New Orleans

I read about the place in books, seen it on TV, but still, I didn't know what to expect. I'm not sure if it was the company, but the moment I stepped onto Bourbon Street - you knew this place was something different. To be known as "The Big Easy" is one thing, but to have a street named after bourbon? These people must be really serious.

Seriously laid-back, is what they are. Being an Australian, it is hard to imagine anyone else friendlier, but the people here definitely are. And Bourbon Street parties like there is no tomorrow.

Aside from the alcohol-fueled shenanigan that is Bourbon Street, New Orleans (a.k.a. N.O.,LA; N'awlins) is also known for its jazz scene, arts, and seafood. Where else in the world can you stroll down the street and then jazz just happens? A block away and parallel to Bourbon Street, is Royal Street, which is littered with art galleries. And then the seafood. Half dozen of fresh oysters for $7; crawfish po-boy (my favourite), and more shrimp than you can get. Now I can say I tried gumbo, and jambalaya.

Having travelled around the last year has got me some what jaded - but NOLA renewed that enthusiasm, and reminded me how big and diverse the U.S. of A is. 2.5hour flight from New York, and what a different face! 

Oh, New Orleans... you're just like a drunken love.

Jazz on a street corner with dancers

Poetry to go on Frenchman Street

Spontaneous Jazz on Frenchman Street

Crawfish

Antique shop on Royal Street

Toy Soldiers, displayed at a Royal Street shopfront

Royal Street facade

Lucky Dogs - they don't taste bad either when one is drunk at 3am

Crawfish po-boy

Just another street in the French Quarter

Mississippi River

Bourbon Street at night

If you were wondering what a hand grenade is...

... these are the shots

Flushing, NY

Over a very cold, very wet New York week, the skies opened up on the day we decided to venture out yonder to Flushing to eat some Chinese food. Even the gods approved of an over-eating adventure. 

I was intrigued with Flushing - because I had read so much about it. There is a Chinatown in Manhattan - but this is Cantonese speaking Chinatown - where the cuisine is Southern Chinese, with a mix of South East Asian food thrown in. These were second or third or maybe even older, generation of Chinese. 

Flushing was newer. It is bigger, it is messier, it is more Mainland. For starters, people speak Mandarin. And the food is Mainland Chinese. We went to a semi-Taiwanese restaurant - and of course we over ate. The table next to us stared at us. I suppose it does warrant some eye popping when two girls at the table inhales four dishes. 

You probably don't see Flushing in the movies, as you do Central Park, West Village, Upper East Side, Brooklyn etc. But this is a very real part of New York. This is one of the things that make New York so interesting - the diversity. It's probably the reason why New Yorkers don't ever feel the need to leave the country. Why? When you take a one hour train ride but gets transported half a world away?

Suburban Flushing

Restaurant we dined at 台港小吃 

Fried tofu

Minced meat with shallots - AMAZING

Stir fry clams - can I use the word amazing again?

Tea cooked hot pot chicken

Yes, that is between two of us.

We found a skewer store - so authentic in fact, that they sold chicken heart!

Meat skewers 串儿 - almost as good as those in Beijing! (Though half the size)

Streets of Flushing

Cheapest groceries in New York

Washington D.C.

It is very easy to criticize the behemoth that is the United States of America - especially when you are not an American. When I was younger and studied modern world history, I practically idolized the US (Thinking back, the fact that our history teacher was actually an American might have been influential.)  Then I grew disillusioned over the last ten years or so, watching with my own eyes, the role US played on the world stage. One may begin to question the arrogance of the nation, its foreign policy, and sometimes, its people.

I visited the capital out of convenience and did not expect too much. But the moment I arrived into the capital, some part of me was alerted. This is the capital of the United States. This is where the president resided, where history was made, where policy is determined. So many times I had heard the name, and now I am finally here.

The city is littered with memorials. Who would have thought, but that I was actually taken by such structures? It reminded me of what Americans fought for at their founding - freedom (never mind that they still had slaves then). It is for each person, the right to be who are they are, the right to say what they want, the liberty to live their lives. Some people never get to live that life. 

DC reminded me how important it was, to be democratic. To have a vote. To have a voice. Living in China for seven months reinforced how negatively I felt against suppression of the individual voice. It reminded me, that this is what the US stood for. And I am thankful, that I am a citizen of a democratic country, that I have a vote, that I have the freedom to travel, and to speech, and to act. 

Pentagon Memorial with the Pentagon in the background

The Air Force memorial in the background

US Capitol

The White House

The Australian Embassy - of course it had to be the ugliest building on the block

Gandhi memorial

White House from the front

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Cherry Blossom

Jefferson Memorial

Yoga Retreat in Bali

I first did yoga in university, nine years ago - and hated it. It was too slow, and I felt nothing. I didn't attempt it for another two years or so, and purely for physical purpose - in order to stretch as I was rowing. Over the years, I grew more and more attached - though still again, only from a physical purpose - as I injure myself when I stopped practising.

So it only made sense that I went to a yoga retreat - to make sure that I was doing things right. And where well more suitable than Bali?

Yoga is much more than the physical. Yogis practise to bring their bodies to a comfortable enough state to meditate. And if you do meditate, you will know it is far either to sit still for 20 minutes after yoga than to go straight into it. At least that is what I think. In some ways, it can be more spiritual than meditation itself.

I really do wonder why I had not been to a retreat sooner. I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. It was not weird at all (okay, there was a bit of chanting - but have an open mind). How often do you spend time just with yourself? Not with people or conversations or books or meetings. Just you and your body. 

Yoga can be very physical, but it can also be very inwardly reflective. It is not about pushing your body, but instead listening to what it can do. What part of you control what are you doing now? Is it your physical? Your mind? Your emotions?

I shall save you from my hippie renderings, but I highly recommend a yoga retreat in your lifetime. But make no judgements, just be, and just absorb. Have an open mind. 

Oh and I had the best vegan meals for a week. I survived. :)

We had the temple to ourselves one night

Praying

I got hooked onto wheat grass juice... I got served first thing every morning

The altar at the yoga hall

The paddy fields in Bali

Best packed lunch ever

We beach we went snorkelling at

Our yoga hall

Best vegan "cheese"cake ever

The mandala we practice to

The Book List

One of the most pleasurable things this year (aside from the travel of course), is the luxury of reading for pleasure. In any given year of employment, I was averaging only about five or six books, half of which I usually read over the Christmas / New Year period  - as I am non-religious, to me it is a few continuous days of Public Holidays over the period.

So here I share with you the books I have read over the last twelve months (ish). Any questions, ask me!

Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World by Niall Ferguson - this is a fantastic book, especially if you're like me and actually like reading history. Ferguson writes flawlessly well, and crisp, as he is a Scotsman. I really enjoyed it, and unbeknownst to be at that time, gave me plenty of insights as I travelled through Africa.

1421: The Year China Discovered The World by Gavin Menzies - it is an interesting theory, but I am not sure if his evidence is enough. A lot of speculation is needed for it to hold. But interesting. Especially interesting when I was in Ethiopia on transit and met a Nigerian preach who had a very Chinese name (it was on his passport too).

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell -  he rambles a bit, but he is no less a great philosopher. What can I say? I became more rational as a result of this book.


Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

A New Earth by Echkhart Tolle - self-help book rarely makes my reading list, but this was recommended by a friend, and it turned out to change my perspectives on a lot of things. Let's say one of the things it gave me was courage, the courage to go through what I was going to at that time, the next 12 months (and possibly more). It also told me to appreciate the now, which was important given I was about to embark on a journey that was up to me, how I make use of it. Some people hate it, but I love it. It was empowering. Highly recommended.


Essays in Love by Alain de Botton - I read this, as I figured I didn't know a lot about the topic. It turns out this was a lot less lame than I expected it to be. I'm glad I read it.


Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - okay, so I have heard a lot about Murkami but never read any. I don't think I will after this book. Very dreamlike, but in my books, just one word - weird.


Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - so I know when I was reading this plenty of correlations can be drawn between what I was going to do and what she did. But wow, did I hate this book. I can't remember the last time I hated a book, but this was it. What a whine! She is not the only woman in the world who goes through a divorce, but she was lucky enough to have the money to travel. And all thorough out it was about how terrible her life is. Perhaps she should have read A New Earth. I would further comment on her lack of literary skill, but then I would be spending too much time on such a waste of a book.


The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton  - good summary on major philosophers. 


A History of Japan by RHP Mason & JG Caiger - there are probably more exciting books on Japanese history but this was the only English one they had in a random bookshop in Nara. Not bad though, for a concise history.


The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson - To be honest I read this just because it was written by Ferguson. 


Jerusalem 1913 by Amy Dockser Marcus - A short book on what Marcus sees as the turning point in the Israel - Palestine conflict. Can't comment on the standpoint (I personally have insufficient knowledge on the issue) but interesting perspective.


Mushashi by Eiji Yoshikawa - My intention after Japan was to read The Tales of Genji but that was 3 bricks thick. So I was recommended Mushashi and was not disappointed. I can't tell the quality of translation (given I haven't read the original Japanese version) but the style is beautiful, mystical. The story itself is so exciting I could barely put it down. Might I also mention it also brings to light the philosophy of Zen - the perfection of everything, anything. Highly recommended. It is also only 1 brick thick.


A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle - I was hungry very often as I read this book...


The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 - 1912 by Thomas Pakenham -  I don't have a habit of reading books a brick thick, but this one is also of the same size, and small print. But it is an exciting history book (see, those two words can indeed be used together), bringing to light a lot of the issues of Africa. I learnt a lot about Africa through this book, remnants of which I saw on the trip. It makes Africa easier to understand. A warning though, that you may be disgusted and sick in the stomach of the things that Western "Civilization" has done to Africa, leaving it in the state that it is in now. Highly recommended primer to African history.


The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith - another great history book on Africa, this one more on the contemporary issues that still plague Africa. Less swashbuckling than Pakenham's as above, more factual and more critical. It is a great read, but read Pakenham's first.


Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela - very charming writer. Learnt plenty of his hardship, the apartheid, and how recent it all was. Also learnt that Mandela was not the only one that brought apartheid to its end. There were plenty of white and "colored" (i.e. mixed blood) people that were of great importance, but somehow fell out of the limelight. Let's hope all that had been achieved in South Africa is not in vain.


Great Dictators: Real Live Accounts of History's Worst Tyrants by Diane Law - this was a random book I got from a discount store in Johannesburg. The book consisted of accounts of the world's famous dictators, including but not limited to Hitler, Mao and Mugabe. It was interesting, though the title should have probably been "World's Most Tyrannical Dictators - their lives, crimes and fetishes". Law somehow managed to make these accounts a bit tabloid like - surprisingly quite a few read on the dictator's sexual fetishes (which was disturbing whilst I walked down the streets of Munich and in a conversation about Hitler and his mistress).


The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinki - A series of short essays on the author's (who is a journalist) experience throughout Africa as he covers the region. It is a better read if you already have some knowledge of the region. The essays brings new perspectives, through encounters any of us are unlikely to meet. Very, very, very well written. Gilbert may need to take a few lessons from Kapuscinki.


Out of Africa by Isak Dinesan - The only thing I remembered about the movie was that I liked it. The book is no different. The book focuses on particular events, or persons, that draw out multiple facets of Kenya. There is a good reason for it being a classic.


The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - I am not sure why it took me so long to find this book - I could not put it down (apologies to those of whom invitations I skipped). The storyline is well planned, characters very developed, which is central to why this book is so relevant. Her philosophy I also agree with, but may not be everyone's cup of tea. Highly recommended.


The Soros Lectures by George Soros - I intended to read at least one finance book, but this turned out to be a lot less finance-y. It was on Soros' theory of reflexivity, and its applications in markets, also in politics and society. The first lecture, which focuses on the theory itself, was a hard read. I would struggle to explain it to you, so I won't!


Understanding China by John Bryan Starr - of course the book list would not be complete if without a book on the most topical of all - China. The book is good, though I have differing opinions and understanding. To judge a country and a culture, we need to use unbiased eyes. However that is no easy feat, and Starr is no different, judging China from the eyes of an American. The books is 60% understanding and the other criticism. 


Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick - An account of North Korean defectors. Very well written.


Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton - A novel set on pre-formal apartheid South Africa. Very touching, beautifully written. I actually really loved this book. Highly recommended. 


One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garbriel Garcia Marquez - I have to admit I don't read much from South America - so this could be counted as one of my first. I'm not really sure if I really like it, or if I dislike it. Although I could not put it down. Some parts of the stories were revolting, but yet again, I had to read on. I think I need to read up on the symbolisms of the book to understand it...