Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
萝卜寨村民重建家园
Glad to know they are rebuilding their lives well!
WENCHUAN, Sichuan: For thousands of years, the Qiang people in Luobo village more than 2,000 m above the sea level have had to collect or haul water for daily use. "Getting enough water for drinking and other basic needs was always a top concern for us," Ma Luquan, 56, a farmer who grows corn in northern Wenchuan county, said yesterday.
Last year, Ma and about 1,000 of his fellow villagers from the Qiang minority ethnic group had to leave the area after the deadly earthquake struck Sichuan province on May 12 and devastated Luobo.
But when the Qiangs moved into their newly built homes in an area adjacent to their former village, they had a pleasant surprise waiting for them: a network of pipes carrying water from mountain streams.
"It's great the water pours into wells in our village and we don't have to walk very far now. It's such a simple thing and yet so important," Ma said.
The Qiangs are one of the 56 ethnic groups of the country, and have a population of more than 300,000. Most of them live in northwestern Sichuan.
Forty-four Qiang villagers died in Luobo, while almost all of the 200-odd buildings in their village were destroyed, village head Ma Qianguo said.
Luobo is one of the oldest Qiang settlements and used to be famous for its architecture and culture. The red radish - after which the village is named - grown there was famous for its taste and freshness.
But when the Qiangs moved into their newly built homes in an area adjacent to their former village, they had a pleasant surprise waiting for them: a network of pipes carrying water from mountain streams.
"It's great the water pours into wells in our village and we don't have to walk very far now. It's such a simple thing and yet so important," Ma said.
The Qiangs are one of the 56 ethnic groups of the country, and have a population of more than 300,000. Most of them live in northwestern Sichuan.
Forty-four Qiang villagers died in Luobo, while almost all of the 200-odd buildings in their village were destroyed, village head Ma Qianguo said.
Luobo is one of the oldest Qiang settlements and used to be famous for its architecture and culture. The red radish - after which the village is named - grown there was famous for its taste and freshness.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
WALL-E and Eve PEZ!
Bought this Eve PEZ last night at Tampines Giant. But they didn't have (or had run out of) WALL-E PEZ!I want my WALL-E (>__<*)
If you guys come across one, please get for me, or let me know immediately where you see a WALL-E PEZ!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
默默
I don't particularly like this MV but love the song and the TV show.
These lyrics, in particular, resonate with me:
慢慢的，这份爱悄悄的住下来 (slowly, this love quietly stays)
深深的，在心里没人看得出来 (deeply, in my heart where no one sees)
慢慢地，这份爱已经变成依赖 (slowly, I depend on your love)
渐渐地，笑容里却让我充满期待 (bit by bit, your smile holds my dreams)
First saw the lead actor, Fahrenheit's Jiro, as Nakatsu in the Taiwanese version of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. It's the first time that I thought the portrayal of a character by a Taiwanese actor is actually more enjoyable than the Japanese one (played by Ikuta Toma who by the way, is brilliant in Hachimitsu to Clover) So I decided to give this series a shot and as it turns out, I quite like it!
曲: 默默
歌手:飞轮海
专辑: 越来越爱
这是一个没有答案的问题
我感觉我变了
OH~
谁让我变了
因为这是一个没有答案的问题
就被你解开了
就那么解开了
你走过了
在这个迷人苦痛的对白
你甚至不让我知道
你对我有多好
慢慢地
这份爱悄悄地住下来
深深的
在心里没人看得出来
安静的
但却一直都在
数你默默的爱
慢慢地
这份爱已经变成依赖
渐渐地
笑容里却让我充满期待
不用说
我就能够明白
OH ~
你默默的爱
这是一个没有答案的问题
我感觉我变了
谁让我变了
因为这是一个没有答案的问题
就被你解开了
就那么解开
你走过了 在
这个迷人苦痛的对白
你甚至不让我知道
你对我有多好
慢慢地
这份爱悄悄地住下来
深深的
在心里没人看得出来
安静的
但却一直都在数
你默默的爱
慢慢地
这份爱已经变成依赖
渐渐地
笑容里却让我充满期待
不用说
我就能够明白
OH ~
你默默的爱
未来的每一天
不管发生什么呢
不能挑给我呢
我要永远陪着你守候着你
直到最后
WOO~
慢慢地
这份爱悄悄地住下来
深深的
在心里 没人看得出来
安静的
但却一直都在数
你默默的爱
慢慢地
这份爱已经变成依赖
渐渐地
笑容里却让我充满期待
不用说
我就能够明白
OH ~
你默默的爱
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Leaving Japan on a Jetplane
I'll be back soon enough. Need to fly more United Airlines! A US trip next summer maybe so I could do Japan in autumn ... hehe ... always thinking forward! v(^___^*)v
Kamakura and Tokyo
I only had 1 full day and 2 half-days in Tokyo so I had to spend my time really wisely. Since it's already noon when I arrived in Tokyo from Nagoya (despite having caught the earliest train at 6.50 am from Takayama to Nagoya), I decided to defer Kamakura to the next day cuz it seemed like there's an awful lot to see and I probably wouldn't be able to cover everything before the closing time of 5 pm for most temples and shrines.
So I roamed Tokyo. First stop: Akihabara. If I had any indulgence aside from travel, it's electronics. Maybe it's just occupational hazard. Haha ... in any case, Akihabara is close to the top of my list for this trip having missed out on it on the last. So I went. And was overwhelmed. In a few hours, I thought I'd seen nothing as I was more of window shopping cuz there was so much!, and yet at the same time, had seen everything since every shop seemed to be selling the same electronics, manga and anime related things and soft porn ;) Yeah ... if I had not known better, I'd be seriously culture shocked that porn could be peddled so openly.
Nevertheless, I did have some takeaways from Akihabara - a couple of Ponyo memorabilia (exorbitantly priced keychain and plush toy) and some brochures for the reference of designers back home.
Then I went hunting for the watch that I must get! From Ikebukuro (cuz I remember Luke saying there's a new mall there) to Shinjuku to Shibuya. Finally found what I wanted at IOIO Jam at Shibuya.
It's a Baby-G G-ms. I was also quite taken with a Nixon that maydayer had recommended but at 45,000 yen, it's way beyond me.
An anime doll outside a store at Akihabara.
Shibuya and its night crowd.
Tsukiji Fish Market: For the first time, I experienced the notorious Tokyo 'sardine-packed' (no pun intended!) rush hour when travelling to Tsukiji in the morning. Couldn't even reach into my bag to pull out the camera ... people were elbowing each other to squeeze in the packed train at almost every stop heading towards Tokyo, Ginza and Shinagawa.
The chef fixing my seafood rice platter at the market! Fresh fish! Fresh tako! YUMMY!
My yummy breakfast! Note the arrangement ala Mickey Mouse ... third time in Japan and no Disneyland yet :( 
Th Great Buddha at Kamakura. A staff member at Khaosan Tokyo where I stayed later told me that it'd be worthwhile to overnight there so I could also visit nearby Enoshima. Another mental note!
Students having an excursion to the temple. They're so bubbly! Tripped me back to ol' school days although we didn't have many excursions all year.
Love my camera! Not a DSLR, just a compact point-n-shoot but the result is still beautiful, IMHO \(^___^*)/
I wanna be like him. Happy happy happy! v(^___^*)v
The town of Kamakura from above. The Giant Kannon temple overlooks the beach.
Strolling along Omote-sando, I couldn't help but be overcome by a sense of disgust for the ostentation of wealth, however beautiful it might be, on this branded street.
Sensoji, a stone's throw away from my hostel in Asakusa. Completed in 645, it is the oldest temple in Tokyo.
Apply a whiff of the smoke from the incense on thyself and be blessed.
Respect for the Gods starts from young. Always wash your hands before offering a prayer (sometimes I forget!) with water from the spring. Not sure about Tokyo but at temples in the countryside, fresh and sweet spring water does flow from a bamboo pipe channeled from the mountains.
It's a Saturday and the crowd was unbelievable. Alrite ... it's Tokyo, so you'd better believe it.
Of Teddies Bears, Sanno Matsuri and Fuji-san
The teddy bear eco village. I went there on the second morning of the Takayama festival. Decided to explore Takayama a bit and ended up here to spend the next 2 hours before I headed out to the old town for some festival fare cuz in contrast to the day before, it's sunny! So the Gods will definitely wanna be out.
Love this GIANT teddy ...
... and the family of teddies ...
... ninja teddies. Takayama is all about ninjas ...
... boulangerie teddies ...
... grandpa teddy ...
... baby teddies ...
... "Dreamworks" Hida Takayama teddy ... one of my favourite shots in this museum ...
... and I gatecrashed a teddy wedding!
... the gracious couple.
The festival was in full swing when I got to the old town.
A little boy helped to pull a huge shrine.
Another lucky shot. One of the boys who accompanied the shrine. The troop was taking a break.
Beautiful Takayama old town.
... and the ya-tais are out! Truly beautiful. Amazing craftsmanship. The carpentry works of Takayama are tops in Japan.
Little girl was all dressed up for the festival. And she's a really brave girl too. She was chasing pigeons and I was trying to capture the moment when she suddenly tripped and fell. I was in shock but she just got up without a tear. I asked if she was OK (not that she understood). She just smiled and posed for this picture (^__^*)v
Takayama was like a ghost town after the festival ended at around 5 pm on 15 April.
Fellow surfers! Orian (not sure about the spelling but that's how it's pronounced) from France and Helen from Israel. Two of many French and Israeli travellers in Japan whom I met on this trip! Helen was staying with another JET teacher living in the same block, an American named Kyle.
My gracious host Martin (in white). He and Orian in the end shared a room so the lady could have her privacy. Martin had forewarned me that I'd be sharing a room with Orian who had already confirmed his stay much earlier (I only emailed about 2 weeks before I left for Japan) but was very generous to give up his own private space to accommodate this last minute female surfer.
View of Mt. Fuji from Shinkansen Hikari 462 bound for Tokyo from Nagoya. I was on high alert all the time, afraid I would actually miss it. But exactly an hour into the trip, when I wasn't even expecting it, it just appeared and there's no mistake it's Fuji-san. The view lasted about 10 mins or so, from full view to partial (the bullet train was too fast). TIP: If you're reserving a seat, ask for "E" seats (which is the row of window seats facing the Fuji-san view). If they're aready full (which was my case), queue at the non-reserved cars and gun for the "E" seats when the doors open. Very worth it.
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