Start Cycling off now. Tata!  ¶ 9:13:00 am 1 comments

  Lhasa: Day 2 First of all, a correction. It was Jokhang Temple, not the Potala Palace that I visited yesterday. There is a difference between temples and monasteries in Tibet; the former are places of worship for the public while the latter are places where monks can meditate and study in peace.

Jokhang temple is located in the middle of what is commonly termed as 'old Lhasa', the really charming part of town in a city where everything looks suspiciously like a copycat of Taiwan or China. The temple lies at the end of Jokhang square. Old buildings constructed in the Tibetan style surrounds the square, painted in bright colors that give the area life. Pilgrims from all over the city come to the temple every morning to prostrate themselves in front of the many images of the Buddha and holy monks from Tibet's history. Old men and women thronged the streets, hand in hand with little kids with bright rosy cheeks from the cold air. The sounds of the shops around the square ring with the voices of shopkeepers shouting out their wares, and the subsequent bargaining of prices with tourists.

Its a markedly different place from Kathmandu. For one thing, the place is much cleaner, and the layout of the city much neater, definitely a heritage from the Chinese rule in the country. The people here are much friendlier, with a greeting or two as they meet you in the streets. There's a perpetual smile on people's faces that's absent from the Nepalese. Not sure why that should be so but for now, I'm just enjoying walking the streets. Kids keep shouting out hellos, though some follow up any response with a quick flash of the hand, either to show something for sale or to beg for money.

Kathmandu has one huge advantage over Lhasa though; Thamel. This district in the city is full of shops selling second hand books, jackets, bags and other travel equipment. As most people who knows me will know, those are the only things that can start off a shopping spree in me. Not to mentions the various tours agencies peppering the streets, touting tours ranging from white water rafting to trekking to what not, plus the various pubs where you can meet fellow travelers, Thamel is certainly the place to be for the backpacker in Nepal.

The biking tour starts tomorrow morning. We did a cycle around the city today. Just when you thought you gotten used to the altitude, physical exertion sneaks up on you and whacks you on the back of the head with a colossal headache and sits on top of your chest, preventing you from breathing normally. Really, a leisurely cruise wasn't bad; if anything it was better that walking along the streets. But anything above 30 klicks and you start straining for breathable air. But the die has been cast. It is just up to us to see how we handle the physical demands that will be placed on our body in the coming weeks.  ¶ 8:33:00 am 0 comments

  Gorkha Hotel At 3500m above sea level, the air becomes thin enough for the body to manifest signs of Altitude Mountain Sickness, or AMS. Symptoms includes breathlessness, headaches, spells of dizziness and in more serious cases, constant vomiting and even coma, leading to death. Right now, at 3640m above sea level, all I can say I'm suffering from is breathlessness and massive disappointment at the weather here in Lhasa. Daytime temperatures hover about the 25 degrees Celsius mark in direct sunlight, making a mockery of all the long sleeved t-shirts and long pants I brought over. It doesn't get much cooler at night; 10 degrees maybe. Certainly bearable, and much higher than what I was lead to expect.

Lhasa is certainly more developed than I thought it would be. Walking through the streets, it reminds me of Kao Shiung in Taiwan. There's that one main street with the buildings lining along it, each of them not more than seven storeys or so high, adorned with bright garish neon lights advertising anything from Wella Spa to KTV lounges, definitely more of the latter. The difference lies in the little touches of Buddhism that is so prevalent in the society. Old women, hunched over as they walk, shaking their prayer wheels, on their way to the nearest temple to pray for inner peace or for grandchildren. Monks, in their saffron robes, walking everywhere, either to beg for alms or just to have some secular fun.

The mountains are the most impressive part of the city, encirling it, everywhere you see. Is it any wonder that the ancient Tibetians came to worship them as the dwelling of gods? Interesting anecdote: the tiptoeing only treat those mountains with snow caps as true mountains. Anything else is a hill to them.

Alright, off to the pothole Palace now. Updates should be quite regular till I leave this hotel in two days time.  ¶ 9:19:00 am 0 comments

  Off to the Himalayas Typing this from the airport terminal now. Will be taking off for Nepal in A while. See you all in twenty two days!  ¶ 7:58:00 am 0 comments

  Great bridge hands
Player went on to bid for and won no trump. Promptly lost and laughed at by other players


As a friend of mine puts it, this hand is great not just for bridge but tai di and poker as well.  ¶ 10:12:00 pm 0 comments

  Scotty has been beamed up James Doohan has gone on to better things.

So long Scotty. Who's going to keep the Enterprise together now that you're gone? Who's going to pull the away team's fat from the fire?  ¶ 6:23:00 am 0 comments

  The time of my life It is over.

Batch of 2005, it has been a fun four years. I couldn't bear to stay, not when it's almost like goodbye. Watching you guys go up and receive your degrees, part of me wonder if it's wise to postpone mine.

Ah well, I get to enjoy the new buildings and you don't. Nyeh Nyeh Nyeh!!!  ¶ 9:15:00 pm 0 comments

  Of stupid people and idiotic companies Back again. Foul up of the highest order on the travel company's part. We talk to A and made them confirm with B that we can bring our bikes onto the bus. But apparently, B is not the bus company, C is, and C denied ever agreeing to let us take our bikes, when they have a specific policy NOT to have bikes...

Storming A's office tomorrow. War is hereby declared.  ¶ 12:10:00 am 0 comments

  Sporadic Updates Alert Not that it was very regular before...

Anyway, be biking up and down Cameroon Highlands the next few days. Be back in a few.  ¶ 6:23:00 pm 0 comments

  Night in school Everything's quiet.

Listening to: Full Metal Alchemist and Gundam Seed Destiny OST

Music's blasting. Friends are safe. Insomnia's curse. She's sleeping.

Breakfast in five. Lunch in nine. Church in twenty. When will it end.

Work to do, but reluctance took over.

Despair creeps up, but faith holds at bay.

Affection. Care. Concern. What's the use.

Scare you off. Hold you near. What's a man to do?  ¶ 4:27:00 am 0 comments

  Cheeeeese~~~~~~ Dinner tonight, brought to you by the Swiss House Singapore again.

Dinner tonight was racqlet. I have no idea how to spell that but eat it with baby potatoes and pickled spring onions and its a heavenly experience.

Dinner tonight with NY and the interns. NY won a prize, a $100 voucher at the cheese shop.

Dinner in the near future will be fondue with day old bread and white wine.  ¶ 11:45:00 pm 0 comments

  Face to face with him... ... and all I could say was that we share the same birthday, twenty years apart.

But we're talking about Neil Gaiman here! How freakin' cool is that? You have to understand, my birthday gave me more grief than happiness. It usually falls on the second week of November, which means final term exams. You know how when you were a kid, you were jumping for joy when your birthday approaches in anticipation of the celebration, cakes, parties and gifts? Well I have English, Chinese, Maths and Science to look forward to. On the occasions that there were no exams, it probably meant that I was to receive my report book. The less said of that the better.

Back to topic, when I told him about our shared birthday, he was pleasantly surprised. "Oh really? You must be a Scorpio then." *Mumbles yeah or something to that effect in reply* "Well the world is afraid of us Scorpios aren't they?"

That's right, world! Fear the passion that only those born under in the moon of November can summon! For we are Scorpio, associated with the darkness, and we come under the cover of night and take over what is truly ours! *I had an honest to goodness conversation with Gaiman...*

I got my copies of Endless Nights and Dream Hunter signed. He signed off with the message "Sweet dreams" Kinda anti-climatic, considering what this guy got. Look for the iBook. Now if that doesn't drive me to theft... Better not see that laptop anywhere near me. I will not take responsibility for any illegal act that may take place.

The talk at the library was the best part of the whole evening. There was this surreal conversation beside me where this two schoolgirls were debating the accuracy of a cosplayer's depiction of Dream's hair. At this point, they were referencing different Sandman artists and the different hairstyles they gave Morpheus. Dream then pulled out his prelude and nocturnes and showed them the panel he based his hair upon. At this point, it was all I could do to keep out from bursting of laughter from the sheer ridiculousness of it. Had to adjourned to the drinks corner before I snorted or something. Too funny.

The session with Neil Gaiman began shortly after. He did a reading of Anasi Boys, and I was praying that he might sign the proof copy and throw it into the crowd but it was not to be so. But the Q&A session was really the highlight of the day. The Good Omen movie story (Johnny Depp as Crowley! Robin Williams as Aziraphale and Mdm Tracy! Terry Gilliam to direct! The pain, oh the pain!) was painful to hear, but most interesting was the fact that Gaiman might be working on something with Yositaka Amano-san again! Amano-san have entranced me ever since Final Fantasy VI and it was a pleasant surprise to hear that they are working on something together again. Best news I've heard all day.

Too bad I didn't get to ask him my question. He wrote an essay for SimCity2000 some time back where he talks about cities and their personalities. I would have love to know what kind of city he thinks Singapore is and if being here has given him any inspiration for stories. Oh well...  ¶ 11:56:00 pm 1 comments

  Seasons of Love I want this to work.

Don't foul it up like you did Bicentennial Man.

The trailer looks promising, but it could be the music.

The scenes look right but Broadway theatrics may not translate well to screen.

Please let it turn out fine.

"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss
No other road, no other way
No day but today" - Jonathan Larson  ¶ 4:20:00 am 2 comments

  Geek out I feel like a total geek.

Just came back from watching War of the Worlds, or some people have it, WOW. Which accurately describes the movie in two ways:

1. "WOW! This is one extremely freakin' good movie man! I haven't been this entranced since last week's blockbuster! The imagery were downright disturbing and frankly, this redeems A.I. totally!" Which was the way I felt all the way, until the controversial ending and hearing the reactions from the rest of the audience which works out to be something like

2. "WOW! I can't believe Spielberg pulled this crap again! That guy just can't end a movie on a right note can he? I though A.I. was bad but this, this takes the cake man! Whatta revolutin' development..."

While I admit the ending was pretty crummy, it should not be a surprise to anyone. After all, the ending to the book is a classic, and pretty much well known as the identity of Darth Vader. I asked my friends and got the shock of my life. They didn't know the ending either.

"I never read the book. Was never into science fiction" Okay, I don't expect you to have read the book. Honestly, I found H.G. Wells a bit of a bore and the writing didn't age well. But come on, its War of the Worlds! I thought everyone knew the ending?

"No, why should I?" Oh darn, if I couldn't depend EN and E to know the ending, what more can I expect from the general public at large?

I held an impromptu survey, smsing a couple of my friends whom I thought would be the kind of person to know trivia as mundane as this. The results were not encouraging. Out of about ten people I asked, only two knew the ending and one because he watched the movie already. Okay, I thought to myself, this is bad...

I am a geek.  ¶ 11:39:00 pm 1 comments