravenscourt, the sun was streaming down in the table, I was content with the moment; and then I realize maybe we get too greedy and demanding for what life could offer, to live the moment, and remember every single good moment you have lived, that is one way of living too.

Weekend in London

2006-03-06T10:24:00.000Z

It is a lovely day to take a walk in the Hyde park, the chilliness is still in the air, but we have beautiful blue sky, and the grass is already green (or it stays green all year long, I am not sure). I think I start to like the city a lot, apparently it has a very metropolitan life as I experienced last night. Walking down the street in Chelsea, it almost feels like the busy streets with stores, restaurants and bars in Shanghai. And yes, it is just amazing to see how British really like to drink a lot – even during lunch hours, you see people having beer in pubs. Funny though I think I spot the Chinese beer “Tsing Tao” on one table during the dinner in a trendy Asian restaurant in Chelsea. And again, the price for the standard cocktail drinks shocked me. A majitto would cost 8 pounds in a nice pub in Chelsea, which is far more expensive than centro, the swanky lobby bar in Kerry Center in Beijing.

The UK representative to Euro Vision was selected tonight and to my big surprise and disappointment, the rap singer Daz Sampson got the ticket to Athens. I thought that was totally a strange performance, not that I don’t like rap, I actually do, but “this mid aged guy had this old fashioned stone wash Jacket on, singing and dancing along with some under aged girls” – as one of the panellists pointed out, “everything was wrong and altogether it looks right.” He is not my favourite for sure, and I seriously it is a joke to send a singer/performer like him to Euro vision, it is very doubtful that UK will get a chance this year in the competition.

A lady in the office who helped with the relocation asked me how I am getting along with the life in London, as she said “ I guess it could be difficult that you might find people are not super friendly here as they don’t tend to make eye contact.” It is probably true, but well it is more or less the case with most major big cities, there are always some snobs there, but once you manage to break the ice, you will find the nice warm people around you.

I like the Parkinson show, compared with Larry King, who annoying like to take over the show, trying to be smarter and outshine the guests. Mr. Parkinson, knows how to get the best out of his guests and let them shine and be themselves.

House Hunting in London

2006-03-02T19:09:00.000Z

I spent two days on house hunting in London, quite an experience I have to say. The lady from the relocation company drove me around in her big landrover SUV, and we managed to see 16 properties in day one and 8 properties in day two, I was amazed by what we were able to achieve. And at the end of day two, we actually made our offer. I finally set my eye on this one bedroom house in Brook Green, a very nice residential area with lots of trees and green and beautiful period houses. My to be home is on the 1st floor (by British standard) of this converted period house. The reception room has two big bottom up windows overlooking the garden and street. It is high ceilings throughout and the bedroom is on the slightly lower level, with big wardrobes and shoe cabinets. The main reason I chose this flat over the much spacious two bedroom flat in a modern block is that I just love the style of those flats split in the period houses, they got a bit more charactern and flavor than the new modern flats. And this house is only 10 minutes to my office, which is a real plus considering the traffic situation in London.

Even I had been told many time that property price in London is just outrageous but I was still shocked to learn how much I end up paying for my rent. That is £1200 ($2000 or CNY 16000) per month for a one bedroom flat, not even in the most expensive areas like Kensington or Chelsea. But then again, it is London, there is a certain life style you don’t get elsewhere, so there is a price to pay.

Rain, Rain and Sun

2006-02-25T15:41:00.000Z

Back in London, greeted by gloomy weather, rainy and wet, then today it turned sunny in the morning- beautiful blue sky, and gusty, it doesn't feel like spring. Walking around in the neighborhood of Hammersmith, Kensignton and Baron's court, some of the residentials are quite nice.

Hitting my emotional low point last night, feeling a bit stranded in a strange foreign land. But then again, this is my choice to get out of the "comfort zone", so I can't really complain. Tough start, but it will only get better.

And yes, we only grow when we have to overcome challenges! London, a place I will call it home soon....

The real socialism

2006-02-21T20:40:00.000Z

Back in Sweden again - 6 months since my last trip here. It was actually snowing yesterday here, something very rarely happen in Beijing in late Feb. And today it feels colder with the wind chill. Working in this half Swedish company for three years, I have come to much better understanding of this Nordic country. It is a socialist country in reality, even it never claim itself as a socialist country.

It is a fairly balanced society, you still find poor people, but overall people have a good life and their welfare are taken care of by the government. It is actually a smart system in a way that people are motivated to work for 10 years before they decided to have kids because by doing that they will be able to fully enjoy the benefits of the social welfare - the government make sure you can raise your family in a fairly decent way. It makes sense to me, people work hard and pay tax for ten years, then they are entitled to receive those benefits as the payback. You contribute, you will be helped out. Simple logic but has proved to work well.

Then of course, this kind of system has to have certain foundations - well educated population supported by well established infrastructure. We don't have either of those elements in China. But the Nordic socialism has its drawbacks too, people are fairly laidback. lacking of the sense of crisis which sometimes leads to losing competitive edge. And certainly lazy people find their wam bed under the procetion of the welfare system, but it is not always fair for hard working people who have to pay heavy tax to feed them.

Farewell Beijing and Welcome to London!

2006-02-19T13:06:00.000Z

In a mad rush yesterday - left Beijing around noon on Saturday, 10 hours later, I arrived in London. A bit misty today in London, have ventured out and checked out the neighbourhood near Novotel hotel in Hammersmith. Looks like a convenient location. Feeling a bit mixed being a foreigner again in a country!

Lantern Festival

2006-02-14T05:42:00.000Z

Last Sunday is the traditonal lantern festival in China, it is the 15th day of the new year (according to lunar calendar) and marks the end of the new year celebrations (fireworks and firecrackers). I remember we used to have a lot of lantern displays in the parks around town in the late 80s and early 90s during the festival, but it seems to lose its popularity in the past few years and there are many lantern displays anymore in Beijing. This year, Chaoyang park decided to bring this old tradition back to town, so I went yesterday to check out how it would look like after not having seen it for many years.

Overall it was similar designs and styles and same material as they used to be, and the crowd seemed to enjoy the walk in the park with lighted lanterns on display. And I was just happy to see something rooted in our culture before I head off to London for two years.

Snow in Beijing!!!

2006-02-06T06:02:00.000Z

According to Lunar calendar, today is the second day of spring. And we are embracing the first heavy snow this year in Beijing. Yes, snow has become rather rare now in Beijing. This is the landscape in the high-tech park where I work. Very nice and much needed snow for the dusty and dry weather in Beijing!

Note: The coconut trees in the pictures are fake trees as you might have guessed based on you knowledge of the weather in Beijing :) But you have to admit they look pretty nice in the pictures!

Understanding, Respect and Tolerance on Diversity

2006-02-05T03:55:00.000Z

It always strikes me when incidents like the recent shooting in a gay bar in the USA, it makes me realize that even in a racially diversified modern society built on immigrants there are still people who couldn't appreciate liberty (a main characteristic of a civilized society) and have no tolerance on diversity.

The people who conducted those hate crimes, often argue they did it out of their religious belief. I am not into any religions but I often doubt that god really tells them so. Compassion and drive for harmony are actually encouraged as the solutions for a lot of conflict issues and different opinions. So the way I see it is that the extremists often use religion as a disguise for the cruelty of their conduct.

But more understanding about each others' culture, especially between east and west, which will naturally turn into certain respect for others' religious or social norms, can definitely minimze the clashes and make the world a more harmonious and peaceful place to live. The ongoing Islamic uproar against the Danish cartoons unveiling Islamic prophesy is a typical unease that could have been avoided. Freedom of speech and expession is important, but the question is when this kind of publication could only do harm rather than drive progress in a extremely sensitive religious community, it is probably not a wise act. We should stick to our values and principles, but sometimes for complex issues, we need to approach it in a smarter and progressive manner.

Temple Fair - the Chinese way to celebrate the Lunar New Year

2006-02-03T15:27:00.000Z

Went to the temple fair this morning, in the wind chill of -8 degree. This is a popular outdoor event in Beijing during Chinese New Year, featuring folk dance, music, street vendors selling artcrafts, gifts and traditional food. It is good to see the old traditons still alive and people are out enjoying the holiday time. And my last visit to temple fair was 18 years ago!

The Promise, failed to deliver its promise

2006-02-02T03:34:00.000Z

The movie "Promise" directed by Chen Kaige, nominated by Golden Globe for best drama, is a disappointment. Despite the nice photography, exotic costumes and impressive display of war scenes, the movie as a whole, failed to delivery a story that would touch its audience. I watched it on DVD last night, to be honest, halfway through the movie, I felt it was so boring and I switched to some TV channels to check out what is on TV.

It is more or less the same type of movie as "Hero" by Zhang Yimou, which was made five years ago. It is almost a shame to realize that the Chinese movie directors (at least those well-known ones) have been using same tricks, techniques and same package of visually rich but yet mentally poor content. I always to make a successful movie, you have to be able to tell a good story in which your characters speak for themselves, and the audience feel there is something they can relate to. It is Ok to tell a folkstory, something a bit surreal compared with real life, but you still have to put them in a context of circumstances that audience can relate to.

I think it is not wise to think the western audience will just fall for a Chinese movie because it is someting exotic. This wishful thinking might succeed once in a while, when the west want to just see something different and new, but it seems some Chinese directors have been trying to imitate the success of "crouching tiger, hidden dragon", and this should not be encouraged. And the truth is, even in China, without the heavy promotion and marketing campaign on this movie, I doubt there will be many people going to the theotre for this movie. Word of mouth on this movie, as far as I know, hasn't been positive. There will be a day even Chinese audience will not buy into this type of movies anymore, and that would be truly sad.

Time for these directors to think about making movies that truly reflect the history, culture, social and ecomonic circumstance, life style, the ongoing struggle, and the complex relationships
in life. And after all, we human beings, whether in China or else where, have more similarities that differences, the question is whether the movie makers in China can really present them and resonate in the west.

Brokeback Mountain

2006-01-31T10:12:00.000Z

I watched the movie last night on DVD, It was a beautifully made movie, and the story is so moving that the characters, landscapes and songs are lingering in my mind throughout the whole day today. To be honest, I didn’t think I would be so intrigued and touched by a story of the relationship between two men. However, love is the force of nature, as the movie says, and admittedly a lot of us have applied the prejudiced view on a gay relationship. The truth, great love is not a privilege limited to straight couples. And the movie goes beyond this message, it shows how society could impose enormous pressure on people that they don’t dare to pursue the love of their life, which is sad and a shame indeed. Love, is the most important thing to keep us alive, but sometimes reality is cruel and only through the continuous fight against old norms we could evolve into a more open, liberal, inviting society where people could have understanding and tolerance on the diversities, whether it be a choice of sex partner, religion or political views.

I am never a big fan of country/folk music, and never really into the cowboys’ life. But this movie, with most of scenes shot in the farm and mountainous area, has a striking appeal, and along with its soundtrack in the background, creating a world that might be wild and rough, but has its natural, gripping beauty at the same time. And the love between two cowboys, under the blue sky, in front of the brokeback mountain, is so passionate, powerful and sometimes as damaging as the nature itself. And the complexity of life and the journey of two then young men discovering themselves and the love of their lives, are all presented in a subtle, mature and convincing way. Ang Lee, along with the screenwriters, had done a remarkable job in interpreting the original story, if not enriching and expanding it to a level that suits better for the big screen.

Though on the contrary to what most people assumed, this movie was not shot in rural Wyoming, instead it was mostly shot in Alberta, Canada due to the fact Wyoming doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the movie making. It is a bit pity, cause personally I would really like to see how this western state looks like, the part of the country that I have never set my foot on.

This is probably the best movie I saw in the past two years, I guess you can't call it a master piece, but it is certainly enchanting and leave something for all of us to ponder on rather than a fake "happy ending" movie.