tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38561782746755115962024-03-23T03:14:33.894-07:00Memie writeThe russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-15578822635409446372023-07-24T05:04:00.013-07:002023-07-24T05:23:07.097-07:00My cousin WinnieMy cousin Winnie Lai Fai was the most good natured and even tempered person I've ever met. We lived in the same house for several years when we were children, and a distinct memory I had of that period of time was the frequent banging of the bathroom door, and people shouting " LaiFai, is that you in the bathroom ?? What are you doing in there?" And Lai Fai would emerge a little while later to explain sheepishly " I was washing a handkerchief" " What handkerchief takes an hour to wash ?!" The single bathroom served the whole extended family, (there's a squat toilet at the end of the yard but you can't wash in there) and whenever Lai Fai entered it people would quip, " She's doing embroidery in there again!". Winnie Lai Fai the Slow Coach was the butt of jokes of everybody, even the maid. "Slow" became her trademark, and she got a lot of criticisms and disparaging remarks ( mind you, all from the grown-ups) because of it, but she never got mad, in fact, I've never seen her lose her temper ever. So I was bowled over when we were in a hotel in China a few years back , and she took less than 20 minutes in the bathroom to finish her ablution! I nearly fell out of my bed. " Winnie, that was quick! What happened? Did you wash?" " Yes, I am different now" She flashed her classic toothy grin proudly. But during the tour she still walked slow, or maybe it's just I walked fast, and I noted she was always looking for a bench to sit on. In hindsight that could be about the time her anaemia disease started, though she looked healthy enough. Maybe she herself didn't know at that time either.
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We saw a lot less of each other after my immediate family moved out of the family home, then no contact at all for the next 15 years while we pursued our separate studies abroad. We met up again in San Francisco after my parents' immigration to the US in the 1990s. For 2 people of completely different temperament, we got on surprisingly well. I put it down to 2 factors: 1) we both love food; 2) she never preached Christianity to me. And I was extremely grateful that she was so good to my whole family: she'd always have time to have dinner with my parents whenever I visited them, and she was the sole representative on the groom's side at my brother Keith's wedding. To be fair, I was not notified or otherwise I probably would have attended too. Winnie was also the one to take my nephews around San Francisco when they visited from England. There you have it, Winnie's always been the lubricant between people, a reassuring presence even to relative strangers, making them feel comfortable and welcomed, and that's a wonderful gift.
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Of all my cousins, apart from Emily Tai Mui, Winnie was the one I spent the most time with. Whenever I visited my parents in the US, we'd meet up a few times; she'd buy dinner then I'd buy dinner, (so we're square, but actually just an excuse for more eating), then there's the mini tours around San Francisco. I remember the first year she got her car, I was the unwitting idiot who agreed to accompany her while she practised her driving. She was being adventurous and took me on a long drive to a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge, because of some nice little gift shops there that she wanted to visit. The weather was foul, cold and rainy, even worse, at times foggy, so much so it was a miracle we got there safely. Then we had to watch the time because Winnie didn't want to drive after dark. When we were ready to go, Winnie reversed the car instead of moving forward and hit a curb ( not the first time that day!), she was about to get out to check when I spotted a small gang of teenage boys on roller skates coming our way, and they didn't look friendly." Don't get out of the car!" I screamed." Go! Go! Go!" Winnie responded with unbelievable alacrity and we sped off. The Slow Coach was High Speed Rail that day!
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Winnie loved little gift shops, because she was the Queen of Small Gifts. Each time I was in San Francisco and each time she was in HK, she'd always have a small gift for me. A small ornament, some souvenirs she's picked up during a museum tour, a bar of soap, a tube of hand cream........ there's always something, even though I've told her a million times not to. That day she bought some bookmarks, greeting cards and some knick-knacks from the nice little shops. " I always keep a stash of small gifts in my place" she said " there're newcomers to the church all the time, and I like to give them a welcoming gift" That's why she's the Queen of Small Gifts!
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Another gift Winnie was happy to give was driving the parishioners to and fro from home and church, and that's the main reason she's kept her car. With age Winnie's become more timid in her driving, and for a long time she's been very uncomfortable going on the highway. Luckily most church goers lived within the district.
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Winnie loved to try new restaurants, and I was most happy to accompany her, with the result we had some delightful meals together in various elegant eating places about town. She seemed to have a particular liking for the Cheesecake Factory, where we were repeat customers several times over. However she's also loyal to the neighborhood restaurants dotted about where she lived, and where she had most of her meals. The little Thai restaurant was one of her favorites, and I concur it's good! Winnie's also a good travelling companion, she didn't complain much and didn't have strong opinions. The longest road trip we did was probably the one to visit Big Aunt in Michigan, but we also did many short trips visiting cousins in adjoining counties in the US, and much later, trips to see her mum. Winnie loved her mum dearly; Auntie was a truly remarkable lady ~ the last time I saw her she was already 90 years old, but had just started taking classes in both Japanese and Spanish at the Aged Home at the same time!
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In the last dozen years Winnie had been to Asia every year or every other year, to do voluntary work for a few weeks each time, so that she could make enough merit points to keep her job. She's made repeated visits to Vietnam and Shanghai, and usually when she's over this way she'd make a stopover in Hong Kong. " What do you actually do in Shanghai?" I was curious. " I teach the students English" " You're kidding me!" I was incredulous." Students in Shanghai speak better English than students in Hong Kong!" Talking about schools, Winnie was very proud of her secondary school - Good Hope, 德望學校, and rightly so, it's ranked 3rd in the Top 100 secondary schools in Hong Kong. But I don't think Winnie cared about that, she was just chuffed to have been to a good school in Hong Kong at a time when such places were harder to get than the lottery.
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On the surface Winnie appeared to be worry free, she was always smiling, calm and collected, so it was a shock when she told me there was a time when she was terribly unhappy at work. Some years back she was appointed a new boss, a Filipino woman who was insecure about her job because she didn't have her US citizenship yet. She took a real dislike to Winnie whom she perceived to be a threat, and proceeded to pick faults with her, and the bullying was intense. This went on for over a year, but Winnie took it in her stride with her usual meek compliance. It never occurred to her that she should stand up for herself and fight back. Then one day Winnie found her boss crying in the office and asked if she could help." My mum's had a stroke back home in the Philippines" her boss said bitterly " you must be so happy because now I've to go back to see her and might not come back!" Winnie comforted her and spent much time showing her concern. Her boss never did come back but they parted cordially. The boss even apologized for her previous bad behavior. Winnie was most happy not because the bully's gone, but because her endurance and goodwill had triumphed over hate and prejudice.
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It's obvious Winnie had her unique way of being, and her singular brand of life philosophy ~ "the meek shall inherit the earth" prevails. Because of her constancy and unfailing affection and support towards all, it could just be too easy for people to take her for granted. I count myself blessed to have her in my life for so many years. I learnt a lot from her: her patience, humility, sincerity, simplicity, generosity, and not least, her love for her friends and family. My cousin Winnie was an exceptional human being.
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On the 10th June, 2023, 3AM San Francisco time, the cosmic plates shifted. Now there's one less place at our table, but one more star in the sky.The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-62959026122360513852023-07-24T04:48:00.006-07:002023-07-24T04:48:57.394-07:00In memorial of Second AuntSo sorry to hear the news of Second Aunt, deepest condolences!! I'm glad I managed to see your mum for the last time during my layover in LA in May, she was just as I always remembered her, for even in her sick bed she was in total control of how she wanted to live and die, and that's admirable, not to mention a brilliant show of power so rarely found in the elderlies, as most are stripped of all autonomy in their advanced years. This is of course also a tribute to you all, her children, for respecting and honoring her wishes. As a child I was always awed by Second Aunt's sharp wit, but her dry sense of humor did always make me smile, and I loved that she was a straight talker, forthright and fearless. During the lean years of the 1960s, Second Aunt was the quintessential matriarch presiding over a retail shop in Kowloon City, but what impressed me most was that she had no qualms to stoop to be a street hawker as well, as I came upon her one day, spreading a blanket on the roadside in Lion Rock Road (獅子石道), and loaded it with a pile of clothes, to boost more sales. Whatever it took to feed a large family! Her pragmatism, ingenuity and entrepreneur spirit stayed with me to this day. I count myself lucky to have come from a family of strong women, all my aunts (and my mum too) were fighters, down to earth , hardworking, ready "to eat bitter", smart, resourceful, yet also warm hearted and all had a strong sense of family; they're the archetypal Chaozhou (潮州) women, the best role model any girl growing up could ever hope to find.
Take care ! We've got some pretty big shoes to fill!The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-85707360289853029312022-08-20T05:45:00.003-07:002022-08-20T05:47:04.336-07:00In memoriam : Yared of Ethiopia Keep Moving <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7r9yyujFZ1xgKZ6ww3St6CRKALp1FHVc4e4oZYJUb_C5kyXB3PxQ5C1O_7_TucbhZkEoBIFDz0zQ2eDEwozoZuMFtqarsPJ6b2j6iysByZyswynb2sH9Z7k0YHaB7hQP8h-JLmH63zsWRphrfx03NM3YHdJpZiHY0UYSWV5Bscngn7vxJEIO81xcC/s2488/20220816_155623%20%281%29.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="2488" data-original-width="1670" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7r9yyujFZ1xgKZ6ww3St6CRKALp1FHVc4e4oZYJUb_C5kyXB3PxQ5C1O_7_TucbhZkEoBIFDz0zQ2eDEwozoZuMFtqarsPJ6b2j6iysByZyswynb2sH9Z7k0YHaB7hQP8h-JLmH63zsWRphrfx03NM3YHdJpZiHY0UYSWV5Bscngn7vxJEIO81xcC/s320/20220816_155623%20%281%29.jpg"/></a></div>The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-54491329731418382432022-08-20T05:12:00.007-07:002022-08-20T05:33:41.040-07:00In Memoriam : Alain RezelmanI first met Alain in the Health Clinic shortly after I started working there
just over 30 years ago, but not in a professional capacity. One afternoon a
nurse popped her head round the door and told me a French Professor was just
outside wanting to talk to me about a non-medical issue. "OK" I said hesitantly,
undeniably a trifle apprehensive. In the next second Alain had already rushed
into the room, a big smile on his face and brandishing a video camera. " I'm
doing a promotional video for the university to attract overseas students, it
features various departments and facilities, and you're to introduce the clinic
" "NO!" I was appalled, being somewhat camera shy. " You see, I'm new here,
there must be other doctors who'd do a much better job " But I was no match for
the tenacity, persuasiveness and charm Alain had in his disposal to get people
to do his biddings, besides which his boundless enthusiasm was infectious, and
before I realized it I was in the video. I never saw the completed video and I
pray to God that my part was edited out !
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Alain was not a regular patient of mine so over the years we did not see much of
each other. There were a few consultations involving the children, but every time
I saw him he was seemingly in good health and good cheers. Then one day out of
the blue there was a commotion in the clinic and he was the cause. It transpired
Alain was brought in by his wife in an acute state of confusion, he staggered about,
totally unaware of his surroundings and spewed gibberish non-stop. ( Turned out
he was actually speaking French, having lost all his English in his fugue state,
but to non-French speakers it might just as well be gibberish) He was rushed to the
regional hospital and a CT scan showed he had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage
(SAH), a serious bleeding in the brain. " Will he survive ?" the Clinic nurses
asked me with concern, they were all quite fond of Alain. "We can only hope," I
replied gravely. Mortality from SAH is 40-50%, and over 60% of survivors will
have some long term neurological sequelae . Alan surprised us all by not only
surviving but bounced back to his energetic old self, with no apparent
neurological deficit. All that we could conclude was that his zest for life was
far stronger than the grip of the Grim Reaper for a time.
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More years slipped by, then one day Alain came to the clinic with devastating news.
He's been diagnosed with the genetic eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa. He was
determined to continue teaching for as long as possible, and coped with his gradually
failing eyesight by gradually enlarging the letters on the computer screen. "It's OK,
I can do it, just takes more time " he was calm and matter-of -fact, fully ready
to adapt to a continuously changing lifestyle. His brother had become completely
blind in his 40s so maybe he's had time to process the inevitable, but I was still
awed by his seeming lack of self-pity, rage or despair, the sort of reaction anyone
presented with this horrifying prospect must surely experience and give vent to,
especially in a doctor's office. Amazingly Alain was already planning his future
in darkness with his typical undefeatable positive attitude. He was a grounded,
practical, remarkable man.
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A few more years on I was told Alain had taken retirement and had already left for
France. We'd lost touch completely . I had no idea he'd returned to Hong Kong after
his wife passed and was living in Mong Kok until much later. In spite of the lapse
of many years I found little change in him when we met up again, as he sat
beaming with happiness in the university canteen, eagerly engaged and interested
in everything that's going on around him. This was a man who clearly enjoyed
life and loved the company of friends, and it was easy to forget his disability.
Alain had to be the quintessential poster boy for "how to live with adult onset
blindness" : I was totally blown away when he told me he not only shopped at the
wet market but went hiking regularly ! How did he do it ? An incident at a
dinner gathering provided a clue. We were talking about our favorite food and I
gushed "I just love cheesecake !" Alain threw his arms up in the air in disgust
and pronounced authoritatively " In this world there's cheese and there's cake,
but there's no such thing as cheesecake !" Presumably because he's a Frenchman
he's decided he's the definitive food connoisseur, and that's that. His
confidence in the belief that he's always right was overpowering, and it struck
me then that this was exactly the kind of fiery invincible self-assurance ,
coupled with a deep sense of pride and dignity, that was needed to generate the
driving force that would carry him through the waves of trials and tribulations
in his life, and leave him still standing after the tides recede.
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Oh, by the way, the connoisseur's favorite food was deep fried stuffed pig's large
intestine, who'd have guessed !
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Alain's passing is a great loss to everyone who knew him. He was a rare soul and his
life had been an inspiration to many. Personally I'd never forget his enthusiasm
and optimism, his resourcefulness, his willingness to soldier on and adapt to
whatever life throws at him, however hard and unfair. His was the ultimate
chameleon of indomitable human spirit, at ease in both good times and bad. With
his passing we've lost a good teacher not only in the French language, but also
in how to live life on one's own terms, to refuse to bow down to fate and to
finally emerge a victor.
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Dear Alain,merci et au revoir, rest in peace !
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-57333682847490635952022-02-25T09:23:00.006-08:002022-02-25T09:32:06.712-08:00Problem with Hong Kong Problem in HK has always been its small and weak government, coupled with a large unruly population who intend to topple the HK government, setting up hindrances every step of the way in the government effort to deal with the pandemic , the irony is many of them are actually on government pay ! The present dire situation is a direct consequence of the total disregard of the government advice to get vaccinated, to keep social distance, to avoid crowds, to observe quarantine. Nearly half of the HK people are anti- government and out of control, the government knows it but lacks the authority to do anything ! The HK government gets a beating whatever they do or don't do, they're derided by a powerful press not only when they do wrong but also when they do right. The resolution to put forward the summer holiday for students is after due consideration that pandemic control might still be unsatisfactory by summer, which is highly possible with the current amount of sabotage that's going on against pandemic control measures , but even such legitimate decisions are ridiculed by cartoonists and satirists far and wide. This would have been funny haha in an educated and intelligent society, alas in HK it only stirs up further hate for the government !
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The HK government has to be the most bullied government in the world due to the vicious anti-government and anti-China section of the population. HK does not have Singapore's “POFMA” ~(Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act ), and false anti-vaccine rhetoric is rampant, misleading a large dim-witted public. Paradoxically HK is less successful than Singapore and far more difficult to govern because HK is too free, and now everyone in HK is paying for the misuse of freedom of the oafish 50% !
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While the rest of the world is happy the elderlies and the disadvantaged poor die off to relieve welfare spending, HK is not willing to do that. It's money versus human life, and that's Chinese Human Rights in action. Remember the days in America when not only patients queue in long lines to enter hospitals but corpses had to queue to enter the morgues ? Eventually the morgues were so full the corpses had to be stored in cold meat trucks ! HK doesn't want to repeat that here. This reflects a different set of values between capitalist and socialist systems. Capitalist system is built on money, socialist system is built on people. This is why the death toll in the US is almost a million, 160,000 in the UK and only just over 5000 in China.
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Singapore vaccination rate was far far above that of HK when it opened up, even then the Singapore Medical Department warned its citizens about the predicted rise in death toll and beseeched their acceptance of possible loss of dear ones. We as individuals choose different courses of living, as does each individual society, but none is perfect and all carry pros and cons, at this time HK chooses to follow the CCP model, which is the humane model. In this model every life is considered precious regardless of age, status, illnesses or disabilities, and all must be protected from infection by way of zero transmission rate, through strict pandemic control measures.. This model is effective but comes with an economic price. The chaos in HK right now in fact confirms the wisdom of tightening pandemic restrictions, because without them the chaos would be ten times worse ! It's a measure of the true moral value of a society by how much sacrifice it's willing to endure in order to care for its most vulnerable.
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When our vaccination rate is satisfactory and more cures are found for the infection, when we're confident that we can cope with the consequences of opening up, who knows, maybe we'd steer to another course of management. That's why we're very interested in following the happenings in all the countries that opted for opening up now, and observe how they fare for the next 6 months. Life is dynamic and we're always willing to learn.
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-8722420171244868032021-08-31T19:32:00.009-07:002021-09-03T22:58:19.315-07:00Who are Hans ?I'm sick of ignorante who know nothing about China who persist in spreading lies about genocides of minority tribes in China by Han Chinese. So exactly who are the Hans ?
People who lived in areas ruled by the Han Emperor identified themselves as Han people (漢人) , but because the kingdom didn't include southern China, so southern people were not Han people , they were Southern Barbarians. But Tang Dynasty took over southern China as well , that's why southern people traditionally identified themselves as Tang people (唐人). Most of the Chinese immigrants to the West in the early days were from southern China, so that's the Chinese the West knew, even as late as 2 generations back most such immigrants would still insist on calling themselves 唐人 (Tang) and not 漢人(Han) ; this is why Chinatown is always 唐人街 (Tang Street) and not 漢人街(Han Street), Chinese restaurants are 唐人餐館(Tang restaurant), never 漢人餐館(Han restaurant), 唐餐(Tang cuisine) is nothing more than westernized Cantonese cooking, and Bruce Lee (from the south) is 唐山大兄 ( Big Brother Tang) and not 漢山大兄(Big brother Han). Nowadays the terms 唐人 (Tang) and漢人 (Han) are accepted by most Chinese, but the West today for whatever reason have decided to call all Chinese who doesn't belong to a "minority tribe" in China, "Han'' . However the population of Han Chinese is not monolithic like the Japanese, DNA analysis shows distinct differences between the northern and southern Chinese, so much so their disease profile is fairly different ! I'm sure studies comparing all the 25 Han sub-groups would show interesting differences too.
Oh, did you not know there are 25 different types of Hans and 5 sub-groups of Mongolians ? The 25 Han subgroups are not arbitrary divisions, not only is their general appearance slightly differ, they also have different languages, different foods and customs. None of each subgroup can understand the dialect of the other, that's why it's important for EVERYBODY in China to learn the national language Mandarin just so we can communicate ! How is that cultural genocide ? Is making Japanese or Korean Americans speak American in America cultural genocide ? It could turn out China is a country of 86 minority tribes, and Guangdong (in the south ) being the most populous is the dominant tribe ! Southern Barbarians no more ! 😆The West should start calling the Chinese Tangs and not Hans ! Isn't it fascinating to be Chinese ?!😂 That'd also automatically make nonsense of the West's assertion of a humongous Han Chinese persecuting minorities when in fact they're minorities themselves ! 🤣
Unlike the US, Canada and Australia, China never needed to kill off its indigenous people to grab their land. The descendants of all the indigenous tribes who lived in China thousands of years ago are still living there today, many still follow their ancient customs and wear their traditional clothing to this day.And proud of it ! All the diverse indigenous cultures are respected,valued and encouraged in China, they're not just as tourist attractions but a way of life.
We're a true reflection of the state of humans in the world, we're fluid but all related, depending on the political climate we're different entities at different times yet the same at the end, we're all Chinese, all 86 minority tribes of us ! As the Chinese saying goes " Within the four seas , we're all brothers", and according to ancient Chinese tradition whichever brother controls the family fortune has the obligation to care for the whole family. China has shown the world how it's done : you care for your poorer brother with heart and lift him up however you can with soul . Heart and soul. Your brother is not too heavy. Let that be a reminder to all humans everywhere. We all live within the four seas after all .
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-1912933933641512992020-01-20T04:36:00.001-08:002020-01-20T04:36:54.444-08:00My comment on BBC Interview with Dr Darren Mannhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=502909137008268&external_log_id=f02f99d3b44377a035de61290bfde34a&q=BBC%20interview%20Dr%20Darren%20Mann<br />
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What a disgrace to the medical profession this person is ! He's bigoted and biased, and knows nothing about the protocol of medical work in conflict zones ! The first lesson we were taught by the International Red Cross is : we must obtain prior permission from the authorities (government, army or police) before entering the conflict area, and we must report our whereabouts at all times to the authorities so as to avoid friendly fire, as well as not to impede any on-going conflict control operations. Did any of the so called "medics" seek prior authorization in HK ? Did this doctor in this despicable BBC interview ? So far in HK any Tom, Dick and Harry can just put on a vest with the word "medic" printed on it and pretend to be humanitarian workers, no verification provided, and many Tom, Dick and Harry do just that so they can shield the terrorists and assist their escape !!<br />
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The second lesson the International Red Cross taught us is : never insert yourself in the middle of any potentially violent conflict situations, because if you get injured not only are you unable to help anyone, you'd become a burden yourself. The HK police always put up warning flags before instituting measures against the terrorists after serious assaults like the throwing of petrol bombs and projectile weapons , so it's reasonable to believe that anyone still hanging around after all that are in fact all terrorists ! If these so called "medics" go against the directive of the International Red Cross they only have themselves to blame for the consequences !<br />
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The HK police are more restrained than police in the West, be it Britain, France or the US....., not to mention those in Israel, India, Thailand , Philippines.... in fact, almost any country you care to mention ! But you never hear the so called "Human Rights Organizations" condemning them, right ?!.... Oh, could it be because they're not Chinese ? What double standard hypocrites !<br />
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The problem with these HK medics is they think they're holier than thou and they are above the law ! The message International Red Cross repeatedly drums into our heads is : to render effective and credible medical service, NEUTRALITY is paramount, particularly in sensitive conflict situations where perception is just as important as action - medical staff have to be seen to be whiter than white ! The only way to gain trust from our patients and the public is impartiality in our professional arena. Certain HK medical and nursing personnel have brought deep shame to our profession by injecting politics and hatred into public hospitals, this has resulted in not just deep fissure within the fraternity, but mistrust and contempt from the general public. Public Hospitals belong to ALL HK citizens, including the police and their families, and the citizens who support them ! These "medics" have no right to hijack public medical services to use as private political tool to hurt fellow citizens. They're unfit for their jobs !<br />
https://www.facebook.com/100010463478578/videos/1022052441486862/?id=100010463478578<br />
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In this particular BBC interview it's clear this doctor and his team, by his own admission, to be of no difference from the Maffia doctors servicing the criminals, operating in the back room and shielding them from the law ! Medics do NOT have special privileges and must uphold the law at all times in order to retain integrity and credibility, the HK Medical Council must take heed and take action - time for the HK medical profession to earn back respect from the public ! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTKo8AU6a2R6v0htNDajfN6v4_RNYOZP0_G1RfkCCDsxqfCI-2HyQnO5oRta_LtDxz6B3cEvHL6V_YpNT6HN7NTQV6AS37mSi6StuO-nMGjmPwaPNuVzM6ylf_9PTwEPieWP34AiLXuk/s1600/image+-+2020-01-20T203333.261.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTKo8AU6a2R6v0htNDajfN6v4_RNYOZP0_G1RfkCCDsxqfCI-2HyQnO5oRta_LtDxz6B3cEvHL6V_YpNT6HN7NTQV6AS37mSi6StuO-nMGjmPwaPNuVzM6ylf_9PTwEPieWP34AiLXuk/s320/image+-+2020-01-20T203333.261.png" width="320" height="206" data-original-width="1274" data-original-height="822" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fPPrmiBkeZfftXk4CT-pc0MiB08LMYfjsIPIXVp8noaSCLVJzdioc19SLDBn0SAu6G4f1O-XYAeyKOhiQwEr41eEEZTef7h7T8AxFkuGuTfd4Qa8PxEq_0os0fw4RpDjx9HxTlT_gZU/s1600/image+-+2020-01-20T203356.104.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fPPrmiBkeZfftXk4CT-pc0MiB08LMYfjsIPIXVp8noaSCLVJzdioc19SLDBn0SAu6G4f1O-XYAeyKOhiQwEr41eEEZTef7h7T8AxFkuGuTfd4Qa8PxEq_0os0fw4RpDjx9HxTlT_gZU/s320/image+-+2020-01-20T203356.104.png" width="304" height="320" data-original-width="480" data-original-height="506" /></a><br />
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-58171379996743663472018-08-02T08:22:00.000-07:002018-08-04T09:08:45.417-07:00An Eventful Trip in southern Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyYbF07mBlRsVTTyIviDv38lliW30nUD3QXgOvZerNvDrnE2pObSeRfcnOFmSbllHLQxK1LsvgcTRgHDcnm3N59_3nZblLvNeakBSaXyuJbc4WTUXnD4sHE71pkV-zDNR25cqU1T26_k/s1600/E7D_7369-SmallSize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyYbF07mBlRsVTTyIviDv38lliW30nUD3QXgOvZerNvDrnE2pObSeRfcnOFmSbllHLQxK1LsvgcTRgHDcnm3N59_3nZblLvNeakBSaXyuJbc4WTUXnD4sHE71pkV-zDNR25cqU1T26_k/s640/E7D_7369-SmallSize.jpg" width="430" height="640" data-original-width="1076" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div><br />
It was late evening when we arrived at the Namibia Airport, I was immediately greeted by a beautiful black man. "I'm Derek your guide," he extended his hand towards me with a wide grin, then announced earnestly :"I'm a bastard" " Oh sure....if you say so." At this point of the journey nothing startled me anymore. Only much later did I realize what he actually said was "baster", a Namibian term denoting an ethnic group descended from a crossbreed of Afrikaners and indigenous tribes. Oh well !<br />
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Derek quickly packed us into his minivan then promptly cut his hand on a piece of sharp metal jutting out from the dashboard near the ignition switch, instantly dripping blood all over the front seat. " Doctor doctor," everyone in the van shouted in unison : "do something !" I sighed in resignation, this trip had been nothing but EVENTS !<br />
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The trip started 5 days ago inauspiciously. We boarded the plane at midnight from Hong Kong, the flight to Johannesburg was 13 hours, so I took careful deliberation to settle myself restfully for the duration. Except Providence disagreed, and at the exact moment I closed my eyes I heard a rumbling several rows back. I sensed it's becoming serious when a blond girl in the next aisle nudged her boyfriend awake then stood up to take pictures with her cell phone. By then the rumbling had evolved into a commotion, and suddenly the intercom boomed urgently : " Is there a doctor on the plane ?" I slide deeper into my seat to wait for the usual. From past experiences right after the first appeal an American (or two) would have rushed forward bursting with self-importance and put on a big show " I'm the doctor, what needs to be done ? Chop chop ! " Unfortunately not this time. By the 3rd appeal I was incredulous - 260 people on the plane and not another doctor aboard ?! I had no choice but to get out of my seat and presented myself to the Afrikan air stewardess. " What do you want ?" she was as annoyed as she was big. " You called for a doctor, I'm a doctor" I said apologetically. " Oh good ! " she thrusted a syringe into my hand " I need you to give the troublemaker this sedative, under South African Aviation Law, only medically qualified persons are allowed to give injections"<br />
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"Hold on!" I stretched myself to stand as tall as possible, which merely brought my head to the level of her bosom, and put on my business voice:" Before I administer any medication could I first find out for myself what's going on please ? And I'd like to speak to and do a clinical assessment of the person concerned." "OK" she was only too happy to pass the buck. "Mind yourself, he's drunk !" With that parting warning I walked up to the culprit gingerly, introduced myself and relieved to find him subdued and ready to tell his side of the story. He was also handcuffed." Have you been drinking?" In-spite of his bloodshot eyes Mr C insisted he had not- he was lucid, his speech was clear and there was certainly no alcohol smell on him ; he also denied to be on any medication. Apart from a couple of scratches on his arm there was no other visible injury. I checked his passport and letter of employment. It transpired Mr C was from a poor Chinese rural province, en route to Zambia to work as a laborer. He claimed the European gentleman in the seat next to him was disrespectful : allegedly the guy curled up on the 2 seats next to him and luxuriously stuck his feet in Mr C's chest, when Mr C angrily pushed the feet back the 2 men started a shoving match which got more and more physical, during which Mr C's T-shirt got torn at the sleeve. Now properly incensed, Mr C ripped his shirt off completely to reveal Hercules muscles and a large tattoo, then he jumped up on the seat and growled. At this point the giant steward and stewardess stepped in. I shook my head in sorrow, 2 people were involved in a fight, yet only one was branded the troublemaker, the bad person. I'd like to believe it was the Yakuza torso and not his ethnicity that clinched the deal but I'd my doubts. Meanwhile his equally combative white neighbor had long been moved to another seat some way back, busily feigning asleep.<br />
<br />
" It seems the whole episode was a silly misunderstanding compounded by language barrier" I explained to the stewardess and the co-pilot, who sauntered up to get the latest," He's sorry and promises to be quiet and behave himself, is it possible to take the handcuffs off ?" "No," the co-pilot said " We've already informed the Police so when we arrive in Johannesburg he'll be escorted to the Police Station " " Couldn't anything be done to reverse that ? He's only in transit in Johannesburg and due on a plane to Zambia ! He doesn't speak any foreign languages, he's travelling alone and knows nobody here, plus he might lose his job if he doesn't get to Zambia in time " " Sorry no, the wheel's already in motion, but I'd remind the police to get him an interpreter " <br />
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Mr C was calm when I told him his fate, I then got him a blanket and told him to get some rest. I felt so bad for Mr C I spent the next hour or so composing 2 letters, one to the Pilot ( in the troposphere the pilot's the de facto supreme commander) and one to the South African Police Superintendent, pleading his case. People who begrudge Chinese laborers in Africa never knew the degree of helplessness and hardship they're subjected to. Adhering to the traditional Chinese work ethics and unrestricted by local labor law, they generally work much longer hours than their African counterparts, and in worse conditions. Barely literate, they are the poor wretched souls that China's economic gravy train has left behind. I could never understand how these people manage to go as far as they do. I remember in Sudan airport I ran into 5 laborers from Sichuan and had to spend 20 minutes filling in each of their immigration form, checking and rechecking the data for them. They couldn't read the form and were blissfully unaware they needed them to pass through immigration ! They also had no idea where anything was and would have missed their flight if I didn't drag them to the right gate. The bewildered haunted look that is the universal badge of identity on the disadvantaged poor is only too easily recognizable. And I see them everywhere.<br />
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It was the first time I was in South Africa, so I was glad to get some pointers from Mr Wang, who's originally from Beijing but had lived in Johannesburg for over 25 years, though he's unsure if he planed to stay on much longer. He's just sent his daughter to study in Australia. " If she decides to stay on in Australia that's fine with me !" he said . " I hear crime rate's bad in Johannesburg, are things better in Cape Town ?" " But they're COMPLETELY DIFFERENT stories ! " Mr Wang was horrified at my ignorance, " In Johannesburg they rob you with a gun, in Cape Town they rob you with a knife !" <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA6sO-z1LWxEoF_oT24wDxBZUwoEDV9CMSLZJN6hHwQThfNSAjOJC9LSdWw4YK9hmZUsp7MXlSjajXbRc7__40OVyvJUXSzmexo14VAK535rwqWLbC58VrE8zBAWLaoO6VA1y6WmpLjQ/s1600/image+%252865%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpA6sO-z1LWxEoF_oT24wDxBZUwoEDV9CMSLZJN6hHwQThfNSAjOJC9LSdWw4YK9hmZUsp7MXlSjajXbRc7__40OVyvJUXSzmexo14VAK535rwqWLbC58VrE8zBAWLaoO6VA1y6WmpLjQ/s320/image+%252865%2529.png" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>To educate myself on Africa I bought a number of books, which almost got me in trouble. The immigration officer caught sight of one of my purchases - [Why is Africa poor - by Dr Greg Mills], and barked at me with displeasure :" Do you think Africa is poor ?" " I don't know Sir," I looked him straight in the eye and replied with great feeling, " I haven't read the book yet, all I can tell you is I found everything in Johannesburg to be VERY expensive ! ! " <br />
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The drama continued on the flight to Zambia. A Chinese lady in our group simply refused to take her seat. The pretty Zambian stewardess wrung her hands in distress " Ma'am, we've to take off now, you must sit down !" " What's the problem ?" I popped my head up and immediately saw the problem : the woman's seat was the middle one between 2 black men. " It's OK, I'll switch seats with her, " I told the stewardess who beamed in relieve. The loss was on the woman, I chatted with the African gentleman on my left, Mr Ochuko, and found to my delight that he was a Nigerian Government Officer on his way to a Rotary Convention in Zambia, the 2 day event was to take place in the very hotel we were to stay in ! I'd always wanted to visit Nigeria, ever since when I was in high school in South London and my favorite Physics tutor was a Nigerian. It was also a real pleasure to meet Rotary delegates from many African countries as well as local Zambian members later in the day, and learnt about their charitable work. <br />
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We started the sightseeing from Livingston town, the tourist capital of Zambia today. It's named after the Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone, who discovered and named the Victoria Falls in 1855. We were taken to the Craft Village then on the obligatory Zambezi river sunset cruise, but I was more interested in exploring the town on my own. Livingston town was one of the first white settlements in Zambia , which was then Northern Rhodesia. It's been promoted as a historic town for its colonial architecture preserved from the first decade of the last century. The 1981 movie "The Grass is Singing" ( based on the novel by Doris Lessing, British Rhodesian Nobel laureate in Literature (2007) , and set in 50s Rhodesia ) was filmed on location here because of its dated character.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGrmXCFsw3MC5VfxW5eruMbbfXn2gIVvk8tXAnPweB-qJAWfBg69YLWgHE0ZaSnDRBW598J9q2-BwpOo7VWRESXx-2SquwPgTV5LGhJ307EFMMfWbwJ-ZgrG8t3FdCiHgVZtyVyFW1B8/s1600/img007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGrmXCFsw3MC5VfxW5eruMbbfXn2gIVvk8tXAnPweB-qJAWfBg69YLWgHE0ZaSnDRBW598J9q2-BwpOo7VWRESXx-2SquwPgTV5LGhJ307EFMMfWbwJ-ZgrG8t3FdCiHgVZtyVyFW1B8/s320/img007.jpg" width="215" height="320" data-original-width="1075" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Our African local guides were Shamiso and Herbert, and our driver was Polite, all Zimbabweans. All of them held 3 month renewable commercial licence which allowed them to operate in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. We were scheduled to do 2 things in Botswana, a Safari excursion and a Chobe River Boat Cruise. <br />
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Our driver for the day in Botswana was Blessing, a name he chose for himself when he converted to Christianity. He's in good company as 70% of Batswana are Christians. The windscreen of his bus was plastered with stickers depicting football heroes (football being the most popular sport here ) and HIV prevention slogans (HIV being the most devastating health crises here). Botswana has the third highest HIV infection rate in the world, it's been estimated a quarter of all adults here are infected. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uY_S1_8RPd-hRWMLv7lO3UxxaLSOJyO8f8nhM6-pLqwpeQHnJf7-GVspCR3vViYWbv_BJ2t6VIy4tWRuVATLB7BLBMzUtrJM3QgfOe84mfde2BcxCe2yJr-hlsXJ0tKds-PIrfv3YfM/s1600/img003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uY_S1_8RPd-hRWMLv7lO3UxxaLSOJyO8f8nhM6-pLqwpeQHnJf7-GVspCR3vViYWbv_BJ2t6VIy4tWRuVATLB7BLBMzUtrJM3QgfOe84mfde2BcxCe2yJr-hlsXJ0tKds-PIrfv3YfM/s320/img003.jpg" width="207" height="320" data-original-width="1033" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Botswana is richer than most other African countries since large diamond deposits were discovered in 1967, a year after gaining independence from Britain. Yet a recent World Bank poverty assessment reported that almost half of the population are still poor or vulnerable. A stratified economy and HIV/AIDS are deemed equal contributors to poverty here. The rapid and substantial loss of workforce in a small nation of only 2 million people has understandably resulted in havoc. In the 6 years between 1999 and 2005 Botswana lost 17 % of its health care workforce to AIDS, and by 2020, it has been projected that the loss in agricultural labor force to AIDS could be more than 23 %. Funerals became common and regular, prompting Judge Unity Dow to write her book : "Saturday is for Funerals". (Judge Dow is Botswana's first female High Court judge, human rights activist and writer) The government has since joined forces with international initiatives and created some of the most comprehensive HIV treatment programs in Africa, it's also the first African country to provide free universal anti-retroviral treatment, so hopefully things would change for the better . <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9W1x41a8sdkjT0BpKz35JLHcf6ETstmBjejCwlUzizw6_OwPjkI6UI-fQ9Hoxxx6p9qkThy_iiBx1tilmmb7zCKXNWrMMCEHqfd5Eo488EAbVdCAkFgguysYgM0LEQM97g3CFQ1eJPjc/s1600/img015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9W1x41a8sdkjT0BpKz35JLHcf6ETstmBjejCwlUzizw6_OwPjkI6UI-fQ9Hoxxx6p9qkThy_iiBx1tilmmb7zCKXNWrMMCEHqfd5Eo488EAbVdCAkFgguysYgM0LEQM97g3CFQ1eJPjc/s320/img015.jpg" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1076" /></a></div>The driver/guide of our Safari van called himself Presley -" Because I love Elvis!" he explained. Presley clearly also loved animals as he seemed as excited at sighting them as we did, and was very knowledgeable about the local wildlife. We were told the elephant population is high here partly because civil unrest in neighboring countries have driven them to Botswana as a port of refuge. " You think we might see some black rhinos ?" " No, they're extinct here." " What happened ?" " The Chinese happened !! " I sighed ! May I digress here to clear a myth please, for the umpteenth time : Rhino horns have absolutely zero aphrodisiac effect ! <br />
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Trust me, I am a doctor !<br />
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The Chobe River Boat Cruise was great fun for me specifically because of the comedy team that's the Captain and Willie, the boat boy. The Captain was forever taking the mickey out of Willie, " Do you know why his nickname is Ant ? And why he needs to drink of a lot of water all the time. "" Why ?" " Because he scurries around a lot like an ant, and his long hair needs water to grow, just like plants !" He laughingly pointed to Willie's dreadlocks. " He keeps his hair this way because he's a Bob Marley fan" Willie nodded in assent." That's reggae, right? I thought Bob Marley was Jamaican. Aren't you a bit young to be a Bob Marley fan ? I believe he died of malignant melanoma in the early 80s, 20 years before you were born. " With the few sentences I exhausted my total knowledge of reggae music." Yes, but there's quite a 'Rasta' following in Botswana nowadays " "Wow, that's interesting it's happening now !" I mused. The Rasta - Black Cause movement originated in Jamaica in the 1930s, aside from its religious and spiritual dimensions, it also had an earthly aim which was to rectify the falsification of Black history by the power cultures and religions of the West, reaffirm the dignity of a people scorned by centuries of slavery, and to promote a black identity for blacks across both sides of the Atlantic. Bob Marley was credited for being the voice that brought the movement to the international stage.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLSGDYn1Lcr-XEurWn05WraaJoGMbPDpDxSYFd1_TOVI5anEJ_tcygEFps-dzz5rBTli4sHOfuPmm77kUQkmRBsM08wuIzsY8XLh55FFmuwKKgZwk-2NLI_GtT8S-QsGulg4mG8KQazw/s1600/img016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLSGDYn1Lcr-XEurWn05WraaJoGMbPDpDxSYFd1_TOVI5anEJ_tcygEFps-dzz5rBTli4sHOfuPmm77kUQkmRBsM08wuIzsY8XLh55FFmuwKKgZwk-2NLI_GtT8S-QsGulg4mG8KQazw/s320/img016.jpg" width="320" height="216" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1080" /></a></div>The Captain then kept me occupied with a string of riddles, as I'm hopelessly bad at riddles I bombed all of them ! Shell shocked, I only managed to remember 2 of them : <br />
1) What's as big as an elephant but has no weight ?<br />
2) What comes up once in a year and twice in a week ? <br />
If you guessed the answer to be : 1) is "shadow" and 2) the letter "E", you're a much more clever person than I am !<br />
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The first president of Botswana, Seretse Khama, married a white English woman Ruth Williams in 1948, a union that flew in the face of racial segregation of the time. To appease South Africa, the British government banned the Khamas from Botswana for almost a decade. Their story was told in the movie "A United Kingdom" (2016). The positive outcome of the couple's pain is Khama and his successors strove hard for racial harmony, hence today black/white relationship is more relaxed in Botswana than most other post-independence Africa. Relationship with the Chinese however is not exactly cordial, but the reason is economical rather than racial. Chinese presence in Botswana became significant during the country's construction boom in the late 1980s ; today the 6000 or so Chinese in Botswana are mostly small traders, who have been heaped with the usual criticisms for flooding the local market and blamed for conflicts over management style. Even while acknowledging their service to be essential to the majority poor in the country, the government has responded in restricting licensing of Chinese retail businesses, and generally created an increasingly hostile environment by imposing strong regulations. Kind of a mini-Trump tactic ! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zt-E03Fk4yrOWZLMChLODop7Sj9U_35evV5YexFrE82uOtE51C5HcUO-dPDg_5ANQKUVi1896q_Zozdr2Yr4w5XsyRoEjVwPx0XiaPKWOqrgTTRhLtLx6L55Runcj63zk4M53NrROnw/s1600/img018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zt-E03Fk4yrOWZLMChLODop7Sj9U_35evV5YexFrE82uOtE51C5HcUO-dPDg_5ANQKUVi1896q_Zozdr2Yr4w5XsyRoEjVwPx0XiaPKWOqrgTTRhLtLx6L55Runcj63zk4M53NrROnw/s320/img018.jpg" width="250" height="320" data-original-width="1250" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>The next 2 days were devoted to the Victoria Falls, acclaimed to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. We stayed in the Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls town, Zimbabwe. We picked this hotel because of its supreme location right next to the Falls : we could walk over anytime with no need of a guide, as the paths and the many viewing points were well-marked, besides the views were highly recommended as we could stand opposite the falls and view them head on. Just remember to bring a raincoat for the drenching spray !<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwSnVWbx1AlF5y2_76oIoHh6_3bNIIoY2JS8q2ZkpjaYbCYK22PDJ6bjtOMxwg-3A8EZwe2H9UcTgH22UZdaN5kEUCVTsV7Iwv2MKalsiyccUkHiRTri6eHHEUWOPpho0GVPPJfrzfN4/s1600/img002+%25285%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzwSnVWbx1AlF5y2_76oIoHh6_3bNIIoY2JS8q2ZkpjaYbCYK22PDJ6bjtOMxwg-3A8EZwe2H9UcTgH22UZdaN5kEUCVTsV7Iwv2MKalsiyccUkHiRTri6eHHEUWOPpho0GVPPJfrzfN4/s320/img002+%25285%2529.jpg" width="320" height="211" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1055" /></a></div>We were greeted warmly by Mr Derrick Kung, the hotel general manager ( Derek and its variants must be a popular name in southern Africa !) He's the first Chinese person I'd met on the ground so far, I was also a bit surprised because since coming to southern Africa I didn't see many white people about either, not even tourists. 3 generations of Derrick's family had lived here, he's sticking it out for as long as he could, but a lot of Chinese had moved away since independence. " Business is not so good ?" I surveyed the empty lobby " It could be better but we've to accept seasonal variations," I nodded in admiration at his Pollyanna optimism, " Besides people don't just come for the Falls, for example, the Japanese tend to come in November to see the flowers, and they usually come in large groups of 50-100" <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv8zZdS8qGF8S3syy50HekViaqvzs4uVptHaOW9nDYWobNNJ2pHM0lwOReYGcNuyCDNkirM3mBG9dky8yMVFFv9ThiEuLfNznryvtOQ-WSipFvT-kRFFc1TabSsM9Ijas73YmgcOOWtQ/s1600/img017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv8zZdS8qGF8S3syy50HekViaqvzs4uVptHaOW9nDYWobNNJ2pHM0lwOReYGcNuyCDNkirM3mBG9dky8yMVFFv9ThiEuLfNznryvtOQ-WSipFvT-kRFFc1TabSsM9Ijas73YmgcOOWtQ/s320/img017.jpg" width="320" height="218" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1090" /></a></div>The local name for the Victoria Falls is TMosikalamosikala, meaning "The Smoke That Thunders". It's twice as tall as Niagara Falls, and although it's not the highest, the widest or the greatest volume of water, they have the largest sheet of water for any fall in the world.<br />
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Victoria Falls town is a small border town and Zimbabwe’s busiest tourist destination. There were the usual souvenir shops, curio and sculpture markets where one could find the famous Zimbabwe Shona stone carvings, and of course plenty of eateries. There were depressingly few tourists about and I was impressed how gracious the vendors were when I politely declined their sales. I was more interested in observing the everyday life of the locals. Wandering off the main avenue, I stumbled into a small local library only to find a young librarian on duty guarding mostly empty shelves. The miserable 100 or so tattered and yellowing books ranged from Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, Enid Blyton, Biggles, to a few old science text books - all very 60s Britain and looked suspiciously like cast-offs from people who had to leave in a hurry. <br />
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The pitiful library left me sick to the stomach when I recalled the uproar Bona Mugabe ( daughter of Robert Mugabe) caused in the Hong Kong Legislative Council in 2009, when she was enrolled into the Hong Kong City University to do Accountancy and Administration under the alias Tracy Guvamombe. Ironically her cover was blown because her mother, Grace Mugabe, assaulted a British photographer for the Sunday Times newspaper while shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong, which naturally hit the news. Known infamously in her country as "Dis Grace","Gucci Grace" and "The First Shopper", Grace was after all merely doing what she did best ! The poor guy however sustained numerous bruises, cuts and abrasions to his head and face, courtesy of the multiple diamond rings on Grace's fingers when she attacked him outside the Shangri-La Kowloon where the Zimbabwean entourage took up two floors. The hotel bill of tens of thousands of British pounds was paid in cash, even as their country was mired with poverty, hunger and hyper-inflation. Mrs Mugabe got away under the shield of diplomatic immunity.<br />
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The news broke worldwide at the same time as Zimbabwe announced both a hike in student fees and a demand that tuition would from then on to be paid in US instead of Zimbabwe dollars. The students took to the streets. " Why is Bona not attending Lupane or Midlands State University ?" asked Clever Bere, president of the Zimbabwe National Students' Union (Zinasu) " She must come back home and face the same suffering with fellow Zimbabweans because of her father's policies !" Zinasu swiftly mounted an online campaign to pressure Hong Kong to deport Bona. Unfortunately in the way of this cold harsh real world, not only were their efforts futile, 60 university students were jailed after clashes with the Zimbabwean riot police, and to add insult to injury, media further leaked that to prepare for Bona's stay in Hong Kong, Mugabe had splashed out HK $ 40 million for a set of pale pink boxlike 3 storey villa at JC Castle ( named after action movie star Jackie Chan), an upmarket walled and gated Estate with gardens, a clubhouse and a swimming pool in Tai Po developed by Albert Yeung Sau-shing's Emperor Group, Yeung being one of the island's most colorful tycoons who had been repeatedly linked to organised crime. Subsequently Bona's bodyguards twice assaulted reporters outside her Hong Kong home but no action was taken against them either. In 2011 HK City University spokeswoman Karen Cheng confirmed that Robert and Grace Mugabe turned up in the University for Bona's graduation ceremony, and had their moments with their daughter " just like all the other parents". Except of course all the other parents didn't have Security Protection from the HK Government. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAj0R0s6AKpF7c8TW5W62sNxkhMGq_1_Yh6eRfG5Ikeaxl3IHVHvtTc1YI38ilorVBP6IZcA70Xy9HfS_0EugdntF_ZCdI1pmPe12_PJTTDCH2Rvwx9ZQWK2X5WSke2-ASomZob6r2p4/s1600/bonamugabe%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAj0R0s6AKpF7c8TW5W62sNxkhMGq_1_Yh6eRfG5Ikeaxl3IHVHvtTc1YI38ilorVBP6IZcA70Xy9HfS_0EugdntF_ZCdI1pmPe12_PJTTDCH2Rvwx9ZQWK2X5WSke2-ASomZob6r2p4/s320/bonamugabe%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" height="213" data-original-width="300" data-original-height="200" /></a></div>In 2014 Mugabe blew 3 million British pounds on a lavish wedding for Bona then had the gall to ask for a pay rise from his people ! Still, he had his fans." Do you think life's better or worse after independence ?" I asked Shamiso. " Oh definitely it's better after !" He enthused. " How is it better?" Then he let out his family was one of the beneficiaries of the "4,000 white-owned farms redistribution reforms". I was instantly intrigued : it's an open secret only veterans or people well-connected to the government were allotted land. Shamiso's father was in fact a militia who fought alongside Mugabe, for which he was rewarded a small plot where he now did subsistence farming. Herbert the other Zimbabwean guide was silent, like the overwhelming majority he had no connections and life had been hard. To make up for the shortfall Herbert was super-diligent in pushing brand new Zimbabwean billion dollar bank notes to us the tourists, putting a new twist to the old saying "making money with money" . <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWjoBXDmrUrLd3B1D86xXdPI01x6Qqhpo3tsDiCjqqGLLnr0lJ42QTgd3ipQR3wHdV0ZmFHfGpucIlaLsNyP5WfjJUh3Qt9eG0oiIx8BCvSJVPF-qT3Ex0M3wO6pFjw-qDSwsL9hoVns/s1600/Zimbabwe_%2524100_trillion_2009_Obverse%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIWjoBXDmrUrLd3B1D86xXdPI01x6Qqhpo3tsDiCjqqGLLnr0lJ42QTgd3ipQR3wHdV0ZmFHfGpucIlaLsNyP5WfjJUh3Qt9eG0oiIx8BCvSJVPF-qT3Ex0M3wO6pFjw-qDSwsL9hoVns/s320/Zimbabwe_%2524100_trillion_2009_Obverse%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" height="159" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="794" /></a></div>Zimbabwe wasn't always a basket case. When Mugabe took over the country from the white minority government of Rhodesia, despite the long years of war the economic foundations were strong. The new government expanded health and education to the black population (which they were previously deprived), and for a time Zimbabwe had the highest literacy rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Then the economy stagnated, donors including the IMF pulled out because the economic policies were deemed un-Western, just at the time Zimbabwe was hit by a devastating drought, followed by ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. To appease his black supporters Mugabe rushed through his flagship policy of Land Redistribution, which not only sounded the death knell for the agriculture-based economy, but the process was executed so disgustingly that aid to Zimbabwe completely dried up, and varying degrees of sanctions were imposed on the government. The pain had been relentless, as the 21st century ushered in the Age of Inflation. The economy was in free fall and the whole state services collapsed, doctors and teachers were not being paid, schools had no text books and hospitals had no medicines.There was no money to treat raw sewage which led to a massive cholera outbreak. Zimbabwean life expectancy was among the lowest in the world, and Zimbabwe was dubbed the world's fastest shrinking economy. The economy has since stabilized somewhat mainly because the government has adopted foreign currencies in place of the Zimbabwe dollar, which still means that those without access to hard currency are in a desperate situation. Though Mugabe's resigned now, the political and economic situation's still extremely wobbly.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZQHK69D-hMISYhchwmxuzgBgBOPid52qwo5Qwb8ZiLoGl8AAaN0DLQ9DKoQhy4Gz6QfwYzI1rIl-NarBDlHkjRzMKTHTfF9i2S93pcOk0HoSAKMyVerO3bVycFfx-xihALBF_ycmjaY/s1600/img020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxZQHK69D-hMISYhchwmxuzgBgBOPid52qwo5Qwb8ZiLoGl8AAaN0DLQ9DKoQhy4Gz6QfwYzI1rIl-NarBDlHkjRzMKTHTfF9i2S93pcOk0HoSAKMyVerO3bVycFfx-xihALBF_ycmjaY/s320/img020.jpg" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1077" /></a></div>The Victoria Falls Bridge was opened in 1905, it spans the Zambezi River which is the natural border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge is a highlight for the young daredevils but not us oldies. The most we did in the air was the helicopter ride. My pilot was Anja, a pretty 26 year old blue-eyed blond . " How great is this, a lady pilot !" I shouted over the roar of the engine " Yep, mighty great !" she shouted back, then proceeded to make the right and left dips, purportedly to give us better views of the Falls but which just succeeded in making us nauseous; and the semi- somersaults designed to make us scream, which we all dutifully obliged. Anja's taken over from her father who was the regular pilot before he became sick. " But you're so young. " " You do what you've got to do " She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. There you have it , the quintessential Afrikan woman, tough, strong, level-headed, and no nonsense !<br />
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The evening was spent in the Boma Restaurant, reputedly the best (also the most expensive) place to sample the local Zimbabwean cuisine : BBQ buffet of game meat like Kudu, crocodile, impala, guinea fowl, as well as regular meat like beef, pork, fish and chicken. The specialty here is actually warthog fillet. We were urged to try the Mopani worms, a local delicacy. It's in fact a caterpillar, nearly as long as a finger and as thick as a cigar, weight by weight it's said to contain three times as much protein as beef. I tried one and it's the most revolting thing I've ever eaten ! I've tried larva, grasshopper and scorpion before, but they were crispy fried, crunchy so you can pretend you're eating crisps. But this worm tasted muddy, it's soft and squeezy, and stuff oozed out when I bit into it.......I couldn't spit it out fast enough !<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglORB5R3b7NMvugor3T-YFMY9v1zhOl0WyiYLqu6boTnQb6iXjAdtsqmFqj8tt2r_9NZlQyhLZPK6JmXMVDDfaR8IaIdVF4EbSzxNqTo3nIaHW6rOD5ptE91A5E6IZ5VW49lFuGltUZj8/s1600/image+%252864%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglORB5R3b7NMvugor3T-YFMY9v1zhOl0WyiYLqu6boTnQb6iXjAdtsqmFqj8tt2r_9NZlQyhLZPK6JmXMVDDfaR8IaIdVF4EbSzxNqTo3nIaHW6rOD5ptE91A5E6IZ5VW49lFuGltUZj8/s320/image+%252864%2529.png" width="320" height="285" data-original-width="850" data-original-height="757" /></a></div>Live Mopani worm . Would you eat this caterpillar ? Really ?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YqjKV37p6xpJESbPPB_-CLVvNlH3xfwLJkVQo48pX8fP8GL6RGHo5NMKlPrPdSJM-XJ-lKjevxi9uAxc4nTgAhh4YKA-LqMDq4iLjdxs3_DRZjJCEn5f6h2MYXU9-5slhM37YS-QCgc/s1600/image+%252863%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YqjKV37p6xpJESbPPB_-CLVvNlH3xfwLJkVQo48pX8fP8GL6RGHo5NMKlPrPdSJM-XJ-lKjevxi9uAxc4nTgAhh4YKA-LqMDq4iLjdxs3_DRZjJCEn5f6h2MYXU9-5slhM37YS-QCgc/s320/image+%252863%2529.png" width="320" height="200" data-original-width="1024" data-original-height="640" /></a></div>As in all cultural dinner shows we were treated to performances by Amakwezi traditional dancers, singers, Amazulu drummers, and for those under the weather there's a Sangoma (traditional healer) to set you right again, for a small fee . <br />
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The next day we were to return to Zambia to catch a flight to Namibia, when we got word Port Health wanted to check our Yellow Fever certificates. " You all had Yellow Fever vaccination done ?" Everybody nodded, " And you all have your certificate with you ?" 4 hands shot up. "NO, we were told to get the shot but we weren't told to bring the cert ! " Not wanting to run the risk of leaving 4 members behind, Kitty our team leader proceeded to do what Chinese are best at : making forgeries. 4 Yellow Fever certs belonging to employees of the travel agency were faxed from the Hong Kong office, Kitty carefully blotted out the original names and put in new ones. " They did have the shots so it's not really lying" Kitty kept telling herself to ease her conscience. <br />
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We walked across the bridge to the Immigration Checkpoint, where there's already a longish line consisting mainly of women laden with heavy baskets. They were the cross border traders. Africa has a huge, predominantly female informal economy, estimated to represent one-third of the continent's GDP. They deal mostly in crop products, biscuits, sweets, vegetables, clothes, footwear and blankets. However their days might be numbered as the government is contemplating roping in these informal traders for the purpose of taxation. I recognized a few faces in the crowd." I saw you dancing in the Boma last night, you're very good !" They were the Amakwezi dancing girls " No work today ?" " Well, works starts at 6 this evening, so meanwhile we're doing this " They giggled. I don't know why people think Africans are lazy !? Certainly not the women, African women are some of the hardest working people I've come across. <br />
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A few baboons lurked about, causing unease in the HK group. The Zimbabwean girls laughed " They won't be a problem once we cross over to Zambia" Apparently baboons are a delicacy in Zambia so are killed immediately upon sight by the locals. <br />
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Namibia was wonderful, clean and orderly, almost German (laugh). In Windhoek we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. As I opened the door to the Ladies I was surprised by a beautiful half naked girl drying her white blouse under the hand dryer machine, surrounded by several equally beautiful young girls all in white blouses, black pencil skirts and 5 inch heels. " I spilled coffee on my blouse, and we're so late for a publicity shot already" the drying girl answered my quizzical look " Who are you girls, you're all so gorgeous !" " Thank you, we're the 15 finalist of the Miss Namibia Beauty Contest, there're more of us in the lobby" "Are you girls ready yet ? " Their minder poked his head round the door, he was getting really impatient. We caught up with the finalists later after their official shots and had some pictures taken with them. The jinx was on me and I found I lost all the many pictures I took in this trip after I got back home, the few I posted in this blog were taken of me by other members of the group and thereby preserved. Fortunately I've the habit of reading the local newspapers wherever I travel, and this was in the day's paper :<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHHjvpgc3_P9GQlb69e7LyG2rIm1b5Wy5Vi5Jxu_otxIAZwkTJT7hpLfPSyap1siB91G0x5j6IIsB8Kj_WXGml99AVS1ZdwAMfA1SlltGhuux9m12Xq1vaXHQxlMZX-ddAeiVQSqPsrI/s1600/img024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHHjvpgc3_P9GQlb69e7LyG2rIm1b5Wy5Vi5Jxu_otxIAZwkTJT7hpLfPSyap1siB91G0x5j6IIsB8Kj_WXGml99AVS1ZdwAMfA1SlltGhuux9m12Xq1vaXHQxlMZX-ddAeiVQSqPsrI/s320/img024.jpg" width="320" height="262" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLe7tq-ppcMQJvdi2W61T9p6a-0eSdLlu_xPkFVDCii6EpwGLwH0F5mB8Zrrqg3FPoS4XtCR-jrJPsm9tiSvLCp6wNbFb6L1TgtlUOnBVnE_IGQLu8TC2SR3C78zLAH-PP5seM394Hwx0/s1600/img025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLe7tq-ppcMQJvdi2W61T9p6a-0eSdLlu_xPkFVDCii6EpwGLwH0F5mB8Zrrqg3FPoS4XtCR-jrJPsm9tiSvLCp6wNbFb6L1TgtlUOnBVnE_IGQLu8TC2SR3C78zLAH-PP5seM394Hwx0/s320/img025.jpg" width="320" height="258" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1291" /></a></div>Later en route to Sossusvlei I met some even more beautiful people. Theron and Ressis were both nursing practitioners. They took me to visit the small clinic where they serve the 950 people in their area. They also ran a HIV Clinic trying to contain the infection which was still too prevalent in Namibia. A doctor came to the clinic to do a session once a month, the rest of the time the ladies dealt with almost everything that came through the door. In case of real emergency the patient would be sent to the regional hospital. " You do really good work here" I was quite impressed at the setup. There is severe shortage of both doctors and nurses in Namibia. Until the country's first medical school opened in 2010, all previous doctors had to be trained abroad - South Africa, Russia, Cuba, Algeria and China. Derek was quite grumpy about the high private medical and dental insurance costs. But then the cost of living is pretty high here, because everything had to be imported, mostly from South Africa.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mxZ9K2s3xSw4Z7CfGNItwJT5bTss1n-qf4RJYMjcyaHxKoePBclPSR9Se6mlSrGMHcYD73Xmg99SAahOr4EojYn21hRkyE50-Gv_c4EkLjMOepAmMi3grt2_x7manb-ttySe4_BhqMY/s1600/unnamed%255B4%255D+%25282%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3mxZ9K2s3xSw4Z7CfGNItwJT5bTss1n-qf4RJYMjcyaHxKoePBclPSR9Se6mlSrGMHcYD73Xmg99SAahOr4EojYn21hRkyE50-Gv_c4EkLjMOepAmMi3grt2_x7manb-ttySe4_BhqMY/s320/unnamed%255B4%255D+%25282%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" height="213" data-original-width="692" data-original-height="461" /></a></div>Dune 45 : known as the most photographed dune in the world <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA56Z1tXcxhnMlIXEcp9iRJ9HMa312mOG1_Zf0_QCSlXPzdw2AFjK8kEGed7jJCXdEB1jqZa8enVm_oMK5YqQmF8yjUP5JeXPOnkrzAXW5AcYsuzPg-5PQTOwYRqXulkcUZNDJtdvz1j0/s1600/unnamed%255B2%255D+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA56Z1tXcxhnMlIXEcp9iRJ9HMa312mOG1_Zf0_QCSlXPzdw2AFjK8kEGed7jJCXdEB1jqZa8enVm_oMK5YqQmF8yjUP5JeXPOnkrzAXW5AcYsuzPg-5PQTOwYRqXulkcUZNDJtdvz1j0/s320/unnamed%255B2%255D+%25283%2529.jpg" width="320" height="213" data-original-width="692" data-original-height="461" /></a></div>We stayed in the eco-friendly Moon Mountain Lodge in the Naukluft Mountains. It was managed by Nick and Michelle at the time, both South Africans. I met a couple of tough guys at the parking lot who'd just got back from leading a hunting trip for some Americans. The opened trunk of the car reviewed half a dozen hunting rifles. I put on my best smile. " Could I get a picture of you 2 please ?" " You want one with me holding a rifle ?" One of the big guys said and got cuffed on the head by the other big guy. Although hunting is legal in Namibia I guess it's still prudent to keep a low profile. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaUcYEwAkOMfEJ88Hd1O55GATUqZfBYb8Ph1wJxLC74TTcAqQPjy6ft4xzaNkDPpi1TfNpacHv5V2R6jsEkUq-fZ6GQgu7ha0JOCh8OfQQuaCAq0WrZ4OyVxwr7ZtECKCISdhIw6lr6E/s1600/img019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaUcYEwAkOMfEJ88Hd1O55GATUqZfBYb8Ph1wJxLC74TTcAqQPjy6ft4xzaNkDPpi1TfNpacHv5V2R6jsEkUq-fZ6GQgu7ha0JOCh8OfQQuaCAq0WrZ4OyVxwr7ZtECKCISdhIw6lr6E/s320/img019.jpg" width="320" height="218" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1088" /></a></div>We did a quick tour of Swakopmund then went on a cruise on Walvis Bay to meet the dolphins, the great white pelicans and the Cape fur seals. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7_L0jVr7DdRqwuwJjOXMSWmkR7qmB90XRyXZHGMf0fOmjfuFH7pOg8skKnUoOymR86bL__8CbDw-ckiVTZKUocYfEqVFi17JCZ8_txCsvTmJ_9FbEEAxuC4zrdPRolWOpDZmT9WTUOo/s1600/unnamed%255B6%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI7_L0jVr7DdRqwuwJjOXMSWmkR7qmB90XRyXZHGMf0fOmjfuFH7pOg8skKnUoOymR86bL__8CbDw-ckiVTZKUocYfEqVFi17JCZ8_txCsvTmJ_9FbEEAxuC4zrdPRolWOpDZmT9WTUOo/s320/unnamed%255B6%255D.jpg" width="320" height="213" data-original-width="692" data-original-height="461" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TrPXLw4MHa8f-nLPVRL46M8SE8VFlucSAlqrsDakB5yLJL86QnADpVy-yIjc9VJ9moO_6HnW-EdRYyGlRw7rV-KRqW_U5T-DilvrP1ccXyH5-o-15L4BoGDM3F3iIvKhQ8dIzVcMFR8/s1600/img022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TrPXLw4MHa8f-nLPVRL46M8SE8VFlucSAlqrsDakB5yLJL86QnADpVy-yIjc9VJ9moO_6HnW-EdRYyGlRw7rV-KRqW_U5T-DilvrP1ccXyH5-o-15L4BoGDM3F3iIvKhQ8dIzVcMFR8/s320/img022.jpg" width="183" height="320" data-original-width="914" data-original-height="1600" /></a></div>Oyster cultivation in Namibia began in the late 1980s in the salt pans outside Swakopmund, and the cruise included sampling of the local produce, washed down with Champagne. The boat Captain was initially from South Africa. " Do you know Mandela's a Freemason ? He's not what he seems " " No, I didn't. But a lawyer friend of mine's a Freemason, maybe it's a lawyer thing ? Bush and Clinton're both rumored to be Freemasons. " I knew next to nothing about Freemasonry, but I could sense how deeply upset he was about what was happening in his home country, even though it would be wrong and unfair to blame Mandela alone . We who live in Hong Kong are really too lucky ! I truly don't understand why some so called "Hong Kong people" want to destroy what we have. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAl30syndKWpdVfTtSx2gnYgMv_gG-BvKTR-vE_9uBQCVL5fn2bePzAsaTH23i4UHMrwswx46Tnttfpf3Y56XV1Kssb1r2miy_1VqfG87CpsHXgMIqFFH_zYz380xG1TAv0u6NhoAYbF4/s1600/unnamedCA8ONXI3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAl30syndKWpdVfTtSx2gnYgMv_gG-BvKTR-vE_9uBQCVL5fn2bePzAsaTH23i4UHMrwswx46Tnttfpf3Y56XV1Kssb1r2miy_1VqfG87CpsHXgMIqFFH_zYz380xG1TAv0u6NhoAYbF4/s320/unnamedCA8ONXI3.jpg" width="213" height="320" data-original-width="307" data-original-height="461" /></a></div>Back to the shore while waiting for our bus, I spotted a Himba girl selling trinkets on the roadside. " How much is this bracelet please ?" I didn't really want it except as a point of conversation." 40 " " No, 20 ?" "No, 30 !" She pouted. We went back and forth for awhile, then I decided I had to pity buy as there were literally NO other tourists about ! " OK ! " I took out my last 20 rand and pressed it into her hand. I saw her face screwed tight just as I called out to our team leader, " Kitty, can I borrow 10 rand from you please ?" When I gave the girl the 10 rand her eyes widened. " See, I'd never cheat you !" I said with a laugh and was taken aback when she suddenly bent down and kissed my hand. I looked at her beaming face and felt incredibly sad. This could only mean one thing : she's been cheated a lot before ! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUSzKGhFkiMW97MdWx_AsrzNlVGmg1Xiw6aaLfWjLQjBqf3QfLHKadsp3IUbuPYRLeRZaFGHRaPSb_kvMPHuSUPj_4PTE0D9915nxfdukxw0vLtJEIPXy7jobQ9aDbjYOGq4btwN0Ru4/s1600/IMG_0509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUSzKGhFkiMW97MdWx_AsrzNlVGmg1Xiw6aaLfWjLQjBqf3QfLHKadsp3IUbuPYRLeRZaFGHRaPSb_kvMPHuSUPj_4PTE0D9915nxfdukxw0vLtJEIPXy7jobQ9aDbjYOGq4btwN0Ru4/s320/IMG_0509.JPG" width="320" height="213" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1067" /></a></div>The Baobab tree is called the Tree of Life because every part of the tree can be used to sustain life : 80% of the trunk is water; the leaves and fruits are rich in vitamins and minerals; the seeds, bark and dried leaves have medicinal values, and the fiber can be used to make cloth, rope, nets, musical instrument strings and waterproof hats. I love the Baobab legends - the baobab is called the Upside Down Tree because the tribes along the Zambezi River believe the baobab once grew upright but it got cocky, so the gods uprooted it and planted it upside down to teach it humility. Other legends associate it with fertility and strength : e.g. if a boy bathed in its water he'd grow big and strong.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbzu0-KNfl6niQspzDEGoKEIxnNlDkkDT9BNKVj2Jos0BdIN1uCjrlXNpISGYTu8PCX5_0huO2mOHLclSXRnUurm6eFSoatg5Tb0Cy0dyZNBAX_yK5IYNWGJiZzWt9Mqj0KfUR9bibDc/s1600/img021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbzu0-KNfl6niQspzDEGoKEIxnNlDkkDT9BNKVj2Jos0BdIN1uCjrlXNpISGYTu8PCX5_0huO2mOHLclSXRnUurm6eFSoatg5Tb0Cy0dyZNBAX_yK5IYNWGJiZzWt9Mqj0KfUR9bibDc/s320/img021.jpg" width="320" height="215" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1077" /></a></div>I love the Baobab Tree so in my painting of this Eventful Trip I put it in the center linking the Falls, the sand dunes and the Botswana Basket Pattern in the sky. Every traditional Botswana basket pattern tells a story. This particular one tells how during hunts, hunters would track and give chase to a giraffe till it collapsed in exhaustion. The dying giraffe would look at the hunters as they came up, and realizing it was about to die it would weep. The women then took the tears and weaved them into the baskets to form the pattern " Tears of the Giraffe ", to commemorate the life and death of this beautiful animal. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBgtWPJALKLxSrep1Q60BHDshOym8FkBYJhSenV36-gMPUp_HhcTkE7DuJwlqp87vu3qhAKm7z6gkTz2RUENdZBD6ruCuIyJDwSsKctZ7pCcuOa4uT50umVwY5KgIPfJ6aHbo-qsFbM8/s1600/img023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBgtWPJALKLxSrep1Q60BHDshOym8FkBYJhSenV36-gMPUp_HhcTkE7DuJwlqp87vu3qhAKm7z6gkTz2RUENdZBD6ruCuIyJDwSsKctZ7pCcuOa4uT50umVwY5KgIPfJ6aHbo-qsFbM8/s320/img023.jpg" width="302" height="320" data-original-width="847" data-original-height="897" /></a></div>I liked Namibia so much I went back again sometime later, but that's another story. That's how it is with Africa, no matter how many times you visit you would always still find plenty of wondrous stories that'd touch your soul, for as long as you open your heart.<br />
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-28273423144729875982018-01-12T06:03:00.000-08:002018-01-31T02:04:17.638-08:00Mother<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwIcK60HwAiF7Q_v9cYbEIaWQtbeLDm2p7ZJe99Yc04U0mphGdnLCmQIBNLmI3ZXUwtdVyptSV3Cq9yurdaZ5po-4uK6DYMf3cyLZgYHVOKV31FX2PDoaXpb20QdcM4Q9BmqqDYCW91yY/s320/b001.jpg" width="246" /></div><h3><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every afternoon was nap time for inmates in the nursing home, but like me, mother rarely slept during the day. She was reclining in bed holding a glossy magazine as I walked in the room. "Mama," I called out. She turned round and looked me in the face. Then for a brief moment, her eyes smiled. Mother hadn't recognized me for a few years now, but her soul still knew me.</span> </h3><div><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Oh how I desperately needed to believe her soul would always know me.......</span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;"></span> </div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mother had Alzheimer's Disease. Like many sufferers, she had struggled alone against the gathering fog that slowly clouded her mind </span><span style="font-size: medium;">long before any of us realized. On one of my visits to the US, I accompanied her to her family doctor. Dr L was held in awe and high esteem by both my parents, even though he had consistently failed them. " Mother's not well, she might be depressed" I said. " Nothing untoward's happened, right? There's no reason why she should be" he shrugged away the absurd idea." You do know that my brother and his family have moved out to be nearer to my niece's school ?And old people can get depressed for so many reasons" I realized then he knew nothing about my parents, moreover, was not interested. We were swiftly ushered out by a nurse because the big doctor's busy. Depression is extremely common in early </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Alzheimer's.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: medium;">A couple of years later, on another visit I noted drastic personality changes. My normally gentle affable mother was irritable, combative, and when questioned on misplaced items responded with uncharacteristic angry outburst and childlike pouting. Father complained about her forgetfulness and irrational ire which unfortunately I instantly brushed aside, as he's been complaining about her for exactly the same offence </span><span style="font-size: medium;">all my life. For sometime now father had </span><span style="font-size: medium;">became so frail that when they went grocery shopping, he had to walk behind mother and lean on her as a walking stick, while she relied on him for direction to the shops; but</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> even then Dr L refused to sign the form to grant father a handicapped parking space because filling the form would take up too much of his precious time - exactly why I gave up on him and took charge myself about mother : I sent my sister-in-law a Chinese version of the Mimi-Mental State Examination(MMSE) </span><span style="font-size: medium;">from Hong Kong</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">to try on mother. She failed dismally. Only armed with the test result that mother was prescribed acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, except it's too little too late.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span> </div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Following a series of incidents at home the local authorities deemed parents unsafe to stay by themselves and they were forcibly put in a nursing home. Mother proved to be a real handful. She was constantly agitated, fought the staff and attempted escape on a daily basis, even managed to break not one but two of the fairly expensive electronic tracking devices securely clapped on her wrist ( I inspected the devise and not sure I could break them !). On one occasion the police was called and when she was found wandering aimlessly a few blocks away, she put up a fight as a matter of course. The </span><span style="font-size: medium;">6 ft tall Hispanic</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">police looked down on this 4 ft 10 skinny old lady gesticulating and shouting wildly "I know Kung FU" and burst out laughing, his laugh tickled mother who readily joined in.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Thus was how the nursing home staff found them later, an odd couple bent double with laughter. </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-6CJMp13ooMzQ6dhnrA2QrCz-Z-zIMAtWt1TxdnvhOTHrRFQPBhsPB2lAOqVeU-AeDIdR3hnmEdOsn9yS2v-VzDaytnRis6cvNrcPRbfHcR3_h36_qS9Fxa8Qt8ovQtA23fsj09Thw8/s1600/5-23-2013+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-6CJMp13ooMzQ6dhnrA2QrCz-Z-zIMAtWt1TxdnvhOTHrRFQPBhsPB2lAOqVeU-AeDIdR3hnmEdOsn9yS2v-VzDaytnRis6cvNrcPRbfHcR3_h36_qS9Fxa8Qt8ovQtA23fsj09Thw8/s320/5-23-2013+%25281%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On hindsight maybe I shouldn't be surprised by mother's antics. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Alzheimer's might stripe away </span><span style="font-size: medium;">memory and comprehension, but it also releases the sufferer from the socially expected speech and behavior, and once free of the particular facade that we've chosen to present ourselves to the world, something of the essential quality and character trait that constitutes and defines a person sometimes shines through brighter, if we'd only care to look. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Mother never talked about her past, but my 4th aunt had plenty of stories, and I learnt there's another side to the docile mother I knew. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0shKlp5GnhSnv-_A4FvOYjgYfHMYRaDS4J-ma1_b_mKx0JmB4MhOmgNFaFxcXhwh47ggQtFsuOr7dcxLlRj69LukRlAVZx9yumvQH5OZ2YdsRHLIZzKoAky7_vZITR1pZb-aVNx9Ass/s1600/IMG-20171128-WA0002+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0shKlp5GnhSnv-_A4FvOYjgYfHMYRaDS4J-ma1_b_mKx0JmB4MhOmgNFaFxcXhwh47ggQtFsuOr7dcxLlRj69LukRlAVZx9yumvQH5OZ2YdsRHLIZzKoAky7_vZITR1pZb-aVNx9Ass/s1600/IMG-20171128-WA0002+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mother was born into a traditional Chiu Chow family which discouraged higher education for girls, all her sisters had arranged marriages right after high school, but mother wanted to have a career of her own, so at 16 she ran away from home in Hong Kong all the way to Beijing to do nursing. It must have taken a lot of pluck and determination to</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> break out of the mould, particularly in Old China - it's exactly this core of steel in her character which sustained her through a life filled with hardships.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKP8pkuJ2fAl-QTZpFRr0xKPbiZN0vFJuVFUhjakgeYA106AJbwXoWEkwXof_UFxP7cmcEjLUkZi9MRR6IW34zoyE0q7ALu124MyDLcvFYI8hJlqDKAvpkzYBzCThO_JAZF78CCYLRHgU/s1600/img013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="706" data-original-width="684" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKP8pkuJ2fAl-QTZpFRr0xKPbiZN0vFJuVFUhjakgeYA106AJbwXoWEkwXof_UFxP7cmcEjLUkZi9MRR6IW34zoyE0q7ALu124MyDLcvFYI8hJlqDKAvpkzYBzCThO_JAZF78CCYLRHgU/s320/img013.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpKWcn5B_mTYp2xewzDBbv0vnDFJ_-_jZJ42lYzc5KG6dDEI-i39MeYxVVmdb4gc1qiMwQ4Ue-9yUNC-QaNJWaMHawcv1sgRr5V62QNbg2JAR962VeLYGzGnmI7XgY8kCgTUzngf6SSg/s1600/img012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1005" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpKWcn5B_mTYp2xewzDBbv0vnDFJ_-_jZJ42lYzc5KG6dDEI-i39MeYxVVmdb4gc1qiMwQ4Ue-9yUNC-QaNJWaMHawcv1sgRr5V62QNbg2JAR962VeLYGzGnmI7XgY8kCgTUzngf6SSg/s320/img012.jpg" width="209" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The years in Beijing were probably among the happiest in mother's life. Mother was warm and sociable, and the large number of friends she made in the hospital was the only reason I'm alive today. I was born premature at 28 weeks, totally flat with no crying or suckling reflex. There was no neonatal ICU</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and medical support was primitive</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">in those days, but a stream of nurses volunteered to tend to me round the clock in their free time, feeding me milk drop by drop using an eye dropper. Mother was the first among her peers to have a child, possibly also because of the care they took of me, a special bond formed between me and these "aunties" and I became a daughter to them all, so that later when we had to leave Beijing they were heart broken. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Being from Hong Kong mother was also much admired for her fashion sense by her northern colleagues. Mother's always good with her hands, even as a teenager she was making her own clothes, including off shoulder dresses with full skirt copied from Western movie magazines. Years later she'd make dresses for me and my sister because we were too poor to buy shop clothes - you see, poverty is no excuse not to look chic ! I'm my mother's daughter, so while in England I borrowed a sewing machine from my friend Irene and made most of my dresses and skirts, and to this day I still design most of my clothes. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggm7aEn5teA3zSUXuZprkxjDpHE94ttXvIc15J9xE0dN9bBipag06AaAtM43sBw9XiIWnBhZlf-dbcliYHuMFdIZb6h_cHRukylqByiDeVlVLyVCHzw715Da9YU8Mt_dEIISCZu6v79Yc/s1600/019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1276" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggm7aEn5teA3zSUXuZprkxjDpHE94ttXvIc15J9xE0dN9bBipag06AaAtM43sBw9XiIWnBhZlf-dbcliYHuMFdIZb6h_cHRukylqByiDeVlVLyVCHzw715Da9YU8Mt_dEIISCZu6v79Yc/s320/019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtuUFSP8xefMAG1Bt3lLO6h0Rjv8xuCR0adwo621B5oCxH4FLs6XtU2cgm4Ph_4MMSI67x9Wkm-5bNWWHrJamvSdC_TjvWt5MHjEBmbygulk_aIceXG94HOWXNIFeklqSbOZ-SINOCGo/s1600/007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="621" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtuUFSP8xefMAG1Bt3lLO6h0Rjv8xuCR0adwo621B5oCxH4FLs6XtU2cgm4Ph_4MMSI67x9Wkm-5bNWWHrJamvSdC_TjvWt5MHjEBmbygulk_aIceXG94HOWXNIFeklqSbOZ-SINOCGo/s320/007.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Parents met in Beijing quite by fate, as they were from different worlds. Father, from a rich family in Indonesia, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">was studying Law in Shanghai,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">while mother, hailing from Hong Kong, was shut away in a Beijing hospital. After 1949 in the New China, they were both assigned to work in the same commune in Beijing. After marriage father was appointed a senior post in the Chinese Embassy in India, and we were given a house in the Embassy Staff Quarters, a car, a big dog and 2 maids to take care of me and my sister. We had 3 short good years before the storm broke.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqcXyH5RiCfq8_1qO6ar8cdpYIX8ebKKKvPG6eFfi-dOY6hDu3DPRtQfut-3Lc90SAh5tv_R2RulXTKQViENNz0e-FoerjCgDPY8DzDMDsm7MbRrsJox6OMmETnossY4KkoG1xXkUW9Q/s1600/020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1138" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQqcXyH5RiCfq8_1qO6ar8cdpYIX8ebKKKvPG6eFfi-dOY6hDu3DPRtQfut-3Lc90SAh5tv_R2RulXTKQViENNz0e-FoerjCgDPY8DzDMDsm7MbRrsJox6OMmETnossY4KkoG1xXkUW9Q/s320/020.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaF0QxdZo7D4D9TufE69FdjQE7HY3Lwx8qCXxwDtuG4HDVEiLYtk_qyvVzQI44UMI2fya_o7cTvoOLZVUmyR5Fnestm7y7PQhEsvEu_6TpPPPEqlkpZQhp8d8vCAgqriMXmbvz3CzEUw/s1600/010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaF0QxdZo7D4D9TufE69FdjQE7HY3Lwx8qCXxwDtuG4HDVEiLYtk_qyvVzQI44UMI2fya_o7cTvoOLZVUmyR5Fnestm7y7PQhEsvEu_6TpPPPEqlkpZQhp8d8vCAgqriMXmbvz3CzEUw/s320/010.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxmom9fLt4iZyE3Q2EeiKDdgbGcgwpI8h3hgAXUravDe6o38AiTIoTpCCnQ6nf3KI4BJNPL_PuGRUSlyj4_4HH2NrILMtfisE733y-ts0SDOUDnDXYwKvaGla5YKBCPUsdJuwm-k8j5U/s1600/021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1464" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtxmom9fLt4iZyE3Q2EeiKDdgbGcgwpI8h3hgAXUravDe6o38AiTIoTpCCnQ6nf3KI4BJNPL_PuGRUSlyj4_4HH2NrILMtfisE733y-ts0SDOUDnDXYwKvaGla5YKBCPUsdJuwm-k8j5U/s320/021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Father was a</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> naiveté in politics and was made to pay heavily for speaking his mind. When he was sentenced to a labor camp in Inner Mongolia for </span><span style="font-size: medium;">re-education</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, the Authorities told mother as she's non-political she could stay on in Beijing, but she would have none of it. She's as loyal as she's stubborn, and would endure anything to be with father. ( An exact replay occurred years later when the US informed mother they'd accept her immigration application to America only if she agreed to divorce father). </span><span style="font-size: medium;">So began the year of exile for the whole family in a barren wilderness where temperature in winter drops to -32 </span><b>°</b><span style="font-size: medium;">C and in summer soars to 43</span><b>°</b><span style="font-size: medium;">C. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNuk02H9pOlHpnGvgN2Wc-cfIjY0XTJPpum3Y-CTkqKrzeMgzDD74CUOKjLz6e90_EreMr46LZfypQNYDjwtjChbfj9hkPOQrPHD7z8HTv-IxP_DXEpJlPH1zisQNbJLhecrIZQ3a60A/s1600/057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="1600" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNuk02H9pOlHpnGvgN2Wc-cfIjY0XTJPpum3Y-CTkqKrzeMgzDD74CUOKjLz6e90_EreMr46LZfypQNYDjwtjChbfj9hkPOQrPHD7z8HTv-IxP_DXEpJlPH1zisQNbJLhecrIZQ3a60A/s320/057.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A year later grandfather died in Hong Kong, and because of mother's good relationship with the officials, special permission was granted for her to go to the funeral, taking my sister and I, on the condition that we all must return after the funeral. We never went back. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Life in Hong Kong </span><span style="font-size: medium;">was hard </span><span style="font-size: medium;">in the late 1950s, especially for a single parent with 2 young children. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The RN (registered nurse) qualification mother had from China was not recognized in Hong Kong and she could only work as an EN ( enrolled nurse) making meagre wages, until she re-sat the exams some years later and regained RN status. Mother's immensely proud of this and even in her later stage of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Alzheimer's was most happy when addressed as "Nurse Yiu" </span><span style="font-size: medium;">(姚姑娘). </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Mother was a good nurse and much appreciated by her patients. Years after retirement and immigration to America we bumped into some past patient of hers in the streets of San Francisco, who rushed up to mother to grasp her hands and would not let go.<br />
<br />
After arriving in HK we were put up in a room at the back of one of the shops belonging to mother's family, which meant we lived under the same roof as her sharp-tongued step-mother. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">It didn't help that I was an unruly child, and with mother away working so much of the time, I ran wild and frequently got into trouble. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though I didn't understand the Chiu Chow dialect, but with a child's intuition I could sense disparage, and step-grandma was super-fluent in derogatory rhetoric : how we would never amount to anything, how hopeless mother was for only having girls and for marrying father, how useless father was. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Those were not happy years. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I remember woken up nights to find </span><span style="font-size: medium;">mother weeping by the dim bedside lamp. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Unsurprisingly step-grandma and I were forever at loggerheads, I was the only one in the whole extended family who dared to stand up to her and gave her as good as she dished out - if she shouted I would scream louder, drowning out her words. Poor mother, I'd never know what my hot-head must have</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> put her through ! </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwvpHzNCOfaBiSRv7RjEBWemaw8mz6zr_Z-t1Hxbrn5j-z-043fJYiPtKp7URJPyuA7PYG7fl4t-ll_0cDZRzofnzR06d1KFKBXc-1CfxcpVTUUTw5lRorcafrzUH2YPde5EBzCfcw1Q/s1600/023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwvpHzNCOfaBiSRv7RjEBWemaw8mz6zr_Z-t1Hxbrn5j-z-043fJYiPtKp7URJPyuA7PYG7fl4t-ll_0cDZRzofnzR06d1KFKBXc-1CfxcpVTUUTw5lRorcafrzUH2YPde5EBzCfcw1Q/s320/023.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKDA7daWcY3viVCRfaSojqOj75Wc_4i98bSKiFIv_y9jJIrkDOjv6KZ4OtJsBx2xQ42Zz-8dzxQDOlz1YHRXcxilH1cgFzfnmAiX7z7KFWHL-fZvvoewzbt6L7st3BQl9Oc5x_mHH9z0/s1600/067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKDA7daWcY3viVCRfaSojqOj75Wc_4i98bSKiFIv_y9jJIrkDOjv6KZ4OtJsBx2xQ42Zz-8dzxQDOlz1YHRXcxilH1cgFzfnmAiX7z7KFWHL-fZvvoewzbt6L7st3BQl9Oc5x_mHH9z0/s320/067.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">5 years later father was given special pardon by Premier Zhou Enlai </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">personally </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">and allowed to join us in Hong Kong. We moved away immediately. Times were tough as father couldn't fit in in capitalist Hong Kong and had tremendous difficulty keeping a job. Essentially mother's was the reliable income, all of $300 HK. I've no idea how she managed because we were never hungry, always properly dressed; she even forked out $10 each for my sister and I for piano lessons every month, until she despaired and stopped my classes (at my request) a few months later because I couldn't sit still for even the half hour session. My hyperactivity and impatience also led to my first hair-cut at age 7. My hair was thick and exuberant, and following the northern custom, my hair was never cut from birth and it grew to waist length</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">,</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> but the daily morning chore of braiding it and my incessant complaint of pain while untangling the mess finally got to mother and I was marched to the hair dresser's. I was excited and intrigued by the novelty of it all so I was astonished by mother's tears when the hair fell off, covering half the shop floor. I never knew what the hair meant to mother, I did know it's later sold to a wig-making factory in Diamond Hill and fetched a pretty penny. For myself I was just glad to be rid of it. From then on to save money mother cut my hair for me until I left for England, after that I took over cutting my hair myself, which I still do to this day.</span></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI39v-TSvF8YdO_kBbsw5TfXbY0MBhNt9yVlgnHjllYbCsDkLa8iSLe3Djf4QUJTRWKwbGG6j-bKGQY8AApBahdf1XdFoBzXkHJ8axd9tbo6ghXUfCVuXDqHqJ3vHKd70JXNe9-7sk9pA/s1600/059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI39v-TSvF8YdO_kBbsw5TfXbY0MBhNt9yVlgnHjllYbCsDkLa8iSLe3Djf4QUJTRWKwbGG6j-bKGQY8AApBahdf1XdFoBzXkHJ8axd9tbo6ghXUfCVuXDqHqJ3vHKd70JXNe9-7sk9pA/s320/059.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In her younger days mother loved dancing, Cha-Cha being her favorite. Right after father came to HK he hooked up with his former Shanghainese college friends, most of them millionaire </span><span style="font-size: medium;">textile </span><span style="font-size: medium;">tycoons. For the first year we were frequently invited to prestigious country clubs and fancy parties. I found a few pictures of parents in the only X'mas ball mother's ever been to, she in her simple black cheongsam ( the only nice dress she had), sitting at the same table with bejeweled tai-tais in their embroidered brocade dresses, I could sense how she must had felt totally out of place. All the talks at every table were circled around money. Father was gripped by a giant inferiority complex, and quickly we stopped going to anymore dos. So at age 10 I'd had a glimpse of High Society and I was not impressed, I was only happy</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> it's over so I didn't have to wear itchy party dresses anymore !</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxyDkybIiVXJjaRdd4qEYxdsYk05gofpMw3t0ILT210F_oRMXH_zAVi5pbVcS1Uge73XCSG0qorMHk4mO9YiFgITTjNUymBm7LWcrQyJ-Sz0a_0F8NkPXoHSwc33wDDq8excFadJqq30/s1600/img016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="1556" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxyDkybIiVXJjaRdd4qEYxdsYk05gofpMw3t0ILT210F_oRMXH_zAVi5pbVcS1Uge73XCSG0qorMHk4mO9YiFgITTjNUymBm7LWcrQyJ-Sz0a_0F8NkPXoHSwc33wDDq8excFadJqq30/s320/img016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1QCLf9NGE6So39u4FVgwluefCgSk-oHAV6Xt1-2WK6vNoSF8RI8MBLNyQWnG5hSTb5SA9kUHWldiknluv0ikBQ-RCdWi6FNZrnWQ0TGDfq9TsWdkNeZXU5-v3QWrgeHR3zpyEwGbDYs/s1600/176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx1QCLf9NGE6So39u4FVgwluefCgSk-oHAV6Xt1-2WK6vNoSF8RI8MBLNyQWnG5hSTb5SA9kUHWldiknluv0ikBQ-RCdWi6FNZrnWQ0TGDfq9TsWdkNeZXU5-v3QWrgeHR3zpyEwGbDYs/s320/176.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5RZs19KFSzFsYGD1huy6o-GI_WGrvAW6l58wjyCDdMVuLTWfcvFvla3Ev9ZpNI9fJ96obTrMedgiB0WMOGzA5rtwHmM9X49XzCYU-08ki-8lXirQ-wknxyqm4RDcWp-L1esm2MowmFk/s1600/174.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1050" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW5RZs19KFSzFsYGD1huy6o-GI_WGrvAW6l58wjyCDdMVuLTWfcvFvla3Ev9ZpNI9fJ96obTrMedgiB0WMOGzA5rtwHmM9X49XzCYU-08ki-8lXirQ-wknxyqm4RDcWp-L1esm2MowmFk/s320/174.jpg" width="224" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Back to cold harsh reality. We </span><span style="font-size: medium;">moved home every year in search of cheaper lodgings, so often that one time after school I went back to the old address, clean forgotten we'd moved again. In the course of our nomadic migration, we had lived in some pretty run down shitty places, but mother could make a home under any circumstance. Observing mother, I understood subliminally early on that in adverse situations, flexibility and adaptation are the keys to survival. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a year we lived on a balcony on the second floor of a building right by the high street. The noise and light pollution was horrendous. There were about 10 households in the same unit sharing one small kitchen, so to avoid the crowding and squabbling mother did all her cooking on a small kerosene</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> stove in our balcony room, squatting on a low stool; and all her washing up in a bucket.</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span> </div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mother was a simple woman and didn't ask much from life. Family and friends were everything to her. She had an easy way with people, and particularly enjoyed meeting my friends. She's happiest at family reunions and family outings. </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_jDArSzpSVHs8SZOPHjm3QGX_RohiZiOR5mQM6pWUF5q3OHCki1TeEDjCbjRGmiNKMMvBss0mY6xrSPBremjgR59_nlbDdTWLd8tf0gNws4tFQI7qUn7vbYI91hkhM96TqlW82TYItQ/s1600/078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="1500" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_jDArSzpSVHs8SZOPHjm3QGX_RohiZiOR5mQM6pWUF5q3OHCki1TeEDjCbjRGmiNKMMvBss0mY6xrSPBremjgR59_nlbDdTWLd8tf0gNws4tFQI7qUn7vbYI91hkhM96TqlW82TYItQ/s320/078.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYe7bMfF3cbrhA1iyyvpl4XwVkXIR-Xx4ptVAEdJHTRqXYkyqtVmdOh3RzYPn-j6CJbdlB1LFcfh3BiTEBeQlLLh2Zs4YdVpxVAx0NUTAgg3VBufvZGzR_Q5xMM13Ns9RB558yelm70iY/s1600/b019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1283" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYe7bMfF3cbrhA1iyyvpl4XwVkXIR-Xx4ptVAEdJHTRqXYkyqtVmdOh3RzYPn-j6CJbdlB1LFcfh3BiTEBeQlLLh2Zs4YdVpxVAx0NUTAgg3VBufvZGzR_Q5xMM13Ns9RB558yelm70iY/s320/b019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxttOuR0GtUuwiAADeGDqYX8Ltg5oMURDXnIwY08aZrgLWJneSgAGiofn_c3FjhqT2nj7MhZqNVKyG-6jyXuBIeZSewfd-tjXcP0EGeil7LoNMmLER-GA6IGY-CCLsVSTUPojqxY7tJ8/s1600/image+%25289%2529+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxttOuR0GtUuwiAADeGDqYX8Ltg5oMURDXnIwY08aZrgLWJneSgAGiofn_c3FjhqT2nj7MhZqNVKyG-6jyXuBIeZSewfd-tjXcP0EGeil7LoNMmLER-GA6IGY-CCLsVSTUPojqxY7tJ8/s320/image+%25289%2529+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mother was a wonderful cook but father was stingy in his praises. The years of internment and psychological torture had broken him, he's become neurotic, paranoid and distrustful. The </span><span style="font-size: medium;">constant worry and pressure of making ends meet had left him bitter and disillusioned.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Like so many other men frustrated by life, father</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> took to venting his </span><span style="font-size: medium;">disappointment and anger </span><span style="font-size: medium;">on mother. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The verbal abuse was relentless: mother was stupid, uneducated, coarse, a peasant, none of her family members were any good, all of them looked down on us........ Mother bore it all in silence. I'd almost never heard her answer back. She'd just carry on with her sewing, knitting, cleaning or food preparation, she's always doing something- all these on top of a full time nursing job. Mother's the most hard working person I know, or maybe it's just her way to avoid confrontation. Or maybe she knew as I suspected that father was sick. Regrettably I never got to find out what she really felt. The little time we lived together each one of us was so engrossed in getting through our days we had very little meaningful conversation, then we were separated by geography. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpQ16t9Iu02JVY5bsHxXF21KsN_DgRX8vHQiAPIO4nPzITaU4o5CxoRQeQu6H3QwcCSjrznbvXKjEHnFkKs_0j9htAxube9ZSa1A_tmiORXbbYIllcHfCvnRmu-33l1wBjHnCJB25qes/s1600/img019+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="972" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpQ16t9Iu02JVY5bsHxXF21KsN_DgRX8vHQiAPIO4nPzITaU4o5CxoRQeQu6H3QwcCSjrznbvXKjEHnFkKs_0j9htAxube9ZSa1A_tmiORXbbYIllcHfCvnRmu-33l1wBjHnCJB25qes/s320/img019+%25282%2529.jpg" width="194" /></a></span></div><h4 class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Back to HK for a brief holiday, in a skirt I made myself.</h4><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's evidently not in mother's nature to bear grudges, however mean father might have treated her. In the big scheme of things maybe </span><span style="font-size: medium;">settling scores is at best juvenile, for in the end her loving nature won out. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">By the time father died, mother was in the middle stage of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Alzheimer's. I didn't see any point in telling her of father's passing, so every time mother asked about father we'd say "he's gone to see Dr L" and she'd be visibly relieved "Oh, then he's all right" At long last we'd found some use for Dr L ! Then whenever we went out for a meal she'd ask to pack some food for father." Ah Old Kwok likes this "she'd say ; even in the nursing home she's been caught repeatedly taken food from the meal tray and hid it in the drawer of her bedside table for when father returned from the doctor. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Interestingly, mother, who had been slighted and looked down on all her life, in her dementia world, had created for herself an uncle who</span><span style="font-size: medium;">'s the Police Chief in LA, who</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> cherished her and would stand up for her in all matters. And mother, who didn't do much exercise even in the days when she was well, assigned herself the role of a well respected Kung Fu expert ! She was no longer the downtrodden one running around attending to everybody else's needs, now at last she's someone important even if it's all made-believe !</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-RokO3_4ia4nBMYakDlRZcfaT6nxcku94u8m5k_Ec39gSahyphenhyphenv9u08MQNe-OIGPQFYHaB_AwVVBNfqmtWHMP-DIR338vJH308OcWHCuGoUJMd15X5upzCV6Vs_JjlKMzJZbWmfCKye7Q/s1600/P1070250+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-RokO3_4ia4nBMYakDlRZcfaT6nxcku94u8m5k_Ec39gSahyphenhyphenv9u08MQNe-OIGPQFYHaB_AwVVBNfqmtWHMP-DIR338vJH308OcWHCuGoUJMd15X5upzCV6Vs_JjlKMzJZbWmfCKye7Q/s320/P1070250+%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvlPZbGR6qQ7GW_Kyp3chq9S9qGobg82akBjQ8TiL6XXdLerwcJCoJlmHTVMImsmsOJjaOfCPXQhEAcUnrV2jj_2k8oPUf7WH1Sif_6D8_kSQLziJ16zDNOPKbyBfFn_1l97VVOMAc72E/s1600/DSCN6182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvlPZbGR6qQ7GW_Kyp3chq9S9qGobg82akBjQ8TiL6XXdLerwcJCoJlmHTVMImsmsOJjaOfCPXQhEAcUnrV2jj_2k8oPUf7WH1Sif_6D8_kSQLziJ16zDNOPKbyBfFn_1l97VVOMAc72E/s320/DSCN6182.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkRbq2np15E37VtZ4ZN4c6ibFfeWvaJj-dr7t-GhiTzGvRtIkFDmo_SdJz6DrUtsHlARjJ8jRix1G1Vq8p5jDGtTEhMka3O2rXMkdL1Or7OuYnluqQunh34ufN517Icq4LEaMjkZSW1c/s1600/DSCN6185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkRbq2np15E37VtZ4ZN4c6ibFfeWvaJj-dr7t-GhiTzGvRtIkFDmo_SdJz6DrUtsHlARjJ8jRix1G1Vq8p5jDGtTEhMka3O2rXMkdL1Or7OuYnluqQunh34ufN517Icq4LEaMjkZSW1c/s320/DSCN6185.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MWgJL8YoHSPfpJSyjzdsfwNYpR56SzfSw6kzmIgzi552U-7gkH89SYytItA3QaBX410vFfV7DTYSt_VNT9X_wIjdeRr5M1nPL6uTLFrCP_EgnjFNI3BB3Kho-noU-FkOGNV3oKmeLW4/s1600/IMG-20151013-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="760" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0MWgJL8YoHSPfpJSyjzdsfwNYpR56SzfSw6kzmIgzi552U-7gkH89SYytItA3QaBX410vFfV7DTYSt_VNT9X_wIjdeRr5M1nPL6uTLFrCP_EgnjFNI3BB3Kho-noU-FkOGNV3oKmeLW4/s320/IMG-20151013-WA0000.jpg" width="180" /></a></div></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Funny thing is, growing up I seldom ever saw mother with a book, reading was the prerogative of father and us the children, but in her declining years, she finally had the leisure to thumb through newspapers and magazines, though by then it's difficult to say what she could still take in. Mother might not be an intellectual, but she's not averse to learning, particularly necessary skills for survival. When we were planning immigration to Canada in the late 60s, she did a course with Mr Josiah Lau (</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>劉家傑</b>), the most famous teacher in conversational English in Hong Kong. Every evening she'd diligently practice writing the new words she's learnt. A few years ago when I cleared out her house after she was admitted to the nursing home I found pieces of paper with names of vegetables and food items written in her big clear handwriting, it seemed that after all these years she's been secretly practicing writing English again. Unfortunately all the papers were lost in spring cleaning in my apartment, all that remained is the envelope she used to give me my gold wedding bracelet, which I also promptly lost ! In preparing for immigration mother also did a cookery course, in both Chinese and Western cuisine. There're still Chinese recipes in her handwriting at the bottom of the drawer, and for someone who didn't write much, mother had beautiful</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> penmanship (both English and Chinese), so much better than mine.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrg4K3CCv3wiRKFM79_DZN-vc7PoQRKX5ACGyhjlePm4vhOF8WXDOSEf1XZ3YzDYOvUZad-6bgbLPyBBNp6K1vjpZ11BIW5u00-gcsOZl6Ah381js6eRrCnTLz36fBjHaXlF1-1Fyh_L8/s1600/IMG_4145+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="1201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrg4K3CCv3wiRKFM79_DZN-vc7PoQRKX5ACGyhjlePm4vhOF8WXDOSEf1XZ3YzDYOvUZad-6bgbLPyBBNp6K1vjpZ11BIW5u00-gcsOZl6Ah381js6eRrCnTLz36fBjHaXlF1-1Fyh_L8/s320/IMG_4145+%25282%2529.JPG" width="248" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyqh4GtU3MKfr_Lzr6Qp5F-dq4ZUUH_KIyCvoWJj3vQKLifN06XYZr6TJeIbWseRUIGYya7jFMoDvYNQlvuRY9Zqv8wLJyN90SMGBBHzLD71lUmO8cWf0YMxybXdSOWeAdgqg1lMhpf4/s1600/20180108_175959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="993" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyqh4GtU3MKfr_Lzr6Qp5F-dq4ZUUH_KIyCvoWJj3vQKLifN06XYZr6TJeIbWseRUIGYya7jFMoDvYNQlvuRY9Zqv8wLJyN90SMGBBHzLD71lUmO8cWf0YMxybXdSOWeAdgqg1lMhpf4/s320/20180108_175959.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">After father died mother was transferred to a second nursing home. The first year in the new home was mainly about adjustment, mother was not eating well and lost quite a bit of weight. The nursing home doctor missed her anemia and slightly raised blood sugar, which he made amend after I pointed them out to him. I also cut down her poly-pharmacy (over a dozen drugs !) to about 3. In this nursing home, mother was roomed with a lady even more demented than she was. In her tender caring way mother automatically took upon herself to look out for her roomie, made sure she ate her meals, tucked her in at night and even made her bed some of the mornings when the nurses were busy, until both her own energy and wit dissipated. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">After that we hired a Hong Kong lady, Ester, to sit with her a couple of hours every day </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">. Ester was a God sent, loving and patient, she quickly formed a special bond with mother. The next couple of years were good years. Mother was taking walks in the park, visited the mall, making friends with all she met, though she could remember none of them. She particularly loved children, whenever she saw them her face would lit up, and beaming happily, her eyes would follow their every move. Her kindly, cheerful disposition was on full display. There was an amusing episode : mother had a green thumb and loved plants. In the nursing home garden there was a small rose bush mother took to watering, problem was she over-watered it as she kept forgetting she's already done so, and the plant died. So the nursing staff put a plastic rose in its place, mother didn't know the difference and watered it to her heart's content !</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwKSNSan6w_o7lAhGcUpDwyALgFk5TlYVqGI4AxYZ5KPQuNR0gMvmRd5I6VvguKPN6jzUydTX1lEnFX063-Fv-A3E6FFTBCptIeIwUNHWle241a59ufSjoEeb3L0sW4M_9Owm98IKJsgU/s1600/IMAG3759+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="905" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwKSNSan6w_o7lAhGcUpDwyALgFk5TlYVqGI4AxYZ5KPQuNR0gMvmRd5I6VvguKPN6jzUydTX1lEnFX063-Fv-A3E6FFTBCptIeIwUNHWle241a59ufSjoEeb3L0sW4M_9Owm98IKJsgU/s320/IMAG3759+%25281%2529.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><br />
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The fracture was badly managed, resulting in deformity and severe hypertrophic spurring of the humeral head. From then on mother couldn't lift her right arm without pain, so she didn't. The nursing home was so fearful of another fall they insisted on keeping mother in a wheelchair, very quickly mother lost the ability to walk and the use of her legs. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-5xnohyphenhyphenfpAkO00l_o8E3eoWjO6mDjXMDRmIhuzH_egEfM30wW7kHlVBj9eUXgK8kb4-HuFIqcIefcnNiJ6ABY_kSdgvwxiX-eSRXpo9nByZ9muT0fepjnguZyKDcAE-rOggnaNPtxJ8/s1600/20161027_050728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-5xnohyphenhyphenfpAkO00l_o8E3eoWjO6mDjXMDRmIhuzH_egEfM30wW7kHlVBj9eUXgK8kb4-HuFIqcIefcnNiJ6ABY_kSdgvwxiX-eSRXpo9nByZ9muT0fepjnguZyKDcAE-rOggnaNPtxJ8/s320/20161027_050728.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">In mid 2017, mother was dropped accidentally in the home and sustained a right inter-trochanteric fracture. The nursing home tried to hide the fact but Ester noticed mother wincing everything her right hip was moved, so we requested an XR, which proved the fracture. Mother was sent to hospital in July 2017 for fixture. On discharge mother deteriorated rapidly, she became dull, off food. Incredibly no follow up XR was ever done. Five months on in Nov when mother again appeared to have pain in the right hip, we requested a check up. XR this time showed the pin was put in so badly it protruded through the head of femur into the hip joint, causing infection and damage that rendered the previously normal hip joint completely and irreparably destroyed. The reason for mother's deterioration was because she's been sitting in a pool of pus all this time, the infection resulted in anemia, lethargy, anorexia and poor mental state, not to mention pain and suffering which of course she's unable to communicate. Mother also had right lower leg edema on and off for a few months. The nursing home doctor made light of it but I impressed on him the need for a Doppler ultrasound, particularly with pending surgery. An ultrasound was finally arranged the following week and voila, there's a blood clot in the calf ! She was started on anticoagulant. In mid Dec mother developed fever and septicemia and only then was the pin removed and the pus drained. I'd no idea if the surgeon knew about her DVT (deep vein thrombosis), or what was done about the anticoagulant. There appeared to be complete communication breakdown between the nursing home doctor and hospital surgeon. She was put on IV antibiotics, and the moment the fever subsided, she was rushed back to the nursing home. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rUZERNuyefeLymCURl2YbNz5OikrZoP7bXyDP8d4cwUWLLB5rsjyp597lUdu5ic4_S9ElgW8vobR7SNyHGGMRddgv4fR4OSboHhdxngM6FuKornPh81XG1TTaIzR28fG56n3MlhcqpA/s1600/IMG-20171219-WA0003+%25281%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rUZERNuyefeLymCURl2YbNz5OikrZoP7bXyDP8d4cwUWLLB5rsjyp597lUdu5ic4_S9ElgW8vobR7SNyHGGMRddgv4fR4OSboHhdxngM6FuKornPh81XG1TTaIzR28fG56n3MlhcqpA/s320/IMG-20171219-WA0003+%25281%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">A few days after discharge mother was wheeled to the dining room at lunch time, where she vomited blood then collapsed and died. Mother had never had stomach problem before: it's possible she's been given anticoagulant and analgesics with no stomach protection medication, what's certain was INR was never checked.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Mother was certified dead at 2:10 PM, 26 Dec 2017 San Francisco time . </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Am I incorrect to think this is a wrongful death ? Much of what happened should never have happened. Old demented people apparently have no rights in America. There was not one word of apology from the nursing home, the hospital or the doctor responsible, in fact everyone's been double quick to shy away from mother's case. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzK5zSPUNWgtZba1Pjipq7zv6jXRPBzaK74UT9SIyYu6FXNDFgTcZ4RrJDCNFF9iHT1VB6P0BRWdAmbYq8ryOzMj9455oYCCEB-qzYZ5ifNYh_pWkMbCDOMDjcDPf4c6aU4wb3eVDJhw/s1600/b002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="551" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzK5zSPUNWgtZba1Pjipq7zv6jXRPBzaK74UT9SIyYu6FXNDFgTcZ4RrJDCNFF9iHT1VB6P0BRWdAmbYq8ryOzMj9455oYCCEB-qzYZ5ifNYh_pWkMbCDOMDjcDPf4c6aU4wb3eVDJhw/s320/b002.jpg" width="247" /></a></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the 7th day after death the soul returns to earth for a last visit, mother came to me in a dream. She said nothing , only smiled, but gave me a chance to apologize for not being the good daughter she deserved. On the 7th day over 7000 miles away in Memphis Tennessee, Emily Dai Mui, mother's favorite niece, also had a dream. She dreamed of her parents, Big Uncle and Big Aunt who passed a number of years ago, but in her dream they were both young, energetic and happy. They nodded briefly at her then turned to run towards someone she couldn't see. She woke up and wondered " Who were they running to meet ?" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">" Emily," I told her "they were running to meet my mum" </span></div></div>The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-54184829540852482412017-07-19T23:21:00.001-07:002017-07-19T23:25:24.338-07:00Saying nice things about North Korea<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_mFRW0KrczgjBT4so8bJUwLB03BdtKO7Pjo8nrof-Fn39dLBorJ7B0sUJdNkA8FC-J6O5REYQfGhIeFTAUSW6-2DhDGKiMN_ZlytcLv301KfWiGqCHhe_89IobBKo7qllooYtw35iVWLi/s400/PB059314A_(Medium).jpg" /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" When you return home please say nice things about North Korea to your friends </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and relatives , " Madam Lee our North Korean tour guide implored as she bade us </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">goodbye at the airport , and my heart ached .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The North Korean trip almost didn't come about . I was in the North West of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">China chasing the Big Buddha Statues when I chanced to talk to our HK tour </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">guide about North Korean tours which had been suspended for a few years.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" But the tour's back on, " he said , " and if you go in the first week of May </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">you might catch the annual Flower Show which features the Kim ll Sung and Kim </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Jong il flowers "</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately the tour was scheduled for the second week of May and I never got </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to see the Great Leaders' flowers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the easiest ( and for South Koreans the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">only ) way to enter North Korea is through China. Boarding the plane at </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Shenyang Airport bound for Pyongyang I ran into hordes of Koreans . The North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Koreans were all officials returning home after visits in China , distinguished </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">by their Kim ll Sung lapel pins and closed faces, while most of the South </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Koreans appeared to be missionaries en route to a religious convention in North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korea . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Golly ! " I was astonished, " Is that allowed ? " Yes, the smiling clergies </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">assured me, in fact there's been regular meetings between the men of cloth from </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">both sides for the past few years , but of course all meetings had to be held </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in North Korea, as the Northerners are not permitted to go to the South . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">This encounter proved to be just the first of many surprises North Korea </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">unfolded .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Apart from our party, all the Chinese on the plane were businessmen bent on </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">making a buck in North Korea . I wasted no time in pumping them for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">information.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What's it like to do business with the North Koreans ?" Easy ! they said . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What ! No bribes ? No under-table dealings ? No wine and dine the officials? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" My eyes were wide as saucers . Nope, they replied snugly, they like your </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">product then it's a sale . North Korea's so short of everything almost anything </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">you bring in they want . There were exhibition fairs every week on different </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">merchandise, and for that particular week it was medical supplies . I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">remembered the boxes of Penicillin and medical instruments at the airport </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">terminal. Apparently North Korea is one of the best kept secrets of business </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">opportunities !</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I was intrigued by a couple of agricultural scientists . " What exactly is it </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">that you sell to the North Koreans ?" Well, American technology on improving </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">grain stock and production. The Americans won't teach it to them so we learn </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">from the Americans and then we teach them !</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Hmmm........What would the world do without the Chinese ?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Pyongyang's the quintessential showcase city . It's neat and clean , the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">buildings well maintained , the streets wide and the roads good . While there's </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">no trace of luxury to be seen, there's no sign of poverty either : the dirt and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">tattered clothing , the gaunt listlessness born of deprivation so evident in </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">India and rural China. The people though mostly in somber colors, were well </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">dressed , clean and well nourished . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Coming from busy bustling Hong Kong the immediate strangeness one experienced </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">on arrival in Pyongyang was the eerie quietness of the city. There's very </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">little traffic as most people commute by public transport ( buses, trams and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">underground ), private cars were few and totally banned from roads on Sundays </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to save energy . Apart from the rush hour when people travel to and fro from </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">work , the streets were almost deserted. The locals when they're about mostly </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">walked in stony silence, rarely did I catch them talking to each other in muted </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">voices.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Energy saving seemed high on the agenda .Though all the intersections were </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">fitted with perfect sets of traffic lights , they were only in use when there's </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">visits from dignitaries . The every day traffic was directed by young and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pretty ( mostly female ) traffic police which had became a hallmark of North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korea , and was considered one of the tourist attractions. In all museums and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">hotels that we went to , intelligent lighting was installed in all rooms, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">corridors , even escalators and lifts , which flipped on and off in response to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">people movement , in a bid to conserve energy . There were few street lights </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and the whole city sunk into darkness after sunset . If only all countries </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">would follow suit the world might see much less energy crises ! All these </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">measures however did not stall off power cuts which we experienced 3 times </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">during our short stay, and gave some credence to the North Korean claim that </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the development of nuclear power was ( at least in parts ) for energy . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">All tours into North Korea had to go through the State Tourist Agency , even </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">for single traveler ; and tour guides were imposed on the tourists by the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Agency with no exception . The tour guides we were assigned with were Madam Lee </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, an experienced guide fluent in Mandarin , and Mr Kim , a younger guy who's </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">supposedly still in training . We were warned by our Hong Kong tour company to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">stay off sensitive topics and not to take pictures of the locals. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I smiled, obviously they didn't know me !</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I broke the ice by interrogating the tour guides about their personal life . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Madam Lee was 50 , a college graduate in language and history, married with 2 </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">grown up children who though already working, still lived with her. It was </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">fortunate one of the children was a boy, or she'd hear no end of it from her </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">mother-in-law who lived with the family and ruled the house . Mr Kim was 37, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and also only had 2 kids despite the push from the State to have larger family </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. Apparently in the cities most families stopped at 2-3 kids, but in the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">countryside they might have a couple more . After the famine, the population </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">stood at 20,000,000 ( the population of Taiwan ) , and the North Korean </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Government's been desperately trying to step up population growth .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" I heard that Korean men boss over their women , is it true ?" I teased Mr Kim </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. Not true ! He shook his head sadly, at least not in his household . In </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">accordance with the Confucianism teaching , seniority of age was bestowed </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">paramount respect and filial piety was the inherent duty, so in any family </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">conference the oldest member, usually the mother / mother-in-law, had the last </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">say . The North Korean family's extremely close- knit and the emotional tie </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">strong, so by regarding Kim ll Sung as their father or grandfather to their </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">children, they'd in fact symbolically given their Great Leader their ultimate </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">affection and deference . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Because family's so central to the Korean culture, nearly everybody's married </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in North Korea . While the young people had free choice in courtship , parental </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">consent was still the final deciding factor . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Do you've teenage pregnancies here ?" I was curious . Of course not ! Well, at </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">least not much ; which wasn't so unbelievable as everyone seemed to know </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">everyone else , the tight family unit and the community surveillance network </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">probably made teenage sexual rendezvous near impossible .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What do young people do for fun after school ?" Well, after school they study </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">more, either at home or in tutorial classes , I was told solemnly. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Do they go to the pictures ?" I bit my tongue before I finished the question </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">: there're no cinema that I could see in Pyongyang, only a Grand Theatre ! I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">hurriedly changed the question, "Do they get together for parties, you know , </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">singing or dancing ? " Well , they could learn musical instruments or Korean </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">folk dance, there're free classes in the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace , </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">they could also learn sports there if they liked sports . I kind of gave up </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">that line of questioning there and then .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">We visited the Schoolchildren's Palace and it was such a joy to see real </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">children again ! Compared with kids in westernized countries where they're </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">essentially miniature adults and loaded with notions and desires well beyond </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">their years, these kids were naive, unaffected , unspoiled and unpolluted , </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and I just adored them ! We were taken to see the painting and embroidery </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">classes where all the students' works were on sale to bolster funding of the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">school . I gladly bought 2 pieces of embroidery, one of which now adorns my </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">office wall . In the musical classes we were treated to some beautiful Korean </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">folk songs , but come the computer class I was indignant . " How come there're </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">no girls in the computer class ? " I asked accusingly. Madam Lee drew me to one </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">side and whispered conspiratorially : "Our country needs more babies and the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">computer might damage the reproductive organs of the girls, that's why they're </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">kept away ! " For once I was stunned into silence ! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">While touring the The Monument to Party Founding I spotted a group of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">schoolgirls at a bus stop at the far end of the square . I'm a pretty good 50m </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">sprinter and I was 3/4 way across the square when I heard Madam Lee shouted </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">after me to stop . Out of the corner of my eye I saw her and Mr Kim exchanged </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">glances then shook their heads in resignation . I chatted with the girls for a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">little bit then took some pictures with them . The day we visited Fountain Park </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">it was filled with wedding couples , many graciously agreed to have their </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pictures taken with us. So went the myth about never taking pictures of the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">locals !</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">After the initial warm up, I slowly edged towards the social and political </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">questions .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">As in all communist countries North Korea has full employment . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What happens when a person's sick and can't work ?" For people medically </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">certificated to be sick or handicapped , they're exempted from work and given a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pension. But when they recover they're expected to join the work force again .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Can people choose what they want to do ?" Yes, but they're given an aptitude </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">test so the State can pick the right person for the right job. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What happens if a person's lazy or not doing his job properly ?" His superior </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">would talk to him and try to educate him , but such cases're rare because all </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">North Koreans love their country and want to serve their country as best as </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">they can . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What's the incentive to do well ?" For people who had significant </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">contribution to the country, e.g. scientists , they'd be rewarded with perhaps </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">a car or a nicer apartment, but the rewards were not theirs to keep, only to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">use during their time of service .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">With great deliberation I moved on to the central issues :</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"What happens with people who don't agree with the Government policies ? " </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Disagreements can be worked out and a final compromise reached .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Can people publish dissenting view points ? " That's a non issue because </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">nobody would read them here !</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Are there political prisoners in North Korea ? " "Maybe, but not many ." I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">sensed a little displeasure from Madam Lee .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" North Korea had received a lot of bad press, all that I've learnt about North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korea were from books written by dissenters who's left the country. Why </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">doesn't North Korea clear the rumors by coming out and telling the world the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">true story ?" "Because we've too much else to worry about right now ! " Madam </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Lee almost snapped at me . She stopped to recompose herself, then continued ," </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">We don't care about what the world thinks of us, we only care about how our </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">people are living. Food is the main concern with us. We've to make sure our </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">people have enough to eat and we don't have time for anything else , nothing is </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">more important than this . Every North Korean's a farmer, during plantation and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">harvest times , all schools and offices are closed in the cities and everyone </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">goes down to the farms to help. We're humans too and we appreciate comfort and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">and an easy life just like any other people, but our country's going through a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">hard time right now and we can't be thinking of ourselves . "</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I'd hit a nerve and decided to back off .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Both Madam Lee and Mr Kim had made multiple trips to China. " What's your </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">impression of China and what do you think about the changes there since the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">market reform ?" Madam Lee spoke cautiously, "Of course there's progress </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">economically, but there're problems that came of it that we wouldn't like to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">see happening in our country, that's why we want to change slowly in an orderly </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">fashion."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mr Kim's more jaunty and more open when Madam Lee's out of earshot , so I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">cornered him one day while Madam Lee was busy with arranging our schedules .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" Is there corruption in the Government ?" "There might be but I shouldn't </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">think very much ." Mr Kim said after a brief consideration. "The administrative </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">authorities are made up by many different sections with built-in check and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">balance, it'd be difficult to get away with large scale corruption ." He looked </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">me straight in the eye . " I'm not saying our system's perfect, there's no </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">perfect system in the world. Can anyone honestly say there's absolutely no </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">corruption in the American Government ?"</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" What about nepotism ? If there's a good position that, say, the nephew of a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">high ranking official wants, would he get it over some other more deserving </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">people ?" "Unlikely, because for any Government position the applicants have to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">first sit an exam, then interviewed by a panel of people from different </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">sections , and it'd be difficult to get all of them to agree ." Come to think </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">of it, even in the small Clinic where I work favoritism and unfairness abound </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">! Maybe we shouldn't demand standards from others that we cannot attain </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ourselves .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I was very impressed by our North Korean tour guides, they were well trained , </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">friendly and helpful, and obviously coaxed with model answers to all questions, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">but there's also a prevalent feeling they did actually believe in what they </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">said . Not withstanding the seeming openness, there's one topic even I didn't </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">dare broach : the Kim Jong il extravaganza !</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The Korean guides were particularly attentive to our meals, which were adequate </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">but for some reason, always cold. " The North Koreans like their food </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">cold " Mr Kim said, then made a joke : " A South Korean Spy sneaked in and was </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">doing quite well until he made the mistake of asking for a hot meal! " To this </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">day I'm still not sure whether they really like cold rice or if it's just a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pretext because of fuel shortage . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Unification was one topic Madam Lee and Mr Kim were both most enthused about ."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Certainly it's the ardent yearning of both North and South Korean people for </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">reunification, the Korean people's one family , it's the Americans who's making </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">difficulties and trying to stop the process ! "</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" But if you look at the reunification of East and West Germany, it's brought </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">out a lot of problems ; besides, would you be worried that your young people </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">might be seduced by the Western glitters and change their values ?" I was </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">worried for them. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"That's why we want to go slow and assimilate gradually, the reunification </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">could be a process that might take 10 or even more years to complete, but we </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">still have to start somewhere . "</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The echo of the wound inflicted by the forced division of their country rang </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">deep in the psychic of the North Koreans and was most evident when we visited </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the War Museum and Panmunjom , the Demilitarized Zone. As an armistice and not </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">a peace treaty was signed in 1953 , the 2 Korean countries are technically </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">still at war to this day. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">" You know, my father actually served in the Korean War, " I told the young </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Museum guide . "Our country thank your father," and she bowed . " But he wasn't </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in the front line," I hastily added, " he was an interpreter in the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">interrogation of the captured American GIs " . "No matter, he came so he's our </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">friend ."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Many Chinese did come , and it's estimated that at least half a million Chinese </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">volunteer fighters died in the Korean War , including the eldest son of Mao </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Zedong . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Visitors to North Korea all had different agendas . A young Indian guy from </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Dehli was travelling alone, it turned out he was a student in Business Studies </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in Beijing , and his theses was on North Korea. Two Italians from Milan came to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">assess business opportunities, Italy being the first major Western country to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">open ties with North Korea . The English and Scottish couples I met in our </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">hotel were retired folks, they came to verify what they'd read about North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korea. The verdict for the experience was " surreal " but they nevertheless </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">enjoyed their stay. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">A woman in our group was a reporter for a HK magazine of somewhat disrepute. I </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">read her piece after we got back : it was shallow, cliche and bigoted, full of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">preconceived prejudicial ideas which did nothing but reinforce the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">stereotypical narrow precepts of the North Korean People . This was perhaps not </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">surprising, as in the whole trip she asked less than 6 questions , in contrast </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to the 600 I hurled at anyone who would talk to me. It's as though she's </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">already formulated her ideas of the country even before she came ! One time </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">while I was talking to some schoolgirls, she rushed up and started talking to </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">them in Mandarin . I glared at her. They might look Chinese but they're </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Koreans, Stupid ! If this woman had done ANY homework she'd know the second </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">language taught in all North Korean schools was English ! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I noted with sorrow this woman's not alone, almost all reporters coming into </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">North Korea only wanted scandals and dirt , and they would look at everything </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">through colored lenses , ready to sneer, jeer and snicker at any thoughts or </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">deeds dissimilar to their own , scrutinizing the people as if they were zoo </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">animals . Precious few would make any attempt to touch the real people, to see </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">things from their perspective, to try to understand the social fabric and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ideology that tie these people together , which in its way gave sense and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">meaning to their harsh life . Having been poor for half of my life, I totally </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">despise people who'd look down on and make fun of others simply because they're </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">poor, which appears to be what some visitors do . Regardless of what one might </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">think of the Regime , the reality is against all odds North Korea is still </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">functioning ! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korean patriotism is legendary. During the Asian Economic Crises hordes of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Koreans brought forth their family jewelry to help out their country, and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">that was in South Korea ! It's just possible the love most North Koreans ( </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">particularly the older generation ) proclaimed for Kim ll Sung is genuine ; </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">unlike China , North Korean never suffered any major political upheavals, and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the intellectuals fared much better than their counterparts in China . Korea </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">had been under foreign domination for generations, the older Koreans still </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">remember the hardship and humiliation they endured under the brutal Japanese </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">rule, as well as the years of war before they gained independence ; it's an </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">indisputable fact the new Republic gave them a new lease of life and a new </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pride . Lest we forget, in the 60's and early 70's before the economy of South </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korea took off, North Korea was infinitely the more progressive of the 2 Koreas </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in every way . People were well fed , industries boomed and literacy was 99% , </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">thanks in part to the aids from the Communist Big Brothers . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The nightmare only began after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">disintegration of the Eastern Block, suddenly there was no market for the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">minerals which was their chief export , and the subsidized food and energy </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">supply ceased . The withdrawal of aids coincided with catastrophic draught and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">floods which led to severe food shortage just around the time Kim ll Sung died </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">, so the memory of Kim's Realm was associated only with good times . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Juche is the official ideology of North Korea, the philosophy of socialist self-</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">reliance that the whole nation embraces. The Juche idea states that man is the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">master of his own destiny, he dose not rely on others and it's through his own </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">effort that he changes nature as well as environment, and ultimately shape his </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">own destiny . North Koreans are intensely proud people , and they extract </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">donations in subtle ways. At every place we stopped we're invited to buy </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">bouquets of flowers to lay at the foot of a Monument ( Pyongyang's the City of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Monuments ), the bouquets were removed the moment we left to be re-sold to the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">next lot of visitors. I was more than happy to buy the bouquets as a small way </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to help out . Madam Lee was relieved there's at least one taker of the bouquets </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">in the tour group and enthusiastically recommended other sale items, with the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">result suddenly I found myself the proud owner of a copy of " Kim ll Sung, The </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">early years " !</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">At Madam Lee's suggestion we broke away from the official itinerary and spent a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">night at a Spa in the countryside . Madam Lee told me we could have arranged </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">more out- of- itinerary outings if our HK tour guide were a little smarter , but </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">unfortunately we were given a Potato as a guide. I wanted to see the Kumgang </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mountains and some other cities and I was assured that provided I inform them </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">early it's absolutely possible .</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">At the end of the journey everybody left with the guides whatever snacks they </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">didn't finish in the trip.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I gave Madam Lee a bag of mixed dried fruit ."It's all organic, so really good </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">for you", then added apologetically "But it's from America ." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"It's unopened," she muttered softly ."It's a gift," I gave her a hug, "I'd </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">never give you leftovers !" then stuffed 300 dollars in her hands : for her, Mr </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Kim and the driver. " You must accept this," I urged as Madam Lee hesitated, " </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">this is a small token of thanks from my heart ! " </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The trip reinforced my conviction that people are just people whatever country </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">or culture they're from . One lunch time I wandered off by myself a little way </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">off the hotel premises and was accosted by a group of young men and women . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Through a lot of body language and broken English I surmised they were workers </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">on a day trip. The guys crowded round me and all tried to finger my Canon </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">camera , holding their thumbs up and nodding their heads vigorously.They wanted </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">me to take pictures of them and laughed and jostled each other for a better </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">position . Flying in the face of socialist decorum , some of the guys were </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">drunk, in midday ! Guys would be guys and these young people were just trying </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to have a good time on their day off and do young people things . I remembered </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">too the middle aged lady at the Arc de Triumph, who blushed with pleasure when </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I complimented her on her beautiful Korean dress . Strip off the thin veneer of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">unfamiliar languages and customs and we see ourselves and our friends . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">While I have great reservation about the Korean Government ( actually all </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Governments in general ! ) , I couldn't help but feel a great warmth for the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">people, and admiration for their dignity and courage in dire circumstances . </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">What stirred me most was despite their daily hardship, all that the North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Koreans wanted from me was to think well of them ; all that they wanted was a </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">little respect for them as a people . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I certainly have no problem saying nice things about the North Koreans.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The painting :</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Flag of South Korea is called the Taegeukgi, the symbol came from the Chinese </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">book I Ching, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">universe : harmony, symmetry, balance and circulation ; the Taegeuk holds the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">two principles of " Eum ", the negative aspect rendered in blue, and "yang ", </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the positive aspect in red, in perfect balance . The white background </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">symbolizes " cleanliness of the people ".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Flag of North Korea was adopted on 8th Sept 1948. It consists of three stripes </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">- blue, red, blue - separated from each other by two narrow white lines .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The hoist of the red stripe is charged with a white disc containing a red five-</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pointed star. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The color red represents revolutionary patriotism. The blue stripes connote </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"The aspiration of the Korean people to unite with the revolutionary people of </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the whole world and fight for the victory of the idea of independence, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">friendship and peace." .The white - a traditional Korean color - represents the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">purity of the ideals of (North) Korea and national sovereignty. The five-</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">pointed star signifies the happy prospects of the people building socialism </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">under the leadership of the Korean Worker's Party.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Hibiscus Syriacus, the Rose of Sharon, is the national flower of South Korea. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Legend had it a rich landlord coveted a beautiful village woman who was married </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">to a blind man . The landlord kidnapped and later killed the woman who </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">stuck fast by her virtue. Brokenhearted the husband cried and mourned over his </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">wife's grave, and his tears brought forth the Rose of Sharon all around the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">grave . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Kim ll Sung flower ( Kimilsungia ) is a species of orchid, bred by an </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Indonesian botanist and presented to Sukarno to Kim ll Sung in 1965 when the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">latter visited Indonesia . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Kim Jong il flower ( Kimjonglia ) is a variety of South American begonia, bred </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">by a Japanese botanist in 1988 . </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">China and North Korea had traditionally been close . Kim ll Sung spent his </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">formative years in China and was much influenced by Mao Zedong . China has been </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">a bridge between North Korea and the the rest of the world ever since the </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">dissolution of the Soviet Block . A direct railway line linking South and North </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Korea was due to open this year, hopefully would bring the two peoples closer </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">together in the future . </span>The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-32098917434462228742017-04-23T02:44:00.001-07:002017-04-24T08:35:52.858-07:00Morocco 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjvfCZFATAQys8TtmhJmXRwnEacPqGTmk2orzHlYiRWf04JhFiOOtYpFuiQk-DW6FlGEHescDxOVQk5hSaGbLCMjU7OxXz9-HZgwmRrbpR96b0VU0cRb84VVujBPIFUXfW9jcl-PI_Jk/s1600/DSC_0427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjvfCZFATAQys8TtmhJmXRwnEacPqGTmk2orzHlYiRWf04JhFiOOtYpFuiQk-DW6FlGEHescDxOVQk5hSaGbLCMjU7OxXz9-HZgwmRrbpR96b0VU0cRb84VVujBPIFUXfW9jcl-PI_Jk/s400/DSC_0427.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Photo by Teresa</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The shopkeeper made a final adjustment to the scarf he wrapped round my head, then took a step back to scrutinize his handiwork. " Now you look like a Berber woman," he said, tilting his head to one side "I reckon you could fetch 500 camels in marriage." I closed my eyes to block out the shock - just 4 years earlier a Syrian man had offered 2,000 camels for my hand in a souk in Aleppo. Mighty humbling to realize I depreciate faster than a car ! But then in love and war the inexplicable could happen overnight : sadly Aleppo's now in rubble and the souk's probably no more. Poor Syria, its fate had already been sealed when John Bolton, the then US Undersecretary of State added it to Bush's list of axis of evil countries in 2002, though the whole world knows what the US really wanted all along is Iran. Poor poor Syria !</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMF82woYmlp7-bM9g-jnN7SpPyVIGIgGoN2kTA0Mbx4y6TOaD0cYSW8fNyjWUscYnskxvq0qr7ncMTlZiFALkUEDDH_lfJSMnftpkr89W5eaw7AM6OizYbArUNcdaW_bKFpE1j07VzxE/s1600/DSCN6265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMF82woYmlp7-bM9g-jnN7SpPyVIGIgGoN2kTA0Mbx4y6TOaD0cYSW8fNyjWUscYnskxvq0qr7ncMTlZiFALkUEDDH_lfJSMnftpkr89W5eaw7AM6OizYbArUNcdaW_bKFpE1j07VzxE/s400/DSCN6265.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We checked into the Hotel Rabat, a 3.6 star hotel. The numeral 3.6 was intriguing, could they have made it to 4 if the Wi-Fi had worked ? Something else intrigued me - the apparent business-as-usual calm in Rabat, capital city of Morocco. " How did Morocco dodge the Arab Spring ?" I asked Mourad ( Arabic name meaning "wish or want") our guide. He blinked and side-stepped with : " Luck ?!" Well, Morocco almost didn't. Morocco's a much poorer country than Egypt and Tunisia, logically ripe for revolt. Indeed from Feb 2011 to the spring of 2012, a string of protests organized by a coalition of Moroccan youth groups called "20 February Movement" erupted in more than 60 cities across the country, some ended in looting and major disorder. Clashes with riot police led to injuries and death ; the country could easily have descended into chaos but for its Monarchy. In Middle Eastern countries it's far easier to remove a President than a Monarch, a fact I picked up in Oman, Jordan and Dubai. King Mohammed VI, whose picture was hung in place of honor in the hotel lobby, swiftly announced a series of constitutional reform to pacify the demonstrators, albeit scoffed by his critics as mere cosmetic.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlN_FGYOU7aLPks93Mtqhu8ReyGZLCGl7yjbNeDCXYg8d8ZYpAJfAXw0v8-P0R_MqWuKRA-iwr5Y7FUaycqDGn7LdrHxZCJXpxhKb8xo9OddHl2gAaSN3ztdfNTKlDcHMUdAdvTk7WH0/s1600/IMG_2423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlN_FGYOU7aLPks93Mtqhu8ReyGZLCGl7yjbNeDCXYg8d8ZYpAJfAXw0v8-P0R_MqWuKRA-iwr5Y7FUaycqDGn7LdrHxZCJXpxhKb8xo9OddHl2gAaSN3ztdfNTKlDcHMUdAdvTk7WH0/s400/IMG_2423.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I couldn't help but wonder whether the murky Morocco-US-Israeli relationship had any bearing on Morocco's "luck". Morocco is the oldest and closest US ally in North Africa, historical ties date back to the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1787, right after the US broke away from England. Since independence from France in 1956, successive Morocco Monarch has nurtured personal friendship with their American Presidential counterpart. King Hassan II, Mohammed VI's dad, ingratiated himself further with the US by acting as the key go-between on behalf of the US and Israel with other Arab states, and brokered deals favoring the Zionist State at the expense of the Palestinians. The shady threesome syndicate has been mutually beneficial : a Mossad station was set up in Morocco for the Israelis to eavesdrop on the Arab world (how the 1967 six-day war was won !), at the same time it supplied the King intelligence on his enemies. The CIA reorganized the King's security forces, and supported the ruthless despot throughout his 38 " years of lead", characterized by brutal suppression of dissent and strangle-hold of national development. To this day King Mohammed VI's closest personal adviser Andre Azoulay, is a Jew. As reciprocation US has the use of Moroccan Air Force bases, and a supply of Arabic-speaking spies for the CIA. The value of Morocco was reaffirmed after 9-11 in the " War on Terror". In today's Unipolar World the cynics rate the survival quotient of any small country on how well it serves US interests, and Morocco has proved its worth with the powers-that-be.</span></div>
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King Hassan II</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibcmxKvrmJvdb0V1b6h1m4YgMPQxdX1Egux8Ptl6N9KLuGOCrcrgDkwRtC3gXDuiMbKJbCdICZ1KqVlEjKJtTCcsw8o3gtDH27P12o1mSrym_0aR2dJKgtKK-oYeSJVzKkFe-CQyIc8c/s1600/IMG_2186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibcmxKvrmJvdb0V1b6h1m4YgMPQxdX1Egux8Ptl6N9KLuGOCrcrgDkwRtC3gXDuiMbKJbCdICZ1KqVlEjKJtTCcsw8o3gtDH27P12o1mSrym_0aR2dJKgtKK-oYeSJVzKkFe-CQyIc8c/s400/IMG_2186.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Mourad in front of Restaurant de la Plage, at Rabat beach side, specializes in seafood. Wine and beer available. King Mohammed VI is the major stake holder in Brasseries du Maroc, the largest alcoholic beverages manufacturer and distributor of brands such as Heineken in the country.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMysK6S4heQTup5WbgS_1pSqVADzE9IneWjnRLS76fnQ1vvlaKN5HEw7t5IhNxD_Ob8-zeI4qn9PshjASf-WzvRq_qXr1ooofk9o2WdFpBAziVbPyVzNlG80K4BSJXYa18a-5XIptzXM4/s1600/IMG_4105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMysK6S4heQTup5WbgS_1pSqVADzE9IneWjnRLS76fnQ1vvlaKN5HEw7t5IhNxD_Ob8-zeI4qn9PshjASf-WzvRq_qXr1ooofk9o2WdFpBAziVbPyVzNlG80K4BSJXYa18a-5XIptzXM4/s400/IMG_4105.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We toured the city of Rabat, one of 4 Imperial cities of Morocco and an UNESCO World Heritage city in the Cultural category. Rabat literally means "Fortified Place", on account of the ancient walls protecting old Rabat, 5 imposing gates serve as entrances to the city. Bab Oudaias, the most beautiful gate, is located next to the Andalusian Gardens and marks the entrance to the Udayas Kasbah. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhd8wQP_ZqT_l4fRwYBeCV8y53Ab0D-peqD8XH1qMPdgsmwXoPbCSH9NPaDQFV3fGLtkM8Qlfe2-jmyi7wm_ud0BroBwiHwvQbtMzwPx0UZqB3tvQi269gCohlkBVSELU4vOwyvRXVKQ/s1600/DSCN6221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhd8wQP_ZqT_l4fRwYBeCV8y53Ab0D-peqD8XH1qMPdgsmwXoPbCSH9NPaDQFV3fGLtkM8Qlfe2-jmyi7wm_ud0BroBwiHwvQbtMzwPx0UZqB3tvQi269gCohlkBVSELU4vOwyvRXVKQ/s400/DSCN6221.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Udayas Kasbah was a fortress built by Sultan Yacoub al Mansour of the Almohad Caliphate (Berber Muslim Empire) in the 12th century. Standing at the mouth of River Bou Regreg facing the Atlantic Ocean, it was strategically situated to protect the city from pirate ships and invading forces. The name came from the Arab tribe, the Udayas, hired by the Sultan to man the Kasbah. A palace and a mosque was later added; the Kasbah Mosque is the oldest mosque in Rabat and is still functional. Udayas Kasbah fell into disrepair after the death of the Sultan in CE1199 and became a pirate hideout, until the 17th century when it was revived by an influx of Moriscos ( Muslim refugees) fleeing persecution from Catholic Spain. Nearly one thousand years from its inception, the Udayas Kasbah today boasts some of Rabat's oldest buildings and picturesque houses, linked by winding streets with modern cafés and shops, a flourishing city within a city and home to approximately 2,000 people. </span></div>
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Udayas Kasbah and the Atlantic Ocean </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Udayas Kasbah is famous for its d</span>oors </div>
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A good life !</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Andalusian Gardens next door is small but quite beautiful, it was built by the French in the 1920s and is popular both with tourists and locals. A small incidence highlighted that in spite of the projected image of Morocco being moderate and modern by the Government to attract tourism, many Moroccans are still pretty conservative. We were a Photographic Tour (I was the only non-photographer) so cameras were pointing in every direction at all times. Suddenly a young woman charged towards one of our members and accused him of taking a picture of her, which our member denied and explained he was aiming at the scenery, even showed her the pictures. At that point a man appeared from nowhere to join in the dispute, in the end Mourad was summoned and I suspect some money might have changed hand. Thinking back though, it could well have been a scam. Morocco unfortunately is infamous for its scam artists, so tourists beware !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Andalusian Gardens </span></div>
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Hanna decoration in progress in the street</div>
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Black olives are eaten straight; brown olives are for cooking meat; green olives are for cooking potatoes</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Mohammed V, the grandfather of Mohammed VI, was much loved by the Moroccans for ignoring the Nazi extermination order and saved 400,000 Moroccan Jews in WWII. He was forced into exile by the French in the 1940s for backing the Independence Movement, on the day he returned in 1955 to proclaim Morocco's independence he prayed in the same esplanade where his Mausoleum was built by his son King Hassan II in 1971.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Mohammed V</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Mausoleum is considered a masterpiece of Hispanic-Moorish architecture, the building is of white onyx to signify purity , the floor is of dark-blue granite reminiscent of the sea, and the tilted roof is green, the color of Islam. The Mausoleum now contains the tombs of Mohammed V and his 2 sons, King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Inside in an assigned seat, the tombs are watched over by 8 lectors who take turns reading the Koran 24 hours a day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Across the way from the Mausoleum is the Hassan Tower, an incomplete minaret of an incomplete mosque. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Construction was started in 1195 by Sultan Yacoub al Mansour (who built Udayas Kasbah) and was designed to be the centerpiece of Rabat in celebration of his victory over the Spanish Christians at Alarcos. The present red sandstone tower stands at 44M (about half of its intended height of 86M), it was to be the largest in the world in its time, and the Mosque the second largest after Smarra Mosque in Iraq. But building stopped after the Sultan's death in 1199, with only the beginnings of several walls and 200 columns constructed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Mounted police guarding the Mausoleum and Hassan Tower.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> The splendid Rabat Royal Palace with lush green surroundings</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">At breakfast the next morning Mourad warned us sternly "We're going to Chefchaouen today and it's a long drive, so don't be late getting on the bus" To our credit all of us were on time, except Providence had other ideas. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As we were pulling out of the hotel there was a loud bang and the bus shuddered momentarily before stopping. I looked out of the window and saw that we'd been hit by a car ! Being a Nosey Parker I got down with Abdul the driver, to assess the damage. In HK after any automobile collision a flurry of loud words and agitated recrimination from both drivers are the norm, so I was totally unprepared for what I witnessed here : Abdul and the other driver calmly approached each other, shook hands then appeared to be exchanging polite greetings ( Middle Eastern greetings are long ! ) before proceeding leisurely to examine each vehicle. After a little discussion they agreed they should call the police, by then Mourad had switched to Plan B mode and told us to return to the hotel for some coffee, as it's likely to take awhile ! </span></div>
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Looked like the other car's much more beat up </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">A young uniformed police arrived after half an hour to made notes and a diagram of how the accident happened, which he then carelessly left on the bonnet of another parked car (I've a picture to prove it ); sometime later a plain cloth inspector turned up to verify his findings, there were more discussions, a lot of forms were filled in, more handshakes all round and in about 2 hours the whole thing was wrapped up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">This incident left me with a new respect for the Moroccans, I couldn't believe how relaxed and civilized the accident was handled, which is how people always should behave in a civil society ! I was also surprised because of all the talks about police corruption in Morocco, which doubtless still happens, but in Morocco actual fines for traffic violation can legitimately be paid on the spot, just that valid fines will always be accompanied by paperwork. By the way, people coming to Morocco should be aware that traffic accidents are a major concern here, on average more than a dozen Moroccans die in motor vehicle accidents every day !</span></div>
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Abdul our driver, a Morgan Freeman look-alike. He's one of the most dignified and distinguished man I met in Morocco.</div>
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Youssef, the bus helper. Like most Moroccans he speaks no English</div>
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Road into Chefchaouen, Moroccans love to fly their flag.</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We reached Chefchaouen by late afternoon. Chefchaouen is a Berber word meaning " look to the horns", and refers to the shape of the mountain tops above the town, which resembles the 2 horns of a goat. It was on the trade route between Tetuan and Fez, and began life in 1471 as a small fortress to fight the Portuguese. In medieval times it was settled by the Berbers, and like Udayas Kasbah it latter became as a place of refuge for Moriscos and Jews from Spain, on top Spain ruled Chefchaouen from 1920 to 1956, so Berber and Spanish are the main spoken language here, as opposed to Arabic and French in the rest of Morocco. Today Chefchaouen has 40,000 inhabitants, and is famous for its blue-rinsed houses, native wool garments, woven blankets, Killim rugs and goat cheese which we were told we could not get elsewhere, but the main income is from Kief (cannabis).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Marijuana has been cultivated in the Rif mountain since the 8th century, initially all for home use. Commercial production of hashish came about during the 60’s and 70’s when Western backpackers and hippies flocked to Chefchaouen for its topnotch hash; ever since then the Rif, to ease extreme poverty, had capitalized on its only 2 exports - migrant workers and hashish. The government ban on cultivation in 1974 had little effect, today Morocco is the biggest global supplier of hashish, and the industry employs nearly a million Moroccans. The United Nations estimate the region exports over 1,000 tonnes hashish a year, mainly to Europe. Smuggling of both drugs and people are rampant here - Spain is only 15 minutes away by speedboat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Government's effort to induce farmers to plant other crops had failed so far, because of the poor rocky soil and severe droughts in the region. Cannabis is the only crop that thrives. Not that the Moroccan farmers had strike it rich either, they sell their products cheaply at $8 per kg, it's only when it reaches Paris or London that its value is multiplied 10 folds or more. A word of caution: though hashish is readily available in most Moroccan markets, possession of hashish is still illegal and can lead to long prison sentences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The older Berber tribes women still wear distinctive striped cotton dresses paired with woven straw hats that are decorated with brightly colored yarn balls like mini-pompoms, while the older Berber men are all in Jellabah (loose cloak with a hood) or bournous ( long coarse wollen cloak) and hand-made babouches( slippers). Most young Berbers of both genders, however, have adopted the universal uniform of T-shirts, jeans and sneakers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Chefchaouen is called the Blue Pearl on account of the blue-washed houses lining its higgledy-piggledy cobbled alleyways, but even the locals cannot agree on the reason for picking the color blue. Some say blue keeps mosquitos away, others say the Jews escaping Hitler to come here in the 1930s created the tradition, they painted their houses blue </span><span style="font-size: medium;">as a reminder of God's power, the same way</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> they weave blue threads into prayer shawls, as blue represents the sky. Some others say the blue color refers to the Ras el-Maa spring just outside the city walls, or the Mediterranean Sea - in summer when the sun is bright, blue color eases the eye and makes the streets look like cool flowing waters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">In order to maintain its reputation as the blue town in order to attract tourists, every springtime after the winter rains, villagers are given free brushes by the local government to e-paint the walls. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Local artisans make pottery, leather goods, metal items and woodwork by hand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I wandered into the square next to the small Andulusian style kasbah and found it filled to the brim with participants in a religious ritual, praying for rain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">There was much chanting and dancing, money was thrown onto a blanket in the center of the twirling figures, donation collected for charity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Berber men love their guns, the Rif Mountain has been a haven for smugglers and revolutionaries antagonistic to the Moroccan Central Government through the centuries, even today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Of all the hotels we stayed in, I like our boutique Hotel in Chefchaouen the best, it's small but very atmospheric. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our next stop was Fes, the second largest city of Morocco, it was the Moroccan capital until 1925. The Arabic word Fes means pickaxe, according to a legend Idris I who founded Fes in 789 used a silver and gold pickaxe to mark the lines of the city. Today it's home to over a million people, majority of the population is of Arab descent. Fez has gained much popularity among Moroccans since King Mohammed V took a computer engineer from here, Salma Bennani, as his wife</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Unlike Casablanca or Marrakech which rush towards modernity, Fes, which is another imperial city, prides itself as Morocco's spiritual and cultural center. The University of Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world. Also in Fes is the Kairouyine Mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, as well as many other famous madrasas. </span><br />
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cactus fruit</div>
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Plastic toys from China, where else</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Fez used to be a major trading post of the Barbary Coast of North Africa, and the end post of a north-south gold trading route from Timbuktu, unsurprisingly Fes is famous for its markets, of these the Fes el Bali Medina is a must see, it's listed as a World Heritage Site in 1981 and besides being the largest medina in Morocco, it's believed to be one of the world's largest urban pedestrian (car free) zones, some 2,700 acres. It's best to go with a guide as it's too easy to get lost in here, but beware of the omnipresent unofficial guides, by law they're illegal since 1998.</span><br />
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Fountain in the Medina</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> There are many mosques and madrassas inside the Medina. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Mourad demonstrating proper Muslim ablution ritual before prayers. In his previous life Mourad was a teacher and had studied in Florida, which explains his good English. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Medina is closed to motorized traffic, so donkeys are used to ferry goods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Fez is noted for quality craftsmanship, all handmade using traditional technique. Until the 19th century Fez was the only manufacturer of fezzes, a red felt cap in the shape of a truncated cone decorated by a long black tassel, traditionally worn by men in North Africa.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Fez leather tannery consists of a grid of stone wells and is a big tourist attraction. There're 3 tanneries in the Old Medina from the 11th century, the largest being the Chouara Tannery. Leather production here still use the exact same method from over a thousand years ago. Raw sheep, goat, camel and cow skins were first sorted ( goat and camel skins are supposed to be the best), then soaked in the white stone wells filled with a mixture of cow urine, pigeon droppings, quicklime, salt and water for 2-3 days. The limestone helps to remove hairs and fat while the acid in the urine and droppings softens the skin.The smell can be overpowering, and visitors are generally presented with a sprig of mint to hold over their noses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The skins are washed and cleaned and laid out to dry on the surrounding rooftop terraces. The tanner then uses his bare feet to knead the skins for up to 3 hours to achieve the desired softness, after that they're placed in a select set of dyeing vats. The dyes are all from natural products : red from the poppy flower, orange from henna, blue from indigo, brown from cedar wood, green from mint, and yellow from saffron. But because saffron is so expensive, pomegranate powder is now used instead. After a few days when the desired hue is achieved, olive oil is rubbed in to give the hides a shine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The leather is then sold to craftsmen to make the babouches, wallets, handbags, jackets, and other leather accessories which are then sold in the souks or exported to Spain, France and India.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Tanning is one of the hardest and dirtiest professions, besides incredibly labor intensive.The art of tanning is passed down the generations through the male lineage of tanning familes, but has lost its appeal to today's youth. Tanning is also a major source of river pollution so there's been talks to remove the tanneries to the industrial parts of Fez, days for the thousand year traditional tanning could be numbered !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As we were leaving the Medina there was a big commotion, then I saw a young man being led away in handcuffs. He was caught stealing." What's going to happen to him ?" I had a horrible vision of limbs being chopped off. " We don't chop up people here" Mourad said," Sharia Law is often misunderstood, most of it deals with personal acts of worship and family issues like marriage, divorce and inheritance, of course other sections deal with commercial and penal matters. Because there's no set punishment so Sharia can differ hugely throughout the Islamic world. It can be quite complicated and deliberation of cases could take a long time: it's not always easy to establish guilt as Islam requires at least 4 witnesses; and there could be multiple appeals. Do you know in Sharia law, if a thief could prove that he/she only stole because of need, then the Muslim society would be held at fault and be obligated to help he/her ? and there would be no hand-cutting" I totally get it, religion is too often manipulated by politics and in some Islamic countries Sharia is applied selectively, certain interpretations are simply weapons used by populist Muslim leaders to gain political points. No different from the warped Christianity used by Bush to invade Iraq, and by the Bishop and clergy of HK to mislead believers and to justify criminal acts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">" So many cats in Morocco !" I exclaimed to Mourad as I nearly fell on top of one, again ! Turns out cats have a special place in Islamic culture because Muhammad loved cats. The story goes the Prophet loved his cat Muezza so much that when he found him sleeping on his cloak just when he was called to prayer, he cut off the sleeve rather than disturb the cat. When he returned Muezza was awake and bowed down to him, so in return the Prophet stroked him 3 times, leaving the marks of his fingers as the 4 dark lines on most cats' foreheads. Because Muhammad patted the cat on the back, cats are given 7 lives and always land on their feet, never their backs. I particularly love the story by the Egyptian zoologist (1344-1405) about the creation of the first cat : Animals on Noah's Ark complained of mice, so God caused a lion to sneeze, and out came a cat ! Ha Ha !!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Bad news for dog lovers though, for dogs are nadjis (dirt), and are not allowed in the house because " Angels do not enter a house which has a dog " Black dogs in particular are "a manifestation of evil in animal form". Oh well !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Royal Palace of Fez, the Dar el Makhzen, is a 17th century mansion in the center of Fes el-Jedid, spanning 80 hectares and surrounded by high walls 80 feet high. There're 7 elaborated decorated gateways symbolizing the 7 days of the week, though the doors are bronze but they shine like gold.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Next to the Royal Palace is Mellah, the walled Jewish quarter built in 1438. <span style="font-size: medium;">Because of their vital role in the local economy, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Jews had always lived segregated near the Royal Palace or residence of Governor, who would protect them from the recurrent riots and massacres from the Arabs. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Over time the population grew, but there's no space to expand but up, so most buildings in the ghetto have 2- 3 floors.The sizable Jewish community has since all left for Israel and the inhabitants of the Mellah are now mostly Arabs. The Jewish cemetery at Fez however, is a place of pilgrimage for Jews around the world</span><br />
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City of Fez, satellite disc everywhere </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Last word : Fes was the locale of the video "Mysterious Ways" by the Irish band U2,<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=zh-TW&q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DTxcDTUMLQJI&source=gmail&ust=1492999955868000&usg=AFQjCNEz39LCDqz229cdvHd7d1MU9Y6kjw" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxcDTUMLQJI" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wat<wbr></wbr>ch?v=TxcDTUMLQJI</a>, and the backdrop for Indiana Jones' Raiders of the Lost Ark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> Drunken in the street </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> Moroccan army patrol</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">From Fes we headed south towards the desert oasis town of Erfoud, which took a better part of a day. I didn't mind as it gave me a chance to see the small towns and villages. </span><br />
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town school</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">small town Morocco</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Rural villages often don't have running water or electricity, and medical care is poor. The first Chinese medical team arrived in Morocco in Sept 1975, after a call from the Red Cross. Since then exchange programs were set up to train Moroccan doctors interested in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in China. Over the past 40 years China has sent 1,200 doctors to Morocco, often serving in remote areas that local doctors are reluctant to go. Currently 121 Chinese doctors are working in Morocco, and Acupuncture courses are available to local students at the Confucius Institute at Mohammed V University in Rabat. China was known to Morocco since ancient times, Muhammad Ibn Battuta, a medieval Moroccan traveler and scholar, arrived in China in 1345 during the Yuen Dynasty. He toured the city of Quanzhou in China's Fujian Province, then went on to Fuzhou, Hangzhou and Beijing, as recorded in his travel log.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">About 43% of Moroccans live in rural areas, agriculture accounts for around 17% of GDP and employs almost half of active labor force. Yet arable land is less than 12% of the country and irrigation system is ill-developed, furthermore the dwindling underground water reserves are contaminated due to lack of functioning sanitation network and almost all wastewater (industrial and municipal) is discharged untreated, some directly into natural water bodies. This is in spite of the priority investment and the 92 dams built by the Government in the past 4 decades, so most farming is subsistence, only a small modernized sector has produce for export. Morocco is so water stressed the tap water in most Moroccan cities is unclean and salty, so bottled water has really caught on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I was not surprised Morocco also has major solid waste management problem, there's trash strewn everywhere ! Only 70% of urban solid waste is collected, due to lack of infrastructure and funding in city slums and rural district. Only 10% of the collected waste is disposed of properly, meanwhile there are 300 uncontrolled dumpsites, and about 3,500 garbage-pickers make a living from them, of whom 10% are children. More than 5 million tons of solid waste is generated across the country, growing by 3% annually. So trash is regularly burnt outdoor as a cheap form of waste disposal, releasing large amount of dioxin, particle pollutants and multiple carcinogens into the environment, causing a range of health problems. Even the ashes produced often contain mercury, lead, chromium and arsenic. All the chemicals released contaminate food and water for both humans and animals. The good news is the World Bank has allocated $271.3 million to the Moroccan government to build 80 landfills, improve trash collection and increase recycling by 20%, all by the year 2020.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Morocco has no fossil fuel reserves. 94% of Morocco's energy is imported, oil from Libya and Nigeria, and coal from South Africa and Poland. 2 refineries in Morocco owned by Saudi company produce 80-90% of the refined petroleum products. High energy cost is one crucial factor hampering development of the country. King Mohammed VI vouched to increase clean energy ( 0.24% in 2003) to 50% by 2030, and has put in massive projects to harvest hydraulic, wind and solar power. Morocco has 4 perennial rivers and many dams with hydroelectric potential, and 2 wind farms are already set up in Western Sahara. By 2013, wind power generates 5% of renewable electricity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The most ambitious projects are 4 Solar mega-plants costing $9 billion near Ouarzazate in Western Sahara, which will occupy a space as big as Rabat when completed. Morocco has one of the highest rate of insolation among countries, up to the 3,600 hours of sunshine per year in the desert, and well qualified to be a global solar superpower. When fully operative, solar energy will make up a third of Morocco’s renewable energy supply. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Wind and Sun projects were not without controversy. In 1975 after the withdrawal of Spain from Western Sahara, King Hassan II organized the Green March of some 350,000 Moroccan citizens, escorted by around 20,000 troops and annexed Western Sahara unilaterally. This sparked a guerrilla warfare with the Sahrawi nationalists represented by the Polisario Front, who wanted their own independent state. The Polisario Front was backed by Libya and Algeria, while Morocco was backed by the Saudi, France and the US. Though a cease-fire agreement was signed in 1991, the issue is still not resolved to this day, except military resistance is replaced by civil resistance. So understandably the Sahrawis are extremely unhappy about Moroccan projects on their land. The contention is likely to get heated up again as oil and gas are reportedly detected in the desert not so long ago.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tagine is a</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> typical Moroccan-style dish made with fish, vegetables, spices and oil served on a bed of fluffy couscous. It's cooked in </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">traditional tajine pottery consisted of </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">a circular base unit </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and a large cone-shaped cover</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> over a low fire. The cover is designed to return all condensation back to the bottom, a way of cooking well adapted to places with little water.</span></span><br />
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oasis in the desert </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Picturesque scenes of ruined Kasbahs and date palmeries, irrigated by 12th century aqueduct technology introduced from Iran. The palmeries are the main source of income for the villagers, the small vegetable plots are for own consumption.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Ksars are century old traditional fortified villages made of earthen buildings on the outskirt of the Sahara.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> Peddlers by the wayside</span><br />
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Beautiful Berber man </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Erfoud's a relatively new town built by the French around 1920s. 500 million years ago Sahara Desert was under water, and Erfoud is famous for its fossils. We visited a local workshop filled with Trilobites (extinct marine arthropods) and Ammonoids( extinct marine mollusc) in marble slabs of table tops and ornaments. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Sahara is Tuareg country. Throughout history the Tuareg ( ethnic Berbers) were renowned warriors, they also controlled several trans-Saharan caravan trade routes. They fought in many colonial and post-colonial conflicts up untill the late 19th century, when their broadswords( takoba),lance (allagh) and shield (aghar) were no match to the firearms of the colonists, which marked the end of their military might. The caravan trade also declined and today they're either settled agriculturalists or nomadic livestock breeders, a smaller number are blacksmiths, traders and tour guides. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We hired a team of Tuareg and their camels to climb the Erg Chebbi Dunes the next morning to take pictures of the sunrise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Tuareg are called the "Blue People" because the indigo pigment in the their robes and turbans stained their skin dark blue. Interestingly the Tuareg culture is largely matrilineal, women do not traditionally wear the veil, only the men do, and taking on the veil (called Alasho) marks the passage to adulthood.The veil is worn concealing the whole face, leaving only the eyes and top of the nose. The veil is worn to ward off evil spirits, but more practically it protects from the desert sands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Tuareg artisans are famous for their traditional handicrafts : jewellery like the Agadex Cross, gold and silver necklaces called 'Takaza'; and earrings called 'Tizabaten'; leather and metal saddle decorations called 'trik'; the finely crafted Tuareg sword (Takoba); amulets containing sacred objects like verses from the Qur'an worn by all Tuareg ; pilgrimage boxes with intricate iron and brass decorations and household items. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> Nomadic Tuareg architecture is the tents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The modern city of Ouarzazate was started in the 1920s as a garrison town to guard against invasion from the desert. It's situated at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, and is the last habitation before the Sahara desert, hence the nickname " The door of the desert". In the 60s to 70s huge pop concerts were held in the desert nearby, they'd stopped since the occupation of Western Sahara.The last university ever built in Morocco was here, good students are allotted scholarships to the US as the school program is American. Ouarzazate is a popular holiday destination and the shopping is pricey ! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Ouarzazate is best known as the film capital of Morocco. It's popular with Hollywood as well as Italian and local film makers as shooting cost is low, and the ancient kasbahs, not to mention the desert, are ready stand-in for places as disparate as Somalia, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Tibet. The 5 star Berber Palace Hotel where we stayed was purposefully built as a real Kasbah (easy to tell, the old authentic houses were built with earth, the new ones with cement ), was filled with left over props from old films. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">There're 3 film studios, the Atlas studio outside town is open to the public for tours. Films made here are legend, the ones I've seen are Lawrence of Arabia (1962),The man who would be King (1975),The Jewel of the Nile (1985),The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Babel (2006) , as well as TV series like Star Wars and Game of Thrones. 60% of population have work related in films, many of them experienced extras. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We visited Ait Benhaddou, one of the best preserved Kasbahs and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. A striking example of southern Morocco architecture, it was established in 757 and its founder, Ben-Haddou's tomb still lies within the city. It was an important trading post on the commercial route across the Atlas Mountains, linking ancient Sudan and Marrakesh. Today the trans-Saharan trade route has died and most of the original inhabitants have moved to a new village across the river, but as Ait Benhaddou has become a popular tourist destination some have returned to run small stalls selling artifacts and souvenirs to tourists. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Ksar of Ait-Benhaddou has a high defensive wall encircling crowded houses made of red mud plaster, which makes them extremely vulnerable to weathering. The Kasbah is maintained with public money as a historical monument.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> On the top of the hill there is a large fortified granary (agadir). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> Lunch and a small hike in the Atlas Mountain</span><br />
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wayside shop</div>
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Rock climbing <span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Argan oil produced from the kernels of the Argan tree that is endemic to Morocco, is produced only in Morocco. The oil is used in Moroccan cooking and the price has gone up substantially since the West realized its value in beauty treatment. The extraction process is labor intensive and can't be mechanized, production is by co-operatives employing 2.2 million people, mainly women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Marrakesh is a Berber word meaning "Land of God", it's Morocco's 4th largest city. Berbers have lived here for over a thousand years, it's also an imperial city and the old town was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Marrakech is built on an oasis surrounded by a huge date grove, irrigated by rhettara ( underground water system introduced from Iran). Marrakesh was once a crossroad of caravan route and exhibits a wonderful mix of Berber, Moorish, African and European influences in its architecture, culture and people. The bustling streets are full of heavily veiled women walking alongside women in body hugging tops and jeans, and nobody bates an eyelid." Do you know why we prefer our women to wear a veil?" Mourad asked, I shook my head and he explained " If my wife's pretty I don't want other men to look, if she's ugly I don't want them to know" </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Marrakesh is sometimes called the red city because of the 16 km red wall surrounding the old city with its 20 gates and 200 towers. It's possible to tour the walls on a horse drawn carriage (calèche). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Since the 1960s Marrakesh has been the mecca for international pop and film stars, wealthy tycoons, celebrities and fashion icons.Yves Saint Laurent loved the place so much he bought the Majorelle Garden together with his partner, the industrialist Pierre Bergé, in 1980. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The inner walls are painted Majorelle blue, a color developed by the former owner Jacques Majorelle, a landscape painter, and the garden has a large collection of plants from 5 continents including cacti, palms and bamboo. The painter's studio in a dark blue building, has been transformed into a Berber Museum ( the only one in the world), housing the private collection of Berber art of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">After Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008, his ashes were scattered in a small rose garden beyond the lily pond, and a Roman pillar set on a pedestal with a plate bearing his name was erected as a memorial. In 2010 the street in front of the Majorelle Garden was renamed the Rue Yves Saint Laurent in his honor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Jemaa el-Fnaa Square is the high light of any tour to Marrakesh. Day or night the Square is a blur of colors, hustle and bustle of hundreds of tourists and locals, and a cacophony of noises from vendors, street performers, musicians, snake charmers, acrobats, monkey trainers, dancing boys, magicians, story tellers...... and a multitude of cooking stalls serving a wide variety of food and drinks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Jemaa el-Fnaa Square had its moment of terror. In 2011 a bomb left in a bag in the Argana cafe went off by remote detonation and killed 17 people, among them a group of French students and a British travel writer. The explosive used was similar to that used by shoe bomber Richard Reid who attempted to blow up an American-bound plane from Paris in 2001 and the al-Qaeda "underpants Bomber" on Christmas day 2009, as well as the 2005 London bombings. Ironically the name 'Jemaa el-Fnaa' means "the assembly of trespassers", and historically the square was used for public decapitations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group ( North African branch of al-Qaeda) was founded in the 1990s by veterans from the Soviet-Afghan War; while the headquarter was based in the UK, it had sleeper cells in Spain, Belgium, Italy, France, Denmark,Turkey,Egypt and the Netherlands- all countries where there's a sizable Moroccan diaspora. It was implicated in the 2004 Madrid train bombing that killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000. Though by 2010 most of the GICM leaders are reportedly imprisoned or killed, the picture has shifted : the first wave of Moroccan jihadis to join the fighting in Syria arrived in early 2012, public statistics in 2016 on ISIS foreign fighters indicated over 1,500 are of Morocco-origin, all first and second generation immigrants to Europe. The true number is probably far higher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">King Mohammed VI tried a 2 pronged approach to contain religious extremism. All imams are State employed, and as the Amir al-Mu'minin ( Commander of the Faithful) he monitors all sermons delivered in the 30,000 mosques in the country. He also set up the Mohammed V Holy Quran Radio and the Assadissa satellite television network to propagate moderate Islamic doctrine. At the same time167 imams and 9 morchidates ( female religious guides) are sent to diaspora communities in Europe and North America to preach the same message. Burqa is banned in Morocco.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">When the Arab Spring erupted Moroccan economy was in shambles, a result of both a drought and the downturn in foreign investment and remittances from the dispora caused by the global financial crisis. Wide spread abject poverty : two-thirds of people do not have access to drinking water or electricity and 90% receive no or poor medical care ; overall unemployment rate is 25% (youth unemployment is over the top - 50% of the population is under 25 years old and 50% of them are jobless) would have made Morocco a hotbed for Islamic radicalization, so in 2004 the Villes sans Bidonvilles (Cities without slums) program was launched as part of a $1.2 billion National Initiative for Human Development, aiming to fight social marginalization and reduce economic disparity through building subsidized apartment buildings, community centers, and set up social services including adult literacy classes, micro-finance and cultural programs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Moroccan inborn trait of constant and compulsive need to know everything about everybody is called "tberguig", something akin to the water-tight surveillance network undertaken in China in the 70s and North Korea even today, mostly by gossipy old ladies. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Tberguig </span><span style="font-size: medium;">turns out to be a powerful tool for the authorities to dismantle terrorist groups and trace misdemeanors committed in the community. Ha !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">By the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square is the souk, one of some 18 in Marrakesh. Crafts employ a significant percentage of the population, who primarily sell their products to tourists. </span><br />
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Local cinema</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Saadian tombs of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603) and his family were discovered in 1917, the beautiful decoration of the tombs make them a major tourist attraction. Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur built the El Badi Palace which is now in ruins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Marrakech Museum housed in the traditional stone-built Dar M'Nebhi Palace built at the end of the 19th century, is admired as much for the classical Andalusian architecture as the exhibits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Zellij tiles and stucco work in geometrical patterns. Green and blue are predominant colors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Who knew demonstration in downtown Marrakesh could be so cheerful ?! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Koutoubia Mosque from the 12th century is the largest mosque in the city. The spire atop the minaret is decorated with gilded copper balls that decrease in size towards the top, a style unique to Morocco. The 77M high minaret was designed such as to prevent any person on the top of the tower from looking into the king's harem. Even today privacy is preserved by blocking </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Moroccans </span><span style="font-size: medium;">access to Goggle Earth. The Arabic word koutoubiyyin means "bookseller", referring to the book selling trade in the nearby souk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">King Mohammed VI has vowed to attract 20 million tourists a year to Morocco by 2020, unfortunately not all tourists come to Morocco for the scenery and culture. Like Thailand there're organized sex tours to Morocco, and specialized websites abound listing best locations and tariffs. Marrakesh has the unsavory title of 'Capital of Prostitution in Morocco', as it has the lion's share of the 50,000 prostitutes across the country, followed by Casablanca. The most sought-after clients are the Saudis. As by law unmarried couple cannot rent a hotel room, 98% of prostitutes conduct their business in apartments rented by their clients exclusively for this purpose. Girls working in expensive bars and nightclubs cost from $30 and $200 per transaction, older women outside the souk might ask just $3 . Many prostitutes are either separated or divorced women, and with 70% female illiteracy, there're scant other employment options. There're far more underage boy prostitutes on the ground than girls as it is culturally unacceptable for young girls to live on the street, besides girl children have more work opportunity as child maids. </span><br />
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beautiful Moroccan girl</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Islam is ambivalent regarding cigarette, so there're a lot of lung diseases due to smoking. Diabetes are also prevalent. Moroccans are addicted to mint tea with sugar, tea is taken 5-10 times per day, or whenever people meet. One family can go through 1 kg of tea per day. Because of the lack of work, there's a lot of sitting around in cafes and chatting.</span><br />
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Diabetic Association</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our last stop was Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco with 5 million inhabitants, and the most cosmopolitan on account of the ville nouvelle built by the French. Casablanca was founded by Berber fishermen in the 7th century BC, but was subsequently used as a port by the Phoenicians, Romans, Merenids, Portuguese (who named it Casa Branca), then the Spanish traders who changed it to the Spanish spelling (Casablanca), lastly the French before independence. In the 19th century it was a major port of wool and gunpowder tea (Chinese tea, each leaf rolled into a small pellet) to Britain. Even today Casablanca is a major port and one of the largest financial and industrial center of Morocco, with </span><span style="font-size: medium;">fishing and fish canning being 2 of its biggest industries. Casablanca is also famous for sex change private clinic started by French surgeon in the 1940s.</span><br />
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Modern downtown Casablanca</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I've noticed time and time again in all the poor countries I visited, the best looking buildings are always 1) Religious buildings 2) Government buildings 3) Banks. The Hassan II Mosque, the landmark of Casablanca and a magnificent edifice in commemoration of the Sovereignty of Morocco, certainly cost enough : $800 million, all paid for with public money, in a country where 15% of its population live below the poverty line - over 5 million Moroccans were living on $1.2 per day, though the minimum wage is supposedly $6.58 per day. Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in 2013 for Morocco was $7,000 ( ranked 126 out of 177 countries in terms of human development. <i>As reference : GNI was </i></span><i><span style="font-size: medium;">$10,650 for Egypt ; </span><span style="font-size: medium;">$10,960 for Tunisia; </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and </span></i><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>$54,260 for HK in the same year</i>). </span><br />
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Shoe shine guys all over the place</div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile King Mohammed VI came 7th in Forbes " The World's Richest Royals", with an estimated fortune of $2.5 billion. He's also considered the most costly monarchy to his people in the world. The State pays him a personal monthly salary of $40,000, twice that of the French President. In addition the Public Treasury dishes out one million dollars <b>a day</b> for the operative expenses of his 12 royal palaces, 30 private residences, his personal fleet of pricey and flashy cars (he's said to love cars to death !), private plane and his whims for fashion and jet skiing. The Royal Budget is 5 times larger than that of Britain, though Britain is at least 20 times richer. Against the call for austerity for the rest of the nation to offset the impact of global economic crisis, the Royal Budget was raised by yet another $1 million in 2014, and the Royal businesses are continuously subsidized to ensure profit.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Makes me want to cry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Hassan II</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">mosque, the largest in North Africa, and third largest in the world, rises above the Atlantic Ocean. It has room for 25,000 worshippers inside the mosque hall and a further 80,000 in the courtyard. The minaret is the world's highest at 210 M, topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The building is built partially on land and partially over the ocean, accomplished by creating a platform linking a natural rock outcrop. The idea was inspired by the Qur'an, which says God has His throne on water. The environmental advantage is it is free of noise and the fresh breeze from the sea disperses pollution. Two large breakwaters were also built to protect the mosque from the erosive ocean waves, which could rise to 10M in height. The building is of Hispano-Moorish and Art Deco design, the walls are hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable to reveal the sky and to let air inside the mosque. It's one of 2 mosques open to the public in Morocco.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Jasmina, a little Moroccan girl doing a drawing on the steps of the mosque. She and her family'd emigrated to Italy some years ago and were only back in Morocco for a holiday. There're about $460,000 Moroccans in Italy, the third largest non-indigenous minority ethnic group after the Romanians and Albanians in Italy; unfortunately </span><span style="font-size: medium;">over 40% </span><span style="font-size: medium;">of the Moroccans are </span><span style="font-size: medium;">unemployment</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. It's estimated there're over 4 million Moroccan migrants scattered all over the world, the majority in European countries, the largest diaspora are in France and Spain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Corniche west of the Hassan II Mosque is a thriving beach resort, full of expensive hotels, nightclubs and western fast food stores and cafes. It's a favorite haunt for the locals for a game of football or cycling on rented bikes, or simply just taking a leisure stroll. Swimming however could be hazardous because of rip currents, and the water is cold even in summer months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Demonstration in Casablanca, this time it's the pharmacists complaining about the usual : long hours and low pay. "I'm Union!" I waved at them and was instantly made welcome. The sad reality is only 1% of Moroccan </span><span style="font-size: medium;">workers are</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Union members, the majority aren't even protected by employment contract ! Child labor though illegal is prevalent, young girls as young as 8 toil for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for as little as $11 a month as domestic maids, while young boys mostly work in the souk, or beg in the streets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I was bemused to find in Morocco begging is accepted as a career, albeit grudgingly. Beggars are everywhere, in the cafes, mosques, buses and busy streets. The total number of professional beggars is estimated to be close to 500,000, more than workers in the textile and tourism sectors put together, and the daily income varies between 50 to 200 Dirham a</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> day, a better pay than a lot of jobs. 56% of the beggars are male and 15% are children under the age of 7, the kids are paid between 50-100 </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Dirham</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> a week to beg for their employers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">People with disabilities </span><span style="font-size: medium;">are also often rented out by their relatives as they </span><span style="font-size: medium;">do not receive any social protection. In many regions begging is well-organised, all the hot spots have claims of "</span><span style="font-size: medium;">right of occupancy"</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, and new beggars to the area must pay the "owner" or else ! Because beggars bring dishonor to Morocco's image, the government has tried to curb the ever expanding industry by imposing 2-6 month prison sentences on beggars older than 18 years, but the law is seldom implemented as alms </span><span style="font-size: medium;">giving</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is one of the pillars of Islam. Seasoned beggars memorize special prayers for different time of year, festivals and different clientele.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">In the past decade tens of thousands of rural Moroccans have fled the drought-ravaged interior to find non-existent jobs in cities, only to end up in the huge slums with zero amenity which they share with the urban poor on the outskirts of all big cities, a parallel world most tourists to Morocco never see. At the 15th annual </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">commemoration of his accession to the throne in 2014, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Mohammed VI hilariously asked in </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">astonishment</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">in an official speech :</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">“Where has Morocco’s wealth gone? And who is benefiting from it?!” In the 15 years of his rule Morocco had dropped ranking in UN's Human Development report despite an investment of at least $1.3 billion in Human development programs - poverty, unemployment and inequity have all risen; in the same period of time the King's wealth had mushroomed by 500% ! </span></span><br />
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Broken graves, all Muslim burials face the East <br />
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Social works center</div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">The secret is in the king's unholy marriage of power and business - the King has his hand (not just fingers) in all major economic sectors and basic services in the country: banking; agriculture (he's also the biggest landowner); distribution; construction materials and real estate; mining; telecommunications, energy.......you name it, he owns it. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Moroccan citizens are basically customers who multiply his wealth. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">There're only 3 decision makers</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> on big investments in Morocco<b> :</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="color: black;"> </b><span style="color: black;">the king, his secretary Mounir Majidi, and the monarch's close friend, adviser and former classmate Fouad Ali Himma. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">WikiLeaks</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> documents as quoted by </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Britain's Guardian newspape<wbr></wbr>r stated : </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">corruption is prevalent at all levels of Moroccan society and </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">reaches the highest levels in Morocco. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">In April 2016, </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Mounir Majidi </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">was named in the Panama Papers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> Road worker posing for a picture. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> Friendly Arab, owner of a most interesting antique shop in a local souk . </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Old cinema poster of Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and ex-wife of Omar Sharif</span></div>
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Local wet market<br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Since I was in Casablanca I felt obligated to track down the Rick's Cafe, though of course the cafe in the 1942 movie was actually a Hollywood studio 6,000 miles away. I promptly got lost and found myself wandering in the poorer part of the city with faded buildings, graffiti and greasy car repair shops. Again I was most impressed by the politeness and helpfulness of the Moroccans I stopped to ask the way. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Light rail $1 per trip.</span><span style="font-size: medium;">Traffic is horrendous in Casablanca with 14,000 cabs and 2 million cars.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Historically Casablanca has always been a flash point due to its location and population mix . In WWII Casablanca </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">was a strategic site for the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">British-American </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">invasion of French </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">North African</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">, the "</span><span style="font-size: medium;">Operation Torch"</span><span style="font-size: medium;">; it also held the </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">1943 </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">"Casablanca Conference", in which Churchill and Roosevelt met to discuss war progress.</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">After WWII, Casablanca was a major center of anti-French rioting. On X'mas day 1953, a bomb went off and killed 16. In 2003 and again in 2007, the city was hit by a string of suicide bomb attacks. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As of 2015 there're about 8,000 Chinese residing in Morocco, most of them in Casablanca. Mr Chan, the restaurant owner, had only been in Morocco 1 year. His cousin has worked in Morocco for 10 years, he's in IT and commerce.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">While France remains Morocco's primary trade partner, Chinese investments in Morocco has risen by 195% between 2011 and 2015 to hit $40 million. In 2016 during King Mohammed VI's official visit to Beijing a strategic partnership was signed between the 2 countries involving investment amounted to $1.2 billion. Recently Morocco lifted visa requirement for Chinese tourists, so a sharp rise in Chinese tourists is to be expected.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">What have I learnt of Morocco ? Morocco is full of inconsistencies and big contrasts : there're as many swindlers as there're polite honest people. Morocco is 2 countries, one rich, educated and totally westernized, the other poor, uneducated, devoutly Muslim and conservative. For a Muslim country Morocco is remarkable for its tolerance (the only taboos are politics and religion where there's zero freedom of expression), people can take Pot, drink alcohol, eat during Ramadan, fornicate, be homosexual, nobody cares as long as it's done privately. </span><br />
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Belly dance in restaurant show </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The rich vibrant colors of Morocco attract photographers from all over the world. T</span><span style="font-size: medium;">he leader of our trip was a Mr Yung, a well known photography master in Hong Kong and Macau. Most of the team members were either his students or acquaintances in the photographic world, so I was particularly touched by his kindliness in trying to make me feel at ease, a complete stranger and a non-photographer. Sadly Mr Yung passed away a year later, upon given the news </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I did a painting </span><span style="font-size: medium;">as a remembrance of this thoughtful old gentleman. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The painting : There're many doors in the world opening onto many different lives, some doors are opened through a camera. Many feet walk up and down many different paths, but ultimately all paths lead to the same blue sky. My wish for Mr Yung is that his path is easy, sunny, and lined with beautiful flowers on both sides.</span><br />
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-37923052862416656762017-01-07T10:07:00.003-08:002017-01-08T01:12:50.260-08:00Hiking in Switzerland : A lesson in democracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: medium;">The first day of the hike was way harder than I envisioned. When Elke invited me to join the hiking trip I was dubious." I'm not very fit right now. Haven't exercised for ages. My knee MRI confirmed degeneration....." " No worries !" she scoffed " It's a geriatric hike. Too easy !" Turns out it was<i> I </i>that was too easy !</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">All hikes in Switzerland are graded according to physical and technical difficulties, we humbly picked the lowest grade. The Hike Planner promises "spectacular panoramic scenery" and advises the best hiking season is from June to October, so we congratulated ourselves for going in August, bang in the middle of the ideal season.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately Man can scheme but the Heavens will always have the last word. All Ebenalp trails start from the upper cable car station where we exited in high excitement only to walk into the most unexpected windy rainy foggy freezy foul weather ! The 21/2 hour hike took longer not just because the rocky paths were slippery and it's exhausting fighting the wind, but because despite the signposts the Swiss put up everywhere, half of our group managed to get lost and had to be searched and rounded up. The " spectacular panoramic view" was, meanwhile, safely hidden from us by a thick wall of mist. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We did get to see the</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Äscher mountain restaurant, precariously clinging to a vertical cliff face. There were also the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Wildkirchli</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">caves, which had evidence of Neanderthals habitation dated 40,000 years. Near to it was the hermit hut which had remained vacant since the last hermit fell to his death in 1853. In 1972 it was renovated to become a museum. A little way off was the charming little cave church, complete with a bell tower and a cross.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ebenalp is one of the most popular hiking trail, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">most of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">200,000 visitors there each year go via St Gallen as we did, to visit the</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Abby of Saint Gall. It is one of the chief Benedictine abbeys, built on the site where St Gall had erected his hermitage. The Abby church became a Cathedral in 1848, while the Abby library is one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. In 1983 the whole precinct was elected an UNESCO World Heritage Site.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We holed up in St Moritz for the next 3 days, which is the center of mountain railways and cableways to serve the 4 Engadin</span> <span style="font-size: medium;">hiking areas of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Corviglia / Piz Nair</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Corvatsch / Furtschellas</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><wbr></wbr>Diavolezza</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Muottas Muragl / Alp Languard</span><span style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Before this trip everything I knew about St Moritz was from James Bond movies : an archetypal playground of celebrities, royals </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">and moneyed wannabes, and a byword of luxury living. So we 8 friends decided while we were there we'd cast caution to the wind and have a taste of the high life - and what better way than to have Swiss beef steak in the most expensive looking restaurant in the main square ? I was sent in to book a table, but the first question I asked after a swift glance at the interior and the immaculately groomed Italian manager was " Do you have a dress code ?" Fortunately it was low season and we had a fabulous time, the chef was Italian, the waiter Albanian, the Pinot noir French, only the beef was Swiss. The real surprise came with the bill : it'd have cost us more if we had the same meal in Hong Kong !</span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">St Moritz was named after St Maurice, martyred by Roman Switzerland in the 3rd century. Mauritius Springs were discovered 3000 years ago and has long established the town as a summer resort, winter tourism was started much later in 1864. St Moritz boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year, so much so the sun was made legally protected emblem of St Moritz in1930. The promotional savvy </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">tourism board also registered </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">the phrase "Top of the world" as a trademark for St Moritz in </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">1987</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> . The year round population is around 5000, almost 40% is made up of foreign nationals. The unemployment rate is low at 1.38%, presumably because the hotels and service units prefer to hire seasonal staff, some 3000 at peak seasons. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">A quick walk round St Moritz did not show many tourists, but not for lack of trying by the authorities. There were happenings all over town : a vintage car parade along well marked route, and an open air fair complete with a band, a roulette table and food stands where one could even sample the famous Engadine nut tart . The fire engine was present only to show off the latest equipment, lest anyone should get the wrong idea that something as vulgar as a fire could happen in orderly Switzerland !</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">I met Zoe, an attractive Swiss in her mid-30s, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">at the bus stop. She was visiting St Moritz with her boyfriend Johannes from another canton, so she's as much at sea as I was at the non appearing bus. To while awhile the time we started talking, and what better topic between strangers than politics ! " Why has Democracy worked so well in Switzerland but so badly in most other countries ?" Zoe, like all Swiss, was very proud of her country and its democratic tradition. And like most Swiss of her generation she's also traveled extensively and well acquainted with the real state of the world. After we contemplated sadly the long list of failed "democratically elected" governments, she agreed democracy is not a fit for all. Elsie Tu, the most beloved and respected social activist in HK, wrote in her book " Colonial Hong Kong in the eyes of Elsie Tu" : 'Democracy is a state of mind and not a one-man-one-vote matter' as some naively believe.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The prerequisite for successful democratic voting appears to be a rational electorate who are forthright, altruistic and patriotic. Where else in the world would a people vote for a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>rise<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b>of taxation because the country was in need but vote<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>down</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>permanent "universal basic income " for all non-working adults (and their children) because it's detrimental to the economy of the country in the long run ? [<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Unemployment welfare in Switzerland is for 1 year only, in HK welfare for the unemployed is forever. Universal Aged Pension- as opposed to means tested, has been used by Democratic Politicians to beat up the HK government for years, winning sizable support !</i>] And where else would a people vote against a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i><b>raise</b></i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>of minimum wage or<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>extending</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>the paid annual leave from 4 to 6 weeks, because too much welfare would hurt Swiss competitiveness ? Like Elsie Tu the Swiss understand employer-employee are interdependent, and too much power either way is unhealthy for all. The Swiss vote with foresight for the benefit of their country rather than their narrow personal interest, and are thereby rewarded with good governance.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">To Hong Kong's </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">deep shame</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> as by now the whole world must be aware of the idiotic contemptible stunt of at least 6 elected but extremely juvenile HK legislators at the sworn-in ceremony, not to mention their willful perjury under oath. Now what does that say about the HK electorate who voted for them ? </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">We did the 50 minute Morteratsch Glacier trail in Pontresina as a sort of conditioning before hitting the high mountains. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Morteratsch is a valley glacier and has the third longest tongue in the Easter Alps.</span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;"> Regular length change measurements have been recorded which showed in a mere 120 years the Glacier has retreated 2 km . Sixteen educational </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">stopping points dotted along the path, each packed with information which relate without a doubt </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">human activities with </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">the alarmingly accelerated rate of retreat </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">in the last 20 years</span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">,</span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;"> and I challenge those who still argue climate change is purely a natural phenomenon to walk this walk !</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiSsJbJ7u4UcLYhQ2mUMF6WUNRmu_NsVN0XCJPeThRNerIHhi7AtGAQ99WWzQmHFrQ1tdOI5GsNGIpXzDgXdPKBExqoXXa9UoFo32lrfwXl_Of0tVaM18io8RzfZ9WJYXqGRvkmonizI/s1600/DSC09991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiSsJbJ7u4UcLYhQ2mUMF6WUNRmu_NsVN0XCJPeThRNerIHhi7AtGAQ99WWzQmHFrQ1tdOI5GsNGIpXzDgXdPKBExqoXXa9UoFo32lrfwXl_Of0tVaM18io8RzfZ9WJYXqGRvkmonizI/s400/DSC09991.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;"><br />Doing what I enjoy most in a hike - sitting !</span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">I must say the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">panoramic</span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;"> view at Diavolezza is the most breath taking of the whole trip ! The top station also has a restaurant, a hotel and a viewpoint terrace. At 2,973 meters we refrained from doing anything heroic, just pottered about and took short walk around the station. For the more vigorous there are many varied trails, some necessitating a guide and crampons. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #500050; font-size: medium;">We were told the legend of Piz </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Diavolezza, the red headed she-devil who lived in the mountains once upon a time. All hunters who became enchanted by her </span><span style="font-size: medium;">vanished without a trace</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, the last one was a local village lad Aratsch. At night the wind wailed " mort ais</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Aratsch" ( </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Aratsch</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is dead), and when the glacier crept down to cover the whole valley, the she-devil </span><span style="font-size: medium;">disappeared forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Piz Nair could be reached by a relay of cable car to the midway station Corviglia ,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> which affords an excellent view of St Moritz , from there board an aerial tramway, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">unloading slightly below its summit. Piz Nair overlooks the whole Engadin Valley and the panorama is amazing . What impressed me most however, is not that this is the site which hosted the alpine skiing events of the 1948 Winter Olympics and the World Championships in 1974 and 2003, but that the energy for the transport system is entirely sourced from water, wind, sun and bio-gas; e.g. the cable to </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Corviglia is solely dependent on 180 solar panels. Switzerland has one of the best environmental records among the developed nations. It was one of the countries to sign the Kyoto Protocol in 1998 and ratified it in 2003. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The next day was going to be a routine day of gentle hiking except for one unfortunate member. The plan was to get to the top of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Piz Corvatsch, the highest peak accessible with Engadine mountain rail, take in the view and</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> take some pictures round the station, then walk down the panoramic trail to get a better look at the lakes before catching the rail at mid mountain to go back to St Moritz. Shortly after we started our descend a lady in our group stepped back to take a picture for her friend, fell over with her foot caught between 2 rocks and broke her leg ! Luckily we were not far from the station, so our team leader doubled back to call for a helicopter to take her to the hospital.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Switzerland has one of the best health services in the world but it doesn't come cheap. This incidence brought home the importance of Medical Travel Insurance - the hospital would do nothing until an insurance company agreed to underwrite the cost, just handing over your credit card is not enough ( could be a solution for HK's huge bad medical credit every year! ). Luckily our teammate had excellent medical coverage, and her leg was fixed in a jiffy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">As a medical personnel naturally I'm interested in how the Swiss medical system works. It'd come as a shock to most Hong Kongers who take free medical care as a birthright, for all Swiss citizens and persons living in Switzerland are mandated under the law to buy private medical insurance. Even then they're required to pay a certain sum for each and every consultation and treatment, a requirement factored in for shared responsibility and to prevent abuse. Hong Kong had tried to introduce a milder form of insurance scheme earlier but it was noisily shut down by the " Democratic Camp" who ride the popular tide of irresponsibility and freebies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We left for </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lucerne the next day. I felt so bad about leaving our comrade behind I sent her a St Bernard toy dog for company. I was devastated to learn later the Benedictine Monastery categorically denies any St Bernard ever had a barrel of brandy tied to its neck. It's almost like Santa Claus has no gift bag !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Lucerne was </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the first city to join the Swiss Confederation, it</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is reputed to be the world's prettiest cities and is the Gateway to the center of Switzerland. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lucerne is divided by the river </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Reuss into an Old Town and a New Town. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The old town is best to go around by foot in order to admire the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">wonderful,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> well preserved medieval buildings. Chapel Bridge, the Water Tower and the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lion Monument are the must sees. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Chapel Bridge, spanning across the Reuss River, was built in 1333 as part of the fortifications of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lucerne. It's the oldest wooden covered footbridge in Europe and the oldest surviving truss bridge in the world. In 1993 a fire destroyed 2/3 of its unique interior paintings which dated back to the 17th century, but the restoration took only a few months and today the bridge is still regarded as the city's symbol. The 43m tall octagonal Water Tower is so called only because it stands in the water, in actuality at different times it had been a prison, a torture chamber and lately a municipal archive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Hare Krishna in </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lucerne</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> old town. Many young Swiss are into Eastern Mysticism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The dying Lion of Lucerne is one of the world's most famous monuments. The sculpture was carved into the limestone face of a low cliff. The mournful monument commemorates the sacrifice of the Swiss Guards defending the French King XVI during the French Revolution, when the mob stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792. The mortally wounded lion is portrayed lying in his lair with head bowed, agony in his face and a broken spear impaled in his shoulder, his paw rested protectively on a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">The inscription above the Lion reads "Helvetiorum fedei ac Virtuti", meaning </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">"To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss." Below the sculpture are the lists of the names of the officers and the approximate numbers of the soldiers who died (760) and survived (350). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Switzerland has a long tradition of supplying mercenaries to foreign governments - even today Swiss Guards protect the Vatican. During the Renaissance, everybody who could afford to hired the Swiss, of course </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">the money was most welcomed</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> as 150 years ago Switzerland was dirt poor, most people barely survived on subsistence farming. Swiss<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">mercenaries</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> were much sought after for several reasons :1) the Swiss neutrality meant their loyalty would not be swayed by changes in political wind, 2) the Swiss could be relied on to</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> honor their agreements</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> and fought to the bitter end rather than desert, 3) The Swiss warriors enjoyed an awesome reputation throughout Europe after defeating their stronger and better armed Hapsburg overlord 4) Easy to hire-the mercenaries were contracted as an entire militia unit directly with the local Swiss governments 5) Unlike other mercenary companies made up of motley adventurers, they were ready trained contingents with strict codes and most had ties of kinship, which gave them an exceptionally formidable spirit. Only after the invention of field artillery and firearms that they became obsolete. Interestingly in 2013 Swiss overwhelmingly rejected a </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">referendum</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> to abolish mandatory military service, which most Swiss see as their patriotic duty, besides " army training is much better than business school " ! </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Armed neutrality is a smart move of a small nation surrounded by big powerful countries on all sides.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Today the 150,000- strong army of this neutral nation is that of Austria, Belgium, Norway, Finland and Sweden combined.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Across </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">the lake from</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lucerne</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="color: black;">is </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Altdorf, where in the early 14th century William Tell was imprisoned for refusing to bow to the symbol of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">foreign </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Habsburg which was in power. Intrigued by William's fame of marksmanship, the governor proposed to spare his life if he shot an apple off of his son Robert's head. Tell became a folk hero and is a central figure in Swiss patriotism and small statues of William and his son are in most souvenir shops. Patriotism ranks high in Switzerland, the reason why I placed Tell's apple higher than the helicopter in my painting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Brienz is famous for being the "village of wood carving', and the only place where one could find genuine Swiss cuckoo clocks. Even today there's a school that teaches wood carving and violin-making. The post-card perfect Brunngasse well deserves the awarded title" the most beautiful street in Europe". It is a curving lane lined with stout wooden chalets dated from the 18th century, all decorated with intricate wood carvings and window boxes of blooming flowers. The houses are cleverly designed to withstand the harsh winter, the roofs incline at an angle not more than 40 degrees so snow could collect on top and insulate the house from cold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Interlaken is one of the oldest and most popular international resort town in Switzerland. It lies between Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west, and is an ideal base from which to explore </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">the three mighty mountains, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The main street was chock-a-block with high end shops, the shoppers appeared to be mainly black clad ladies from the Middle East, while the sky above was dotted with crazy gliders. The helicopters were busy again, this time to rescue gliders trapped on cliff faces.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Guttannen ( good firs) is named of a meadow. The short growing season and poor soil caused many residents to emigrate to escape the poverty, in the late 18th and 19th century most of them went to the US and settled in the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Today </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Guttannen</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> has a population of 291, only 7% are resident foreign nationals, the lowest number I'm come across so far. One kindergarten has a total of 6 pupils, much like the outlying villages in HK.</span></div>
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These kids were actually tourists from America <br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">We took the 2 hour hike round the Gelmersee ( Lake Gelmer) which is actually a hydroelectric reservoir. I was constantly delighted by the little details the Swiss put in to make the trails safe, in this case the railings on the vertical rock faces. All the trails we'd done so far were well marked and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i><b>so</b></i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>clean, unlike those in Hong Kong !</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The Park rules are conspicuously posted at all trail heads in 5 languages (</span><span style="font-size: medium;">German, French, Italian, Romansh and English) :</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Humans are visitors, they shall watch and enjoy, but ...</span></div>
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<ul>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is forbidden to leave the marked trails !</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is forbidden to gather any plants including flowers, roots, fungi or dead wood !</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is forbidden to hunt, disturb or harm animals or to fish !</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is forbidden to make fires or to use stoves !</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is forbidden to take any animals into the park, including dogs ! There is a kennel for dogs in Zernez.</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is forbidden to set up tents or to stay in the park overnight including all parking lots, except in the hotels along the Pass dal Fuorn road or in the Chamanna Cluozza !</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Visitors must take all their waste out of the park themselves !</span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a CHF 500 fine if a visitor does violate any of the park rules !</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-paragraph">
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<span class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-highlight"><span style="font-size: medium;">Please follow the motto: Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints on marked trails !</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW5JXT6NV1ToWktuOE00dmZRFp2v2WFhyphenhyphenYhRJhmn-yTTt3qP98ZncIeqSJy291AeAwHLu3MHnnJHeD9NiY_6kSYL1dJ4MmzuQXVTb-2Cjn5RSottShAZ9rR-HFTB43SmSDzygRon4exA/s1600/2169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW5JXT6NV1ToWktuOE00dmZRFp2v2WFhyphenhyphenYhRJhmn-yTTt3qP98ZncIeqSJy291AeAwHLu3MHnnJHeD9NiY_6kSYL1dJ4MmzuQXVTb-2Cjn5RSottShAZ9rR-HFTB43SmSDzygRon4exA/s400/2169.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-highlight"><span style="font-size: medium;">What is surprising is the rules are enforced in most parts not by the authorities but by the citizens themselves ! Swiss are normally cordial and polite, except when they catch a rule-breaker ! I'd love it if the same could happen in HK but it's just wishful thinking, as in recent years, some teachers and church leaders are actually teaching their students and parishioners that breaking the law is cool and godly ! I admire </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">greatly</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the Swiss for their respect for the law, could be because I spent a large part of my youth in England, I agree totally with Elsie Tu ( an English lady) when she said "I firmly believe that those who demand just laws must keep even bad laws themselves until they are able to change them". </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Unbelievably the HK Democratic Camp who advocate "civic disobedience" seek to violate laws that are actually good for the majority of the people ! Paralyzing a central financial district for 21/2 months would be unthinkable to the Swiss, but apparently not to these selfish Chinese. Besides " Good or bad" is a relative term </span><span style="font-size: medium;">often distorted by personal perception</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and circumstance - </span><span style="font-size: medium;">one person's freedom could well infringe on the freedom of another ; what is food for one could be poison for another - and thus should not be decided unilaterally by a minority to impose on the majority ! </span><span style="font-size: medium;">It's a no-brainer that if everyone takes the law into his own hand then there'd be anarchy. </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We crossed the 70 meter long </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Handeggfall </span><span style="font-size: medium;">hanging bridge to board the Gelmerbahn funicular railway. Originally built in 1926 to transport employees of the hydroelectric power station, the track is 1,028m long and has a maximum inclination of 106 degrees, making it the steepest funicular in Europe. Both the ascent and descent carriages are open topped, a heart-stopper for an acrophobia like me ! </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Our next stop Lauterbrunnen means "many springs", because of the 72 waterfalls in the area. It is a small village nestled at the bottom of a U-shaped valley between towering sheer-sided </span><span style="font-size: medium;">limestone</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">precipic<wbr></wbr>e. Life was hard there before it became the top tourist attraction of today, consequently </span><span style="font-size: medium;">many residents emigrated, most to the Carolinas in the US. </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">The most famous waterfall is the Staubbach, about 10 minutes' walk from the village. The waterfall at 300 meters is one of the highest in Europe formed of a single unbroken free-falling waterfalls. There're steps and a tunnel leading up to the waterfall, it could be a bit slippery but there's a barrier and handrail the whole way. From the top there's a fantastic view of the village and the valley. J.R.R. Tolkien was said to have traveled here in 1911, and the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">valley was the</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> inspiration behind the fictitious valley of Rivendell, the dwelling place of Elrond Half-elven and his people. Well, there's no lack of elves and semi-mythic people in Swiss folklore, unsurprising perhaps considering their Celtic lineage.</span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">The history of Switzerland makes interesting reading. Celtic tribes settled in Switzerland between 1000 and 1500 BC. Later the Romans built roads along the mountain passes and expanded into the area. From 6th to 13th century Germanic tribes moved in and mixed with the local Celts. The medieval period was a time of power struggles between the dynasties of Italy, Austria and Slovenia. To protect themselves and encouraged by William Tell' s rebellion against the Habsburg, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">four cantons in Switzerland formed a defensive alliance and drew up a charter in 1291 to declare independence - Voila, a nation was born ! Over the next few centuries more cantons joined the confederacy, and in 1499 the Old Swiss Confederacy broke away from the Holy Roman Empire and became a distinct nationality, only to be conquered in the Napoleonic Wars and reconstituted<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">as the Helvetic Republic in 1798</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. After the fall of Napoleon, the central Alpine states saw the need to control the strategic mountain passes for trade and defense against any new invasion. </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">So in 1815 the leading powers of Europe redrew the map of the continent, expanding the Swiss Confederacy to its present day borders by incorporating neighboring Italian and French speaking states, while the Treaty of Paris signed the same year established its neutrality. This is the reason why Switzerland has 4 official languages : German, French, Italian and Romansch. The subsequent civil war between Catholic and Protestant cantons forced the Confederacy to change into a Federal state in 1848.The new constitution follows the American model, and allows cantons the right to self-government, i.e. have their own parliament, government and court, as well as the right to choose their own religion, while at the same time united by a central government. </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">So Switzerland came into being by necessity, its people far from homogenous. But Swiss thrives on diversity, as individual cultural characteristics of different regions are celebrated and nourished. The most famous Swiss motto is " Unity yes, Uniformity no" ! Inexplicably pride in local identity is synonymous with loyalty to the larger state. The only common national identity seemingly is the Alpine </span><span style="font-size: medium;">symbolism of farming and forestry, wood processing and cheese-making. As in all farming communities, there're many festivals, one frequently featured on postcards is the feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8th Sept, when the cattle are brought down from the upland pastures for the winter. All the cows are decorated with garlands and enormous cowbells while the farmers deck out in traditional costumes for this joyful and colorful ritual. </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Contrast the all embracing and inclusivity of the Swiss ethos with the xenophobic Democratic politicians in HK, who constantly and maliciously promote Hate Culture against the Mainland Chinese (<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>while we're all homogenous Chinese !</i>), this time using "parallel trading" as a pretext . With home-grown Trumps like these, how could HK not be but a city in decline ? </span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Elsie Tu hit the nail on the head when she wrote that</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> "democracy"<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">means "anti-China" and nothing else </span><span style="font-size: medium;">to the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">HK Democrats</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, who built their power by advertising themselves as heroes protecting the people from Beijing and preaching doomsday....... the livelihood of ordinary people and the welfare of HK are never the priority.</span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Like the Chinese, Traditional Swiss meals are communal, such as fondue, where a pot is set in the middle of the table for each person to dip into. We had a fondue meal in a restaurant in </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lauterbrunnen ; Chinese on the whole are not big cheese eaters ; though I do eat cheese, fondue is still a wee bit too rich for me.</span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">From</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lauterbrunnen we went to </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Grindelwald Grund, a railway station in the Grund area of the village. The tram line from here to </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Männlichen</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> was built in 1978, and is the third longest in the world. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Männlichen is a 2,343 meter mountain and the panoramic walk from there to Kleine Scheidegg is a 11/2 hour delightful easy walk, mostly downhill, but offers unique views of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Kleine Scheidegg at the foot of Eiger</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> is the starting station for </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Jungfraubahn, a mountain </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">railway up the Jungfrau mountain listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Kleine Scheidegg is also part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites, where we had lunch before heading back to </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lauterbrunnen</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">While the guys were more interested in the pretty waitress, my focus was on the beer. Braugold is actually a German beer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Wine had been produced by the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries since the 11th century in Lavaux, situated along the Lake of Geneva. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">In 2007</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Under cantonal law, the vineyards, many of which have been owned by the same families for generations, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">are protected from development. We did the Vineyard Terraces </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Hiking</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, passing through historic medieval St Saphorin with its narrow alleys and winegrowers' houses from the 16th to 19th century. In summertime wine carts are placed along the route for thirsty hikers. The main wine grape variety grown here is the Chasselas, and since 2016, synthetic pesticides are banned in Lavaux.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Chillon Castle in Veytaux is an island castle located on Lake Geneva, and can only be reached by a covered bridge. It's listed in the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites, and is said to be the inspiration behind the castle in 'The Little Mermaid' movie. But real life is always more prosaic, in the 16th century it was a prison owned by the dukes of Savoy, the most famous prisoner was probably Francois de Bonivard, a political monk who was commemorated by Lord Byron in his poem 'The Prisoner of Chillon'. While visiting the castle Byron carved his name on a pillar of the dungeon, but of course if you were not Byron this would be vandalism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Today the grand bedroom, hall, cave stores, four great halls, three courtyards and a series of bedrooms are open to the public.</span></div>
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Careful kid, that's a real big drop !</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Kora, my roommate, asked a question nobody in our team could answer: " Who's the president of Switzerland ? " The reason for our ignorance has much to do with the unique Swiss political system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">T</span><span style="font-size: medium;">he Swiss </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Federal Constitution</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">divides political power between the Confederation and the cantons</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Now we already know something about cantons, an additional information : e</span><span style="font-size: medium;">very</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> canton is made up of municipals, and each municipal government is elected by the citizens of constituent villages or towns through majority voting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The three main governing bodies of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Federal Confederation are :</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>1) </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Federal Assembly</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>(a bicameral Parliament)</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>represents the people, with 200 deputies. P</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">arliamentary elections are organized around a proportional multi-party voting system and consists of 2 Chambers :</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">a) the Council of States (Chamber of cantons) has</span><b style="color: red;"> </b>power to legislate. It is made up of </span> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">46 canton representatives (4 year term) who are elected </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">under a system determined by each canton.</span></div>
<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">b) National Council (the People’s Chamber), which consists of 200 members (4 year term) who are elected by popular vote on a basis of proportional representation. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"></span> </div>
<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<b><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">2)</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Federal Council</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">(head of</span></b><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><b> government),</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>consists of 7 members selected by the Federal Assembly for a 4 year term, all of equal rights. The president of the government is elected from among the 7 members, traditionally in rotation and for a one-year term. So the Federal Council operates as a combination of cabinet and collective presidency, which ensures executive power is not concentrated in one person. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The President is just the head of a department within the administration, therefore largely ceremonial.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> This is why nobody outside Switzerland knows who the current president is !</span></div>
<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Federal Council has no </span><span style="font-size: medium;">legislative powers, which belongs to the Federal Assembly. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Both chambers of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">the Federal Assembly have the same rights and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">a</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ll bills and federal ordinances must receive the assent of both chambers to become law. Thus</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">political power in the country rests with the Parliament and the people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">3)</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Federal Supreme Court.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">This is the supreme organ of the judiciary, it functions as a court of appeal of cantonal court or federal administrative rulings, and is responsible to ensure that federal law ( criminal and civil codes) is interpreted and applied consistently. I</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">t is independent of the executive and the legislature, its judges are elected for a 6 year term by the Federal Assembly.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzrnMq3cXz3TQ575dmBQ28EWddVn-fPXt-PyzIqK9BJ82bjdVqxf24IFyAgG50lhiGmO68LYR5joEWKLOOq4nYT84E8V9h0_fTOrVhCyKsGx-tdFgxH0d5W03IuinmtMc_QsKPqNESjM/s1600/1955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzrnMq3cXz3TQ575dmBQ28EWddVn-fPXt-PyzIqK9BJ82bjdVqxf24IFyAgG50lhiGmO68LYR5joEWKLOOq4nYT84E8V9h0_fTOrVhCyKsGx-tdFgxH0d5W03IuinmtMc_QsKPqNESjM/s400/1955.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Switzerland has a</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>semi-direct democracy</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>i.e. -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><i>direct democracy</i></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>: directly vote on polices by </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">referendum, in parallel with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>representative democracy</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>:</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> vote for officials via elections. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The electorate has at least 4 opportunities each year to vote on national proposals; Federal, cantonal and municipal issues are polled simultaneously. The electorate also have the power of recall, to remove elected officials from office.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">The famous Swiss referendums are actually under very strict and specific conditions :</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Any citizen may challenge a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">federal law</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>if he can collect 50,000 signatures within 100 days of the official publication of the new law, and call for a referendum. But to change a law requires a double majority : both a national popular vote ( simple majority of the people) as well as majority of the cantons. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Any citizen who wants to make amendment to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">constitution</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>or initiate constitutional legislation, needs to collect the signatures of 100,000 voters supporting the federal popular initiative within 18 months. Initiatives of constitutional level need to be accepted by a double majority; but counter-proposals of legislative level only require simple majority.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Citizens cannot, however, initiate legislation of their own crafting through legislative referendums. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Most referendums receive counter-proposals, and most are passed on a compromise. The success of Swiss politics is therefore based on consensus after active negotiations</span><span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"> in the community. The art of politics is truly in <strong>compromise</strong> !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">Voting age is 18 years, surprisingly women were only granted suffrage in 1971 ! And even today women are poorly represented in higher government. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">All adult citizens have been able to vote at the canton level since 27 November 1990. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">How are you holding up so far ? Have I managed to totally muddle you up ?!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0D7YNiByCDmanF2qVemqcVyJ0Mkd0QD7T2Fhi2eWveXdCcM6BiPl43rCPQZA0OhGYyYE4TfZd5JweAkW0RVAAk3WPTklDxIGYiv-gK6ut8Pw1k8INYtRS5VVv0vwaTVjhejqs_UXCXnQ/s1600/Edelweiss_16342%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0D7YNiByCDmanF2qVemqcVyJ0Mkd0QD7T2Fhi2eWveXdCcM6BiPl43rCPQZA0OhGYyYE4TfZd5JweAkW0RVAAk3WPTklDxIGYiv-gK6ut8Pw1k8INYtRS5VVv0vwaTVjhejqs_UXCXnQ/s400/Edelweiss_16342%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the reasons why some of the HK </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">elected legislators are so </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">appalling in quality is because HK follows the British 'first-past-the-post' voting system, i.e. the candidate with the highest votes is the winner, even though he may have won only a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>tiny<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>proportion of the vote in a constituency where there were three or more candidates. The proportional representation system (what the Swiss use</span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">) </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">which would result in a fairer distribution of seats and better represent the wishes of most voters (what democracy is all about ! ) </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: medium;">was proposed after 1997</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">, but was promptly shut down by the HK 'Democrats' because they knew overall they didn't have the majority of the population with them ! What do you know, when the majority of Hong Kongers say the Democrats don't represent them in spite of the number of seats they hold, they're actually speaking the truth !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Picturesque Lausanne is French speaking, and a part of the Swiss Riviera. Among the illustrious writers who visited were Hemingway, Shelley, Byron, and Edward Gibbon (historian); and it was her</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">e that</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> T.S. Eliot composed his poem 'The Wasteland' in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">1922</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">. Culture and sports are both in high profile in </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Lausanne - it is a lively university town and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the International Olympic Committee had been stationed here since 1914. On the waterfront of Ouchy is the Olympic Museum, which houses an overview of the history of the Olympic games from the first 1896 summer games in Athens through to the present day. </span></span></div>
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<div class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-m_5469704069547145284gmail-m_61551145494664866gmail-m_5758292512380985664gmail-m_-3417830706061706165gmail-m_-5211984072007693185gmail-m_-3056036649336103717m_3658202611980974807gmail-m_3827699886192823138gmail-m_7705116189386786884gmail-m_-6318982466392496301gmail-m_-7906612034589979656gmail-m_2457822822853839164gmail-m_-4968618784754495767gmail-m_-5740880413671706363gmail-m_-8084145885707830389gmail-m_6704848341895762023m_-4938661269075134001gmail-m_38484405628847367gmail-m_4897059213421649356gmail-m_640523981741229659gmail-m_1595058562829949513gmail-normal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The next stop was Geneva, best known for being home to 200-odd government and non-government international organizations, among them the European headquarters of the United Nations, the International Federation (and the Committee) of Red Cross and Red Crescent, as well as the Museum; UNHCR, WHO and WTO. It's also a global financial center and Geneva's economy is mainly services orientated. A truly </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">cosmopolitan</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> city, one in two of its population are resident foreign nationals, the reason why English is the second most common</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> language here after French, the official language. </span></span></div>
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Even rich cities have bag ladies !</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The name Geneva came from a Celtic toponym, "genu" means a bend or knee, as in a bend in the river, referring to where Geneva situates at the point Lake Geneva empties into the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Rhone</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Lake </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Geneva</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is the showpiece of the city, it is fringed by atmospheric </span><span style="font-size: medium;">promenades</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">lak<wbr></wbr>e side parks, and contains within it the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Jet d' Eau, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the world's tallest water fountain. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Jet d' Eau</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> was first installed in 1886 as a safety relief valve for the pipes supplying pressurized water to the jewelers' and crafts people's machinery. When the workshops required more flow </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and raised</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the fountain height, its aesthetic value was recognized and it was moved to its present position in 1951, the 600th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. The Fountain is 90 meters high, it shoots 500 liters of lake water into the air every second at a speed of almost 200m/h, so at anytime 7 tones of water is in the air, a truly remarkable piece of engineering ! The Fountain is visible throughout the city, making it</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> a constant landmark in exploring the city.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Another famous landmark is</span><b style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">"L' horloge fleurie", created in 1955 as a symbol of the city's watchmakers .With a diameter of 5 meters, it was the largest flower clock in the world until Iran installed one of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">15 meters in</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Tehran in 2005.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We stopped at the Patek Philippe shop as some in our group wanted to buy watches. In the end there was no sale, so </span><span style="font-size: medium;">I was taken aback when </span><span style="font-size: medium;">we were still given VIP tickets for the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Philippe </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Museum, each worth 10 CHF, no strings attached - and me wearing my US$ 4 dollar plastic watch ! In fact for all the time we were in Switzerland we were treated courteously, and people actually went out of their way to be helpful. So how is Switzerland racist ? Oprah Winfrey says "Very !" In 2013 she alleged a snotty shop girl refused to show her a $38,000 crocodile handbag because she's black. Both Amnesty International and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance also agree racism is widespread in Switzerland, mostly against blacks and Muslims, particularly in areas of employment and house renting. Swiss naturalization laws are some of the most stringent in the world, while a person is allowed to apply for citizenship after 12 years, since 2007 the law stipulates all members of the local community of the applicant must vote on his/her application before a passport is granted - Muslims, Africans<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">and Asians are all disproportionately rejected</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. "Convenience" marriages are prevented </span><span style="font-size: medium;">by outlawing foreigners </span><span style="font-size: medium;">without a visa </span><span style="font-size: medium;">from marrying Swiss citizens. In 2009 a constitutional referendum was passed to ban the building of mosque minarets, and provoked an outrage from the Muslim minority . In 2013 asylum seekers complained they were segregated in old army barracks, prohibited to leave the compounds outside the hours of 9 AM. to 5 PM, and banned from public places such as swimming pools, playing fields, soccer pitches and libraries.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So where did all this anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment come from? It could be traced back to the Balkans War in 1999 : </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">the influx of East European refugees caused a </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">11% increase in </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">population in 10 years</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">. In 2000 there was also a sharp rise in African asylum seekers, with the number tripling in 10 years. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Another 10 years brought us to the horrors of the</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Arab Spring uprisings in 2011- </span><span style="font-size: medium;">by 2012 there were already 50,000 </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">asylum seekers</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> in Switzerland ! With one asylum seekers for 332 inhabitants in Switzerland, the rate is </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">twice the European average. This was even before the million more poured out of Syria in the past 2 years. Today 1/4 of Switzerland's 8.2 million population are born outside the country. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Swiss are pragmatic and understand : </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">" Switzerland's needs must come before those of the asylum seekers</span><span style="font-size: medium;">". </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">In the 2014 referendum voters imposed immigration quotas and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">in 2015 </span><span style="font-size: medium;">asylum laws were further tightened, both against EU's freedom of movement principle. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Today HK faces the same refugee problem, worse, most of ours are "fake refugees", thugs who are allowed to roam the streets and commit violent crimes. 'What's that about ?' you ask. Well, simple : they're protected by the HK Democratic Politicians who are committed to bring HK down. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In a mature civilized society race and racism is never a simple equation, as the concept of race is not just founded in biology, and racism is not just a matter of skin color, but also history and societal values. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Swiss respect people who're hard working, self-reliant and conscientious, and despise those simply looking for handouts. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">I met </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">a stout Sri Lankan lady </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Mangai, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">in the bus, she's lived in Switzerland for 15 years and both of her 2 children were born in Switzerland. She worked as a maid and her husband for the McDonald's." We're very happy here " she smiled at my question.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the 1980s - '90s the Tamils ( brown) escaping the Sri Lankan Civil war to come here were given a really bad time, but today they're the darlings of Swiss society because they've proved themselves to be good workers and law-abiding. On the other hand </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">recruitment agencies</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> refuse to find jobs for </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">French workers (white), because they're perceived as lazy, unpunctual and imprecise. In spite of its racist reputation, incredibly there are more bi-national marriages in Switzerland than many other European countries.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Swiss right-wing election poster in 2007,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">with the slogan "To Create Security"</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> and pledges to kick out all foreigners who break Swiss laws. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">By this time everyone in the tour had gone home to HK, but I opted to stay on for a few more days. I'm a big fan of museums, but both the Art and History Museum and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMCO) were quite difficult to find, or maybe I'm just bad at directions. But I shouldn't complain as during the search I accidentally stumbled on the circus which had just come to town !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I went to 3 parks, the </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jardin des Anglais (</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">English Park), the </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jardin Botanique (</span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Botanical Gardens) and </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">the Bastions Park. In the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Bastions Park is the </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Reformation Wall and the effigies of Geneva's founding fathers : William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza and John Knox. Geneva was Roman Catholic until it became the epicenter of the new Protestant Reform in the 16th century, which profoundly affected its subsequent political and religious development . In 1814, Geneva was admitted to the Swiss Confederation, and in 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Another interesting feature in the park is its life size chessboards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I went on the United Nations guided tour like a good tourist. Tickets are bought at the Visitors Service, where they also take a picture of you for the identification badge which you're required to wear the whole time you're inside the building. The tour lasts for one hour, but make sure you go with the right</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> group as there are more than 15 </span><span style="font-size: medium;">language groups</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">We were shown a film about the United Nations past and present, then taken by our guide, a young Egyptian, to see </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the major boardrooms which are connected by long broad corridors on different floors in various wings of the building. These include</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> the Assembly Hall, the largest room and mainly used for big meetings such as the World Health Assembly; the Council Chamber with murals by </span><span style="font-size: medium;">José Maria Sert, where the Conference on Disarmament was held ; and the </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, the psychodelic ceiling of which was done</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> by Miquel Barcelò, </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Our guide updated us on the current activities of the UN, then out of nowhere, he looked round at us and asked " Has anyone here read 'The Clash of Civilizations' ?" None of the 20 in the group, half of them Americans, had. I just stared: this guy must be really young if he actually believes this book ! The gist of the book by the American scholar Samuel P. Huntington was that </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the primary source of conflict in the post Cold War world would be</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> cultural and religious differences. I had to bite my lip to stop from screaming : " Hell No ! It's The Economy ! The Economy ! The Economy ! Countries are not run by governments anymore, but by big corporations ! Every modern war that's been fought had been for the profit of some business enterprise ! " In the same vein I wondered : What's it like to be that young to still believe in the UN !?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I never saw the point of UN when America could </span><span style="font-size: medium;">flout the rules and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">do whatever it want with impunity anyway. After 9-11 America passed a bill giving itself the right to kidnap foreign nationals from anywhere without having to consult any world body, then torture and keep them in indefinite detention without trial at Guantanamo Bay; it got away with </span><span style="font-size: medium;">sending spy planes into China's airspace in Hainan,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <span style="font-size: medium;">killing a Chinese fighter jet pilot to boot ! Then a spy plane even landed </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">at the Lingshui Military Airport without<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">permission </span><span style="font-size: medium;">in </span><span style="font-size: medium;">total disregard of </span><span style="font-size: medium;">territorial sovereignty.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Can you imagine what US would do if anybody else do the same in Hawaii ? </span><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2003 </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Bush thumbed his nose at the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">UN Security Council and attacked </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Iraq, today America goes a step further and permits itself to invade any country without first declaring war, in 6 years Obama had drone strikes in at lease 7 countries : Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, and Syria, carrying out extrajudicial assassinations - civilian casualties are simply shrugged off as " inevitable collateral damage". He also sent US military inside Pakistan without so much as a by your leave </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and summarily executed Bin Laden without trial ! US v</span><span style="font-size: medium;">iolation of international laws</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is not something new though, since after WWII America had </span><span style="font-size: medium;">supported proxy armies and</span><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: medium;">toppled at least a dozen legitimate governments it didn't like, and supported at least a dozen vicious military dictatorships it could do business with, just that now the operations are more overt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The<span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">lofty conception of</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> </span>"Democracy and Human Rights" is the foolproof </span><span style="font-size: medium;">cloak for American aggression, so if I tell you</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> America is the idol and role model of HK Democrats, you'd understand right away why<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">they are who they are and why they </span><span style="font-size: medium;">do what they do. This is a new breed that holds </span><span style="font-size: medium;">"Democracy and Freedom" like a fundamentalist religion, and</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> like the IS they are intolerant to even the slightest criticism or different opinion, and all public officials who don't comply to their demands to the tee are burnt at the stake ! They demand much from others, and even inflict harm on them- sabotage livelihood and destroy public </span><span style="font-size: medium;">properties by mindless hooliganism</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, but see no evil in their own actions, instead they'd demand reprisals for real or imagined lesser misdeeds of others - being double standard is a matter of course. E</span><span style="font-size: medium;">verything bad is somebody else's fault, no wonder they're experts at picking scapegoats ! </span><span style="font-size: medium;">On their moral high horse they'd rather see the HK general public suffer as long as they could hold on to their empty ideology. Their cardinal sin is putting<b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Ideology above Humanity</b>. " Freedom" has been used by these people as a password to dictate to others and take away their freedom. HK is already the most free city in the world, can you imagine Time Square in New York City or Trafalgar Square in London being brought to a standstill for 79 days and the police do nothing?</span><br />
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Red guards or Yellow guards, it's the same Chinese gene , which is incompatible with democracy.</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">UN was first set up after WWII to negotiate Peace, but America had waged war in 5 continents right under its nose with no consequences ! S</span><span style="font-size: medium;">ince the collapse of USSR in 1991 and US became the single superpower in an </span><span style="font-size: medium;">uni-polar world, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">UN has increasingly come under the dominance of the US and Western interests. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Swiss have consistently rejected UN membership, o</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">nly in 2002 did Switzerland become a full member, the</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">first state to join by referendum</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. I befriended a Japanese professor who was in the same UN tour, and it set me thinking : I've made so many foreign friends and received so much kindness in so many different countries, I'd never believe for a second race and culture are ever the issue between people; if we are really serious about World Peace don't bother looking to governments or the UN, just get rid of the greedy insatiable mega-corporations and make a new friend everyday who's of another race, culture, language or religion, and we'd get there !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Across the street from the UN stands t</span><span style="font-size: medium;">he Broken Chair</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, a giant chair (5.5 tons of wood) with a broken le<span style="color: black;">g </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">halfway up, </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">to </span><span style="font-size: medium;">symbolize limbs lost to land mines </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and cluster bombs. The sculpture was put up by the Handicap International in 1997, though it failed the objective which was to gain the largest number of States<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">to sign the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Ottawa Treaty for the banning of landmines, the strong public support it received made it one of the most iconic pieces of 21st century art. In my painting I mended the broken leg the same way as my friend's leg, but most real life landmine victims are not so lucky.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">On average 5,000 people are maimed or killed by landmines globally every year, 75% are civilians - 30% of these are children.</span><span style="font-size: medium;">By the way Obama </span><span style="font-size: medium;">rejected the mine ban treaty</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> just </span><span style="font-size: medium;">weeks before he </span><span style="font-size: medium;">received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, so much for the Nobel Peace laureate ! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Red Cross Museum is across the road from the car entrance to the UN Offices. The museum was first opened in 1988, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">but underwent a big renovation from 2011 to 2013, funded by the multinational tobacco corporation Japan Tobacco International. After heavy criticism by health groups, the director of the museum returned the money to JTI, maybe that's why today t</span><span style="font-size: medium;">he admission tickets are rather pricey at CHF15 for adults ! Admission</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> includes the use of an audio guide that switches on automatically as you cross each display room. The format is </span><span style="font-size: medium;">very modern,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> using text, video, sound and interactive displays, and traces when </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Henry Dunant first set up the </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Red Cross </span><span style="font-size: medium;">(or Red Crescent in Muslim countries) in mid-19th century, through to the present day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Museum reopened with a new permanent exhibition called "The Humanitarian Adventure" which is divided into 3 parts : D</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">efending human dignity, Restoring family links, and Reducing natural risks.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Art works by prisoners show the importance of mental stimulation and creativity to preserve dignity</span> </h2>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> A wall of small photos of children from Rwanda </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Museum has been criticized for placing style over substance, as it </span><span style="font-size: medium;">tells disappointingly little about<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">the International Committee of the Red Cross, its history, or it current activities. The Museum's defense is that </span><span style="font-size: medium;">as</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> a monument to humanity’s best impulses in the face of its worst,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">their aim is not just in providing information and knowledge, but in evoking</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> an emotional and</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">awareness-building experience.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Well, let me be the first to say they did good !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I boarded a train to Zurich, where I'd spend a couple of days before flying back to HK. I'd recommend any visitor to Switzerland to travel at least some part of their journey by train. It's relatively inexpensive and the ride is clean, slick and pleasurable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The hostel receptionist gave me a </span><span style="font-size: medium;">friendly nod </span><span style="font-size: medium;">" You're here for the Street Parade ?" " There's a parade ?" Apparently I'd arrived on the day of the yearly Zurich Music Parade which people from all over come specially to support. "Well, since I'm here already...." and that's where I ended up. The Street Parade Zurich is a day-long moving music festival modeled on the Love Parade </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Berlin </span><span style="font-size: medium;">which was started in 1989 at the time of German<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">unification<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">as<span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">a Celebration of Peace, Love, and Music</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>In 1992<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Zurich mathematics student Marek Krynski perfected the logistics and staged the first Zurich Parade. The Berlin parade was</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span class="gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-oneClick-link gmail-m_8212103264254605954m_-414865104360825943m_3172017488475641225gmail-m_4742719590910528454m_4556847689661696098m_-7743814497333388230m_-2320270831578034226gmail-m_4837107581535763722gmail-m_1925327469188992072gmail-m_-7173211656171469746gmail-m_-2706081344437268004gmail-m_187437161549356503m_5587228472516785730gmail-oneClick-available">ill-famed</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> and raucous, it was eventually closed down in 2010 after a crowd rush caused the </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">death of 21 people, and at least 500 injured. The Zurich Parade happens round the beautiful Lake Zurich and doesn't interfere with local businesses ( so VERY Swiss !). Today it's the </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">w</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">orld's </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">most highly regarded and the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Largest Techno Party </span><span style="font-size: medium;">with 30 love mobiles, 600 DJs or acts, and 7 stages for one million </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">electro-music enthusiasts.</span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">For a whole day in a year the Swiss let hair down and put costumes up, and get crazy with alcohol, cigarettes, music and possibly drugs. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">E</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">cstasy and speed are the favored drugs in such events, while </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">cocaine, a lifestyle drug, remains a hit among clubbers and party-goers</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. In the evening after the Parade, many would head towards these clubs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">One man down but I'd be seeing more as the day wore on.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">80% of Swiss drink alcohol, but only 1/5 overdoes it. The legal drinking age is 16 for beer and wine,18 for hard liquor. But like most </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">European countries, the law is rarely enforced unless decorum is broken or a problem develops. A Drunken Disorderly Misconduct almost happened as a drunk, a big six-footer, lurched forward and grabbed me by the arm. Luckily he was a bit<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>too</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>drunk and I was able to shake him off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Smoking prevalence is around 25% in Switzerland, the most popular brand is Marlboro of Philip Morris. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Every year<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">some 9,000 people die in Switzerland as a consequence of tobacco consumption( remember population is 8 million).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Those of us in the medical field would probably be familiar with the Swiss drug </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">policy which should serve as model everywhere.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Illicit drugs arrived on the scene in th<span style="color: black;">e </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">late 60s to 70s with </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">psychoactive drugs, well, LSD was first made by a Swiss scientist ! In the 80s-90s Switzerland became a center for heroin addicts in Europe, HIV infection rate soared to become the highest in Western Europe, with </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">“open drug scenes” in several Swiss cities, such as Zurich, Bern, Olten.</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> In Zurich up to 1,000 drug users gathered daily in the infamous Platzpitz Park, dubbed "Needle Park". While globally drug law remains focused on </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">punishing addicts, Switzerland instituted the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">four-prong </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">drug</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">policy :<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1) prevention by educational campaigns </span><span style="font-size: medium;">2) law enforcement of illegal drug trafficking and pushers. But addiction itself is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">not a crime,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">sharing narcotics free of charge is also not a crime </span><span style="font-size: medium;">3) treatment by abstinence 4) harm reduction (</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">reduce the health and social<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">consequences</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> of addiction but let the addicts continue their habit)</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">- set up </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">clean needles/syringe exchange programs to prevent AIDS and other infection, </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">safe </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">hygienic</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> injection rooms with a shower and bed. </span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Harm reduction plan was very </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">controversial when it first came out but later proved to be able to</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> protect both users and </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">communities. It kept</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> many heroin addicts off the streets, and lowered crime and overdose rate</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I</span><span style="font-size: medium;">n the mid-1980s drug addicts were largely viewed as marginalized people responsible for their own fate, later they're deemed to have a serious pathology and needed help rather than ostracization. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Thus the </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Harm reduction </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">plan</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">, </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">one of inclusion not exclusion, fitted the bill</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Since 1994 it has evolved to</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> include : </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Out-patient medical </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">supervision as well as </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">medical prescription of heroin, </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">heroin-based cigarettes<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">free methadone</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">. Today f</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">amily doctors prescribe about 60 percent of opiate substitution treatment in Switzerland.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">S</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ocial support include street work, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, low threshold centers<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">equipped with cafeterias, showers and laundry facilities</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> . </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There are also </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">c</span><span style="font-size: medium;">enters for the treatment of hard core users</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Steps to Recovery</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is an </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Integrated Behavioral Treatment program for addicts intending to start afresh, "drug addiction counselling" and </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">"low threshold coping skills programs" are<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">compulsory for graduation</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The uncomfortable truth is illegal drug use remains high, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Switzerland consumes approximately eleven tons of heroine and cocaine annually. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cocaine use in big Swiss cities is among the highest in Europe, due to its </span><span style="font-size: medium;">easy access and the big drop in price. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Most drugs are from West Africa. </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ecstasy is regarded as a soft drug, so dealing is not a serious offence. Use of Ecstacy is actually permitted </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">within psycho-therapy. </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">domestic production of</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">“Thai” pills (yaba pills) is dominated by Asian criminal gangs linked to prostitution. On the whole<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Switzerland does not attract organized crime because of its small</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> market ; it's only </span><span style="font-size: medium;">attractive as a clearing house for money laundering. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">Switzerland has a laissez-faire attitude towards cannabis, it's granted </span><span style="font-size: medium;">a separate status from illegal drugs,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> the legal footing is more akin to medical prescription of morphine as treatment. In 1993 Europe's fist hemp shop opened in Bern, capital of Switzerland, today there are 230 hemp shops located throughout the country. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Former interior minister Ruth Dreifuss, nicknamed<span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">“dealer of the nation” for introducing the </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">four-prong </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">drug</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">policy, even advocates setting up cannabis social clubs ! It's no wonder cannabis is the most frequently used 'illegal' drug. In 2014 Cannabis legislation returns to Swiss agenda, the consensus is cannabis use should be discouraged but<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">decriminalized for young people under 18 years of age, as it would </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">lighten the workload of judicial authorities<span style="color: black;">.</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> On the other hand, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the age limit for buying cannabis is </span><span style="font-size: medium;">raised </span><span style="font-size: medium;">from 16 to 18 ; </span><span style="font-size: medium;">and stricter penalties put in place for people who sell to minors under 16.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div>
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Many jumped into the lake to cool off </div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the evening I compared notes with my roommate from Australia. The poor girl lost her penny purse in the crowd, and had to crawl on all fours to search for it between the legs of the revelers. " Did you find it ?" I asked," No, but I found somebody else's purse !"</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">After a couple of hours I got tired of the heat, the crowd and the rising smell of piss in the city ( yeah, public urination everywhere), so I went to the National Museum to find out why Switzerland is so rich.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">The National Museum Zurich</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> is located between the main train station and the Platzspitz Park. The </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">building</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> is over 100 years and resembles a fairy tale castle, well worth visiting as it has the largest collection of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">cultural-historical objects in the country. Switzerland is a small landlocked country which has scant natural resources, so it has traditionally cultivated a deep sense of work ethics and resilience against poverty, their investment strategy is primarily long term and </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">conservative, while </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">consumer spending is low. Work hard, spend little, save a lot - Hey, that's how HK got rich 30 years ago ! </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">You can't help but be impressed by the Swiss efficiency that after a day's debauchery which left the city filled with</span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> litters and unconscious bodies, overnight Zurich was spick-and-span again and ready for business !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The city was quiet and sedate the morning after. I went to the Odeon Cafe Zurich, where I had a much needed beer. The cafe is one of Zurich's "must sees", i</span><span style="font-size: medium;">t was opened in 1911 and was once the haunt of artistic and literary refugees like </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Klaus Mann, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Stefan Zweig....... </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Hermann Hesse and James Joyce are even said to have written a good part of their most famous novels </span><em style="font-size: large;">Ulysses</em><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span><em style="font-size: large;">Steppenwolf </em><span style="font-size: medium;">in the café. It was also here, according to legend, that </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Dadaism was named. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Political heavyweights like </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Benito Mussolini, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Lenin and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Trotsky who were once exiles in Zurich were regulars, and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Albert Einstein even gave lectures to his small class in the cafe !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Like HK, Switzerland entered the industrial era with textile industry, then furniture, watch and jewelry industry. But they also invested in science and technology (which HK didn't under the British ), with subsequent development and manufacturing of chemical dyes and pharmaceuticals, optical instruments, processed food, heavy arms and ammunition. But all is not roses, bad</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> living and working conditions resulted in class tension, between </span><span style="font-size: medium;">1880 and 1914, no fewer than 2,426 strikes were counted</span><span style="font-size: medium;">; in several occasions </span><span style="font-size: medium;">military troops were called in and protesters were killed. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Food shortages, inflation and the threat from the government to restrict civic rights </span><span style="font-size: medium;">culminated in the </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">National General Strike in November 1918</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> joined by </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">roughly a quarter of a million people</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">But from the early 1920s, i</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">ndustrial relations were increasingly shaped by collective agreements, a process characterized as "peace agreement", subsequently </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">strike rates dropped sharply.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="color: blue;"> </b><span style="color: black;">Today strikes are rare and Switzerland generally records the lowest number of days lost to strikes in the OECD. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">The</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> legally mandated maximum workweek is set at</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">45 hours</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> for blue- and white-collar workers in the services, industrial and retail sectors; a </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">50-hour workweek</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">covers the rest. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Minors as young as 13 may perform light work for up to nine hours per week during the school period and 15 hours otherwise</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The Swiss value education, but 70% do not have college degree. Like Singapore, kids entering high school are divided into two mainstreams : </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Sekundarschule</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> leads generally to an apprenticeship of 3 years, where school, practical knowledge and work are combined. The other 30%</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">ends up in Academia.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Humanities and social sciences are by far the most popular fields for study. The Swiss system provides students with both broad and specific knowledge, which HK should seriously consider incorporating, as half of the present university students should never had been admitted. I was aghast when Patten scraped the HK Polytechnic and changed it into Poly University, talk about conspiracy theory ! And HK needs 8 universities ? really ? Contrary to the frenzied quest for free kindergarten in HK,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">kindergarten is optional in Switzerland, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">play and a family-like structure are more favored. Personally I never went to </span><span style="font-size: medium;">kindergarten</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> so I've no idea what the fuss is about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Like HK, Switzerland specializes in high-margin business - banking, luxury goods etc. Because of its neutrality and stable political environment, it's seen by the world's rich as a safe haven to place their money. HK used to be like that until 21/2 years ago, but now...... (weep). Neutrality is the way to wealth as while bigger countries suffered great destruction and exhausted themselves in the 2 world wars, Switzerland managed to keep all its industries and financial sector intact. Throughout the cold war while big powers take sides and boycotted right and left, Swiss made deals with countries that others refrained from, e.g. Iraq oil ; Swiss even got away with trading with apartheid South Africa, and sold weapons to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq. But there are skeletons in the closet too. Swiss banks had been accused of </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">l</span><span style="font-size: medium;">aundering hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen assets, including gold taken from the central banks of German-occupied Europe and properties plundered from Jews. To be fair, Switzerland was not the only culprit, there're still 2 tons of Nazi gold sitting deep within the bowels of the US Federal Reserve Bank in New York City, and 3 tons in the vaults of Bank of England. Furthermore, Swiss diplomats were discovered to mark the passports of German Jews with the <j> stamp to make their escape more difficult. While Switzerland did take in 55,000 civilian refugees in WWII, approximately 20,000-25,000 were turned away at the border to certain death.</j></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The proportional </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">representation election system the Swiss won in the 1918 </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;">National General Strike and the semi-direct democracy resulted in a political system that protected the greater public good, and prevented the political elites from hijacking government policies against the will of the people, e.g. going on expensive foreign wars like the US and the UK, or joining the European Economic Zone. With so much less spending of course Switzerland has surplus and much of it, both public and private, are reinvested domestically to create even more wealth. Thus </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Swiss </span><span style="font-size: medium;">social stratification is more equitable than most, the richest 20% of the population owns 80% of total assets ( contrast that with the 1% and 99% in the US), the large middle class is Switzerland's stabilizing factor. Interestingly, HK politicians make home ownership the lethal whip to slash the government with, well, HK home ownership is 50.4% in 2016 (highest was 54.3% in 2004</span><span style="font-size: medium;">), while in Switzerland on average </span><span style="font-size: medium;">only 30%( 20-40% depending on the Canton) are home owners, as buying a house has long been out of reach for many Swiss</span><span style="font-size: medium;">. And Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">The problem with the HK Democrats is most of them are paid US stooges (</span><span style="font-size: medium;">America had in fact admitted to financing the Occupy Central movement) and the US doesn't care about democracy, only economic dominance for America. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Bill Clinton said it very well at the United Nations in 1993: "Our overriding purpose is to expand and strengthen the world's community of market-based democracies." In plain English it means they want to create 'democratic' countries they can control for business. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Henry Kissenger, justifying the 1973 overthrew of the democratically elected president Salvadore Allende, said " When we have to choose between the economy and democracy, we must save the economy." Socialist democratic Chile was crushed because </span><span style="font-size: medium;">it had a good chance to be a "socialist experiment" success</span><span style="font-size: medium;">, so the US murdered </span><span style="font-size: medium;">its president,</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> put in his place a </span><span style="font-size: medium;">military dictator and turned Chile</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> into a 'capitalist democracy' it could boss around. In case you missed it, "the economy saved" Kissenger meant was not Chile, but US. In recent months even the HK Democrats are embarrassed to call themselves Democrats, and changed their title to "Anti-establishment" camp, which is fitting as that's all they do. They even rejected the electoral reform proposal in 2015, though it is a step towards true democracy, which makes you wonder maybe like the US, democracy is not what they want. Maybe Elsie Tu was right, their aim is to overthrow China, not to help HK people. Every time I see the Anti-establishments at work I'm reminded of the Bible story in which Solomon told 2 mothers who both wanted the same baby that the only fair solution is to cut the baby in half. They're the mother who screeched gleefully " Yes ! Cut ! Cut !"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I agree with Elsie Tu : " HK would be better off to have representatives who do not stand for any political ideology, but who are chosen for their principles, their dedication to the people, their personal integrity. This would, in fact, not only work for the welfare of the people, but would satisfy those who still fear politics in HK." I also agree with her that the money wasted on elections would be better spent on the needy, particularly as elections have now degenerated into nothing more than sneering filth-slinging personal attacks. HK ex-lawmaker Ronny Tong is an optimist and thinks democracy is still possible in HK, but he hopes it'd be quality democracy, not the kind hijacked by populism which is what is most everywhere. I'm a pessimist, Chinese are too undisciplined, egoistic, selfish and unpatriotic to make quality democracy like the Swiss. Then of course even Swiss Democracy is still evolving and in recent years has taken a worrying right-wing turn. I still say as HK has the money, we should just get a head hunting company and hire the best CEO money can buy to run HK and be done with all the silly political squabbles ! However I agree with Mr Tong that most HK politicians go into politics without any political knowledge (not much of any other knowledge either judging by how they act ), it's hard to believe they read at all ! A word of caution what you read though, because the HK Journalists Association is the most biased and blinkered and many HK journalists the lowest caliber you'd likely to find ! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">For myself the best way to obtain knowledge is to travel and learn directly from the source. And that's what I do. Thank you Switzerland, for a splendid lesson in quality democracy !</span></div>
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-43880538127823484582016-11-18T10:42:00.002-08:002016-11-18T22:26:40.118-08:00Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The King is dead. Long live the King !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the longest reigning monarch in Thai history, passed away round about the time I started writing this article. My curiosity about Thai politics was sparked off by Mr chung, our local guide in Chiang Mai, not lest because of his choice in clothing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Are you one of the Red Shirts ?" I asked, pointing to his red T shirt. "No ! No ! " He flapped his arms wildly in embarrassment. The next day he turned up in a pink shirt." So you're a loyalist then ?" I teased. Pink shirts and blazers had been the craze in Thailand ever since Royal astrologists determined it would bring the King good health. "I'm apolitical, but all Thais are loyalist !" He explained over a bowl of excellent noodles in a street-side food stall, always a better pick for local cuisine than upmarket restaurants.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The fact that King Bhumibol was one of the most beloved and revered monarch in the world did not happen by chance, but the result of methodical Palace propaganda which has successfully molded a public image of a righteous Buddha-King who's above politics, who's all peace, humility and good works, yet all powerful. The monarchy is further protected by<b><span style="color: blue;"> </span></b>Thailand's Lèse-majesté law<wbr></wbr>s, among the harshest in the world, which ensure any hint of criticism - even if true, would end in stiff punishment ; what's more this draconian law extends to even non-Thai foreigners, as we shall see.<b><span style="color: blue;"> </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For hundreds of years Thailand had been ruled by an absolute monarchy, but the revolution in 1932 stripped King Prajadhipok, the reigning monarch, of all power and prestige. Unable to accept being a constitutional monarchy, the childless king abdicated in 1935. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Bhumibol's elder brother, Ananda Mahidol, then 9 years old and studying in Switzerland, was declared the next King. Just as the last Emperor in China, Regents were appointed by Parliament </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">in the interim </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">until he came of age. In December 1945, aged 20, </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Ananda returned to Thailand, only to be found dead in his bed 6 months later, shot in the forehead with a Colt 45. The </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">royalist establishment</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">tried to pinned the crime on a couple of palace pages, then on the Prime Minister Pridi Banomyong (instigator of the 1932 revolt), but South African writer Rayne Kruger expounded in his book "The Devil's Discus"(1964) that it was possible, supported by forensic evidence from Scotland Yard, that he was shot accidentally by Bhumipol. Both brothers were known enthusiasts of firearms. The Thai Government banned his book and a local printing house involved with the Thai translated edition was burnt down. Only through the organization "Freedom Against Censorship Thailand", that the book was reprinted in 2009 by DMP Publications, Hong Kong. This matter was also touched on in the book "The Revolutionary King" by William Stevenson (2001). An official ban was impossible as the biography was written with Bhumibol's blessing, but Thai-born American Joe Gordon was less fortunate, in 2011 he was jailed for 21/2 years for</span> Lèse-majesté,</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> because he translated sections of the book into Thai and posted them on line. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">This was how </span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Bhumibol assumed the throne in 1946, and once there he plotted to restore royal status by allying himself with crooked generals and politicians. In 1947 the elected government was overthrown by a military coup in Bhumibol's name, subsequently he was awarded many powers in the new 1949 constitution. In 1957 the Prime Minister Pibulsonggram was ousted for committing Lèse-majesté,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Bhumibol promptly imposed martial law, then appointed General Sarit Thanarat instate. During Sarit's premiership, the monarchy was fully revitalized, many archaic ceremonial practices were brought back, including the controversial protocol of crawling in front of royalty during audience, which was specifically banned by his grandfather King Chulalongkorn. Bhumibol's birthday ( 5th December) was declared the National Day, instead of 24th June, the Siamese Revolution of 1932.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the next 60 years Bhumibol proved himself to be a proficient political actor. He had managed to elevate the monarchy into the single most powerful component of the modern Thai state, and exerted political influence behind the scene. American journalist Paul Handley in "The King Never Smiles" chronicles Bhumibol's shadowy presence in insurgencies, the Vietnam War and alliance with the US to combat Communism, not to mention the countless military coups to replace elected civilian governments, the massacres of 1972,1976 and the Suchinda bloodshed of 1992- in all instances unarmed students and civilians were killed by royal-backed militias. In a nutshell Thai politics is polarized by one hand by progressive politicians, and the other military men in league with the monarchy, all scrambling for <span style="color: black;">a piece of Thailand's power pie</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "helmet" , "freesans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">.</span> The Yellow Shirts ( yellow is the King's color as he was born on a Monday, in Thai culture every day of the week is designated a color) are the royalists, ultra-nationalists and the urban middle class, also known as People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). They sabotaged the elected Governments in 2005, 2006, 2008, and again in 2013-2014. The Red Shirts are the UDD ( United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship), members composed mainly of rural citizens from the northeast and north Thailand , the urban lower classes of Bangkok, and the intellectuals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bhumibol's "network monarchy" includes the business elites, Privy Council and Supreme Court, its ability to exercise power rests on the Thai people's unwavering worship of Bhumibol as the bodhittsava-like figurehead. Thai children are indoctrinated from an early age with the 3 pillars of Thai society - Nation, Religion and King. Bhumibol was ascribed the guardian of ancient traditions and credited with saving the Thai people from imperialists, communists and neocolonialists. The Military channels and publications are dedicated to sing praises of the monarchy, and in 2006 when the Thaksin government was under attack, Privy Council President told graduating military cadets that the Thai Army must serve the King - not the government. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bhumibol's protrayal as the "Development King" and "Renaissance King" was carefully orchestrated to minute detail.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Bhumibol was indeed talented, he was a painter, musician, photographer, author, translator and sailor. It's also true he was head of many development projects in rural areas, and his visits to these projects were heavily promoted in the best of lights, making them seem far more important and successful than they really were. All the Royal Projects were funded by the government though Bhumibol was head of Forbes magazine's list of the "world's richest royals" from 2008 to 2013; he was also the owner of the Golden Jubilee diamond, the largest faceted diamond in the world. The Crown's enormous fortune is managed by Crown Property Bureau (CPB), all income is exempt from taxes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sadly ignorance and blind devotion of the Thai masses to the King is of paramount importance to the ruling class in Thailand, so books like "The King Never Smiles" must never see the light of day. In 2006 the Thai government contacted George H. Bush and the president of Yale University Richard C. Levin to enlist their help in banning the book. Obviously it didn't work ! I noted a travel book was also banned in Thailand but for a different reason - the book had a picture of a scantily clad go-go girl sitting on the lap of an American tourist as the cover, thus offended the moral sensitivity of the Thai Tourism Board. Which hardly seems fair when one compares the 2009 Youth tube video which shows Princess Srirasm, third consort of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, feeding cakes to the Prince's miniature poodle Foo Foo, stark naked but for a tiny G-string - even if it<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>was</i></b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the dog's birthday party and the dog<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i><b>was</b></i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Air Chief Marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force, a position conferred by the Prince. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to the trip, Chiang Mai was the ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom and Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is one of the best examples of Lanna architecture. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang was founded in the 13th century, it is built on top of an earth mound, a Naga stairway leads to the temple grounds, which are surrounded by high fortified brick walls. According to legend Buddha visited the site some 2,500 years ago and donated a hair, which is now enshrined in the temple's large chedi. Within the compound are the Phra Kaew Don Tao Buddha image (cast in the 16th century), the oldest surviving wooden viharn (14<sup>th</sup> or 15<sup>th</sup> century) in Thailand, and the Ho Phra Phuttabat ( footprint chapel), all constitute to make this<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>one of the most highly revered temples in Thailand. The temple can be reached by horse drawn carriage from Lampang town, where we had seafood lunch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During our visit Khom Loi ( Lanna style sky lanterns) were launched by the monks to bring good luck, which also serve symbolically to let problems and worries float away. It was the Yi Peng Festival of light, a time to make Buddhist merit. Yi means two and Peng means a full moon, it's a Lanna festival therefore best seen in Chiang Mai. Intricately shaped lanterns are also used to decorate houses, gardens and temples. Khom fai are revolving lanterns due to the heat of the candle inside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yi Peng coincides with the Loi Krathong ( to float a basket) in Thailand, and falls on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar, usually November in Western calendar. It is a hybrid of the Brahman festival to honor Buddha, and the annual homage festival to Phra Mae Khongkha, the Thai goddess of the waters, rivers, streams, and canals. Krathong can be made with banana stalk or bread, decorated with leaves and flowers, incense sticks and candle. A small coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits, while the candle venerates the Buddha with light. Styrofoam krathongs are now banned as they are non bio-degradable and pollute the river. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The floating away of the Krathong symbolizes letting go of all one's hatred and anger. People sometimes put clippings of fingernails or hair on the Krathong to let go of negative thoughts. Legend has it when a boy and a girl launch a Krathong together they will be lovers either in this life or in the next. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Chiang Mai’s Old Town, especially the areas near the Three Kings Monument and the Thapae Gate were all decked out with gorgeous decorations and festooned with flowers and lanterns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was a flurry of activities all day long - the Best Krathong Competition, Beauty pageants, Thai and Lanna dances, and of course parades and fireworks. I squeezed to the front of the crowd to see the parade and found myself face to face with the black Phi ! A large Thai lady with a large camera quickly shoved a small coin in my hand and motioned me to give it to him, feeling like a 6-year old I sheepishly obeyed. Apparently the local custom to ward off bad luck is to pay the devil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Towards the evening we gathered for the traditional dinner, eaten like a picnic sitting on the lawn, followed by a spectacular light and sound show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The float parade at night in neighboring Chiang Rai was spectacular. I would imagine being a judge of the Beauty Pageant must be such a hard job, all the girls were so beautiful ! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In a country where she-boys are more beautiful than real women, even roadside promises of beauty carry authenticity. I was reminded a few years ago in a medical conference a Thai plastic surgeon boasted to be the fastest gun in transgender operation (male to female) in the world. Astonishingly the operation took him a mere 20 minutes from start to finish, well, I'm sold !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was interested to note during the time of my visit, the incumbent Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (2011-4), and her brother Thaksin ( Prime Minister 2001-6), were from Chiang Mai. Their ancestry is the same as mine - Meizhou Hakka, Guangdong. Chinese had a long history in Thailand, dating back to at least the 13th century. Today Thai Chinese is the largest Chinese diaspora in the world, as well as the best integrated- considering 18 of all the Thai Prime Ministers and the majority of parliament are of Chinese ( whole or partial) origin. The present Royal Family, the Chakri Dynasty, was founded by King Rama I who was part Chinese. His predecessor King Taksin of Thonburi Dynasty, also had a Guangdong father and a Thai mother. During Taksin's reign Chinese immigration and trade was actively encouraged. Things started to get dicey for the Chinese in 1918 with the Private School Act aimed at Chinese schools, then King Rama VI legislated that all Chinese must adopt Thai surnames. Chinese were further discriminated against from 1930s -1950s under the military dictatorship of PM Plaek ( even as he was part Chinese). After the 1970s Language Red Scare nearly all ethnic Chinese speak Thai exclusively, though a number of Chinese words had filtered into the Thai language, especially names of dishes and foodstuff.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chiang Mai also carries particular poignancy for the legion of fans of the songstress Teresa Teng, who passed away in Suite 1502, Imperial Mae Ping Hotel in 1995. She was probably the most famous singer among Chinese in recent years, there's a saying : "Wherever there are Chinese people, the songs of Teresa Teng can be heard". The enterprising Mr Pratya Pichaisat, Director of General Affairs of the hotel, has kept her memory alive, for a price ( room rate starts from 25000THB a night) you could stay in the very room she died, which has been kept virtually unchanged.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, 15 kilometers from Chiang Mai, was founded in 1383. According to a legend, Monk Sumanathera was directed in a dream to find Gautama Buddha's shoulder bone in Pang Cha. King Nu Naone bade the monk to bring it to him in Lamphun. Once there the relic broke into 2 pieces. The smaller piece was enshrined at a temple in Suandok, the other piece was placed on the back of a sacred white elephant and released into the jungle. The elephant climbed to the top of Suthep Mountain, trumpeted 3 times, turned around 3 times, then knelt down and died. King Nu Naone took this as an omen and built the original chedi at the site. To get to the temple one has to climb up a naga staircase of 309 steps.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I always love visiting local food markets - for a Chinese food is the Alpha and the Omega. In Chiang Mai we were taken to a market that specializes in Thai people's favorite snacks - bugs !</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While the rest of the group went to the zoo, I toured the museum and the Old Town. Chiang Mai is very rewarding to go around by foot, my advice is to allow oneself plenty of time to poke into every nook and cranny.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chiang Mai is famous for the Night Bazaar. Mr Chung was aghast when I told him I was going alone. I didn't understand the fuss until much later. The Night Bazaar spreads over the <span style="color: black;">three-block stretch of Chan Klan Road in the heart of the city, the exact spot the Yunnan trading caravans passing through </span><span style="color: black;">in bygone days</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;"> did their sales. The whole place buzzed with street vendors, their stalls displayed a wide variety of goods, souvenirs and foods; there were also a lot of street performers as well as charity drives, all trying to turn a buck.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">I am aware Bazaars the world over are fertile grounds for petty crimes like pick-pockets or purse snatching. Thailand is also generally considered "high threat" for credit card and ATM card fraud, and </span><span style="color: black;">foreign passport ( particularly western) scams as they are highly prized</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">. What I didn't know was </span><span style="color: black;">in 2000,</span><span style="color: black;"> a 23 year old Welsh backpacker was raped then strangled with her sarong </span><span style="color: black;">in the Baan Aree Guest House,</span><span style="color: black;"> just </span><span style="color: black;">5 minutes walk from the Night Bazaar</span><span style="color: black;">. 2 weeks prior to her murder a German tourist was shot dead, and in 2009 a British music teacher was stabbed to death in his home in Chiang Mai. I used to think mishaps only happen in Full Moon parties on the beach, as depicted by the film " The Beach" by Leonardo DiCaprio, but this delusion was utterly shattered by the killing of British tourist Johanne Masheder by a monk, who had also previously raped an Australian backpacker. Cleric crimes are more common than most people realize. In 2013 an American expat was chopped to death by a cabbie with a sword. Farang (foreigner) m</span><span style="color: black;">urders are frequent enough for Andrew Gardner to write the book " How Not To Get Murdered In Thailand " and John Stapleton his book " Thailand ,'One of the Most dangerous Tourist Destinations on Earth'". After a spate of British rapes and murders, t</span><span style="color: black;">he UK Government issued official warnings about violence to the 860,000 British tourists who go to Thailand each year.</span><span style="color: black;"> While I don't agree Thailand is the most dangerous tourist place, it is indeed a crime center of Asia, the players are international so not all the killers are Thai. Drugs, prostitution, extortions, weapon sales, kidnaps and police corruption are intertwined. Rape is normalized as 80% of Thai soap operas broadcast year-round contain scenes of rape or gender-based violence, and blame-the-victim attitude is pervasively held not just by the public but especially among authorities. After Hannah Witheridge, a British backpacker, was raped and murdered in Koh Tao</span> <span style="color: black;">in</span><span style="color: black;"> 2014, </span><span style="color: black;">Prime Minister </span><span style="color: black;">Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha commented : " Foreign women would be unsafe if they wore bikinis, unless they're not beautiful" ! </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Firearms proliferation is not a US monopoly, an estimated 10,000,000 Thai civilians hold firearms, but only 3,870,000 are registered. In 2002 firearm homicide cases in Thailand was 20,032, third highest in the world after South Africa and Columbia.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Sukhothai Kingdom was founded by King Ramkhamhaeng </span><span style="color: black;">in the 13th century. A</span><span style="color: black;">ccording to Thai historians, this marked the beginning of the Thai nation. </span><span style="color: black;">Sukhothai means " Dawn of Happiness", and the capital city consisted of 193 buildings and temples, even a Hindu shrine to Vishnu, now all in ruins. </span><span style="color: black;">Ramkhamhaeng</span><span style="color: black;"> was credited with adopting Theravada as the State religion in 1283 through Sri Lanka, and inventing the Thai script. The monk Mongkut who made a pilgrimage to north Siam in 1833 found the famous </span><span style="color: black;">Ramkhamhaeng stele, which is now in a Bangkok Museum.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;">Ramkhamhaeng</span><span style="color: black;"> was also the first one to start trade with the Yuan Dynasty of China and even produced Sangkalok( Song Dynasty ceramics) in Thailand. After the Burmese-Siamese War (1594-1605) </span><span style="color: black;">Sukhothai was abandoned. In 1953 it was<span class="Apple-converted-space"> re-</span></span><span style="color: black;">discovered by King </span>Bhumibol, much restoration was done in the 1960s, and in 1991 became a UNEXCO World Heritage Site.</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The design of </span><span style="color: black;">Sukhothai</span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">was based on the Mandala, representing the universe with the central principal stupa (shaped like a lotus bud) to enshrine the relics of the Buddha, surrounded by smaller stupa in eight directions. The artistic style is a mixture of Khmer and Singhalese, characterized by lotus bud chedi and statues of walking Buddha, clothing draped around the body.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wat Mahathat was the largest and most important temple, it has a large seated Buddha figure set amongst the pillars of a now ruined sala.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wat Chang Lom is a 14th century Buddhist temple of the Lanka style . It consisted of a bell shaped stupa built on a square foundation, surrounded by 32 elephant sculptures along the base.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Very large images of the Buddha was in vogue during the </span><span style="color: black;">Sukhothai</span><span style="color: black;"> era. This is a 12 meter tall standing Buddha image known as Phra Attharot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The Wat Rong Khun (</span><b> </b><span style="color: black;">White Temple </span><b><span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: , serif;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=zh-TW&q=https://www.tripadvisor.com.hk/Attraction_Review-g297920-d1368436-Reviews-Wat_Rong_Khun-Chiang_Rai_Chiang_Rai_Province.html&source=gmail&ust=1479557402805000&usg=AFQjCNF23dNcC1CPbkbC-wxhg5qR5tMYgw" href="https://www.tripadvisor.com.hk/Attraction_Review-g297920-d1368436-Reviews-Wat_Rong_Khun-Chiang_Rai_Chiang_Rai_Province.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">白龍寺</span></a> )</span></b><span style="color: black;"> is the poster boy of a modern Thai Buddhist temple. The ubosot (main temple) incorporates contemporary visual art with classic northern Thai Buddhist temple, characterized by its three tiered roof and stylized Naga serpents on the barge boards. It is privately owned, designed and built by Chalermchai Kositpipat, who spent 20 years (1977-1997) and THB 40 million of his own money in the project. It's his offering to Lord Buddha because he believes it will bring him eternal life. Mr </span><span style="color: black;">Kositpipat</span><span style="color: black;"> was </span><span style="color: black;">born in Chiang Rai of a Sino-Thai family, as an artist he's best known for mixing traditional Buddhist art with contemporary images. In 1988 he was commissioned to paint the murals for Wat Buddhapadipa in London. He's also the first artist to receive the Silpathorn Award, created in 2004 to honor living Thai artists in mid-career.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Every detail in the White Temple carries symbolism, meant to be a surreal vision of Dhamma ( Buddhist teaching). The gleaming whiteness of the building signifies the purity of the Buddha, the fragments of mirrored glass embedded in the building's exterior sparkling in the sun represent Buddha's wisdom shining over the Earth and the Universe.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The main temple is reached by a bridge over a small lake, called the Bridge of the Cycle of Rebirth.</span> In front of the Bridge are hundreds of out- stretched hands, symbolizing unrestrained desire. A semi-circle just in front of the Bridge represents human suffering and hell. The Bridge shows the way to happiness is by overcoming temptations, greed and desire, and crossing of the Bridge signifies rebirth into a state free of suffering, which is <span style="color: black;">the land of the Buddha</span>. </span><span style="font-size: large;">After crossing the Bridge the visitor arrives at the Gate of Heaven guarded by two huge Kinnaree, half-human, half-bird creatures from mythology that represent Death and Rahu, who presides over men's fate.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The wonderfully ornate golden building is in fact the toilet. </span><span style="color: black;">Kositpipat</span><span style="color: black;"> specificall<wbr></wbr>y chose gold to represent earthly material things and possession, and reminds us to focus instead on the mind and to make merit in Heaven. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">The theme of the Dharma continues throughout the grounds. Whisky bottles are hung on trees, traffic cones have demon heads.</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">In 2014 a strong earthquake badly damaged the White Temple. </span><span style="color: black;">Kositpipat decided to restore and further expand the Temple, but funding was a problem. As he has made a vow to complete the Temple at his own expense, he refuses to accept public donation of more than US$300, instead he encourages visitors to buy his art pieces, Buddhist art t-shirts and publications on sale in the museum. Around the Temple grounds are several concrete "trees" with thousands of medallion hangings - for 30 Baht you can add yours with your name written on it, or you can throw a few coins into the wishing well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The Temple is open all year round, admission is 50 THB. Casual dress is fine but before entering the main bot where the Buddha image is housed, you're required to take off your shoes and cover your shoulders and knees. Photos are not permitted in the main bot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chiang Rai had been a Burmese city for centuries, while Chiang Mai was annexed by Thailand in 1899, Chiang Rai was only proclaimed a province of Thailand in 1933. King Mangrai the Great, son of a local chieftain and a Chinese princess from Jinghong, founded the Lanna Thai Kingdom in 1296. His statue is a significant landmark for Chiang Rai, every year a large number of Thais come to pay their respects to the ancient King, and bring him gifts of flowers and incense.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another Chiang Rai landmark is the Golden Clock tower, designed also by Kositpipat and unveiled in 2008 in honor of King </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Bhumibol. It serves as a traffic roundabout. At 7,8 or 9 PM every night there's a light and sound show with laser lights and musical accompaniment as the clock chimes the hour.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chiang Rai is the main commercial center serving the Golden Triangle border region of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. 12.5% of the population are hill tribes . Racism in Thailand is a prevalent but little discussed topic. Demonization and criminalization of the </span><span style="font-size: large;">ethnic minorities of Thailand's hill tribes, and the perpetuation of the myth that they are non-Thai has been perpetuated in Thai textbooks and the mainstream media.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So who are the Thais ? Little is known about Thailand before the 13th century, though Archeology finds confirm various indigenous communities resided in mainland Southeast Asia for thousands of years. Tai people from Yunnan Guangxi in China started mass migration southwards from the 10th century, the first mention of their existence is a 12th century inscription in Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which refers to Syam, which is Sanskrit meaning "brown ( people)" with a derogatory connotation. The Portuguese was the first European country to give a coherent account of the country and designate it as Siam ( Syam) in the 15th century. Over the subsequent hundreds of years Tai intermarried and absorbed Mon-Khmer, Burmese, Taiwan, Sino-Tibetan, Miao and Yao (minority tribes in Southern China) as well as Han Chinese, resulting in considerable genetic diversity in the modern Thai people. On the last count there're more than 30 distinct Tai ethnic groups in Thailand, which makes up about 85% of the population ! So Thai ethnicity is more a cultural identity than genetic origin. The biggest and most influential group is still Thais of Chinese origin, as 40% of all Thais are of full or part Chinese descent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ironically the concept of a Thai nation was non-existent until the 20th century, before then there was not even a Thai word for 'nation'. King Rama VI imposed the idea of "Thai-ness", re-wrote Thai history from an ethno-nationalist viewpoint, and imposed the policy of " Thaification" of Thailand. Since then minority tribes were forced to assimilate and regional peculiarities were repressed in favor of one homogenous "Thai" culture.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We went to a couple of hill villages, one sadder than the next.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first one was the Padaung Karen Long Neck Village. These are the "giraffe women" described by Polish explorer Vitold De Golish in National Geographic years ago. The neck ring adornment is started when the girls are 5 or 6 years old. Over the years the coil is replaced by a longer one and more turns are added, until there are 20-25 rings which can weight up to 25 pounds. The "long neck" is a visual illusion, the weight of the brass pushes the collar bone down and compresses the rib cage, so the appearance of a stretched neck is in fact created by deformation of the clavicles. The coils are made by Burmese craftsmen, coiling and uncoiling is a lengthy procedure, so the rings are rarely removed, usually only when the women are sick or to replace the ring with a longer one. They sleep in them and after years of continuous wear the collar becomes an integral part of the body, even then there could be problems. The muscles covered by the coil become weakened, and the skin can be bruised and discolored, so the women sometimes pad their necks with leaves to prevent chafing and sores.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most women also wear brass rings on their arms and shins. The rings on the arms are worn from the wrist to the elbow, those on the legs from the ankles to the knees. Cloth coverings are kept over most of these rings. The rings are made of solid pieces of metal and can weight up to 30 pounds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There're many theories to explain the neck rings. The women say it's a cultural identity, a sign of beauty and wealth and that it will attract a better husband. Adultery, for example, is punished by removal of the rings. The rings certainly exaggerate the sexual dimorphism of women's more slender necks. Then there's the belief neck rings protect women from tigers which grab victims by the neck. Some anthropologists hypothesized the rings make the women less attractive to other tribes and thus prevent slavery. Another theory suggest the coils give the women resemblance to the dragon in their folklore. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The Kayans are animist, they believe their ancestry was the result of a union between a female dragon and a male human/angel hybrid. Over 200 folk stories have been preserved through oral history, research on the oral history indicates </span><span style="font-size: large;">their true origin is probably from China.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The women have a rich tradition of crafting from wood carving to weaving, and the village is lined by long stretch of stalls where they sell their handicrafts, scarves and bags ; which is a better job than hard labor in the fields and rice paddies. Rice is the Padaung main crop. Long-neck tourism is big business but little of the money finds its way to the Kayans as all operations are run by the Thais. Women who wear the rings are paid 1500 baht a month to run souvenir stalls and the men receive a rice allowance of 260 baht a month.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the tourists who pay 250 baht (US$8) per person to gawk at the Long Neck as human zoo exhibits have no idea what they're about. They are actually not a Thai hill tribe. The Padaung ( a Shan term) is a sub-group of Karen in Burma where they'd suffered oppression for decades. In the late 1980s when civil war between the Karen separatists and the Burmese army became intense they fled to Thailand, but they were never officially granted refugee status, but treated instead </span><span style="font-size: large;">as illegal immigrants. Human Rights Watch 2002 reported continuous discrimination in Thailand, they're deprived of education, basic sanitation and medical care, imposed restriction of employment opportunities and vulnerable to exploitation. Those suspected of aiding guerrillas are tortured and sometimes killed. They are confined to small pockets of guarded villages on the northern Thai border separated from most of modern Thailand.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I stopped to chat to the ladies ( using a mixture of English, Mandarin and body gestures), I found them to be affable and eager for outside contact . The 5 year old daughter of one stall worker, cowed by the dozens of flashing cameras, threw a tearful temper tantrum. After a great deal of effort her mother and I managed to coax her back to smiles, which just shows how universal<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the problems of working mothers are as they juggle work and child care - here especially as the men generally do little and the women do most of the work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 2005 UNHCR for Refugees opened registration for third country resettlement to the 50,000 refugees in the area. Thailand has issued exit permits for more than 20,000 other Burmese refugees but none for the Padaung Karen Long Neck. The reason is Mae Hong Son is Thailand's poorest province which depends heavily on tourism, and Kayans are the most popular tourist attraction. Unlike other refugees, because of their commercial value, the Kayans have not lived in the largely sealed-off refugee camps but in villages, now the Thai authorities are using this against them, and claim they're economic migrants rather than political refugees. </span><span style="font-size: large;">In 2008 the UNHCR expressed reservation about Long Neck Tourism due to the Provincial Government's continued refusal to allow registered Kayan refugees to leave, a policy linked to their economic importance. The same year some of the younger Kayan women removed their neck rings as a protest. Then as an incentive to persuade them to stay, the Thai government has opened a new village project at Hway Pu Keng and offer the Kayans their own houses, freedom from the Thai controller, and the possibility of Thai citizenship in the future.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next hill tribe village we visited was just as sad.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">80 kilometers from Chiang Rai is the Village of Santikhiri ( Hill of Peace) on the Doi Mae Salong Mountain. It was formerly known as Mae Salong (美斯樂) and was the site of fierce mountain battles for 4 decades. It was only opened to tourism in the mid 1990s. Most of the population of 20,000 are direct descendants of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">the 5th Regiment of the 93rd Division KMT( Kuomintang) 26th Army. Virtually everybody here speaks Mandarin and incredibly it is here that the KMT soldiers and their descendants became the newest National Minority of Thailand.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">The tragic story of the KMT troops were recorded in the Chinese novels "A Home Too Far" ( 異域, 1961) and "Ruined City of the Golden Triangle" (金三角邊區荒城 1982), both by Po-yang<b> ( </b>柏杨 ). The book "A Home too Far" landed Po-yang in the Green Island political prison for 9 years for criticizing the Taiwan KMT Government, but in 1990 it was made into a film featuring Hong Kong heart-throb Andy Lau in a lesser role. Another well known book is "The Tragic History of the KMT Troops in the Golden Triangle,1950-1981" (金三角國軍血淚史:1950-1981) by Qin Yihui (覃怡輝) in 2009.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In 1949 after defeat in the Chinese civil war by Mao's PLA (People's Liberation Army), remnants of KMT, a force of 12,000 led by General Duan and General Li refused to surrender, and fled from Yunnan to Burma's Shan State plateau, to continue an insurgency. They were initially supported by both Taiwan and Washington. As China entered the Korean War in 1950, the CIA desperately needed on-the-ground military intelligence on China. The two KMT generals agreed to infiltrate soldiers into China for intelligence gathering missions, in return General Douglas MacArthur promised them military equipment air dropped by secret planes to assist them to retake China. But when the Korean War ended in 1953, funding and military assistance from both the US and Taiwan dwindled, so to meet their expenses the KMT generals entered the Golden Triangle opium racketeering. Because of the "exchange opium for arms " deals, which saw weapons ending in the hands of Burmese ethnic minority insurgents, the Burmese launched military offensives against the KMT for 12 years.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Jan 1961 some 5000 Burmese soldiers and 20,000 PLA troops swept the Shan State and the KMT was crushed. 4,000 bedraggled and exhausted soldiers of General Duan's 93rd Division, latter dubbed the ' Lost Army' as they were eventually disowned by Taiwan, arrived at the mountainous sanctuary of Mae Salong in Thailand. In exchange for asylum the KMT soldiers agreed to fight as mercenaries against the communist insurgencies in both Thailand and Laos. Throughout this time until the Thai Communists were ousted in the 1980s, opium trafficking was still the main source of income for the KMT, so much so in a 1971 report CIA stated that Doi Mae Salong was one of the biggest heroin refineries in <span style="color: black;">S.E. Asia</span><span style="color: black;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By this time the drug financed KMT had become an embarrassment to Thailand as well as its US ally, so in 1981 the Army was disbanded and most but not all of their families were granted Thai citizenship. Over a thousand lives were lost in the battles, so essentially the citizenships were bought with blood. With help from King Bhumibol crop substitution programs in the cultivation of coffee, corn , fruit trees, Chinese herbs, mushrooms and above all High Mountain Oolong tea (which is now Mae Salong's main product) were instituted, at the same time Mae Salong was renamed Santikhiri and the region opened up to tourists. All projects were intended to create viable alternatives to the opium trade.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">General Duan Xi-wen (<span style="color: black;"><b>段</b></span><b style="color: black;">希</b><b style="color: black;">文),<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b><span style="color: black;">founder</span><b style="color: black;"> </b><span style="color: black;">of Mae Saong and erstwhile drug warlord,</span><b style="color: black;"> </b></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">passed away in 1980 and his mausoleum sits on the side of a hill high above his town, not far from his tea house.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The Chinese Martyrs Memorial Museum was built with Taiwan money </span><span style="color: black;">as a tribute to the KMT settlers . It opens to a vast, austere central shrine that contains the memorial tablets of 750 KMT soldiers who fought and sacrificed for Thailand. The two flanking halls display the history and stories of the battles in Burma and Thailand. Faded photographs and documents in sandbox recount </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: large;">the struggles and development of Mae Salong through the years.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">I was taken aback by the four big Chinese characters<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><b>精忠報國<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>( kept faith to repay the mother country) which dominate the central hall. Such gallantry from a people abandoned by their own country ! Even though most of their descendants are now Thai citizens, the small Chinese community still cling tenaciously and insistently to their cultural heritage and identity, and they want their children to never forget where they came from (<b>不忘本</b>), as the abundant Chinese schools and the Chinese way of life testify. Kinship is what Chinese value most of all, 5,000 years of tumultuous history has taught us dynasties come and go, all politics and even political system is transient, but blood and culture withstand time and space . This is a virtue a number of Hong Kong people sadly lack, to their detriment .</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My uncle is a Protestant preacher and in the 1970s was sent as a missionary to Mae Salong. He told of an incident when he was held at gun point by a gang of opium dealers and almost never made it back . Unfortunately even today drug is still a menace in the Golden Triangle, so I was most happy to witness an Anti-drug Basket Ball Tournament for the local youths.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Located an hour's drive north of Chiang Rai is the Doi Tung Royal Villa, former summer residence of the Princess Mother Srinagarindra<span style="color: black;"> Sangwan</span>, mother of King Bhumibol, and the Mae Fah Luang Garden, an ornamental botanical garden covering 10 acres. The Garden brings substantial income to the area, directly as job opportunities for the locals, and indirectly from tourist revenue. Because the villa is on royal ground, we were advised to cover our legs and shoulders and not wear figure-hugging cloths.</span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">By all accounts the Princess Mother was a genuine caring person. Trained as a nurse, she was a commoner who married a down-to-earth Prince. Her husband Prince Mahidol studied Public Health at Harvard and MIT( Massachusetts Institute of Technology), but died young from kidney disease. She was not conferred the title Queen Mother though she was the mother of 2 kings, because her husband was never King.</span> </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Princess Mother had a lifelong love of plants and concern for the environment. She started the Doi Tung Development Project in Chiang Rai Provence in 1988 for reforestation and sustainable development, which includes a </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Training Center in agriculture, weaving and dyeing, as well as a </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hill Tribe Youth Leadership Program, and effectively</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> helped stop the opium trade. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">She also initiated many projects in Education (schools and scholarships), Health care Foundations, Social Welfare and Volunteer programs. She was the first to start a Medical Volunteer Mobile Unit and her visits to remote areas by helicopter earned her the name 'Mae Fah Luang' among the hill tribes, meaning Royal Mother from the Sky. The Princess Mother was adamant : "</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Manners are an integral part of character-molding<span style="font-weight: normal;">", those of Hong Kong's legislators who consider rudeness "hip and cool" should take heed ! On the other hand maybe it's too much to ask that politicians have good character !!</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Unlike most Royal ladies, the Princess Mother was frugal and had only 2 outfits made in a year. She had a wide range of interests like painting, photography, astronomy and gardening; her years living in Lausanne, Switzerland, also cultivated a fondness in outdoor activities like trekking, horse riding and skiing. She also enjoyed badminton and</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Pétanque.</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Princess Mother passed away in 1995 at age 94, one of the longest-living members of Thai Royalty. After her death King Bhumibol appointed his daughter Her Royal Highness Sirindhorn to head her Foundations. <span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Princess Sirindhorn is definitely my favorite Royal even though she's frumpy and dresses like a librarian.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">Princess Sirindhorn is fondly called " Princess Angel" by her adoring subjects, many of whom secretly wish she could succeed King </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bhumibol instead of her brother, the Playboy Prince Vajiralongkorn. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Like her father she's multi-talented. She's an accomplished musician and plays the trumpet, the ranat (xylophone) and saw duang - Thai traditional instruments. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">She paints and practices Thai classical dancing, and credited for her effort in reviving Thai traditions. She also enjoys jogging, swimming, biking and trekking. </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">She has an aptitude for learning since 3 years old and at 12 years old started writing prose</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">, poetry, short stories and travel books, the sales proceed goes to the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Foundation which was set up in 1979 to support needy students. She's also known as "Princess of Technology" for her contribution to computer, cartography, meteorology, survey and photogrammetry, remote sensing and geographic information system, as well as nutrition. She teaches history at the Chulachomklao Royal military Academy, works towards </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage and </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">is also a SDU Honorary Professor. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Like her grandmother </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Princess Sirindhorn heads many Charitable, Environmental and Welfare Funds, including the Disabled Veterans; she was made UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Empowerment of Minority Children through Education in 2005, and holds the post of Executive Vice President of the Thai Red Cross Society. She's also in charge of the Chaipatta Foundation (</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">King </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bhumibol</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">'s development and environment conservation projects)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Princess Sirindhorn is fluent in English, French and Chinese, and is currently learning German and Latin. She admits to have a special fondness for China ever since she started learning Chinese more than 30 years ago. Her knowledge of Chinese language and culture is extensive, and she has translated many Chinese novels into Thai, enabling Thai people to better understand China's history, society and culture. She has visited China more than 30 times, both officially and privately, and represents the Royal Family in supporting the Thai Government in enhancing comprehensive pragmatic cooperation with China. She was voted one of the top "Best International Friends of China", the only Southeast Asian awarded this honor.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Thailand has been rocked by political upheavals for more than 10 years. General Prayut Chan-ocha took over power in a coup in 2014. This guy's hilarious ! When a bomb exploded at Bangkok's Erawan Shrine on 17August 2015, killing 20 and injuring 125, he advised senior police chiefs to watch "Blue Blood", a New York Police crime series on TV to learn investigative techniques ! He's against gender equality, because "Thai society will deteriorate if there're no women to cook at home". He urges women to cover up because : " women are like candies or toffee which should be wrapped up nicely, people will not buy them if they were already unwrapped" On high food prices : " If seafood is expensive then don't eat it, leave it to the wealthy to eat." He fancies himself a musician, in the aftermath of the 2014 coup, Prayut wrote a song called "Return Happiness to Thailand" which was widely played on state radio and TV, which he followed up by holding a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">weekly Friday night "Returning Happiness to the People" TV broadcast</span><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">. His 2016 New Year gift to Thais was another song " Because you are Thailand" sung by a Sergeant-Major. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal;">Since taking power </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Prayut had become increasingly eccentric and highly superstitious. He admits publicly he consults a fortune teller regularly. Early in his premiership he attributed any aches and pains to spells cast by his political enemies, and solicited Holy Water for healing. The Bangkok Post reports he has a collection of lucky rings which he varies daily according to the day's activities, and wears an elephant hair bracelet to ward off bad luck. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">All this would be lighthearted gossipy fun if </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Prayut didn't at the same time drastically tightened media reporting, limited public assembly, and drafted a new constitution which is widely criticized for being anti-democratic. Without the stabilizing factor of a respected King, poor Thailand looks to having many more turbulent years ahead.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Sawadeeka Thailand ! Good luck !</span></span></div>
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</span><br />The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-4922839672302967492016-03-30T01:41:00.002-07:002016-04-04T21:35:32.820-07:00Trip to Oman, Dubai and Abu Dhabi<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Fawzia was excited when I told her I was going to Oman .
" I taught there in the '80s , beautiful country ! " she exclaimed
" Do tell me how it is now after you get back ! " I was impressed
because everybody else I told had never even heard of Oman, they all thought I
was going to Amman in Jordan - unsurprising perhaps as Oman was closed to
visitors until the 1970s, and only officially started tourism in
2004. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Oman is in fact the oldest independent state in the Arab
world. Settlement in Oman was mainly from East Yemen and central Arabia
centuries ago ; the name Oman is believed to originate from a tribe from Uman
of Yemen. From the 6th century BC Oman was ruled by three Persian dynasties,
but with the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD power was transferred to
the Arab ruling families. The Portuguese occupied Muscat from 1507 to 1650
and left many historic forts which have become the country's most notable
cultural landmarks. Later it fell briefly to the Ottoman Turks, who were forced
out by Ahmad ibn Sa'id in 1741; the descendants of Sultan Ahmad rule
Oman to this day - a 400 year reign of incessant internecine family
intrigue, fratricide, and usurpation that would challenge the best script
writer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Britain's finger prints were all over Oman for the past 2- 3
hundred years. Oman profited hugely from the slave trade
until the British declared slavery illegal in the mid-19th century,
and seized most of its overseas possessions. In 1861 it was Britain which
mediated the division of the empire into Zanzibar, and Muscat and Oman
between the 2 sons of Sa'id bin Sultan when they quarreled over the
inheritance ; and in 1871 Britain squashed the attempt of imam Azzan
to restore imamate legitimacy by providing financial and political
support to his opponents. During the 19th century Britain and
Oman concluded multiple treaties of friendship and commerce, and in 1951
Britain recognizes Oman as a fully independent state. When territorial dispute
broke out with the Imam in Nizwa after oil was discovered in 1954 , the Sultan
won the day with the aid of British forces . In late 1960s a popular leftist
uprising from the province of Dhofar ( backed by the Russians ) was put down by
a counter-insurgency war coordinated by the British and the Americans . In 1970
Britain orchestrated a coup to put the present Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said
in power because he was perceived to serve British interests better than his
father, Sultan Said bin Taimur, who was spirited away into luxurious exile at
the Dorchester Hotel in London. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">To Sultan Qaboos' credit he has transformed a country
plagued by endemic diseases, illiteracy, poverty and backwardness into one of
the most modern and prosperous Arab states in just 3 decades, by building the
country's infrastructure, encouraged education, free enterprise, health
facilities and the rule of law. According to a United Nations Development
Program report in 2010, Oman ranked first in over all progress in health,
education and income over the past 40 years among 135 countries (Saudi Arabia came
fifth). Oman is remarkably peaceful compared with other Arab countries. This is
achieved by the set up of the Majilis Al-Shura (Consultative
Council) in which all tribes are equally represented, thus keep
in balance the deep rooted and complex tribal, regional, and ethnic
interests. In November 1996, Sultan Qaboos published Oman's first written
constitution, the " Basic Statues of the State". In 1997 he decreed
that women could vote, plus the right to be elected to the Majilis Al-Shura. In
2002 voting rights were extended to all citizens over the age of 21.
Nevertheless in spite of all apparent progress Qaboos remains an absolute
monarch, rules by decree, tolerates zero dissent, and the system of law is
based firmly on Islamic sharia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My first impression of Muscat was it's clinically neat,
clean and orderly. Our guide was Badar, 25 years of age, and anxiously awaiting
an arranged marriage which was in the pipeline. " Is it expensive to get
married here ?" Yes, dowry was US 60,000. Badar has 11 brothers and
sisters, ah no, he's never heard of family planning himself and he's the first
generation to have received schooling in Oman . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Before 1970 only 3 formal schools existed in the whole
country, today there're over 1,000 state schools. In 1986, Oman opened it's
first university, Sultan Qaboos University. Almost all the teachers were
foreign employ, of whom my friend Fawzia was one. Approximately 1.6 million
expatriates work in this country of fewer than 3 million people. " What
does it take to become a citizen ?" Well, first you have to have worked
here for 23 years....... In 1998 the Sultan started the process of Omanization
in preparation of a post-oil economy, by which Omanis must produce their own
workforce of well-educated , motivated individuals who could take over the jobs
now held by foreign professionals . In March 2014 more stringent rules were put
in to further cut down on the number of foreign workers. How well the Omanis
will take to work when they already enjoy such a good life from their generous
government remains to be seen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Muscat must sees are : Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
; Museum of Bait Assayed ( National Museum) ; Al Alam Palace ; The
Royal Opera House Muscat and the Muttrah Souq </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Construction on the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque began in
1995 and it was inaugurated by the Sultan on May 4, 2001. It's a
colossal Indian sandstone building , the main musalla (prayer hall) can
hold 6,500 worshipers, together with the women's musalla, the outer paved
ground, the interior courtyard and the passageways, the total capacity is up to
20,000 people. The splendid prayer hall has the world's second largest
single piece hand-woven carpet, and a 14 meters tall chandelier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The National Museum of Oman was established in 1978,
and contains silverware, jewelry, pendants, copper crafts
and a 8th century letter by the Prophet Mohammed to the rulers of Oman
preaching the Islamic faith. There's also a section dedicated to the Al Busaidi
dynasty .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Al Alam (means the flag in Arabic ) Palace is over
200 years old and was built by Imam Sultan bin Ahmed, the 7th direct
grandfather of the current Sultan. It's a ceremonial palace and is used for
official functions and receiving distinguished visitors e.g. Queen of England
during her state visit to Oman in 2010. The palace and area around is a popular
photo site for tourists and locals. I even found a TV crew making a video to
promote Oman using a group of children as subjects.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sultan Qaboos is a cultured man, an avid fan of arts and
classical music. In 2001 he started the building of the Royal Opera House
Muscat, which officially opened on Oct 12, 2011. The Opera House can hold 1,100
people and <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">the Sultan's
120-member orchestra is unusual in that </span>male and female musicians
perform together on stage. He is particularly fond of pipe organ and is the
only Sultan in the world to own a camel-mounted bagpipers band. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sultan Qaboos is an odd ball among Arab leaders. The
only son of Sultan Said bin Taimur, he had his primary and secondary schooling
in India. At 16 he was sent to England to continue his studies. He entered the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , and upon graduation served several years as
an officer in a British infantry regiment, during which time he was posted to
Germany for a year. After the army he furthered his studies in local politics
in England, then after a world tour returned home to study Islam and the
history of Oman, before overthrowing his father. He is a die-hard Anglophile,
adores the Queen, enjoys playing polo with Prince Charles and showers the
British Royal Family with expensive gifts during state visits. Interestingly
he's the only Arab leader who demands to be called" His Majesty". He
has also donated sports pavilions bearing his name to Sandhurst, and the RAF
officers' college, Cranwell. Needless to say Oman has always maintained close
military ties with Britain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Oman is also a staunch US ally. Trade relationship between
the 2 countries dates back to 1790, and Oman was the first Arab nation to
recognize American independence - the first treaty of friendship and navigation
was made in 1833. Since 1980 Oman has gladly granted US military access to its
air bases and ports, and assisted the US to build a defense shield designed to
counter perceived threat from Iran. Notwithstanding a high degree of internal
stability, regional tension in the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf
wars necessitated Oman spending one third of its GDP on defense, mainly buying
from Britain, the US and France.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sino- Omani trading also dates back to ancient times, but
only in 1978 that the two countries established official diplomatic ties. In
1983 Oman was the first Arab nation to export oil to China, and China has
remained Omani's biggest customer in the world for its oil. Beyond oil
politics, the Omani-Chinese Friendship Association was formed in 2010 to
facilitate cultural exchange. A chair of Arabic Studies was established at the
Peking University, and Chinese artists had been invited to participate in the
annual Muscat Arts festival. The Omani Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo was
visited by more than 3 million Chinese. After the devastating Sichuan
earthquake in 2008, Oman donated 350 units of residential housing complete with
medical and school facilities for the affected. Oman fully supports Beijing's
2014-2017 China-GCC Strategic Action Plan; in 2014 Oman is China's fourth
largest trading partner in the Middle East, with bilateral trade volume
reaching $23 billion. Maintaining strong economic ties with China not only
offers Oman access to foreign investment capital and technology, China being a
major power also gives Oman a useful offset to Western pressure. Due to Oman's
strategic location, the 2 countries are cooperating in a joint military effort
to combat piracy at the Gulf of Aden and Somalia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">" Do the Omanis like the Sultan ?" All Omanis I
asked responded with a resounding " Of course !" By all accounts the
Sultan is popular and respected : his birthday,18 November, is a national
holiday in Oman, and 23 July, the first day of his reign, is celebrated as
Renaissance Day, and his picture adorns every official wall. This in spite of
the widespread rumor that he's gay, a crime that can lead to 3 years
imprisonment in progressive Oman ( the same crime is punishable by death in
Saudi Arabia ). The Sultan married his cousin Kamila in 1976, but the marriage
ended in divorce in 1979 on account of his " failure to do his manly duty
". He has remained single since while Kamila left to live and later marry
in the UK . The king is well known to have a cadre of very handsome, well
build bodyguards and a harem of over 100 men ; he's also known to dispense
special gratuity for good services rendered - a car, a house, according to the
grade of performance. Another hushed whisper circulating is that he's also a pedophile,
so much so people are reluctant to introduce their sons to him. That his
homosexuality is tolerated by even the very conservative religious leaders of
Oman is a measure of his success as a personality cult, for them
his homosexuality is played down to be a mere "hobby"
or personal preference, so does not threaten his manliness or his status as a
national leader. The Sultan is a notorious spendthrift who appropriates 40% of
Oman's revenue for himself, has eight extravagant estates both in Oman and Europe,
yet the only worry the country has is that the Sultan is now in his 70s
and without any heir , which might lead to "succession" problem
after his death. The sultan is reportedly suffering from colon cancer and
being treated by German specialists. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Muttrah Souq is a traditional bazaar and one of the
oldest marketplaces in the Arab world. Its proximity to the harbor makes it the
center of trade to India and China for the past 3000 years. The old
buildings of mud and palm leaves had been modernized to turn the Souq into a
tourist attraction, but Omanis from all over the country still flock there
for their shopping particularly during Eid seasons. A word of warning, the many
side streets and alleyways requires a little skill to navigate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Outside of Muscat our new guide was Masoud, a tall Nigerian,
and we toured the Nakhal Fort , Rustak Castle, Jabrin Castle , Bahla Fort,
Nizwa Fort .To the uninitiated ( i.e. me),visiting one or two forts is enough
as they all seem to be fairly similar<b>, </b>even though they're some of
the main tourist attractions in Oman .Of the 5 we visited, Nizwa Fort and
nearby Jabrin Castle are convenient and reasonably interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Nizwa, a popular tourist attractions in
Oman, is about 1.5 hours drive from Muscat. Nizwa fort was constructed
by Imam Sultan bin Saif bin Malik Al Ya'arubi ( the very guy who
drove the Portuguese away from Oman) in 1660 AD, to protect Nizwa's abundant
natural wealth and its strategic location at the crossroads of vital caravan
routes. Nizwa fort is Oman's most visited national monument. The
most striking feature of the fort is the large circular central tower, which is
not just a unique architectural design in Oman, but a formidable bastion of
might against enemy mortar attacks. Two canons guard the entrance to the fort
which opens into a veritable maze of rooms, high- ceilinged halls, terraces,
narrow corridors and staircases, battlements, turrets , secret shafts and false
doors. Besides pouring boiling oil or water through the shafts to deter the
enemies, the Sultan also used date syrup extracted from bags of dates stored in
special date cellars. The fort was built above a subterranean stream, this and
the presence of seven wells ensured a permanent supply of water when subjected
to a prolonged siege, while underground cellars stockpiled food and munitions.
Nowadays the rooms hold a permanent exhibit that illustrate the history of Oman
and how life was lived in the bygone days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The three-storied Jabrin Castle was built in 1675 by the
Yaruba Dynasty Imam Bil'arab bin Sultan. It was an important center of
learning for astrology, medicine and Islamic law. Jabrin Castle is a fine
example of Islamic architecture and famous for the elaborately
painted ceilings with original floral motifs and Islamic inscriptions.
Among the many rooms are fruit storage room, dungeons, burial chambers,and
even a room for the sultan’s favorite horse. Remarkably, the falaj
was not used for water but as an early air-con system. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Bahla Fort, standing a few miles outside Nizwa, is the
oldest fort in Oman. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, when the
Bahla oasis was under the control of the Banu Nebhan tribe. The Fort
became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, but went straight onto the List of
World Heritage in Danger in 1988. The Fort had fallen into a parlous state, the
mud brick walls are vulnerable to decay and inadequate drainage, collapsing
rapidly after each rainy season. Restoration works began in the 1990s at a cost
of $9m to the Omani government before it was taken off the endangered list in
2004. Since 2005 a Management Plan was instituted for the long term maintenance
of the architectural integrity of the assemblage which is invariably affected
by community development and tourism requirements. Still, to my untrained eye everything
looks to be newly rebuilt and a bit fake. Worth mentioning is the Citadel, the
oldest part of the fort which is said to have been built in the year 500 BC,
part of its wall remains un-repaired. The locals believe a ghost in the Fort
has stopped the UNESCO restoration there. Adjacent to the Fort is the Friday
Mosque, noted for its 14th century sculpted niche ( mihrab), and the thriving
oasis settlement. The whole complex is enclosed by a 12 Km ( seven miles)
wall which was said to have been designed by a woman 600 years ago. Bahla
pottery is famous throughout Oman but its souq is famous for a magic tree which
the locals believe anyone who touches it will eventually die of a painful
death. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Nakhl Fort is 120Km from Muscat, and dates back to
pre-Islamic times. It was built on a rocky prominence at the foot of Jebel
Nakhl, unique in that the irregularly-shaped rock it was built around had bits
of the rock jutting into the interiors. It was intended as a protective measure
for an oasis covered by orchards of palm trees and nearby trade routes . Over
the centuries, it had undergone many renovations. Today the Fort houses a
museum, operated by the Ministry of Tourism, which has exhibits of historic
guns, and some rooms have been fitted with traditional furniture, handicrafts
and historic artifact. The Fort also hosts a weekly goat auction market. Prince
Charles visited the Fort during an official visit to Oman in 2003. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While we were in Nizwa we visited the Al Hoota caves , the
first and only show cave in Oman. Estimated to be over 2 million years
old, it's more than 5 Km long and is one of the largest cave systems in
the world . It used to be part of an ancient coral reef on the sea floor. Only
840 m is fitted with walkways, stairs and a light system and was first
opened to tourists in 2006, though it was first discovered by a shepherd
in the 1960s. Al Hoota Cave contains a rich ecosystem that includes two
lakes, one is a small northern lake and the other is the main lake around 800
meters long and 10 meters wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters. It's home to
the rare blind “garra barreimiae” , a pale pink fish that have lived
underground for so many generations that their eyes are covered by skin. The
cave also boasts of its own species of spider, Spariolenus secundus;
and over 100 animal species including bats (Rhinopoma Muscatellum),
arthropods, mollusks, snails, water beetles (Aglymbus gestroi), and other
endemic species. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Al Hoota has another claim to fame - Oman’s first
train. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiyQbdeyF-ltJwnsqJCeCjDIoS3kacaIwEeGJnEv3jTgE5gTxQHr3Nwc3FbZiGqa0tTWUnf4kjXDirmv3deuijGfS1BNHB7nGajvRKC3clQpTVyhTMxkcwAqzOwxYtc1jxIqLUVNSJPw/s1600/IMG_0763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsiyQbdeyF-ltJwnsqJCeCjDIoS3kacaIwEeGJnEv3jTgE5gTxQHr3Nwc3FbZiGqa0tTWUnf4kjXDirmv3deuijGfS1BNHB7nGajvRKC3clQpTVyhTMxkcwAqzOwxYtc1jxIqLUVNSJPw/s320/IMG_0763.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Al Hoota is a good example of eco-tourism in Oman.
To preserve the cave, bulbs that produce minimum heat were chosen for the
lighting system, which is entirely under remote control, allowing the guides to
turn it off whenever they complete their tour at any specific point, so as
to keep the cave in darkness as far as possible to minimize disturbing the cave
creatures and to avoid the growth of algae. Only 750 people are allowed
into the cave each day, and all tours are guided. Eating, drinking, smoking are
not allowed inside the cave, neither is photography. The caves provide direct
employment to local communities and all construction has been designed to
be environmentally sustainable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Wahiba Sands is a vast desert region named after
the Bani Wahiba tribe just south of Sur. Dune bashing in 4x4 vehicles
is the obligatory activity, which our drivers appeared to enjoy even more than
we did. My driver was Hamei who happened to speak the best English.
Our friendly chats inevitably touched on Islam and terrorism. "
We're totally against terrorism" Hamei said seriously. He's correct, the
majority of Omanis are Ibadi Muslims and followers of Abd Allah ibn Ibad.
Ibadism predates both the Sunni and Shia denominations and Ibadis are realists
who believe reason and political expediency must temper the ideal Islamic
state, and conflicts are best resolved through negotiation rather than
confrontation. They're also remarkably tolerant to other religious practices
within their community, and Christian churches, synagogues and Hindu temples
are all present in Oman . </span><br />
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X'mas in Oman</div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Snooping around I was amused to come across two bars, one
exclusively for Indians and the other for Arabs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Unfortunately it was early afternoon and there was not much
action.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One way to experience the sands and Bedouin culture is
staying in one of the desert camps. We stayed in the 1000 Nights Camp
which is the oldest at 15 years of operation. In 2009 a swimming pool was put
in and air conditioning fitted. Our rooms were Bedouin goat hair tents fitted
with beds and lights. Drinking water is extracted from wells 500 meters deep,
and all camps need to apply for the sewage permit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">At dinner, we were treated
to a song and dance performance by the Harasis tribe of Oman. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Different tribes
are identified by the different costumes, types of jewelry and the
masks the women wear. The Harasis mask is traditionally made from cotton
impregnated with indigo, when new the material has a beaten finish which gives
it a coppery look, but appears dark blue when worn. Contrary to Western
thinking, Bedouin girls look forward to wearing the masks when they're of age,
as their kohl ( a black powder made from lustrous antimony ) lined eyes look
more alluring peering through the holes of the mask than if they were bare
faced. Both sexes use kohl as it reduces glare from the harsh desert sun and
repel flies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In bygone days the legendary Bedouin hospitality assured
anybody who wandered into a tent of food and shelter for 31/3 days and then
protection for a further 3 days after leaving the tent, 3 days being the length
of time reckoned for the host's food to completely pass through the guest's
body. Camels were the life blood of the Bedouins until the advent of motor
vehicles and the change of nomadic to a settled life style, but most still
retain a deep love of these animals and no Bedouin camp is complete without
them. Getting up early has its reward, and one morning I was tickled pink
by 2 camels doing a silly workout by the camp site in perfect
synchrony . </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Leaving the desert we proceeded to one of Oman's most
beautiful wadis (dry river bed that contains water only in heavy rains
), Wadi Bani Khalid, famous for its lush green oases, water pools and
deep canyons. All year round, water flows from a natural spring in the upper
reaches of the wadi supports the abundant vegetation and the pools. Swimming is
possible here but out of respect to local custom, it's recommended to
wear shorts and T-shirt over a swimming costume. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Jebel Akhdar <b>(</b>meaning "the Green
Mountain"), is the highest point in Oman and the whole of eastern
Arabia. In 2011 Sultan Qaboos decreed Jebel Akhdar a Sanctuary for Natural
Sceneries in a bid to conserve its unique yet fragile biodiversity. It's
also famous for cottage industry in herbal medicine and traditional cosmetics
like rose water, and agricultural products including pomegranate, apricot,
peach and walnut. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Omanis excelled in ship building. Sur, overlooking the
Indian Ocean, is the trade as well as ship manufacturing center.The Sur
Maritime Museum shows a range of Omani vessels that were used to trade
with countries as far as China and India two centuries previously.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNLkspNZ7wY7JwIl_0YGvG931-4vC-4rM3sqNVmoJzlAmzQM2-RrkvMWcBp_-e4vaBRoDJN9k1IUeHW74daJMZPi18GJ78TfnoFagUmBW6xb-aSpMiRHAXoq-IfxQCP1n5nk1GgbBz10/s1600/oman+boat+museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNLkspNZ7wY7JwIl_0YGvG931-4vC-4rM3sqNVmoJzlAmzQM2-RrkvMWcBp_-e4vaBRoDJN9k1IUeHW74daJMZPi18GJ78TfnoFagUmBW6xb-aSpMiRHAXoq-IfxQCP1n5nk1GgbBz10/s320/oman+boat+museum.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By the time we got to the Bimmah Sinkhole it was dusk, but
because entry is free we decided to take a look anyway. The Bimmah Sinkhole is
a massive hollow on the limestone, 40 meters wide and 20 meters from
the surface and the water is a pretty emerald color. It's located in
the Hawiyat Najm Park which has toilet facilities, another reason why
we made the stop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Oman might look to be the liberal, stable, peaceful Middle
Eastern country, but scratch the surface and a different picture emerges. Cyber
censorship is severe, as is journalism. The press generally have to be content
with news compiled by the official news agency on some issues, self-censorship
is a constant factor or the journalist permit would be scrapped. Reporters
without borders recorded dozens of arrests of bloggers , inspired by the Arab
Spring, who demanded political reform. The law prohibits criticism of the
Sultan in any form or medium, and writings deemed disrespectful to senior
officials, or perceived to undermine the reputation of the state or security
forces would also be prosecuted. Oman does not allow political parties, and the
law does not allow citizens the right to change their government. Public
officials are above financial disclosure laws, and police do not need search
warrants to enter people's homes. Publication of books is limited and under
government supervision. Irrespective of the authoritarian nature of the state,
or the records of foreign worker abuse and human trafficking held by the
US State Department, the Congress nevertheless still approved free trade
agreement with Oman in 2006, which hugely boost the fortune of the sweatshop
owners. Oman managed to side-step the Arab Spring Revolution by further
clamping down on dissent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Of all the Arab countries that I've been to Dubai has to be
the one I like the least. The name "Dubai" itself says it all : it
could mean either a local "locus" which consumes everything before it
; or simply "money", which came from an Arabic proverb "Daba
Dubai" meaning " They came with a lot of money to the market".
Today Dubai is called An Adult Disneyland, or the Sin City of the Middle East
(according to the type of customer) , an opulent never never land that's been
built purely to serve and pamper the wealthy. Dubai is all about greed and
hypocrisy - Consumerism on Steroid and everything there is fake.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9Y3TDQ_XwbgeRJSyBzuou1RhDiXSPZ8_WxjS9nZSkY-RV0Y513EwY4Nlc8ZssfnSBCa7OLlq03X5HzydxtVSJNBBuhe3Dy0IsBnv83Q0_nvnqdhHBkImMUcPZivAW_4BVGsDTDVAClI/s1600/IMG_1687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9Y3TDQ_XwbgeRJSyBzuou1RhDiXSPZ8_WxjS9nZSkY-RV0Y513EwY4Nlc8ZssfnSBCa7OLlq03X5HzydxtVSJNBBuhe3Dy0IsBnv83Q0_nvnqdhHBkImMUcPZivAW_4BVGsDTDVAClI/s320/IMG_1687.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai lies directly within the Arabian Desert, its
geographical proximity to Iran and the coast made it an important trading
town. As well as being a fishing village, it also had a small
pearling industry since 1580. The Pearl trade collapsed in the 1930s under the
double whammy of the Great Depression and the innovation of Japanese cultured
pearls. It became a British protectorate in 1853 after an encounter with
the gunships of the British Empire, who held it by the throat until 1970.
The Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai since 1833. The illiterate Sheikh Rashid
bin Saeed Al Maktoum started to use trade revenue to build infrastructure since
1948, but only after oil was discovered in 1966 that his son Sheikh Rashid
(credited as Father of Dubai ) had the means to turn a primitive desert
settlement into a global city in less than 40 years. In 1971 Dubai, together
with Abu Dhabi, Shajiah, Ajman, Umm Al Qawain, and Fujairah formed the United
Arab Emirates. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69mAXu7cXFVsDad0rzfGe9fqetHcapPJlsrvvYpjpvgKDBBmu8_g_eV-kTAbN8OqZrTOHFUW-co-103kqIKtDdGprpUhMgiE1j6uXCWlxreTAcS5XlvnwZdKqc9-gy7BtXMoZIG6zEZE/s1600/IMG_1412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69mAXu7cXFVsDad0rzfGe9fqetHcapPJlsrvvYpjpvgKDBBmu8_g_eV-kTAbN8OqZrTOHFUW-co-103kqIKtDdGprpUhMgiE1j6uXCWlxreTAcS5XlvnwZdKqc9-gy7BtXMoZIG6zEZE/s320/IMG_1412.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Nevertheless Sheikh Rashid retained a special relationship
with Britain, he was said to be a close personal friend of Queen Elizabeth II, and
all his sons went to Sandhurst. English is the second spoken language after
Arabic, and there're over 100,000 British expatriates in Dubai, by far the
largest group of Western expatriates. The current ruler is Sheikh Mohammed,
grandson of Sheikh Rashid, a charismatic personality who loves horse racing as
much as the British Royal Family.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQiElfiMD00IAyGgi4vTNHaJyZ05RPq_z0dWrFrtrhSdHb56n7MPajOZ45D9o4cyVV11ZR5vPj9D-OVpym__gySrt1FeXcZaBaJ1_VGZfmFyKg8cO_kBfCcuEp6P2fV7gmS0FwiZNaEo/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQiElfiMD00IAyGgi4vTNHaJyZ05RPq_z0dWrFrtrhSdHb56n7MPajOZ45D9o4cyVV11ZR5vPj9D-OVpym__gySrt1FeXcZaBaJ1_VGZfmFyKg8cO_kBfCcuEp6P2fV7gmS0FwiZNaEo/s320/IMG_1721.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai has been a Duty Free Port since 1892. In the
1970s Sheikh Rashid saw the accelerating re-export
business opportunity and developed the Jebel Ali Port, it is today the
largest deep-water port in the world and was ranked seventh globally for the
volume of container traffic. Until the 1990s Dubai was the hub of a brisk gold
ingot smuggling business to India, earning it the name City of Gold. Dubai owes
much to the Indians, not because India is Dubai's largest trade partner, or
that Indians are among the top foreign investors, but because of the cheap
Indian labor that literally raised the metropolis from nothingness.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrpFYELOIAyaL4h-of-JzZyWXzl2Kyn39Q6evNfBXhb7TSZwh7oBeXpPW3HfDgzn-cW3E-Xi6uHt5V0d204Av7F3MzVKOSf6iNbCI7C33-0vJWGxYD_w2z1N1Rekg4i1HtZx7ZOsxTqg/s1600/dubai+gold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrpFYELOIAyaL4h-of-JzZyWXzl2Kyn39Q6evNfBXhb7TSZwh7oBeXpPW3HfDgzn-cW3E-Xi6uHt5V0d204Av7F3MzVKOSf6iNbCI7C33-0vJWGxYD_w2z1N1Rekg4i1HtZx7ZOsxTqg/s320/dubai+gold.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The flush of oil money ignited a massive influx of foreign
workers. Of the estimated population of 2.1 million people in Dubai, more than
85 % are foreign born, half of them from India. Migrant workers account for 90%
of Dubai's workforce, Southeast Asians make up most of the manual workers.
Dubai is the epitome of Capitalism - everything has a price and a dark side.
During the construction hay days, Human Rights Watch and similar NGOs have
repeatedly reported endemic abuse of workers who're no better than indentured
corporate slaves : delayed or no payment of wages, substitution of employment
contracts to a lower than promised wages, excessive working hours, atrocious
working and living conditions ( 8-10 to a room in labor camps), withholding of
passport and premature termination of services, all undertaken with the
complicity of the Dubai authorities. Most companies in Dubai are owned by the
government, so human rights laws are shunned because they cut profit margins.
While tourists are advised not to stay outdoors for even 5 minutes in the 55
degree summer heat, construction workers were expected to work 14 hour days.
Laborers got US$4 a day. Dubai Emergency rooms were filled with men collapsed
from heat exhaustion and there's a huge number of suicides ( some masqueraded
as accidents) in the camp. When the Indian Consulate registered 971 deaths in
2005 they were simply told to stop counting, though by law the Dubai
government is required to track job-related injuries and deaths. The
mistreatment of foreign workers was recorded in the disputed 2009 documentary
" Slaves in Dubai ". Then there were cases of Indian peasants who
threw themselves in front of vehicles for the "blood money" so they
could pay back the debts their family took out to get them employment abroad.
This is classic exploitation at play - taking advantage of someone's
desperation. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHABLI6jRCBebWZz4Da45sLA59aKSX-7atG4ABXlfEM4mjG-pSGaoQjACwnadnxJAC-6EMbffD81IXG2o47lUTwIHnsale2XxlDDuarRhPfJicXxOM6P5miEMbNXxKCml7zRkt45Pp_xk/s1600/IMG_1390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHABLI6jRCBebWZz4Da45sLA59aKSX-7atG4ABXlfEM4mjG-pSGaoQjACwnadnxJAC-6EMbffD81IXG2o47lUTwIHnsale2XxlDDuarRhPfJicXxOM6P5miEMbNXxKCml7zRkt45Pp_xk/s320/IMG_1390.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The hadith in the Qur'an says this about the end of days
" There will be no Judgment until very tall buildings are constructed
" Burj Khalifah is the world's tallest building, designed after
an abstract version of the native desert flower hymenocallis. The observation
deck at the 124 floor is the 2nd highest in the world after the Shanghai World
Financial Center, but it does boast to have the fastest elevator in the
world. Movie lovers remember Burj Khalifah as the building Tom Cruise
repel down the outer wall in "Mission Impossible". It is the most
visited building in Dubai, but few of the 2 million visitors that grace the
building a year know that this was the site of a one day
riot in 2006, as frustration boiled over over low wages and poor
working conditions. Cars, offices, computers and construction tools were
damaged at a cost of US$ 1 million. Workers building the new terminal of Dubai
International Airport went on strike in solidarity. Subsequently 4000 strikers
were arrested then deported. Foreign workers, Western or otherwise, have no
rights in the Dubai court. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai has a heavily stratified and racist social structure.
Locals are favored over Westerners, but South Asians are on the lowest
rung. They're the laborers, cooks, maids, gardeners, taxi drivers who
have the harshest life in this land of luxury, many live in over crowded
substandard housing. Dubai, like much of the Middle east, has no statutory
minimum wage or work hour limits for domestic helpers. It was only in June 2014
that the UAE legislated helpers get one day off a week. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTJ34_53Apc5JaMHwUJsCCQowJZXcqyjQD9nYy4jmd1fSaP-2bbnGhso-89XHQmr9cFBRUoMcn19sxjr6SwctWyIcXmWakm_4Xlzb6A0p1ds9ZDUBvSk__xp2xffKp-fj8pvp-qLIgGc/s1600/IMG_1736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTJ34_53Apc5JaMHwUJsCCQowJZXcqyjQD9nYy4jmd1fSaP-2bbnGhso-89XHQmr9cFBRUoMcn19sxjr6SwctWyIcXmWakm_4Xlzb6A0p1ds9ZDUBvSk__xp2xffKp-fj8pvp-qLIgGc/s320/IMG_1736.JPG" width="213" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Johau our guide, was born in Dubai 26 years ago but of
Pakistanis parentage, which means he can never obtain Dubai citizenship and all
the perks that come with it. Dubai is known as Santa Claus State or Nanny State
for a reason. Emiratis get free education up to PhD level; a free house when
they marry; free healthcare, and if it's not good enough the government pay for
them to go abroad; even phone calls are free ; almost everyone has a maid, a
nanny and a driver. And no taxes. Most Emiratis, if they work at all, work for
the government, where employment is cushy and secure. Johau on the other hand
has to fend for himself ; like young people everywhere he grumbles over the high
rental - one room flat with a bathroom costs US$1500 a month, while average
monthly salary is US$ 2-3000, so 2-3 people share one residence. Water cost is
another headache. He loves American TV and is very attentive to his appearance,
which cannot be cheap in Dubai. " How do you reconcile being a Muslim and
grappling with this insatiable Materialism ?" He doesn't and
doesn't want to know. He's in boom town and wants to collect his pot of gold.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4N8wrFjlkEUi4gTtSxKaUiLyunlJJE0E43UWg4fFNOnRTrj65HRbx0J5iAv63i_S56ufuIn3-yYQpfHQUGxYCz8d3EFvZVajuFoBz5pmk89Hxa429c7NgOmSCRLyZvsQcCh9hXm1tak/s1600/Burj-Al-Arab%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4N8wrFjlkEUi4gTtSxKaUiLyunlJJE0E43UWg4fFNOnRTrj65HRbx0J5iAv63i_S56ufuIn3-yYQpfHQUGxYCz8d3EFvZVajuFoBz5pmk89Hxa429c7NgOmSCRLyZvsQcCh9hXm1tak/s320/Burj-Al-Arab%255B2%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai is a city of superlatives : always striving to break
new records, to be the fastest, biggest, tallest, largest , highest
..... The Dubai Fountain is the world's largest dancing fountain and one
with a very impressive display. Burj Al Arab is the world's first
seven star hotel, it stands on an artificial island and shaped to mimic the
sail of a boat. Palm Islands are 3 largest artificial islands in the world,
each island is shaped like a palm leak, with a trunk connecting it to the
mainland.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HJkL8exVaixh4NDEzXJifbqWxtsYEpnC-fhj7DySE3CzgpBYTts60pDBT10wP0PbfMriOC7_NnR1qLgyXNk39twnT652gFsh2kz0l9THBfFW_76hDFZqv8m8dwok5_DGyAz4BlKcjj4/s1600/Dubai-Fountain-Show%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HJkL8exVaixh4NDEzXJifbqWxtsYEpnC-fhj7DySE3CzgpBYTts60pDBT10wP0PbfMriOC7_NnR1qLgyXNk39twnT652gFsh2kz0l9THBfFW_76hDFZqv8m8dwok5_DGyAz4BlKcjj4/s320/Dubai-Fountain-Show%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai's propaganda<b> </b>motto is " Open doors,
open minds" and Dubai is synonymous with "do-buy". Dubai is the
shopping capital of the Middle East and since 1996 Dubai Shopping Festival
ensures every shop has a 2 month sale from January to February. Dubai
has more than 70 shopping centers, including the world's largest - Dubai
Mall. The Cathedrals of Consumerism have no end of worshipers, as of April
2014, Dubai International Airport passed London's Heathrow as the world's
busiest gateway for international travelers.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKgMeROqSbMCamLKKXmcVd5ityHxnSQ1KXI_QzNA-8hzXYQ3Abh_ZeY_oTPpeg1R2Kf3NyMiqaUcLsdK4zm6JaR8LhG5XnTaQxQvXPy4af8YMKEMvbua63WLNXxJH7vnKlqgy1tzkLrc/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKgMeROqSbMCamLKKXmcVd5ityHxnSQ1KXI_QzNA-8hzXYQ3Abh_ZeY_oTPpeg1R2Kf3NyMiqaUcLsdK4zm6JaR8LhG5XnTaQxQvXPy4af8YMKEMvbua63WLNXxJH7vnKlqgy1tzkLrc/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Jumeirah Mosque is a sentry from the mad mad world. The
wonderful architecture was built in the medieval Fatimid tradition, the
interior's decorated with elaborate Arabic calligraphy. It's one of the few
mosques open to non Muslims.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai maybe a desert but Dubai Aquarium in Dubai Mall is one
of the world's largest suspended aquarium with a 10 million liter tank that
carry life size sharks, and in the Mall of the Emirates is the Ski Center,
where people bundle up to ski in artificial cold. Dubai shocks by going
against nature at every turn, unsurprisingly Dubai is the most un-ecological
and water stressed place on earth. A case in point are the golf courses,
the Tiger Woods Golf Course alone requires 4 million gallons of water to be
pumped onto its grounds every single day ! Just to stand still, the
average Dubai resident needs 3 times more water than the average person living
else where. There're regular dust-storms that cover the whole city attempting to
revert it back to desert, alternating with the heat that cooks anything that's
not artificially kept wet. But Dubai has no surface water, little aquifer, and
the lowest rainfall in the world. So Dubai drinks the sea. Water from the huge
desalination plants costs more than petrol to produce, and belches vast
quantities of carbon dioxide. Little wonder Emirati has the biggest average
carbon footprint of any human - more than double that of an American. Dubai has
expanded so fast its sewage treatment facilities can't keep up, so untreated
sewage and hazardous waste is simply dumped into the sea, causing much
environmental degradation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai is an illusion kept alive solely by money. The only
thing real in Dubai is the beach, all crushed shell and coral making it
the finest, whitest and sandiest beach in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Schizophrenic Dubai wishes to be seen as liberal,
cosmopolitan and westernized, so much so since 2006 it has designated the
weekend as Friday-Saturday as a compromise between Friday's holiness to Muslims
and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday. Alas this is mere cosmetic, in
reality it's still a medieval conservative country. Outsiders mesmerized by the
superficial glitter would be shocked by the UAE Code of Conduct which
stipulates : <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivu9kneWugVGiwDJtJc3yoY5anwLyXvjTUtT_4vR9Fny8Y-lF-r0vEffJ5T9ReQsRIgZGDqce6bN_1Zq_-fExeTEPgVzCUF-bn9XOBASRbBm3U-DrO3xMEK-BGpD53Cq4JYbEgkdovhI/s1600/dubai+dress+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivu9kneWugVGiwDJtJc3yoY5anwLyXvjTUtT_4vR9Fny8Y-lF-r0vEffJ5T9ReQsRIgZGDqce6bN_1Zq_-fExeTEPgVzCUF-bn9XOBASRbBm3U-DrO3xMEK-BGpD53Cq4JYbEgkdovhI/s1600/dubai+dress+sign.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Modest dress code is part of Dubai's criminal law.<b> </b><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Sleeveless tops and short dresses are not
allowed at Dubai's malls, and clothes must be of appropriate lengths. No public
display of affection e.g. hugging, kissing, cuddling, is allowed.</span> Dancing
and playing loud music at public places ( park, residential areas or beach )
are forbidden. All residents and tourists must show respect to UAE symbols
(flag, national emblem) and religion. Taking photos without permission is
prohibited, particularly of women and families. Sexual harassment or randomly
addressing women, swearing or offensive hand signals are public
offences. Passengers travelling through Dubai International Airport can
carry into the country a maximum of 3 months supply of medicine for their
personal use, which should be in original packaging and not expired, stamped
and signed by official embassy of UAE in the country of origin, with details of
the patient and description of disease. No psychiatric medicines are allowed
in without prior approval from the Ministry of Health even for personal use.
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Alcohol is not allowed
anywhere besides licensed venues, and never in public places. </span>Alcohol
is not sold on religious holidays, nor during daylight hours in Ramadan (even
to non-Muslims) . Supermarkets do not stock alcohol, not even food items
containing alcohol. Smoking is not allowed in malls, shops or
offices. During the month of Ramadan, it's illegal to publicly eat, drink
or smoke between sunrise and sunset. The law applies to all Muslims and
non-Muslims. Failure to comply with all the above rules are punishable by
either payment of fines, imprisonment or deportation. Ignorance is not a
defense.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DwM-LJnFLiHSOa6MGxyJTzKXu5Xlyk13eFnvwvNgtbgc7b_EDpyYno33UqDlTeyA0GbVVqkEVbDZtGnzuDHKbAe5q_RuuWb-EFErRvVEl2jy4LKWtTKOfMi9vRDdVpUXISCwy65yb6Y/s1600/dubai+sign+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DwM-LJnFLiHSOa6MGxyJTzKXu5Xlyk13eFnvwvNgtbgc7b_EDpyYno33UqDlTeyA0GbVVqkEVbDZtGnzuDHKbAe5q_RuuWb-EFErRvVEl2jy4LKWtTKOfMi9vRDdVpUXISCwy65yb6Y/s1600/dubai+sign+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It's worth noting drug laws are very strictly enforced. Even
trace amounts of illegal drug, e.g. a speck of cannabis stuck to the sole of a
shoe, adhering to clothing or pocket lining, or in the dirt on luggage, once
detected by the Dubai Authority's extremely sensitive electronic
equipment, could result in lengthy prison sentences for foreigners on
layovers at the airport. Drugs found in urine or blood testing count as
"possession" under UAE law. Tourists have been sentenced to execution
for selling cannabis, though smoking it only leads to rehabilitation in prison.
A couple of horror stories to all unfortunates needing medication : a British
tourist was incarcerated for 2 months in 2005 after codeine was found in her
blood, unsurprising as she's had a jab of codeine for back pain at a Dubai
hospital earlier. Then in 2008 a German TV producer was arrested for possessing
a bottle of over-the-counter Melatonin !</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyT2wUXEhowRdk2nEgLWeKFolCVQ6nXJjk7Iyr6kU-Q7WNmEelpB92-dwotY_heRZYV4ZwGSKz3Zx3qHCMmEzWzXStesazHlP9P0zOOu6ASSYSqYf-E_i53Z8D6Z2_tfw9pN2nBtz6Ic/s1600/IMG_1796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyT2wUXEhowRdk2nEgLWeKFolCVQ6nXJjk7Iyr6kU-Q7WNmEelpB92-dwotY_heRZYV4ZwGSKz3Zx3qHCMmEzWzXStesazHlP9P0zOOu6ASSYSqYf-E_i53Z8D6Z2_tfw9pN2nBtz6Ic/s320/IMG_1796.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">UAE has evaded signing most international human/labor-rights
treaties, and its human rights records are appalling . Under Sharia law,
flogging and stoning are legal judicial punishment, e.g. 80 lashes for alcohol
consumption, 100 for premarital sex, and death for apostasy. Dubai, like most
of the Gulf states is a Police State, the Dubai Police Force and Secret Service
is under direct order of the Sheikh, and can stop anything within 24 hours.
Every bar and hotel has CCTV cameras that the Police has access to. The press
is controlled by media laws - Freedom House has this to say :" Extreme forms
of self-censorship are widely practiced, particularly regarding issues such as
local politics, culture, religion, or any other subject the government deems
politically or culturally sensitive". Likewise the internet is severely
censored, homosexuality, drugs, pornography, theory of evolution, sites
originating from Israel are all taboo, criticism on Facebook or parody video on
YouTube of the government or Islam will land the author in jail. Freedom of
association and freedom of religion are also curtailed. Islam is the official
state religion and 95% of the mosques are subsidized by the government, which
also appoints every imam and tightly controls every sermon preached to keep it
moderate. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYYDdTl04dYUU0gXswYlHyDk4mF-HYVWQMzp0mdAC_V8A7g55dXRQDrdxGUxIMQiBeJzcT7vQk3AjaNVsAld8HBq4M7bE8PJWHTk4nZhmr8022pdbt-7RdCbvOeFz26AfdLm9DU-kLqs/s1600/IMG_1720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYYDdTl04dYUU0gXswYlHyDk4mF-HYVWQMzp0mdAC_V8A7g55dXRQDrdxGUxIMQiBeJzcT7vQk3AjaNVsAld8HBq4M7bE8PJWHTk4nZhmr8022pdbt-7RdCbvOeFz26AfdLm9DU-kLqs/s320/IMG_1720.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Although UAE has signed the UN Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Human Rights Watch is concerned
about the continuous criminalization of rape victims, plus there are no
independent women's rights organizations. Though women are given the right to
education and driving, less than 20% of Emirati women work. The Sharia law
which has been written into the Federal Law since 2005 stipulates that as men
know better and guardian system is in the best interest of women, women are not
allowed to remarry without a male guardian's permission. Under the same
interpretation a man can physically chastise his wife and divorce her for
non-obedience, and it's a crime for a woman to work without her husband's
permission. Little wonder UAE has the highest divorce rate in the region, with
Dubai taking first place. While a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim, it's
illegal for a Muslim woman to marry non-Muslim, as it is considered a form of
"fornication". Attitude to sex is patriarchal but full of hypocrisy.
Homosexuality is punishable by 10 years in prison,but as the women are shut
away everyone either have gay sex or illicit sex. Dubai is well known
throughout the Middle East for prostitution and money laundering. The sex
industry enjoys marked tolerance from the authorities as everyone profits : the
government, night clubs, pimps, sex workers. A 2007 PBS documentary entitled
"Dubai: Night Secrets" revealed while some of the sex workers are
victims of human trafficking, many are there by choice; most of them're from
Russia, Ethiopia and India. Word had it the Sheikh was persuaded to go easy on
prostitution to protect Emirati women from sexual harassment from the
men. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyq_yiiN7QCn9VIreZHlDtvdjsIIV5f2sh2KFo93Gob3gHGC5Ahh3ursNiPGnlR1kj_vtt04pjps8eTTjFOMDSiT_6-i2mT9rrvtfXNwvJmeMc8x6C1nyYESmglDn1cEqVyThZbjOM3k/s1600/IMG_1737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyq_yiiN7QCn9VIreZHlDtvdjsIIV5f2sh2KFo93Gob3gHGC5Ahh3ursNiPGnlR1kj_vtt04pjps8eTTjFOMDSiT_6-i2mT9rrvtfXNwvJmeMc8x6C1nyYESmglDn1cEqVyThZbjOM3k/s320/IMG_1737.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The world was scandalized in 1992 when Ron Gluckman, an
American reporter based in Hing Kong, broke the story of kidnapped South Asian
children being used as jockeys in camel races. The kids were sold for as little
as US $3, and some were toddlers as young as 2. The child jockeys were often
deprived of food to keep their weight light, many were maimed or killed in
accidents during the races (medical treatment was generally denied to injured
children). Aside from racing, the children worked from day to night cleaning
the camels and the farms, and were subjected to physical as well as sexual
abuse by the owners and trainers. There're 15 racetracks throughout the UAE,
the biggest being in Dubai. The report was soundly criticized by Arab
officials who maintained camel racing was their Bedouin birthright. A BBC
documentary was released shortly afterwards, followed by a HBO documentary in
2004, both accused the UAE of the same crime. Finally, under intense
international pressure, child jockeys are banned in 2007 in most Middle East
countries, replaced by robots from Japan. But reports from UNICEF in 2010
suggested the use of child jockeys had not entirely gone, and indeed foreign
journalists were still picking up cases in 2013.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X3iQjB5JWTl60y0uK9WVvvfZZ21DU7V_mLfWIto_TUDfG94pTP3pAv28DpEso3gra7modXnMTqN0ipfHzcvrs4E7vGHLPbdRTwpyoItzBqcaYwCeqFGi9bfsiMXUiuGmQum2L9qhE0w/s1600/IMG_1641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X3iQjB5JWTl60y0uK9WVvvfZZ21DU7V_mLfWIto_TUDfG94pTP3pAv28DpEso3gra7modXnMTqN0ipfHzcvrs4E7vGHLPbdRTwpyoItzBqcaYwCeqFGi9bfsiMXUiuGmQum2L9qhE0w/s320/IMG_1641.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai has been dubbed "the diamond in the desert",
but underneath the sparkle it's a Creditopolis, a city built on debt. As oil is
expected to run out in 20 years, Dubai has switched to trade, tourism,
aviation, real estate and financial services for its up keeping, but in the
process became so bloated on rapid growth it created a huge bubble that finally
burst following the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Hundreds of
construction projects grounded to a halt and there was a tumbling of property
prices. When the external debts of a range of Dubai companies were unveiled (
some $80 billion), it sent the world into a panic. Dubai was rescued by its
deep-pocketed neighbor Abu Dhabi, with cartloads of loans - Dubai now owes 107%
of its entire GDP. Ironically, the CIA sponsored Arab Spring Revolution which
has destroyed so many countries around Dubai turns out to be its life saver, as
foreign investors scrambled to relocate their businesses there, attracted by
its political stability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dubai is strategically located at the junction between
Europe, Africa and the Far East, and its free zones status makes it a logical
re-export port for Chinese imports to Africa, Europe and even India. Since the
Chinese Government launched the "Go Out" policy in the early 1990s,
Dubai has been one of the favorites for Chinese foreign investments. This is
further boosted by China's revised Silk Road Initiative, and by 2013 there're
4,200 Chinese companies, 356 Chinese trading agencies and 2,500 registered
Chinese trademarks in UAE. Chinese individuals have bought $350 million worth
of villas and homes in Dubai, and Dubai houses the largest Chinese trading
center outside the mainland - Dragon Mart. Chinese expats now numbers more than
200,000 in Dubai.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_09KCVY44nXYek0N2v_MHYLP_OfBMqfXXR2EFw47LFhbalsaS0P19oWQ3NmVt9HvjdJYF61aYbJ174lp1DXCwKVzmFXtvDCkd9REfvMov22ZmPQKtNa4B-82CLOHi937wSjLz5ypTjE/s1600/IMG_1548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_09KCVY44nXYek0N2v_MHYLP_OfBMqfXXR2EFw47LFhbalsaS0P19oWQ3NmVt9HvjdJYF61aYbJ174lp1DXCwKVzmFXtvDCkd9REfvMov22ZmPQKtNa4B-82CLOHi937wSjLz5ypTjE/s320/IMG_1548.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In 2009 UAE and China eased their bilateral visa policies,
and in 2011 UAE witnessed a 30% increase of Chinese tourists to 250,000, who
spent a whopping $55 billion - and this has continued to increase annually
since. In 2013 Dubai International Airport outlet hired 573 Chinese employees (
from zero 5 years ago), and put up signage in Chinese in Terminal 1 and 3.
Likewise high-end stores and hotels now also have information signs and
brochures in Chinese, Chinese speaking staff and some already accept Chinese
Union Pay Card and renminbi.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOq8wnPgpRqYXp-49ZZIBRprQ5mkWwGpdB4mp-Pe1EZpsnGBnoPiGLgbbETjeYnbHdfGHX5cyR3cEaSnR22-WkTIYk2sE6dgO8tCHgLZvEsMdtb3ztsG7JlOiaWBKchwtrSyJeZQcvyM/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOq8wnPgpRqYXp-49ZZIBRprQ5mkWwGpdB4mp-Pe1EZpsnGBnoPiGLgbbETjeYnbHdfGHX5cyR3cEaSnR22-WkTIYk2sE6dgO8tCHgLZvEsMdtb3ztsG7JlOiaWBKchwtrSyJeZQcvyM/s320/IMG_1702.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The UAE is the only country in the Middle East that has a
currency swap agreement with the Chinese, and aspires to become the next
offshore trading center for renminbi. This is not implausible as an increasing
number of UAE businesses are already trading with renmibi instead of US dollar,
and in 2013 the Bank of China Middle East ( Dubai) Limited opened in Dubai. Hong
Kong was the first and so far the only place granted this increasingly
desirable status. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6LINbKxgJFHAb5aNpZvTQD0ILUZ4MHn5GHKHiU4eICvnmFhNkKuP3NIVAui-5kTo3PF1ruJ-0KWC1Y8WMUFmVl_fLSG5IaM1fTVMSlFA-ub88azvYVCw5tKKw5RITSlmS6GPnd3WAGY/s1600/dragon-mart%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6LINbKxgJFHAb5aNpZvTQD0ILUZ4MHn5GHKHiU4eICvnmFhNkKuP3NIVAui-5kTo3PF1ruJ-0KWC1Y8WMUFmVl_fLSG5IaM1fTVMSlFA-ub88azvYVCw5tKKw5RITSlmS6GPnd3WAGY/s320/dragon-mart%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Tourist sights we visited in Abu Dhabi were the
Sheikh Zayed Mosque ( the 6th largest in the world) and the Heritage Village.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of UAE, and home to 95% of the oil and gas reserves of
UAE, the fifth largest in the world. It has a population of just under 1.5
million, but only 420,000 are citizens, so each has an average net worth of $17
million. Abu Dhabi plans to reduce its oil earnings from 55%
of GDP to 35% by 2030 through diversification of economy, and change
from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy. In 2004 Sheikh Khalifa, in
a bid to attract tourism and investment, allowed land sales to foreigners and
loosened restriction on alcohol. In spite of the global economic downturn, Abu
Dhabi has the far sight to attract higher end tourists by building venues for
fine art, music, sporting extravaganzas and global meetings, besides developing
zero-carbon, zero waste city, nuclear power plant and the Masdar Institute of
Science and Technology. It has also set itself up as an automotive re-export
trade center to make up for the lack of car manufacturing in the region. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8r5bbw_16Ec4D4r4iFnTHkIfCOlB5cadTuXSybvS1-X3ucGqejGwcuhyXOPhphQUvGeRMdMnwsIQgAU5ikUtcaQgbk7uc3E0E61ZmamkEEaw6jx0KmB6pTnYuiH40mS0dk8x0Xz2TS4/s1600/ad+dubai+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8r5bbw_16Ec4D4r4iFnTHkIfCOlB5cadTuXSybvS1-X3ucGqejGwcuhyXOPhphQUvGeRMdMnwsIQgAU5ikUtcaQgbk7uc3E0E61ZmamkEEaw6jx0KmB6pTnYuiH40mS0dk8x0Xz2TS4/s320/ad+dubai+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The success of UAE is partly due to economic diversification
which has dampened the shock of oil price fluctuations, but more importantly
because just like Oman, it managed to bypass the turmoil of the Arab Spring
revolts (even benefited from them), by clamping down hard on dissent. Drastic
Internet restrictions were introduced in 2012 to stop the use of social media
to organize protests, and a large number of dissidents were imprisoned in 2013
on charges to plot a coup. Yet there was scant criticism of UAE's authoritarian
rule or human rights violation from the West, particularly the US. The reason
is both simple and disgusting : like Oman, UAE is an US ally in its fight
against militants, and has intervened militarily in Libya and Iraq. But if
China or Russia has done even one tenth of what these countries have done
..............</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Let that be your thought of the month !<o:p></o:p></span>The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-77050903768180382592015-10-01T01:47:00.003-07:002023-05-06T20:48:58.435-07:00Gifts fit for a doctor<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Y was not a frequent visitor at the clinic, so I was
taken aback when she pushed a small box towards me and said shyly “I’m leaving
Hong Kong for good. This is a token of appreciation to you for looking after me and
my children”“ But I can’t accept this” I exclaimed, pushing the box back . To
my consternation she burst into tears “ Is it because the gift’s too little for
a doctor ?” “NO…no , not that at all ! Why would you think that ? ” I stammered
in confusion and hurriedly opened the box to find a small Swarovski brooch in
the image of a dolphin. “ I know you like diving so I searched high and low
for this ” she said between sobs. “I hope it’s not expensive or I’d have the
ICAC after me.” I fingered the crystal gently. “ Oh, I checked, we’re all
right ” she smiled through her tears. I was touched, not because of the gift
but for the fact that though we didn’t see each other that much she knew my
hobbies and took great trouble to hand-pick something I might like. The true
value of the gift is indeed in the thoughts .<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After this tearful incident I never dared to refuse a gift
from a patient lest history should repeat itself . Which also set me wondering : what gifts are deemed worthy of a doctor ?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like doctors everywhere I’ve been given the usual rounds of
chocolate, biscuits, cakes and fruit , on top there’re various food stuff
peculiar to Hong Kong, like home- made soya drink, black sesame<b> </b>powder, and tea-leaf egg. The
single tea-leaf egg wrapped in 2 layers of brown paper was from an old lady who
suffered from a recurrent erosion of the lips, so obscure the dermatologists
she saw over the years could not agree on the diagnosis. She had some medical training in China years
ago and together we devised a concoction she swore could keep the sores away
longer than any treatment from the specialists . “ It’s very tasty, my own
private receipt ” she said proudly as
she handed me the still warm package . “ Sorry I can’t give you anything more,
I’m just a poor pensioner” “ It’s perfect ” I gave her hand a squeeze “I’m a
doctor of the poor. ” Well, being the daughter of a poor man and know poverty
first hand, what else can I be ?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most unconventional gift had to be that from Mrs T. Mrs
T lived in Canada and dropped in the clinic once in a blue moon, when she’s
visiting relatives in Hong Kong. Her last visit was at least over a year ago . “
I was buying some for my daughters and I thought of you, so I bought a couple
for you too ” She shoved a paper bag at me. “They’re very comfy!” She nodded
encouragingly. I tore the bag open to reveal 2 pairs of white cotton knickers.
“ Oh …. thanks ……. for thinking of me …….
I’m sure !” To this day I still have no idea why
white cotton knickers reminded Mrs T of me , but by Jove, they were comfy !<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a lady doctor it’s not uncommon to be given items like
scarves, watches , tea-sets, toiletries and all manners of cream and lotion, earrings
, bracelets and necklaces, some even self-made which I like, as I dabble a
little in costume jewellery design myself . In a Chinese society Lai See ( lucky
money) during Lunar New Year is unavoidable , and to refuse will guarantee bad
luck for the whole year. For some reason I’m also given quite a few religious artefact
, most notably the wood carved statue of Guanyin<b><span lang="EN"> (</span></b>Goddess of Mercy).” I’m actually not
religious” I told Mr L, an exchange
scholar from the Mainland ( though if I
were , Buddhism would have been my first choice ). “ I saw this in a shop and immediately
decided to get it as a parting gift for you , because the face, especially the expression, looks so much
like yours.” This wasn’t the first time I’ve been told I’m a Bodhisattva
look-alike either ! I’m always careful that the cost of the gifts is low, not
to keep the ICAC off my back, but I’m genuinely uncomfortable and embarrassed to
have people spend money on me. Fortunately there’re many more gifts that’s
intangible, all heart and no wallet . <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Prof E was a visiting professor from Turkey. “ I’ve to wait more
than an hour in the sitting area …….” He began the moment he sat down. ” I’m so
sorry about the wait , Professor , I’ve a run of long cases this morning…...” I
apologized with a sinking heart, thinking ruefully – here it goes ! “ No, no,
I was going to say it gave me plenty of time to observe the patients, they all
go into your office looking glum , but they all come out smiling ! I decided
then you’re worth the wait .” Wow,
compliment and understanding like this is worth more than gold ! Like my nickname
when I was working as a lowly houseman in England. “ Why do you all call me
‘Sunshine’?” I asked the patients. “ Because the moment you walk into the room
the whole place seems brighter !” An old gentleman quipped. Ah, obviously a
lie but so good for the soul !<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just because I was young and had a permanent smile on my
face didn’t mean I couldn’t be severe. When I caught Mr S, a patient with
unstable angina, stole a smoke in the hospital
back corridor, I was livid “ I can’t be your doctor anymore unless you quit
smoking ” I said firmly then walked off.
A few months later I ran into Mr S
in Leeds Central Market. “ Can you take me back as your patient please
?” he begged in a small voice “ It was hard but I’ve finally quit .”“ I’m so happy for you but I’m sorry I
still can’t be your doctor because I’m going home.” He looked lost. “ I’m
leaving England, I’m going back to Hong
Kong next week. ” I paused to let the information sink in “ But I’ll fix you up
with the best doctor I know to take care of you ” “ I’ve nothing for your
leaving ” he said “ But you have! Your
quitting smoking is the best gift any doctor can hope for ” Since then I’ve successfully coaxed or threatened a fair number of patients into kicking the
habit , so the gifts have kept coming !<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once in a long while a gift is born of fire and brimstone.
For a little over 2 months in 2014 Hong Kong was under siege by a lawless ruthless
mob, who under the pretext of pushing Democracy and Freedom, and propelled by the
flush of American money, sought to destroy Hong Kong to spite China . Hong Kong
was bleeding fast, so 500 Hong Kong doctors bought an advertisement space in a local
newspaper and pleaded with the mob to “ Do No Harm”. A week later a patient
came to see me, looking very worried. She normally worked in PWH, the District
Hospital a long way from the University Clinic, so she rarely came to us. I’d
maybe ever only met her once before. “ You need to be very careful,” she said urgently “A group of Yellow
Ribbon doctors and medical students in PWH found your name in the newspaper and
vowed to dig up dirt about you ( <span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: 新細明體, serif;">起你底</span> ) and force the University to fire
you .” I was flabbergasted. I would never dig up dirt and use it to attack anybody ( <span lang="ZH-TW" style="font-family: 新細明體, serif;">起人底</span>) however their point of view might differ from mine. Would you ? But this is the standard practice
of the Yellow Ribbons. They are like the IS, anyone not agreeing 100% with their
ways must be erased.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thanked the patient for her concern, but truthfully I didn’t
have any dirt for these people to dig up, regrettably I’m not that interesting
! I was nonetheless very impressed by her moral courage. It couldn’t have been easy for her to go out
of her way to warn a relative stranger over something, that under the oppressive
shroud of Yellow Terror that pervaded<b> </b>all university campuses in Hong Kong at the time, could easily have landed her
in trouble . Hers was the gift of Humanity, altruistic concern over the
well-fare of another human being even at the risk of implicating herself . If the
Vice-Chancellor of<b> </b>just one of the universities in Hong Kong has half the Humanity
and Moral Integrity of this little clerk, Hong Kong would have suffered a lot less
hurt ! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On reflection, the most
precious gift of my entire medical career from my patients is what I’ve learnt
from them . Most doctors see their patients as cases so they gain medical
knowledge, I’ve always seen my patients as people so I gain life wisdom. I’m
extremely grateful and humbled by the life lesson all my patients taught me, and
I’m a better person because of them. It’s an amazing privilege to be allowed to
experience the world through their perspective, and together we’d endeavor not
just to make sense of the senseless suffering and despair of human existence, but also how
to best savor the incredible joy and the exuberant possibilities in our short life . </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Turns out it’s not so hard to
find the perfect gift for a doctor after all !<o:p></o:p></div>
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-72063715466459604892014-11-11T03:50:00.001-08:002015-10-06T21:32:41.615-07:00Lop Nor Xinjiang . Different peoples. Same problems . <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SiM3iE9zQaqVsipyO-3GUFQuzP0-J73NQfSDRMHdtP62MxAFFPB5OhPxvJ2gR84_GFNpBLtScNpQCbKGpvapzzyuWBwnPj-m8n0UQ2YmTtW0LYhzwGe04CwJpPmVL5__oiY9aCanLkA/s1600/E7D_1240a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SiM3iE9zQaqVsipyO-3GUFQuzP0-J73NQfSDRMHdtP62MxAFFPB5OhPxvJ2gR84_GFNpBLtScNpQCbKGpvapzzyuWBwnPj-m8n0UQ2YmTtW0LYhzwGe04CwJpPmVL5__oiY9aCanLkA/s1600/E7D_1240a.JPG" width="303" /></a></div>
I met Connie in Ghana and it was she who told me about her trip to Lop Nor the year before . “ How was it ?” “ Incredible hell !” She shuddered. “ OK, I must go then !”<br />
<br />
In Uyghur, 'Lop' means a place having a vast expanse of water. In Mongolian, 'Nor' refers to a lake. 'Lop' and 'Nor' together means a vast lake . It is located at the east end of the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China . There was a time this was the second largest inland salt lake in China and an important station on the Silk Road. Marco Polo rested here before his year long trek across the Gobi Desert. Unfortunately due to the diversion of rivers by dams and excessive water usage up steam the lake was totally dried up by 1972. Today it’s a vast expanse of desert and wind-eroded massif, covering an area of some 3,100 square kilometers (1,200 square miles) right in “the heart of the heart “ of Asia. The Lop Nor lake bed is covered with a hard salt crust thickly sprinkled with fine gravel.<br />
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A local Uyghur legend explains Lop Nor : Once upon a time there was a handsome Prince who left his throne to learn singing and dancing , but crossing the Tarim Desert he lost his way . He would have died from hunger and thirst but for the daughter of the Wind God, who rescued him and they fell in love . The Wind God was furious and He blinded the Prince and broke His daughter’s legs, then blew them apart one to the east and the other to the west end of the desert, so that they could never see each other again. The daughter’s hair turned white overnight, and her tears gathered and formed a beautiful lake, bright as pearl. Later the daughter became sick from missing her Prince, and when she died the lake dried up, and the ground was covered by a silvery gravel, which was her white hair.<br />
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For over 1,000 years the savage landscape and climate rendered Lop Nor off bound. It has variously been called the Forbidden Zone to Life ; No Man’s Land; the Sea of Death and China’s Bermuda Triangle. Monk Xuan Zang wrote in the Tales of the Triple-Text Master in ‘Great Loving-Kindness Temple’ that : “ there are no flying birds, beasts or float grass. At night there are many monsters and mysterious fires. The wind sweeps the stones, like the heavy rain . White bones are seen anywhere ” . After the New China, the first to venture in were the army to make military maps and surveyors to prospect for minerals.<br />
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We were 16 people in 4 jeeps and a truck , 4 of the 5 drivers, though unrelated, were surnamed Lee; they were conveniently re- named Tall Lee, Small Lee, Old Lee and Fat Lee, according to their respective distinguishing feature. My driver was Fat Lee, who claimed to be a businessman in real life, he’s only here masquerading as a driver to help out his friend Old Lee, who couldn’t find an experienced driver for love or money. “ I’m not getting paid at all , “ he said “ I’m only doing this for the adventure.” Fat Lee was one of China’s nouveau riche, and looked the part with his jaunty white hat , dark suit and patent leather shoes, while all the other drivers were in sports jacket , baseball cap and sneakers. He oozed confidence, and like many of his generation, he was onto his third marriage.<br />
“ What’s wrong with the first wife ?” I asked .” She cheated me ! ” he cried indignantly, “ She told me she could bear me children but she turned out to be barren !” “ Was the second wife also barren ?” “ No, but she only gave me a daughter !” The daughter’s now thirteen and lived with her mother. “ We split up because she refused to have any more children. She has her own business and has no time for babies !” He’s since found a 20+ year old who’d no objection to being a baby factory. “ So why aren’t you home with your new wife then ?”I rolled my eyes heavenwards. “Well, she’s kind of boring . I’m actually glad to take this short break away from her “Fat Lee grinned gleefully and stamped his foot on the accelerator. Ordinarily I’d have slapped the label “ Obnoxious Man !!!” on Fat Lee’s forehead and shunned him like the plague, but in this case I put up with him because I wanted him to take me with him to Afghanistan on one of his business trips. Wartime and post war rebuilding are golden opportunities to make money for the daredevils , and Afghanistan’s in desperate need of everything that Fat Lee could bring across from China. “ Is it safe to go to Afghanistan ?” I asked “ No ! Every time I go I’d have to contact the General, he sends a platoon of soldiers to accompany me everywhere I go. ”<br />
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To get to Lop Nor we passed through the Tian Shan Mountain range which was at the northern border of lop Nor. On route to the Tian Pond we had a run-in with a group of visitors from Shantung, on account of some of them tried to jump the queue while we were waiting for the cable-car. This was by far one of the most common reasons for altercation between mainlanders and Hong Kongers, fortunately no actual physical blows were exchanged, though it was touch and go at one point . Of course this was long before the Occupy Central Umbrella Revolution, otherwise the moral outrage would not just be laughable, but outright hypocritical, as the Umbrella Revolution has exposed Hong Kongers (some) to be far more disrespectful of law and order and other people’s rights than any mainlander could ever be.<br />
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We stopped at Turpan to pick up the huge amount of provisions, the food and water had to last the whole trip. Turpan’s famous for its grapes and we visited a local shop said to have some of the best raisins. We were treated to a Uyghur song and dance by a couple of teenage performers. I fell into conversation with the boy, he was gloriously gay and dreamt of going to San Francisco. “ Good God No !” I stared at his delicate little face in alarm. “ They’ll eat you alive over there !” “ I can take care of myself ” he said with all the exuberant confidence of a 15 year old. I sighed, what else could a gay Uyghur do but run ?<br />
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Just a little digression here on this issue : The first irony is homosexuality had always been regarded as a normal facet of life in China until the influence of Western cultures, which led to its being relegated to moral deviant from 1840 onwards. Certainly homosexuality was banned in the People’s Republic of China until it was legalized in 1997. In 2001, homosexuality was removed from the official list of mental illnesses in China, giving gay Hans high hopes of liberalization and recognition, but their Uyghur comrades are not as lucky. The oppression is solely from religion and family as Islam considers homosexuality a sin. The second irony is the Uyghur were not always Muslims, the hodgepodge of Turkic peoples who made up the modern day Uyghur were initially devout Buddhists following the lead of the Mongols and Tibetans. Only since 934 AD that mass conversion to Islam began. Even then the rules were lax, it’s well recorded that the Ming Emperor Zhengde had a homosexual relationship with a Uyghur Muslim leader from Hami, named Sayyid Husain. Imagine how good life would be today for the poor Uyghur gays if only their ancestors had stayed Buddhists, that is if the number of gay monks in Vietnam and Thailand’s anything to go by !<br />
<br />
We arrived at the Flaming Mountains in late afternoon, and the view was spectacular. The Flaming Mountains’ to the east of Turpan and right at the rim of the Taklamakan Desert. Gullies and trenches caused by erosion of the red sandstone bedrock give the Mountain the illusion of being on fire in the setting sun. This is reputed to be the hottest spot in China, in summer the temperature frequently reaches 50°C or higher. There’s a lovely mythology associated with the Mountains, written by the Ming Dynasty writer, Wu Cheng’en, called "Journey to the West". According to the story, Monk Xuan Zang, , accompanied by a Monkey King with magical powers, traveled to India in 627 BC for the Buddhist scriptures. The Monkey King was rebellious and made trouble in the Heavens, during which he knocked over a kiln, the embers fell from the sky and formed the Flaming Mountains. The Uyghur have their own legend about the Mountains too, which goes like this : a dragon used to live in the Tianshan Mountains, and it loved eating small children. A Uyghur hero slew the dragon and cut it into eight pieces, which became the eight valleys of the Flaming Mountains, while the dragon’s blood colored the mountains red .<br />
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As we inched our way into Lop Nor, we stopped frequently to ask directions. During one of these stops I got talking with a Uyghur family and rested awhile in their tent. Tall Lee was deeply unhappy “ You may think I’m being paranoid, but you can’t be too careful with these people, stay away from them ! You don’t live here so you won’t understand ” he frowned. Then he told me a story that made me deeply unhappy. “ One time I was driving in the country with my mate and we got lost, it was getting dark and we were cold and hungry. Just then we spotted a lone farm house, but the owner was Uyghur. We had no choice but to go in, the guy was friendly enough and gave us some drinks, me and my mate looked at each other and neither of us dared to take the drink until the Uyghur took a sip from the same bottle . Who knows what could be in the drinks ?!” He laughed at the memory but I just wanted to cry. Tall Lee was born and breed in Xinjiang, his parents were sent to Xinjiang as part of their re-education program in the 1950s and they never repatriated. I was sad that two peoples living side by side all their lives could have so little trust in each other. Tall Lee had no interest at all in Uyghur culture, their habits or their language, it’s as though the Xinjiang Hans and the Uyghur live in parallel universes. The situation was to dramatically deteriorate in July 2009 when a few days’ riot in Urumqi shredded what little goodwill there was between the two peoples. The official tally of the riots was 197 dead and 1721 injured, but Old Lee told me in 2012 during my second visit to Xinjiang that the dead and injured was well over 10,000, most of them Han Chinese. This time round the atmosphere was tense, the fear and hatred was palpable, and there seems to be demarcated Han and Uyghur district – no Han taxi would take me to the Grand Bazaar in the Uyghur district, whereas back in 2007 I could freely roam the Bazaar and the surrounding streets.<br />
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Much blame has been put on the rapid economic development kick- started in the 1980s in Xinjiang , which attracted hordes of Han Chinese to settle there. Because Hans have the necessary language and work skills, they’ve generally done well, and the widening income disparity between the Hans and the Uyghur has led to much hard feelings. Undoubtedly this is one of the factors, but like the Occupy Central Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong , there’re many layers of intrigue to the story. I always maintain any problem can be resolved somehow within a family if there’s no outsider interference, because nobody in their right mind want to wreck their own home, but once foreign powers are involved then the outcome’s invariably bad, which stands to reason because why should outsiders care if you’re left homeless ? Global Research of Canada was among the first to point out the suspicious timing of the Urumqi riots, just days after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Yakaterinburg in Russia, with President Ahmadinejad of Iran as official observer guest.<br />
<br />
For the uninitiated Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO) was formed in 2001 in response to what was seen as an increasingly hostile and incalculable United States foreign policy, as well as to enhance effective cooperation in economic as well as security issues of the member nations, which are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Since then formal Observer status within SCO has been given to Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia. SCO meet every year, each member nation plays host for the meeting in a rotating order. I had the misfortune to be in Tajikistan the same time the SCO meeting was held there, most of the roads were blocked for security reasons, and it took us hours to get into Dushanbe, the capital city ; by the time we reached our lodging it was well past midnight !<br />
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Central Asia has always been in the Russian sphere of influence, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, for the first time US established military bases in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The strategic geopolitical importance of Xinjiang makes it the main target for destabilization in China by Washington. Xinjiang borders among others Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, it’s in Washington’s interest to weaken the growing cohesion of the SCO, which it perceives as an expansion of Chinese influence in Central Asia, and what better way than to create havoc in Xinjiang and kill two birds with one stone, by simultaneously strangling China’s energy supply as China’s Eurasian Energy Infrastructure of oil and gas pipeline routes from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and eastern Siberia, all traverse directly through Xinjiang province. If Obama’s Pacific Plan of blocking all China’s oil transport sea routes should succeed, Xinjiang would be the main life line of energy into China.<br />
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All this is done openly by the US Government’s ”independent“ NGO, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which is directly funded by the US Congress. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) based in Washington D.C., receives $215,000.00 annually from NED; with the US money the WUC manages to finance a staff and a very fancy website in English. WUC was formed in 2004 and is now headed by Rebiya Kadeer, a businesswoman and mother of eleven children (Hans can only have one child ! ), who was exiled to the United States in 2005. In 2004 NED gave US$75,000 to the Uyghur American Association ( UAA) , the first time a grant was given to a Uyghur exile group. Since then UAA has further received $280,000; the International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation $187,918 and the International Uyghur PEN Club $45,000T. All these organizations are charged with the task of instigating separatist/ terrorist incidents in Xinjiang. NED subsidiaries include Freedom House, The National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the International Republican Institute (IRI) headed currently by US senator John McCain. East Turkestan Islamic Movement ( ETIM) was branded as a terrorist organization by the United Nation in 2002, since then the US has distanced itself . NED also supports the Tibetans in exile . Now America has opened another front - the Occupy Central Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong received huge “ donations” from sources closely linked with NED, and tasked with the same political subversion. Pan-democratic camp legislative councilor Cyd Ho Sau Lan said it all when she gushed on a radio program that : “OC protestors in Admiralty are all proud of living in a state of anarchy”. Furthermore, Pro-Western “ democratic” political activists in Hong Kong who opening seek to overthrow the Communist Government in China are confirmed to have received monetary rewards from the US.<br />
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Hong Kong is a chink in China’s armor, it’s the easiest target to destabilize because of its long association with the West, plus Hong Kong is one of the freest if not <i>the</i> most free city in the world. This is evidenced by the protracted occupation of the main commercial districts of Hong Kong and the unbelievable tolerance of the HK Police. Can you imagine the same thing happening in Time Square New York , or Trafalgar Square London, for weeks on end ?! The speculation is that Washington has been laying down groundwork to promote “democracy” within the then British colony since 1984, when hand-over talks began between Britain and China . This endeavor intensified after the 1989 Tiananmen Crackdown. Allen Weinstein, who helped draft the legislation establishing NED, said in an interview for Washington Post in 1991: "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."( read my article on Cyprus and you’d know what he means ) Washington’s regime change hit list is almost endless : from the “ Mafia State” Kosovo to Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Teheran, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan……….now it’s China’s turn. The most common tactic is to usher in a supposedly “spontaneous popular uprising” ( the US State Department has now admitted to backing of opposition fronts in the “spontaneous “ Arab Spring uprisings ; while in HK, NED is financially and sociopolitically linked to each and every prominent Umbrella Revolution leader ; plus all 3 student leaders are either US citizens or about to be given US passport ; the agenda, the parroting verbatim talking points and slogans had apparently been scripted in Washington months earlier ), utilizing Gene Sharp’s “nonviolent revolution rules”, always using Democracy as a banner, to pitch and blow-up conflict between the populace ( unfortunately there’re malcontents in EVERY society) within the target country and subsequently to carve out territories. Then a puppet government is installed, a permanent U.S. military base established, and Voilà ! a new vassal state of the United States is born !<br />
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In HK the aim of the Umbrella Revolution is to change the candidate selection method so as to ensure a Pan-democratic camp politician who’s friendly to the US could be inserted into the post of Chief Executive of Hong Kong. A representative from the US Council on Foreign Relations literally proclaimed that ‘hopefully the ongoing movement in HK would “infect” mainland China’. The strategy is to bombard China from the far West, far East and within, not forgetting the String of Pearls from the sea (Those interested might want to read my article on Sri Lanka). One can’t help wondering : Would the US allow a candidate, backed by Russian money, whose sole agenda is to overthrow the US President and the US political system, be allowed to be elected into office ? If not in the US then why would they think it’s perfectly OK to do this to China ?! The Umbrella Revolution is a rude awakening for a lot of HK people - parents are shocked to discover Methodist schools teach kindergarten toddlers to hate the HK Police ; University Professors are found to instruct their students to break the law and feed them warped logic ( I kidnap your son to get ransom, I kill him because you refuse to pay. It’s all your fault now your son’s dead because you don’t pay. In fact I’m a Saint for killing your son because I do it with Love and Peace ! ); religious leaders accept Black Money to instigate social unrest ; lawyers urge protesters to deliberately flout court injunctions to clear the streets ; medical doctors advocate doing harm is justified for political causes ………… Overnight I don’t recognize any of the people I thought I knew. I’m among the fraction of HK people who still believe in Human Compassion, Righteousness, Kindness, Consideration, Integrity, Justice, Fairness, Decency, Respect, Courtesy , Responsibility, Honor, Empathy, Selflessness, Wholesomeness, Graciousness, Loyalty, Dignity, Truthfulness, Humor, Good-cheer, Goodwill…….. all the basic qualities expected of a civilized individual, besides genuine Brotherly Love and Peace which conduce to Benevolence and Concern, not the kind hoisted by leaders of the Umbrella Revolution to maim and hurt . I’m one medical doctor who refuses to believe there exists in the world any cause that’d justify a doctor to do harm deliberately. Certainly not for a cause as dirty as politics.<br />
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Those who think US sponsored Color Revolution will bring them Freedom and Democracy are morons ! When Egypt and Ukraine (like Cyprus years ago) voted in a government through democratic election but one that the US didn’t like, it’s toppled instantly. Both countries are still in chaos, and Cyprus had been split into two countries. The Umbrella Revolution has shown the World HK people do not have the necessary qualities for Democracy : there’re no tolerance, no compromise, and no respect for the Law. There’re however a lot of selfishness, extremism, tyranny of the few, then of course the quintessential Chinese self-centeredness - the phrase one hears the most on the street is : “ He/the group doesn’t represent me !”. This is where “ a bowl of loose sand “ in describing Chinese came from : each for his/her own. Respect for Law and Order is a cornerstone for any Democracy to work, but in HK it’s utterly destroyed by the very people who claim to be fighting for Democracy. A lot of the speakers of the Umbrella Revolution lure supporters by promising them more welfare, better prospects. Anyone with half a brain would wonder with the economy ruined where would the welfare money come from? The central theme of Democracy HK style is simple : grab as big a slice of the pie as possible for oneself, full stop. Nobody asks where the pie came from or how one could put back into the pie. Most of the people blocking the streets have never paid taxes in their life. The students have not contributed an iota to HK and now they’re tearing it down, exactly like the Red Guards in Cultural Revolution. The students might not admit to be Chinese ( survey result) but their behavior is pure Chinese ! I’d lived for many years in the West and know for a fact Democracy isn’t a Panacea for all social ills. Just take a look at Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Portugal, England.......... Western democratic countries on the brink of bankruptcy through corruption and mismanagement, all now looking to China for a bailout.<br />
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Fat Lee was livid when the president of Uyghur American Association was mentioned. “ Son of a bitch!” he made as if to spit. “ I went to school with that bastard ! He was always a slime ball and ne'er-do-well! Now he’s done rich for himself by sucking up to the Americans. “ Personally I love all the minority tribes in China, all 56 of them. I think China is richer, more colorful and more vibrant because of them. The dominant Hans must accept that the minority tribes are all Chinese Nationals equal to themselves in all aspects of entitlement and opportunities as citizens of China. Nobody should be looked down on because they’ve different habits, culture or language, that’s the only way we can all live together. Even in today’s Xinjiang, most Uyghur, like most Hong Kong people, would rather stay out of politics and conflicts and get on with life. <br />
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Suddenly we’re already at Lop Nor. Less than 200 visitors come here in a whole year as the area was still not open to tourism in 2007. “ But aren’t we tourists ? How’s that we can come here ?” I asked Tall Lee. “ But you’re not here as a tourist” he said” You’re now officially a member of an Exploration Expedition on a research mission, I’ve applied for a special permit for each of you in Urumqi.” While I contemplated my newly bought status of explorer, I was startled by the squawking of chickens. Old Lee laughed at the expression on my face and explained “ We don’t want to go a week without meat. Last year we brought a sheep but it died quickly, so this time we bring chickens because they’re easier to take care of “ He’s let the chickens out for a breather because of the heat. The Lop Desert summer’s boiling hot with air temperature as high as 70°C , and so dry shoes change shape after leaving them out overnight . A story circulates for years about police dogs in search parties that walk on 3 legs because the ground’s too hot. The windy season’s from Feb to June, with gale every 3-5 days, the wind-blown sand particles act like a sand blast in the terrifying sand storms, the resulting abrasion of the rocks forms the yardangs and the gigantic dunes . The yardangs are separated by parallel gullies or wind furrows 6-20 feet deep, all sculptured in the direction of the prevailing northeast to souhwest wind . Basically one can only visit Lop Nor from May to October, even then in the daytime the surface temperature could be above 40°C, while at night, below 0°C.<br />
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On the way in we passed many fallen polar. The <span lang="EN">cutting of Poplar forests and Tamarix
shrubs for firewood that used to be extensively distributed along the lower
Tarim River Valley ( the so-called 'Green Corridor') was another reason of the
desertification of Lop Nor. Polar to the Uyghur is the most beautiful tree, its
shade’s a natural shelter and resting place for livestock. It grows fast and
can stand salt water well. Chinese mythology claims a Polar tree can live for a
thousand years, it won’t die even after 20 years of drought but will mummify.
When it does die it would remain standing for 1000 years, when it eventually
fall down it would not rot for 1000 years. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">Lop Nor is called No Man’s Land because the extreme weather and ever moving sand dunes have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. We were lectured on the importance of not wandering off and get ourselves lost as mobile phones are completely useless here (we have Global Positioning System in the truck but not satellite phones). Old Lee told us the horror story about a Japanese tourist who got lost, helicopters and search parties were sent out at a cost of half a million dollars, none of it covered by insurance. Incredibly, one member of our team did exactly what she’s told not to and promptly got herself lost the next morning wandering off by herself ! She wasted us a whole morning searching for her, she was lucky because many others were never found. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN">The most famous
missing person in Lop Nor was the prominent
chemist and geologist Peng Jiamu. On his 4<sup>th</sup> expedition into Lop
Nor, Peng left camp in the morning of June 17, 1980 when his team was running
out of water and petrol, leaving a note saying “ I have gone to find water”.
There was speculation Peng set out for the location of a well marked on a map
drawn in the 1940s. More than 100 rescuers searched the whole area where Peng
could have walked, but his body was never found, and his disappearance remains
a mystery. In May 1981, Xinjiang Science Academy erected a memorial plague
where he disappeared.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">One of the most famous dead in Lop Nor was the Chinese explorer Yu Chun Shun . He died on the 13th June 1996, trying to walk across Lop Nor. His body was found naked in the Gobi at a spot that was within 20 minutes’ walk of a water source that had already been prepared. Forensic examination determined he had died of thirst 5 days prior to discovery. Rumor was he was found lying with his head pointing towards Shanghai, on account of his being Shanghainese ! A grave stone was put up where he was found. </span></div>
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Lop Nor is called
China’s Bermuda Triangle because of many weird happenings. Of these, the more
interesting ones are : In <span lang="EN">1949 a plane from Chongqing Sichuan going to </span>Urumqi disappeared in the sky, years later in
1958 it was discovered in Lop Nor, all aboard were dead. It was inexplicable
because the plane should have flown northwest, but instead it went south to
land in Lop Nor. In 1950 a PLA police disappeared, 30 years later his body was
found by a geologist team over a 100 km from where he went missing . In 1995
three Milan farm workers in a jeep disappeared. Explorers later found 2 bodies
17 miles from Lolam, reason of death uncertain. Surprisingly their jeep was in
good condition, water and petrol full. The third person’s never found. In 1990
seven people from Hami went to Lop Nor in a van to look for crystal minerals,
and never returned. Two years later, three dried up bodies were found at the
bottom of a slope, the vehicle was 30 miles away but the remaining four persons
were never found .</div>
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In 1998 <span lang="EN">Feb Chinese New
Year time,<b> </b></span>the first ever
female Exploration Team of 26 ladies from Guǎngdōng Shěng <span lang="EN">followed Yu’s foot-steps
to reach the center of the </span>Lop
Nor<span lang="EN">
lake, in commemoration of Yu. They put down a wooden stick at the point
determined to be the center by engineering measurement in 1997. Now it’s a site
for travelers to leave mementos .</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">One principal reason Lop Nor was closed to the world for so many years was that it was at one time China’s nuclear testing site. Here’s a little trip down memory lane.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Mao decided to develop China's first nuclear bomb in January 1955. Lop Nor was selected as the Nuclear Test Base because of its remoteness and distance from the US and Taiwanese airbases in the Pacific. Even then U-2 spy planes from Taiwan were caught flying at high altitude to take pictures of the Lop Nor nuclear installations. The surveillance never stopped. Lop Nor was nicknamed Big Ear because of a Satellite picture published in an American academic magazine in the 1980s. The ear-shaped depression is the Lop Nor dried basin of the former Lop Nor Sea. The “circle line” or “ helix line” came from salt shells formed as the lake water dried up in various periods.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">The Lop Nor Nuclear Test Base</span><span lang="EN"> was set up in June 1959 with the help of the
Soviets .<span style="color: red;"> </span>The first Chinese nuclear bomb test</span><span lang="EN"> was code-named "</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/596_(nuclear_test)" title="596 (nuclear test)"><span lang="EN" style="color: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">596</span></a><span lang="EN">", after the month and year the program
began. Two years later Russia and China fell out, and </span>Soviet Bomb
experts were pulled out of China, but not before shredding all important
documents, blueprints and plans. Mao
pressed ahead with the project even though much of China was starving as a
result of the Great Leap Forward. <span lang="EN">In
October 1961 President J F Kennedy issued a directive for the US to attack
China's nascent nuclear program before it developed a bomb. He was worried that
armed with nuclear bomb, China would swallow up Southeast Asia. The Sino-Soviet
split in 1961 was seen as the perfect opportunity for a joint US-Soviet
operation. On July 14, 1963, an American emissary in Moscow brought the
proposal to the Soviets. For whatever reason Nikita Khrushchev declined participation. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN">In the meantime the feud between Moscow and Beijing escalated. In 1961 Soviet Army had amassed army, aircraft and medium-range missiles along the 4,380 km frontier with China, especially at the Xinjiang border where Turkic separatists were entrusted with insurrection. The PLA was then militarily inferior to the Soviet Army, political border tensions metamorphosed into military clashes on Zhenbao Island (Damansky in Russian) on the Ussuri River, Heilongjiang . Massive civil defense underground shelters were built in a panic in response to the Soviet nuclear threat, and resulted in 100 underground hotels with 10,000 rooms, and miles of underground tunnels in China’s northeast . Against all odds, with the barest of essentials and the prospect of imminent nuclear apocalypse hanging over their heads, the Chinese scientists knuckled down and raced against time. By mid-September 1964, CIA noted that the Chinese had completed the work at the testing site at Lop Nor. On Oct. 15, 1964, CIA's assistant director for scientific intelligence made a report : "We believe a test will occur sometime within the next six to eight months." He was wrong. China conducted the test the next day. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN">October 16, 1964 . </span></div>
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<span lang="EN">President Johnson
was in the middle of an urgent White House meeting to discuss the Soviet Union,
where earlier that day Khrushchev had been ousted from power, when aides
brought in word that the Chinese had done it. With the Test, China</span><span lang="EN"> became the
fifth nuclear power. Johnson went blank for a second, then said : “ This is the
blackest and most tragic day for the free world”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnng2DvqiLhIKpnkkUUgV4H0HdbdlSb-qi5sCKH7LxxKyH74EunOOlYkNMwZmhJYYwjqS4oW8waVJLyGFwsYFQb_q0C0UnnBGU72KefYCAGGqZs2vBQDqtoDJY-VH3hoLMo8Y6zlPDyHk/s1600/49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnng2DvqiLhIKpnkkUUgV4H0HdbdlSb-qi5sCKH7LxxKyH74EunOOlYkNMwZmhJYYwjqS4oW8waVJLyGFwsYFQb_q0C0UnnBGU72KefYCAGGqZs2vBQDqtoDJY-VH3hoLMo8Y6zlPDyHk/s1600/49.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN">Millions of Chinese did not agree. The Nuclear Test was a spectacular triumph for a nation of peasants. Thousands of scientist who helped bring it about ran out on the steppe of the Tibetan-Qinhai Plateau, shouting and shedding tears of joy. The test was the result of enormous investment in money, materials and technology for a people still struggling to recover from nearly 20 years of war, and just then reeling from man-made famine and destitution. An undisputed testimony of the tenacity and fortitude of the Chinese character in the face of hardship and want. The success of the atomic bomb was to be a game changer for China in the International Political Arena. For once, Mao did right by China.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">On 20 August 1969, the Soviet ambassador in Washington told Secretary of state Henry Kissinger of their plans of nuclear attack on China, and asked the US to remain neutral in the event. Nixon however, considered the Soviet Union as his bigger threat and wanted a strong China against it ; besides he was fearful of the effect of a nuclear war on the 250,000 US troops stationed in the Asia-Pacific . So the White House leaked the story to The Washington Post, which splashed in its August 28 edition the entire Soviet plan of launching missiles with hundreds of tons of nuclear material on Beijing, Changchun, Anshan and its missile-launch centers of Jinquan , Xichang and Lop Nor. Kissinger further warned the Soviet ambassador that in the event the Soviets set off their first missile against China, the US will launch nuclear missiles at 130 Soviet cities. As history was to unfold, the Nixon Administration was then already in the early stages of its own rapprochement with China. This episode was the closest China has come to a nuclear war.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Nothing is too strange in love or politics, of the five nuclear threats ever made on China, the other four actually came from the US ! The first one was during the Korean War, the other three were over Taiwan. Twice planes in Guam were loaded with nuclear weapons and put on standby, ready to drop the bombs on Xiamen airport. These bombs were of the same order as those dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">On 17 June, 1967, China exploded its first hydrogen bomb - a uranium-enriched device weighting 3,410 pounds. Only 32 months and 6 test blasts separated China’s first atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb, in contrast Britain took 66 months, Soviet Union took 77 months , the US took 75 months and 31 tests, and France took 103 months. Despite what the West might assert, and Green Peace sending a ship up the Yangtze River to protest against nuclear weapon tests, China actually didn’t conduct so many : As of 1995, the US conducted 1,030 nuclear tests, Russia 715, France 209, Britain 45, and China 43, India 1. Pakistan detonated its first nuclear bomb in 1998, after much help from China. On 29 July 1996, China conducted its 45th and final nuclear test at Lop Nor. The China nuclear policy is simple : a no-first-use nuclear doctrine, nuclear weapons are solely retaliatory if China is being attacked. </span></div>
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On a sidebar, the world was concerned enough about radiation
pollution that in 1963, the foreign ministers of the United States, the USSR, and
the United Kingdom met in Moscow to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT)
outlawing nuclear testing in the atmosphere, under water, and in space. Fifty
years later the Archive was recently declassified and exposed the awful truth
that the US and Soviet had in fact continued to conduct underground testing
producing radioactive gases and particles which crossed international borders,
in clear violation of the LTBT. A US State Department document recorded that both superpowers agreed to keep each
other’s secret by a tacit “ gentleman’s agreement against publicizing venting
incidents<b>”. </b>US proved to be even
the more sneaky of the two, in 1972 the Pentagon used the excuse of monitoring
France’s atmospheric tests in the Pacific (labeled NICE DOG), openly collected
data on nuclear weapons effects and tantamount to "participation"
alongside France. The objection of the US State Department officials of
such “ monitoring “was overruled by Henry Kissinger.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The aftermath of nuclear tests in Lop Nor lingered. Malan, the nuclear base, is only 10 kilometers from the nearest villages. There had been reports of livestock and people suffering from radiation sickness : hair loss, skin disease, increased rate of leukemia, throat cancer, premature births and deformed babies. In 2007 compensations were dispensed to the victims. In 2012, China announced plans to spend $1 million to clean up the Malan nuclear base to create a red tourism site .</div>
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We were very lucky to run into some 2 humped camels. The wild Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus) are an endangered species, and more precious than panda. It’s estimated there’re only a total of 800-900 in the world, mostly in Xinjiang and Mongolia. Wild and domestic camels have 1.9% DNA difference (man and chimpanzee have 1.6% DNA difference), suggesting 80,000 years ago they were already 2 different animals. In 1999 a protection zone was established in the reed oases on the northern edge of the Lop Nor desert , in 2003 it was promoted to be a National Nature Biodiversity Conservation Sanctuary in order to preserve Bactrian camels and other wildlife in the region.</div>
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Natural vegetation is sparse in Lop Nor, a scientific
expedition from 1979-1982 collected only 36 species of plants. The expedition
also found only 127 species of animals (23 mammals, 91 birds, 7 reptiles and 1
amphibian ) but surprisingly 70 species of insect. The most interesting finding
was micro-organisms which had made special biological and physiological
adaptations to extreme environment, and could stand a high salt habitat.</div>
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We arrived at an archaeological site in the middle of nowhere and decided to pitch camp and celebrate Mid- Autumn Festival there. Not a moment too soon because tempers were on short fuse. All the drivers were somewhat pissed off with Tall Lee. Old Lee was blunt with it “ The cheap bastard ! I told him the truck’s no good on sand but he won’t listen ! With him it’s always just about the bottom line. How much more money would it take to hire a couple more jeeps to carry the provisions instead of the truck ? Then of course he has to hire more drivers. “ Almost from the first day we entered Lop Nor the truck had been in trouble, digging up the wheels and giving the truck a good shove to get it going had become a regular exercise. But during the last day even the jeeps were in trouble, consequently we were all a bit exhausted .</div>
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The archaeological site was normally manned by one person, presumably also in the interest of
saving money. The young <span lang="EN">Uyghur
care-taker was taken aback by our large party and radioed 2 of his friends from
another site to help with the cooking. He wanted to make us noodles from
scratch, and it was not a good day for chickens, as one was caught and
slaughtered to make soup. The area was sparsely settled by Uyghur, other Turkic
peoples and Tajiks. “ How long have you been stationed here ?” I watched the
Uyghur work with the dough in the bedroom/sitting room/kitchen. The real
cooking would be done on the stove in open air.“ Two years, and I can’t wait to
get out “he said. He was still single, and his parents’ home was almost a whole
day’s bus journey away. “ What do you do all day by yourself ?” “ Nothing !
There’s absolutely nothing to do here “ Not quite, the hillocks of empty beer bottles
said otherwise. But I felt for him, sometimes it’d be weeks before he’d see
another living being. “ I’m so bored! But it’s a job, and it’s so difficult to
find jobs in these parts.” I had no idea what it was he was guarding, the site
looked pretty defunct.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Mid- Autumn Festival was not celebrated as such in Xinjiang, so the girls decided to have some fun with Tall Lee. They told him for the trip to go smoothly it’s customary for the leader to kneel and kowtow to the Moon Goddess 3 times, then pray for the blessing . Tall Lee was happy to oblige as his crew’s getting restless. His worry was needless because while the food’s being prepared the drivers relaxed in a game of cards, hence by the evening everyone’s rested and in a good mood. We had a big feast, including moon-cakes which someone had the foresight to bring along , followed by Uyghur song and dance, which everyone joined in, even grumpy Old Lee. </div>
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The next day we took more pictures with the young Uyghur caretaker, who was most sorry to see us go. I promised to send him all the pictures we took, which I did but I never knew if he got them.</div>
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The next stop was Milan Ancient City, located in the southern part of Lop Nor. It was an ancient oasis town on the Silk Road which started in Xi'an, capital of the Western Han Dynasty, and ended in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD ). Milan was once a thriving center of Buddhism with many temples, pagodas and stupas scattered all over the area, and the Milan fort was a Tibetan settlement during the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Monk Xuan Zang , China's most famous monk, was said to have once taught the Buddhism doctrines here on his way back from the West Heaven. Milan was gradually abandoned after the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) due to war and worsening environmental conditions. </div>
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A new debate sprang up among our group whether we should
visit the Museum and Milan Ancient City proper, as we’d have to pay admission fee of several
thousand dollars per head. “ Not worth the money,” all the Lees were in
agreement.” there’s nothing much to see inside “. Which was not entirely untrue,
as from 1906- 1907 the British-Hungarian explorer Aurel Stein <span lang="IT">conducted two excavations in Milan and stole a
large number of precious cultural artifacts and</span> relics of statues and
frescos, <span lang="IT">including the famous one
winged angel. </span>Both Chinese and foreign archaeologists believe the angel
murals were a result of Roman influence, and dated back some 2,000 years. </div>
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In the end we decided not to venture in, and explored the surrounding ruins instead. Ken our HK guide spotted an old acquaintance. “ Mrs Fan,” he called after a woman passer-by,” How are you ? How’s your husband ?” “ Her husband was my driver when I was here 2 years ago” Ken said to me in a whisper. To his consternation the woman burst into tears and would not be consoled, the little girl at her side joined in promptly. After a great deal of coaxing she finally let out her husband’s been killed in a motor accident not so long ago. Mrs Fan’s trying to run her husband’s car hire “business” (only one car, now minus the driver), so times were tough. I gave her a few hundred dollars and took some pictures of her little girl. I sent the photos back to her together with a big furry toy and a set of children’s toothbrush and toothpaste. The little girl’s teeth were atrocious ! This is exactly why I get really irate when tourists give local children candies for treats, in most of the less developed places dental service is a luxury, and sweets are the devil to give to kids ! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Development was in the air for Lop Nor since the discovery
of Potash , now a large scale mining operation’s put into place. It’s estimated
that the potassium salts reserve in Lop Nor amounts to 500 million tons and
valued at 500 billion yuan. Potash’s needed for fertilizer and other industrial
uses, at present China imports at least 4 million tons of potassium fertilizer
every year. A railway was installed in November 2012 to transport the salts to
Lanzhou. The Tarim Basin’s also believed to contain large reserves of petroleum
and natural gas, 70% of the natural gas reserve being methane.</div>
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<span lang="EN">We went on the
Lop Nor to Hami highway and was hit by a sand storm. Luckily it blew itself out
in a few hours , but it was ferocious and nerve racking while it lasted. My
friend Connie encountered a bad sand storm while still inside Lop Nor which
lasted a whole night, I could only imagine how frightening it must have been.
We cleaned up in Hami after a week without bathing then flew back to Urumqi. I
noted billboard signs everywhere warning people about drug addiction and AIDS.
Apparently there’s </span>an HIV/AIDS boom in Xinjiang Province, mainly due to
intravenous drug use - nearly one in three injecting drug users in Urumqi are
infected, and most of them are Uyghur.</div>
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<span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">The problems in </span>Xinjiang
are multitudinous and complicated, much like those in Hong Kong. In both places
are people who truly hate the Chinese Communist Government, to the point of
irrationality. They, together with some elements from Taiwan and the USA , vow to bring down
the Chinese Government at all cost. My family had suffered greatly at the hand
of the Communist, yet I would still concede that but for China’s rising , the
likes of Martin Lee and all the leaders of the Umbrella Revolution would still
be no more than the scorned “Chink Chonk Chinaman” to the West that they’re so
eager to ingratiate. The Chinese
Communist had done great harm to its people during its 65 year reign, yet
economists the world over agree that China had raised more number of people
above the poverty line in 30 years than any country in the whole history of
mankind, a feat they also agree could never be repeated in the whole history of
mankind. What is the cost of ousting the Chinese Communist now, today ? There’s
no other political party in the wings to take over, the only alternative party
large enough and well organized enough that I can think of is <span lang="EN">Falun Gong , but
I doubt that Li HongZhi could do the job of Xi JinPing . </span>Xinjiang and Tibet would go and become
satellite states of the US, the armies in various provinces would rise up and
China would disintegrate . One quarter of the world’s population would be
stateless.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Umbrella Revolution has shown up how badly HK students are educated. They’ve been greatly failed by their teachers and professors, of whom many, judging by their words and actions, are uneducated themselves. I teach my students the indicators of being educated is concern for other’s wellbeing and not just one’s own, never do harm, take responsibility, respect other’s rights, and win people over only by sound reasoning. Brute force win you nothing, to study is to learn Reason. If the professors and their students think by taking a bow and say “ Oops, Sorry !” and that’d make things square after ruining people’s lives, they’re by definition uneducated. If to them people are nothing but collateral damages then they’re less than human. To incite the students/citizens to opening break the Law of the Land amounts to insurrection. It’s plain to see some students are brain-washed by the West on Militant Democracy in the exact same way the ISIS is brain washing Western youths on Militant Islam. It’s a sorry state of affairs when grown men who should know better willingly allow themselves be led by a 17 year old who’s legally not trusted to buy a car or start a family. I tell my students primary school kids can only see a leaf, secondary students can probably see a tree, university students must be able to see the forest, postgraduates have to look down at the forest and up to the sky. They must be able to see the big picture, as everything interacts and intertwines with everything else, nothing happens in isolation - particularly in politics, nothing is as it appears on the surface. HK politics is never just about HK . Interestingly many university students I talk to have no inkling what The HK Federation of Students is about , so the Federation must represent only an ultra- minuscule % of the HK population ! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7-bvCr1VQdcudbkpQWExU-mmRfOZOsaBzbiMOipqSGSBSEyPCUq_FfKgxcOkiB0sHlltNM4PUWA_1dIPi1b7DIi_WxewOLJdrh-zBlAAl1OOce6n5F8_dy07cJ0b4QPt8wLC180IlOQ/s1600/%E7%A1%85%E5%8C%96%E7%9F%B3+13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis7-bvCr1VQdcudbkpQWExU-mmRfOZOsaBzbiMOipqSGSBSEyPCUq_FfKgxcOkiB0sHlltNM4PUWA_1dIPi1b7DIi_WxewOLJdrh-zBlAAl1OOce6n5F8_dy07cJ0b4QPt8wLC180IlOQ/s1600/%E7%A1%85%E5%8C%96%E7%9F%B3+13.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Umbrella Revolution has also shown up how modern revolution’s won - in the media. Most of the HK media is as biased as their Western counterpart, by selectively reporting only what’s flattering to the protestors. In HK today nobody dares tell the young reporters to give a more balanced reporting for they’d scream : “White Terror! ” A friend of mine, a kindly old lady, was stopped in the street by a reporter for her view of HK, but when she started to praise HK the reporter just turned her back and walked off ! My friend was indignant “ Apparently if you don’t bash HK they don’t want your interview !” Fortunately we in HK can still get the true picture of The Umbrella Revolution via YouTube and the internet - all the deceit, violence and ugliness in technic-color, but so many others are misled. The only positive outcome is the horrendous destructiveness of the Umbrella Revolution has brought forth an avalanche of extremely good articles from many deep thinking , erudite scholars from HK and abroad, much to my own edification . </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZUrodJPDrQ-FnK2EP4n7ogB7zK0m5j3jA7rcWMcLjtKeqvEF9zTEtS9vaEn3Rzn8JhGCSbiPINHXIBdPz0jzgkUIVINBXo9G2H1IG7oGljNaTP5_ehEsAPM-bUyoGrhz7rK4od5h_X4/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZUrodJPDrQ-FnK2EP4n7ogB7zK0m5j3jA7rcWMcLjtKeqvEF9zTEtS9vaEn3Rzn8JhGCSbiPINHXIBdPz0jzgkUIVINBXo9G2H1IG7oGljNaTP5_ehEsAPM-bUyoGrhz7rK4od5h_X4/s1600/02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The most important confirmation the Umbrella Revolution has shown up is the ineptitude of the Pan-Democratic camp politicians. They’ve shown themselves to be entirely devoid of intelligence (even common sense) , have zero leadership quality and zero morality. They hold double standards for everything - one set of lenient rule for themselves and one set of strict rule for the rest of mankind, and naturally they’re above the law ! They’re only good at filibuster and destructive criticisms, never constructive advice or cooperation. Their dictum is every wrong is either the government’s or someone else’s fault, if you can’t win an argument by reasoning you just shout the other person down ( dictum the students have adopted in a flash !) or throw something at the person, and rudeness and foul language is hip ! And all the pain and disruption of the Umbrella Revolution is to ensure these degenerates should rule HK !? Really, people,seriously ? Revolution and Destruction are easy, good Governance and Build-ups are hard ! Does anyone really believe HK will do well if a Pan Dem is the CE ? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fHPVf_C2KsttgSethZx0lx6-3hk2Xe6-6mRKaaUBdr6cQKYJa-dZuITOmOKM8wSEhkAxDndzTkMicdnulsVsqZDlwoe-I8UL_QVHZfx-SVoFu6x4EbBeMsEra7ZmwR2ppQdKrfY_R5A/s1600/30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fHPVf_C2KsttgSethZx0lx6-3hk2Xe6-6mRKaaUBdr6cQKYJa-dZuITOmOKM8wSEhkAxDndzTkMicdnulsVsqZDlwoe-I8UL_QVHZfx-SVoFu6x4EbBeMsEra7ZmwR2ppQdKrfY_R5A/s1600/30.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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HK has been sliding downhill since elections were introduced . Not surprising as politicians are all liars, bottom-feeders and scum. It comes with the job. My friend Tony, a law professor, had an idea. All politicians should be banned from the CE post of HK . Instead a management technocrat ( the best that money could buy and HK has the money ) should be appointed, like a company director. All the stakeholders of HK society would be like share-holders, all expected to contribute, not just to reap rewards. Couldn't be any worse than what we have now ! </div>
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-18498953412867683492014-05-11T22:18:00.003-07:002022-08-20T05:58:14.674-07:00In Memory of Prof Lee Shiu Hung <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDqK7PnyfMdxuQAWqxwCCjsXWl4cs4s6wLFeUxRAx_xEs_-nmAUwZi9kj4mq9dhlQWrqWgfIqrIPdRWOecylbNbO7f1raLVJhaaH5-ap7yH_bSppJrU5Vq-ehHo1ZJXS0FA2MEQYMle4/s1600/002_CUSA_342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlDqK7PnyfMdxuQAWqxwCCjsXWl4cs4s6wLFeUxRAx_xEs_-nmAUwZi9kj4mq9dhlQWrqWgfIqrIPdRWOecylbNbO7f1raLVJhaaH5-ap7yH_bSppJrU5Vq-ehHo1ZJXS0FA2MEQYMle4/s1600/002_CUSA_342.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> photo 2007</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was in Algeria when I learnt about Professor Lee's
passing. I didn't believe right away what I read through the hotel's Wi-Fi
service because I'd always joked with Prof Lee he'd live to well beyond a
hundred on account of his longevity gene. The teasing came about after
Prof Lee arrived quite late to CUSA's Annual Dinner one
year. " How come you're so late ? You're normally punctual so we
got worried that something might have happened to you !" I asked him.
" Well, my mother couldn't find a taxi after playing mahjong with her
friends, so she called for me to drive her home." I was astonished.
" How old's your mother ?" " She's 103 !" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The day I arrived back to Hong Kong from Algeria was the day
of Prof Lee's funeral. I'd been travelling non-stop for 18 hours, but I felt
compelled to show my last respect despite being bone-tired. What the
world sees as an eminent and highly accomplished doctor and leader in Public
Health, CUSA and I see as a staunch friend and adviser. Much have
been written about the long and distinguished career of Prof Lee,
more certainly should be said about the humanity and extraordinary
personal magnetism of this kindly old gentleman. Everytime I ran
into Prof Lee , either in CUSA functions or medical meetings, I
was always struck by his big warm smile and genuine care - Prof Lee had
the knack of instantly putting people at ease, even those who
might ordinarily be intimidated by his fame and status . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soon after Prof Lee joined the Chinese University in the
1990s he's taken an interest in CUSA and how we could better spread health
messages to the CU staff , but only in 2004 that we had the good
sense to officially invite him to be CUSA's Honorary Consultant. Prof Lee was
particularly zealous about integrating HK-China medical care and arranged
for CUSA to visit Clifford Hospital in Panyu the same year. Prof Lee
never missed any of CUSA's
Annual Dinner ; he's at his most relaxed during such informal gatherings
and often showed the fun side of his character. At our 25th
Anniversary Dinner, Prof and Mrs Lee were so enchanted by the singing of Miss
Irene Ryder they did an impromptu dance, much to the delight not only of
the CUSA members, but also of the restaurant staff ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prof Lee's passing is an immense loss to CUSA, both on an
official as well as personal level. Words cannot express our deep respect and affection for this great man that
we've had the good fortune to know and the privilege to count as one of our
own. Our thoughts and codolences are with the family, but our association does
not end here. Just as I whispered to Mrs Lee at the funeral : If there's
anything we can do to help, drop in at CUSA anytime, our door's always open to
you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CUSA never forgets</span></div>
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photo 2012The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-7023549341151156472014-02-17T06:19:00.002-08:002014-02-20T01:55:02.065-08:00Cyprus blues <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWPLtCNv2jirM8VRcbM7iTIA0JCCgCENPhL-gdT2HudUxReyrng9_QwCUe_wgADHiyiMT8tjVo0Et-u7eDV6ks6WAyacdXdEJp1XJbG90YWdtmqUuoY0y1TGGR49JnkJArORjGvBZdDk/s1600/cyprus+painting+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWPLtCNv2jirM8VRcbM7iTIA0JCCgCENPhL-gdT2HudUxReyrng9_QwCUe_wgADHiyiMT8tjVo0Et-u7eDV6ks6WAyacdXdEJp1XJbG90YWdtmqUuoY0y1TGGR49JnkJArORjGvBZdDk/s1600/cyprus+painting+1.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Nefeli, in Greek mythology,
was a cloud nymph, a minor female nature deity. It was also the name of
our guide in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3KXY_LAbkNpgOPNpZ9DL-oZ38rJtzMNlhaM3yEpOVu-3pWJGtnjAdL2NUu_xK1VY5m7ul1jcvIgp78GmL8nLaYIjR6dzRv4KTLPmVo7depD1pNfhcTpVjO8IdsWpg57PoLM_tnUahx8/s1600/cyprus-+ancient+Amanthus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3KXY_LAbkNpgOPNpZ9DL-oZ38rJtzMNlhaM3yEpOVu-3pWJGtnjAdL2NUu_xK1VY5m7ul1jcvIgp78GmL8nLaYIjR6dzRv4KTLPmVo7depD1pNfhcTpVjO8IdsWpg57PoLM_tnUahx8/s1600/cyprus-+ancient+Amanthus.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Nefeli was a good guide. She had
a handsome middle-aged Greek lady face, which when translated
meant a trifle severe and scary when she was not smiling. And she was
definitely not smiling the moment we arrived at Ancient Amathunta
(Amathus) when everyone disappeared to take pictures, and she was left
with just 2-3 of us in tow.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Nefeli was
a good guide because she cared, and rightfully fumed ! "We can start
now," I said in my most conciliatory tone of voice, "not everyone's
interested in the history." She would have none of it and the group was
assembled and roundly given a talking-to ! Guides the world over,
alas, have to undergo the same baptism of being ignored by
the H K tourists ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNH_-i3aJhT6gu_Z20MNXfLtm8IuGrr5Tsw4rYc-GkbF0d838KFOmtQip5FGRKGJ6FvZzu6UV0FrVeOlgVi4bLGWbxfNhbmWEV3y2fxzBTfWDp47hx3ZiJWa4WN21vwzKH6r3x_LDEZ2A/s1600/cyprus-+Amanthus+sitting+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNH_-i3aJhT6gu_Z20MNXfLtm8IuGrr5Tsw4rYc-GkbF0d838KFOmtQip5FGRKGJ6FvZzu6UV0FrVeOlgVi4bLGWbxfNhbmWEV3y2fxzBTfWDp47hx3ZiJWa4WN21vwzKH6r3x_LDEZ2A/s1600/cyprus-+Amanthus+sitting+2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Limassol, the second largest
city in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
was built between two ancient cities, Amathus and Kourion. Amathus was
built by the Argives in 1100 BC, and is one of the most significant
ancient city kingdoms of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Excavations have revealed the ruins of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Aphrodite</st1:placename></st1:place>
, the acropolis, and the upper and lower city. It was here that the world's
largest stone vase was found, which is now in the <st1:placename w:st="on">Louvre</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Kourion was named by the
Argives after Kourea, son of the mythical King Kinyras. The city has passed
through Hellenistic, Roman and Christian periods, evidenced by such
features as the large Agora (market place) , big public baths equipped
with cold, warm and hot spas , and a Christian Basilica with a baptistery
attached to the north face. A national treasure of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>, it's a huge site and not
much shade, there were canopies but only to cover the ruins to
protect them from the weather elements ; but the pathways and viewing platforms
were good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">As most of the treasures from
Kourion were looted by America and Britain and are now in the New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Semitic Museum at Harvard University, and the
British Museum (minus the thousands of pieces in Standford University that were
destroyed during the earthquake of 1906) , all that's left for
us to see here in Cyprus were several houses and their mosaics floors,
which couldn't be removed easily. The most notable were:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The House of Eustolios (5th
century AD), once a private Roman villa later turned into a public recreation
center, it contains a complex of baths and a number of rooms with superb mosaic
floors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The House of Achilles ( 4th
century AD), thought to be a reception centre<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">the House of the Gladiators
(3rd century AD), so named because some of its mosaics depict gladiators
fighting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Much of the mosaics<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and Roman writings had Christian
symbols and references, as Christianity was in vogue in the then <st1:place w:st="on">Roman Empire</st1:place> .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Greco-Roman Kourion
Ancient Amphitheater sits 2000 spectators. It was destroyed a few times by
earthquakes, but after centuries of neglect, was recently completely
restored for the benefit of tourists.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Once
an arena for gladiators, it is now the perfect setting for open air concerts
and theatrical performances. The theater is built circular, with a hole in the
middle of the stage. The actors would stand at the spot, the sound of their
voice would bounce off the seats with a stereo effect, so everyone in the
audience can hear. It is now one of the venues for the International Festival
of Ancient Greek Drama. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeY6kvTAs3cUL5ZfPJ5GMYQQ0Mi4wVcZfqnfZt_k8W6uKVl2RgwAGu_XNXufOzfCgEshg0C_3l2bk3cUKE6QF-1P33g4dkUPdw_ljssvhnvr0TlCGUwab5SbgyeOcEXngPlQPBV4jvno/s1600/cyprus-+kourion+amphitheatre+2+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeY6kvTAs3cUL5ZfPJ5GMYQQ0Mi4wVcZfqnfZt_k8W6uKVl2RgwAGu_XNXufOzfCgEshg0C_3l2bk3cUKE6QF-1P33g4dkUPdw_ljssvhnvr0TlCGUwab5SbgyeOcEXngPlQPBV4jvno/s1600/cyprus-+kourion+amphitheatre+2+.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Worship had began in the Temple of Apollo (called Hylates in
Cyprus) as early as the 8th century and continued until the 4th century
AD, when it was destroyed when a series of 5 strong earthquakes hit
the city in a period of 80 years . Originally the sanctuary
complex includes the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Temple</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Apollo</st1:placename></st1:place>, a circular
monument probably destined for procession or dances, an Archaic Altar , a
central courtyard, palaestra, stoa, the treasury and the baths.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Just to show how serious Apollo worship was at that
time, there's a cape nearby from which sacrilegious offenders who had dared to
touch the altar of Apollo were thrown into the sea </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmr_NI9PNBMKg_9WWfx8dIKNQG3a3pGknmm3OVG3EjfFkrNDY4H2dWhNaBqh6ZQIASP9XOA4iI5JvDn7HBdGBNBf0jghSiGKipRJieYXUspMTSSlpaQ7-OvmTFvxYN3fNXsTkjkTSKqQ/s1600/cyprus-+pafos-+apollo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOmr_NI9PNBMKg_9WWfx8dIKNQG3a3pGknmm3OVG3EjfFkrNDY4H2dWhNaBqh6ZQIASP9XOA4iI5JvDn7HBdGBNBf0jghSiGKipRJieYXUspMTSSlpaQ7-OvmTFvxYN3fNXsTkjkTSKqQ/s1600/cyprus-+pafos-+apollo.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">All monuments are in
limestone as there's no marble in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Limassol's quite near to
Akrotiri, the British Western Sovereign Military Base. " How many British
soldiers are stationed here ib <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
?" I asked Nefeli. " Several thousand, perhaps," she's not
particularly interested" We don't mix, they don't leave the base."
" Even their families?" " Well, they take sightseeing holidays
around <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
sure, but they've got shops and schools and everything on the base."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">There're actually two British
Military bases in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the other one's at Dhekelia near Larnaca. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>
retained sovereignty over the bases under the 1960 Treaty of Independence, when
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> gained independence
from the <st1:place w:st="on">British Empire</st1:place>. The strategic
location of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> at
the crossroads of three continents, and being close to the Suez Canal and the
Middle East, makes it an ideal staging post (the 'unsinkable aircraft carrier'
) for British military aircraft and forces sent to locations in the Middle East
and <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>. The of course there're the
intelligent gathering operations conducted there. In Dec 2012 , after a
rumor that the bases would be closed due to budget cuts,
the UK Secretary of State for Defense in a written statement to the
lower house reiterated " The Sovereign Base areas are in a region of
geopolitical importance and high priority for the United Kingdoms's long term
national interests......" Just how important the bases are, was revealed
by US<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> whistle blower Edward
Snowdon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Guardian newspaper, the
German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the Greek Daily Ta Nea and the Greek channel
Alpha TV all claimed : <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
is a key site for the mass internet surveillance systems operated by <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region> and the <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> in
the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place> and surrounding regions.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Undersea cable maps show <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>' at the hub of numerous fiber-optic
undersea cables, the most significant are the cables connecting <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>
, North Africa and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
obvious targets for Anglo-American spying. Vast quantities of e-mails, phone
calls and web traffic carried on these cables were intercepted by Ayios
Nikolaos Intelligence Station, part of the British Eastern Sovereign Base
Area. This is made easy as the Treaty granting Cyprus independence from
Britain included a special clause, section 6, which states that Cyprus must
"consult and assist" Britain in all its telecommunications matters,
i.e. Cyprus Telecommunications Authority is legally obliged to assist the
British Intelligence bases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7EzzXl0EltKmYlMSxKh41K5VfQm8wO9kx0z2Opamb3lnmBdnwUFOAIaf6ELBLYbMZcobwA4H-fhsQMyx0NEvMIjsUzPUH370qa_RqfKK3EbcJ0pWId3KBlIgd2Mha8qwkDWcY3rhcmA/s1600/Cyprus-sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7EzzXl0EltKmYlMSxKh41K5VfQm8wO9kx0z2Opamb3lnmBdnwUFOAIaf6ELBLYbMZcobwA4H-fhsQMyx0NEvMIjsUzPUH370qa_RqfKK3EbcJ0pWId3KBlIgd2Mha8qwkDWcY3rhcmA/s1600/Cyprus-sunset.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">On behalf of the US
Intelligence Agencies, Britain has instituted a project called "
Mastery of the Internet"( according to Snowden, £39.9 million
was funded by NSA in 2010 ) and has been spying on foreign (including
European) government leaders ; foreign embassies; United Nations agencies
; private companies ; police forces; military and political
organisations. It's claimed currently <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> does more Internet
monitoring even than the US National security Agency (NSA). In 2011 the
Guardian reported NSA paid ' half the costs of one of the <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region>'s main eavesdropping capabilities in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> " This is not new as since
1974 NSA has repeatedly been paying <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>
( constantly strapped for money) to keep the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> bases open. A Snowden
document, viewed by Sueddeutsche Zeitung journalists, claims NSA officers
dressed as tourists are working alongside British intelligence on the
base, in violation to the British-Cyprus agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Relationship between the
Cypriots and the British Military has never been a bed of roses. In 2001
violent protests broke out at the bases by angry locals against the
construction of radio masts to upgrade the British military post, citing harm
to health and wildlife in the area. In Nov 2009, BBC news
reported a diplomatic row between <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> after the British
High Commissioner Peter Millett unveiled and laid down a wreath at a new
memorial in Kyrenia, in Turkish-occupied northern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>, on Remembrance Sunday. More
British soldiers were killed during the " Cyprus Emergency" between
1956 and 1959 than have died in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> ( <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> deaths - 371; <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>
- 179 ; <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
- 235). President Demetris Christofias raised the matter with the
then <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>
Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Cyprus High Commissioner to <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city>
later said not to have consulted the <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
government was insensitive, to built the memorial in the occupied part of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> was an
insult. In Dec 2013 British soldiers and military police clashed again with
protesters at the Akrotiri base over the construction of yet another new
communication antennae, presumably in response to a recent British
Intelligence document which argued "the Cyprus operations have to
remained resourced and equipped...... to maintain healthy relationships with
USA customers". 40 policemen were injured in the incident, which Foreign Secretary
Jack Straw condemned as " completely unacceptable". Squabbles're
expected to escalate now that British spying's indisputable. In August 2012 the
Cypriot Government demanded an official explanation from the British Foreign
Ministry after the Sunday Times reported that the British Sovereign Bases in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> collected intelligence on Syrian army
movements, which they then channeled through <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> to Syrian rebel forces. A
year later in August 2013, Cypriot and British media both speculated that
long-range ballistic missiles ( potentially could deliver chemical weapons)
from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region> in retaliation of
British involvement against the Bashar Al Assad regime utilizing Akrotiri and
Dhekelia bases could seriously hurt <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Far-fetched ? It just
reflects the sentiment of the general public.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">En-route from<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Limassol to Paphos , in the
middle of the sea are 3 huge limestone rocks collectively known as
the Aphrodite Rock, the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek
Goddess of love and beauty. When Gaia ( Mother Earth) asked one of her
sons, Cronus, to mutilate his father Uranus ( sky), Cronus cut off Uranus'
testicles and threw them into the sea. A white foam appeared from which a
maiden arose. She sailed to the shore on a shell towed by dolphins, and rested
in the nearby area of Palaipathos where a temple was built to honor
her. The maiden was named Aphrodite by the Greeks but referred to as
Venus by the Romans. This was the most famous and important site for worshiping
Aphrodite in the ancient world, and attracted a huge cult following until it
was crushed by the Romans. A local myth circulates that any person who swims
around the Aphrodite Rock will be blessed with eternal beauty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">An alternative name for the
rocks is <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Petra</st1:place></st1:city>
tou Romiou ( Rock of the Greek). This is associated with
the legendary soldier of Byzantine times, the hero Basil as told in the
Digenes Akritas. Basil was half-Greek and half-Arabic, hence the name
Digenes (two-blood). Legend tells that Basil hurled the huge rock ( <st1:city w:st="on">Petra</st1:city>) from the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Troodos</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>
at the marauding Saracens during an attack to keep them at bay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Paphos is a coastal city and abounds in sea food restaurants. In
Greco-Roman times it was the island's capital. Paphos is in the official
UNESCO list of cultural and natural treasures of the world's heritage and has
recently been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2017. The economy
of Paphos depends largely on tourism, and the sights are the nearby Aphrodite
Rock, the Saranda Kolones ( Forty Columns) and the nearby <st1:placename w:st="on">Crusader</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Knights</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> , Tomb of the Kings, <st1:placename w:st="on">Ayia</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Kyriaki</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Chrysopolitissa</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Church</st1:placetype> and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St Paul</st1:place></st1:city>'s pillar. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">North of Paphos is the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Byzantine</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">
built by the King of Cyprus presumably in the late 7th century AD to
protect the port and city from Arab attacks. An earthquake which struck the
area in 1223 caused extensive damage, and the ruins became known as Saranda
Kolones ( Forty Columns) because of the large number of granite
columns scattered there. This area could be part of an ancient market. Recent
excavation shows a square fortress with a round tower at each corner. It was
surrounded by a moat and access was by a wooden bridge over the moat. The
excavation area's quite extensive, including the ruins of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Lusignan</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">By the end of the 13th
century the Crusader Knights were all expelled from the Holy Land and took
refuge in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
King Henry II granted the Knights fiefdom in the southern part of the
island. They built a tower ( resembling that of Safita in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>) at the
centre of an enclosure which included a sugar cane factory and wine cellars and
did very well for themselves .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Just behind the seafront is
the Ayia Kyriaki Catholic Church. It was built as a Latin Church in
the 13th century over the ruins of a Byzantine basilica destroyed by an
earthquake. <st1:city w:st="on">St. Paul</st1:city> and St. Barnabas
visited <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> in 45 AD
(Acts 13 verses 5-12) and tradition has it that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St. Paul</st1:place></st1:city> was flogged on a
pillar near this church by the Roman Governor of Paphos, Sergius Paulus. <st1:city w:st="on">St Paul</st1:city> later succeeded in converting him, making him
the first Christian ruler and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
the first Christian country.This church is, therefore, often known as "The
Church by <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St. Paul</st1:place></st1:city>'s
Pillar". What is special about this church is besides the
Catholic services, the Anglican Church ,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the Latin Church and the Orthodox
Church all use this building for functions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The cemetery was used during
the Hellenistic and Ptolemaic periods. Due to their monumental character, the
tombs are described as "royal"but in fact kings were never buried
here, only the rich citizens and high officials of the Ptolemaic state. The
architecture of the underground funerary monuments imitates that of the houses
of the same period . They consist of a stepped dromos, a central atrium and
burial chambers provided with many loculi for single burials. Often the tombs
are plastered and covered with frescoes. In many cases, entrances to the
various loculi imitate temple facades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Pathos</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> on the edge of Paphos<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>harbor was<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>originally a Byzantine fort built to
protect the harbor. In 1570 it was dismantled by the Venetians. After capturing
the island, the Ottomans<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>restored
and strengthened it. Throughout the ages it has seen many uses. It has served
as a fortress, a prison and even a warehouse for salt during the British
occupation of the island. It was declared a listed building in 1935 and is one
of the most distinctive landmarks of the city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paphos</st1:place></st1:city>.</span></div>
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<span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">After</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">lunch by the
sea we were given some free time, I wandered into an Exhibition
Hall where paintings and handicrafts by local artists were on sale.
Sitting at a desk piled with books was a large Englishman. I could
never go pass a book stand without fingering the books. "
It this any good?" I picked up a book called The Hated. " I sure hope
so, I wrote it ! " Mark Cotton fell backwards laughing." I believe
you !"I said hurriedly" Why is it called The Hated ?""
Well, it's about the paratroopers and their operations" " And people
hate the paratroopers ?" " Everybody hates the paratroopers
!"Mick Cotton said almost defensively. Mick was of course previously in
the British Army, well no, he's never been stationed in H K, but he's served in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Belfast</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Rhodesia</st1:country-region></st1:place> and many other
places. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span style="color: blue; font-size: medium;"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="609004302-29122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="062470104-29122013"><span class="343021304-29122013"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYTaUvR8ASc4_xv1iofs1q8mo4RQyWKeEiSC3EJuZmjfmNdGSavENH8GeCDZVpW6E35DJaA-1-AtmfYmzXYYC2t-Ng2KCCHfNBSooMU4XiHo2t0nISwerTSjJn83HBnzeQQsVuKzGny4/s1600/mick+cotton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYTaUvR8ASc4_xv1iofs1q8mo4RQyWKeEiSC3EJuZmjfmNdGSavENH8GeCDZVpW6E35DJaA-1-AtmfYmzXYYC2t-Ng2KCCHfNBSooMU4XiHo2t0nISwerTSjJn83HBnzeQQsVuKzGny4/s1600/mick+cotton.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXX1bj48TG0jb_b7TekSvFQUfFiIKGuOYhbgPiToZtdIP4ivDpULwxibM8pWxwIiXovgKoB9WihL7vj7LvHs4Ku_1Xf00vNFrdQxQo-GBI73jIsDlxKUhRMYFdD5BgzaSQt2cCfQ4L_w/s1600/cyprus+book+signing.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXX1bj48TG0jb_b7TekSvFQUfFiIKGuOYhbgPiToZtdIP4ivDpULwxibM8pWxwIiXovgKoB9WihL7vj7LvHs4Ku_1Xf00vNFrdQxQo-GBI73jIsDlxKUhRMYFdD5BgzaSQt2cCfQ4L_w/s1600/cyprus+book+signing.bmp" height="320" width="194" /></span></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">There must have been a time
when soldering, particularly in a place like <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>, was great fun. These
are some of the advice British Ministry of Defense gives new
recruits in its Cyprus Posting, and I quote word for word :<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Lots of swimwear - Because of
the time spent in the swimming pool and in the sea, swimwear takes a battering
and the sun does something to the elastic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">BBQ - Invaluable, but can be
bought on the island at reasonable prices .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Bicycles - There are great
opportunities for biking, both flat and mountainous terrain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Skiing clothes - Needed in
winter up at Troodos ( normally plenty of snow for skiing ).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Cool box- Ideal for the
beach, but can be bought cheaply on the island.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Garden furniture - You will
get lots of use out of it. Plastic furniture can be bought cheaply in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87N68tgFrntKzk8j-EkgTZ6-ZhH5udi8rgmTfXSeiGJptbDeHkBjA3fex6kno8TjUAk1B5gR_yIna96mAaxpYqTm095mCzExkq_ppmYjjlTDk4JveNCJPPWNue-CMz_rtXIgs2hybpZE/s1600/cyprus-+guys+fishing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87N68tgFrntKzk8j-EkgTZ6-ZhH5udi8rgmTfXSeiGJptbDeHkBjA3fex6kno8TjUAk1B5gR_yIna96mAaxpYqTm095mCzExkq_ppmYjjlTDk4JveNCJPPWNue-CMz_rtXIgs2hybpZE/s1600/cyprus-+guys+fishing.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The new-comers might well be
warned that as of 2012, cyclists are subjected to breath-analyser tests just
like motorists, drunken cyclists'll be fined up to 1,700 Euro and/or
imprisonment up to two years. Fooling around on a bicycle'll also be banned
under the new law as riders're required to keep both hands on the handlebars,
except where it's necessary to use hand signals. In addition cyclists'll be barred
from carrying a second person on their bike and talking on the phone while
cycling. The penalty for violation will be 500 Euro or jail for 15 days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2yS7i42bMVsXcvnIq-nXKsEW9mH9303VQbP1KTUuw6wD2flMaPd8WsKknaNWBhHCRq2UOOnMi3_WNLmQA_W1Xq5Nbt-Pt_0GXjd0dOb5glmLCWl87MmfAepttyKHphZPYozRmUSysfs/s1600/cyprus+-+snack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2yS7i42bMVsXcvnIq-nXKsEW9mH9303VQbP1KTUuw6wD2flMaPd8WsKknaNWBhHCRq2UOOnMi3_WNLmQA_W1Xq5Nbt-Pt_0GXjd0dOb5glmLCWl87MmfAepttyKHphZPYozRmUSysfs/s1600/cyprus+-+snack.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">
</span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">
</span>
</span><br />
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">At least the soldiers're
getting their monthly cheque, not so for Mike and the 26,659 ( 2011
census) Brits who were lured to relocate in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. British nationals are
the biggest group of expats living in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Since the
economic meltdown, unemployment rate in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> rose from 5% to over 20% (
50% among the young), the number of Cypriots relying on food parcels rose to
40,000, and soup kitchens sprang up in many parishes. All<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Brits and British businesses in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> had
their own tales of financial woe and cash nightmares.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-T2rCgvUeCoRRaFQcKrekjhIhqtTwbd7WAn3Sdm3I1zTr9MJEXRhfz_JEvj0j1YyLMWsOEVSdn1M7QcsbPuxeIV6hmLSmD8_3_MJF3e2H9uTYa8XamwhTuOe4TAt8qkivvu_crzMm0dA/s1600/cyprus+pafos+Chinese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-T2rCgvUeCoRRaFQcKrekjhIhqtTwbd7WAn3Sdm3I1zTr9MJEXRhfz_JEvj0j1YyLMWsOEVSdn1M7QcsbPuxeIV6hmLSmD8_3_MJF3e2H9uTYa8XamwhTuOe4TAt8qkivvu_crzMm0dA/s1600/cyprus+pafos+Chinese.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Again it's Chinese to the rescue. The Cyprus Government has liberated
the Foreign Direct Investment Policy and simplified administrative procedures,
so all foreign ( including non EU) investors can establish business in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> on equal
terms with local investors.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>A"
Cyprus-China Business Association" was set up, and Andis Nathanael ( Head
of the Association) told the Cyprus News Agency direct<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>investment from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> has
jumped. By the end of July 2012, <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>'s
non-financial investment to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
amounted to US $ 17.4 million, and ; over the same period, the accumulative
amount of engineering project contract signed by Chinese companies in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> is
US$ 235 million, and the accumulative turnover is US $ 265 million. The
purchase of the Hong Kong based ' China Glory National Investment' of the Venus
Rock Golf Resort in Pathos has been hailed as an example of what the Chinese
officials had applauded as the growing link between China and Cyprus. Of course
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> in turn is well
placed to bridge the gap between <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. The company has pledged to
invest € 1.5 billion in the Golf Resort, and it has already
opened an office in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city>.
Expected Government revenue for the initial state of this investment amounted
to € 40 million, and upon completion of the works in the next
three years, revenue will reach € 400 million. This project would
also create jobs for over a thousand Cypriots, so it came as no surprise
the Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis personally received the delegation led
by Mr Charles Zhang, President of the Chinese company.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="609004302-29122013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgku12fTDQRawYQNpKTIpRfTSc9sR2W5zxoA4UWsm8W2E2NUqPyxB4HCzgT7YuGszWC4GdmyFBa4TtIZx-1QLNzNHd8wpJZDY5Rgfp-Zzww9MrNjmx5zZJKOGkMv0WZ2ENgZ4SB9J2Tsnk/s1600/cyprus,+2+presidents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgku12fTDQRawYQNpKTIpRfTSc9sR2W5zxoA4UWsm8W2E2NUqPyxB4HCzgT7YuGszWC4GdmyFBa4TtIZx-1QLNzNHd8wpJZDY5Rgfp-Zzww9MrNjmx5zZJKOGkMv0WZ2ENgZ4SB9J2Tsnk/s1600/cyprus,+2+presidents.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Further a new policy
allowing foreign property buyers to obtain Permanent Residence in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> was
implemented. With a minimum investment of €300,000 on a property, the
applicants must also prove they have no criminal record, in good financial
standing and agree to deposit €30,000 for a minimum of three years in a local
bank account. The permit normally arrives in about 45 days after completion of
the deal. Chinese make up the bulk of all the applicants .<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The opportunity to secure permanent
residency in an EU member state is a huge attraction for <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>'s 1.4 million millionaires because it
offers them visa-free travel throughout the <st1:place w:st="on">Union</st1:place>.
Since the announcement in 2011<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Chinese
visitors to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
increased by 45 % in a year and property prices which have fallen by
around 15% since 2007 saw a re-invigoration. An official survey found that
there's a 15% increase in property sales in 2012,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>most occurred after<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the terms of application was clarified
in August -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>more than 600
properties were sold to Chinese buyers alone between August and October
2012. Ninety % of the property sales were in Paphos . However
most properties the Chinese have bought stood empty and locked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigA9wf3VWRH3lyNaPAZLN-M0vUDER8pR0I8IZCd1mMdVVg56C8rNkPM54qxoWl0qVso4PEOepChmXdjMepni5vPPc4t8ogwM7MNIA6fNdqdI-GlM9AKEo_fUndJ2VTQB8s50MUR2vABhg/s1600/cyprus-pafos+residential+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigA9wf3VWRH3lyNaPAZLN-M0vUDER8pR0I8IZCd1mMdVVg56C8rNkPM54qxoWl0qVso4PEOepChmXdjMepni5vPPc4t8ogwM7MNIA6fNdqdI-GlM9AKEo_fUndJ2VTQB8s50MUR2vABhg/s1600/cyprus-pafos+residential+area.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv89IHnmG_vIVgnklJkgplcw1D1KBxFggjocEYHW1reR30skWzSXt168P-vVmsLIyR14TJtsDrK-ebXuyYJNB8SbIoXQkXWGBc689b2Vgm1xsxT8pOdlD2P6aEGEr_NkuR7lhkoIlVwRQ/s1600/cyprus+pafos+commercial+area.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv89IHnmG_vIVgnklJkgplcw1D1KBxFggjocEYHW1reR30skWzSXt168P-vVmsLIyR14TJtsDrK-ebXuyYJNB8SbIoXQkXWGBc689b2Vgm1xsxT8pOdlD2P6aEGEr_NkuR7lhkoIlVwRQ/s1600/cyprus+pafos+commercial+area.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">It has been estimated that
around US $225bn (£144bn) a year has been pouring out of China since worries
spread about slower economic growth and falls in the value of stock and
property in China, closely following the US and EU financial crises. Cypriot
developers have astutely positioned themselves in the path of this river of
cash.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>One of the first billboards
one sees after landing in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Larnaca</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Airport</st1:placetype></st1:place> is an advert for
a property development company - in Chinese. The Paphos Mayor Savvas
Vergas said the theme of the coming Paphos Carnival would be on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,"
Everything will be Chinese "he promised. The China Daily newspaper
reported that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was the most prominent foreign exhibitor in the Beijing International Property
Autumn Expo 2012, taking 32 stands ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwBWvKsJbtwTki1Vd1weADoHszV73WRRgHmXFI54Co2J9jLSzf-_if8YVC-n5QdPtESyvnfM8WzvxOQvI3J1Vyd6LufnmKJHC6tmtfcNki6LG0O-KUgHerShE5-wRebwBbI-ivdkm5uk/s1600/cyprus-+Agia+Paraskevi+church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwBWvKsJbtwTki1Vd1weADoHszV73WRRgHmXFI54Co2J9jLSzf-_if8YVC-n5QdPtESyvnfM8WzvxOQvI3J1Vyd6LufnmKJHC6tmtfcNki6LG0O-KUgHerShE5-wRebwBbI-ivdkm5uk/s1600/cyprus-+Agia+Paraskevi+church.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFA-u5A3y6-w2Fz9_xkCRUIgxr2uSsi1zQNKiK-FVSiYScVwzao0ZUNAFBbFqGLQzwn3ow_PsgWyNWnIlf-AlEORDe2G9XGMDQwZ5sQ6QkZSPhA7IjgHgvNE1mkG0w0CvHlUZkZU1lan0/s1600/cyprus-+Agia+Paraskevi+church+whole+view+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFA-u5A3y6-w2Fz9_xkCRUIgxr2uSsi1zQNKiK-FVSiYScVwzao0ZUNAFBbFqGLQzwn3ow_PsgWyNWnIlf-AlEORDe2G9XGMDQwZ5sQ6QkZSPhA7IjgHgvNE1mkG0w0CvHlUZkZU1lan0/s1600/cyprus-+Agia+Paraskevi+church+whole+view+.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The church Agia Paraskevi (a
Christian martyr) is in the <st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype> of
<st1:placename w:st="on">Geroskipou</st1:placename> (meaning sacred
garden), 3.5 kilometers east of Paphos, is one of the
most significant example of Byzantine churches in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It was
built in the form of a barrel-vaulted basilica with five cupolas placed in the
shape of a cross. It dates back to the 9th century AD and some of its
beautiful frescoes are of the </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">oldest in </span><st1:country-region style="font-size: 14pt;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 14pt;">.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Geroskipou village still has
some pretty garden areas around the main square, it's is quiet
and restful, with quaint local shops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybFeJHu7ETkywUeyKNL5mELzAe-PzUW4lyIDpwuo1rwA5b4Aegp1bBqiI-dtZ3IPEeTim4_XY_NlpeXd20zeo0Q0cbryW8QQp83KGvk9sZ26kSvV7FVVKsxAqmF1b7sHh466lanV63Co/s1600/cyprus-+Yeroskipou+butcher+shop+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybFeJHu7ETkywUeyKNL5mELzAe-PzUW4lyIDpwuo1rwA5b4Aegp1bBqiI-dtZ3IPEeTim4_XY_NlpeXd20zeo0Q0cbryW8QQp83KGvk9sZ26kSvV7FVVKsxAqmF1b7sHh466lanV63Co/s1600/cyprus-+Yeroskipou+butcher+shop+1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwT3pAHKdhtaWtkpTGZ7laiIxUdg5o9rjy2BbP_2iRJ8KgTOF6qqgOhF1ifOIitT6kUMeZ2YOpgvs5hq6LFwEfz6YGW7IHESBiXn1J34ME94MfkH81jCtSPzUex-2BoTy_OiOScakh6Uo/s1600/cyprus-+Yeroskipou+butcher+shop+2+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwT3pAHKdhtaWtkpTGZ7laiIxUdg5o9rjy2BbP_2iRJ8KgTOF6qqgOhF1ifOIitT6kUMeZ2YOpgvs5hq6LFwEfz6YGW7IHESBiXn1J34ME94MfkH81jCtSPzUex-2BoTy_OiOScakh6Uo/s1600/cyprus-+Yeroskipou+butcher+shop+2+.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Folk Art Museum is housed
in a traditional 18th century building once belonged to Andreas Zimboulakis,
who was appointed British Consular agent by the British Admiral Sir Sydney
Smith in 1811 to protect British interests. It was bought by the
Department of Antiquities in 1947 and turned into a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Folk</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Art Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>
in 1978. The Museum exhibits traditional daily Cypriot life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheisxvXeHHL6hEUxHLyA1p9DURe9Uhkxtaukd0B6yXn5cCkWT9eeFZYOnCDZTI1yjNrpEPfC4bbi1jvl35rDYrxt_vej51AiKgG5dwV-QwxDjpny-ZeEdnQfXPZXQwQj4vvFLaPKN_tPY/s1600/cyprus-+Yeroskipou+folk+art+museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheisxvXeHHL6hEUxHLyA1p9DURe9Uhkxtaukd0B6yXn5cCkWT9eeFZYOnCDZTI1yjNrpEPfC4bbi1jvl35rDYrxt_vej51AiKgG5dwV-QwxDjpny-ZeEdnQfXPZXQwQj4vvFLaPKN_tPY/s1600/cyprus-+Yeroskipou+folk+art+museum.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Larnaca is the third
largest city on the southern coast of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
after <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city>
and Limassol, and has always been a commercial port. In Venetian
times, it was the port from which salt made at a nearby salt lake was
shipped. It's famous for its picturesque seafront with rows of palm trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHy6gIECuhwj_IrSvxomPpjfacMbkgsV5iKvgpGrFW0aLos94Nl4diEPnQsNAvjP4Jo_mNIRT7nZB8Z8H82dO6z08bPek0rbQAkiw0yNPLBsRK-qr5JpcvDohPifZRfegkJaMOG9S4JJc/s1600/cyprus-+Larnaca+promenade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHy6gIECuhwj_IrSvxomPpjfacMbkgsV5iKvgpGrFW0aLos94Nl4diEPnQsNAvjP4Jo_mNIRT7nZB8Z8H82dO6z08bPek0rbQAkiw0yNPLBsRK-qr5JpcvDohPifZRfegkJaMOG9S4JJc/s1600/cyprus-+Larnaca+promenade.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The two important churches to
visit in Larnaca are St Lazarus Church and Panagia tis Aggloktistis</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdtDKCtrHR8mFSPfusWq3BUxp550h5X19bC807jrDoEwrHlSVmbZe1JiTiQHGJOhOtG7Axncj13sRuZ7sGXr-f4gP6wR_Sd8e7EFVEf5H1jhISHO_vdyrkloudgdiKbx3A1VpCFEuRMA/s1600/cyprus-+Saint+Lazarus+Church+in+Larnaca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdtDKCtrHR8mFSPfusWq3BUxp550h5X19bC807jrDoEwrHlSVmbZe1JiTiQHGJOhOtG7Axncj13sRuZ7sGXr-f4gP6wR_Sd8e7EFVEf5H1jhISHO_vdyrkloudgdiKbx3A1VpCFEuRMA/s1600/cyprus-+Saint+Lazarus+Church+in+Larnaca.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">St Lazarus Church was
named after Lazarus of Bethany, who was raised from the dead by Jesus as
recounted in the Gospel of John. I've always wondered what happened to him
after that as no more was said of him in the Bible. Now I know, because
according to Orthodox tradition, a short time after the resurrection of Jesus,
Lazarus fled to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
because his life was threatened in <st1:place w:st="on">Judea</st1:place>.
In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
he was appointed by Paul and Barnabas to be the first Bishop of Kiton
( present day Larnaca). He lived for thirty more years and after his death was
buried in Larnaca for the second and last time.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>St Lazarus Church was built over his
tomb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUFOX5pQNrF2ak1sH6Zu5XKyEI5dIfma3ea5YXlFRhiKOknWQVywDzMXRNU0k1sP6vUzfZ9XXNFe-HVi-2plUFHMn4zSFm-Lq2kqQ8721EfphxAIzHfCWiE38U57u5WSNqq_mFfww4wQ/s1600/cyprys-+tomb+of+lazurus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUFOX5pQNrF2ak1sH6Zu5XKyEI5dIfma3ea5YXlFRhiKOknWQVywDzMXRNU0k1sP6vUzfZ9XXNFe-HVi-2plUFHMn4zSFm-Lq2kqQ8721EfphxAIzHfCWiE38U57u5WSNqq_mFfww4wQ/s1600/cyprys-+tomb+of+lazurus.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">I always tell patients who's
recovered from a serious illness, now that they've been given a
second chance, they mustn't blow it. "Do something good,
something you can be proud of with this second life !" But too often
patients are so preoccupied and anxious of their health the extra years they've
been given are spent solely on looking after their body; they remain
frightened and inward-looking, there's no personal or spiritual growth.
Unfortunately no matter how much care they bestow upon themselves, they'll
eventually die anyway just as Lazarus did. The reality is we don't actually own
anything in life, everything we have are on loan, even our body, and we have
absolutely no control over any of it. The money I've today could all be gone
tomorrow, the arm I call mine today could be amputated and in an incinerator
tomorrow. A Buddhist teaching I once read explain old age and diseases that
wrinkle, wither and mutilate our body are in fact Heavenly Mercies, as all
these changes would make it easier for us to relinquish our body when the time
comes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZ4Lp_ONm8IowmCmE4WND98JeI4b5k7sK76dA2cF1pnqhP9tvMm8fMV4C6T3ZYrG1LTrZ-DDGwsySJcvfinqolojwcDZt5yGOGERRrZ8KAMAfa1VRUn0F-hc0fR4K_bkQ5UsmGwcYcyo/s1600/cyprus+-+church+of+Panayia+Angeloktisti+in+Kiti+village.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZ4Lp_ONm8IowmCmE4WND98JeI4b5k7sK76dA2cF1pnqhP9tvMm8fMV4C6T3ZYrG1LTrZ-DDGwsySJcvfinqolojwcDZt5yGOGERRrZ8KAMAfa1VRUn0F-hc0fR4K_bkQ5UsmGwcYcyo/s1600/cyprus+-+church+of+Panayia+Angeloktisti+in+Kiti+village.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Panagia Aggeloktists ( Our
Lady, built by the Angels) is a 11th century church built over the ruins of a
5th century Christian basilica, in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Kiti</st1:placename></st1:place>
in Larnaca. According to local legend citizens of Kition escaped to Kiti to
evade Arab invasion. While in Kito they decided to build a church to honor the
Virgin (<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Panagia ). While
building the church, they found the foundations had moved to a new
location overnight, and the building went up faster than they were building
it. The mystery was solved when they found an army of Angels
descended from Heaven in the night to build the church, hence the name
Aggeloktists ( built by Angels). The church is famous for the wall mosaic of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Panagia tis Aggeloktists ( Virgin
and Child between two Archangels ) and frescoes of the 13th century.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMu8iNCSITVnsW7dJXUydToA6t-Hv38y15QZMG2_ClmchkZGu5WEXZdLh9A5KESpIDLhDon3v0BJCzeXY-I269Zuk4xErJvvxfAY8bxe5F6wFZZDOwHAsIsgqZUuqJQtuVFibwBPZa_4Y/s1600/cyprus+post+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMu8iNCSITVnsW7dJXUydToA6t-Hv38y15QZMG2_ClmchkZGu5WEXZdLh9A5KESpIDLhDon3v0BJCzeXY-I269Zuk4xErJvvxfAY8bxe5F6wFZZDOwHAsIsgqZUuqJQtuVFibwBPZa_4Y/s1600/cyprus+post+card.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Nefeli was a heavy smoker,
but took care never to smoke while she's working. We were given some free time
in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Panagia Aggeloktists, and I
found her taking her break on a bench in the churchyard, puffing at a
cigarette. We had a chitchat ." Do many here smoke?" I asked."
Yeah, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has the third highest % of smokers per population in the world" On
top there's no minimum age to smoking here and cigarettes are €4 per pack. The
average wage was US 1,200."Can you tell just by looking at or
talking to a person to know whether he/she's Greek or Cypriot ?"
" Sure, easily, there're subtle differences in the style of clothing and the
words used that give them away" then she lamented" We used to get a
lot of Greek tourists in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>,
but since the Greek recession the numbers' dropped drastically"
Tourism's <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>'
biggest industry, the peak season's from March to November. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> is
visited by 2.5 million tourists each year, three-times the size of its
population. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
also has some light industry in leather and textile, and food production in
dairy products, wine, fruit juices and olive oil. I also learnt that at this
time (just before the crisis broke) building cost for houses were €900 per
meter, most Cypriots own their houses. Rentals for a two bed-room apartment was
€600-700 depending on size.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Tony the driver spoke
excellent English." Tony, are you British ?"" No, I'm Cypriot
!" " But you must have lived in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region> at one time, that accent's
spot on !" Tony had in fact lived more than 30 years in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>. His
father was a mechanic in the British Army Base in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>, and when his army unit returned to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
he went with them, taking Tony with him. Tony was maybe 6. That makes Tony
a British Cypriot, alongside George Michael and Cat Stevens.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>"Why did you opt to come back
after 30 years ?" " Life is good here, look at the sun, the sea
, who wouldn't want to live in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
? " Aha ! I'm familiar with the sales pitch, used frequently by
agents promoting ' home in the sun' to Brits :" Cyprus enjoys an idyllic
Mediterranean lifestyle, the perfect balance between work and relaxation; 340
days of sunshine a year and some of the most welcoming people in the
world........... call Aphrodite now !" At least Tony's set up
nicely. He's married 5 years now to an Ukrainian waitress he'd met in a
diner, and had a child 8 years old from her previous marriage.
'Judging from your girth you must frequent a lot of diners !'
the thought popped into my head before I could stop it. " Wow! You're
so lucky Tony, Ukrainian women are very beautiful !" I said,
mentally wiping the mean thought from my mind."You know, I wish I'd
waited, because later I found out girls from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Belarus</st1:place></st1:country-region>'re even prettier !"
Turns out I was right to be mean after all ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">We visited 3 typical Cypriot
villages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Lefkara the beautiful (
Lefka- white, ori-hill) in the Larnaca district, is named for the white of
its silica and limestone, and is famous for its lace and silver handicrafts.
Today groups of women still sit in the narrow cobbled streets, working on their
embroidery as they have for centuries.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The
houses're from the late 19th century Ottoman period, with flat rammed-
earth roofs, rooms layout around an inner courtyard and bare stone facades with
few windows. All the previous Turkish Cypriot occupiers left their properties
in 1964 because of sectarian violence, only the houses bear witness to bygone
days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGNDfTxrnl2neNfu2xwn-IUDxaehCCQXhoi2HH9tL5onhHzyGafwu4l83nVHuxULuBSxlONbXuGNMTn8_xfdFgtU2ZIp1XOyXRyua-NKLtsfISKICRlHiK0UlVr_v2Aa4PKq69acHqTU/s1600/cyprus+omodos+old+lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGNDfTxrnl2neNfu2xwn-IUDxaehCCQXhoi2HH9tL5onhHzyGafwu4l83nVHuxULuBSxlONbXuGNMTn8_xfdFgtU2ZIp1XOyXRyua-NKLtsfISKICRlHiK0UlVr_v2Aa4PKq69acHqTU/s1600/cyprus+omodos+old+lady.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">I went into a shop to look at
some earrings and there was Dune. Dune's Vietnamese, 22 years old and had been
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
3 years 10 months. She's one of 7,102 ( 2012 census) migrant workers from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Vietnam</st1:country-region>, but the largest group of migrant
workers're from the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and numbered 9,744. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has the largest number of foreign nationals in all of the EU countries, 24% of
the total population (1 in 5) according to census in 2012. Since the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>economic bankruptcy the number of
reports of violence and abuse against migrant workers had risen sharply. At
least<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Dune wouldn't be around to
experience any of that, she<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> just
had two more months to go to finish her 4 year contract. "Are you
looking forward to going home ?" " Yes "she nodded shyly. "
Do you think you'll be coming back to work in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> ?" " I don't know,
I'd go back first, take a rest, and see what comes up." For migrant
workers the world's a huge job market. I met a Philippine maid who'd worked in
H K for a few years but was now working for a Russian family in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city>. She was hired
because she cooked Chinese, a skill she'd picked up in H K.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">There're several
other Vietnamese girls in the village, all hired to look after old
ladies (who seemed to be all the inhabitants there), and to help around the
shops. Dune made swans with pieces of folded up paper when the shop's quiet,
which would also be put up for sale. " How do you communicate with your
employer ? You speak Greek ?"" I learnt enough words to get
by " she said. " How do you get on with your
employer?"Before she could answer her old lady employer
came forward and offered me a small piece of candy-cake. She told Dune to
tell me it's a local snack, she's made a box of them herself specially for her
daughter who'd be visiting, because it's her favorite; but she'd like me to try
one. It was delicious ! The old lady was delighted I liked her cooking
so she gave me another one. Pity I didn't get the name of the
snack though. We were getting along so well I had to buy a pair of silver
earrings from them. The old lady seemed kindly, in 4 years some rapport
must have struck up between the unlikely two, as shown in the pictures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:placename w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Omodos</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Village</st1:placetype> in the Limassol District is reputed to be the
most picturesque village in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> ,
with its wood crafted verandas, narrow alleys and colored flower pots
in every street corner and yard. It is built around the Monastery of
the Holy Cross, which dates back to the arrival of St Helena in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> ( 337AD).
The Monastery is home to a piece of the Holy Rope with which Christ's hands
were tied to the Cross.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismjtaisshu91yG_ICUuyeYNdPpVCU2LPX_VuwuCG3RC0VGD-RhN8P_4_ftqk-mpIcI_mmwwrF2zye9NQasytzDBkOYU9st2xPeUUl_pWsqlFwz3ZsZWq_pndgCccHfYoCXrQWiE2_beQ/s1600/cyprus+omodos+monastery+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismjtaisshu91yG_ICUuyeYNdPpVCU2LPX_VuwuCG3RC0VGD-RhN8P_4_ftqk-mpIcI_mmwwrF2zye9NQasytzDBkOYU9st2xPeUUl_pWsqlFwz3ZsZWq_pndgCccHfYoCXrQWiE2_beQ/s1600/cyprus+omodos+monastery+2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnNgCksbIqDndINElxpHta8OyRV4cqu8omWglAvD646MDSgSTMUb9Bi8DguxvMG4583tMuoU98nAuIIrpAkXLwnkFkJ9XnWPmXFoGeDQXuYoHj_m-XGve2Tv2D9Fmv3YzBaEyHusEtWA/s1600/cyprus+omodos+monastery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsnNgCksbIqDndINElxpHta8OyRV4cqu8omWglAvD646MDSgSTMUb9Bi8DguxvMG4583tMuoU98nAuIIrpAkXLwnkFkJ9XnWPmXFoGeDQXuYoHj_m-XGve2Tv2D9Fmv3YzBaEyHusEtWA/s1600/cyprus+omodos+monastery.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The village is in the center
of the famous wine making region of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> and visitors are invited to
sample local wine and Kelameila ( sweet liquor) for free at many
outlets. The medieval " Linos" (wine-press) is one of the oldest
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and proof that wine production took place in Omodos since ancient times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">In front of the Monastery is
a colorful, cobble-stoned square surrounded by souvenir stalls, coffee houses
and taverns, the only one of its kind in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I followed my nose and
found Peter the Russian (guy in the fur hat). He and his friends just started a
roaring open-air BBQ cook-out in the square. Peter thrust a glass of beer
(after I declined a Vodka) into my hand and invited me to join them. Too
bad I was in a hurry to get back to the bus ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">It's almost impossible not to
bump into Russians in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
There're so many of them there.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Greek Cypriots and the
Russians have had a special relationship for centuries. Russians helped the
Greeks in their war for independence in the 1800s. Both nations share a rocky
history with the Turks, and a common religion. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
was the preferred place of Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs to park
their cash after the collapse of the Soviet Union because of a favorable
tax structure governed by sacrosanct European laws, but also because <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> banking
sector is notoriously opaque, an invaluable asset for any offshore financial
center. Consequently over the past two decades a large amount of Russian money
has been invested in this Eurozone's smallest economy. It was
estimated in 2013 about one half to a third of all Cyprus bank deposits ( $31
billion) are of Russian origin. A whole industry developed in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> merely
to serve the Russian clientele. There're so many Russians in Limassol it was
regularly referred to as " Limassigrad".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">There're suspicions that a
lot of the Russian money're the proceeds of crime and corruption, and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>' a haven
for money launderers and tax dodgers. Cyprus' also famous for the Russian
round-trip investment phenomenon : Cyprus accounts for the highest foreign
direct investment into Russia (2012) , but actually most of the
money were in fact Russian capitals deposited in shell companies in
Cyprus, then brought back as foreign investment to Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUiztbMpa_8ZWy5JOAVAk71rViXCultmRfVCqhHAsDABmUnozh4Evj_DJeGorwagFlL7teg8LVi4pAG_I9snQt7Ngm4qpAzOAuN17va8oHTws20VLK1T1mEGRcIEzzzxW9cxZwYwIYhCo/s1600/cyprus+north+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUiztbMpa_8ZWy5JOAVAk71rViXCultmRfVCqhHAsDABmUnozh4Evj_DJeGorwagFlL7teg8LVi4pAG_I9snQt7Ngm4qpAzOAuN17va8oHTws20VLK1T1mEGRcIEzzzxW9cxZwYwIYhCo/s1600/cyprus+north+9.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Cyprus</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">' economic
collapse came about as a result of its out-sized banking sector, its
exposure to Greek debt and its overgrown public sector. Cypriot banks have
relied more on deposits rather than issue debts as the model of their
functioning, with the result the banking sector of this small island is eight
times its GDP, and overwhelmingly the mainstay of the country's economy. The failure
of Greek bonds, in which two of the biggest Cypriot banks, Bank of Cyprus and
Laiki Bank, had invested heavily, contributed to their downfall. Total
liabilities of banks across <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
were as much as five times the country's GDP, and when the economy was unable
to make up for the shortfall, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was forced to seek a bailout to the tune of €17.5 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuxUSaxFi9S96kMSVFc-BDa_9zXKLERGSZP9eHrG1oGP80zouolF4mUs8xJyXLZhXIXkZmtUt-01r98qzcB0Q49YI5yfxXg62IlTTa95WSEy2oQ6LXg9NaOhPnkZWUgiZ8FW72_cKqd0/s1600/cyprus-+lake+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuxUSaxFi9S96kMSVFc-BDa_9zXKLERGSZP9eHrG1oGP80zouolF4mUs8xJyXLZhXIXkZmtUt-01r98qzcB0Q49YI5yfxXg62IlTTa95WSEy2oQ6LXg9NaOhPnkZWUgiZ8FW72_cKqd0/s1600/cyprus-+lake+scene.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">For the €12 billion
loans , EU demanded <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to restructure its financial sector, shut down the Laiki Bank, assert
capital control by stopping people moving funds out of the
country, setting stringent cash machine withdrawal limits, and most controversially, imposed the unprecedented haircut of bank
deposits over €100,000. This was widely criticized for fundamentally going
against an unwritten writ that bank savings will always be safe, and the fear
that the Cypriot bailout would become a template for any future Eurozone
bailouts. The Cypriot bailout reflects nicely the
prevailing tension between <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and the EU. The fact that Russians, despite being the biggest asset
holders in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
was not even consulted on any rescue measure was telling. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>'s unhappy with the heavy Russian
influence on the island, and Chancellor Merkel's tough stand on "dirty
money" from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> was
the justification EU needed to impose the levies, and for the same reason <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> could be
explained as a one off case. However, British business owners in
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> told Sky News they've
consistently heard anecdotal reports (no proof though ) that some Russians
were tipped off and massive amounts of money were moved out of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> in the
days before the crisis began.</span></div>
</div>
<div>
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</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Platres, the last village we
visited is a popular hill resort since the British times, it's
situated on the southern slopes of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Troodos</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
In bygone days the Forest Park Hotel was the preferred
hotel by notables such as King Farouk of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
Giorgos Seferis, the Nobel Prize winning poet ; it's also where the
British writer Daphne du Maurier wrote the novel "Rebecca". The
modern day celebrities tend to favor the cities. Before the financial crisis,
Columbia Beach Resort just outside Limassol in secluded <st1:placename w:st="on">Pissouri</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype> served stars such as Kim
Catrall ( Sex and the City), singer Mariah Carey, and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
Prince Harry ;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Paul McCartney,
his girlfriend Nancy Shevell and daughter Beatrice were spotted staying in the
Anassa Hotel in Pathos, as was Emma Thompson, Rod Stewart and star
chef Gordon Ramsey. Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Douglas and Catherine
Zeta-Jones, Elton John and Diana Ross were other big names that vacated there.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcxbBuJvH-2AdRVMkSeDVEf_oZCwaFMV0aPhlijqpoCPvErVo1TfniyGjv1gjtpeTe670BzXoV6ZU6htkCz5mf0MJy0MQzyDKOzwKGm_hPMKHmlfDObYPs9RQbRhad_mAr5pcOm3ymRE/s1600/nicosia+monument+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcxbBuJvH-2AdRVMkSeDVEf_oZCwaFMV0aPhlijqpoCPvErVo1TfniyGjv1gjtpeTe670BzXoV6ZU6htkCz5mf0MJy0MQzyDKOzwKGm_hPMKHmlfDObYPs9RQbRhad_mAr5pcOm3ymRE/s1600/nicosia+monument+2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Nicosia</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> is the capital and largest city of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and its
main international business center. It's the last remaining divided capital in
the world. The Green Line ( ceasefire line) which cuts through <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Ledra Street</st1:address></st1:street> ,
separate the northern Turkish controlled part of the island, and the south <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> . After
multiple failed negotiations for unification, <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Ledra Street</st1:address></st1:street> was reopened on 3rd April
2008. To this day some Cypriots still hold <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>
and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
responsible for the division of their country, known as the" Cyprus
Issue"</span></div>
<div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybwcuZXkTDL_nq-RrrJR6tM4MXZOtEzCmK0Z5DoYclKi80MT_KULDVHFCCrkOGCgt0OIf-Y31uDQQnU2LdLy699l8nplLCrkCfhOsRcSGbPiFI4ymczAetH9TR_xVGOHMdQb-rnG6ZfQ/s1600/cyprus+nicosia+eleftheria+monument.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybwcuZXkTDL_nq-RrrJR6tM4MXZOtEzCmK0Z5DoYclKi80MT_KULDVHFCCrkOGCgt0OIf-Y31uDQQnU2LdLy699l8nplLCrkCfhOsRcSGbPiFI4ymczAetH9TR_xVGOHMdQb-rnG6ZfQ/s1600/cyprus+nicosia+eleftheria+monument.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">In 1878 <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> was ceded to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> after the
British assisted the Ottomans to fence off the Russians. According to the
Cyprus Convention, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
would retain sovereignty, while <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>
would shoulder the administration of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. This was a windfall for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region> for in 1875 <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>
purchased a key block of Suez Canal shares, this arrangement would secure the
sea-borne route to and from <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>,
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region> as a base for
operations in the Middle East and near Asia, greatly enhanced <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>'s dominance of the <st1:place w:st="on">Eastern
Mediterranean</st1:place>. Not so much for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> imposed heavy taxes and
exploited the island to cover the Ottoman Tribute for leasing the island, thereby
relieving the British tax payers of their obligation. By 1905, the payment had
used up nearly 43% of the island's revenue, greatly hindering its development.
In 1914 when <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region> sided
with <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> in World War I,
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
annexed the island and annulled the Convention of 1878, thereby payment of the
Tribute was stopped. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
agreed to the annexation in 1923 under the Treaty of Lausanne and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> became a
Crown Colony in 1925. but <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
continued to collect the Tribute, though without any legal bases, until 1927.
To some historians, this is regarded as one of the major crimes against the
Cypriots by the British.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCt1VENZrXXLUnesKvXeLvTlJXPOFlUnQOfOwzfadBxF1L4NQ_TeeCzR6xm38RXQ2FJDNNMiYOYwxX23rChp2boKzrza7H4N0GLsv62Zaz_tdKishRRyQGEQzxrm2y-V7X9ds-DwXj0Xk/s1600/aqueduct+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCt1VENZrXXLUnesKvXeLvTlJXPOFlUnQOfOwzfadBxF1L4NQ_TeeCzR6xm38RXQ2FJDNNMiYOYwxX23rChp2boKzrza7H4N0GLsv62Zaz_tdKishRRyQGEQzxrm2y-V7X9ds-DwXj0Xk/s1600/aqueduct+2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">In the nineteenth
century the Orthodox and Muslim Cypriots shared a language, folklore,
economic and social hardships, and intermarried. There was a common Cypriot
identity which <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
destroyed by equating Orthodox Cypriots with European Greeks. This
could in part because Greek Cypriots rallied whole- heartedly behind the
British in both World Wars, in the First War they fought together against the
Ottomans, and in the Second War some 30,000 Islanders volunteered for the
British Army when the Italians and Germans overran <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region>. For
the first three decades Of British Rule not only were Greek nationalism and its
political groups tolerated but encouraged in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
: local newspapers were allowed to spread Hellenism and promote the demand for
union with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the education system were allowed to disseminate a Greek identity. The case was
exactly as in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
a secular system's put in and Christian and Muslim Cypriots were divided along
ethnic and religious lines, the communities were polarized with inevitable consequences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERxtvfUaOD8xC_tPbi0fKUmx2PHzT1S0-DYzXMFC4LrkHtF-IVgkM5eqDy8EdrqZ-lkXk0EqQIthJBEKnOa6VGR5Lugk4hp4ubogbdwLiu7w-W0MC3mHE4BQYBj_h5qHwwrz067ByWRE/s1600/nicosia+houses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERxtvfUaOD8xC_tPbi0fKUmx2PHzT1S0-DYzXMFC4LrkHtF-IVgkM5eqDy8EdrqZ-lkXk0EqQIthJBEKnOa6VGR5Lugk4hp4ubogbdwLiu7w-W0MC3mHE4BQYBj_h5qHwwrz067ByWRE/s1600/nicosia+houses.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></span></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">But British support for the
Hellenist backfired. British rule was opening challenged by the Cypriot
Greek nationalists, backed by the powerful Orthodox Church. In 1931 pro-enosis
riots broke out over the imposition of certain taxes, six civilians died and
the British Government House in Nicoxia was burnt down. But the campaign of
violence and armed struggle against British Rule only effectively took off
after Cypriot Lieutenant Colonel Georgos ' Digenis' Grivas launched
the EOKA( National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) in April 1955.
Turkish Cypriots responded to enosis by calling for partition( taksim) as a
defense. The British declared a State of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Emergency</st1:place></st1:state>
in Nov that year. The <st1:city w:st="on">Suez</st1:city> debacle in 1956
marked the beginning of the end of the British Empire in Africa and the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>. The nationalists took heart and increased
their demands for independence. Between <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">1955-1959 Ledra Street</st1:address></st1:street> was nicknamed The
Murder Mile in reference to the frequent targeting of Brits by nationalist
fighters along its course. In 1959, with the death toll rising above 500, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Greece</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> hammered
out the Treaty of Zurich. In 1960 the prime ministers of all three countries
together with Archbishop Makarios III (Greek Cypriot, first President of
Cyprus) and Dr Fazil Kucuk (Turkish Cypriot, Vice-President ), signed the
London Accord, granting Cyprus independence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="218451906-22122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Constitution granted the
Turkish Cypriots 1/3 of the ministerial positions and seats in the House of
Representatives, in proportion to their percentage in the
population. Because of the Turkish Cypriots' extensive use of their veto
rights, the Greek Cypriots proposed constitution amendments which
the Turkish Cypriots perceived as threatening to power-sharing.
The Turkish Cypriot withdrew from the Government, and sectarian violence broke
out in 1963. The UN dispatched a peacekeeping force in 1964 to support British
troops manning the 'Green Line', which divided <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city> into Greek and Turkish Cypriot
quarters . Amid all these unrest the Cold War was at its peak, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>' strategic value as a radar listening
post to monitor Soviet nuclear- missile testing in Central Asia became vitally
important to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
The Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios III was suspected to have
communist leanings, so on the 15th July 1974, CIA sponsored the Greek
right-wing military junta (who took over power in Greece by a coup in 1967) to
instigate a coup in Cyprus with the intention of eliminating Makarios and
install a more pro-Western Government. Makarios was ousted, and a former
EOKA member, the pro-enosis Nikos Sampson, was proclaimed President of
Cyprus. Five days later, ostensibly to protect Turkish Cypriots,
Turkish forces landed at Kyrenia. The three guarantor powers, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Greece</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>, as required by
the Treaty, met for discussion in <st1:city w:st="on">Geneva</st1:city>, but it
proved impossible to halt the Turkish advance until the 16th August,
by which time <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has taken the northern 37% of the island. The Cypriots negated both
"enosis" and Sampson, and the moderate Makarios III returned to
power in Dec, but the Turkish Army has remained ever since and the island is
still divided.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Cyprus' a harrowing story of
how small nations are played as pawns in this game of international politics by
the big nations, suffering sorrows and separations not of its own
choosing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Venetian walls -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Nicosia<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>was originally surrounded by walls
built by the Venetians to protect the city against Turkish invasion in the
15th century<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and which are still
preserved to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">St
John's</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> Cathedral was built by Archbishop Nikiforos in
1662 on the site of a 14th<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>
century Benedictine chapel, also dedicated to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St John</st1:place></st1:city>. Although the church is small, it's
the official State Church of Cyprus and contains an ornate throne for the
Archbishop, also official seats for the President of the <st1:placetype w:st="on">Republic</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:placename> and the Greek Ambassador to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The
coronation of new Archbishop of Cyprus takes place here.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In August 1977 after his death the
body of Archbishop Makarios was lay in state here for a week. On the day of his
funeral there was a sudden downpour of rain , the first August rain in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city> since records
began. Greek Cypriots recalled an old Greek proverb that when a good man dies,
the Heavens shed tears . Turkish Cypriots, however recalled a Turkish proverb
that when an evil man dies, the Heavens try to wash away his sins !<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The new Archbishop's Palace
is the official residence and office of the Archbishop of Cyprus and is a
religious, national and political monument. It was built by the
Archbishop Makarios III between 1956-1960 in neo-Byzantine architecture
style. It's not open to the public. After Makarios died of a heart attack,
an autopsy was performed and his heart removed for examination. The heart has
since been kept in his former bedroom here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The old Archbishop's Palace
was built in the 17th century, and since the completion of the new Archbishop's
Palace, it has housed the Folk Art Museum and the National Struggle Museum,
these and the Byzantine Museum, the Library of the Archbishopric which are
located on the grounds, are open to the public. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">We only had half a day to
visit Kerynia in <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Cyprus</st1:place>. For this we
had to go through three check points. We were warned beforehand we were only
allowed to take in the upper limit of € 260, two packets of
cigarettes, and no alcohol of course. Going through the check points we were
also warned not to loiter, keep in line, keep all the documents at hand and
never to take pictures. The atmosphere suddenly got quite tense. Our guide was
a Romanian lady called Daniela ( God is my Judge). In Southern Cyprus Romanians
constitute 13.6% of the population( 24,376) but is considerably less in the
North. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">We visited the <st1:placename w:st="on">Kyrenia</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype>;
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shipwreck</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>; the Ayia Sophia Cathedral
( Selimiye Mosque) and the Bellapais Abby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Selimiye Mosque is the main
mosque of the Turkish controlled northern part of the walled city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city> . This was
originally a Gothic Cathedral, Agia Sofia, built between 1208 and 1326 , it was
turned into a mosque with Nicosia's occupation by the Ottomans (1570) and two
minarets were added onto the building's west side. Much of the rich sculptural
decoration, the frescoes, sculptures and stained glass decoration depicting
scenes from the Old and New Testament were destroyed, as were the tombstones of
several Lusignan kings and princes . It was renamed<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Selimiye Mosque in 1954 in honor of
Sultan Selim II ( 1566-1574) who ruled <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> during the Ottoman
occupation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The old church courtyard has
been converted to a small shopping center with some really delightful Ma-and Pa
shops selling hand-make handicrafts. I found some earrings made from silk, the
shopkeepers actually kept the silkworms in the shop ! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span class="218451906-22122013"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><span class="406313411-31122013"><span class="187495308-31122013"><span class="218451906-22122013"><span style="color: black;"><span class="406313411-31122013"><span class="187495308-31122013"><span class="218451906-22122013"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><span class="406313411-31122013"><span class="187495308-31122013"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0n9fYOl8LN1Sup7bsYuY6JvjbEPJCUp-87wgvEndNlHCMie7DfCW80QxN7JgZaRv5nmAz3eyIjB3lkdftYK-mSLjVevvx-E60JKfBW_RUfpcAtvNrJiBK_sm3b6XiL7DjsXM8ycEr7OY/s1600/cyprus+hagia+shopping+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0n9fYOl8LN1Sup7bsYuY6JvjbEPJCUp-87wgvEndNlHCMie7DfCW80QxN7JgZaRv5nmAz3eyIjB3lkdftYK-mSLjVevvx-E60JKfBW_RUfpcAtvNrJiBK_sm3b6XiL7DjsXM8ycEr7OY/s1600/cyprus+hagia+shopping+3.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Gothic Bellapais Abby (
Abby of Peace) was built between 1198 and 1205 by St Mary of the Mountain,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Augustinians fleeing from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city> when the city
fell to Saladin in 1187. Thierry the Archbishop of Cyprus, who's also
responsible for building Agia Sophia Cathedral, persuaded
the Augustinians to affiliate with the Premonstratensians in northern
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
The monks adopted the white habits of the order, so the Bellapais
Abbey was nick-named the White Abby. The Abby prospered with large
donations from pilgrims after the knight Roger the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norman</st1:place></st1:city> gave them a relic, a supposed fragment
of the cross. The riches of the Abby were plundered by the Genoese in 1373,the monks corrupted into promiscuity and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> the Abby became a center for
experimental polygamy. The Ottoman invasion in 1570 left the Abby in ruins, and
the monks were turned out of the Monastery. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Bellapais</st1:placename></st1:place>, made
famous by Lawrence Durrell in "Bitter Lemons", is said to be
populated by descendants of the monks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kyrenia</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Castle</st1:placetype></st1:place>
by the old harbor in Kyrenia was built by the Venetians in the 16th century
over a previous crusader fortress. The Castle's main function then was
military. During the British times it was used as a police barrack and training
school. They also used the Castle as a prison for members of the Greek Cypriot
EOKA organisation. Within the Castle're the tomb of the Ottoman Admiral Sadik
Pasha ; the 12th century Chapel of St George, and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shipwreck</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMJLgf4FhaLFUypFY2FIbLn5YRkMsA3NM_gCysrcislR2m_HBdZr0A1LitHVUHKzLbdzaGsjuZZh5yvVeQ-6Qwzo_bra6Fl367h8rCo7qt6FWSbtJSmi4DKhgFvgOMMPGg-dpQ-7xyMA/s1600/cyprus++ship+wreck+museum+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMJLgf4FhaLFUypFY2FIbLn5YRkMsA3NM_gCysrcislR2m_HBdZr0A1LitHVUHKzLbdzaGsjuZZh5yvVeQ-6Qwzo_bra6Fl367h8rCo7qt6FWSbtJSmi4DKhgFvgOMMPGg-dpQ-7xyMA/s1600/cyprus++ship+wreck+museum+1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Following the Turkish
invasion of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
in 1974 the Kyrenia Department of Antiquities became custodian of the
castle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOam5PKc_DEUDQX4-h1-t_kLwDz3nKQaT7dXmWwgEVzCBBwFnkOmE1yJg24qtB_qlJMYIvWMo6lriuC5_KtJnDpW1Bab9JZYUT1Y4DdB1nMauSumy2GuV9iJOIZv0sXs79-tJBXlXdYo/s1600/cyprus+ship+wreck+museum+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOam5PKc_DEUDQX4-h1-t_kLwDz3nKQaT7dXmWwgEVzCBBwFnkOmE1yJg24qtB_qlJMYIvWMo6lriuC5_KtJnDpW1Bab9JZYUT1Y4DdB1nMauSumy2GuV9iJOIZv0sXs79-tJBXlXdYo/s1600/cyprus+ship+wreck+museum+2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shipwreck</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>
houses a 4th century BC Greek merchant ship discovered by Greek Cypriot diving
instructor Andreas Cariolou in Nov 1965 during a storm. He lost the exact
position of the ship and carried out over 200 dives until he re-discovered it
in 1967. The ship was salvaged by a team of marine archaeologists from the
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:placename>
and put on exhibition in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shipwreck</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>. 75% of the
ship's in good condition and it's one of the most remarkable marine
archaeological finds in the world. It measured 60 feet by 30 feet, it was
already 80 years old when it sank and had been repaired several times,
including a skin of lead applied to the outside to keep it watertight. Also
discovered were cargo the ship was carrying to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
before it was caught in a storm and sank : over 400 wine jars (amphorae),
possibly from the Greek <st1:placetype w:st="on">island</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Rhodes</st1:placename>, and rows of basalt mill stones from the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">island</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Kos</st1:placename></st1:place>. The storage of 9000 almonds
were probably part of the rations for the crew. Since nearly all
utensils in the ship were in 4s : 4 cups, 4 wooden spoons, 4 oil
jugs, there were likely to be 4 men in the crew. They would probably have
caught and eaten fish as 300 lead fishing net weights were found in the
bow of the ship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Kyrenia has fine
climate, fertile soil and abundance of water, and is famous for
its citrous fruits. Before 1974 there was a vibrant mixed population of
Greek, Turk,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> Maronite, Armenian
and British people living cordially together. There were annual
traditional and cultural fairs and festivals, flower shows, yachting races,
concerts, theater performances and other cultural activities , making Kyrenia a
favored vacation spot for many wealthy <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city>
families. Now the ethnic make-up is predominantly Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot.
The official language is of course Turkish. Educational system's similar to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>, there're 2 universities in Kyrenia, but
the degree's only recognized in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">I really enjoyed strolling
along the harbor front, lined by magnificent old buildings and filled with
cafes and restaurants. I met 2 French ladies on vacation in Kyrenia and had a
conversation of sorts with them, using huge amounts of
facial and body language. Many Europeans vacate in Northern
Cyprus because it's cheaper, though the majority of tourists are from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> because of
the casinos. Living standard's lower in <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Cyprus</st1:place>,
the average wage here is around US 800-900 per month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Nefeli told us to wrap up
warm because we'd be going to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Troodos</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountain</st1:placetype></st1:place>
the next day, and it'd be freezing cold." But the H K guide told me <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>'ll be
hot !" I wailed in dismay. I'd no shoes, not even socks. That evening I
went out in search of socks. It was not quite 7 PM but the main street of
Limassol was almost deserted. I nearly jumped out of my skin when out
of nowhere a man popped up by my side and said with a leer smile,"
You're very beautiful !" I bolted ! Loitering in the gathering
dusk were several groups of men, drinking beer and smoking. I felt
physically threatened by the way they looked at me, and twice had to duck into
the nearest shop and waited until they passed.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>These brought back all the
bad memories of travelling on my own in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region> some years
ago. The most significant shops in Limassol seemed to be topless bars and
casinos. The gift shops were filled with sleazy souvenirs with sexual
overtone, typical of seaside tourist towns. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">The Monastery of Kykkos, the
biggest and most lavish of the monasteries in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>,
lies at an altitude of 1318 meters on the northwest face of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Troodo</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
It was founded around the end of the 11th century. According to legend, the
Byzantine Governor doux Manuel Boutoumites got lost in the forest while hunting
and met the hermit Esaisa, who ignored his request for help.
Boutoumites got angry and abused him. Whereupon on returning to Nicosia
Boutoumites fell ill, so he asked Esaisa for forgiveness and a cure. In return
Esaisa asked for the icon of the Virgin Mary ( Theotokos) that was painted by
the apostle Luke to be brought to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:country-region>
from the <st1:placename w:st="on">Imperial</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Palace</st1:placetype> at <st1:place w:st="on">Constantinople</st1:place>.
The daughter of the Emperor happened to have the same illness as
Boutoumites, who then told the Emperor his daughter would be cured if
he sent the icon to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
It was said during the procession of the icon to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Troodos</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
the trees on both sides of the road bent their trunks and branches in worship.
A bird with human voice flew over Kykkos and sang :" Kykko, Kykko, Kykkos
Hill; A monastery the site shall fill; A golden girl shall enter in; And never
shall come out again" Hence a church and monastery was built at
Kykkos, where the icon remained for the past 900 years, never to come out
again. Many other miracles have been attributed to the icon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;"> The first President of
Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III served at the Monastery as a novice in the
1920s and 1930s. He was very fond of the place and returned there many times.
In 1974 when he was under pursuit by the military junta in the coup,
he sought refuge in the monastery, as a result the building was hit by
tank fire and part of it collapsed. At his own request he was buried on the
summit of Throni after his death in 1977, 3 kilometers west of the
monastery, not far from his native <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Panayia</st1:placename></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Nefeli was right,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Troodos</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Mountains</st1:placetype></st1:place>
was freezing cold ! All the way up there was thick fog and snow, and
fallen rocks strewn all over the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">We lunched at Maria Cafe, not
far from the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Troodos Square</st1:address></st1:street>.
It's a small family run diner, friendly and cosy. The owner was pleased we used
his service, for we were the only tourists in Troodos that day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span class="705212910-26122013"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudDcRn8qLvaB4ToVlI2uQH-SHF26koViTmn3UW8Mwuuj7Y5ZjAa5kJDXPytbQbZwTIjWEA7tNmfsY6qoaJqygG7Hmt0MQvcnA2GmxCXdmlvvcepZJV9WSD9-zXcm7RtEYuLoikAE1egY/s1600/cyprus+maria's+kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudDcRn8qLvaB4ToVlI2uQH-SHF26koViTmn3UW8Mwuuj7Y5ZjAa5kJDXPytbQbZwTIjWEA7tNmfsY6qoaJqygG7Hmt0MQvcnA2GmxCXdmlvvcepZJV9WSD9-zXcm7RtEYuLoikAE1egY/s1600/cyprus+maria's+kids.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">Cyprus</span></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">'
reputed to be the most misgoverned region in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>. Since
the founding of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Cypriot</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Republic</st1:placetype>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> has seen 7 presidents.
The present president, Nikos Anastasiadis, is a church candidate. The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cypriot</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Church</st1:placetype></st1:place> has social conservatism leanings
and shares some views with the Cyprus National People's Front (ELAM), which has
been linked to racist violence in recent years. The previous head of
state was the communist Demetris Christofias, who got the full blame of
the financial collapse. Before him was the EOKA member Tassos
Papadopoulos, a heavy smoker who died of small cell ling carcinoma in
2008. A year after his funeral some thieves dug up his grave
and stole the body. Three months later the police got a telephone tip-off
and the body was recovered in a cemetery near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nicosia</st1:place></st1:city>. The family denied ransom had been
paid. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="393253408-26122013"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span class="705212910-26122013">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGjGqF9aYU4FGijFBCwBfUT8DZdoUsro8seFAwyuQ8TcVKV3wGhi7qm2FEdia7D_gU79b0RdmFEPeUz56_OPOFizEie5VBYt6TXaLD5u0eVoePjKyo_HLQI_mbJGVKA1rB6YQlUg1SwI/s1600/cyprus-+kid+outside+supermarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGjGqF9aYU4FGijFBCwBfUT8DZdoUsro8seFAwyuQ8TcVKV3wGhi7qm2FEdia7D_gU79b0RdmFEPeUz56_OPOFizEie5VBYt6TXaLD5u0eVoePjKyo_HLQI_mbJGVKA1rB6YQlUg1SwI/s1600/cyprus-+kid+outside+supermarket.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span class="705212910-26122013">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="705212910-26122013"><span class="705212910-26122013"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">That's all in the past,
what's in the future for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>?
While the bailout enabled <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to remain in the Eurozone, it leaves the country with enormous debt
and years of financial pain ahead. But all is not lost as changes're already
put in place.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span> Overblown banking
and public sectors are being cut down to size, and Government bureaucratic
procedures streamlined to reduce cost to the private sector ; labor costs have
fallen as has the power of the labor unions; closed jobs are being
opened up, increasing the flexibility of the labor market. Cyprus boasts of a
highly skilled and disciplined work force providing world-class accounting,
legal, engineering and other business and technical services, as it has one of
the highest percentage of university graduates in the world, all English
speaking.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Land and real estate
prices ( also rental ) have fallen, so has the cost of electricity (previously
the highest in Europe),<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>all
these make <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region>
an attractive investment destination. The discovery of mammoth gas reserves in
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Levant</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Basin</st1:placetype></st1:place> is also a big boost up for this
blighted island in the sun, though tangible benefits will take at least a few
years to materialize. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14pt;">In the meantime, hali tihi <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cyprus</st1:place></st1:country-region> ! good luck
!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-85491344489536251742013-12-18T21:52:00.001-08:002013-12-21T20:11:15.498-08:00Shanxi 山西 , June 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibf5vP6YSq8XooKW36WNpAYg7qPTy8XOhYlw19xvLZK6nnHWCmXE2BfR-4jxUVj6FRzJzPjAOSIoEQtogCZKlpLfVOdXWvv2MA3OuQ-iHVvZq_YYvwmwRryDszET4SRvwOl7wTMvx86KE/s1600/xanchi+painting+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibf5vP6YSq8XooKW36WNpAYg7qPTy8XOhYlw19xvLZK6nnHWCmXE2BfR-4jxUVj6FRzJzPjAOSIoEQtogCZKlpLfVOdXWvv2MA3OuQ-iHVvZq_YYvwmwRryDszET4SRvwOl7wTMvx86KE/s400/xanchi+painting+2.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="515060511-24112013">The trip to Shanxi
was a blast, and made perfect by the 2 amiable passengers who sat next to me on
the flight back to HK. </span><span class="515060511-24112013">Ms Lee and Mr Hu were respectively the youngest (28ys)
and the oldest (78yrs ) of a troupe of 20 Chinese Communist Party members on a
joy trip to HK. All paid for by the Regional Branch of CCP in Shanxi.</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4u0znQTixbsVoASkVBeiFqArqa7CrToollk2Dt4jMFvkddjz_rOJMMxzhHP1ocJel6Cv75XmHSg5Ujic3iT21KhtqIMKsTMfzZp_ItQ5Dhh0oQnUTGjDrCNlTJP1q5O3MgrdIJi685o/s1600/shanxi-+communists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4u0znQTixbsVoASkVBeiFqArqa7CrToollk2Dt4jMFvkddjz_rOJMMxzhHP1ocJel6Cv75XmHSg5Ujic3iT21KhtqIMKsTMfzZp_ItQ5Dhh0oQnUTGjDrCNlTJP1q5O3MgrdIJi685o/s320/shanxi-+communists.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="515060511-24112013">We had a merry
chat. </span><span class="515060511-24112013">" We're very
excited, this is our first visit to HK" Ms Lee gushed . Mr Hu's a peasant from
rural Shanxi and this was his first plane ride. " I'm not at all scared" the old
man said hoarsely, but I noticed he didn't touch his lunch - the ride was a bit
bumpy. Ms Lee was assigned by the group leader to look after him , though she'd
flown before ( once or twice), this was the first time she's traveled outside
China. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
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<span class="515060511-24112013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ms Lee couldn't
find a job to suit her talent since graduating from college 6 years ago, now
together with her boyfriend she's opened a tiny shoe stall near the market. He's
manning the store while she's away. They planned to get married in the coming
year .<span class="515060511-24112013">" I'm too old to be still single" Ms Lee
lamented "my younger sister's already had a baby " But I was more interested in
her other status. " How long have you been a CCP member ?"" Oh, quite a few
years, and Mr Hu here had been a member for over 60 years!"She said with
deep reverence. " Do a lot of young people want to join the CCP?" " Many ! But
not everyone would be accepted. We've to prove we're worthy" Ms Lee was worthy
because she had been an active CCP cadet since secondary school , turned up at
all the Party gatherings and was always politically correct. The group leader,
who's been to HK twice, walked down from the front part of the plane to check on
them both and briefed them again on immigration and customs procedure ; I was
surprised by the ordinary "family feel" of it
all.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBS6OeSAv1CkIyCNPk5q611C5AVH4t3CL6zbMBMWO41GF5EPgmwOsI9lRu_5HTazdHn01Lev4MHMUT0CL0E51Jj1gjsebnaWKOZMH6sityUuGLz8PZACKLniY51W83qIbMrLgzpHBvHo/s1600/shanxi-+root+entance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBS6OeSAv1CkIyCNPk5q611C5AVH4t3CL6zbMBMWO41GF5EPgmwOsI9lRu_5HTazdHn01Lev4MHMUT0CL0E51Jj1gjsebnaWKOZMH6sityUuGLz8PZACKLniY51W83qIbMrLgzpHBvHo/s320/shanxi-+root+entance.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">The feeling of "Home" was dominant for much of the time
I was in Shanxi , perhaps unsurprising as Shanxi is one of the major cradles of
Chinese civilization. As early as one hundred million years ago, the ancestors
of Chinese, including the Yellow Emperor (founder of the Chinese nation) , lived
and propagated in this region. </span></span><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">In Yuan Dynasty, natural
disasters and wars ravaged northen China, Hongtong in Shanxi in central China
was relatively spared, and became the principle place of refuge , These
displaced people put dowm roots in Hongtong, and the Ancient Grand Pagoda Tree (
洪洞大槐树), which was planted in Han Dynasty, was the symbol of
home for them . </span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqrtMipWpOMUpDeUqMulpHt2AkH58mlekrKjaJdJ9mtyVN-BQAHnxepzljDEcdQ5NzBfEdu_JxXFpnHATQMKQUaXJfDKNUyc_lcPpW5vP8-05DlXAtGfJv4s0aLUznJFwHAekVjDKtYw/s1600/shanxi-+root+ancester+temple+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqrtMipWpOMUpDeUqMulpHt2AkH58mlekrKjaJdJ9mtyVN-BQAHnxepzljDEcdQ5NzBfEdu_JxXFpnHATQMKQUaXJfDKNUyc_lcPpW5vP8-05DlXAtGfJv4s0aLUznJFwHAekVjDKtYw/s320/shanxi-+root+ancester+temple+entrance.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsH-EABFiUl3drh3ufi3aPDNhhTsNjPAWR0eHt5TDzi0w5l53BfRlz-KCtLBma9pvIF_qVBOHtUPYFoRT3Smav3DUqZBPn9M6LBq9-y0bA-WemHEbCCN7Wc41i_8AYTRtltIKv0FOOQJw/s1600/shanxi-+root+ancester+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsH-EABFiUl3drh3ufi3aPDNhhTsNjPAWR0eHt5TDzi0w5l53BfRlz-KCtLBma9pvIF_qVBOHtUPYFoRT3Smav3DUqZBPn9M6LBq9-y0bA-WemHEbCCN7Wc41i_8AYTRtltIKv0FOOQJw/s320/shanxi-+root+ancester+temple.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Centuries later, in early Ming dynasty, the government decided to re-populate the rest of China . The residents were gathered at the Grand Pagoda Tree to receive order as to which province they'd be sent, all were reluctant to go, and each picked a leaf from the Grand Pagoda Tree as a keep-sake. In 50 years there were 18 forced emmigrations to 500 cities in ancient China, it could be said most of the Chinese in the world today can trace some of their roots back to Shanxi. A play is enacted a few times a day under the Grand Pagoda Tree to commemorate the event.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV90JwTaDsY9-pXMfJzqgIMoB56hjrkAHbXUP1pZdb251mctxJratG06zOQed5exMfWqf5_IsATlj3UKurIdsaL8o1fSKBVbBfLzuB6FpnYqGNGHZM_XvSzPyLSudf3J9UZCqoI9ayEI0/s1600/shanxi-+root+play.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV90JwTaDsY9-pXMfJzqgIMoB56hjrkAHbXUP1pZdb251mctxJratG06zOQed5exMfWqf5_IsATlj3UKurIdsaL8o1fSKBVbBfLzuB6FpnYqGNGHZM_XvSzPyLSudf3J9UZCqoI9ayEI0/s320/shanxi-+root+play.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The great Chinese Scholar Tree Garden near by holds the
geneological records of 100,000 Chinese people, every year over 200,000
Chinese come here from all over the world to seek their roots. Since 1911, a
festival for ancestral worshiping is held here every year from April 1st to the
10th. Inside the compound is a screen wall that bears the inscription " Gen" (
root), written by Zhang Ding, the president of the All China Industrial Art
School.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOvz3xzWfSWHapwoDTNUJMiJXOMeSb8FzO0nYt4Ph0zdDwwaM8sb_XzfZzUb1DAPq1wHeOEYayiNT8P5-fuogMdtW1052rIbM0rELVtSszhHdCjpiKfD3ceYtjK-wtpjox0WVVA07g6I/s1600/shanxi-+root+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkOvz3xzWfSWHapwoDTNUJMiJXOMeSb8FzO0nYt4Ph0zdDwwaM8sb_XzfZzUb1DAPq1wHeOEYayiNT8P5-fuogMdtW1052rIbM0rELVtSszhHdCjpiKfD3ceYtjK-wtpjox0WVVA07g6I/s320/shanxi-+root+wall.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Wishing tree</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbo3rlWadcrWvm8yYkNOwKURkpSLB2Leilpg8laQcJCBfCl-H2iZWEHIH0sr_TVkHjdeTapDKCezkbROW_XxryjhZ42i5n_ogvy-5AsIuP9wiwcvumrecLtEvIhu-uzEHKpgRk09OKFg/s1600/shanxi-+root+offering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbo3rlWadcrWvm8yYkNOwKURkpSLB2Leilpg8laQcJCBfCl-H2iZWEHIH0sr_TVkHjdeTapDKCezkbROW_XxryjhZ42i5n_ogvy-5AsIuP9wiwcvumrecLtEvIhu-uzEHKpgRk09OKFg/s320/shanxi-+root+offering.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">South of the Grand Pagoda Tree is Su-San's Prison. It's the only
well preserved Ming Dynasty county prison in existence today. Su-San's story of
intrigue and revenge is well known all over China, and has inspired several
Chinese operas including <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><em>Yu Tang Chun </em><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">( 玉堂春 ) and
<em>The Trial on Three Courts </em>( <span class="title"><span style="font-size: small;">三審狀元妻 ).</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpMuQl3-spOa7s1y5tJcr_z19cTUY-9DqXsXBWAGRbgWeNtikzWLcN63BDtwOwwVsXa16kcMueLiLv_fFSiaLyrPZj-7mdFPM3FOlm9q8snl2tYqIn6wcwe-JWhT_6f9TayWDrlk5QOQ/s1600/shanxi-+susan+prison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpMuQl3-spOa7s1y5tJcr_z19cTUY-9DqXsXBWAGRbgWeNtikzWLcN63BDtwOwwVsXa16kcMueLiLv_fFSiaLyrPZj-7mdFPM3FOlm9q8snl2tYqIn6wcwe-JWhT_6f9TayWDrlk5QOQ/s320/shanxi-+susan+prison.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="title"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Su-San </b></span></span></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">( 苏三 ) Prison</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MfxexsXr5B2BXSvSMmRZKJnJga1N020SrDObDFGKEo1rbNBNd2tWUCtizPg-PZq6ppTRpC75mUpnqD2AkjoI1WzT302yya8AruNwp0KnU9VeFF83ZNcMeRc7QZhHWwqhCGTtw8VcUXg/s1600/shanxi-+susan+statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MfxexsXr5B2BXSvSMmRZKJnJga1N020SrDObDFGKEo1rbNBNd2tWUCtizPg-PZq6ppTRpC75mUpnqD2AkjoI1WzT302yya8AruNwp0KnU9VeFF83ZNcMeRc7QZhHWwqhCGTtw8VcUXg/s320/shanxi-+susan+statue.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b>Su-San , also known as Yu Tang Chun, was a
famous courtesan who was in love with Wang Jinlong. Wang fell on hard times but
Su-San gave him money and encouraged him to sit the civil service exam in the
capital. Su vowed not to serve another customer after Wang's departure, but the
owner of the brothel sold her to Shen Yanlin, a rich Shanxi merchant, as a
concubine. Su accidentally found Shuen's first wife was having an affair with a
young man. To stop Su from telling her husband, Shuen's wife tried to kill Su by
putting poison in her noodles, but Shen ate the noodles instead and died.
Shuen's wife bribed the magistrate to convict Su and she was thrown in prison,
which later was to carry her name. Su was escorted to Taiyuen to have her death
sentence endorsed by 3 senior officials, one of them an imperial ambassador. The
ambassador turned out to be none other than Wang, who had come first in the
civil service exam ! Wang pledged to save Su and dug around for evidence to
overturn the verdict. Eventually the maid of Shuen's wife confessed she put the
poison in the noodles by direct order of her mistress and Su was acquitted.
Su and Wang lived happily ever after. Curtains down .
</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJ97EWgAWXwKoj_DDSbDiftcTh1k6d5RmqW809ysC-K5JeP7s7vkPPOM-6RYVsuZZdaTjQVxCB8DPRup85GCgjrVyI5VJsSKx8VWPkNG_RglTr-_FaM2YMk1334_Xwg1j_X40sFIglmo/s1600/shanxi-+susan+prison+tiger+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJ97EWgAWXwKoj_DDSbDiftcTh1k6d5RmqW809ysC-K5JeP7s7vkPPOM-6RYVsuZZdaTjQVxCB8DPRup85GCgjrVyI5VJsSKx8VWPkNG_RglTr-_FaM2YMk1334_Xwg1j_X40sFIglmo/s320/shanxi-+susan+prison+tiger+room.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
<span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="515060511-24112013">The Tiger Head
Jail w</span>here the worst prisoners were kept<span class="515060511-24112013">,</span> including Su<span class="515060511-24112013">-S</span>an</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
<span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></span></span>
</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoFNbVVQGLfK8iKt-OOucNdlHlQwAb8WP3AFGicGZrt2QAVSvAa2F2kms9zQ5-kJ_DrDLFQq_mO-K86guILIIsn7r04vapcodTEVtQeDQ3JZHuRk0xNwph8EX6NpLU6RIciqKI02xmCe0/s1600/ShanxiAttractions+map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoFNbVVQGLfK8iKt-OOucNdlHlQwAb8WP3AFGicGZrt2QAVSvAa2F2kms9zQ5-kJ_DrDLFQq_mO-K86guILIIsn7r04vapcodTEVtQeDQ3JZHuRk0xNwph8EX6NpLU6RIciqKI02xmCe0/s320/ShanxiAttractions+map.gif" width="167" /></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In China, there's a saying that goes : If you want
to see China's history for the past 10 years, look at Shenzhen; to see the last
100 years look at Shanghai ; to see the last 1000 years look at Beijing; Shaanxi
for the last 3000 years, and Shanxi for the last 5000 years. Shanxi is often
called the "Chinese Ancient Architecture Museum". Our trip started from
Taiyuan where we visited Qiao's Courtyard ; then to Jincheng, Susan Prison and
Hongtong Pagoda Tree ; followed by Tea Kettle Spout Waterfall, the ancient city
of Pingyao and Wang's Courtyard ; then to Mount Wutai ; from there we traveled
to the coal mining town of Datong and the near-by Yungang Grottoes, Nine Dragon
Screen , the wooden Pagoda of Yingxian and the Hanging Monastery ;
Yanmenguan and the underground tunnels built to fight the
Japanese invasion.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUAjj9pdq1RhrAaTzwyHqbdd35ibl2WDMFGSq98exaGV6neLhqL3X0URAzvirlO1JEQLAnAYLKyM5ANkeymc7E4GroQtabkAy3nbq5OfL9Pq-_VSqlG1xktfTX5MfgaGQZZpBAFvddZY/s1600/shanxi-+tourist+map.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUAjj9pdq1RhrAaTzwyHqbdd35ibl2WDMFGSq98exaGV6neLhqL3X0URAzvirlO1JEQLAnAYLKyM5ANkeymc7E4GroQtabkAy3nbq5OfL9Pq-_VSqlG1xktfTX5MfgaGQZZpBAFvddZY/s320/shanxi-+tourist+map.bmp" width="234" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Taiyuan (<span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh">太原</span><span style="font-size: small;">)</span> is the capital of
Shanxi Province and one of the great industrial cities of China. "
Taiyuan's pretty high up in the list of China's most polluted cities, isn't it?"
I asked Mr Wong our local tour guide. " We're doing better now, Inner Mongolia's
the worst, I think we might be the 5th or 6th this year " I wasn't sure if that
meant air quality in Taiyuan's improved or just that other cities had gotten
worse . Taiyuan's 10 hours train ride from Mongolia. In the Ming Dynasty,
Emperor Taisu sited nine military towns along the Great Wall to defend against
Mongolia, Taiyuan was one of them. Today Taiyuan's a modern city with high rises
mushrooming up everywhere." All these used to be farmlands" Mr Wong swung his
arm in a wide arc towards the seemingly endless rows of tall buildings speeding
past the bus window. "We don't have the land disputes with the peasants like
other cities because our mayor can afford to compensate them handsomely " He
boasted. " He's a popular
mayor" </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_385fmmOp3bhWnhCCnthEvshliGc0Gt3A0zbC04ZVU1F0_F2AAESSzCMbffLOnH-AxAGltIMs1feiVCb78X0FWKFV4PwQFsksdcYSKsmEEy1pIvNaiwKo_iJ71OmCrKgtNIAbaTDB58/s1600/shanxi-+taiyuan+main+street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_385fmmOp3bhWnhCCnthEvshliGc0Gt3A0zbC04ZVU1F0_F2AAESSzCMbffLOnH-AxAGltIMs1feiVCb78X0FWKFV4PwQFsksdcYSKsmEEy1pIvNaiwKo_iJ71OmCrKgtNIAbaTDB58/s320/shanxi-+taiyuan+main+street.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Peddler in the street</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvgAouNo74G3bsHkUW0LhcOju15MlNUHeSp5ZbQgyb9oB3UkcU8O2fSjru5_JgCUEPLXAh3tkSX2QWRusV5DDzEgqbvpaTXz6X4dp5-uWeBxR6rrXeLTEG1A3WQ7KF5BGZLolt11JrfU/s1600/Shanxi-+handicapped+peddler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvgAouNo74G3bsHkUW0LhcOju15MlNUHeSp5ZbQgyb9oB3UkcU8O2fSjru5_JgCUEPLXAh3tkSX2QWRusV5DDzEgqbvpaTXz6X4dp5-uWeBxR6rrXeLTEG1A3WQ7KF5BGZLolt11JrfU/s320/Shanxi-+handicapped+peddler.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><b>Hotel restaurant</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LHI7K49V4MJozs07p9_48HOw998JFCuaH2EcwJUOq0R2r1YlJTGfJ2zEAIF2W-KM8__mGRM2xqK7e7yO0tV6qYcRum8apMQxNe2JYAs1uYqgRufx7Va9OinBN5Z0CbsMHIvUnPH2aBM/s1600/shanxi-Taiyuan+hotel+restaurant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LHI7K49V4MJozs07p9_48HOw998JFCuaH2EcwJUOq0R2r1YlJTGfJ2zEAIF2W-KM8__mGRM2xqK7e7yO0tV6qYcRum8apMQxNe2JYAs1uYqgRufx7Va9OinBN5Z0CbsMHIvUnPH2aBM/s320/shanxi-Taiyuan+hotel+restaurant.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Unbeknownst to Mr Wong , the "popular" mayor of Taiyuan
, Zhang Bingsheng, had just been sacked for courting voters via SMS in the
January election , which was supposedly a violation of the election rules.
A government insider said Zhang had been in his post
for nearly a decade, and this election was his last chance to get a promotion
before retirement . Mr Wong was not alone in his ignorance at the time, for most
officials said they didn't get an internal briefing about Zhang's removal
either. Weep not for the fallen mayor though, because thanks to the forgiving
Party Politics , Zhang was reinstated
as the Deputy Director of the Shanxi Province Economic and Information
Technology Commission 2 years later.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kC_vOqzqN0IxiM5RN3xXjj1XtDSpvY1de6dSe_NHfp3VTUO0v53oXXmWPuOWPeUNL7OM_vR5VC2WUsSuhV4EMnm4-ofVH1fgzZqlLWML290zeds1atKbM7WEiaaKzAYcDyc6ij8o160/s1600/shanxi-+qiao+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kC_vOqzqN0IxiM5RN3xXjj1XtDSpvY1de6dSe_NHfp3VTUO0v53oXXmWPuOWPeUNL7OM_vR5VC2WUsSuhV4EMnm4-ofVH1fgzZqlLWML290zeds1atKbM7WEiaaKzAYcDyc6ij8o160/s320/shanxi-+qiao+house.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013">Qiao's<span class="515060511-24112013">
</span><span class="515060511-24112013">Family</span> Courtyard<span class="515060511-24112013"> ( <span lang="zh-Hans" xml:lang="zh-Hans">乔家大院) </span>became famous after Zhang YiMou's movie " Raise</span></span> the Red Lantern" was shot on location there ; it was opened up to domestic
tourism in 2006. The Qiao's were Shanxi financiers , whose position in Qing
Dynasty was equivalent to that of JP Morgan and the Rockefeller families in
today's America . The Courtyard was an enclosed compound like a castle, with 6
big yards, 20 small yards and 313 rooms, decorated with exquisite upturned
eaves, bucket arches, stone and wood sculptures. The Yard was designed such that
when seen from above , looks like a Chinese character -Xi , meaning double
happiness </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpcMlQ1naX7nw2YVvAxh_0vFpWqanVhttZrWje1f-kvrZQFfQ_xJrJavYgKR8LkSRNaMCNcyLMis2Hnr7hkNoP5y17JH9CRc3B9z_fARKwzKvtViM3tvsxn4Po-QddEEcJwQpQISxfoA/s1600/shanxi-+qiao%2527s+house+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpcMlQ1naX7nw2YVvAxh_0vFpWqanVhttZrWje1f-kvrZQFfQ_xJrJavYgKR8LkSRNaMCNcyLMis2Hnr7hkNoP5y17JH9CRc3B9z_fARKwzKvtViM3tvsxn4Po-QddEEcJwQpQISxfoA/s320/shanxi-+qiao%2527s+house+2.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Chinese bride posing for a picture</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTE0HffNBZ30I7hqTkGHgSOIFOuLqxqwy8OQrZcXJoZRbd7MmrrcZEHeZ8mO4u7IB7mzvsMr1bWAx7akydxS1sdQMRPUebR-TzRJAH0NSrFfDrVLQTox3YbhlodA2uvH8-aMCGZgmkyU0/s1600/shanxi-+qiao%2527s+bride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTE0HffNBZ30I7hqTkGHgSOIFOuLqxqwy8OQrZcXJoZRbd7MmrrcZEHeZ8mO4u7IB7mzvsMr1bWAx7akydxS1sdQMRPUebR-TzRJAH0NSrFfDrVLQTox3YbhlodA2uvH8-aMCGZgmkyU0/s320/shanxi-+qiao%2527s+bride.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>souvenir shops</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9otEdrmO7XBRyNK2jBB_Sf1R8t91DsBic8-443rnmoIYo8EpGpnoJulA4K6_bwbMaZlymtmZkd7hl9rzpoymsTyFX7ooO6_B6ECGRe3BuUhcDYsp6Yg8YFNLN6gXHqXBucpqY9Du5CSg/s1600/shanxi-+qiao+peddler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9otEdrmO7XBRyNK2jBB_Sf1R8t91DsBic8-443rnmoIYo8EpGpnoJulA4K6_bwbMaZlymtmZkd7hl9rzpoymsTyFX7ooO6_B6ECGRe3BuUhcDYsp6Yg8YFNLN6gXHqXBucpqY9Du5CSg/s320/shanxi-+qiao+peddler.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX4S28H_ZZhu_T-n2hODo18q8YNuanNK20cbHgvxwCVkfkCmXki97fYOd8xqADxyY74pr52L9fyGin0vJ55WYgBXov06A7rTqMT1n47Va5ZW35irU6JvE-vXH-c3ZJU_XVui078BrbwY/s1600/shanxi-+fruits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJX4S28H_ZZhu_T-n2hODo18q8YNuanNK20cbHgvxwCVkfkCmXki97fYOd8xqADxyY74pr52L9fyGin0vJ55WYgBXov06A7rTqMT1n47Va5ZW35irU6JvE-vXH-c3ZJU_XVui078BrbwY/s320/shanxi-+fruits.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> The
ubiquitous vinegar.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxgDICqHxTGnxLN19_J-bxgL6cH1-Y1UE3UU-0VmFiJNY2KMzmdYAxg5hjQMfH9UH7cfG4HHOHpDlBKuM5tYT45u8L3O15MBIGTaL4FBya5CM0rmhtpyLEjKEerNN1Up-O0WgP7mtQ10/s1600/shanxi-+vingeger+store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZxgDICqHxTGnxLN19_J-bxgL6cH1-Y1UE3UU-0VmFiJNY2KMzmdYAxg5hjQMfH9UH7cfG4HHOHpDlBKuM5tYT45u8L3O15MBIGTaL4FBya5CM0rmhtpyLEjKEerNN1Up-O0WgP7mtQ10/s320/shanxi-+vingeger+store.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="vcard" id="Jinci_Temple"><span class="fn org">Shanxi is the hometown of
</span></span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="vcard"><span class="fn org"><span class="203582610-23082013">"over-mature vinegar <i>Shanxi lao
chencu</i>(<span lang="zh-Hans" xml:lang="zh-Hans">山西老陈醋</span><span class="515060511-24112013"> )</span>. <span class="203582610-23082013">The
written record of vinegar<span class="515060511-24112013"> in China</span> can be
traced back to the 8th century BC<span class="515060511-24112013"> and has a
history of more than 3,000 years.<span class="203582610-23082013"> As far back
as the Spring and Autumn Period, professional vinegar workshop had already
appeared. <span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="515060511-24112013">The old
saying<span class="515060511-24112013"> "</span>Firewood, rice, salt, oil, sauce,
vinegar and tea ( 柴, 米 , 鹽, 油 , 醬, 醋, 茶 ) are indispensable in our daily
life<span class="515060511-24112013"> " </span>shows that vinegar has played an
important role in the life of the Chinese through the
ages. </span></span></span></span></span><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013">China was the first country in the world to make
vinegar from grain .<span class="515060511-24112013"> </span></span>Shanxi mature
vinegar, e.g. is made from sorghum, barley<span class="515060511-24112013">, peas
</span>and other raw materials<span class="515060511-24112013">, </span><span class="515060511-24112013">stewed</span><span lang="EN-US"> at high temperature<span class="515060511-24112013"> </span><span class="515060511-24112013">then</span>
fermented for over a year ; it's claimed to be all natural and chemical-free. In
1924, it won the first prize at the Panama International Fair, and gained
international as well as domestic fame ever since. Some of the methods used in brewing </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="vcard"><span class="fn org"><span class="203582610-23082013"><i>Shanxi lao chencu </i></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="vcard"><span class="fn org"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span lang="EN-US">have been considered intellectual properties and are under the protection of Chinese laws. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b>. </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACzld8WXWDLUacJ0NxCQRGUNTRCpfy1bZo-dynisrmq8StwWN-EFZmnLksAOFgQLyGMARi8G3Qx9mTYJRE0vIigS7-oxSkRurCfqnL_rJuCqQtmkq1zjqgnTItUSvBemS6Zlpur_IRsg/s1600/shanxi+Donghu+vinegar+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACzld8WXWDLUacJ0NxCQRGUNTRCpfy1bZo-dynisrmq8StwWN-EFZmnLksAOFgQLyGMARi8G3Qx9mTYJRE0vIigS7-oxSkRurCfqnL_rJuCqQtmkq1zjqgnTItUSvBemS6Zlpur_IRsg/s320/shanxi+Donghu+vinegar+shop.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HdqjEW-bLm0_SAV1YYBXfoHdB6EY5lsReIAT2LoZl63o08X9BIlGFwZMBA0B3zQHc1zxAuL8XCZUArNH7CzKnbyzGwPZ6BU8Jb_mR_B3L22ge8x29QXLUJwCiper1U9xfmI2MpX363U/s1600/shanxi+donghu+vinegar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HdqjEW-bLm0_SAV1YYBXfoHdB6EY5lsReIAT2LoZl63o08X9BIlGFwZMBA0B3zQHc1zxAuL8XCZUArNH7CzKnbyzGwPZ6BU8Jb_mR_B3L22ge8x29QXLUJwCiper1U9xfmI2MpX363U/s320/shanxi+donghu+vinegar+2.jpg" width="320" /></a> </b></span></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>We visited the Donghu Garden, a theme museum of Shanxi
Mature Vinegar Group Co LTD, where I bought 2 litres of the 8 year old mature
vinegar . Just like whisky, the price goes up from 1 to 15 year old mature
vinegar. Shanxi mature vinegar is dark purple and thick, gives off a full-bodied
odor, tastes mild and mellow, and has no sediment . Moreover, it doesn't go
moldy or ice up in winter, and the longer it is stored the more fragrant it
becomes. It's also been claimed to have medicinal value, particularly in
preventing hypertension, hepatitis and skin diseases. Apparently good for tummy
upsets too, a member of the tour who came down with gastroenteritis got better
instantly after 2 tea-spoonful of the 10 year old mature vinegar. Another
variety of the vinegar is said to have beautifying property. That I'd leave to
other ladies to verify - I've long given up hope anything'd work for me
!</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-k_xvtM5V3KZ7vwlzeNTgOV6EADRUYNukspvt1CHEvTZ77juBKmMK7aKRy8AFglApB7QIXrQzoIRpO1hoSAOhNeG9GMXrr8AndBtTyhNfQwNLggd_15Xr01KA7CkiH2ZrVLMVXPiXsk/s1600/shanxi+donghu+vinegar+beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-k_xvtM5V3KZ7vwlzeNTgOV6EADRUYNukspvt1CHEvTZ77juBKmMK7aKRy8AFglApB7QIXrQzoIRpO1hoSAOhNeG9GMXrr8AndBtTyhNfQwNLggd_15Xr01KA7CkiH2ZrVLMVXPiXsk/s320/shanxi+donghu+vinegar+beauty.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="vcard"><span class="fn org">Jinci Temple </span>(<span class="nickname"><span class="non-latin">晋祠寺) is located 25 miles southwest of Taiyuen City. It has a history of at least 1,500 years that can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="vcard"><span class="nickname"><span class="non-latin"><span class="515060511-24112013">O</span>riginally an imperial garden<span class="515060511-24112013">, it was subsequently further expanded during the Sui, Tang,</span> <span class="515060511-24112013">Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, resulting in a mixture of architectural styles . It has over 100 halls ( including China's oldest classical ancestral hall, the Saint Mother Hall 圣母殿) , towers, pavilions, terraces, and bridges, 110 sculptures, 300 blocks and 37 cast arts, not to mention 300 stele inscribed with writings by emperors, officials and poets. All set in a beautiful landscape. In 1961 it was granted National AAAA Level Scenic Spot status and became part of the National Cultural Relic Protection Unit </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-nT9WIRxVlHDtS4HAPhMYS-Kd2rS-3h_mqCve86i2F7dNB4x5AyyUdPZKo4tE8u0tfr7PLSQkkgfvthExU2obf-DkhVYyOhiBUje9K_kSfxVR15C0UzNCMI87bWrcECgThCSwTivzbk/s1600/shanxi-+temple+entrance+in+green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-nT9WIRxVlHDtS4HAPhMYS-Kd2rS-3h_mqCve86i2F7dNB4x5AyyUdPZKo4tE8u0tfr7PLSQkkgfvthExU2obf-DkhVYyOhiBUje9K_kSfxVR15C0UzNCMI87bWrcECgThCSwTivzbk/s320/shanxi-+temple+entrance+in+green.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPhMYtENw4y6GX6UT4XEiCj-VueF85A5-I-n0AvZ8-zA4MWJrZcIO2RoA_TWB5SQacafAxvHgCuKFIe90HYj9DmBNPI0XeWCq0Wy0wYUI1nRIsn69613_v0ncefAmBX8vdxW5dXLHUdQ/s1600/jinci+temple+tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPhMYtENw4y6GX6UT4XEiCj-VueF85A5-I-n0AvZ8-zA4MWJrZcIO2RoA_TWB5SQacafAxvHgCuKFIe90HYj9DmBNPI0XeWCq0Wy0wYUI1nRIsn69613_v0ncefAmBX8vdxW5dXLHUdQ/s320/jinci+temple+tower.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>But what took my breath away
in the Jinci Park was not the stately grandiose hall, but a lonely modest
building tucked away behind some trees . By the entrance was a small plaque with
the writing : 'Anti-Corruption Education Hall' . "This I've got to see !" I
spoke aloud before I realized I was all alone. Education Hall's actually
a misnomer, as it's just a big room to exhibit the biographies of all
the "clean officials" in China through the ages, up to the Qing Dynasty. In 5000 years of Chinese Imperial governance I counted just 10 acclaimed uncorrupted
government officials ! No wonder the hall's completely empty, of the 1.6 billion
Chinese I was apparently the only one fool enough to be duped by the promise of
"Anti-Corruption Education " in China. The disturbing revelation from all this
is : corruption's not a Communist thing, it's a Chinese thing.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUA-bOZ__rtZsjNkfkSYiEUCm0_briac3LuIvAKpm8dVpi4xS0Hn3t90m5R8wFqkqL4yMQubyYA3w-s2uHScdqadiEZDfGzciOydi4Sa2HvVjzp8WmvcK1p0lV8if5iDB5k9fQImDl83k/s1600/jinci+clean+officer+hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUA-bOZ__rtZsjNkfkSYiEUCm0_briac3LuIvAKpm8dVpi4xS0Hn3t90m5R8wFqkqL4yMQubyYA3w-s2uHScdqadiEZDfGzciOydi4Sa2HvVjzp8WmvcK1p0lV8if5iDB5k9fQImDl83k/s320/jinci+clean+officer+hall.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnf28E3_RQYzZ6oH3J89Sn2_hsl08_0OXg3sQkdcyDJraRBJReiApzYmHGN1yE9enxwMtBm4aVpnnHOPzbczCXpmEiGYON7IRUehlyk0_zPMjlX-FdkMjytFJ7lxuOOePjrshHQKnRJQ/s1600/jinci+clean+officer+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnf28E3_RQYzZ6oH3J89Sn2_hsl08_0OXg3sQkdcyDJraRBJReiApzYmHGN1yE9enxwMtBm4aVpnnHOPzbczCXpmEiGYON7IRUehlyk0_zPMjlX-FdkMjytFJ7lxuOOePjrshHQKnRJQ/s320/jinci+clean+officer+1.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">The origin of the Yellow River (黄河) , China's second longest river, is at
the Tibetan Plateau. As the river passes the arid desert between Shanxi and
Shaanxi, it gets squeezed into a narrow gorge, the pent up pressure
results in tumultuous turbulence, water fumes and rumbling
noises that resembles pouring boiling hot water from a whistling tea
kettle when brewing tea. The site is thereby named the Hukou Tea Kettle Spout Waterfall </span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">( <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">壶口瀑布)</span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"> It's noted more for volume than a tall drop and is the only yellow waterfall in the world.</span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"> </span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5H_xKjtXItvCTiUf8kYoNJ7itM5hccNoFwI0c7I32STuSpnC8YAEffTgVLIluChJDoQOV43N7QPE3pdWTXc6sT5rX7ettanEWq4xafp9QPIVbfKTtfnKqvvjNN5b6VoLAp4uyamOlJrk/s1600/waterfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5H_xKjtXItvCTiUf8kYoNJ7itM5hccNoFwI0c7I32STuSpnC8YAEffTgVLIluChJDoQOV43N7QPE3pdWTXc6sT5rX7ettanEWq4xafp9QPIVbfKTtfnKqvvjNN5b6VoLAp4uyamOlJrk/s320/waterfall.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">There's
a path a little way from the waterfall that led down steps through a norrow
passage-way to a lower viewpoint, which's on the same level of and almost face
up the falls.</span><span style="color: blue;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52wS99-iu8q2GpHwqYaf7EokuDMp0GTuXmb0styG8ACscSDaqLHU5XBRZEdIZSdAmqHwlkC9q9gqkz5jLvMCGS1IDUtkMWz1QJh2RG7hieUea0jUSqp1xrbgJiQh-WWaz7kMCa1bxxXo/s1600/shanxi+teapot+portrait.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52wS99-iu8q2GpHwqYaf7EokuDMp0GTuXmb0styG8ACscSDaqLHU5XBRZEdIZSdAmqHwlkC9q9gqkz5jLvMCGS1IDUtkMWz1QJh2RG7hieUea0jUSqp1xrbgJiQh-WWaz7kMCa1bxxXo/s320/shanxi+teapot+portrait.bmp" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>In September
1938, during the Sino-Japanese War, Guang Weilan ( <span style="font-size: small;">光未然) </span>, a
famous poet, was entertaining the Chinese troops at Hukou when he was deeply
moved by the sight of the Waterfall. He wrote the immortal poem - the ode of the
Yellow River <span style="color: blue;">(</span><span style="color: black;">黃河頌 ), evoking the
image of the Yellow River as a symbol of Chinese defiance against the Japanese
invaders. This was put to music by Xian Xinghai ( <span style="font-size: small;">冼星海 )</span> in
1939, as part of the "Yellow River Cantata". Xian was regarded by Mao Zedong and
Zhou Enlai as " the people's musician", even so the piece was banned from
performance during the Cultural Revolution. Ironically because in 1970 Madame
Mao ordered rearrangement of the Cantata into a politically more loaded Yellow
River Piano Concerto, so at the official end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976,
the music was banned again ! Guess you just can't win
! </span></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUuQxQAAGjrbg9wBu7CpzJDP4-LLFU3Wm_gjNCkg2hir8QTNG1U6h8waH1fYbVPwk6igIRsYBB9Euw_Z2BMZJ70MXdDmJ7XVXf2-CGS9vx8sPzdFt2TtMRz3FIn_oov-UbQmKDvrjfTI/s1600/shanxi-+teapot+donkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUuQxQAAGjrbg9wBu7CpzJDP4-LLFU3Wm_gjNCkg2hir8QTNG1U6h8waH1fYbVPwk6igIRsYBB9Euw_Z2BMZJ70MXdDmJ7XVXf2-CGS9vx8sPzdFt2TtMRz3FIn_oov-UbQmKDvrjfTI/s320/shanxi-+teapot+donkey.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dotted on the banks of the Waterfall were Drum Art Dance men with their colorful donkeys. The dancers were required to wear sheepskin jackets, red sashes, puttees or boots, and white towels on their heads.However most of this lot were too old to dance, but for a small fee one could take a donkey ride or have a picture with the animal. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qWu_WoWYKWGtvZThuvxZARe6doJdhwufWDkP8Y-CLcJA9Xl1AiOc6fxpyxQS5Yd3hyBTKVtri9fwzT2aUpGnV1eO-tamRxtHAHFfa4rS6SySuN-bFB7hGtN-j06syJxzggQnOeNpzvQ/s1600/shanxi-+teapot+chess+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qWu_WoWYKWGtvZThuvxZARe6doJdhwufWDkP8Y-CLcJA9Xl1AiOc6fxpyxQS5Yd3hyBTKVtri9fwzT2aUpGnV1eO-tamRxtHAHFfa4rS6SySuN-bFB7hGtN-j06syJxzggQnOeNpzvQ/s320/shanxi-+teapot+chess+game.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">I interrupted a Drum Art Dance man deep in a
chess game with his pals, and he agreed to do a dance for us . The people of
this area are mostly rugged hardy peasants, aptly reflected by the rhythmic and
sonorous drumbeats, and the quick vigorous body movements of the dance.</span></span> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLuqXsMG2FSc8dVEOKUeTRWw6_B4kiIqbfGKVqnhFxo6PLw-OOUGwJ784hl5mif28Z1Az-_FZDpnV9TvcweHAtTHek6avDR_-EqCcI2iy4H4rKl7XNlHGWZstJYts3WBX5XQp4OJcQ_E/s1600/shanxi-+teapot+dancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLuqXsMG2FSc8dVEOKUeTRWw6_B4kiIqbfGKVqnhFxo6PLw-OOUGwJ784hl5mif28Z1Az-_FZDpnV9TvcweHAtTHek6avDR_-EqCcI2iy4H4rKl7XNlHGWZstJYts3WBX5XQp4OJcQ_E/s320/shanxi-+teapot+dancer.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b>The Ancient
City of Pingyao ( 平遥古城) is one of the highlights of the tour. It's been an UNESCO </b></span></span></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">World
Heritage site since 1997. The history of Pingyao goes back 2,7000 years, but the
city was founded in the 14th century. It is a well-preserved example of a
traditional Han Chinese city - the streets, residences and shopfronts still
largely retain their historical appearance. The city layout is from the Ming and
Qing dynasties, and conforms to a typical Ba Gua pattern. It's still inhabited
by 50,000 residents and is truly a living museum. The centrepiece of this
Heritage Site is however, the ancient city wall. Constructed in 1370 AD, the
walls are just over six kilometers in circumference and average about 12 meters
in height, with 72 watchtowers and four larger towers on each corner. The wall
has six barbican gates. The north and south sides have one gate each. The east
and west sides have two gates each.The layout is like that of a turtle (the
head, tail and four legs) earning Pingyao the moniker" Turtle
City".</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrs7q3oyO8MvZxfDzTX292VbY0RlNJskbxqGzdFeMhmu3IOEAzKWZzkfwDfv8EO81mRSbWnOhP3dszzhZvTux19Yhe_1DkpSXYxwnsu_hxe0r2aDqme8xHRP6PD5XONdiEqPJnBsnhWM0/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+city.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrs7q3oyO8MvZxfDzTX292VbY0RlNJskbxqGzdFeMhmu3IOEAzKWZzkfwDfv8EO81mRSbWnOhP3dszzhZvTux19Yhe_1DkpSXYxwnsu_hxe0r2aDqme8xHRP6PD5XONdiEqPJnBsnhWM0/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+city.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> City wall</b></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjARanxBJBEej-7KS3OAAXptVMP5iiePgcOlmreYAj0_4h71YLYeFjjuL14GOajTXflCFN9XXW9Skp6UkTwt2TS3HngsptuRRDYH62GOpvJsY2oglwr_FgbDycUOMNQmoFJTfqs4OFL8/s1600/city+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjARanxBJBEej-7KS3OAAXptVMP5iiePgcOlmreYAj0_4h71YLYeFjjuL14GOajTXflCFN9XXW9Skp6UkTwt2TS3HngsptuRRDYH62GOpvJsY2oglwr_FgbDycUOMNQmoFJTfqs4OFL8/s320/city+wall.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Residences</b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh17GfEfAo6LJcQrf8TOrx7LE4IcUMgRPahAT60vtghWUkAScxoEmIU37o1eBz4q2Bn6qDdEHLbTvVM0BJnwh4ZO-nkt1z_JeUCTpHr-s6hHyacRGOEfDCQdbdM2z_wt3T1ZVs80Ws5su4/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+city+houses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh17GfEfAo6LJcQrf8TOrx7LE4IcUMgRPahAT60vtghWUkAScxoEmIU37o1eBz4q2Bn6qDdEHLbTvVM0BJnwh4ZO-nkt1z_JeUCTpHr-s6hHyacRGOEfDCQdbdM2z_wt3T1ZVs80Ws5su4/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+city+houses.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDemr_PXYvU4n-Q1Va13Hu7OsfWf0OEL-43gwP9nyH-r__fit4yPowJ-Ti0bWETJuIVkyxSvr90S5pxmTx6xXmzCs55cbTYyLWQIFWCGCex6QQ5ssPd_zaV7MKIep0JgP_pH-X2_BJdE/s1600/bare+bottom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDemr_PXYvU4n-Q1Va13Hu7OsfWf0OEL-43gwP9nyH-r__fit4yPowJ-Ti0bWETJuIVkyxSvr90S5pxmTx6xXmzCs55cbTYyLWQIFWCGCex6QQ5ssPd_zaV7MKIep0JgP_pH-X2_BJdE/s320/bare+bottom.jpg" width="213" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Local residents</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiA2PpkqFZBzXWcu5yenVFOroalqqRxVrsXDKPKW-_mmnD0i4Hldt6DBIffR43aruSQadIz36Rm46c0jV2Z1k7r26GUX3LGazeoSb1CPh6evO_abLdUMTrWnIK4Hi9nUnpVIBVeH8Wkpk/s1600/shanxi-+pinguao+street+scene+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiA2PpkqFZBzXWcu5yenVFOroalqqRxVrsXDKPKW-_mmnD0i4Hldt6DBIffR43aruSQadIz36Rm46c0jV2Z1k7r26GUX3LGazeoSb1CPh6evO_abLdUMTrWnIK4Hi9nUnpVIBVeH8Wkpk/s320/shanxi-+pinguao+street+scene+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoHabgKyFez_kaw8I7mePowMSp2fnJg_8xrhMa4ynGd6ne5MZIUu0_3YLSsf5O3GMwFKv8W9YIcnT539qZSSG3wB8-5UTRCaVnqSZcbKfnooG7sL6g7xJksWhUta-x7Z84r28_Q5wrXo/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoHabgKyFez_kaw8I7mePowMSp2fnJg_8xrhMa4ynGd6ne5MZIUu0_3YLSsf5O3GMwFKv8W9YIcnT539qZSSG3wB8-5UTRCaVnqSZcbKfnooG7sL6g7xJksWhUta-x7Z84r28_Q5wrXo/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+tower.jpg" width="213" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufPOxiKcoQmXihwXdQ9wZ6JqlJtamDbg1rzI2xCZY2v1Gk_QJge17fvsl7F9XNx18jVoIcVUq_QDpqmnss9nf5y337cFKvqRebxJMZbymfmOpWmYzIi-55qfAoujr1ESf3jVC4-gx-u0/s1600/IMG_0329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufPOxiKcoQmXihwXdQ9wZ6JqlJtamDbg1rzI2xCZY2v1Gk_QJge17fvsl7F9XNx18jVoIcVUq_QDpqmnss9nf5y337cFKvqRebxJMZbymfmOpWmYzIi-55qfAoujr1ESf3jVC4-gx-u0/s320/IMG_0329.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Pingyao was the birth place of the Jin (short for Shanxi
Province) businessmen, who were one of the 2 dominant business groups during the
Ming ( 1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. China's first bank, the
Rishengchang Exchange House, was opened here<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"> </span></span>in 1823. For the next hundred
years, <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Pingyao was
China's premier banking and financial center, and was to eighteenth century
China what Wall Street is to the US today. Rishengchang controlled almost 50% of
the silver trade in the whole Qing dynasty, using draft banking ( the use of
bills of exchange instead of real silver and gold ) which enabled the merchants
to do business nationwide conveniently. Rishengchang eventually went bankrupt in
1914, in part due to the downfall of the Qing dynasty, in part because of the
resistance of the owners to progress and the competition from modern banks. The
Rishengchang Exchange House was fully restored in 1995 and is now a major
showpiece . </span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyF9TQTtRzbVjD0EoAM5JEYfuy_XAIwthHx5wpy9D4gE5bgknCLZhRtR-u0bRHlxnSMltsWlrY4udsu-UlnPr1LTS1jZbvGQorkcWQS4c7Qg6vMzUeblXBNLgGHIQGsyj6ACX1zEHwV0/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+bank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyF9TQTtRzbVjD0EoAM5JEYfuy_XAIwthHx5wpy9D4gE5bgknCLZhRtR-u0bRHlxnSMltsWlrY4udsu-UlnPr1LTS1jZbvGQorkcWQS4c7Qg6vMzUeblXBNLgGHIQGsyj6ACX1zEHwV0/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+bank.jpg" width="213" /></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Rishengchang Exchange House</span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OJKYh9RXQ5xOJqKelXHK6eSOOF2IWVmT4kuICWEMm2Uqv69SmJCGQE52Q5mDNrxBIgTFWoePvMuC8e1GsoZ7Lt_2vI7b5fbqhAe5KfRnS9C9AuuSTVHyfdmXD3eZoYHonXuy7VB7tr8/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+bank+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OJKYh9RXQ5xOJqKelXHK6eSOOF2IWVmT4kuICWEMm2Uqv69SmJCGQE52Q5mDNrxBIgTFWoePvMuC8e1GsoZ7Lt_2vI7b5fbqhAe5KfRnS9C9AuuSTVHyfdmXD3eZoYHonXuy7VB7tr8/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+bank+interior.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxJ-3ZAPk8m0cQYQ6q5h-A8R85-74atOiOM9pwmV828Bdpq0Y2K1uHsiU1LqZ_u6ikd-IcDkPCVK_FMQyBqdj3QmlIHY4Xzc9vuakVRdqsKwY_TF4TLws87h3lFjI3gSW0g1vgQ095YY/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+bank+carriage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxJ-3ZAPk8m0cQYQ6q5h-A8R85-74atOiOM9pwmV828Bdpq0Y2K1uHsiU1LqZ_u6ikd-IcDkPCVK_FMQyBqdj3QmlIHY4Xzc9vuakVRdqsKwY_TF4TLws87h3lFjI3gSW0g1vgQ095YY/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+bank+carriage.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Pingyao at night
.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8WBOLkSMWjuLzr2PE1g8IBW_6RmI9D5XhPLbP6d5z44P3_a-jTUljAv0LTSTQRAbgSpirA1j4FYKOv98-LKLGD4ccSvjZFLIOdjH4NAf3V6nk27T8LzZtb_WWJgbeyee9miNl0B7b5Y/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8WBOLkSMWjuLzr2PE1g8IBW_6RmI9D5XhPLbP6d5z44P3_a-jTUljAv0LTSTQRAbgSpirA1j4FYKOv98-LKLGD4ccSvjZFLIOdjH4NAf3V6nk27T8LzZtb_WWJgbeyee9miNl0B7b5Y/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+at+night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicz4YHTqqFgHMlxxXTRdOmS8VYYTKRv0MZTdG2aI892dQ_T3O4Qb6ek3ipQVjQr1ooqCNwiJHWJ2RvF02G6X9qj-2HK_S-g4ZqZxwqYwObegaWbgSoh5Z_VH7aPYVOBKIGkDesRhblMx4/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+chess+players.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicz4YHTqqFgHMlxxXTRdOmS8VYYTKRv0MZTdG2aI892dQ_T3O4Qb6ek3ipQVjQr1ooqCNwiJHWJ2RvF02G6X9qj-2HK_S-g4ZqZxwqYwObegaWbgSoh5Z_VH7aPYVOBKIGkDesRhblMx4/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+chess+players.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1As0D_Pv1j7HxXVVyN0DNn8d0aZAp8F1hz33grCe97GS9KEO3saG3A_efsibDEvPck3lnaxwsBGyJFngHSQ-4wni6o_-3KZHWKIhJFF5JL4VZ8TPFeQGtoo8i6odhWew50ty20ndJ0s/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+mother+and+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1As0D_Pv1j7HxXVVyN0DNn8d0aZAp8F1hz33grCe97GS9KEO3saG3A_efsibDEvPck3lnaxwsBGyJFngHSQ-4wni6o_-3KZHWKIhJFF5JL4VZ8TPFeQGtoo8i6odhWew50ty20ndJ0s/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+mother+and+child.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Restaurant</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6o5MNvvJQ4XEnYTOnm2Od-qVH4AGOY4TXY9lnJyIERM1FbPsiUAy9VtEUNhyde7KS4fKPkepB2rclgmKWF7IF_BLK7mXZ6dEIDyTOYSTUTW-OVP4nHCxPHAQrVob-1RfCmXKz-KZ9Xo/s1600/shanxi+-+pingyao+shop+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6o5MNvvJQ4XEnYTOnm2Od-qVH4AGOY4TXY9lnJyIERM1FbPsiUAy9VtEUNhyde7KS4fKPkepB2rclgmKWF7IF_BLK7mXZ6dEIDyTOYSTUTW-OVP4nHCxPHAQrVob-1RfCmXKz-KZ9Xo/s320/shanxi+-+pingyao+shop+at+night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">soupy soft tofu dish
known as doufu nao (豆腐脑), a popular snack in north
China</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVC-hAPFH2jEaHCGCQqn_PmUipaAeW74DoIIzspCCAKGc_xcXOPdQ5xBwJfmIzWtfbc9jS5Qr-ddEyjv1oLDfUhCwOin0HjhB0Dr-PFX1i-nj6WzLRv02-beC8LQW79J5B0mDrOYOELI/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+eating+brain+soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVC-hAPFH2jEaHCGCQqn_PmUipaAeW74DoIIzspCCAKGc_xcXOPdQ5xBwJfmIzWtfbc9jS5Qr-ddEyjv1oLDfUhCwOin0HjhB0Dr-PFX1i-nj6WzLRv02-beC8LQW79J5B0mDrOYOELI/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+eating+brain+soup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b>We dined in the biggest restaurant in the old city and
was treated to a show which featured <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Jin Opera, which is one
of the Four Bangzi ( 京梆子) in Shanxi province.
</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSZkdjJspoYnHHc8ZBW2-tx1KyWXwj8by7kx6TIbQI9aeW95p4V33FfriREk8_owCVUmUhhdXvBcL82tTTRia7sWG4jc9Ev7heV9o9RxhND7OgDjLSIsVsJM8TxymeW63RWtzcbQ3vlQ/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSZkdjJspoYnHHc8ZBW2-tx1KyWXwj8by7kx6TIbQI9aeW95p4V33FfriREk8_owCVUmUhhdXvBcL82tTTRia7sWG4jc9Ev7heV9o9RxhND7OgDjLSIsVsJM8TxymeW63RWtzcbQ3vlQ/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+show.jpg" width="320" /></a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">35 kilometers
from the Ancient City of Pingyao is <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Wang's Courtyard, a monument to the glory of the
powerful Wang family. <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">The Wang business enterprise commenced during the Ming
Dynasty and was a flourishing conglomerate by the middle of the Qing Dynasty,
encompassing farming and commerce as well as politics. Wang's Courtyard is 4 times bigger than Qiao's Courtyard but less "touched up". Reputed as the " first First Residence in Cathy", it's by far the largest residential compound throughout China, and is the epitome of Oriental domestic architecture. wang's Courtyard was opened to the public on August 18, 1997, and listed in the National Key Cultural protection Units in 2006. It is also a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcA8jBKuLju2JYqNLA-FX8XTmuf0lRHPV-HDhR0H8JRkm3NSUlub7cKCyVPA5CAnZYxSnvy_bzdX5k7CHZz83SIyB0KyXaN01-OiTlw9zWhtjxBi4JVEKQf9tAaaTUv_PDhf_YzDpNE0/s1600/wang+front+door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcA8jBKuLju2JYqNLA-FX8XTmuf0lRHPV-HDhR0H8JRkm3NSUlub7cKCyVPA5CAnZYxSnvy_bzdX5k7CHZz83SIyB0KyXaN01-OiTlw9zWhtjxBi4JVEKQf9tAaaTUv_PDhf_YzDpNE0/s320/wang+front+door.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7z1DcZ5kbbTesi8L9VtGDgym-eK2nUD-RnADZh4CmgrBVLqSGFGwTtUoYMR5SqKARayWgiSLlc2AFFeu8Zn4P2aeEWerCG8NAGMcdpeE7Qno1qerdKOdEE2_LCjKgDpiyVBDYjmCfvs/s1600/Shanxi-+wong+residence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7z1DcZ5kbbTesi8L9VtGDgym-eK2nUD-RnADZh4CmgrBVLqSGFGwTtUoYMR5SqKARayWgiSLlc2AFFeu8Zn4P2aeEWerCG8NAGMcdpeE7Qno1qerdKOdEE2_LCjKgDpiyVBDYjmCfvs/s320/Shanxi-+wong+residence.jpg" width="240" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">A fortified curtain wall
surrounds t<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">he whole mansion. Within
the
wall the biludings are divided into 3 distinct groups : the Ancestral Temple ( wangshi Zougci)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b> </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the 2courtyards.The 2 courtyards consisted of clusters of buildings facing each other, one on the east and the other west, therefore are called Gaojiaya ( East Courtyard) and Hongmenbao ( the West Courtyard is called Red Gate Castle because its gare is painted red) respectively. The 2 courtyards are totally enclosed castles complexes and are connected by a stone bridge across a moat. Movement within the castle is facilitated by a street that runs lengthwise and is intersected by three running crosswise, the pattern they form's in the shape of the Chinese character 'wang', the family name.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLOmg99gnfFVuDviW5eMCyRBxwQbQ0I_z9YACO8NAchq4GkYz8iryvqYZfXTRBWXePiDyBKaikX3JYH7VN21EDbnIP3n-RyJew9wcepmFo8Z37hUV6CWnTTltXGecrUv0mMdZvFkGsvY/s1600/shanxi+-+wang%2527s+houses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghLOmg99gnfFVuDviW5eMCyRBxwQbQ0I_z9YACO8NAchq4GkYz8iryvqYZfXTRBWXePiDyBKaikX3JYH7VN21EDbnIP3n-RyJew9wcepmFo8Z37hUV6CWnTTltXGecrUv0mMdZvFkGsvY/s320/shanxi+-+wang%2527s+houses.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhOaf_wHo4ViAmHkECYmXO_GSHCkYcHbyGFTUUNRNu-vGvsXXdl9mvFGZCJ5WqSU_s5bfZ40Co8u86fPZ1ObKqfsicnsPj-d2QlEPU8wkRhUOmW2WSuAU3Phek2uJ2T83cMrcJgsjr_0/s1600/shanxi-wang%2527s+maze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhOaf_wHo4ViAmHkECYmXO_GSHCkYcHbyGFTUUNRNu-vGvsXXdl9mvFGZCJ5WqSU_s5bfZ40Co8u86fPZ1ObKqfsicnsPj-d2QlEPU8wkRhUOmW2WSuAU3Phek2uJ2T83cMrcJgsjr_0/s320/shanxi-wang%2527s+maze.jpg" width="240" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbkp0tM9VumB6og135ubQYnZoNI8Fn3PmDyE5QCO6hUWKWEz31Ai1Ohu4_UwwLUkEVQJOM1q03x6NhsURTTmGOtX1OtnHis2-RAC1hDCaYYsC0T2qqBAWi_PFxh6FA9TIrAe_KUf1sLM/s1600/IMG_0141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbkp0tM9VumB6og135ubQYnZoNI8Fn3PmDyE5QCO6hUWKWEz31Ai1Ohu4_UwwLUkEVQJOM1q03x6NhsURTTmGOtX1OtnHis2-RAC1hDCaYYsC0T2qqBAWi_PFxh6FA9TIrAe_KUf1sLM/s320/IMG_0141.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Wang's
Courtyard consists of a hundred plus compounds and a thousand rooms. The
arrangement of courtyard within a courtyard, door after door, gate inside gate,
and house above house creates a labyrinthine world. All the buildings, ranging from the eaves and roof ridges, the interlocking joints of timbers, wall screens, windows frames, shrines and decorative stone drums are adorned by a spectacular array of sculptures and carvings in stone, brick and wood. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9VUEawg6hqHeasNb9JrJFAyPHmafOFk17EI2n7MM6NrfMaj0iyGAdKisj9eTdjWVy6-rmqx-NghFpIZMRLCJA5XHwdj9Dn9lzfZHYjw3CpS0eue-QOymVE7o0zL2cDH5WcJ7gck2xj4/s1600/shanxi-+wang%2527s+coutyard+houses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk9VUEawg6hqHeasNb9JrJFAyPHmafOFk17EI2n7MM6NrfMaj0iyGAdKisj9eTdjWVy6-rmqx-NghFpIZMRLCJA5XHwdj9Dn9lzfZHYjw3CpS0eue-QOymVE7o0zL2cDH5WcJ7gck2xj4/s320/shanxi-+wang%2527s+coutyard+houses.jpg" width="240" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YAuqx2zv1RfwgLBeGK5EnA0_PVATJpP3ris1_nNnsqBTZUDKdOuYLbfJLEMS17MiTARGWWRUV7m-yH5LYw3b-dm0eDznRP1o1uzUBczXaRunbLq1rAPmU6361gbLgcOKgED8T1IainE/s1600/shanxi-+wall+sculptures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YAuqx2zv1RfwgLBeGK5EnA0_PVATJpP3ris1_nNnsqBTZUDKdOuYLbfJLEMS17MiTARGWWRUV7m-yH5LYw3b-dm0eDznRP1o1uzUBczXaRunbLq1rAPmU6361gbLgcOKgED8T1IainE/s320/shanxi-+wall+sculptures.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Empress Dowager Cixi<!--artiTitleEnd--> of Qing Dynasty was said to have slept in this bed when she was on the run from the Boxers towards the end of power </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP__spB-ZAF4i6IwZW0inpfj2k2TBGtd6YSYsyoY4l4w52lpp3Ly07FSK74ekF0OEMBIbwGCHL5cuptOkVs-rnMwgDsEBUAcqheUVll8E0iyVbFHwm7PEL-497e9CEMnBwxeY8Cqob4K0/s1600/shanxi-+wrong+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP__spB-ZAF4i6IwZW0inpfj2k2TBGtd6YSYsyoY4l4w52lpp3Ly07FSK74ekF0OEMBIbwGCHL5cuptOkVs-rnMwgDsEBUAcqheUVll8E0iyVbFHwm7PEL-497e9CEMnBwxeY8Cqob4K0/s320/shanxi-+wrong+bed.jpg" width="240" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mount Wutai
(五台山 "Five peak Mountain") is the first of the four Sacred Mountains of Chinese
Buddhism. The name comes from its distinct topography of five rounded peaks
topped with plain terraces. <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">In 1992, Mount Wutai was approved as a national forest
park by the Ministry of Forestry and in 2007, was named a national AAAAA tourism
scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration, </span></span>It has been
a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9yD952II-A6HMPREdS0Dj20Yr6NjUCBFHBf_DJMFYaud3Q4g7KqQidKEMrkldRvObuEHslz3BvP5PWOdCrzqiOh9HItd2_FCdnCnSIRooHJzFfUyPGKWa9xe4MuKvK4XyZmyOw-IwHg/s1600/shanxi-+yanmenguan+pass+hills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq9yD952II-A6HMPREdS0Dj20Yr6NjUCBFHBf_DJMFYaud3Q4g7KqQidKEMrkldRvObuEHslz3BvP5PWOdCrzqiOh9HItd2_FCdnCnSIRooHJzFfUyPGKWa9xe4MuKvK4XyZmyOw-IwHg/s320/shanxi-+yanmenguan+pass+hills.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGR4HmB-GznCJ3G26YuIfVuzKc5zjZizRLe1wl5wCMoTuPKQ2p2qjSu09JwHLOujXNWX8IimixNIgEuFFAP17DKx-GqzSRNujAXDLJy4p94eHis9U2MV_fbF9oHEnUklkce6QsHikXKU/s1600/shanxi+wutai+2+monks+steps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikGR4HmB-GznCJ3G26YuIfVuzKc5zjZizRLe1wl5wCMoTuPKQ2p2qjSu09JwHLOujXNWX8IimixNIgEuFFAP17DKx-GqzSRNujAXDLJy4p94eHis9U2MV_fbF9oHEnUklkce6QsHikXKU/s320/shanxi+wutai+2+monks+steps.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mt Wutai is a
holy land on account of being the abode (道場) of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom,
Manjusri (文殊), who taught in the mountain for a few hundred years. This was
attested by a sutra dated 418 AD. The Bodhisattva is believed to be still
frequently visit the mountain, taking the form of ordinary pilgrim or monk. Most
often though he'll appear as unusual five-coloured clouds. There was a coloured
photo of the clouds pasted on a temple wall to prove it. Words of wisdom were
chalked on blackboards which were also hung on the temple walls, not unlike the
" Big Character Posters (<span lang="zh-Hans" xml:lang="zh-Hans">大字报)"</span> during the Cultural Revolution
!</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNZNPof8StARoq1M7sgHIhHigIPTn3U3DRXPLK8ktz3nu2CS9zzpXI0vBzRMvfBLfCCR12G1x08wktoyM4Vcpu_hIQQlvgnVy51yCA2hul7IysFrY9o7FMFVcxr09aYaqomeE-tErSVU/s1600/shanxi-teaching+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNZNPof8StARoq1M7sgHIhHigIPTn3U3DRXPLK8ktz3nu2CS9zzpXI0vBzRMvfBLfCCR12G1x08wktoyM4Vcpu_hIQQlvgnVy51yCA2hul7IysFrY9o7FMFVcxr09aYaqomeE-tErSVU/s320/shanxi-teaching+2.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yYhdw87FBn11bJX-rEsg4y_ft7twhG6xSXNprqJq_ODr17X718HRwIwgtfvUGsa4ggpuAQgSuom17BSJ0aYpryUtqslF5tFwNk907fgk7QZsZLGze9hsoYlCIANfIsZEICtFRm8FDeA/s1600/shanxi-+teaching+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1yYhdw87FBn11bJX-rEsg4y_ft7twhG6xSXNprqJq_ODr17X718HRwIwgtfvUGsa4ggpuAQgSuom17BSJ0aYpryUtqslF5tFwNk907fgk7QZsZLGze9hsoYlCIANfIsZEICtFRm8FDeA/s320/shanxi-+teaching+1.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsVXF4roGx6L7J-qLxN9PbLu853JqIDd9Y-zuU87Y8JWxXLaV-ircbS7dyEP1bmwoOkEnxHY_de1Ha62Woh1aFP1WaRrkrB3fY7MXSNF8ePUkQFbCEr_o883m84GLzxWULCe_kKRjYqw/s1600/shanxi+teaching+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsVXF4roGx6L7J-qLxN9PbLu853JqIDd9Y-zuU87Y8JWxXLaV-ircbS7dyEP1bmwoOkEnxHY_de1Ha62Woh1aFP1WaRrkrB3fY7MXSNF8ePUkQFbCEr_o883m84GLzxWULCe_kKRjYqw/s320/shanxi+teaching+3.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Buddhist
Master Zhencheng in the Ming Dynasty recorded that the first <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Buddhist
</span></span>temple built in Mt Wutai was by the Han Emperor in 68AD, during
the first wave of Indian <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Buddhist evangelism. Mt Wutai was chosen because its
topography resembles the Vulture Peak in India, where Sakyamuni gave a discourse
on the Lotus sutra.</span></span> Mt Wutai flourished and reached its peak
during the Tang ( 618-907) Dynasty with 360 temples and monasteries, and
attracted monks and pilgrims from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Burma, Korea and
Japan. The number of temples dwindled to 70 during the Song and Yuan
Dynasties, but picked up again during the Ming Dynasty. Under Mongol rule,
Tibetan Buddhism was first brought to Mt Wutai. <span class="203582610-23082013">Since then Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) is practiced
alongside Han Buddhism harmoniously. It was at this time that the Great White
Pagoda was built. During the Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911), in order to
appease its Mongol and Tibetan vassals by way of the Tibetan Buddhist religion,
the state bestowed lavish support to monastic centres, and Mt Wutai benefited
hugely. By then there were about 25 Tibetan lamaseries and 97 Han Buddhist
temples on the mountain. Due to the social instability towards the end of the
Qing Dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China, Mt Wutai declined
dramatically. As to date, there're 68 temples on the mountain : 21 outside and
47 inside the circle of the 5 terraces. The assortment of different styled
temples in Mt Wutai serves as a catalogue of Buddhist architectural development
in the past two millennia, as it was in turn influenced by Nepal, Mongolia and
elsewhere. From Mt Wutai the influence would spread to the rest of
China.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJy3tfR3PuIsxmqkS289-osw-Yd72kpqvnjtUUjtJ2b9PrXoTyPXUrY6bxi8a2P4ZC2gyaTIacu6fA9y-j8POAt3VBm3jcYiHhtuvA1_JgA3y10-fHPvHVsJ1o5JmxAOjjVRntRUmRJhc/s1600/shanxi-wutai+sitting+pilgrim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJy3tfR3PuIsxmqkS289-osw-Yd72kpqvnjtUUjtJ2b9PrXoTyPXUrY6bxi8a2P4ZC2gyaTIacu6fA9y-j8POAt3VBm3jcYiHhtuvA1_JgA3y10-fHPvHVsJ1o5JmxAOjjVRntRUmRJhc/s320/shanxi-wutai+sitting+pilgrim.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfOGYH3cBlsNOv_ZXh0A_e_amIRhvxqu8Fz5iutLxtrTf26hYiBkFdIoZiBTuXniQKo8z-GrmZGCF57mHOswOVoI-Pa8WvzHpcgUedzA7GwgbsGcdTQB8WFFT0KKwGdorpphijrzs0z0/s1600/shanxi-wutai+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKfOGYH3cBlsNOv_ZXh0A_e_amIRhvxqu8Fz5iutLxtrTf26hYiBkFdIoZiBTuXniQKo8z-GrmZGCF57mHOswOVoI-Pa8WvzHpcgUedzA7GwgbsGcdTQB8WFFT0KKwGdorpphijrzs0z0/s320/shanxi-wutai+temple.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiFH9InG_4ibOp4EmVhEtkbbDwkB3TXfGeuel9bo9VQbr3rzyPATvaVCSskOiYHWCzgc56EQ9QJbSOjDeBCjxfXrvyvvlVr4HJ2vsEQk7BwYjNhmOc0BeWuWnL7bjCuk1DXd7hrOM4fM/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+big+buddha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiFH9InG_4ibOp4EmVhEtkbbDwkB3TXfGeuel9bo9VQbr3rzyPATvaVCSskOiYHWCzgc56EQ9QJbSOjDeBCjxfXrvyvvlVr4HJ2vsEQk7BwYjNhmOc0BeWuWnL7bjCuk1DXd7hrOM4fM/s320/shanxi-+wutai+big+buddha.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">The average altitude of all the peaks is over 1,000
meters, to reach any of the temples one has to climb up 108 flights of stairs.
Buddhists say man has 108 kinds of worries, and by climbing the stairs, one can
throw all those worries away. If only that were </span></span></span>true !</b></span></div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIhSudvcIMKV3378uOybTuc4V7_NLsW4MQQcfeXM9ERc_V4l1Xaty_bLN3hdxTkhuHmZmAeKmv05Mjhx5lWrshnRMJwbdAr4zdhB4lekaPoClyKQnLl6pLIsfjgxo-UQjUoHSrUWgGEA/s1600/shanxi+wutai+temple+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIhSudvcIMKV3378uOybTuc4V7_NLsW4MQQcfeXM9ERc_V4l1Xaty_bLN3hdxTkhuHmZmAeKmv05Mjhx5lWrshnRMJwbdAr4zdhB4lekaPoClyKQnLl6pLIsfjgxo-UQjUoHSrUWgGEA/s320/shanxi+wutai+temple+2.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The temples on the <span style="color: blue;">central</span> Cuiyan Peak are mainly
Tibetan Buddhism temples.</b></span></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On the <span style="color: blue;">east</span> Wanghai Peak are Exoteric Buddhism ( 顕教)
and Tibetan ExotericBuddhism temples - the disciples believe suffering is
inescapable and must be accepted.</b></span></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">On the<span style="color: blue;"> south</span> Jinxiu Peak are Pure Land Buddhism temples
- the practitioners circle around the Buddha statue and recite his
name.</span></span></span></b></span></div>
</div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>On the <span style="color: blue;">west </span>Guayue Peak are Zen Buddhisn temples - in
Zen Buddhism meditation is the main focus.</b></span></span></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">On the <span style="color: blue;">north </span>Yedou Peak are also Pure Land Buddhism
temples. </span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">The summit of the
North peak is called Beitai Ding, at an altitude of over 3,060 meters, it is the
highest point in the region and is known as the " Roof of Northern China". It is
surrounded by mystic clouds all year round.</span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6k-pJ10jhuz-vf5BcNvqrGz8SdWTXHfLm57holfVjeuEjASHv-8kVNW8VgQAzBNhWC505Zeg_hl8D5Of54EF-cK3KVKtJ2iDAQ_Jr9cEPzaRdHsz1-krPqw_N0xI3TaiU8pYyu7Dn0o/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+2+monks+talk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6k-pJ10jhuz-vf5BcNvqrGz8SdWTXHfLm57holfVjeuEjASHv-8kVNW8VgQAzBNhWC505Zeg_hl8D5Of54EF-cK3KVKtJ2iDAQ_Jr9cEPzaRdHsz1-krPqw_N0xI3TaiU8pYyu7Dn0o/s320/shanxi-+wutai+2+monks+talk.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCUXRze5WrZY65u0u7mB7P2ZSYoah3TfwqXZmepivej1t5pNeTW0SPZ6tK_zZ7uk2zoZlWy7RZzhmAxRTvJRXzjfLZm1OqeoSOIFXKqdybtiL1SDWz2Rd2_7V36leGk_RBWquq2PAYSM/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+monk+praying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCUXRze5WrZY65u0u7mB7P2ZSYoah3TfwqXZmepivej1t5pNeTW0SPZ6tK_zZ7uk2zoZlWy7RZzhmAxRTvJRXzjfLZm1OqeoSOIFXKqdybtiL1SDWz2Rd2_7V36leGk_RBWquq2PAYSM/s320/shanxi-+wutai+monk+praying.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">Can't say I'm a big fan of temples,
fortunately there're a lot of people-watching.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>The grounds of
the temples were festive, bustling with tourists and worshipers, there was even
an opera show. </b></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5Y8XSMUqU4iZWUQWgZ11Ov2Luq0Xmpy1eVLuFsPRxo1N1eqZ6I63ELWN8Aijwl9MpgCMfM_AUkMpzHJhX5VffheYYtoIR1Bn92yZlYemO_AWgm4cSTCYXgToJbgAdrqrcHIvjtgeDcM/s1600/shanxi+wutai+theatre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5Y8XSMUqU4iZWUQWgZ11Ov2Luq0Xmpy1eVLuFsPRxo1N1eqZ6I63ELWN8Aijwl9MpgCMfM_AUkMpzHJhX5VffheYYtoIR1Bn92yZlYemO_AWgm4cSTCYXgToJbgAdrqrcHIvjtgeDcM/s320/shanxi+wutai+theatre.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> Waiting to on on stage </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>selling incense</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyx6q_JozllY0BiNO8JYqT0kvQhXBtzi5HSkoNkCLijPbatUz4NIS6iM90l_0QqEMTBWnE2YQDUdHQ1AycQtqxvnlUxaFeIVwWDKS8u6m81gjuS4EVbDKodsrMXDdDXNRlShmFWbnBcs/s1600/shanxi+wutai+peddler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipyx6q_JozllY0BiNO8JYqT0kvQhXBtzi5HSkoNkCLijPbatUz4NIS6iM90l_0QqEMTBWnE2YQDUdHQ1AycQtqxvnlUxaFeIVwWDKS8u6m81gjuS4EVbDKodsrMXDdDXNRlShmFWbnBcs/s320/shanxi+wutai+peddler.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DvEJONGqq1WyA0wvIh8iY5kvol5Ht_ybqTtCHAywsE95q144p5cvgt6i9mZdlqfgXVVsDDms_JlW_fYFVTQQJPPzADF47FwLnWmfKjUEY9nS86xdTqevXERTYlrWMbgasN5a_cIYBuI/s1600/shanxi+wutai+nuns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1DvEJONGqq1WyA0wvIh8iY5kvol5Ht_ybqTtCHAywsE95q144p5cvgt6i9mZdlqfgXVVsDDms_JlW_fYFVTQQJPPzADF47FwLnWmfKjUEY9nS86xdTqevXERTYlrWMbgasN5a_cIYBuI/s320/shanxi+wutai+nuns.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>begger lady </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaozYWx_eAUz51N3j1KuWZiFumJCagHpgTiV3FHvJGxistTRWEOcCgwm7MOM4bTCZYerOSKLrkK7GlWCCF2EWgircDnndtcd-js6YijK1d7CyFQugMn5abNoyyhT700H8qhoOZ0TTJEM/s1600/shanxi+wutai+begger+woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizaozYWx_eAUz51N3j1KuWZiFumJCagHpgTiV3FHvJGxistTRWEOcCgwm7MOM4bTCZYerOSKLrkK7GlWCCF2EWgircDnndtcd-js6YijK1d7CyFQugMn5abNoyyhT700H8qhoOZ0TTJEM/s320/shanxi+wutai+begger+woman.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>nun looking for a handout</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k-IlHmrdKt2rL-k6YtatX5Q9f-E4ayBHxsUaTRpBcq8kfQftP3AjcxxIDwiLFoe6Iw-rV0m11Gdcq_kbzUfVynE3O4xCm-g0neQZXnQaty7_CDMweEs90nizJsgUpUmJEMxQ8iBftls/s1600/shanxi-wutai+money+nun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5k-IlHmrdKt2rL-k6YtatX5Q9f-E4ayBHxsUaTRpBcq8kfQftP3AjcxxIDwiLFoe6Iw-rV0m11Gdcq_kbzUfVynE3O4xCm-g0neQZXnQaty7_CDMweEs90nizJsgUpUmJEMxQ8iBftls/s320/shanxi-wutai+money+nun.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We managed to annoy the best looking novice monk in
the whole Wutai Mountain. "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh stop taking pictures already!" He exclaimed in
exasperation, then covered his face with a straw hat. Without doubt the
suffering he has to endure in this lifetime is the curse of beauty
! </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlaEjl4rUXNqqF84uUvW2V2WOWakIZBIL7MjJ82M-dhhEnMj96mbDcvp5ebGakgOM6bxzN5GQm_0WunMqulWP9P51BAVD6dh52mh_ax0J5Lsg1HKg_CTPGm3Rgj_aJ7B-aP2lmKQYDU8/s1600/shanxi-wutai+good+looking+monk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlaEjl4rUXNqqF84uUvW2V2WOWakIZBIL7MjJ82M-dhhEnMj96mbDcvp5ebGakgOM6bxzN5GQm_0WunMqulWP9P51BAVD6dh52mh_ax0J5Lsg1HKg_CTPGm3Rgj_aJ7B-aP2lmKQYDU8/s320/shanxi-wutai+good+looking+monk.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The 5 most famous temples of Mt Wutai are : Xiantong
Temple, Tayuan Temple, Manjusri Temple ( Summit Bodhisattva ), Shuxiang Temple,
and Louhou Temple.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Xiantong Temple has the longest history and is the most
prestigious, therefore the Buddhist Association of Mt Wutai is placed here. The
copper bell in front of the gate is the biggest on the mountain and weighs
22,045.9 pounds. Its toll can be heard over the entire
mountain.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzr9koHXq0rtoMUkB9T_EfdGoivzkcfoMB8EMiDO0Ft3pIlnjEMgINPLSBa1Z2TQZ5gUnWpuyAFkL3k9fPcUSLqPLPBgsSty1g_H2OihYns7JJdCctP_eHI1chvUZOqLb7OnjjDeFqaQ/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+pusading+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzr9koHXq0rtoMUkB9T_EfdGoivzkcfoMB8EMiDO0Ft3pIlnjEMgINPLSBa1Z2TQZ5gUnWpuyAFkL3k9fPcUSLqPLPBgsSty1g_H2OihYns7JJdCctP_eHI1chvUZOqLb7OnjjDeFqaQ/s320/shanxi-+wutai+pusading+temple.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="203582610-23082013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Tayuan Temple is a "must see", on account of the Big
White Pagoda<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"> (
<span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh">大白塔</span>),</span> </span>or Sarira Stupa named
after the Sanskrit word sarira meaning " Buddhist relic". Built in Nepalese
style, it is regarded as the symbol of Mt Wutai. It is about 75m high ,
constructed of brick with a lime coating that gives its white colour. Inside the
Pagoda is a small Indian-made iron stupa which holds some remains of Sakyamuni.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxA4Kqv7XiW17MPbk6E9p98NvFfaljlLgftpHUdQlhACWYkJV4KPpOi6IyDHxaIBzXX6pYH8RKgMeOhpOvu67vCXtk1uC5yhigPsV08Dj8M2Foo03s7v417yAexRzGgzHH30UHYYlOB8/s1600/shanxi-wutai+white+pagoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJxA4Kqv7XiW17MPbk6E9p98NvFfaljlLgftpHUdQlhACWYkJV4KPpOi6IyDHxaIBzXX6pYH8RKgMeOhpOvu67vCXtk1uC5yhigPsV08Dj8M2Foo03s7v417yAexRzGgzHH30UHYYlOB8/s320/shanxi-wutai+white+pagoda.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuJs7nokIX9nKJTSesZh0ux3x9ChF6f9cwlcdVzLRkl4p8ZW9svZ1f-3iiBDBhD3_uysnLkE3FDSGJDc2EO41VH_Oe8DBdYdrWBBWv0AcTE637wKhIZRGFgmf4CVPidZSFGgkeUZiFuU/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+money+monk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuJs7nokIX9nKJTSesZh0ux3x9ChF6f9cwlcdVzLRkl4p8ZW9svZ1f-3iiBDBhD3_uysnLkE3FDSGJDc2EO41VH_Oe8DBdYdrWBBWv0AcTE637wKhIZRGFgmf4CVPidZSFGgkeUZiFuU/s320/shanxi-+wutai+money+monk.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Happy worldly monks from Shenzhen</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeoFCnqSwLOVed2vBSyKbrgmSMzcLLsZKVOY8GBEjyDSIcT49IgVr_AB2rgHYxqiL8YJxZdCEjv0QNsV9gd8zj58woyAcfQ9-2-3dcTTKL7EGU51LOTnE2Bp09O9IOWDtpNGKwdSXUIk/s1600/shanxi-wutai+talking+monks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBeoFCnqSwLOVed2vBSyKbrgmSMzcLLsZKVOY8GBEjyDSIcT49IgVr_AB2rgHYxqiL8YJxZdCEjv0QNsV9gd8zj58woyAcfQ9-2-3dcTTKL7EGU51LOTnE2Bp09O9IOWDtpNGKwdSXUIk/s320/shanxi-wutai+talking+monks.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCXr0YS1bBR7SZTFLkLCWZ3TEonStY2gqllLWOtTlik6D6nI-U8wrO4jDt3MVZffsPDcRaVfn3FnCnCgsueRNBJg8ATOTwIxXdIQst-UZ1T3T33u8DUdBGZ7Kuio0n8_UaEstwpQtRvo/s1600/shanxi-+monk+sitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrCXr0YS1bBR7SZTFLkLCWZ3TEonStY2gqllLWOtTlik6D6nI-U8wrO4jDt3MVZffsPDcRaVfn3FnCnCgsueRNBJg8ATOTwIxXdIQst-UZ1T3T33u8DUdBGZ7Kuio0n8_UaEstwpQtRvo/s320/shanxi-+monk+sitting.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"></span>Manjusri Temple which houses the Bodhisattva statues resembling those from all 5 terraces, is at the Dailuo Peak ( dark Green Snail Peak), and can be reached either by climbing 1,080 steps, or by cable car. Climbing stairs' more interesting as I got to see the pilgrims at work.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnLMW9ohP-aOrcDPtzdaSiB4NFOOAyts04Jc7vnDdDPaJzqr445mp4CNHMVZVVFpLlRFd9kxv3wvC7XO1pulRZad2oF5Lzp-oqeHPgKOSQwPBUXgOTyGIl8MOKrTl2U2VQoK-NzwVii8/s1600/shanxi-wutai+worshippers+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYnLMW9ohP-aOrcDPtzdaSiB4NFOOAyts04Jc7vnDdDPaJzqr445mp4CNHMVZVVFpLlRFd9kxv3wvC7XO1pulRZad2oF5Lzp-oqeHPgKOSQwPBUXgOTyGIl8MOKrTl2U2VQoK-NzwVii8/s320/shanxi-wutai+worshippers+2.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi_D5utLKGBvcb5QqO9Ml1HKDoeCBsnS5Q35c6wHr6TNUa3eP39Pio9u9DVIqgma7U7EoXBUg-qHRMkSJ3d55hPmABuItzN2vnU-qtY1S1moh8PtpQvxcxkE6o-gK5LP1LqdvwYVmc0E/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+worshippers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEi_D5utLKGBvcb5QqO9Ml1HKDoeCBsnS5Q35c6wHr6TNUa3eP39Pio9u9DVIqgma7U7EoXBUg-qHRMkSJ3d55hPmABuItzN2vnU-qtY1S1moh8PtpQvxcxkE6o-gK5LP1LqdvwYVmc0E/s320/shanxi-+wutai+worshippers+1.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGXMfXaT-ITr8vcHqsfZLujFwJvkBEH0sAGyrRJi_iC7lelDehKIXlyCg4S6gUCUYI1wmjGRRXMP878adVIT0JrG-wvnUsck4h437cn3KWwM_NxIGzVc85eT3hp0LHeqCGIaev3j-YCU/s1600/shanxi-+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGXMfXaT-ITr8vcHqsfZLujFwJvkBEH0sAGyrRJi_iC7lelDehKIXlyCg4S6gUCUYI1wmjGRRXMP878adVIT0JrG-wvnUsck4h437cn3KWwM_NxIGzVc85eT3hp0LHeqCGIaev3j-YCU/s320/shanxi-+screen.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>shopping spree</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZroqdVlHoZ8FvqLs3IbQELamYy_9r76NhXfZwusVBQPEsMS5t6bNNAZxzRYEapPY6rPRheDWYIY1k5jQeDLeeznGEGxi9nE_ArBTnZNMkXwZvKmo5PIk5JKW_HIJ9plSo-S5db0yKY4/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+monks+shopping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZroqdVlHoZ8FvqLs3IbQELamYy_9r76NhXfZwusVBQPEsMS5t6bNNAZxzRYEapPY6rPRheDWYIY1k5jQeDLeeznGEGxi9nE_ArBTnZNMkXwZvKmo5PIk5JKW_HIJ9plSo-S5db0yKY4/s320/shanxi-+wutai+monks+shopping.jpg" width="213" /></a></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuSZAcyAr4VhqW8gQ67SDX3HIo1SKp3AcORGs4oyd9LoYOFUG7ljunNS8rQKzgcO2GGd_4QUjZDEECd8uDM40ciucmXnRL00J736Ga1WP7N4mUumfCrNDJyAs07Y5xHxGYLbR-CAH52A/s1600/shanxi-+wutai+dried+fruits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuSZAcyAr4VhqW8gQ67SDX3HIo1SKp3AcORGs4oyd9LoYOFUG7ljunNS8rQKzgcO2GGd_4QUjZDEECd8uDM40ciucmXnRL00J736Ga1WP7N4mUumfCrNDJyAs07Y5xHxGYLbR-CAH52A/s320/shanxi-+wutai+dried+fruits.jpg" width="320" /></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><b></b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><b><b style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ElFH-9KH3M7nqJMsRbPLrkaVoVE9FhFihq2y7vHWPS-OfSM2arkf-NgPGyMesKMxNaejiYNdk_HcjwQSLtAFqTQvM3DytUiazualZFjkcipxjbNspZ7EgyOLMx-O0MYpWX0DjnLI1Zg/s320/shanxi-+mushrooms.jpg" width="320" /></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ElFH-9KH3M7nqJMsRbPLrkaVoVE9FhFihq2y7vHWPS-OfSM2arkf-NgPGyMesKMxNaejiYNdk_HcjwQSLtAFqTQvM3DytUiazualZFjkcipxjbNspZ7EgyOLMx-O0MYpWX0DjnLI1Zg/s1600/shanxi-+mushrooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">I've been to a few grottoes but the </span>Yungang Grottoes<span class="515060511-24112013"> ( </span></span><span class="703013410-29112013">C<span class="203582610-23082013">loud ridge Caves<span class="515060511-24112013"> </span>云冈石窟) <span class="515060511-24112013">is definitely my favourite. The Yungang Grottoes'</span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"> <span class="703013410-29112013">1,500 year old and were </span>China's first major stone carved grottoes . </span><span class="703013410-29112013">Carving work started in 460AD,and lasted approximately 60 years , resulting in 51,000 big and small carvings tucked away in 252 caverns in the entire complex. The Grottoes<span class="515060511-24112013"> were c</span>ut directly into the soft sandstone cliffs of the Wuzhou Mountain </span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="515060511-24112013">and </span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">stretched for approximately a kilometre from east to west.</span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDovpE0gW33AKAUgSfe32BcOCGUlF0gvYKECedNGJ5uLa1lVbNUOBnYyVhRakj1wWN3EARMd08CfYM8Bq2BakhC38iED4Z-EERnhBMV2xQozsV6D9uDvMJKFsLwalm8MJlB8zfdQoKkI/s1600/shanxi-+grotto+pavilions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDovpE0gW33AKAUgSfe32BcOCGUlF0gvYKECedNGJ5uLa1lVbNUOBnYyVhRakj1wWN3EARMd08CfYM8Bq2BakhC38iED4Z-EERnhBMV2xQozsV6D9uDvMJKFsLwalm8MJlB8zfdQoKkI/s320/shanxi-+grotto+pavilions.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Yungang
Grottoes<span class="515060511-24112013"> were the </span>relic of the Northern
Wei Dynasty (386-534), who were non-Chinese nomadic Tuoba Turks. They unified
northern China and established their capital at Pingcheng (modern-day Datong) in
the late 4th century. Their early rulers accepted the Buddhist religion of the
local population for religious, political as well as economic reasons. <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">They recruited 3,000
monks from along the Silk Route to turn Buddhism into their state religion and
</span></span></span></span>Buddhist monks even served as political advisors . </b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZkm8pUcyPsBgIbWjATnU5kFohdMA1oLzmiik4xKn6gjRd2YCUwtTra31CF1fQ5jGGtnnoDK8RdtRDRHc1Ekj5fZpfq8wGAGpRd7SvXK1Q3OCfUv9BSV8r-4Htwi5rNhUgPzPNQkK7Tw/s1600/shanxi+-grotto+buddha+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZkm8pUcyPsBgIbWjATnU5kFohdMA1oLzmiik4xKn6gjRd2YCUwtTra31CF1fQ5jGGtnnoDK8RdtRDRHc1Ekj5fZpfq8wGAGpRd7SvXK1Q3OCfUv9BSV8r-4Htwi5rNhUgPzPNQkK7Tw/s320/shanxi+-grotto+buddha+1.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Caves 16-20 are thought
to be the earliest caves , each containing a huge figure at least 13 meters in
height ; all carved under the watchful eye of the head monk Tan Yao . Each
figure represents an Emperor from the Northern Wei Dynasty, albeit in Tathagata
Buddha forms, constructed at a time when the worship of the Buddha and the
Emperor were one and the same thing. <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">The grottoes were to become a significant worship
center. </span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzO3vBNqNvtjzjuaetelOGECyxWC06g3wRjyx3pZDXGvf7AoI5SWom5dnjdkdaEXSCR57VpZT_EnuMN5o5u4Z7mFP42pOfOWChOYH7eja8PNmIkIYq5iohrTj_YW1pngN7XMYLtEwPPFw/s1600/shanxi-+grotto+buddha+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzO3vBNqNvtjzjuaetelOGECyxWC06g3wRjyx3pZDXGvf7AoI5SWom5dnjdkdaEXSCR57VpZT_EnuMN5o5u4Z7mFP42pOfOWChOYH7eja8PNmIkIYq5iohrTj_YW1pngN7XMYLtEwPPFw/s320/shanxi-+grotto+buddha+2.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">In 2001, UNESCO
recognised the Yungang Grottoes<span class="515060511-24112013"> </span>as one of
the most important historical sites in the world for their representations of
Buddhist art, sculpture and imagery. The Grottoes' special in that the carvings
are an assimilation of South and Central Asian arts. According to an early
history of the Wei, five Indian monks, accomplished sculptors, went to Pengcheng
in 455 to help with the construction . Therefore the earliest caves have
discernable western features, the carvings and the pillar architecture are
similar to the Indian chaityas, and some of the colossal Buddha statues follow
the northern Indian Gandhara style. Several of the statues of enormous size
(Caves 5, 16-19) appear even to have been influenced by the now destroyed
Bamiyan statues of Afghanistan. But one can also see Greco-Roman influence in
the stone porticos that front a number of the caves and in some of the
decorative motifs and minor figures. There are Iranian and Byzantine and other
influences, but the heavy decoration in caves 1, 2, 3, 5-13, the brightly
painted images of dragons and phoenixes and the Chinese-style roofs and brackets
as well as the nimbuses or aureoles of the Buddhist carvings, show the
distinctive Chinese character. </span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><br /></span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4_TC88qVTl2hNdytY8Wqyk5iy4eftMFpFoSSdyr12kcNwPAJ-6JeUvz0CkuLJENLpWY-YNZhdvnln86tLtk4U7hwW63eYWNt-h6s28ZqvWy13ZdOeREiimku6GeQ1Tj1VrDjNjjddfg/s1600/shanxi-+grotto+decorated+cave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4_TC88qVTl2hNdytY8Wqyk5iy4eftMFpFoSSdyr12kcNwPAJ-6JeUvz0CkuLJENLpWY-YNZhdvnln86tLtk4U7hwW63eYWNt-h6s28ZqvWy13ZdOeREiimku6GeQ1Tj1VrDjNjjddfg/s320/shanxi-+grotto+decorated+cave.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkhJutOWG0TZTBFdxMJ5eLisurl-8cutFrTRAw9u-WxkImk0wI_rUf-ykTEvZfs-1pWPaKBWoAVXhad4FkMUBtNLxSYm_evOsgqGIg0c_3mQymbUyHFT7dqI0TMrN_oLyjHbT-_krftc/s1600/shanxi-+grotto+interior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkhJutOWG0TZTBFdxMJ5eLisurl-8cutFrTRAw9u-WxkImk0wI_rUf-ykTEvZfs-1pWPaKBWoAVXhad4FkMUBtNLxSYm_evOsgqGIg0c_3mQymbUyHFT7dqI0TMrN_oLyjHbT-_krftc/s320/shanxi-+grotto+interior.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">In 494, the
Wei moved their capital from Datong to Luoyang and the Yungang Grottoes slowly
fell into decay. The caves used to be protected by wooden temple buildings, but
most of them burnt down. </span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013">Natural erosions, looters ( mostly in early 20th
century) and vandals, particularly during the Cultural Revolution, have all
taken their toll, as have some of the restorations that involved the
replastering of statuary and the sometimes unfortunate repainting of statues,
walls and other decoration.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSgOihtAGpn8OPHoxazeH3Yp4KijKpEeFcr9xNjLYigP4h_h-yrJCwsydb5YrVKu9SgMF9xxFQI-FgVDDCpMU7sWxboN-PYFO74hqCFmxslhoYhRcTxRlyZlNTwtqR7HhJEeN4iPrQGY/s1600/shanxi-+grotto+lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSgOihtAGpn8OPHoxazeH3Yp4KijKpEeFcr9xNjLYigP4h_h-yrJCwsydb5YrVKu9SgMF9xxFQI-FgVDDCpMU7sWxboN-PYFO74hqCFmxslhoYhRcTxRlyZlNTwtqR7HhJEeN4iPrQGY/s320/shanxi-+grotto+lake.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Just 5 years
ago the Yungang Grottoes<span class="515060511-24112013"> were surrounded by ugly
open-pit coal mines and sooty industrial plants. Now all that has been cleared
away, in place a huge car park was built, along with new gardens, fake lakes,
temples, shopping streets and a Visitors Center. Downsides are :1) visitors have
to walk 20 minutes (non-stop) to get to the caves, which are about a kilometers
from the car park ( for those who can't walk there're golfcarts ) ; 2)
the entrance fee has gone up from 40 yuan in 2008 to a whopping 150 yuan in
2011! </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWnJkD6fHQtlTkyj4vBdCbLnm5_0MAE82I4pDZCNhDyiK4PZRCCkc_QqcRKW4lHV5iVFmiPjlbdbwnLzSF_zhjlUx98yl181j54ngjufvO3NtPpURTjBT5CcgkxXJlTJ7BhX7FERUw3I/s1600/snanxi-+grotto+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWnJkD6fHQtlTkyj4vBdCbLnm5_0MAE82I4pDZCNhDyiK4PZRCCkc_QqcRKW4lHV5iVFmiPjlbdbwnLzSF_zhjlUx98yl181j54ngjufvO3NtPpURTjBT5CcgkxXJlTJ7BhX7FERUw3I/s320/snanxi-+grotto+entrance.jpg" width="213" /></a> </b></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>All these
were the doings of Datong's controversial Mayor, Geng Yanbo ( 耿彦波) . Geng came
into power in 2008 and immediately instituted a series of radical urban
re-development. But instead of creating a generic modern city with broad
boulevards, highways, office towers and luxury flats, Geng sought to creat a
glorious Chinese past by faux-historic buildings and restored ancient cities.
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">Datong, near the border with Inner Mongolia, has a
history of over 2,400 years. It was the capital of Northern Wei (386~534) for 96
years, as well as the capital of Liao (916~1125) and Jin (1115~1234). making it
a thriving political, economic and military center of ancient North China. It's
also a stop-off point for Camel Caravans moving from China into Mongolia and
beyond. Those prosperous days left the city a huge cultural heritage of that
time, most of them integrations of minorities and Han
culture. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG63E0uPAERPFF1AxhmWVP8kVnXd2H_nmz_eltcqgTjW-pL22Vd-wpaUVQFLIUg3VO5PAoCeiLFQCCzXlb1c_DdNCTWnPLofkS4e3p5JVwihOxz2ZELnbSlI4lcA7mOHxemtzL5yXTUGM/s1600/7774_B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG63E0uPAERPFF1AxhmWVP8kVnXd2H_nmz_eltcqgTjW-pL22Vd-wpaUVQFLIUg3VO5PAoCeiLFQCCzXlb1c_DdNCTWnPLofkS4e3p5JVwihOxz2ZELnbSlI4lcA7mOHxemtzL5yXTUGM/s1600/7774_B.jpg" /></b></span></a></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b>A charismatic </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">scholarly </b><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">man, <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">who also has an MBA diploma, Geng firmly believes the
future for Datong's population of 3.5 million people lies in its ancient past.
To this end Geng has acted resolutely: in order to turn one of the world's
dirtiest cities into a cultural showpiece, he demolished 140,000 houses
and relocated 500,000 people, earning him the nickname " Geng ChaiChai"( Geng
Smash Smash). The <span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">strategy was speculated to have 3-fold rewards : to
expand tourism and end the region's heavy reliance on coal ; to revive pride in
traditional China; and toe the line of the <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">Government's massive
stimulus to prop up the economy in the aftermath of the collapse of export
trade. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b>
</b><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Datong's construction boom came to a halt in February
2013 after Geng was suddenly demoted without any explanation. What subsequently
happened was bizarre even by China standard. When news of Geng's removal was
announced, thousands of residents took to the streets to petition for him to
stay, carrying placards that read :</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">" Please stay, Mayor Geng " and " Datong
needs you ". Some petitioners claimed they'd gathered as many as 10,000
signatures on one of their banners. Hundreds of residents knelt and chanted "
Mayor Geng, please come back, Datong is your home!" Datong News Center director
Gu Shengming said several officials wept during Geng's farewell party.
</span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">The cynics would have it
the residents were not so much petitioning for Geng as for their own pockets.
The real estate market as well as access to bank loans were unavoidably affected
by cessation of the projects, not to mention the billions of debt the city owns
which the residents're probably worried might fall on them to pay.
</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">
</span></span></span></span></span></span>
</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sIZdLSr2aw6-eVS6sk79YSEnVGO8GzUPMuygUIxbzU8rAIE_LG5BSY2lZL1y9W-GRy2EfrGlNFGVT4sOX6AqO9G7yFIU1G_bwxfn99M_TL7iPA_cOWxtrbLnA6R2DJ6go3x4LqOeBUA/s1600/Shanxi%253Ddatong+petitioners+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sIZdLSr2aw6-eVS6sk79YSEnVGO8GzUPMuygUIxbzU8rAIE_LG5BSY2lZL1y9W-GRy2EfrGlNFGVT4sOX6AqO9G7yFIU1G_bwxfn99M_TL7iPA_cOWxtrbLnA6R2DJ6go3x4LqOeBUA/s320/Shanxi%253Ddatong+petitioners+1.jpg" width="320" /></b></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">However, Geng did good to Datong in another important
area. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since China's open and reform period, Datong has become a
booming 'City of Coal' because of its large reserves of coal. Decades of rampant
mining choked the city in soot and grime, and made Datong one of China's most
polluted cities. D<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">uring Geng's term
Datong's air pollution underwent significant improvement . According to data
from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, in 2005, the city's air quality
was ranked 115th out of 117 cities monitored, but by 2012, it was ranked 47 out
of 120 cities. Geng strived to transform Datong from a high-carbon to a low-
carbon city by developing solar energy industry. The target is to raise the
proportion of clean energy produced to 25 percent by the end of 2015. Datong is
classified as a rich area of solar resources by the wind and solar energy
resources assessment center of the China Meteorological Administration, as it's
located on the northeast side of the Loess Plateau at an altitude of 1,000 to
1,500 meters, and enjoys on average 2,800 hours of sunshine a
year.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7GQM4rGj0O_LGH1vk5qznYZ579F_RRL3jaSWvqoWmhpRfkwh9F4VVcROPgsowbwHORos6p4GUGN0jvkchYzFqDvAwzTBM51uHUp3K_GtWhLdudP-TBqFVGMKrURTUtsvjTDYGs3z4UM/s1600/shanxi+mine+disaster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7GQM4rGj0O_LGH1vk5qznYZ579F_RRL3jaSWvqoWmhpRfkwh9F4VVcROPgsowbwHORos6p4GUGN0jvkchYzFqDvAwzTBM51uHUp3K_GtWhLdudP-TBqFVGMKrURTUtsvjTDYGs3z4UM/s1600/shanxi+mine+disaster.jpg" /></b></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>It's
impossible to talk about Shanxi and not to mention coal. Over the past decades
Shanxi has seen massive growth on the back of coal, which has also created a
class of coal barons which frequently hit the news with their ostentatious
weddings and lavish lifestyles. On the other hand China has the world's worst
coal mine safety record for more than 2 decades . China produces 35% of the wrold's coal but contributes to 80% of coal fatalities. Since the Chinese media's free to report on the accidents in real time, a new term " blood coal" has been coined to reflect public outrage. </b></span></span></span></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">Unregulated mining operations </span></span></span></span>(
accounted for almost 80% of China's 16,000 mines) and gas explosions due to a
lack of required ventilation or fire control equipment are thought to blame.
However, the pay of 2000-3000 yuans a month is attractive enough to entice even
university graduates to go down the pit ( the GDP of Shanxi's still lapse far behind
that of coastal cities). On a happier note, a retired miner celebrated his
hundredth birthday the week I was in Shanxi, duly reported by the local
newspaper .</b></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-o2aVzzGctE53idWsDC9_kGLiSbstqohEH9SUnC1Nc8FGl-vjVIhrzBzCmId2mgJc2AW1t_wTNOKBrfKnc6SzWx5D8DN01_xQz4-ztooqsAyZBXgHAkeBPcwRidwqxUBcO-pnOn76Yk/s1600/shanxi+-+miner.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-o2aVzzGctE53idWsDC9_kGLiSbstqohEH9SUnC1Nc8FGl-vjVIhrzBzCmId2mgJc2AW1t_wTNOKBrfKnc6SzWx5D8DN01_xQz4-ztooqsAyZBXgHAkeBPcwRidwqxUBcO-pnOn76Yk/s320/shanxi+-+miner.bmp" width="203" /></b></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><b>The true cost of coal goes so much deeper.
China is the largest consumer of coal in the world ; since 2008 China has
become a net importer of coal, Vietnam being the largest supplier, followed by
Australia. In rural areas domestic burning of coal is still permitted, usually
in unvented stoves. This has led to high indoor levels of toxic substances such
as arsenic, fluorine, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and mercury. The
resulted health issues include severe arsenic poisoning, skeletal fluorosis (
over 10 million afflicted in China), esophageal and lung cancers, selenium
poisoning, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and weakened immune system. In
Oct 2008, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund and The Energy Foundation published a
repoer that said the by-products of coal burning such as water pollution, air
pollution and human costs are costing China an additional 1.7 trillion yuan a
year, or more than 7% of GDP.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><b>China has pledged to cut its carbon
intensity by about 40% by 2020, compared to 2005 levels. To this end, China has
invested 2.3 trillion yuan through 2015 in energy saving and carbon-reduction
projects. This is more than the US would ever do. Commentators have also pointed
out China has taken the lead in making the use of coal as energy source more
clean and responsible, e.g. China has built new ultra-supercritical coal plants
( 44% sfficiency) before the US, and requires companies building new plants to
retire an old plant for every new one built.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">In Datong, besides the Yungang Grottoes,<span class="515060511-24112013"> the other must-sees are the <span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013">Nine Dragon Screen, </span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013">the Hanging Monastery and <span class="703013410-29112013">the wooden Pagoda of Yingxian.</span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><b>Nine Dragon Screen (九龙壁), beautifully hidden in a
high-walled courtyard, is one of the oldest, largest and best preserved glazed
screens in China. It was built over 600 years ago in honour of the 13th son of
Emperor Ming Taizu of Ming Dynasty ( 1368-1644). The design is that of green
waves below and blue and yellow clouds above nine flying dragons. In front of
the Screen is a pond with a stone bridge, so that the reflection of the dragons
in the water moves whenever a breeze ripples the surface of the water. Such
screens are typically found in Imperial Chinese palaces and gardens, because
according to Chinese superstition, ghosts and devils can only travel in straight
lines, so these screens were placed just so before residency gates in order to
block their way.</b></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNgaxM5vq9FQUFk6OehcbOr0Y_5vfaTLz80iTyJbTfg3rxdjyV8Uk1GWLYMbc9So4fRUeLR6B5Mr4I34NDBtjgDNRjwJcYSiCo2EU2LnVTrjC3vH4BWxqEYMeWQ7QzxPp4TEUHOFpmnc/s1600/shanxi-+dragon+screen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNgaxM5vq9FQUFk6OehcbOr0Y_5vfaTLz80iTyJbTfg3rxdjyV8Uk1GWLYMbc9So4fRUeLR6B5Mr4I34NDBtjgDNRjwJcYSiCo2EU2LnVTrjC3vH4BWxqEYMeWQ7QzxPp4TEUHOFpmnc/s320/shanxi-+dragon+screen.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013">The Hanging Monastery
(<span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant">懸空寺)</span> is the major reason I decided to go to Shanxi in
the first place. Friends told me urgently there's a rumour that visitors would
be forbidden to walk inside the Monastery anytime now because the hordes of
tourists might have caused structural damage, so I was a trifle apprehensive.
</span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013">What I didn't anticipate was that the real problem was
in getting there at all . Shanxi's new found prosperity resulted in a car
ownership boom which it's woefully unprepared for. On the way to the Monastery
we were stuck in a traffic jam that'd take hours to clear, so our guide made an
executive decision that we should get off the bus and walk the 2 kilometers to
the Monastery. I was about the only one who welcomed the arrangement, but I've
always found one sees a lot more on foot .</span></span></span></span></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vGjzyiffGEkYc6df_Ag55Htr3xBqhTkPoghvPdNcCR2iKWJpfqTAZ7D-1ysSzumyXFkd_LKfCXO98mTBODV05JUblUaepuuoEzJnR3hbTKrIBWgXKAtng4qZevNJjnb444LCX0y_XC0/s1600/shanxi-+hanging+temple+en+route.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vGjzyiffGEkYc6df_Ag55Htr3xBqhTkPoghvPdNcCR2iKWJpfqTAZ7D-1ysSzumyXFkd_LKfCXO98mTBODV05JUblUaepuuoEzJnR3hbTKrIBWgXKAtng4qZevNJjnb444LCX0y_XC0/s320/shanxi-+hanging+temple+en+route.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> We had to walk through a canyon to reach the Monastery</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZZgsY7HN-MhlawpRSUrKOzivAKTibgglLufv0K4iL1Zg8rNS1lX_gqYzUbqEN-4XQw3BjCR9X90Pcp6ZLrsteKOOXC4NgMLId7T3XqqFMm9rxUas1zHaoCXqVd6-sQ_aI75EfTyeeKw/s1600/shanxi-+hanging+temple+police+adv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZZgsY7HN-MhlawpRSUrKOzivAKTibgglLufv0K4iL1Zg8rNS1lX_gqYzUbqEN-4XQw3BjCR9X90Pcp6ZLrsteKOOXC4NgMLId7T3XqqFMm9rxUas1zHaoCXqVd6-sQ_aI75EfTyeeKw/s320/shanxi-+hanging+temple+police+adv.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Police Recruitment adv
</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkKXd83xXWLBquJCeLLFUrZqF251yz7l724zfwMrJretzCWGKkantvA0Ef3dczJvAOSfk28ONYW_LcVSZbX5JmLs_hjPxU6giqeg0Y8u8as5nsb2bJWtimJ1Ky6KLyBHolgmJCUCfjNw/s1600/shanxi-+hanging+pagoda+mother+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkKXd83xXWLBquJCeLLFUrZqF251yz7l724zfwMrJretzCWGKkantvA0Ef3dczJvAOSfk28ONYW_LcVSZbX5JmLs_hjPxU6giqeg0Y8u8as5nsb2bJWtimJ1Ky6KLyBHolgmJCUCfjNw/s320/shanxi-+hanging+pagoda+mother+child.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013">The Hanging Monastery is a 1,500-year-old temple built in 491AD ( northern Wei dynasty) on the cliff of a hill at the foot of Mt Hengshan</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b>( 恒山)</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"> , one of the five most sacred mountains in China. It protrudes gingerly over the sides of the steep cliff over 50 meters above the Jinlong Canyon. Inside the Monastery there're 40 halls and alcoves ( half-room and half-cave), which contains about 80 sculptures made of copper, iron, bronze, terracotta, and stone.All the shrines are connected by narrow bridges, pathways and boardwalks. The Monastery is also special because it includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"> </span></span></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcQAArgWvUPwn3pqIZoROMeBYyhv5fAqIAkhsuxDKwwSUBrPeCjNCpZdeDMhCo-aGkHIqzt1BYIKJwFWUmFWHBM7I8P99739qXXq9BoK6QpG0R4y4f2NTy9pGr-3EEeyq0GNCdHXgjsQ/s1600/shanxi-hanging+temple+whole+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOcQAArgWvUPwn3pqIZoROMeBYyhv5fAqIAkhsuxDKwwSUBrPeCjNCpZdeDMhCo-aGkHIqzt1BYIKJwFWUmFWHBM7I8P99739qXXq9BoK6QpG0R4y4f2NTy9pGr-3EEeyq0GNCdHXgjsQ/s320/shanxi-hanging+temple+whole+view.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> Entrance to the Monastery</b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhG0yEaNoSg7rfae3EYOfbVVod0wUzKSmHqEvqks84Z5a26xRyPSwzTsO7Dc9jZSoeClF5dMLM3UVyEJ8oOk3NnyV6opjmJbFTIj-AClnHytXO0zEsOSroSDf4TjMZD9PM9vEF6xNPFbk/s1600/shanxi-hanging+temple+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhG0yEaNoSg7rfae3EYOfbVVod0wUzKSmHqEvqks84Z5a26xRyPSwzTsO7Dc9jZSoeClF5dMLM3UVyEJ8oOk3NnyV6opjmJbFTIj-AClnHytXO0zEsOSroSDf4TjMZD9PM9vEF6xNPFbk/s320/shanxi-hanging+temple+entrance.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013">Architectural experts
all over the world marvel at the ingenious construction. A unique mechanical
theory was applied in building the Monastery. Crossbeams shaped like arrows were
half-inserted into the rock cliff as the foundation, while the rock provided
support. Then the temple was built on the crossbeams. Seen from below, it looks
like a tumble-down castle in the air.
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest wonder of
all , however, was that it was built by only one man, a monk named Liao Ran
(了然 ). </span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason it was built on the cliffside was to protect
it from floods, then </span></span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the mountain peak
naturally protects it from rain and snow; and the mountain around it also
diminishes damage from sunshine. Another reason is the monks obeyed a principle
in Taoism : no noises, including those from rooster crowing and dog baying. From
the upper ground, all noises drop away. On the high cliff hemmed in by a
precipice on either side, the Monastery sits up there beyond reach in abject
solitude. </span><span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbUniaMEAJwqfX9XyOh7EgN8d-gINpO6EFciMGfl2PCubfZ_UsiV0qiPea-sPS_ha0yprcLIkJW5uwcvgyS3TwPuZ7kzVOffo1zAftRv6XbkD-MUP49ISwkO46SK_mhyphenhyphenpT3gagNVtVo4/s1600/IMG_1140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbUniaMEAJwqfX9XyOh7EgN8d-gINpO6EFciMGfl2PCubfZ_UsiV0qiPea-sPS_ha0yprcLIkJW5uwcvgyS3TwPuZ7kzVOffo1zAftRv6XbkD-MUP49ISwkO46SK_mhyphenhyphenpT3gagNVtVo4/s320/IMG_1140.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="703013410-29112013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="515060511-24112013">T</span>he
wooden Pagoda of Yingxian<span class="515060511-24112013"> </span><span class="515060511-24112013">(<span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant">佛宮寺釋迦塔) or better known by its generic
nickname of "Muta"( <span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh">木塔), literally meaning Timber Pagoda , was built
in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty, which ruled North China from 916 to 1125. It is
the oldest and largest wooden Buddhist pagoda in existence in the world, and is
regarded as one of the "Three Wonders of Pagoda in the world" together with
Eiffel Tower in France and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. The Wooden Pagoda
was made by wooden parts joined by innumerable mortises and tenons in a
complicated structure of brackets, without using any nails. Through the
centuries it has survived earthquakes, storms, lightenings and wars, no mean
feat ! </span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuStrCuFEXZkwVlAvOODrdzFaY_1ud4wguSJZqgVtpLR9V2m1joJDGX5TQ46AP55U5pgpg31nttcCEg612e3YPM3DfGX9isuPnKFXGIKQ5radJiGTGbZJzdWhqt3qix0L69mqeZBvppa8/s1600/shanxi-+wooden+pago+da.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuStrCuFEXZkwVlAvOODrdzFaY_1ud4wguSJZqgVtpLR9V2m1joJDGX5TQ46AP55U5pgpg31nttcCEg612e3YPM3DfGX9isuPnKFXGIKQ5radJiGTGbZJzdWhqt3qix0L69mqeZBvppa8/s320/shanxi-+wooden+pago+da.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Yingxian<span class="515060511-24112013"> city</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidthC8YAMBP9P2OMjlxPXjAmpnHAtkAHDSCEK2fz4fazqDRuJlQIJTVP3yznaEH2kfL4_zuE7wQFoYf8lFVARh-O7i4XAXP3Afpa-GqrhrO9JFOedOBohbzmsjcrit-OyFcZO31lZrmAM/s1600/shanxi+wooden+pagoda+county.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidthC8YAMBP9P2OMjlxPXjAmpnHAtkAHDSCEK2fz4fazqDRuJlQIJTVP3yznaEH2kfL4_zuE7wQFoYf8lFVARh-O7i4XAXP3Afpa-GqrhrO9JFOedOBohbzmsjcrit-OyFcZO31lZrmAM/s320/shanxi+wooden+pagoda+county.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM7_1dWhLLLRFy6DCrYUolVpnj3SKoXGFTkaUV16-i5PsGnjDggeEe84g6TAr0zL61HbVNmoRwcnsI8peoo6-9tKnUQ8eVNFmCWsfZAPSqZieGBtBG6dY7yThz4gs10qi6HRKSdDaUN8/s1600/shanxi-+wooden+pagoda+children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM7_1dWhLLLRFy6DCrYUolVpnj3SKoXGFTkaUV16-i5PsGnjDggeEe84g6TAr0zL61HbVNmoRwcnsI8peoo6-9tKnUQ8eVNFmCWsfZAPSqZieGBtBG6dY7yThz4gs10qi6HRKSdDaUN8/s320/shanxi-+wooden+pagoda+children.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9HrZJuePBLtksaRpiQQubip_7NxdSDp9fiQ1Eb7_87Fml5uE1jx41IOO0tQrpDPOT7u7XW2c3iw_7M-VAYRwzhhZqCkDe1pC-A6DmCyYu0ngjkHQEWV0CySRFKsHzio7lWDI7o4YsjQ/s1600/shanxi+-+wooden+pagoda+armour+car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9HrZJuePBLtksaRpiQQubip_7NxdSDp9fiQ1Eb7_87Fml5uE1jx41IOO0tQrpDPOT7u7XW2c3iw_7M-VAYRwzhhZqCkDe1pC-A6DmCyYu0ngjkHQEWV0CySRFKsHzio7lWDI7o4YsjQ/s320/shanxi+-+wooden+pagoda+armour+car.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013">We had sometime to spare<span class="515060511-24112013"> and the guide</span></span></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"> suggested that we visit the
</span></span><span class="703013410-29112013">Yanmenguan <span class="515060511-24112013">Pass ( <span lang="zh-Hans" xml:lang="zh-Hans">雁门关) or 'wild
goose pass' because wild geese are seen flying around the pass every
year. </span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">Yanmenguan Pass<span class="515060511-24112013">, situated on Yanmen Mountain, </span>is one of three
<span class="515060511-24112013">outer</span> passes of the Great Wall in the
Shanxi <span class="515060511-24112013">Provence</span>. Located at a place of
strategic importance, it was regarded as the principal one of the <span class="515060511-24112013">N</span>ine <span class="515060511-24112013">P</span>asses under <span class="515060511-24112013">H</span>eaven in ancient times. Many famous historical
battles have been fought <span class="515060511-24112013">here.</span></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwKgMD8VMTZByPv9mGx6DAoaNrk_IdQF8cIMD9nD9QtgrpPEu5eaRbaBppERpf3mz1EatLqJ4RKRahJ3AB5WTxzet1-T0btc4OR3zO9QMh6s-ZcNZJYQ6y8j9P6NgOOK6Z_AkXSmJebA/s1600/IMG_1475.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwKgMD8VMTZByPv9mGx6DAoaNrk_IdQF8cIMD9nD9QtgrpPEu5eaRbaBppERpf3mz1EatLqJ4RKRahJ3AB5WTxzet1-T0btc4OR3zO9QMh6s-ZcNZJYQ6y8j9P6NgOOK6Z_AkXSmJebA/s320/IMG_1475.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvooH_Rz89uXvrg3CRljGSjt3HCtKEaWeGNYpJsEzLlK-2GActEhyHaREvFvzrl72YcAg2IJvXc64WRH6fCTQZdbAR6-wMMuWmM7HzRw5CkmhjxaIdB8Mly37MMuFBoxQwiwWXMzbMt4/s1600/IMG_1517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvooH_Rz89uXvrg3CRljGSjt3HCtKEaWeGNYpJsEzLlK-2GActEhyHaREvFvzrl72YcAg2IJvXc64WRH6fCTQZdbAR6-wMMuWmM7HzRw5CkmhjxaIdB8Mly37MMuFBoxQwiwWXMzbMt4/s320/IMG_1517.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The first pass was built by the<span class="515060511-24112013"> King Wuling of Zhao</span> during the<span class="515060511-24112013"> Warring States period</span>, for defense against the Inner Asian nomads. <span class="515060511-24112013">In 1937 during the Japanese invasion this was the site of heated battles between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese.</span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nV6xvoeXcrImI-7j-vrw3t0TJBf1T1Z4Y0iCXpShsbx0xnIKLAXPpIFW0EhBs2fPLyqusVUSojoiZ4ElKWfMoZ47CjfkNAHvPdOvAs-UzbB9MlFQ4eiUeJ2DhXhvV9Ah0j5FFk9O7js/s1600/japanese+war+deng+xiaoping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nV6xvoeXcrImI-7j-vrw3t0TJBf1T1Z4Y0iCXpShsbx0xnIKLAXPpIFW0EhBs2fPLyqusVUSojoiZ4ElKWfMoZ47CjfkNAHvPdOvAs-UzbB9MlFQ4eiUeJ2DhXhvV9Ah0j5FFk9O7js/s320/japanese+war+deng+xiaoping.jpg" width="277" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCDdEMdhUsVzp9SCpBe1PzD6eGCLhXSDwhKK2RASZws7rekekGazyk0a72bwuDoOF57pODth6jmbAbSBRY9ACGzmvjh6aPbqkJ1WQiSo93Hu8n-iWyy8Id2auoysuqzE8Uz0i5xb5GA8/s1600/shanxi-yanmenguan+pass+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigCDdEMdhUsVzp9SCpBe1PzD6eGCLhXSDwhKK2RASZws7rekekGazyk0a72bwuDoOF57pODth6jmbAbSBRY9ACGzmvjh6aPbqkJ1WQiSo93Hu8n-iWyy8Id2auoysuqzE8Uz0i5xb5GA8/s320/shanxi-yanmenguan+pass+wall.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="203582610-23082013">Yanmenguan <span class="515060511-24112013">and part
of the Great Wall </span><span class="515060511-24112013">undergone</span>
repair<span class="515060511-24112013"> and reconstruction</span> in 2010<span class="515060511-24112013"> which was unfortunate, for I feel the new buildings have taken away much of the authenticity of the
area. </span></span></span><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="203582610-23082013"> </span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLE7WyIYXAlS3_olF3ys7sGGUASlNN7FT2knC1JXt-M9SsDeZZQukfpMa6x_U9dpAOAzA_ixvXfB2GZW-2YWWCWs1KbcSmde_bBGHCNW94gnGOZpZIC0lAzbgBBfE96l4fftSd7DTfhOA/s1600/IMG_1543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLE7WyIYXAlS3_olF3ys7sGGUASlNN7FT2knC1JXt-M9SsDeZZQukfpMa6x_U9dpAOAzA_ixvXfB2GZW-2YWWCWs1KbcSmde_bBGHCNW94gnGOZpZIC0lAzbgBBfE96l4fftSd7DTfhOA/s320/IMG_1543.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Local folks</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>
</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzPcIGMjEhOLeVIlnOFkOcaJeYU_XvgNPlFwoa3Lfy_8nC1Quk73ov2khGARWN9EVf9RKBIzGwwlyRuaFb8N8jTmV1Eiqpsf05zPfyOuTAjGQBv7q-VGccvXC4HX_j_pPSwmHMmk9_QA/s1600/IMG_1532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzPcIGMjEhOLeVIlnOFkOcaJeYU_XvgNPlFwoa3Lfy_8nC1Quk73ov2khGARWN9EVf9RKBIzGwwlyRuaFb8N8jTmV1Eiqpsf05zPfyOuTAjGQBv7q-VGccvXC4HX_j_pPSwmHMmk9_QA/s320/IMG_1532.jpg" width="213" /></b></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant"><span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013"><b>Shanxi was one of the principle targets of the Japanese
Army in northern China during the Japanese War, a lot of the fighting took
place along the mountain ranges of Taihang Mt, Wutai Mt and Luliang Mt . China
was in a really bad place at the time, and was thus grateful for the help from
the legendary but controversial Dr <span lang="EN-US">Henry Norman Bethune ( 白求恩), who eventually died in
China. " Are there many museums and monuments to Bethune around here ?" I asked
Mr Wong. " So many!" The after-90s generation's obviously not interested in this
unusual doctor. For those of you who are interested, you might want to look
up my blog on Dr <span lang="EN-US">Henry Norman Bethune. Because Shanxi was the
frontline battlefield, there're miles of underground tunnels dug in many parts
of the province. We were taken to one of them and crawled through a tiny part of
the renovated section.
</span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoi7n3fG4hDi8JrUr0WL6ZPmsFA6X0aNZR5u07m5WHEh6lTvNpPLGx0711XbiCbGWg3SypgTxlyUwF5fhyphenhyphenSK-eWwlz3zr5yo7JukPN8-5-dJ4SbxziFQfdO4wN71_P57wXXgZ1YHvmn4/s1600/shanxi-+revolutionary+museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNoi7n3fG4hDi8JrUr0WL6ZPmsFA6X0aNZR5u07m5WHEh6lTvNpPLGx0711XbiCbGWg3SypgTxlyUwF5fhyphenhyphenSK-eWwlz3zr5yo7JukPN8-5-dJ4SbxziFQfdO4wN71_P57wXXgZ1YHvmn4/s320/shanxi-+revolutionary+museum.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ICFSoawEi4MdtVLHtPKdadwEqs6n9VUNJw22WbI5j3LJaXsHG8ySOI0z2hEu_tPbfPnBvccfbQIACbs-EvCtSu0k_nuolvuZbiDmL22jVk6ZP6-Ns6tQnf04KC5o9Gy1443jMl1kch0/s1600/shanxi-+fight+japanese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ICFSoawEi4MdtVLHtPKdadwEqs6n9VUNJw22WbI5j3LJaXsHG8ySOI0z2hEu_tPbfPnBvccfbQIACbs-EvCtSu0k_nuolvuZbiDmL22jVk6ZP6-Ns6tQnf04KC5o9Gy1443jMl1kch0/s320/shanxi-+fight+japanese.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b> One of the entrances to the underground tunnels</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdLfKy4htaHyvxA0Grt_q7Rhd0oMdHphUC2neeCBJUCtpVBAfAgLMdjFkcvWSq8zvhKzc-6OmxY9G2JhHnKajJQu-n0GgpplCjBD74s9amA97I1UCJvE4ZSSdpF_FMrA7lzblqQ3SMiY/s1600/shanxi+japanese+underground+tunnel+entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkdLfKy4htaHyvxA0Grt_q7Rhd0oMdHphUC2neeCBJUCtpVBAfAgLMdjFkcvWSq8zvhKzc-6OmxY9G2JhHnKajJQu-n0GgpplCjBD74s9amA97I1UCJvE4ZSSdpF_FMrA7lzblqQ3SMiY/s320/shanxi+japanese+underground+tunnel+entrance.jpg" width="213" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl75ICZJXMSfF6teHEwwE81k9S211QOFZOvXjFgrS_O_0Mp97lqweG32BCQIyJ4IP_dpfn72RRfLUBWmPOn4r0v5BvfKsGKvGCSTjCI_-uyiptXGqxUKFcf_yQywtY-P73PMAMsxPCdk/s1600/shanxi-+japanese+underground+tunnel+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl75ICZJXMSfF6teHEwwE81k9S211QOFZOvXjFgrS_O_0Mp97lqweG32BCQIyJ4IP_dpfn72RRfLUBWmPOn4r0v5BvfKsGKvGCSTjCI_-uyiptXGqxUKFcf_yQywtY-P73PMAMsxPCdk/s320/shanxi-+japanese+underground+tunnel+2.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02X0n_I9yCk6R5Wl0MNBjmDJnEZD2U9rRrYtl-4RBo0YYA0qcwq63ZFADUG_ZgCVVgGfuQydxW9DvF2OCsxR89c_tBUf1kx5t4_gLoMORkVBo5QExOnGzhlZGo7Mq3Z4YwSIVG5sZ7jE/s1600/shanxi-+japanese+underground+tunnel+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02X0n_I9yCk6R5Wl0MNBjmDJnEZD2U9rRrYtl-4RBo0YYA0qcwq63ZFADUG_ZgCVVgGfuQydxW9DvF2OCsxR89c_tBUf1kx5t4_gLoMORkVBo5QExOnGzhlZGo7Mq3Z4YwSIVG5sZ7jE/s320/shanxi-+japanese+underground+tunnel+1.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant"><span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>"Do a lot of young people want to leave Shanxi and make
a living elsewhere?" I asked Mr Wong. "Some do," he said" but like me a
lot actually want to stay, Shanxi people's very attached to home" he explained,
and I felt a twinge of envy. My family's Guangtong Hakka ( <span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant">廣東</span><span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh">客家, guests
who made home here)</span> and we never knew our origin. My cousin Emily prefers to believe we originated from Shanghai, because the Shanghai girls're
the most chic in China, but that's just wishful thinking. I do remember
overheard someone said we could be from Shanxi when I was a child, since
then I've cultivated a warm feeling for Shanxi. Or maybe it's because I've
been listening to Shanxi folk songs for as long as I can remember, songs like "
Why are the flowers so red?"( 花儿为什么这样红), "The little river flows"(小河淌水),
"Embroidered Bag"(绣荷包), "Jasmine" (茉莉花), "Moving Westward"(走西口)........ my all
time favourite, however, is "People say Shanxi has good scenery"(人说山西好风光).
Whatever the reason, certainly I've never felt so instantly at home in Shanxi
than anywhere else I've travelled in
China.</b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRT3cTb15MROodydHbyva7l256KU42SXjpodpIaNlke0QsLrlZV7Gurmg6CwybX5EqMzf3bgGKuCeqI5kFVXdHdUs6IMxWU6M6pNfPxb1-clb0BWOqPOywn6Zwr6YdkrV4Va_l_98vJ8/s1600/shanxi-+pingyao+street+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRT3cTb15MROodydHbyva7l256KU42SXjpodpIaNlke0QsLrlZV7Gurmg6CwybX5EqMzf3bgGKuCeqI5kFVXdHdUs6IMxWU6M6pNfPxb1-clb0BWOqPOywn6Zwr6YdkrV4Va_l_98vJ8/s320/shanxi-+pingyao+street+scene.jpg" width="320" /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant"><span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">Paper-cut is another Shanxi folk art. On festive
occasions, it is used as decoration on the door, window and ceiling of the cave
dwelling (yaodong <span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh">窰洞</span>), kang ( 炕) <!--<a href="#">查看所有 5 個解釋</a>-->, furniture
or even clothing. Before we left Shanxi we were each given a paper cut as a
memento, made up of the Chinese character 福 , which I've put into my painting. The painting also features the Hukou Tea Kettle Spout Waterfall. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b>福 </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span lang="zh-Hant" xml:lang="zh-Hant"><span lang="zh" xml:lang="zh"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"><span class="187050706-14122013">is a hard word to translate adequately, it means a great deal more than ' good fortune' which is the standard English translation, but it expresses very well my wish for Shanxi, the most " Chinese" province in China. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></span><b><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="703013410-29112013"><span class="515060511-24112013"> </span></span></span></span></b></div>
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-77253927592464029272013-12-18T20:07:00.001-08:002013-12-18T20:45:30.200-08:00CUSA president's words - published in CUSA newsletter Dec 2013<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">In the blink
of an eye the year 2013 is coming to a close . CUSA , like the
majority of CU staff, has been kept so busy we're all gasping for breath.
Much of what we've done in the past year has already been reported in the AGM ,
but regretfully I 've to reiterate here the fact that grievance cases
have increased alarmingly . What can be done about this ?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">When I first came back
to HK I worked in a government- subsidised hospital . This was the pre-HA
era , resources were scarce and the condition in the hospital was bad
, we were considerably more over-worked than even the doctors in government
hospitals. Yet when I meet up with my old colleagues , we all agree the time we
had at the hospital was probably the happiest period of our working life.
The reason is we had strong team spirit, not just among doctors but also with
the nurses, student nurses, down to the amahs . Even the
adminstrators were part of the team because we all shared a clear
focused vision and that was to serve the community. We didn't grudge
the work-load because everybody, from the consultant to the intern, worked
equally hard, there were no slackers . Problems encountered were discussed
openly, every opinion, even from the lowly intern, was listened to
and respected. Looking back, what mitigated the hardship, apart from
the camaraderie , was the appreciation and validation of our
efforts . Every single person in the team counted . I maintain to
this day it's never just the work that brings people down but disrespect and
callous uncaring treatment of people .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">Maybe that's what's
ailing CUHK: the lack of team spirit and the narrow culture of incessant
and sometimes unscrupulous grappling of career advancement in various
departments. I was taken aback when I talked to a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">CU </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">staff about 'a happy
working environment' awhile ago , she </span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">paused for a full
minute to ponder, then sighed and shook her head wistfully," I can't
even imagine what that's like. " How sad is it</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;"> ! Since 3-3-4 things have
gotten worse . As workloads increase they're off-loaded down the tiers
of managers then workers , fair to say everyone's under pressure,
but the ones at the lower end of the echelon are the most
vulnerable. Some of the office bullying could be traced to staff vending
off work pressure on other staff . The lack of transparency in office operative
promotes cronyism , and makes easy the shirking of responsibility;
the lack of time or channel of communication between senior
and junior staff creates misunderstanding and grievances . The middle
management glass- ceiling which effectively blocks issues of junior staff from
reaching the top management must be done with .</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">It is laudable CUHK has
recently recruited a professional mediator in an attempt to diffuse
office conflicts at the earliest stage, but one can't help wishing for a more
pro-active approach. Good governance must be institutionalized. Every
individual worker should be treated as a stakeholder
of his/her department . All workers should be explained fully
all new policies and how they fit in in the aspired future development of
the department ; in turn they should be listened to and made to feel
safe discussing work-related problems , so that the allocation
of funds and the creation of new positions would better meet the actual reality
of departmental needs . A good manager puts humanity back into
management , and sees workers as people and not just cogs to a gigantic
machine. They would take time to talk to the workers about any
job-related difficulties they might have, and assess the workers so as
to allocate the right work for the right talent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">Accountability must be
upheld, appraisal and reverse appraisal put in place as a
check-and-balance. Obviously the workers are also expected
to perform their duty to the best of their ability. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 13.5pt;">Is this so hard to do
? If there's a will there's a way. If we could all put aside our
personal ambition and strive to serve, a fulfilled happy work experience
is ours to keep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;">轉眼間</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">2013</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">年將要過去。如大部份的同事一樣,中大職協也是忙得透不過氣來。過去一年的工作已於周年大會報告過,不用再贅述。但遺憾的是在此要再提申訴個案是驚人的上升。究竟我們可以做什麼呢</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">?</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">我回港的第一份工,是加入一所政府資助醫院。這是醫管局年代之前,資源不足及醫院條件惡劣,工作量比其他公立醫院的醫生繁重得多。奇怪的是每當和這夥舊同事聚會時,我們都不約而同地認為這段時間可是我們工作生涯最中快</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">樂</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">的時光。原因</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">是我們有很強的團隊精神。我們的團隊不僅是醫生,還有護士、學護、以至病房女工;甚至管理層都在行列內,因為我們都擁有清晰的同一理念</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN-US">—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">服務社區。我們從沒抱怨過量的工作,因為我們每一個人,從顧問醫生以至實習醫生,都同樣地努力工作</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN-US">—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">團隊中沒有敷衍失責的人。遇到困難我們會開放地討論,盡管是初出茅盧的實習醫生的意見,都會被聽取及受尊重。回想起來,當年能舒緩工作辛勞的原因,除了同袍戰友的緊密無私的合作外,還因我們的努力得到欣賞和認同。每一個成員都同樣重要。直至今天我仍堅持這信念</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">﹕</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">令人</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">沮喪的</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">不僅是工作本身,而是自身不被尊重及其努力被漠視。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">可能這就是中大的問題,某些部門缺乏團隊精神,及只顧個人晉升或自保而不擇手段的風氣。早前我跟一位中大的同事談及</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">「愉快工作環境」的狀況,她的回應令我驚訝。她沉思了一會,然後搖頭嘆氣地說<span lang="EN-US">:</span>「我想像不到愉快工作環境是怎樣的。」這真教人心酸!自<span lang="EN-US">334</span>學制實行後,緊湊的工作情況變本加厲。越加繁重的工作量由管理層續層下放到基層。平心而論,人人也承受著壓力,但基層的員工尤為辛苦。有些辦公室欺凌實是源於同事將壓力轉嫁其他同事。辦公室的運作欠缺透明度,促使任人為親及推缷責任;上司與下屬缺乏時間及途徑溝通,往往導致誤解及不滿。阻止基層員工將自身問題告知高層的中層管理<span lang="EN-US">(</span>玻璃天花板文化<span lang="EN-US">)</span>該完全打碎。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">值得一讚的是中大已聘請了一位專業的調解員嘗試第一時間處理辦公室矛盾</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">。但我們希望見到的是更前瞻的措施</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana;"> — </span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">良好的機構管治。每一個員工都應視為部門的持份者。部門內每一項新政策應清楚地向員工說明,使他們能了解及與部門的發展同步;同時管理層也要聆聽他們的心聲,讓他們敢於表達工作上遇到的問題,使資源的分配、職位的設置可更配合部門的適切需要。一個良好的管理人員需</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">「</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">人性化</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">」</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">地看待員工</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">,員工不僅是一枱大型機器的一枚齒輪</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">。管理人員需要抽空與員工溝通,了解他們工作上的困難外,適當地評估每位員工的能力,量才而用。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana;">權責極為重要,所以同時應設立雙向</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;">績效評核制度以平衡</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">公正。當然作為員工的也要盡己所能完成職責。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">這真是那麼難做到嗎</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">? </span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">只要有意願就一定能做到。若我們每一個人都能放下私己的野心,盡其所能,我們定能擁有快樂和滿足的工作體驗。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-17238796363570494542013-12-18T20:03:00.002-08:002013-12-18T20:45:16.517-08:00亦醫亦友 中大西醫 A Friendly Doctor in CUHK- published in Chung Chi Campus Newsletter vol 49 No 16 Oct 2013<div class="MsoPlainText">
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">郭園醫生<span lang="EN-US"> - </span>香港中文大學保健處<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">每日一蘋果,醫生遠離我。對於看醫生,我們通常避之則吉。但中大保健處郭園醫生有獨特的行醫理念,能給予你溫暖而實在的建議,讓人頃刻分不清求診還是探望老朋友。診室匠心獨運,掛滿她那琳瑯滿目的畫作,充滿藝術氣息。訪問當天,記者甫步進門,身穿綠色凱蒂貓卡通旗袍的郭醫生熱情招待,中英夾雜的輕鬆傾談,人際間的距離拉近了。<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">郭園醫生早期在聯合醫院內科工作,後來轉至中大保健處。她憶述當年應徵時差些錯過限期,及後因有受聘者臨時放棄職位,讓郭醫生有機會在中大工作,彷彿命運中有所安排。<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">早年沙田幾乎為荒蕪之地,尚未建有威爾斯親王醫院,中大診所為師生提供的醫療服務因而相當重要。醫生需二十四小時應診,既要住校,亦要輪流候命。現時燈火通明的保健處與起初的截然不同,「以前黑漆漆、陰陰沉沉的。而當時需要醫生,增聘醫生後卻無安頓的房間,結果給了我<span lang="EN-US">store room</span>當工作間,就在廁所隔鄰,哈哈!」郭醫生忍俊不禁,笑言位置遠離其他同事,「 山高皇帝遠」。<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">郭醫生性格樂天,態度專業,環境無礙她以病人為本的診療態度,總是抱著滿满的關懷去解決病人的問題。曾有中東學生「發瘋」,情緒失控,校方人員束手無策,轉介予郭醫生。該漢子身型高大力氣強,該如何應對?「跟他說:『你現在情況很危險,我們要保護你……』談了一會兒,他又願意合作。」難忘的經驗豈止一次,還有妄想症男學生以為自己是飛天超人並打算於</span>校園高處<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">跳崖,後送到診所跟郭醫生對談,幸化險為夷。「(近年)中大師生的暴力情況較少,但其他情緒問題如沮喪、焦慮、失眠,真比以往嚴重得多。」<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">郭醫生深明病人對醫者的信任,甚至一些對家人難以啟齒的事都會與醫生傾訴,所以認為醫者道德極之重要。此外郭醫生亦早已意識到家庭醫生的崗位舉足輕重。家庭醫生擔當統籌角色
:辨識病人全面情況、替其與專科醫生聯絡跟進,甚至引導他們改掉不良習慣以預防疾病,以體貼的關懷為病人提供整體性的照顧,不論是身體、心理、 感情、社交,甚至心靈的需要。<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">工餘時,郭醫生熱愛旅遊,足跡遍佈世界。「旅行有助學習,<span lang="EN-US">(</span>從中你會發現<span lang="EN-US">)</span>世界大部份人都是善良的,即使宗教信仰不同也可和平共處。」郭醫生喜歡感受同一時空下之多元文化,笑說會偶爾入住當地家庭,體驗入住酒店感受不到的<span lang="EN-US">local real life</span>;享用道地<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3856178274675511596" name="_GoBack"></a>飯菜,入鄉隨俗,又經常參觀當地學校、醫院。「打開心扉、打開眼睛,這個世界實在是豐盛、多采多姿!」返港後她喜用書信、電郵或網誌與當地人保持聯絡,但不會「<span lang="EN-US"> force friendship</span>(強迫交友)」,一切隨緣。郭醫生待人以誠,自然得到正面回應,就如她的診療室內便擺放了不少友人送的禮物:德蘭修女畫像、觀音像等,與郭醫生色彩繽紛的畫作相映成趣。<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;">旅遊除了可以放鬆繁重的工作壓力,也是開拓視野的好機會。人生需要不斷追求知識,不能故步自封,坐井觀天。對於學習,郭醫生一口說:「<span lang="EN-US">Enjoy</span>,活在世上的唯一目的正是學習」。對郭醫生來說,經過學習而來的是「悟」,是思想的啟發、啟悟,一種看事物更深更透的眼光。「悟」使人「通往天堂」,得到心靈上的自由與快樂,相反,思想狹窄與無知會導致驚慌恐懼,這便是「地獄」。郭醫生認為做錯事是可以接受的,但不能重蹈覆轍,方能從新的挫折中學習。雖然我們未必可一一掌握運氣與財富,但學到什麼、「悟」到多少,卻人人可為之努力,使人生更充實圓滿。她說:「福祿難以共有,總應感恩自己現在所有。</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">」共勉之。</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">A
Friendly Doctor in CUHK<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Dr.
Memie Kwok – University Health Service, CUHK <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Most
of us are reluctant or even afraid to see a doctor. But it was like seeing a
friend when we met Dr. Memie Kwok, physician of the University Health Service.
In her snug consulting room filled with her colourful paintings</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">,</span><span lang="EN-US">
Dr. Kwok, in a green cheongsam with 'Hello Kitty' pattern prints, and
conversing in Cantonese mixed with English, greeted us warmly.</span><span lang="EN-US"> Her affable personality was evident in the interview. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Before
joining CUHK, Dr. Memie Kwok worked at the United Christian Hospital. She
recalled that her application for this clinic post almost missed the deadline
and she only got the job because an approved candidate dropped out at the last
minute. It seemed that Fate had a hand in leading her to CUHK. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Those
were the days when the Prince of Wales Hospital was not yet built, and the
school clinic had to stay open 24 hours a day. Physicians were required to live
on campus and took turns to be on call. Compared with the renovated bright new
clinic today, “the former clinic was dark. The clinic needed more doctors but
there was no more room.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">In the end I was put in a former storeroom next to the toilet. Hah!”
Dr. Kwok laughed. She loved it though, as the physical distance from the boss made her feel more relaxed .</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #c00000; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">In
whatever situation, Dr. Kwok tries to adopt a patient-oriented approach. She
was once sent a Middle East student with mental illness. He was big and
potentially violent. How to handle the case? “Talk to him patiently and let him
know that his behaviour is dangerous to himself. After a while, he was willing
to cooperate.” Another time Dr. Kwok managed to calm a delusional student who
thought he was Superman and attempted to fly from a cliff on campus</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-language: ZH-TW;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US">. “ In recent years there are fewer cases of violent outbursts, but
emotional problems such as depression, anxiety and insomnia are much worse.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Personal
integrity is highly valued by Dr. Kwok as she knows how patients rely on
doctors. They might even tell secrets to doctors they trust over their
families. Dr. Kwok realizes long ago the importance of “family medicine”, which
provides continuing and holistic health care to individuals and families,
catering for their physical, psychological, emotional, social and sometimes
even spiritual needs. Far from just dishing out tablets, family physicians
co-ordinate with different specialists, and are the only ones who command
comprehensive knowledge of the patient's overall status. Inducing patients to
adopt a healthy life-style in order to prevent illness is another important
function of family physicians. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Dr.
Kwok loves travel and has been to many countries. "You can discover a lot
through travel. You will find most people are good, and people of different
religious beliefs can live together in harmony." She said with a smile.
She adores mingling with the locals and also studies their culture. Through
home stay, partaking of local cuisines and following their custom, “you can
experience how the locals live,” Dr. Kwok said. "Open your heart and your
eyes, you will see the world is full of colours!" She cherishes and
maintains friendship with people met during the trips through letters, emails
and blogs. Gifts from friends, such as portraits of Mother Teresa and wood
carving of Avalokitesvara, are scattered about in her consulting room. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<span lang="EN-US">Travel
is not only a way to relieve work stress, but also a chance to broaden one's
horizon. Learning and acquiring wisdom throughout life is crucial to all. As
Dr. Kwok said, “enjoy (learning). Learn and savour the process of learning is
what life is all about.” She believes that through learning comes
enlightenment, and life is simply a voyage of discovery. Enlightenment leads
people to “Heaven”, a liberation and elevation of mind and soul, while
ignorance leads to panic and fear, the equivalent of “Hell”.</span><span lang="ZH-CN" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“</span><span lang="EN-US">If we have to make mistakes, it's preferable that we make new ones, so
we can gain new knowledge,”</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">she said. As we can take nothing with us when we leave this earth, her
friendly advice is to focus on the pursuit of fulfillment: a meaningful life
that we can look back on with pride.</span></div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_5" language="JavaScript">
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-76531809967765672022013-10-04T01:18:00.000-07:002013-10-13T20:27:55.142-07:00 White One Sent , Henry Norman Bethune<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCt9av39DeibQNQ2KEVLVE4mxwoZA0mnwVsA9dAyJcykjKjTkRZCha75kwMVKqkRLOrSqwWEm2wtFMQZvn5_2RRZc2EfUgYZQyYBDsLl6eJ5Wh5uJQsIj7gm025N8VowEyYTv5UUq-YaA/s1600/Norman_Bethune_graduation_1922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCt9av39DeibQNQ2KEVLVE4mxwoZA0mnwVsA9dAyJcykjKjTkRZCha75kwMVKqkRLOrSqwWEm2wtFMQZvn5_2RRZc2EfUgYZQyYBDsLl6eJ5Wh5uJQsIj7gm025N8VowEyYTv5UUq-YaA/s320/Norman_Bethune_graduation_1922.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Henry Norman Bethune was a
doctor; adventurer; artist; poet; dandy; rebel; philosopher; social visionary
ahead of his time; humanitarian; political agitator; teacher; guerrilla;
revolutionary; inventor of tools and
gadgets; medical innovator; founder and administrator of
hospitals and public health services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He is revered as a saint in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>. IN 1972 he was declared
"a Canadian of national historical significance" by the
Canadian Federal Government, and "the world's best known
surgeon" by his medical colleagues. His contributions to
military medicine is indisputable. Yet to his contemporaries he was
a brawling, egocentric, alcoholic philandering swashbuckler, took to
bedding the wives of his colleagues. Who was the real Henry Norman
Bethune ?</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This is his story.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Norman Bethune was born on March 3, 1890, into a prominent Scottish
Canadian family in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Gravenhurst</st1:city>,
<st1:state w:st="on">Ontario</st1:state></st1:place>. His anchesters
were French nonconformist Christians who emigrated from <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region>
in the sixteenth century and to <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place>
in the eighteenth century. His great great grandfather, the Reverend John
Bethune (1751–1815), was the family patriarch and established the first
Presbyterian Church in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>.
Norman Bethune's great grandfather, Angus Bethune (1783–1858),was a fur
trader for the <st1:city w:st="on">Hudson</st1:city>'s Bay
Company in the <st1:place w:st="on">Lake Huron</st1:place>
district. Upon retirement in 1839 he successfully ran for Alderman of
Toronto City Council. From early boyhood, <st1:city w:st="on">Norman</st1:city> wanted
to be called <st1:city w:st="on">Norman</st1:city> after his grandfather, also
named <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norman</st1:place></st1:city>(1822–92), and
to become a great surgeon like him. Norman Senior was educated as a doctor
at King's College, <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Toronto</st1:placename>, and at Guy's Hospital in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
graduating in 1848 as a member of the Royal College of Physicians. Upon his
return to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>, he became
one of the founders of the Upper Canada School of Medicine,which was
incorporated into <st1:placename w:st="on">Trinity</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype>, which is now the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Toronto</st1:placename></st1:place>. Bethune's
father, Malcolm Nicholson Bethune (1889-92), was adventurous as a young
man and travelled around the world. In <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Honolulu</st1:place></st1:city>
he met an English Presbyterian missionary, Elizabeth Anne Goodwin. They
married in 1887 and returned to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>, where he became a
zealous evangelist. As both his parents were deeply religious, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norman</st1:place></st1:city> grew up with a
"fear of being mediocre",instilled into him by his emotionally strict
father and domineering mother. Bethune's siblings were his sister Janet,
and brother Malcolm.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGklnLZPiAJbxyDDCeojiJ56mnW8SrrX8YKQ2hPUr_tlL8gnRNDm2qh22u-T0ZF6N8CaR-UrGyN42zReoy7j6DOMs7pAtNXt3QgFp6QZnGtLkomUnPJOoRvn_vweOMgi6GPgKQPnNI6Q/s1600/bethune+memorial+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyGklnLZPiAJbxyDDCeojiJ56mnW8SrrX8YKQ2hPUr_tlL8gnRNDm2qh22u-T0ZF6N8CaR-UrGyN42zReoy7j6DOMs7pAtNXt3QgFp6QZnGtLkomUnPJOoRvn_vweOMgi6GPgKQPnNI6Q/s320/bethune+memorial+house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even as a youngster, Bethune stood out for his wide-ranging curiosity, and
was variously described by his peers as independent, restless, reckless, driven
energetic, and stubborn. Since his father's occupation involved frequent moves,
the boy attended a series of different schools. In 1908, at the age of 17, he
completed his high-school in <st1:city w:st="on">Owen Sound</st1:city>
collegiate, <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ontario</st1:place></st1:state>.
after a spell as a primary-school teacher in the <st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Edgeley</st1:placename>, north of <st1:city w:st="on">Toronto</st1:city>,
he enrolled in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Toronto</st1:placename></st1:place> in 1909, to
study physiology and biochemistry. Even as a medical student he demonstrated
the compassion and commitment to helping less fortunate people that later
became the dominant feature of his unorthodox but highly creative medical
career. In 1911 he deliberately interrupted his studies for one year to become
a volunteer worker-teacher with Frontier college, a unique canadian adult
education agency, to teach immigrant laborers at remotr lumber and mining camps
throughout northern <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ontario</st1:place></st1:state>
to read and write English.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>
entered the First World War in august 1914, Bethune, in a flourish of
patriotism, joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He was the tenth person in
the City of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city>
to enlist in the army. In February 1915 he was with the No.2 Field Ambulance as
a stretcher bearer in France and witnessed some of the worst slaughter ever
suffered by Canadian troops.In April the same year, during the second battle of
Ypres in Belgium he was badly wounded by shrapnel in the left knee. He spent
six months in hospital, first in <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>
then in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
before being invalided home. After returning to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city>, he pinched pennies and worked his
way to a medical degree in December 1916. Dr Frederick Banting, one of the
discoverers of insulin, was in his graduating class.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">In
April 1917 with the war still raging, Bethune went back to England and the
war, first as a surgeon sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer
Reserve, and then in the Royal Navy aboard the seaplane carrier <i>Pegasus</i>. After
demobilization, Bethune planned to specialize in
pediatrics, and took up a six-month internship at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>'s famous Hospital for Sick Children on
<st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Great Ormond Street</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:address> in 1919. But after 4 years
caught up in the war, he felt dislocated in an unhinged world, and was
quickly seduced by the uninhibited bohemian
life-style permeating post-war <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city>.
To support this life-style, he needed much more money than the hospital
salary can provide, so during his off hours he made side trips to
ware-houses in France and Spain, ferreting out objects d'art to sell to London
art dealers.He spent lavishly on food, drink, clothes, nightclubs, books,
paintings and friends. He grew an elegant mustache, took to sporting
a cane, and cut quite a dazzling figure for the three years he luxuriated in
high living.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Bethune
returned to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>
in 1920, re-enlisted in the army and served for several months on the medical
staff of the Canadian Air Force. after military service he returned to <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> to begin his second internship in west <st1:placename w:st="on">London</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype>,
and in the next year, to train as a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Edinburg</st1:place></st1:city>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">While in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Edinburgh</st1:place></st1:city>
Bethune met the strikingly beautiful Scottish woman, Frances <st1:personname w:st="on">Eleanor</st1:personname> Campbell Penny, eleven years his junior.
They were complete opposites : she was a subdued introvert; he was a brash
extrovert. In spite of their differences and the resistance of her upper-class
parebts, they married in 1923. The same year Bethune passed the difficult
examination to qualify as a Fellow of the Royal <st1:placetype w:st="on">college</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Surgeons</st1:placename> in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Edinburgh</st1:place></st1:city>. After the wedding the couple went
on a one year " Grand Tour " through continental <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>,
where Bethune demonstrated his spendthrift ways. One time they had run out of
money in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vienna</st1:place></st1:city>,
so Bethune got a friend to wire him some emergency money. On the way home from
collecting the money, he spent it all on a piece of fine China that he saw in
an art shop, much to the displeasure of his wife. In one year Bethune managed
to spend his wife's entire inheritance. But the trip was not a total loss, ever
the diligent student, Bethune took time off to observe the work of leading
surgeons in <st1:city w:st="on">Paris</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Vienna</st1:city>
and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state>.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">After the honeymoon and with little money,the couple settled in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Detroit</st1:city> , <st1:state w:st="on">Michigan</st1:state></st1:place>,
where Bethune took up private practice and a part-time job as an
instructor at the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery. During the two years
in Detroit Bethune gained first-hand, personal knowledge of poverty, as his
practice put him in daily contact with the poor and their never-ending medical
and financial problems. Later as his surgical fame grew, rich patients came and
paid handsomely, sometimes for what he regarded as trivial services. Gradually
Bethune came to realize the extent to which money was corrupting the medical
system</span><span lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Bethune marriage was tempestuous, and as time went by, Bethune
and his wife drifted apart. A passionate, energetic man, but also
impatient and authoritarian, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Frances</st1:place></st1:country-region> found his irascibility,
among other things, difficult to live with. At the time Bethune
was also heavily absorbed in his work, and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Frances</st1:place></st1:country-region> often found herself
alone at home. Tired of their quarreling, particularly over money matters,
in 1925 she went to stay with friends in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nova
Scotia</st1:place></st1:state>. Then personal tragedy struck. In
1926 Bethune, a smoker, contracted moderately
advanced tuberculosis due to overwork. After treatments in <st1:city w:st="on">Detroit</st1:city> and at the Gravenhurst Sanatorium, he was sent in
late 1926 to a sanatorium at <st1:placename w:st="on">Saranac</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype>, by the Adirondack Mountains in upstate <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state>. In 1927,
believing he was dying, he insisted <st1:country-region w:st="on">Frances</st1:country-region> divorce
him and return to her native <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the 1920's the conventional treatment for TB was total bed
rest, and the prognosis was generally poor. By October 1927 a
year had passed and the TB got worse. By
chance Bethune came upon a book: " The surgery of Pulmonary
Tuberculosis", and learnt about a radical new surgery for
tuberculosis called artificial pneumothorax. This involved
artificially collapsing the diseased lung, thus allowing it to rest and heal
itself. Intoxicated by renewed hope, Bethune burst into the
middle of a staff meeting and demanded that artificial pneumothorax be
performed on himself. The physicians at the Trudeau thought the procedure
was too new and too risky, whereupon Bethune bared his
chest and laughed aloud, "Gentlemen, I welcome the
risk!" Progress was spectacular after the operation. Bethune
was sputum negative two months later,and was able to leave Trudeau in good health
by December 1927 .Before going, he drafted a plan for a university programme to
be conducted at the sanatorium, to prepare patients vocationally and
psychologically for their return to normal life. Ten years later at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Saranac</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place> his dream became a reality.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span></span></span><span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Upon
recuperation Bethune immediately wrote to his wife and proposed marriage again.
At first she refused but eventually they were remarried in 1929. The marriage
did not last, and they were divorced again for a final time in 1933. However,
though they were unable to live together, they always stayed in contact
and remained genuinelly fond of each other .</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span><span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">During
his stay at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Saranac</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place>, Bethune initiated
the beginning of a huge volume of writing and art. His most important art of
the period was a multi-paneled mural entitled the "TB's
Progress", painted in a wild moment of despair on the walls of a
sanatorium cottage called " The Lea". Drawn in color, the
5-ft-high and 60-ft-wide continuous panel was autobiographic , depicting
allegorically the nine phases of his life, beginning with birth and ending with
the ninth drawing where the Angel of Death cradling him in her
arms. Bethune predicted the date of his own death to be 1932 - off by
7 years.Below each of the nine drawings was a poem that described the
drawing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrN-B7UYo5-R-afAAQ4Xl6z7FcT5o5062SOO3ndcAxcoGEpgJkr8zF9VSiKIqmCF8vp4EwaK8Glo0puMegPbSWeqlKirVzU4s8wPpPGmzJiM74fYEe6xruv7b6O5SfVp205bzVddVpQY0/s1600/Bethune+Murals+sweet+death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrN-B7UYo5-R-afAAQ4Xl6z7FcT5o5062SOO3ndcAxcoGEpgJkr8zF9VSiKIqmCF8vp4EwaK8Glo0puMegPbSWeqlKirVzU4s8wPpPGmzJiM74fYEe6xruv7b6O5SfVp205bzVddVpQY0/s320/Bethune+Murals+sweet+death.jpg" width="283" /></a></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Under the final
drawing he wrote :</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"> </span><span style="color: blue;">Sweet death, thou
kindest angel of them all.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> In<span class="203582610-23082013"> </span>thy soft arms, at last O let me
fall;</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> Bright stars are out,
long gone the burning sun</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> My little act is over and
the tiresome play is done.</span></div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Bethune experienced
wide swings in mood throughout his life, passing from a deep
depression as expressed in his murals
to a high euphoria . After surviving
tuberculosis, he was convinced he should devote his life to
crusade against tuberculosis and the social conditions that caused
it. He wrote to the pioneer in lung surgery, Dr. Edward William
Archibald, the Surgeon-in-Chief of the <st1:placename w:st="on">Royal</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Victoria</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placename>
in <st1:city w:st="on">Montreal</st1:city> (the teaching hospital affiliated
with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">McGuill</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>) for a training post in
thoracic surgery . Archibald suggested that he spend a preliminary period
with Dr David T. Smith, later Head of Bacteriology at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Duke</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
at a tuberculosis hospital in Ray Brook, New York. Doctor Smith said later
that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norman</st1:place></st1:city>
learned more about bacteriology in 3 months than most graduate students
learned in 3 years. Bethune was with Archibald first as a trainee and then
as a colleague from 1928 to 1932, where he dove into the field of thoracic
surgery "with a zest that only a condemned man saved by a last-minute
reprieve can feel."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune caused much controversy within the medical community
because of his "devil-may-care" lifestyle and his unorthodox
approach to Medicine. He dressed flamboyantly, drank heavily and socialized
with artists. He was too exuberant, too impetuous, too headstrong to fit in
with the other staid medical doctors. In 1964 CBC journalist Marjorie
McEnaney interviewed doctors and nurses who knew him at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Royal</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Victoria</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placename></st1:place>,
who recalled his legendary impatience in the operating room : an operation
taking most doctors two hours would be whipped through by him in fifteen
minutes. Archibald who trained Bethune described his surgical technique as
"quick but rough, not careful, far from neat, and just a little
dangerous." He would shout torrents of abuse at any nurse unable to
keep up with his fast and furious pace, and half way through an
operation would fling an instrument to the floor because it was not
performing well. Once the operation's finished he would storm off to his
study and scribble away at diagrams until he had come up with a better design
for the instrument. He had a marked genius for mechanical innovations and
developed or modified more than a dozen new surgical tools which were
soon being used by thoracic surgeons throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region> and other
countries. His most famous instrument was the Bethune Rib Shears, inspired
by a set of leather cutting shears he saw in a shoe repair shop.
This table-mounted scapula retractor (the iron intern) was a forerunner of
the automatic table retractor now widely used in abdominal and thoracic
surgical procedures today.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0f_RJlEgtbT_elIIyqrwb12jYO_FpCbsJxuXv8I-wTE0ZGDpxOTMF_L6xiB87Yk_z5w43kMq0GvTHRx8PnHvtMsy3Qi4TZoHjDF0i0dqB4kPr-3h860ZN2U5tX2KrnvEdNwENbVUw2E/s1600/Bethune+retractor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0f_RJlEgtbT_elIIyqrwb12jYO_FpCbsJxuXv8I-wTE0ZGDpxOTMF_L6xiB87Yk_z5w43kMq0GvTHRx8PnHvtMsy3Qi4TZoHjDF0i0dqB4kPr-3h860ZN2U5tX2KrnvEdNwENbVUw2E/s320/Bethune+retractor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune clashed with many of his colleagues because of his impatience
and outspoken criticism of ideas he didn't agree with, but in research he had
infinite patience, and was forever testing and perfecting new ideas in the
laboratory. He published 14 papers of lasting
significance, describing his innovations in thoracic surgical techniques
and suggested improvements. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Young
doctors generally liked Bethune. He was an enthusiastic and gifted
teacher, informal, outgoing, dynamic,cheerful, and in the words of Wendell
MacLeod, a medical intern at the Royal Vic from 1930 to 1932, he was a
"breath of fresh air". He used the small group approach and
picked specific patient to demonstrate different disease. He listened
with genuine interest to what the students found on examination
and what they thought. He enjoyed ridiculing conventional practice,
and his energetic pursuit of new approaches was especially refreshing to young
trainees who were tired of dry formal instruction. A case in point was the
successful use of maggots to heal chronic empyema resistant to standard
drainage procedures. Young doctors also appreciated his frank
presentations at meetings of the American Association for Thoracic
Surgery, though his manuscript on "Twenty-Five Errors I Have Made in
Thoracic Surgery" was never published. Bethune had a warm and
considerate bedside manner, and took a personal interest in the welfare of patients. A
dashing figure, Bethune would sat on patients' beds and
frankly discuss with them and their relatives the pros and cons of each
treatment.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He was also popular with many of the nurses who found him
attractive, and he had a reputation of being a womanizer. According to his
biographer Roderick Stewart, both medical and non-medical "polite
society" in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city> regarded Bethune
as shocking and rude. The nonconformist, provocative side of his
character finally caught up with him, and in the fall of 1932 Archibald
dismissed him. By this time Bethune had already gained certain
surgical fame among the thoracic surgeons of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>
and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vBxbhqs69DcmIOeZ1M9WZ-sGdTBud1w9h23WzAGysMDtspokEJWiNFvx2Ri9v5KZA3OVAAiqm8G4vXJfkqAkvA7OIYFlizr-6jliEOPZZMLDLzkGAvhS1LRi3R6f0LTq7skEdvMguc0/s1600/Norman_Bethune+-+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3vBxbhqs69DcmIOeZ1M9WZ-sGdTBud1w9h23WzAGysMDtspokEJWiNFvx2Ri9v5KZA3OVAAiqm8G4vXJfkqAkvA7OIYFlizr-6jliEOPZZMLDLzkGAvhS1LRi3R6f0LTq7skEdvMguc0/s320/Norman_Bethune+-+photo.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">The
eight years in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>,
Bethune developed his creative talents. He wrote plays, poetry and
short stories. He was then 45 years of age, twice divorced, restless, and
seeking new challenges. He plunged headlong into <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>'s social whirlpool.As a successful surgeon
Bethune was earning an extravagant salary, which he also spent
extravagantly. His Beaver Hall apartment was filled with all that's
luxurious, sensuous and artistic .He supported young Canadian artists, designed
his own furniture, and befriended actors. He gave his friends free run of his
apartment, and they repaid in kind. At one evening party, Bethune told his
guests he needed a new wallpaper in the bathroom. They
immediately smeared their mouths, hands and feet with lipstick and printed
a figured wallpaper for him. A rebel against the pretentiousness of
his profession, Bethune hung his diplomas, which other doctors displayed with
pride in their offices, in that same bathroom. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">An accomplished artist, Bethune found release and relaxation in painting. He
loved children,in June 1936, together with the artist Friedrich Wilhelm
Brandtner, an exponent of a new theory
on art training for children, he founded Children's <st1:placename w:st="on">Art</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Center</st1:placename> -
first of its kind in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>
- to give free workshops in oil and watercolor painting
to underpriviedged children from five to fifteen years. The classes
were held in Bethune's <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>
apartment three afternoons a week .Every Saturday Bethune took the
children to the art galleries, and explained to them the art exhibits. The
school created quite a stir in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>
art circles, and there were public showings of the children's paintings. Some
of Bethune's pieces, such as <i>Night operating theatre</i> (completed
around 1934), were exhibited in Montreal.In his diary Bethune wrote down
his definition of a true artist - " he makes uneasy the static,
the set and the still. In a world afraid of change, he preaches revolution, the
principle of life. He is an agitator, a disturber of the peace, quick,
impatient, positive, restless and disquieting. He is the creative spirit
working in the soul of man." </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune had to wait a year before getting the post to head a new
chest surgery department at the Roman Catholic Sacre
Coeur in Cartierville, north of Montreal, because the Archbishop and
the nuns at the hospital had reservations about his "une vie de
boheme". Now that he was his own master, he gave full rein to
his talents and creativity. Both the hospital and Bethune flourished ; the new
clinic soon became an important surgical TB treatment center in French
Canada, and the years Bethune spent at its helm were among the most productive
in his short surgical career. He performed 300 operations during the first
year, many on advanced bilateral cases of tuberculosis; trained qualified
surgeons, and introduced new techniques, such as person-to-person blood
transfusion, while continuing to invent surgical instruments and publish
scientific articles.In 1932 he was made a member of the American Association
for Thoracic Surgery and three years later he was elected to its council.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">From
1935 to 1936, Bethune's life abruptly changed from apolitical exuberance
to political intensity. At an artists' gathering, he met then fell in love
with a painter, Marian Scott. Marian was involved in left-wing politics, and
her husband, Francis Reginald Scott, a poet and law professor at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">McGuill</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, was an important member of
the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. Through his socialization with
literary and artistic people, Marian Scott in particular, Bethune was
introduced to new political ideas. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Against a backdrop of Economic Depression, Bethune became increasingly
disillusioned with surgical treatment and more concerned with the socioeconomic
aspects of disease. He noticed for every case of TB he cured, ten new cases
flared into the open, because TB fed on poverty. Five years after the Stock
Market crash, poverty was the spreading disease. He wrote in the <i>Journal</i> of
the Canadian Medical Association in July 1932:" Tuberculosis was not just
a disease but rather a problem arising from the socioeconomic system. The rich
recovers and the poor man dies. Lack of time and money kills more cases of
pulmonary tuberculosis than lack of resistance to that disease ." Bethune
was greatly troubled by the unattended suffering among the poor and with the
impulsiveness with which he threw himself into any new cause that drew him, he
opened a free clinic for any man, woman or child sent to him by the Montral
Unemployment Association. Thia was the context in which his acute social
conscience and his growing interest in communism developed, thus politics was a
preoccupation for only the last four years of his life.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In August 1935, Bethune traveled to the <st1:place w:st="on">Soviet Union</st1:place>
to attend the 15th International Physiological Congress. While he was
there he visited Russian hospitals in <st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city>
and <st1:city w:st="on">Leningrad</st1:city> (<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">St Petersburg</st1:place></st1:city>) and observed first
hand the Soviet medical system. He was deeply impressed by it, and by the
preventive methods used to fight tuberculosis there. Bethune began to believe in
the necessity of free medical care for all members of society. On his
return he reported to a distinguished medical-surgical society in <st1:city w:st="on">Montreal</st1:city> that " <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region> presents today the most
exciting spectacle of the evolutionary emergent and heroic spirit of man"
This brief visit also led him to learn more about communism. On his return to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region> in November 1935, he formally joined the
Communist Party (then an illegal organization)in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city> with goals to change the world for
the better.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the course of that fall, he organized a study group called the
"Montreal Group for the Security of the People's Health" which
consisted of about a hundred like-minded doctors, nurses, and social workers.
Bethune recognized that good medical care depended on team effort, and
under his direction, the group met regularly to examine the health-care systems
of other countries with a view to induce radical reform of medical and
health care services in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
After about six months of study and discussions, the group came up with a
Four-Point Plan: Municipal Medicine ; Compulsory Health Insurance; Voluntary
Health Insurance, and Free Medical Care for the unemployed. In the summer of
1936, at the time of a provincial election, the Plan was submitted to the government,the
opposition party, and health-care workers. The general public and politicians
reacted negatively, while some doctors exhibited frank hostility. The
speech he gave to the Medico-Chirurgical Society of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>, titled " Taking the Private
Profit Out of Medicine " struck the medical profession at the time as
socialized medicine, and led to his expulsion from the
Society. Bethune grew increasingly frustrated by the failure of the
Medical Reform Plan and openly expressed contempt for his own profession. He
felt <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>
closing in on him and saw himself as a " big frog in a small pond ".</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In mid-July 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out.It started as a
right-wing nationalist military uprising led by Francisco Franco, against the
newly elected leftist Popular Front government. The Nationalists were
backed by fascist <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, while <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region> was on
the side of Popular Front. The civil war was looked upon as a battle
between fascism and communism , and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region> became a popular cause among
many of the leftist artists and writers in the rest of the
world. Bethune saw this war as an opportunity to fled from his
on-going discontent. He realized by now he could never have a real romantic
relationship with Marian Scott; then of course the thrill of a
risky adventure and an international stage on which to fight
a humanitarian cause was resistible. He resigned from
his position at the Hospital du Sacre- Coeur, made his will leaving everything
to his ex-wife, and joined the Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy(CASD), an
organization of Canadian Communist sympathizers. Twelve hundred Canadian
supporters went to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
under the banner of the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, of these Bethune was
the most famous.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune set off for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
on 24 October 1936, taking medical supplies with him. He was strongly motivated
to fight fascism, and wrote a friend :" It is in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region> that the
real issues of our time are going to be decided. It is there that democracy
will live or die." This was an irrevocable turning point in his life .</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span class="482405109-03092013">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On 3 November Bethune arrived in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state>, and teamed up with Henning Sorensen,
a multilingual Danish-Canadian journalist. After meeting with medical elements
Bethune found there were enough foreign surgeons already in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Not
one to submerge himself anonymously in a hospital surgical team,
Bethune also recognized that the only way to raise
the publicity profile of the Canadian Committee was for him
to spearhead a specific medical service. After an inspection of hospitals
in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state>
which revealed a severe lack of facilities for blood transfusion, he
decided the best way he could help was by providing a blood-transfusion
service. In late November,he went with Sorensen to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> to buy the necessary equipment. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state>,
he set up the Servicio Canadiense de tranfusion de Sangre in mid December.
Theteam was made up of three Canadians, an American woman, and a few
Spanish doctors, to collect blood from donors. They made a public appeal in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state> and in one
month had 1,000 donors listed who were called upon every 3 weeks if necessary
for a 500 ml donation. The donors received a cup of coffee and a coupon
for extra food. By January 1937, Bethune's unit was supplying 60 hospitals in
the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Madrid</st1:place></st1:state>
region. </span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A frequent cause of death on the battlefield is medical shock brought on
by loss of blood, but the standard practice at that time was to transfuse
wounded soldiers only after they had been brought from the front lines to
hospitals in the rear, which was often too late. In a TV clip first shown
on 30 Nov 1980, Sorensen recalled how Bethune uttered the words that
revolutionized military medicine :"I have an idea, I think we should
organize an ambulant blood transfusion service." </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKtyY4R9_63UU-bM-nKxgDwp6g6gcTkwDF74NilsuK1dkTy9g0xp7e30NjhCstvK5LgSpxalognOxtxBJr2yz906o1fNkeA3SiVB-MO6Z2nwlLhohBqUVEvH_mBcJd3mu8MYZQ0apEuA/s1600/bethune+in+spain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIKtyY4R9_63UU-bM-nKxgDwp6g6gcTkwDF74NilsuK1dkTy9g0xp7e30NjhCstvK5LgSpxalognOxtxBJr2yz906o1fNkeA3SiVB-MO6Z2nwlLhohBqUVEvH_mBcJd3mu8MYZQ0apEuA/s320/bethune+in+spain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune elected to lead his team as close to the front line as he could
and transfuse on the spot. His concept was simple but innovative : extrate blood
from volunteer donors in various cities, store it in refrigerators ( with
sodium citrate added to prevent clotting) which would preserve it for two or
eben three weeks, and deliver it to where it's needed, when it's needed, via a
specially outfitted vehivle. The mobile transfusion vehicle he constructed
incorporated a small refrigerator run by kerosene or gasoline, a sterilizing
unit, an incubator, and equipment for drawing and administering blood
transfusion in the field .</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This mobile unit also contained dressings for 500 wounds, and enough
supplies and medicine for 100 operations. " In all, our equipment
consists of 1,375 seperate pieces," wrote Bethune in December. The
Instituto Canadiense de transfusion de sangre ( Canadian Blood Transfusion Service)
transfused its first patient on 3 January 1937. Five months later the
transfusion Unit _ composed of a central station which delivered blood to one
hundred sub-stations strung along a front of over 600 miles ( 1000km) ,
supplied every military sector in Spain and administered up to 100 transfusions
per day to wounded soldiers. Where refrigeration was not available, the
precious blood containers were kept in cold mountain streams close to firing
line. This mobile blood-transfusion service had drastically reduced fatalities
among the wounded, in some sectors as much as 75 %.</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Bethune's
pioneering battlefront mobile medical unit is viewed by medical historians
as an important innovation to military and medical history. It's considered to
be a precursor to the later development of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
(MASH) units, the portable surgical hospitals first set up in 1945,
and would prove seminal to the Allies in World War II. It was later
widely used in the Korean War (1950-53).</span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div>
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<span class="482405109-03092013">
</span>
<br />
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Not
content with dealing just with medical therapy, Bethune had an idea of setting
up a convalescent club run by an International Nursing Corps of French, German
and English nurses, who could then comfort each of the wounded
multi-national Brigade in his own language. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune had a flair for publicity. He made frequent broadcasts to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
wrote articles and poetry on the horrors of war. "<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>,”he wrote
later," is a scar on my heart.”One of his most well-known poems was
published in the 1937 July issue of Canadian Forum magazine:</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> <span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">And the same pallid moon tonight,<br /> Which rides
so quietly, clear and high,<br /> The mirror of our pale and troubled
gaze<br /> Raised to a cool Canadian sky.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> Above the shattered
Spanish troops<br /> Last night rose low and wild and red,<br />
Reflecting back from her illumined shield<br /> The blood bespattered faces
of the dead.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"> To that pale disc we
raise our clenched fists,<br /> And to those nameless dead our vows
renew,<br /> “Comrades, who fought for freedom and the future
world,<br /> Who died for us, we will remember you.”</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune was reckless in the field. When Franco shifted the battle to
the south, Bethune ignored all warnings and headed straight for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Almeria</st1:place></st1:city> . <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaga</st1:place></st1:city> had just been
bombed . With his Canadian companion Hazen Sise, Bethune arranged a
marathon rescue relay to help the thousand upon thousands of evacuees from <st1:city w:st="on">Malaga</st1:city> to reach the relative safety of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Almeria</st1:place></st1:city> . For two
days and two nights without sleep he stayed behind caring for the wounded as
they limped or crawled by the wayside. The memory of the pitiful children
haunted him for weeks, and resulted in his idea of building a chain of
Children's Villages to care for war orphans. The Spanish Aid Committee in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city> eventually raised
money for the building of the first two Children's Villages. Bethune
later wrote an article recalling the brutality he witnessed called
"The Crime on the Road; <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaga</st1:place></st1:city>
to Almeira".</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Though Bethune worked extremely hard and showed great compassion for his
patients in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, he
also continued his womanizing, hard-drinking ways. His brash, opinionated
nature and quick temper frequently got him into trouble with many of
the Spanish Communists, with the result four and a half months later,
following a feud, the previously independent transfusion unit was taken over by
the Spanish Republican Government. By April 1937, Bethune's closest
colleagues, Sorensen, Hazen Sise, and Allan May,were all concerned that
Bethune's escapades of vulgar partying, sex and diversion of funds
was hurting Canada's image. However, the triggering event which led to his
removal was typical Bethune -- involvement with a female he
promoted to administrative rank who had little work merit. By
mid-May, Bethune was in Paris living well on CASD money and on June 2 he was
under escort by a member of the Canadian Communist Party en route across
the Atlantic back to Canada, ostensibly to embark on a cross-country
speaking tour to raise funds for the Spanish cause.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune arrived back in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Montreal</st1:place></st1:city>
on 6 June1937, after an absence of 8 months, to a hero's welcome. One thousand
met him at Windsor Station in Montreal and that night 8,000 people, a capacity
audience, heard him speak (without notes), on the bravery of the Spanish
people. He was a good speaker and his talks stimulated a moral and
financial response far beyond all expectations across <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>. With
expert help, he produced a propaganda film about the transfusion
service,"Heart of Spain", which was distributed in <st1:place w:st="on">North
America</st1:place>.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">By Oct 1937, tired of the touring, Bethune requested to be
sent back to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>. But
the CASD had received a Spanish police report that a Swedish female
journalist Bethune was romantically involved with
was suspected to be a fascist spy and Bethune was no longer welcome
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
so he was offered instead a medical mission in support of the Chinese
Communists who were fighting Japanese invasion</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With the support of the Communist Party of Canada and the New
York-based China Aid Council, Bethune set sail for <st1:place w:st="on">Hong
Kong</st1:place> on 2 Jan 1938. He was accompanied by Jean Ewen, daughter
of a prominent Canadian communist and a registered nurse. Ewen had worked
in a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shantung</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Hospital</st1:placetype></st1:place> for 2 years and was fluent
in Chinese. They landed in Hong Kong on the 27th Jan. Bethune,an avid
correspondent all his life, wrote from Hong Kong and
explained why he had come:“I refuse to condone, by passivity, or default,
the wars which greedy men make against others. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>
are part of the same battle. I am going to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> because I feel that is where
I can be most useful.”In China Bethune craved his most enduring legend.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The troupe flew from Hong Kong to <st1:city w:st="on">Wuhan</st1:city>,
the provisional capital of the Kuomintang (the Chinese Nationalist Party), and
met Chou En Lai, later premier of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>. After working briefly
in several cities, Bethune decided to go to Yan'an, the then Chinese
Communist capital in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shaanxi</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">Province</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Travelling
by truck and by train, by mule cart and on foot, Bethune and Ewen made the
epic 800 mile journey through enemy-held territory and eventually
arrived at the headquarters of Mao Zedong's <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">8th Route</st1:address></st1:street> Army 5 weeks later. En
route they treated combat casualties and narrowly escaped capture by the
Japanese. On the 22 March they were greeted by Zhu De, the
commander-in-chief of the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">8th
Route</st1:address></st1:street> Army.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On 31 March Bethune met with Mao Zedong, who was president of
the Revolutionary Military Council, in his cave dwelling. Their discussion
lasted the entire night. Mao, recognizing Bethune's potential value,
immediately made him a member of the Communist Party of China, and gave him
free rein to organize a front-line service for the wounded.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nt4J5SRsPcIGTXVBIHOF9WJqD_8lEBRYufBx4JE5GvYHDbzqZ_UV9gj8yjhHJTjRPnLUhyphenhyphenwGWKRw8fjaWbYuizV66mAEOKva-qu66mkAKWfCvbD5s1uVkQCrFd0SD3VibhVLlVIQIOE/s1600/Norman_Bethune_China_1938+with+mao.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nt4J5SRsPcIGTXVBIHOF9WJqD_8lEBRYufBx4JE5GvYHDbzqZ_UV9gj8yjhHJTjRPnLUhyphenhyphenwGWKRw8fjaWbYuizV66mAEOKva-qu66mkAKWfCvbD5s1uVkQCrFd0SD3VibhVLlVIQIOE/s320/Norman_Bethune_China_1938+with+mao.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a month or so in Yan'an, on May Day in 1938, Bethune,at his own
request, together with Ewen, travelled northeast to the
frontier isolated mountain ranges of Jin (Shanxi)-Cha (Chahar)-Ji
(Hebei), where fighting was extremely fierce and there were only a few
qualified doctors to care for the 13 million people (sick peasants as well as
wounded soldiers)in the area. On 17 June 1938 Bethune arrived in Jingangku,
a village on the <st1:place w:st="on">Wutai Shan</st1:place> mountain, which
was the headquarters of Commander-in-Chief Nie Rongzh. Nie promptly
appointed Bethune the Medical Commander to all Chinese
Communist Eighth Route Army medical forces. In total 1,000
battles were engaged during Bethune's tenure.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">China was in desperate struggle against incredible odds.With at least
25,000 wounded always in the hospitals, there were only five qualified Chinese
doctors, fifty Chinese untrained " doctors"- peasants who had picked
up the merest rudiments of operating by observation-, and Bethune, the only
foreign doctor. There were few surgical supplies or medicines, and the "
hospitals" were mostly just peasant huts.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune was disappointed to find his ambulant blood transfusion
system couldn't work in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
There was little electricity for refrigeration and the road conditions
were too poor.With his genius for originating and organising, Bethune
quickly conceived the idea of a mobile medical unit which travel directly to
the fighting front and treat the wounded on the
spot. The operating team consisting of Bethune, two Chinese
doctors, an interpreter he had trained as an anesthetist, a cook, and two
orderlies. The mobile surgical unit consisted of a collapsible operating
table designed by Bethune,a full set of surgical instruments, antiseptics, 25
wooden splints, sterile gauze, and medicine, all built to fit onto
the backs of two mules. In case of sudden enemy advane, the
whole hospital unit could be packed up and on the move within half an hour.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span class="482405109-03092013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The mobile units were particularly well suited to the guerrilla campaign
being waged against the Japanese. Bethune and his operating theatre was
often within minutes of the shifting frontline of the guerrilla
fighters. On horseback he led his mobile operating unit through the
barren Wu Tai mountains of <st1:state w:st="on">Shanxi</st1:state> province and
across the <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hebei</st1:place></st1:state>
plains, covering hundreds of miles at a stretch, over tortuous
mountain paths and primitive country.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune worked prodigiously and took very little rest. He was always close
to the fighting and forced to work under extremely harsh conditions, often
engaged in marathon surgical sessions as casulties mounted.In April 1939,
during the battle of Qihui led by General He Long, he and his team performed
115 operations in a 69 hour period - without sleep.His mobile unit helped
save at least 500 lives a day and continued operating under terrible
conditions. While working in the makeshift mobile unit was
strenuous, conditions in the base hospitals were even worse. These were
built wherever there was space, in temples, huts or caves; they had poor
lighting, only benches or planks for beds, often without blankets.The
sanitary condition was horrendous.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnDiX1ItQybHoPnTJI2v5KH6I9iH0SXDdZU-hy4sK1am6OuL1mNSle_CAZNhWh4jCmyixITFXjKkhnl5uRg7NEEzAqVVT_94uAmZepmRNblIw1NqFfbLgB0gAkqGffOiMHDKCpwB7m1U/s1600/Bethune+Painting+in+chinese+uniform.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnDiX1ItQybHoPnTJI2v5KH6I9iH0SXDdZU-hy4sK1am6OuL1mNSle_CAZNhWh4jCmyixITFXjKkhnl5uRg7NEEzAqVVT_94uAmZepmRNblIw1NqFfbLgB0gAkqGffOiMHDKCpwB7m1U/s320/Bethune+Painting+in+chinese+uniform.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune did not distinguish between casualties, and treated wounded
Japanese prisoners as well as Chinese soldiers. After one night of steady
operating, he wrote " Wounds", a poignant critique of
imperialist war. This is an extract from the article : </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Any more?
Four Japanese prisoners. Bring them in. In this community of pain, there are no
enemies. Cut away that blood-stained uniform. Stop that haemorrhage. Lay them
beside the others. Why, they<span class="592005209-27082013">'</span>re alike as
brothers! Are these soldiers professional man-killers<span class="482405109-03092013"> </span>? No, these are amateurs-in-arms. Workman<span class="592005209-27082013">'</span>s hands. These are
workers-in-uniform.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">No more. Six o<span class="592005209-27082013">'</span>clock in the morning. God, it<span class="592005209-27082013">'s</span> cold in this room. Open the door. Over the
distant, dark-blue mountains, a pale, faint line of light appears in the
east. In an hour the sun will be up. To bed and sleep.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">But sleep will not come. What
is the cause of this cruelty, this stupidity? <br />A million workmen come from
Japan to kill or mutilate a million Chinese workmen. Why should the Japanese
worker attack his brother worker, who is forced merely to defend himself. Will
the Japanese worker benefit by the death of the Chinese? No, how can he gain?
Then, in God<span class="592005209-27082013">'</span>s name, who will gain? Who is
responsible for sending these Japanese workmen on this murderous mission? Who
will profit from it? How was it possible to persuade the Japanese workmen to
attack the Chinese Workman – his brother in poverty; his companion in
misery?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Is it possible that a few rich
men, a small class of men, have persuaded a million men to attack, and attempt
to destroy, another million men as poor as they? So that these rich may be
richer still? Terrible thought! How did they persuade these poor men to come to
China? By telling them the truth? No, they would never have cone if they had
known the truth, Did they dare to tell these workmen that the rich only wanted
cheaper raw materials, more markets and more profit? No, they told them that
this brutal war was “The Destiny of the Race,” it was for the “Glory of the
Emperor,”it was for the“Honor of the State,” it was for their “King and
Country.”</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">False. False as
hell!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">The agents of a criminal war of
aggression, such as this, must be looked for like the agents of other crimes,
such as murder, among those who are likely to benefit from those crimes. Will
the 80,000,000 workers of Japan, the poor farmers, the unemployed industrial
workers – will they gain? In the entire history of the wars of aggression, from
the conquest of Mexico by Spain, the capture of India by England, the rape of
Ethiopia by Italy, have the workers of those “victorious” countries ever been
known to benefit? No, these never benefit by such wars. Does the Japanese
workman benefit by the natural resources of even his own country, by the gold,
the silver, the iron, the coal, the oil? Long ago he ceased to possess that
natural wealth. It belongs to the rich, the ruling class. The millions who work
those mines live in poverty. So how is he likely to benefit by the armed robbery
of the gold, silver, iron, coal and oil from China? Will not the rich owners of
the one retain for their own profit the wealth of the other? Have they not
always done so?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">It would seem inescapable that
the militarists and the capitalists of Japan are the only class likely to gain
by this mass murder, this authorized madness, this sanctified butchery. That
ruling class, the true state, stands accused.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Are wars of aggression, wars
for the conquest of colonies, then, just big business? Yes, it would seem so,
however much the perpetrators of such national crimes seek to hide their true
purpose under banners of high-sounding abstractions and ideals. They make war to
capture markets by murder; raw materials by rape. They find it cheaper to steal
than to exchange; easier to butcher than to buy. This is the secret of war. This
is the secret of all wars. Profit. Business. Profit. Blood money.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Behind all stands that
terrible, implacable God of Business and Blood, whose name is Profit. Money,
like an insatiable Moloch, demands its interest, its return, and will stop at
nothing, not even the murder of millions, to satisfy its greed. Behind the army
stand the militarists. Behind the militarists stand finance capital and the
capitalist. Brothers in blood; companions in crime.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">What do these enemies of the
human race look like? Do they wear on their foreheads a sign so that they may be
told, shunned and condemned as criminals? No. On the contrary. they are the
respectable ones. They are honored. They call themselves, and are called,
gentlemen. What a travesty on the name, Gentlemen! They are the pillars of the
state, of the church, of society. They support private and public charity out of
the excess of their wealth. they<span class="592005209-27082013">
</span>endow<span class="592005209-27082013"> </span>institutions. In their
private lives they are kind and considerate. they obey the law, their law, the
law of property. But there is one sign by which these gentle gunmen can be told.
Threaten a reduction on the profit of their money and the beast in them awakes
with a snarl. They become ruthless as savages, brutal as madmen, remorseless as
executioners. Such men as these must perish if the human race is to continue.
There can be no permanent peace in the world while they live. Such an
organization of human society as permits them to exist must be
abolished.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">These men make the
wounds.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This passage is all the more relevant today as Japanese
militarism is once again on the rise.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bethune took it upon himself to work feverishly in an endeavour
to make improvements to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
medical system. He worked with Chinese carpenters and
blacksmiths and invented several instruments, including a wooden
packing container that greatly facilitated the transport of drugs and
supplies, which could also double as operating table. Because of
its shape, he gave it the Chinese name <i>lugou qiao</i> (Marco Polo
bridge).</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the most pressing needs was to train individuals to provide basic
first aid and sanitation services and to carry out simple surgical
procedures.In January 1939 Bethune organized a week of intensive
training in the village of Yangjiazhuang. In August and September, he
supervised a five-week program and trained everyone from orderlies to nurses
to surgeons. This led to the opening, on 15 September, of a permanent
model hospital(also to be used to train doctors and nurses),in Sung-yen
K'on.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Bethune designed and established over twenty teaching and nursing
hospitals. With adequate translation he taught hands-on surgery, and trained a
large number of medical cadres in basic medical techniques. He performed near
miracles by taking illiterate peasant boys and uyoung workers and made doctors
( the Barefoot doctors ) and nurses out of them. Another major achievement was
improvement in sanitary conditions.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bethune wrote and illustrated elementary medicine and surgery
textbooks and graphic manuals for wartime surgery, as there was none
available.The same year he produced another first- a medical manual devoted
entirely to guerrilla warfare, known in Chinese as "Youjizhan zhong shi
yezhan yiyuan de zuzhi he jishu," and in English as "Organization and
technology of division field hospitals in guerrilla war." </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Victum
still of his own foul temper, Bethune at times of frustration would lapse into
his infamous behaviour. Jean Ewen described his near psychopathic rage : "
Dr Bethune was furious, I had never seen such a temper brfoe......He stomped
and kicked everything in sight " Yet his demeanor altered when he was with
the sick. " He was very tender with the wounded, and very concerned
," Sorensen , his Spanish interpreter, recalled," It seemd his whole
personality changed when he went in among the wounded. He was a terribly
complex man." An assistant in </span><st1:country-region style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on">China</st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
</span><st1:place style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on">Chu</st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, also remembered how he was with a 5 month
old baby with severe malnutrition, all matchstick limbs and a huge belly. The
baby cried incessantly out of hunger. Bethune excavated a can of milk, a spoon
and a cup with his sack and told </span><st1:place style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on">Chu</st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to get
some hot water. Together with the mother, Bethune spoonfed the baby a whole cup
of milk. The next morning the mother thanked Bethune profusely, saying the baby
had not slept so well for many nights. The doctor just stood there grinning from
ear to ear .</span><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Another
story told how 10 days of continuous heavy rain caused raging floods in the Hebei
North End village, and Bethune was very upset as he watched houses, trees and crops
being washed away. When the flood threatened the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Military</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Medical</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place>, he undressed, jumped
into the river and joined the rescue of the precious equipment. Because there
were no boats, flat basket trays were tied to ladders to hold the cargo , a row
of 10 people held hands to seady the ladder while Bethune swam and pushed
the ladder along from the side. They had to make a dozen trips to transfer all
the material to dry ground, all the while Bethune told jokes about the swimming
practices he did in the lakes back in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>. </span></span><br />
<br />
The soldiers adored him. Word quickly passed from mouth to mouth in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> of the
amazing Canadian doctor who shared his clothes, his food, and even his blood
with wounded soldiers and civilians. He won the admiration of
the locals by accepting their customs, sleeping in their homes, and
suffered the same hardships as they. His name sparked the courage of
thousands of Chinese soldiers, he was their war cry :" Attack! Bethune is
with us !" <br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Bethune's letters from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
however, betrayed the many trials and personal hardship he endured.
Isolated, experiencing a foreign culture, eating sparsely, and clothed in the
threadbare uniform of a common Chinese soldier, he sometimes expressed a
longing for the comfort of home: " I dream of coffee, of rare roast beef,
of apple pie and ice cream. Books- are books still being written ?
Is music still being played ? Do you dance, drink beer, look at pictures ? What
do clean white sheets in a soft bed feel like ? Do women still love to be loved
?"</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-US">Since his arrival at the frontier, Bethune had lost a lot
of weight. He was forever surpassing his own records of fortitude, exhausting
even to contemplate. He seemingly survived only by sheer will. Long
hours, poor food and overwork had taken their toll, the once proud,
virile body was thin and bent, the handsome face now deeply lined and
scarred by suffering. In a letter written in August 1939, he states that
his teeth and his eyes are in bad shape and that one ear has gone
deaf. Near the end at the age of 49 he looked 75. The Chinese
affectionately called him " The Old Man".</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="203582610-23082013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span class="482405109-03092013"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><span class="482405109-03092013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But given the choice, Bethune would still have preferred to toil under
adversity in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>
rather than live in luxury back home. The radical doctor who was scorned and
shunned by the elite of Canadian medical society found solace and a sort of
redemption among the Chinese peasants. In a letter to a friend in August 1938,
Bethune wrote: " It is true I am tired but I don't think I have been so
happy for a long time. I am content. I am doing what I want to do.....I have no
money nor the need of it- everything is given me. No wish. no desire is left
unfulfilled. I am treated like a kingly comrade, with every kindness, every
courtesy imaginable."</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIvl7RNTcFA45irmx92tc_BxpJGQjmznynoOiguIfFlsE64__v7Ie1aTAUXwsgQI2Isvj7yJzF7-koSB0L3hXvLBXUnamsYdLMJxdT2ZOvpmQCBao2qspmJjewAMqJ1SKNRU_oFWfrbI/s1600/our+doctor+painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIvl7RNTcFA45irmx92tc_BxpJGQjmznynoOiguIfFlsE64__v7Ie1aTAUXwsgQI2Isvj7yJzF7-koSB0L3hXvLBXUnamsYdLMJxdT2ZOvpmQCBao2qspmJjewAMqJ1SKNRU_oFWfrbI/s320/our+doctor+painting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">In
each letter home Bethune pleaded for more supplies and
money. Supplies were dwindling to a trickle: lacking even ether for urgent
surgery. Bethune worked on, by now bitterly resigned to the fact that the aid
he entreated would not come. In late 1939 Bethune planned
to return to North America for a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">fund-raising
tour, but delayed his departure when the </span><st1:placetype style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on">Mount</st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><st1:placename style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on">Motien</st1:placename><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">(</span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">摩天岭</span><span lang="EN-US">)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">broke
out in his area in </span><st1:place style="font-size: 12pt;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Laiyuan</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="592005209-27082013" style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></span></span></div>
<div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Painstaking down to minute details with the care of his patients, he
was appallingly reckless with his own. On 28 October, even as the
Japanese were seen advancing on the temple where he and his staff were
operating, Bethune refused to evacuate before he had operated on all the
wounded. In the ensuing rush, while operating barehanded (there were no
surgical gloves) on a soldier whose head wound was badly
infected, Bethune accidentally nicked the middle finger of his left
hand. Immediately he plunged his hand into iodine solution to disinfect
the cut but continued operating. It wasn't the first time he had cut himself in
an operation. He was sure this would heal. But the cut did not
heal. Despite their best effort to drain the infection, it spread. His
hand and then his arm became badly swollen. Amputation of his arm was
suggested, but Bethune rejected the idea. He knew his death was imminent. Blood
poisoning had set in; his whole body was infected. His Chinese comrades
tried to carry him to get help on a litter, but there was no help
available. In <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region>
and Europe there were drugs that might have saved him, but out here in
that remote, war-torn corner of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> there were none.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2c64JxqPMYpv4to9tBURhJuVkNf82LZ8QG5waWYL-2pk4ynch8CxwdSE1juqa18AVLIt-otMzVLDKeq15AQtDTRHvXMfrhVTvLtaSm3yM24GNQz8HPAFeNdqaWaQo1ZBXdx2bZXP_MU/s1600/bethune+operating+Buddist+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2c64JxqPMYpv4to9tBURhJuVkNf82LZ8QG5waWYL-2pk4ynch8CxwdSE1juqa18AVLIt-otMzVLDKeq15AQtDTRHvXMfrhVTvLtaSm3yM24GNQz8HPAFeNdqaWaQo1ZBXdx2bZXP_MU/s320/bethune+operating+Buddist+temple.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Exhausted by his poisoned system,
Bethune wrote one final letter, describing first his condition :"<span class="875330811-11102013"> </span>Vomiting on stretcher all the day. High fever,
over 40C. I think I have either septicemia from the gangrenous fever or typhus
fever. Can't get to sleep. Mentally very bright. Phenacitin and Aspirin, Woven's
powder, antipyrin, caffeine, all useless." He then set out his last will and
requested that some money be provided by the Chinese Aid Council to his divorced
wife. His responsibility to her, he maintained, "is undeniable.”<span class="875330811-11102013"> </span>He also listed the basic pharmaceuticals his
group needed<span class="875330811-11102013"> " Each year will need to buy 250
pounds of Quinine and 300 pounds of iron, specifically for Malaria patients and
a significant number of anemia patients . Do not go to Baoding-Tianjin area to
buy drugs, because the price is twice as expensive as Hong Kong and
Shanghai."</span>. The part addressed to General Nie read : "Dear Commander Nie,
Today I feel really bad. Probably I have to say farewell to you forever ! Please
send a letter to Tim Burke the General Secretary of Canadian Communist Party.
Address is No.10, <!--?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /--><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on">Wellington Street</st1:street>, <st1:city w:st="on">Toronto</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region></st1:address>. Please also make a copy for
Committee on International Aid to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> and Democratic Alliance of
Canada, <span class="875330811-11102013">send them a Japanese and a Chinese
machetes, and a report of my work here, tell them there is a film to be
completed .....</span>tell them, I am very happy here<span class="875330811-11102013">, I only hope is to be able to contribute
more</span>. <span class="875330811-11102013">The two boxes of surgical
instruments are for the Military Health Minister, ling can take the doctors and
the public health schools .</span><span class="875330811-11102013">The two camp
beds are for you and hanif, the two pairs of shoes from England are for you, the
riding boots and breeches are for Jizhong, the district commander . To my
servants and cook, a blanket each, the Japanese ( patient) the pair of Shao-ping
shoes . </span>Please give my Kodak Retina II camera to comrade Sha Fei. <span class="875330811-11102013">I cannot write any more ! </span>Norman Bethune,
04:20pm, November 11th, 1939". </span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The day - 13 November1939, 5.20am, in a tiny peasant hut in the <st1:placetype w:st="on">village</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Huang Shikou</st1:placename> (<st1:placename w:st="on">Yellowstone</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">County</st1:placetype>) in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Hebei</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Province</st1:placetype></st1:place>, Dr. Norman Bethune died. He
was buried in an American flag, as no Red Ensign or Union Jack was at hand.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbCUiqQRy3eYijdaQfeLLX9YkS9mc8s3QLgCNbk09kXuv31-rhDtihYAfxJI_mAiylte7Hg1CPc3HAemEsfOuL3lyMoBPt2l_JkUZFi3D5bUtZUThLwa6vDx7Tv_o_XOKw5Fkf-OBOwE/s1600/bethune+lying+dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzbCUiqQRy3eYijdaQfeLLX9YkS9mc8s3QLgCNbk09kXuv31-rhDtihYAfxJI_mAiylte7Hg1CPc3HAemEsfOuL3lyMoBPt2l_JkUZFi3D5bUtZUThLwa6vDx7Tv_o_XOKw5Fkf-OBOwE/s320/bethune+lying+dead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His team carried his body for 4 days along icy mountain paths to a place
of relative safety, as all around battles raged in the countryside. Two
memorial ceremonies were held in succession in his honour : on 1 December 1939
a memorial meeting was held in Yan'an, the troops of the 8th Red Army stood row
upon row, filling the valley between the honeycombed hills while Martial Chu
Teh, the commander-in-chief, spoke to them of the man who died for them. Later
on 5 January 1940, in the frontier region where he had worked, 10,000 people
shuffled by the frail gaunt corpse. Bethune's death was a major loss to the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">8th Route</st1:address></st1:street> Army. A
tomb was built for him in the valley where he died. Nine years later
General Neieh revisited his grave to wipe off the desecration done by the
Japanese. In 1952 his remains were taken to the Mausoleum of Martyrs,and
re-buried in the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Shih-chia-chuang</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Hebei</st1:state></st1:place>
Province. A statue, a pavilion and a museum mark the site. Every year on the
anniversary of his death, a ceremony is held there. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span class="482405109-03092013"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisb7Jz5j6K_D7VOzRVbfRtX-4pXdHLkEwSXaYP4tKxks5N3HTciyfZdokt-HHzP2yHXAPBCxhuIkY0gr0UJBf-yZofSbBlBaZ9Zes_vhjV6dMqQ_AitZ5rgTkzsotZ5g_lfwFbsDvmJ-g/s1600/bethune+tomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisb7Jz5j6K_D7VOzRVbfRtX-4pXdHLkEwSXaYP4tKxks5N3HTciyfZdokt-HHzP2yHXAPBCxhuIkY0gr0UJBf-yZofSbBlBaZ9Zes_vhjV6dMqQ_AitZ5rgTkzsotZ5g_lfwFbsDvmJ-g/s320/bethune+tomb.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Just next to Bethune's grave is the grave of an Indian
doctor, Dr.Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis, who died in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> on 9
December 1942. He was one of five Indian physicians dispatched to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> to
provide medical assistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJDIvS7r5rAXUsIERfkS1vC82qWp8SNUliAVpWrWmY0_Fct4MUsxSeHeqEazwJlhFIbHY2TrX3I6fXtpadgqahzMKsm36iVKlcwIbfGJXdPRcNKVJvrmi7pKAxjuj_9d-xl906YO3-Ck/s1600/Dr_Kotnis_295X200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJDIvS7r5rAXUsIERfkS1vC82qWp8SNUliAVpWrWmY0_Fct4MUsxSeHeqEazwJlhFIbHY2TrX3I6fXtpadgqahzMKsm36iVKlcwIbfGJXdPRcNKVJvrmi7pKAxjuj_9d-xl906YO3-Ck/s1600/Dr_Kotnis_295X200.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another foreigner honoured in this Mausoleum is Reverend Eric Liddell
of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the
hero of the Academy Award–winning film, Chariots of Fire. Liddell died while
incarcerated in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Shandong</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Province</st1:placetype></st1:place>.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wH_olsy51S1urXf1JXPbZ4aIr4nIG6liPISWLVQVdQyxbBJtLtLsKp19KRtijdtSurCai5FLxDrD4-j_h0lvPJSGjimXQbI0McoYT_TT6mSof-oCnTon0Q1WdnDtmN3eDBtA2yR6vos/s1600/Eric_liddell_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wH_olsy51S1urXf1JXPbZ4aIr4nIG6liPISWLVQVdQyxbBJtLtLsKp19KRtijdtSurCai5FLxDrD4-j_h0lvPJSGjimXQbI0McoYT_TT6mSof-oCnTon0Q1WdnDtmN3eDBtA2yR6vos/s1600/Eric_liddell_1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Bethune's affection for, and devotion to his Chinese comrades were
fully reciprocated.After Bethune's death, Mao Tse Tung told his countrymen:
" We mourn much more than the passing of a man". On 21December
Mao Zedong published an essay entitled "In memory of Norman
Bethune,"( </span><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">紀念白求恩</span><span lang="EN-US">), which documented the final months of the doctor's life
in China.It became one of Mao's most famous essays. In it Mao urged all Chinese
people to emulate Bethune's spirit of internationalism, his sense of
responsibility, his selfless spirit and his devotion to others."
Comrade Bethune and I met only once. Afterwards he wrote me many letters. But I
was busy, and I wrote him only one letter and do not even know if he ever
received it. I am deeply grieved over his death. Now we are all commemorating
him, which shows how profoundly his spirit inspires everyone. We must all learn
the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With his spirit everyone can be
very useful to the people. A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has
this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and
above vulgar interest, a man who is of value to the people. Comrade Bethune's
spirit, his utter devotion to others without any thought of self, was shown in
his great sense of responsibility in his work and his great warm-heartedness towards
all comrades and the people."</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Among Chinese only the name Mao Tse-Tung was more familiar than
Pai-Ch'iu-En (White One Sent) because Mao's essay was included in textbooks in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
elementary schools. which had become required reading for everyone during <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
Cultural Revolution (1966 76). Quotations of even a small portion of that
essay were enough to identify him. .His name also appears in Chairman Mao's
Little Red Book as "the ideal communist." and his picture
appeared on posters and postage stamps. Bethune's name becomes
almost synonymous with <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
is of great significance in 2010 as the two countries mark the 40th
anniversary of diplomatic relations. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After being elevated to hero status by Mao, Bethune has been revered by
the Chinese people ever since.Bethune is one of the few Westerners to whom
China has dedicated statues and memorials, of which numerous have
been erected around China.Several colleges and universities of medical
sciences and hospitals are named after him in China,e.g.the Bethune Military
Medical College , Bethune Specialized Medical College,and the
800-bed Norman Bethune International Peace Hospital (which includes a Bethune
museum on the hospital grounds), all three are in Shijiazhuang,Hsi Ching
(Yenan Province). Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, founded in <st1:city w:st="on">Changchun</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Jilin</st1:state>,
was later merged into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Jilin</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> as Norman
Bethune College of Medicine.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Except for his work in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region>,
Bethune was virtually unknown in his homeland and his death received
little attention in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
After Bethune's death, Edward Archibald, Bethune's erstwhile mentor, wrote,
"He was definitely abnormal, but not 'mental' and not a genius or a
leader. ... He was an egocentric. His vision was keen but narrow. He wore
blinders. He trod on many toes, quite often without knowing or caring if he did
know. He had a superiority complex and he was entirely amoral. And yet, it is
not quite fair to say all that, because I do give him credit for sincerity in
his social views." Then he added: "Change and progress are
best accomplished within the confines of organized medicine, the hallmark of
the unsung hero. If that fails, extraordinary measures will be required and
they will have to be truly heroic and delivered by the totally dedicated and
the supremely talented to succeed." Many believe that Bethune attained
this exalted pinnacle and thereby became a truly sung hero. Leo Eloesser,
another thoracic surgeon, in a memorial to Bethune, may have put it best:
"It was not in a well-disciplined hospital that one saw the sinewy figure
of Bethune best. His intense love of freedom, his intolerance of the reins of
authority, and his human interests transcended his medical ones."<br />
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<span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="828573801-16092013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><span class="592005209-27082013"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYII285gBitbfyZBH9JLwh2G9Gn5KBM9-7wRZtc8MtNAlelRb97UsAQQfsX1-l-XNB8nJ0lgRzCavLGuN_pb0ZYrUs5-vtQKlS7n2JqDtC03zDa0pEjoxGdDCZhrJQqlDaMpsQpLo82Q/s1600/Norman_bethune+staue+in+Montreal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYII285gBitbfyZBH9JLwh2G9Gn5KBM9-7wRZtc8MtNAlelRb97UsAQQfsX1-l-XNB8nJ0lgRzCavLGuN_pb0ZYrUs5-vtQKlS7n2JqDtC03zDa0pEjoxGdDCZhrJQqlDaMpsQpLo82Q/s320/Norman_bethune+staue+in+Montreal.jpg" width="115" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Even before Bethune left for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, he might already
have mentally prepared himself for not being able to come back. He
wrote a farewell letter to " Elizebeth", a former lover " My
road ahead is a strange and dangerous one. You cannot come with me. I don't
want to attempt in my time left any serious emotional engagement......Remember
me as I will you -- with quietness and respect." Bethune also
wrote another friend he was in need of an altar on which to immolate
himself and rise again like the fabled phoenix from the
ashes. Henning Sorensen commented years later " When I look
upon the life of Norman Bethune, it seems to me to be one long preparation for
the final period - his life and work in <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>
" In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
away from whisky and women, Bethune had found his mission in life.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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During the 19 months in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,Bethune taught the Chinese
skills and gave them hope, in turn their devotion restored his faith in
himself and humanity. Larry Hannant, a biographer of Bethune stated,"
Bethune found a movement and a people that satisfied his ideal of communism,
with a hatred of Japanese militarism, a love for the Communists' allies around
the world who shared their struggle, and a lack of personal vanity and
ambition." For the first time he believed he was working together with the
people in a united effort. Shortly before his death he wrote to a friend
that his time in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> had
been" the most significant, the most meaningful years of my life.
Sometimes it has been lonely, but I have found my highest fulfillment here
among my beloved comrades." For in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, quite simply, he had been
needed,and he need to be needed. Thousands of miles from home, in the
bleak mountains of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>,the
wounded doctor finally healed himself through the act of healing others.<br />
<br />
Bethune will always remain a figure of
controversy. Ted Allan, a Jewish Canadian writer who was
with Bethune in the Spainish war, hit the mark when he said
" There were times I had loved him because he had been truly magnificent.
There were times I hated him because he hadn't measured up to my ideal hero
". Maybe the problem is not Bethune but our unrealistic
expectation of a fallible human. At any rate, Bethune should be happy that
nobody, not anyone in the whole wide world, could ever accuse him of
being "mediocre" !</div>
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The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-7969330837099278842013-08-11T17:05:00.000-07:002013-08-11T17:05:43.110-07:00Who holds the real power in CUHK 誰掌握中大真權力<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">Summing up my 20 odd years of staff union experience in CUHK, I've regretably come to the conclusion that the main obstacle confronting CUSA in protecting the rights of our junior staff is the impotence of the upper management.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;"><o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">In dealing with grievance cases it's a certainty that very quickly we hit the proverbial glass ceiling. The problem appears to be because many ( not all ) Heads of Department reliquish all their power to the middle management, they've not a clue what's really going on in their departments, some might possibly would rather not know and care even less, so long as the department's in apparent smooth running. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">It's then down to pure luck how the junior staff would fare.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">If the supervisor happens to be good and fair-minded, then the working environment is good , and thank God that's the majority of cases; but if the supervisor's mean and twisted, the subordinate can very quickly become a victim of horrendous abuse of power. Typical of all bullies, these middle managers inflict injuries by using threatening, offensive, humiliating and degrading language to intimidate, or set the staff up to fail by withholding necessary information or overloading him/her with unreasonable duties or workload, or setting impossible deadlines . In all these the contract staff is particularly vulnerable.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">How has CUHK Management reacted to all these ? To its credit, a Grievance Procedures have been brought in and a brand new staff has been hired recently supposedly to facilitate resolving the grievances. Unfortunately so far CUSA has not heard one good word about the set-up. To be fair, one can argue this is so because only the failed cases would land on the CUSA lap, all the same it might be educational for us all to look into what has gone wrong with these cases. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;"><o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">Under the Principles of the Grievance Procedures the aggrieved staff is encouraged to resolve the matter informally by going to the even more senior person in charge. Our experience has been that when the junior staff take their problems to the Head, they're either reprimated or sent off with empty rectoric, more often than not they're worse off than if they didn't broach their complaint, as the complainees, emboldened that their bad behaviour's glossed over, proceed to making the complainants' life even more miserable. This is in direct conflict with the promise stated in the Grievance Procedures, Principle 2.5 : "A complainant shall not be victimized in his/her employment for lodging a grievance which is justified and in good faith " Please permit my stupid question, what specifically would CUHK do to protect the complainant ? And the stapulation that the Grievance Statement is to be filed within 90 days of the alleged cause of grievance is a joke, as all bullying cases, just like battered spouse syndrome, usually take years before they come to light.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;"><o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">One might ask, why does the Head generally side with the middle manager even in the face of overwhelming evidence of misconduct ? Could it possibly be to do otherwise is tentamount to admission to his/her wrongful judgement and misplaced trust? Is favoritism a factor ? Or is it simply because the Head's time's too precious to waste on the woes of a lowly staff ? Conceivably it's always easier to sacrifice the small potato. This and the fact that many witnesses to the bullying would understandably choose to remain silent, plus the traditional "black-box" operative style of CUHK that has led to deep distrust of the management , are some of the reasons the aggrieved staff stay away from the Grievance Procedures . Interestingly for those brave souls that actually lodged a formal Grievance Procedures, the most common complaint they bring to CUSA is that they then found themselves subjected to "strong persuasion" from the Grievance Procedures mediator to suck it up and move on, for their own good !</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">CUSA is proud to reiterate our neutrality in all staff grievances and conflicts. We refrain from influencing, either by encouragement or discouragement, in whatever way the complainant might wish to pursue what they perceive as just treatment . We're only the bridge that brings forth their distress to the appropriate people. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;"><o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">I'm constantly amazed how senior management, or even measly mid-level managers , could so easily and utterly destroy a person both memtally and emotionally, but I under estimate the malicious claws of wanton power. Too often we read in the newspapers people committing suicide because of inter-personal problems at work. Corrupted power happens when there's no supervision and no check and balance. CUSA has repeatedly advocated reverse appraisal, but so far our request has fallen on deaf ears. While a subordinate can be the bully to his/her supervisor , the disparity in power and the present appraisal system hold the check.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;"><o:p><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">CUHK needs to show it's committed to effective policing of all departments within the university through full accountability from all the tiers of management ; it has to win the trust of all staff by proving bad behaviours are not rewarded or covered up for the sake of appearances; or that the Grievance Procedures is nothing more than a venue for complainants to ventilate. There's no other way " fairness, justice and harmony in the workplace " as envisioned in the Grievance Procedures Principles 2.1 can materialise . </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">Maybe then we can escape the apathy that pervades the university, just inches away from establishing itself as the lethal entrenched culture.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 新細明體; mso-bidi-font-family: 新細明體;">( This article was published in the CUSA Newsletter issue 24, July 2013 ) </span></div>
</o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span></o:p></span>The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-79492753304062266432013-06-02T02:37:00.000-07:002013-06-05T22:51:58.184-07:00 The last of the Bengal Tigers , South Indian trip 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iuwNQmmiVzV5sF1CaZyJsULx_feInrR9TxDAXM1bIFuyle4AR3SH3EBALJ7UV2DXAuDz2NXVhDNWLIDlsGL8mDkdm5TmHJgjIE2eBZExoMFgM8BBMDTabDvUqq6n__E7ZW3Xkyvtka7l/s1600/tiger+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iuwNQmmiVzV5sF1CaZyJsULx_feInrR9TxDAXM1bIFuyle4AR3SH3EBALJ7UV2DXAuDz2NXVhDNWLIDlsGL8mDkdm5TmHJgjIE2eBZExoMFgM8BBMDTabDvUqq6n__E7ZW3Xkyvtka7l/s320/tiger+picture.jpg" width="212" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anne-Cathrin and Dieter were the envy of us all because they sighted a Bengal tiger, the only ones out of a group of more than 30 on the Safari , and they had pictures to prove it .</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcB2xfhDSjFCQatl8dVzYd_DmXMsUVCQpVrvtDwzktoSLWjRZd7JIbaR5W64bW5UnAhtNfM_43VQk1hsjiVYQvlTcOS9RV16_fx8aj5_Ay0mj4iqk8EGZ9cry8J7B7kOfPInoIRMLBW-A/s1600/bangal+tiger+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcB2xfhDSjFCQatl8dVzYd_DmXMsUVCQpVrvtDwzktoSLWjRZd7JIbaR5W64bW5UnAhtNfM_43VQk1hsjiVYQvlTcOS9RV16_fx8aj5_Ay0mj4iqk8EGZ9cry8J7B7kOfPInoIRMLBW-A/s320/bangal+tiger+1.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVXCjuvn3j0_hOoVr82KaaATtBNXD2Pp7fddG08DWL2BsKC6NB3Uo8OxyanMLUvE0noH-CBRythNQVpEDtdsINVosW7_HfCM6NmOSSTOBppNLaTOZfcfHfI-IFOf9h_Pwv2KpD9LpWKAO/s1600/bengal+tiger+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVXCjuvn3j0_hOoVr82KaaATtBNXD2Pp7fddG08DWL2BsKC6NB3Uo8OxyanMLUvE0noH-CBRythNQVpEDtdsINVosW7_HfCM6NmOSSTOBppNLaTOZfcfHfI-IFOf9h_Pwv2KpD9LpWKAO/s320/bengal+tiger+3.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8IBA0GKq_DV5kj-JasGEfEluIet5SNBc9y6oguqaktbzf7EoMqxfcKv9bqoiT5dzhW33HVMv2dxt4XzDblbRE5LvXWxe0skdfkj8cD7dH_l7zTChL1F3_viKL2ZMajZ8FAvbV8zjqpZBV/s320/bengal+tiger+2.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tiger pictures courtesy of Anne-Cathrin</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After dinner the Jungle Lodge where we stayed scheduled a documentary film "The Truth About Tigers'' by Shekhar Dattatri, a renowned Indian conservation and wildlife filmmaker, to explain to us the sorry plight of the Bengal tigers .Bengal tigers arrived in India approximately 12,000 years ago, but fewer than 1500 are left in the country today. Tigers thrive in an extreme diverse range of habitats and are prolific breeders, all their <span class="617484909-29042013">present </span>problems are man-made .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tiger hunting was considered a sport during the British Raj , hunting records revealed that between 1875 and 1925, 80,000 tigers were killed and taken as trophy, while an estimated equal number might have died later of their wounds. By the early 1970's, tiger numbers had dropped to about 1300 . At this critical time, Guy Mountfort, an English conservationist and co- founder of World Wide Fund for Nature, spearheaded a fund raising campaign in the UK that collected one million pounds to give as donation to India specifically for setting up and managing tiger reserves. Mountfort succeeded in persuating Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to ban tiger hunting in 1970, and in 1972 , ushered in the Wildlife ( Protection) Act, giving legal protection to tigers and many other species of wildlife .The " Project Tiger" program was launched in 1973, and in 1980, Indira Gandhi brought in the Forest Conservation Act. Through these 2 laws, protection of forests and wildlife is enshrined in the Indian Constitution. The Central Government is to provide funding for the operation of these Reserves– salaries to field staff, patrolling vehicles, boats, firearms and wireless equipment and the construction of anti-poaching camps.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today, there are 39 Tiger Reserves in 17 states, but while India has the strongest wildlife laws of any country, they're extremely poorly enforced. The reality is the State Forest Departments are weak, demoralized, red tape-ridden bureaucracies which were initially set up by the British Raj to exploit India's timber resources, and have had virtually no institutional reforms or modernization for the last 31/2 decades. According to the Indian Government's own admission, at least 18 of the 39 Tiger Reserves are in an extremely precarious state, and as of 2010, only about 8-9 are doing reasonably well . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wildlife Reserves are frequently in the hands of corrupt officials, who would accommodate mining or timber felling at the behest of Chief Ministers who see forests as a burden and conservation an impediment to development. Unscrupulous officers 'bid' for posting to a wildlife reserve that has received a large budget, then recoups his 'investment' through constructing useless and often destructive "development projects", while vegetation that provides food and cover to animals is cleared in the name of ' weed removal' . In this way vast sums of money meant for nature protection are siphoned off, leading to a perpetual shortage of funds to employ frontline staff. It is estimated that there are over 20,000 field staff vacancies in State Forest Departments across the country because of 'lack of funds'. Most reserves are manned by ageing under- equipped and poorly trained 'jawans', the Forest Guards, who are virtually the only frontline staff against poachers; clad in tattered clothes , they're made to stay in leaky shelters, and left to face the wrath of encroachers armed only with sticks ! Anti-poaching camps, where they even exist, are usually in poor shape, with no wireless equipment, firearms, first aid kits, vehicles or even basic necessities such as clean drinking water. To top it all, field staff, especially 'daily wagers' who are employed as 'watchers' and as assistants to Forest Guards, often don't get paid for months. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">True to form the World Bank make an already bad situation worse by funding a huge ill-conceived 'Eco-development' scheme in 1997, ostensibly to wean away indigenous people living around wildlife reserves from depending on forest resources and degrading the forests. With massive amounts of money pumped in and lax monitoring on how it was spent, corruption went through the roof - State Reserve officials became totally preoccupied in building new roads that fragmented already fragile habitats and putting up contraptions that led to irreparable damage to the environment, in the meantime the Reserves were left wide open to poachers and timber smugglers. In a bid to cover-up the systematic trapping of tigers, Government agencies withheld research permits to scientists and NGOs, and falsified data. The poachers meanwhile have become ever more sophisticated, operating with code names, communicating with cell phones, retaining top defense lawyers, and equipp<span class="617484909-29042013">ing</span> military-style<span class="617484909-29042013">d</span> guns and explosives. Abduction and armed assaults on forest guards and local policemen rose rapidly, turning many Indian forests into killing fields. Terrorism in Tigerland only hit the press when in Oct 1997 a bus-load of tourists was held up at gunpoint by poachers and smugglers on a safari trail at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve ( where we went). A dozen staff and tourists were kidnapped but were fortunately released after a fortnight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Globally the wildlife crime is second only to narcotics. While the Chief of Army admits " It's common knowledge that there's a revolving door between wildlife traders, dealers of drugs and peddlers of illegal arms " there's little political will to tackle the problem. Interpol sources say of its 177 member countries, India probably has the worst on the ground protection mechanisms. According to Julio Ribeiro, Chairman of the Maharashtra State Committee of the WWF-India : " It obviously benefits all players to keep the lucrative trade routes open" as the crime syndicates buy off politicians, judges, police chiefs, forest officials and tribal community leaders. I was somewhat surprised that in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption index ranking of 174 countries, India was<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>at 94, I'd have expected it to be much lower. Just to give it a little perspective, the cleanest country then was New Zealand, Somalia came last ; China with its sore record was at 80, while Germany ranked 13, HK at 14 and the US at 19 . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The loss of habitat and food supply due to the encroachment of villages and clearing out of the tiger's prey base through hunting are the other reasons for the impending tiger extinction. Our planet's in a crisis because of the human population explosion. In the year 1900, the world population was a mere 1.6 billion, today it's 7 billion, projected to be 9.2 billion in 2050 . The huge population expansion and accompanying increase in resources usage undeniable has caused havioc to the ecosystem through global warming, and pollution by chemicals and genetic manipulations. India's population at 1.21 billion means while India occupies 2.4% of the world's land area it has to support 17.5% of the world's population. The high fertility rate at 2.8 means the population clock will tick off more than 50,000 people a day, and in just a few years, India will have more people than all the industrialized countries combined. By 2025 India's projected to be the world's most populous country, surpassing china ( I've always maintained China's One Child Policy for the past 30 years has saved the world ), and would result in increasingly impoverished and sub-standard conditions for growing segments of the Indian population. As of 2007, India ranked 126th on the United Nations' Human Development Index . The massive human population has already taken up space and environment which rightfully belongs to other living creatures, this is why thousands upon thousands of species either have already gone extinct or about to. According to Global Footprint Network, right now the global growth is using 1.5 Earths, one generation is living at 150% of sustainable capacity .Though to be fair, when assessing resources plundering it's not just about the number of people, e.g. at this moment the US uses about 1/3 of all the raw materials consumed each year : less than 1/15th of the world population requires 5 times its " fair share" to maintain its inflated position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The South India Trip was made up of 2 parts : before the 7 days luxury train journey on board "The Golden Chariot", a few friends and I spent an extra few days to see Chennai, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram and Pondichery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />We landed in Chennai at 2 AM, dead tired, were met by Mr Radhakrishnan the assistant manager of the tour agency and promptly driven to the wrong hotel. After a great deal of head shaking and phone calls we were finally deposited at the correct hotel, well past 4 AM. We never saw the poor driver again . Rumour has it, in India people are done away for much less. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Channai, formerly known as Madras in British colonial times, is the capital city of Tamil Nadu , a south Indian state. Roman and Greek traders frequented Tamil country at least since the 1st millennium BC, and under the Chola Empire (from 3rd century BC), tradings with South-East Asia , China and most of the Arab world bloomed until the fall of the kingdom in 1327. The Apostle St Thomas is believed to have arrived in Tamil from the Holy land in 52 AD and preached until he was martyred on St Thomas Mount in 72 AD. After the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, a church was built over the tomb as commemoration, this was later rebuilt with the status of a cathedral by the British in 1893. In 1956, Pope PiusXII raised the church to the status of a Minor Basilica, making it one of the only 3 Basilicas in the world that were built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus, the others are St Peter's in Rome, Italy, and St James's in Santiago, Spain. On February 11, 2006, it was declared a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All this is very well until we think about why St Thomas was killed .The week I was in Tamil<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> ,</span></span> The Hindu, a Chennai newspaper (in publication since 1878) carried 2 reports on the Graham Staines case . Dr Graham Staines was an Australian Christian missionary who had worked among the tribal poor, specially the leprosy patients, at Baripada since 1965. On the night of 22 January 1999, according to the reports, a mob of about 50 people, armed with axes and other weapons, attacked and then set alight the station wagon where Staines and his children, Phillip ( aged 10) and Timothy ( aged 6), were sleeping and burnt them to death. Some villagers tried to rescue the Staines family but were stopped by the mob, who also prevented the Staines from escaping<span class="617484909-29042013"> from</span> the vehicle. In 2003, one Rabindra Kumar Pal (alias Dara Singh), the ring leader of the mob and a teacher of Hindi to the tribal villagers, was sentenced to death by hanging by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court, but in 2005 the Orissa High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment . The news report I read was on the Supreme Court upholding the High Court decision because : 1) the crime did not fall under the rarest of rare category so did not justify a death sentence ; 2) the intention was " not to kill but to teach a lesson to Staines about his religious activities" ; 3) "the attackers were provoked by the "corruption of tribal culture" by the missionaries ( Staines among them) , who they claimed fed villagers beef and gave women brassieres and sanitary towels." In its 76-page judgement, the court came out strongly against the practice of conversion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Religious conversion had always been a horn with the Hindus since the invasion of the Islamic rulers. Local sentiments against Christian Conversions began after the Goa Inquisition which was set up by the Portuguese missionaries (1560 - 1774) to punish Indian Christian converts who opted to go back to their original Hindu or Islamic faith . Anti- Christian feelings intensified during the British colonial era because the British East Indian Company actively financed Evangelical Conversions, sometimes by force. The conversion of a Brahmin student in 1888 sparked severe protests in Chennai by Indian nationalists of the Indian National Congress . Christian conversion was accepted by historians as one of the factors that led to the First Indian War of Independance .</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dara Singh, a hero to the Hindutva</span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anti-conversion legislation was enacted in many Princely States even during Colonial times, and after Independence many Indian States have endorsed Anti-Conversion Law, which states anyone who "attempts to convert either directly or otherwise any person from one religious faith to another by the use of force or by inducement or by any fraudulent means " can be imprisoned and fined. Some States require the convert to produce a legal affidavit 30 days before<span class="617484909-29042013"> conversion to confirm</span> s/he's converting by own will - or else face a fine . While Freedom of Religion is supposedly guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, the High Court maintains it must be subjected to the interest of public law and order : " to avoid disturbances to the public order as conversion from one religion to another is reprehensible to the conscience of the community. "</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wheares in the 1980's the concern was over conversion to Islam (after the conversions of an entire Harijan village in Tamil Nadu to Islam in February 1981),conversion to Christianity has been the source of contension since the 1990s , and violence against Christians has escalated dramatically . As Christians seek to improve education and health of the poor, hordes of untouchables and tribes people have converted to escape poverty and deprivation, as well as the caste system. In Orissa,e.g., where tribes people comprises 39% of the population, the Christian population has gone up by 56% between 1991 and 2001 alone, over four times the average population growth. The Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) claims the anti-conversion law was put there to keep poor and low caste Indians subservient to Hinduism, as while the law prohibits conversion to Christianity, "reconversion" of low caste Hindus is permissible, plus the punishment for converting these groups is harsher than for converting higher caste Hindus. The irony is while the elite and prosperous higher castes are taking full advantage of convent education imparted by the Christian institutions, the backward and destitute are denied access to help for fear of " forced conversion ". The religious fault lines are so ominously threatening that a spokesman of Orissa's Christian community, Dr Swaroopananda Patra, has been given, of all things, a bullet proof jacket by the police to protect himself !</span></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our stay in Chennai was brief ,and all I can remember of the city were patchy information like :</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Channai is a city of statues, there're even gold statues of actors on the main boulevard, probably on account of Kollywood, a major base for movies in Tamil language ; </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Madras University's 150 years old but they only started the Medical Faculty in 1975, the fact that today Chennai's the major Health Tourism Center of India is no mean feat ;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chennai's an industrial as well as I.T. city, but traditionally southern Indians tend to be professionals while northern Indians are traders ; literacy rate of over 90% in Chennai is one of the highest of any Indian cities. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Divorce rate's 10% , pretty good compared with the 50% in HK</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chennai's the gateway to many centers of historical and cultural significance in south India, e.g. the UNESCO Heritage Sites of Mahabalipuram, which boasts of the earliest-known examples of Dravidian architecture (<span class="617484909-29042013">characterized by</span> prominent Buddhist design<span class="617484909-29042013"> features</span>) in India.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Mahabalipuram's a 7th century port city of the Pallavas Dynasty, the name alludes to the Seven Pagodas that stood on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, of which only the Shore Temple survives to this day. It's a monolithic rock-cut, but after being exposed to the elements for 1300 years many of the carvings are worn and eroded . According to an ancient Hindu legend : Prince Hiranyakasipu was a disbeliever of the god Vishnu, unlike his son Prahlada who loved Vishnu. When father and son argued about Vishnu's nature, Prahlada said Vishnu's omnipresent, including in the walls of their home, so Hiranyakasipu kicked a pillar. Vishnu emerged from the pillar in the form of a man with a lion's head, and killed him. Prahlada then became king, and had a son named Bali. It was Bali who founded Mahabalipuram on this site . The Shore Temple is a complex of 3 shrines, 2 dedicated to Shiva and the smallest to Vishnu.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For a long time the story of a large vibrant city which was so beautiful the gods became jealous and sent a flood that swallowed it as well as the six temples in a single day, leaving only the seventh temple standing, was thought to be just a myth. But many modern Tamil fishermen claim to have glimpsed ruins at the bottom of the sea. Then came the 2004 Tsunami. Just before the Tsunami struck the Bay of Bengal, the water off Mahabalipuram's coast pulled back approximately 500 meters.Tourists and locals alike at the beach recalled seeing a long, straight row of large rocks emerge from the water, only to be covered again by the waves as the Tsunami rushed to shore. In April 2005, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Indian Navy searched the waters off the coast of Mahabalipuram using sonar technology and confirmed the row of large stones to be part of a 6-foot-high (Biswas), 70-meter-long wall (Subramanian). The Tsunami also made some lasting changes to the coastline, uncovering a few previously submerged statues and small structures on the shore, the most famous were a granite lion and a large inscribed stone.The current opinion among archaeologists is that yet another Tsunami destroyed the city in the 13th century .</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Pancha Rathas ( Five Chariots ) are so called because they're arranged in the form of processional chariots. They're rare examples of whole buildings cut from a single pink granite, with ornate exterior and interior. They were named after the famous five Pandava brothers of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, and was built in the late 7th century</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Descent of the Ganges or Arjuna's Penance is a 96 feet by 43 feet relief hewn out from granite, it's one of the biggest open-air rock canvases in the world. There're 3 versions to the story behind the relief ;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">1) Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and a Mahabalipuram hero, undertakes a penance to obtain a rare weapon against his enemies . </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2) The wise king Baghirata performs austerities so that Shiva would order Ganges to descend to Earth to nourish the world , this cosmic event is witnessed by swarming crowd of gods, goddesses, mythical beings, wild and domestic animals .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3) The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers, Baghirata begs Shiva so that Ganga might descend to earth and wash over the ashes of his relatives, releasing them from their sins. In order to break Ganga's fall from Heaven to Earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There're eight mandapams( cave Sanctuaries ) in Mahabalipuram , the best known is Krishna Mandapam located behind Arjuna's Penance. It's covered with bas-reliefs depicting the famous story of Krishna as a child saving the villagers from the wrath of Lord Indra. All very beautiful but what caught my eyes were the goats scaling the top of the shrine !</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Krishna's Butterball's nearby, it's a massive rock boulder five meters in diameter, balanced on a hill slope at an angle of 45 degrees . It's said that Pallava kings had tried to move this boulder with their elephants but all failed .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Balakrishnan was our guide at Kanchipuram. He's portly, enthusiastic, and had friends all over the place. He's married with 2 children and was in the middle of building a house - which was temporarily on hold because of cash flow issues, which was a mighty incentive to work hard. I gave him a fat tip <span class="617484909-29042013">,</span> told him 2 of the bricks in his house're mine<span class="617484909-29042013"> and I reserve visiting rights.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kanchipuram's one of 7 holy cities in India and an important place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists. It dates from the early Chola Dynasty in the 2nd century and originally had 1000 temples, of which <span class="617484909-29042013">only</span> 200 <span class="617484909-29042013">are left</span>. The most beautiful temple to my mind was the seventh century Kailasnatha Temple which is also the oldest . It's a low strung sandstone compound full of half animal deities and is dedicated to Shiva.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ekambareswarar Temple, one of 5 Shiva temples manifesting the 5 prime elements of nature - earth, water, air, sky, fire. Ekambareswarar Temple represents earth, a carved panel tells the story of the temple's origin : The playful Parvati unthinkingly covered her husband Shiva's eyes for a moment with her hands which resulted in the earth being enveloped in darkness for years. The enraged Shiva ordered Parvati to do severe penance during which time she worshiped her husband in the form of an earth lingam , which still stands in the main sanctuary today . When Shiva sent a flood to test her, she clung to the lingam with her hands until the waters subsided. Some believe they could see her finger- prints on the lingam. The temple's Raja gopuram ( the entrance tower to the temple ) reaches a height of 59 meters, and is one of the tallest in South India. The Temple has five enclosures and the Hall is said to have a thousand-pillars, though the actual number is 540. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Varadaraja temple was built by Vijayanagara kings during the 10th century. Special features of the Temple include the sculptures of two lizards, one covered with Gold and the other with Silver, carved on the ceiling of the corridor enclosing the Sanctum surrounded by the sculptures of the Sun and the Moon ; the100 Pillaed Marriage Pavilion (each pillar has a description of Lord Vishnu on it ) with its exquisite sculptures, the riders on horseback , temple jewelery and a chain at the four corners. Amazingly, this entire masterpiece was sculpted out of a single rock. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />The story behind the Temple was : Indra, the king of celestial deities, after escaping the curse of Goddess Saraswathi, installed the silver and golden lizards who witnessed his ordeal. Brahma performed a yagna ( Hindu ritual of offering) at this site, which was washed away by the fast flowing river Vegavathi. The Temple deity, Vishnu, laid himself flat to stem the flow and the yagna was successfully completed. Vishnu emerged with the brilliance of a thousand Suns and stayed put here permanently. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kanchipuram is also famous for silk textiles. According to Hindu legend Kanchipuram weavers are descendants of Sage Markanda, the celestial weaver for Hindu gods ; unfortunately Kanchipuram silk industry also has one of the highest rate of child and bonded labor in India. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were shown a few more temples but by then I had had enough of Hindu Temples, and my attention drifted off to the noisy political campaigns that got south India all worked up for the coming assembly election. The polls turnout for Tamil Nadu has always been high - 70 to over 80 % Not difficult to understand once you get an inklng of how politics work in India, which extends far beyond bus-loads of bribed voters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he out-going DMK party ( Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ) government headed by M Karunanidhi as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, was noted for the construction of the new assembly building in Chennai, as well as road, bridge and drinking water projects all over Tamil Nadu in its 5 years of rule; but more notably for spending tax money generously on freebies: e.g. 1 kg rice for 1 rupee, free health insurance and free concrete house scheme for the poor, and free color television and gas stove for all. It's finally brought down by the usual : 1) high food prices from late 2010 to early 2011; 2) corruption scam involving the issuing of 122 licenses to 85 telecom companies at the set price of 2001, the scam was believed to have costed US$15.03 billion to the Indian exchequer and led to the arrest of A. Raja, the Union telecommunications minister+ Rajya Sabha, a member of DMK + Karunanidhi's daughter + Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV ; 3) nepotism which Prakash Karat , general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) described thus ( quote) : " Karunanidhi's extended family members have spread their tentacles like an octopus in the fields of media, cinema and other aspects of Tamil business and politics "</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The DMK was pitched against the AIADMK ( All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) as the 2 largest parties in the election and the released manifesto of each party was as follows :</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DMK promised it would give if elected :-</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Free laptops for all college students and free mixer or grinder for women.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rural schemes and Metro Rail for Coimbatore and Madurai.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">AIADMK promised it would give if elected :-</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">20 kg of free rice for ration-card holders.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Laptops for students from classes XI.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Free fans, mixers and grinders.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Free mineral water to BPL ( Below Povery Line) families.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Monorail for Chennai.<br />New power generation projects and IT Industries in Coimbatore West and development of Small Scale Industries in Madurai Sout</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">AIADMK won hands down . Viva Democracy</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> !</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> fishermen in front of slogan promising new housing</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pondicherry ( New Town) was a breath of fresh air. It was designed in the French grid pattern, very neat and clean with its French style villas, particularly in the French Quarter where we stayed. Pondicherry was only transferred back to India in 1954 and French is still the de jure official language, making it a favourite destination for French travellers. The French guy sitting next to our table in the restaurant told me he headed out to Pondicherry for a short holiday, he's still there 3 months later with no plan to leave soon. Pondicherry came to recent world fame when the entire first act of Ang lee's movie " Life of Pi" was shot on location there. It's fitting that such a magical akin spiritual tale should originate from Pondicherry, for it has long been the home of Aurobindo, a spiritual community established by Sri Aurobindo <span class="617484909-29042013">in </span>1926.</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">S<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ri Aurobindo was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter philosopher, yogi, guru and poet . He was educated in King's College, Cambridge. In 2007 the house he stayed in (1884 - 1887) at 49 St Stephen's Avenue in Shepherd's Bush, London, was commemorated with a blue plaque. While in politics Sri Aurobindo was imprisoned by British India for writing anti-British articles, it was during his imprisonment that he reputedly had mystical and spiritual experiences that turned him into a spiritual reformer. To escape British persecution he moved to Pondicherry, then a French colony, to continue his spiritual work. He was joined by Mirra Alfassa, a psychic and occultist of Turkish Jewish and Egyptian Jewish parentage. Together they formed the Ashram ( community) and Mirra came to be known as The Mother. Sri Aurobindo died in 1950 and Mira in 1973, their bodies were placed in the Samadhi (vault) in the courtyard of the Ashram which we visited in the Old French Quarter promenade . </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We were also taken to the Auroville or City of Dawn,12 km north of Pondicherry. It was founded in 1968 by The Mother and designed by architect Roger Anger. The most striking structure there is the Matrimandir (literally, "Mother's temple"), the "Soul of Auroville" in the center of town. The Matrimandir's a big golden metallic futuristic-looking sphere that has in its center a Chamber, in the middle of which is a 70 cm translucent crystal ball sitting in a gold mount, which glows when a single ray of sunlight hit it straight from the top of the chamber. According to Mother, this represents "a symbol of future realization." As stated in Mirra's first public message about the township, "Auroville is meant to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. " Basically it's an "experimental" township where "normal people" can seek spirituality without having to dredge for food and shelter. Both the Government of India and UNESCO endorsed the township. Auroville is governed by the Auroville Foundation through an act of the Indian Parliament and at present it has a population of more than 2,300 people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was Pongal Festival the week we were in Pondicherry and I went off to investigate. Pongal's a Harvest Festival celebrated over 4 days .According to Hindu mythology, Pongal is when the day of the gods begins after a six-month long night. Pongal is therefore celebrated in the month of January after the winter solstice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">bathing and clear all cooties before the festival</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">blessings for the motorcycle</span> <span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first day Bhogi is in honor of Lord Indra, the supreme ruler of clouds that give rain. On this day a ritual called Bhogi Mantalu is observed, when useless household articles and old clothes are burnt in a bonfire through the night . Burning the wastes signifies the destruction of evil and renewal and also to keep warm during the last lap of winter. This is a day for family gathering and new clothes for the family is a must. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I thought Bhogi was a neat way to dispose of rubbish until I read The Times of India later in the day, splashed over the front page of the newspaper was : " City sees less smog this Bhogi but more than 11 early- morning flights delayed ", the report continued with " three incoming flights, including an international flight, were diverted after smog created by Bhogi bonfires reduced visibility to less than 200 meters at the airport." But sources in the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board ( TNPCB) claimed the percentage of nitrogen and sulphur oxides were already lower than the year before, a credit to their intense campaigning before the festival for a smoke-free Bhogi, and organising police cars to patrol the city through the night .</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's traditional for Tamils to decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor and front of the house with the kolam, the auspicious design. When the kolam's done, a small heap of cow dung is placed at the center with a hibiscus flower stuck to it. At sunset the cow dung is flattened on a wall and used as fuel when dry. The ash of this cow dung cake is considered sacred and is smeared on the forehead, then of course cow dung is also believed to be a germicide. Water mixed with cow dung is traditionally sprinkled at the entrance of homes to invite in the Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of Prosperity) .</span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Kolam symbolizes luck, peace, hope, happiness and prosperity, the bold colors' also believed to be able to prevent evil and undesirable elements from entering the house<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> . </span><span style="color: black;">A</span></span>s it's traced in white and colored rice flour which feed insects and birds, the kolam <span class="617484909-29042013">therefore </span>also shows man's concern for all living creatures. Except nowadays the Kolam powders are made from rock chalk and chemical dyes, not a good diet for any living creatures.</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The third day is the Mattu Pongal and<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>homage is paid to the cattle. The cows are washed and painted, kungumam is applied on their foreheads and multi-colored beads, tinkling bells, sheaves of corn and flower garlands are tied around their necks, they are then fed with Pongal (a sweetened dish of rice cooked with lentils, cardamom, jaggery, raisins and cashew nuts) and worshipped with Arati to ward off the evil eye and to thank them for their hard work. There's a lovely story to how the poor cow and buffalo came to have such a harsh life. Shiva asked his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and instruct the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Basava got it backwards and told the mortals to eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. Shiva was enraged and banished Basava to earth to plough the fields now that people eat everyday. </span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The fourth day is Kannum Pongal when women perform rituals to bless and protect their brothers. This is also the day when families go for picnics and traditional dances. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">fisherman Jayaram family photo </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Golden chariot train left from Taj West End, Bangalore. Our fellow travellers were a mixed bunch of Germans, Britons, Australians, Americans and Indians living in America. Anne-Cathrin was the first in the group to catch my eye on account of the teddybear that peeped out from her rucksack. Turns out Anne-Cathrin makes teddybears as a hobby which she gives to friends as gifts, but this bear she has kept for herself and the lucky fellow has travelled with her all over the world . My poor teddybear has never even ventured further than my bedroom, so to compensate I've put him in the painting, waving a small Hong Kong flag. Now he goes to the Internet and meets new friends ! The painting's all in orange, a nice Hindu color, and as one teenage castaway stranded in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger asserts, the color of survival. Desperate survival.</span><br />
<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDE97KpjnOfxF1aF3aro5kUwjQQkS9NpGQ6YL8RRDwT8D9vjKxFgfcyvxGszivohGUAkqCRhIQbSCwL4O8oBjVrkMzh7mL9yjr0qSZrb2P9KlpE_XiBnIaAQDu4kfAqktPklScUS8qAP1/s320/picture+map+of+south+india.jpg" width="241" yya="true" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We started the trip with a visit to the Chitrakala Parishath Art Gallery where a musical cultural show was put on for us. I was late to the show as on the way in I spotted a dozen earring stores on the grounds of the Gallery. I love Indian earrings, they're over-the-top and bling-bling, and I'm a bling-bling girl. I slipped quietly to a back row seat next to a handsome Indian guy decked out in a splendid white suit. " Are you the train manager?" I was intrigued, the white suit was so out of place. " No, I'm Imran Khan, I'm an actor " "Oh, how nice !" I said stupidly," What're you doing here ?" " I'm travelling with you lot for the whole trip, my crew and I are making a travellog for the TV Station. It's all about train travelling, we start in India, then all over Asia and possibly Europe " At the train station house we attended a cocktail reception served by college girls hired for the occasion. I chatted with a couple of them, both 2nd year students in Marketing and Economics, and both had their eyes glued on Imran Khan, who was busy obliging the locals who all wanted pictures with him. " So is he, humm.... how do you put it , famous ?" " Sure he's well known here !" They exclaimed, " He started as a child star so he's been around a long time " </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">camera crew in safari </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Picture with Imran Khan</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mysore <span class="617484909-29042013">was once the state capital, today it's better known for its resplendent palaces, sandalwood and rich silks. Succumbed to temptation, I bought a silk sari in Mysore<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> . </span></span> For the past few years I've been exploring the feasibility of a second career in fashion design after I retire from Medicine; m<span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">y friends love all my designs but I <span class="859463800-23052013">figure </span>they're biased. One particular line of design I've pursued play on <span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">Chinese style clothing made from Indian fabrics, and a</span></span><span class="617484909-29042013">s our little group was mainly female European , I showed them a few of these to acquire </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">an <span class="617484909-29042013">European perspective. I </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">call them Chin-dian designs, sort of a Chinese Indian compo " At which point <span class="617484909-29042013">Dieter burst into laughter and laughed so hard he nearly fell off the chair, much to my chagrin. Germans might not be renowned for a sense of humor but apparently they're mightily tickled by the weird. Luckily the ladies were much more charitable, there were a suitable amount of "Ooohs" and "Aaaahs", but it turned out the Indians liked them the best ! An Indian lady who's emigrated to L.A. years ago had a daughter studying fashion design in the US, and she took pictures of all my designs to send to her daughter for reference </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXrpr1m3mj5-SWdzXemNvFqgv4Pn9ig1QeivH5gnIVYCfle-LSUg5D33gMGbYbEvTw5Y1eC4aRqpcvaNk_jFw-k7FF_5BhhcntZzaQVUsugOUnxMKEUL8wcF1UMMbbIqxbFJfyxT6ftFo/s1600/sultan+musoleum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXrpr1m3mj5-SWdzXemNvFqgv4Pn9ig1QeivH5gnIVYCfle-LSUg5D33gMGbYbEvTw5Y1eC4aRqpcvaNk_jFw-k7FF_5BhhcntZzaQVUsugOUnxMKEUL8wcF1UMMbbIqxbFJfyxT6ftFo/s320/sultan+musoleum.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">C</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">hindian dress in front of Gumbazis, the mausoleum of Tippu </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;">u</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ltan in Srirangapatna</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAoAD_x9ukOOuicb9eo5N-ue2NxU5ndQA-Kz-ACcFPFbPVmeCAVlTv37cNvVhUcYAEX9Gi6FkuVU5lnV9riKVQpJzT2sBlNtnFDHEz4hmxhZMtCzUWCxxifrb2du8pz1mQUtAwAJm82It/s1600/chidian+dress+with+indian+dancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJAoAD_x9ukOOuicb9eo5N-ue2NxU5ndQA-Kz-ACcFPFbPVmeCAVlTv37cNvVhUcYAEX9Gi6FkuVU5lnV9riKVQpJzT2sBlNtnFDHEz4hmxhZMtCzUWCxxifrb2du8pz1mQUtAwAJm82It/s320/chidian+dress+with+indian+dancer.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Another Chindian dress, the Indian dancer got her mother to take a picture of the dress too </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDH-nz7hEPQ9nIkWM1JVaEyjRkNFKH6mtAPpO-WW8A_l9TMDFv4Yo6fDAtY_l7rIqM7zqJ4YUsMDuhZteBww7xaOUsnqTZFePYVV3gD4NPzH3ruYt-wnzgeh2dSIg7AmtA58ujuuRQxXO/s1600/mysore+palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDH-nz7hEPQ9nIkWM1JVaEyjRkNFKH6mtAPpO-WW8A_l9TMDFv4Yo6fDAtY_l7rIqM7zqJ4YUsMDuhZteBww7xaOUsnqTZFePYVV3gD4NPzH3ruYt-wnzgeh2dSIg7AmtA58ujuuRQxXO/s320/mysore+palace.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Mysore Palace </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIN8q-P33tw0CMeI4xHMOKYcMgzRX7bdIWAjWTjrt-APj4PkZ13mOFpMfH-r9utV0xi8k7i07E2nDHe1YajYMOYjTLFDHHTKnoaNVzCYL7ccp4NVLCIG6n6aij43EZ81AAEa_A114U0ve/s1600/mysore+tourist+dept.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSIN8q-P33tw0CMeI4xHMOKYcMgzRX7bdIWAjWTjrt-APj4PkZ13mOFpMfH-r9utV0xi8k7i07E2nDHe1YajYMOYjTLFDHHTKnoaNVzCYL7ccp4NVLCIG6n6aij43EZ81AAEa_A114U0ve/s320/mysore+tourist+dept.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mysore Tourist Department </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUj5gajUvks4V8nj_E1xIyF8AuYdVJQOnGBOBNd3Mg_23qJ5z-YG6_mUNni6TfrRqiR-KVURafhbTvfbfiFdz-uSz2K7i6yir83Reolo8jZy-TGq5LZD1aDE8XXEgY_TpniUjae0p3jsQs/s1600/mysore+old+buildings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUj5gajUvks4V8nj_E1xIyF8AuYdVJQOnGBOBNd3Mg_23qJ5z-YG6_mUNni6TfrRqiR-KVURafhbTvfbfiFdz-uSz2K7i6yir83Reolo8jZy-TGq5LZD1aDE8XXEgY_TpniUjae0p3jsQs/s320/mysore+old+buildings.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdkznj7FNAd4dDqEyjy4V77n3cidum6MWv1TWjx8EwerLoUZQR_WS3dcwCiROVTIWJuxrYyYj8jf9j8RKqicUbBkmT3Qw1Klie0FL7IbxxQBmcu_Z2_RhH1DQWuUSeggQLmxRC3FC01CM/s1600/mysore+village+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdkznj7FNAd4dDqEyjy4V77n3cidum6MWv1TWjx8EwerLoUZQR_WS3dcwCiROVTIWJuxrYyYj8jf9j8RKqicUbBkmT3Qw1Klie0FL7IbxxQBmcu_Z2_RhH1DQWuUSeggQLmxRC3FC01CM/s320/mysore+village+school.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mysore village school </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WNommTijcBNeO6BG_frk68YConp8xgoyj9ix5hY5wmpQbbbSmQEgF_3z4DfDYWsTgUN5V6P3BXZHaH65XXzMgPcafHW7E7UadCq1G4Y1RGBcgn_NfLimkW2Twz6fPYOJgtCvtGVPZ9R-/s1600/train+station.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WNommTijcBNeO6BG_frk68YConp8xgoyj9ix5hY5wmpQbbbSmQEgF_3z4DfDYWsTgUN5V6P3BXZHaH65XXzMgPcafHW7E7UadCq1G4Y1RGBcgn_NfLimkW2Twz6fPYOJgtCvtGVPZ9R-/s320/train+station.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Train station </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqzltzqfuSDApBb8pnDjeC2brGBIOSgtLvUxQwWK0DbSHv5g1j2Gf3VvYatN05Pn0Sq1r1ix5yF0FX46FIZNNJuYs0B4_ddBKJ3aJYqvfh-mSO-YIb3CyHOdw3b9_SnhaahvWUxn61wkT/s1600/theives+at+train+atation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqzltzqfuSDApBb8pnDjeC2brGBIOSgtLvUxQwWK0DbSHv5g1j2Gf3VvYatN05Pn0Sq1r1ix5yF0FX46FIZNNJuYs0B4_ddBKJ3aJYqvfh-mSO-YIb3CyHOdw3b9_SnhaahvWUxn61wkT/s320/theives+at+train+atation.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pictures of thieves at train station</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next stop was Hassan in Karnataka state. We climbed close to 700 steps up Vindyagiri Hill at Shravanabelagola to see the 58-feet tall Gommateshvara Bahubali , the world's largest monolithic stone statue. This is one of the most important Jainism pilgrimage destinations . Every twelve years, thousands of devotees congregate here to perform the Mahamastakabhisheka, a spectacular ceremony in which the statue is covered with milk, curds, ghee, saffron and gold coins.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCsKDizBoBIWIMy55MQaHEpCAJfPuGuCFOwWfR84vkXeVsAwPVOeHqUDw4ZwQfRWuxNRhEv7ems_nOwEWsPO4ETOikI8nvyd4ISqK5FMaLVm70zLZOW4lbrtLhK0jpT60VcEWCMpc6IJO/s1600/girls+on+stairs+ashhok.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCsKDizBoBIWIMy55MQaHEpCAJfPuGuCFOwWfR84vkXeVsAwPVOeHqUDw4ZwQfRWuxNRhEv7ems_nOwEWsPO4ETOikI8nvyd4ISqK5FMaLVm70zLZOW4lbrtLhK0jpT60VcEWCMpc6IJO/s320/girls+on+stairs+ashhok.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-05yHp7q0sxWcxcQnFYbHUHD-6oRV2GxGJsFhmPFhfObXaB016t_b4YPxvrgIvNQoU3oRHr3CXnI1zgMN0yLzifp22yIApDiH3c1oQo0d6ws7ILRO2rCfHjVdAntRgQMHxwoam9k1ibP/s320/india+statue(P).jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBaxN9XMj-QJSdt9dQr7kvUqzbzPeU_E2UkmUyOEdEf8LUEWX0UHkU2280pLiAdQxHWwayNqeTAWPL5YgoB3JCwqtLb7XLY2k48ddE2GWt9Ettvz7WDm4IaPc3AV1OimJ9StZ0pMC6w5L/s1600/tyagada+kamba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBaxN9XMj-QJSdt9dQr7kvUqzbzPeU_E2UkmUyOEdEf8LUEWX0UHkU2280pLiAdQxHWwayNqeTAWPL5YgoB3JCwqtLb7XLY2k48ddE2GWt9Ettvz7WDm4IaPc3AV1OimJ9StZ0pMC6w5L/s320/tyagada+kamba.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tyagada Kamba</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzVlCwjc7KSrf_bFj9o0-IOxJTj-scbXUMwvrcm1AuRTKlFd8IbojBlhc7cK6Km7rko_Ozwq_AlLHw7zyqAwntap0MjHI5LyUiMJsAWbEslqohxIsAiTc1iuP-jQR016StX1M1wHcL2EV/s1600/sedan+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzVlCwjc7KSrf_bFj9o0-IOxJTj-scbXUMwvrcm1AuRTKlFd8IbojBlhc7cK6Km7rko_Ozwq_AlLHw7zyqAwntap0MjHI5LyUiMJsAWbEslqohxIsAiTc1iuP-jQR016StX1M1wHcL2EV/s320/sedan+chair.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People who prefer not to walk can take the palanquins.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Belur in Hassan is also famous for the Chennakesava Temple ( dedicated to Vishnu ) and the Hoysaleswara Temple ( dedicated to Shiva )</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzsd-jpO5tDB6cbsXVODjncbZ1jepHZA9m_Pxd5pjo2wT015RSRtczYLa5fYdymj_aoGNS6U-Zyuec5jCdtXUh3oU-CQA3W_LxIzS5_8t52SxscB2w-IimZnyWhSdzznSk_98extVk-Oe/s1600/sculpture+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJzsd-jpO5tDB6cbsXVODjncbZ1jepHZA9m_Pxd5pjo2wT015RSRtczYLa5fYdymj_aoGNS6U-Zyuec5jCdtXUh3oU-CQA3W_LxIzS5_8t52SxscB2w-IimZnyWhSdzznSk_98extVk-Oe/s320/sculpture+1.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">outer wall friezes of Chennakesava Temple , elephants symbolize</span><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">strength, lions courage and horses speed</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6o-JZ0zNU5lAk5Coh8aeN7Dn8QVNdkwD_q-DgamJ0YyEED8XLCMeP8dNTLNtlCBMMaqNv5bqDBbN1TK2yl9m-4hdM2maZgKY8Bw-QRw77cDG6U2uFMlSpKQG30rqo2lZUksY_gff6T56j/s1600/sculpture+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6o-JZ0zNU5lAk5Coh8aeN7Dn8QVNdkwD_q-DgamJ0YyEED8XLCMeP8dNTLNtlCBMMaqNv5bqDBbN1TK2yl9m-4hdM2maZgKY8Bw-QRw77cDG6U2uFMlSpKQG30rqo2lZUksY_gff6T56j/s320/sculpture+2.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGBs7D1HypqR2-gsJ15iR45NO0Hu3NXda_3UIibca1Njv2gxZmw2Y2eXi8OAnOsxNs-vF-XuSEZK5wfygiXgCYqBxy2pfryDxa0Vi7vqdyuGxp-otpIB1t6vVGBiSZd-5xDYZFJjT1qnR/s1600/in+front+of+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGBs7D1HypqR2-gsJ15iR45NO0Hu3NXda_3UIibca1Njv2gxZmw2Y2eXi8OAnOsxNs-vF-XuSEZK5wfygiXgCYqBxy2pfryDxa0Vi7vqdyuGxp-otpIB1t6vVGBiSZd-5xDYZFJjT1qnR/s320/in+front+of+temple.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">ChennakesavaTemple doorway with dvarapalaka( doorkeepers) </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">sculptures</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4593C7CH-s7Y9o53HFpaatVqTnDM4du6gxFgEDInZcqRn3uV0_3W00D2IdIF6x16G6jZ5dcUNyZtm6A0Gkr-BUEGNyuwFpjMpSboVfeM2lWTWQ5iZUPB74iQJYhIoF6_3mv41d-tX93E/s1600/belur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ4593C7CH-s7Y9o53HFpaatVqTnDM4du6gxFgEDInZcqRn3uV0_3W00D2IdIF6x16G6jZ5dcUNyZtm6A0Gkr-BUEGNyuwFpjMpSboVfeM2lWTWQ5iZUPB74iQJYhIoF6_3mv41d-tX93E/s320/belur.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Belur temple </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hampi is the site of the medieval Vijayanagar Empire, which was as powerful as Rome of that time. The group of Monument ruins is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the highlights of this tour </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jql0yEAAPzq91bvr9MeAZIOcNuFB_tG4npfM4wLcQ_nlWuJh2jPBW6VP09PcPJu0_bll0MxlgegGubeuBMMLHIbTpFBqCCEA56T_IMJCqVuGx9YsLz6Vfu9jvpx35X6uB20o9rW6tqpq/s1600/whole+building+and+red+women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jql0yEAAPzq91bvr9MeAZIOcNuFB_tG4npfM4wLcQ_nlWuJh2jPBW6VP09PcPJu0_bll0MxlgegGubeuBMMLHIbTpFBqCCEA56T_IMJCqVuGx9YsLz6Vfu9jvpx35X6uB20o9rW6tqpq/s320/whole+building+and+red+women.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqw6raB7uVhDUj3q1ckq4e7k0ducBBWoKoe1AYa2O0h4KeKolgowg1AOKLg1GxaRxFAJG4xq2zvWGapif7nVIF3-L5OYGhR9al9yA1pG0AEP-ImoqtucnxZH_cDocplVfROKwVqxWn7MW/s1600/carriage+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqw6raB7uVhDUj3q1ckq4e7k0ducBBWoKoe1AYa2O0h4KeKolgowg1AOKLg1GxaRxFAJG4xq2zvWGapif7nVIF3-L5OYGhR9al9yA1pG0AEP-ImoqtucnxZH_cDocplVfROKwVqxWn7MW/s320/carriage+1.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a stone shrine built in the form of a chariot, an iconic structure of Hampi </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpP-y2hANOQy0KnTk6ClEFDhbHyvlEvdvyDzvT0tpcwpCurE0y6UU7fsegKfJNckXJjqie_tLO2hxTiInaPSDoP4Cy3bE3wib0DZ2fW0VdiZOpjTmpvvrQR3FY1hiYq8EcQu7TNhcXG6-/s1600/elephant+stable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpP-y2hANOQy0KnTk6ClEFDhbHyvlEvdvyDzvT0tpcwpCurE0y6UU7fsegKfJNckXJjqie_tLO2hxTiInaPSDoP4Cy3bE3wib0DZ2fW0VdiZOpjTmpvvrQR3FY1hiYq8EcQu7TNhcXG6-/s320/elephant+stable.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">stables for ceremonial elephants of royal households </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnnzfHqZOplXW-m1FvJCz7xmnN-jOIeFNkWskqLI7MG7WgRpngOL2L9t8j0iWj-Z0N4vAYDJKUK3fIfF-wiKUVFSJ9Q3_5ALW0L1N_4KXEaNtSl8FXRcFmSobl3FBqbrK2wSHx409hUBg/s1600/vittala+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnnzfHqZOplXW-m1FvJCz7xmnN-jOIeFNkWskqLI7MG7WgRpngOL2L9t8j0iWj-Z0N4vAYDJKUK3fIfF-wiKUVFSJ9Q3_5ALW0L1N_4KXEaNtSl8FXRcFmSobl3FBqbrK2wSHx409hUBg/s320/vittala+temple.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vittala temple with the musical pillars, so named as they emit</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> musical notes when tapped</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rpIHn5Ss4VhOTIOTPbEz5O4dCnUtdqbfdDjHybaFZ5ZTjGR03KKdiH66SkVr9_rA4gdGNp-kogllI9mB2xfYGMjLQ7X4zUzuDArr91wMpgWMo5dTEksyHmkHQdZSIpwDR6gbc6KNYWLn/s1600/queen's+bath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rpIHn5Ss4VhOTIOTPbEz5O4dCnUtdqbfdDjHybaFZ5ZTjGR03KKdiH66SkVr9_rA4gdGNp-kogllI9mB2xfYGMjLQ7X4zUzuDArr91wMpgWMo5dTEksyHmkHQdZSIpwDR6gbc6KNYWLn/s320/queen's+bath.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Queen's bath </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OUG7PUOYFpN-8t4MveV4UzAyiVQdUiMVuo_P8WSUmEohyBF3M1K6lbvlmxZzyKHdKdmE6yrFP8gs3KoYaAXJt30lsYt5PkYtpzJvJR5BeqJe8JnNcGZ0dmucEC-XYyjfptTY7XnfTuj-/s1600/lakshmi+narasimha+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OUG7PUOYFpN-8t4MveV4UzAyiVQdUiMVuo_P8WSUmEohyBF3M1K6lbvlmxZzyKHdKdmE6yrFP8gs3KoYaAXJt30lsYt5PkYtpzJvJR5BeqJe8JnNcGZ0dmucEC-XYyjfptTY7XnfTuj-/s320/lakshmi+narasimha+temple.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ugra Narasimha, a 6 meters rock sculpture, is one of the</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">incarnations of Lord Vishnu</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4qy-D5Q8xoFSxSGtd9dF6MNsq3pR7HF3ng9F483cg2R7h_xX66d1cJoS1_nDUhPNG6J1n_RTpRXjUw4BHlBm-AYwLVu_JZ6MOHbIF26GrcQ86zjLRISmCgksBkSgFppVh6zWJCGY41MV/s1600/busload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4qy-D5Q8xoFSxSGtd9dF6MNsq3pR7HF3ng9F483cg2R7h_xX66d1cJoS1_nDUhPNG6J1n_RTpRXjUw4BHlBm-AYwLVu_JZ6MOHbIF26GrcQ86zjLRISmCgksBkSgFppVh6zWJCGY41MV/s320/busload.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've to say the time I enjoyed most during the train journey was the 3 hour siesta time after lunch everyday. All our meals were taken at the train, and the afternoon program started late in the afternoon presumably to avoid the mid-day heat . </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e5_PROfCuxza4bHVFOZSfEThJK0Qk1tbxlhkQ1ZaFKc9d9T40jaWxQc_qqO7TBsZTHumSvXnumvviQISFB8SzHNU_aiZ5TosGkLgSLeZdB1GwgsZbNfjh3n5ox7gN7Jm5Z3l1-_cJ-Zj/s1600/train.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e5_PROfCuxza4bHVFOZSfEThJK0Qk1tbxlhkQ1ZaFKc9d9T40jaWxQc_qqO7TBsZTHumSvXnumvviQISFB8SzHNU_aiZ5TosGkLgSLeZdB1GwgsZbNfjh3n5ox7gN7Jm5Z3l1-_cJ-Zj/s320/train.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While the others slumbered I roamed the station towns to see India on-the-ground, as opposed to historical buildings. In Maysore I stumbled into a block of streets lined by wholesale shops dealing in custom jewelry, and had a field day; but much more interesting were the street people and the street scenes . People were too friendly. I was taking pictures of some kids when a guy, seeing my interest in children, pointed to a small girl in her mother's arms and made an offer, " Would you like to take this child home with you ?" " No thank you," I was careful and polite " I don't think she'll like Hong Kong "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Tungabhadra River flows through the state of Karnataka , and serves the local community very well. Everything gets washed in the river, cows, bikes, cars, clothing, people ........ all side by side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"></span></span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013">The group of 8th century monuments in </span>Pattadakal<span class="617484909-29042013"> is another UNESCO World Heritage Site . It consists of 9 Hindu temples and a Jain sanctuary, they're special because the buildings were a blend of southern and northern Indian architectural styles.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjesDA748nB-KbUlo_M9y6jGJZX2SzplmceOsiSkDlKJUjM5t_I9Jo6BAQgQuZ5qIFwV6VOa_ltClwMtFP0rZ0HMsJ-4yn58WLcLYVf0MdjImf5SWmZqlhkLxSwRedg3qw0NcP1rPw-W9vO/s1600/sangameshwara+temple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjesDA748nB-KbUlo_M9y6jGJZX2SzplmceOsiSkDlKJUjM5t_I9Jo6BAQgQuZ5qIFwV6VOa_ltClwMtFP0rZ0HMsJ-4yn58WLcLYVf0MdjImf5SWmZqlhkLxSwRedg3qw0NcP1rPw-W9vO/s320/sangameshwara+temple.jpg" width="211" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgf-o7AYvVpJeZ9akdenKA0d3WKc4OKfpsm1lcOSlfFh1TSr6i3o-h-4xogP7LRVpxTzC-nmla1QSDGyGvqvxdHFdcejUdhvTyapcVlBcJDVQLgpH_DDGUOTkHMneOrdOxN128JgNfmW4b/s1600/badami+boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgf-o7AYvVpJeZ9akdenKA0d3WKc4OKfpsm1lcOSlfFh1TSr6i3o-h-4xogP7LRVpxTzC-nmla1QSDGyGvqvxdHFdcejUdhvTyapcVlBcJDVQLgpH_DDGUOTkHMneOrdOxN128JgNfmW4b/s320/badami+boys.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">women at work </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDcEc4o4nV4-JTcKyEP9Tt-_RZpGDsp7HQhN9MIg3j9Sdijun81fxFYtDIs1es-TsLhovyycASbz2v_uK1rP_JyuM3OPjXPbjKIKbg2_2Hr2w-MjbZhbJP7YgcfOvIOppjZv4zu6fv9Ya/s1600/ACTOR+AT+WORK+45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnDcEc4o4nV4-JTcKyEP9Tt-_RZpGDsp7HQhN9MIg3j9Sdijun81fxFYtDIs1es-TsLhovyycASbz2v_uK1rP_JyuM3OPjXPbjKIKbg2_2Hr2w-MjbZhbJP7YgcfOvIOppjZv4zu6fv9Ya/s320/ACTOR+AT+WORK+45.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Imran Khan at work</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many evenings Imran Khan could be heard learning by heart pages of script for the next day. " I don't think I can do your job,"I told him."I've always hated reciting from memory and I'm uncomfortable with cameras " "I don't think I can do your job either "he said, and we fell silent, both grateful for being in the right job that we have. Inexplicably I got picked for every play, singing or dance performance during my school years, until I refused anymore participation after a chat with the music teacher . When the teacher put me in the choir competing in the Annual Hong Kong Inter-School Singing Contest for the 4th years, I was obligated to ask " Surely you must know by now I don't sing very well ? " "But I don't need you for the singing" she rolled her eyes heavenward in exasperation " I've other girls to do that. What I need from you is to stand in the middle of the front row, look straight at the judges and smile ! " I walked away from the choir there and then and never sang again .</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">By the time we reached the Badami sandstone cave temples Anne-Cathrin and Dieter already suffered from "temple fatigue"and played hookey. Unfortunately for them they were caught red-handed by my camera, and I was just taking pictures in random !</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSj2IjPKMxKim1kGDsTQ3W7tLLzy2ZpjipiHhuCPeyC_ly-xDA0I-KnfKAxLfyO56czWg3o25heXwwQsDJbf74JqIq6sfPhimRZ9AB0B4YX_SOwBnFLXB0sUeQte9p8Hdc01xj_MQnfIm/s1600/german+couple+escape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSj2IjPKMxKim1kGDsTQ3W7tLLzy2ZpjipiHhuCPeyC_ly-xDA0I-KnfKAxLfyO56czWg3o25heXwwQsDJbf74JqIq6sfPhimRZ9AB0B4YX_SOwBnFLXB0sUeQte9p8Hdc01xj_MQnfIm/s320/german+couple+escape.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The name Badami is believed to have come from the color of the stone- almond, and the 4 caves temples reflected religious tolerance of the era which allowed followings that included Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdXG-3j9J2cqCVAv0srkSL1Jq7u87EcviZVgdtCqMrJLe-Vr2SSSEv6LSBgIB22Jcwup2f4TYPKVMzrq5qFrALizsfFCyaD6T5YFYqpjtZMC-GoThD5NanGPgzrfy8_BQ46zYBeykKaTh/s1600/inside+badami+cave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwdXG-3j9J2cqCVAv0srkSL1Jq7u87EcviZVgdtCqMrJLe-Vr2SSSEv6LSBgIB22Jcwup2f4TYPKVMzrq5qFrALizsfFCyaD6T5YFYqpjtZMC-GoThD5NanGPgzrfy8_BQ46zYBeykKaTh/s320/inside+badami+cave.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="609393510-22052013"> </span>The party broke up after the last stop at Goa , but I opted to stay behind in Bangalore for a few more days.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMh6FVnRkX0cGuvf7KPo-zPsZROEkBet4TSd-RapbIBP4RCrO5BkLy9rMH0ys_bLvxLRa1wCZnErWBGAxxBG8cG1C-_oKFxCz1gPR5MfIMPnIp_uWzPpEAdw542GrRQGH-PUNMDtG9Oy6/s1600/parlament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyMh6FVnRkX0cGuvf7KPo-zPsZROEkBet4TSd-RapbIBP4RCrO5BkLy9rMH0ys_bLvxLRa1wCZnErWBGAxxBG8cG1C-_oKFxCz1gPR5MfIMPnIp_uWzPpEAdw542GrRQGH-PUNMDtG9Oy6/s320/parlament.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">the Vidhana Soudha, is the seat of the state legislature of karnataka</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbURjjCnDl-zADBy0sr8tf2rDxi6HwGxmDwAv9any4bhvFm-ROeUACAKmdnUsj7nWUurCRuEAaAXsmcGJWiVnzKlW-U-wrSuB1v1M2o0f88y65ZOmkXD6uKcfAcP50dq8uWqBdc8cqLY3W/s1600/palace+bangalore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbURjjCnDl-zADBy0sr8tf2rDxi6HwGxmDwAv9any4bhvFm-ROeUACAKmdnUsj7nWUurCRuEAaAXsmcGJWiVnzKlW-U-wrSuB1v1M2o0f88y65ZOmkXD6uKcfAcP50dq8uWqBdc8cqLY3W/s320/palace+bangalore.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Palace Bangalore</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013">Bangalore is the second fastest growing major metropolis in India , and was ranked by Lonely Planet to be the 3rd among the world's top 10 cities to visit in May 2012 . The best way to get around </span><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">Bangalore I found is by <span class="617484909-29042013">3-wheeled taxis </span>, as with 5 million vehicles on the road traffic jams are the order of the day, and the motored tricycle is small enough to slither through any small gaps between cars. The only nuisance was the haggling of fares, I got fed up when it went from 150 rupees to 300 rupees for the same ride, and took the bus, all of 30 rupees. The buses were clean and comfy, and provided one's not in a hurry, I'd highly recommend as another great way to get about .</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bangalore is known as the Garden City of India, on account of its greenery and the many public parks . I was lucky to catch the Annual Flower Show at Lal Bagh ( The Red Garden ), the glass house of which holds India's largest collection of tropical plants . It was Saturday and the place was packed, but as everywhere else in India the crowd was kept in check remarkably well by a man with a stick, which he only had to raise and the throngs of people parted like the Red Sea.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">I ran into a group of</span></span></span><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"> female school teachers in the flower show. India will always have an edge over Pakistan, the rival country, because of how it treats girl's education. Mahatma Gandhi was a protagonist of women education , emphasising the need of women education to improve the lot of society.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">"If you educate a man, you educate an individual; if you educate a woman, you educate a family" he said .</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqOQTm11uMfqcrc7GFvyQWdWceqJJkdsnIpAi899fLncKcMzaLo79X4j1qB3mGzR9dfb0yGhfnT86F9SA43G5lICKTdOZLPw46bLVnX0q_KBysyziORHIeRoa4j7fQvyHtU1WRhEqAa3I/s1600/police+school+bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqOQTm11uMfqcrc7GFvyQWdWceqJJkdsnIpAi899fLncKcMzaLo79X4j1qB3mGzR9dfb0yGhfnT86F9SA43G5lICKTdOZLPw46bLVnX0q_KBysyziORHIeRoa4j7fQvyHtU1WRhEqAa3I/s320/police+school+bus.jpg" width="320" yya="true" /></a><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013">"Why are the kids in a police van ?" I asked the taxi driver and he explained " Probably one of their father's a policeman and so the van's used to take them home from school "</span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="617484909-29042013">After visiting</span> the <span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">Chitrakala Vidyalaya ( College of Fine arts ) and </span></span>all the museums I could find on the map, I dropped in at my other favourite places of call : the bookstores , and picked up several books on Gandhi . I was most impressed by how Gandhi defined Education. For Gandhi, education is 'the moral development of the person'. He lamented<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> : </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">"</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">The real difficulty is that people have no idea of what education truly is. We assess the value of education in the same manner as we assess the value of land or of shares in the stock-exchange market. We want to provide only such education as would enable the student to earn more. We hardly give any thought to the improvement of the character of the educated." He continued " <span class="617484909-29042013">By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> -</span></span>-<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>body, mind and spirit. Literacy is not the end of education nor even the beginning. Literacy in itself is no education. It is only one of the means by which man and woman can be educated. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">An education which does not teach us to discriminate between good and bad, to assimilate the one and eschew the other, is a misnomer ". <span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">The three pillars of Gandhi's pedagogy were its focus on the lifelong character of education, its social character and its form as a holistic process . Suprizingly for a revolutionary, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gandhi was firm on keeping students completely away from politics. "If students will participate in politics, they will be pawn at the hands of the politicians who will utilize them for fulfilling their desire. This will hamper the development of a student and his education will suffer a setback. " Anyone who has seen how the Hong Kong Student Union has behaved in the past dozen years will bow to the wisdom of this sage .</span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">children at the Science Museum</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The minute I checked into the Hotel Royal Orchid I was greeted enthusiastically by a most helpful concierge. " What's your name?" I asked.He told me 3 times yet I still drew a blank. In the end I pulled him to one side,<span class="859463800-23052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>" I'm sorry, but there's no way I can remember your name, so just between the two<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>of us I'm going to call you Steve." I discovered later Steve was elected <span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">Employee of the Month. I happened to crash the monthly party the Hotel throws for its staff just as Steve was presented with the certificate.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gsTn71tH2-dpb_G4-lQmQvVm7H0qRWjgspQKAOwOT2ejDjh5Ek0b4OaJ0D5CtrVyBzPVszgqzLZABRSQDXdixN_ywQO37vKc6m6W1WZ_jT46NCyfTPEoayc7QdIq4WYD-wjAlx4FFpLC/s1600/employee+of+the+month.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gsTn71tH2-dpb_G4-lQmQvVm7H0qRWjgspQKAOwOT2ejDjh5Ek0b4OaJ0D5CtrVyBzPVszgqzLZABRSQDXdixN_ywQO37vKc6m6W1WZ_jT46NCyfTPEoayc7QdIq4WYD-wjAlx4FFpLC/s320/employee+of+the+month.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nimarta, the daughter of a family I met in Amritsar, lived right opposite the Hotel Royal Orchid. She had just done a Master's in Accounting and was working for an IT company in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. However, relationship between the foreign IT companies and the city has not always been cosy. In 2006, at the funeral of screen legend Rajkumar, the mourners demanded that Microsoft shut down for a day as a sign of respect . When Microsoft refused riots erupted, the offices of Microsoft, Dell, IBM and Wipro were stoned by the mob, and more than 1,000 IT firms and other businesses were forced to close . The two days of violence left 8 people (including a policeman) dead , more than 100 people injured, 50 vehicles damaged, and Software firms alone lost about $40m . </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg977ANcn49gXmZYZP-MxqBFs9IrDMahlBamYpcV39LgFkKtmdB9Nr9dGN2dlf3BZCbWF87P_A1NE18-vmmDQF-IFIX7tp0udDBzVqa7qQvLFXHaMcAphT-92J-BDQlFbHaQ1UexzGZwn4E/s1600/IT+riots+bangalore.jpg" yya="true" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As <span class="617484909-29042013">Nimarta's parents were visiting her for the week ,we arranged to go for dinner together at a roof top restaurant in <span class="617484909-29042013">UB City, the biggest commercial property project in Bangalore. The UB Tower, the corporate headquarters of the Kingfisher Group (which owns beer brands, airlines as well as property), is modeled on the Empire State Building .</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9cdCYfFL6DvvpWX0fa2q_aZuqajnyFcAmY_lqBIrf1sN3wppC4-IaN6CvIP8O0qMuj1LHJTVkKWfylDdbAIa2Oqbkdgv7yJqowXHL1LhHCfueAbtKbFzqFWB9RZaY9IQo1gjWtT8KOFJ/s1600/pj+building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9cdCYfFL6DvvpWX0fa2q_aZuqajnyFcAmY_lqBIrf1sN3wppC4-IaN6CvIP8O0qMuj1LHJTVkKWfylDdbAIa2Oqbkdgv7yJqowXHL1LhHCfueAbtKbFzqFWB9RZaY9IQo1gjWtT8KOFJ/s320/pj+building.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Af24071V6aj1Sw-wZ2w8v2Y4L_IPR4FluyX_2jovFWmSD9TyoKhDWhkFJOg_0gQiRrAftiSTFzwIcn1scmwvg45kE4L31481hEWBxEp5onOTaWfpzf3fCt5QCXf0zH9YIPWu-Q9artkx/s1600/ub+statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Af24071V6aj1Sw-wZ2w8v2Y4L_IPR4FluyX_2jovFWmSD9TyoKhDWhkFJOg_0gQiRrAftiSTFzwIcn1scmwvg45kE4L31481hEWBxEp5onOTaWfpzf3fCt5QCXf0zH9YIPWu-Q9artkx/s320/ub+statue.jpg" width="213" yya="true" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">UB City pioneer Dr Vijay Mallya</span></div>
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<span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The few hours I spent with <span class="617484909-29042013">Nimarta and her family was disheartening, as I witnessed f</span></span></span></span></span></span>irsthand just how little Indian women's position at home has changed, despite how their status has gone up in the workplace.</span> The wife and daughter were subservient to a fault. They didn't dare any opinion of their own while in front of the husband and all decisions were submitted to him, even in matters as mundane as ordering food. " What would you like for drink ?" The waiter asked. I knew exactly what I liked. " A beer please !" I beamed at the waiter. I could plainly see the wife also wanted a beer, she kept shooting furtive glances at the husband until I came to her rescue and asked directly " Would you like a beer too ?" At which the husband magnanimously gave his consent, " Order one if that's what you want " And it was so she did. The same went for the rest of the orders, <span class="617484909-29042013">Nimarta checked every dish with her dad and not her mum, which is the more usual in most other cultures when it comes to food orders. All my questions to the wife, even what she did during the day, she looked first to her husband before answering. I caught up with the wife in the Ladies. " You're intelligent and capable, why do you let yourself be bossed so ?"" Well, he IS the man of the house, " she replied with a wan smile "And it's OK, I'm used to it , it's been like this ever since we're married." After dinner <span class="extra_bookmark"><span class="617484909-29042013">Nimarta drove us back in her little car, on the way we passed by the big office compound where she worked. Just then her dad got it into his head he wanted to see her office - Now! " But it's almost 11 o'clock, all the offices are locked down" she pleaded " I'll get into trouble with the Security if I enter the building now with outside people, I might get fired "<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>" No! I want to see it NOW and no more excuses !"That was the ultimatum<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;">.</span></span> <span class="617484909-29042013">Nimarta was near tears before I defused the situation by feigning fatigue " It is rather late and I'm beat, I'd really like to get back to the hotel as quick as possible and get some rest " </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The evening brought to mind a strange pantomime I saw in the restaurant in Goa enacted by the train manager and the assistant manager. The train manager, a young guy in his early 30's, immigrated to the US with his family as a teenager, and after 15 years and a university degree in Virginia, decided to return to India. "Why ?" I asked and he couldn't give me a good answer. In the Goa restaurant we had buffet lunch and as I passed by the table where the management team was seated to get food, I saw out of the corner of my eye the manager tilted his head slightly towards the dessert table, whereupon the assistant manager leapt to her feet and dashed off to <span class="859463800-23052013">fetch</span> a tray of dessert for him . I guess that's as good an answer as any why Indian man prefer to live in<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>India, I can't imagine any assistant manager in the US ( or HK for that matter) would agree to serve her male colleague like this ! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">Nimarta</span> was 28, an age deemed almost "unmarriageable" in India, and she's patiently waiting for her father to decide her future.</span></span><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">"You're highly educated and make a decent living, you've a Master's for God's sake !" I'm the eternal incorrigible dissenter, and on learning there're two<span class="171425111-26052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>Chinese men working in her firm, earnestly begged her " Marry Chinese, our men have gotten a lot better now ! " </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013">Beneath the glittering bright lights, Bengalore has its share of the poor. According to a 2012 report to the World Bank , about 20% of the population of Bangalore reside in 862 urban slums. </span>The Muslim quarters are readily distinguishable by being visibly poorer, but I found the traditional markets and small shops there much more <span class="617484909-29042013">fascinating</span> than the big <span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">shopping malls that spring up all over the city. </span></span>Muslims comprise only 13.4% of the population in Bengalore, since <span class="617484909-29042013">the rise of the Muslim Underworld in the late 1980's and 1990's, there has been on-off scuffles for supremacy over turf in the Muslim areas. Although there're definite links with gun rackets, gun culture came late, the first supari (contract killing) by gun was in 1989. Fortunately all shops're left alone after paying a little hafta ( protection money).</span></span></div>
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<span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013"><span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">mosque</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="421510308-02062013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Muslim market</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As it happens the only time I was questioned about my attire was in the Muslim quarters. The young guy in the earring shop couldn't stop himself<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> :</span></span>" Why are you wearing shorts ?" " Because it's so hot ! Why, is it a problem ?" " No! Not if it's because it's so hot " He didn't sound convinced. The flower vendors were much more forgiving, I was given a red rose by each of them. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013">The r<span class="617484909-29042013">oad where Hotel Royal Orchid was, was re-named the <span class="617484909-29042013">Old Airport Road </span><span class="617484909-29042013">since the opening of the new Bengaluru International Airport. On the way back to the Hotel one evening I stumbled <span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;">o</span></span>nto a Shiva Temple , the Shiv Mandir, in the strangest location, right inside a shopping mall ! The <span class="617484909-29042013">Total Mall looked no different from any other mall from the outside, except for a small doorway to the left of the Mall which marked the Entrance to the Temple . Visitors're required to pay a small fee for some offerings which a priest helps them to dispose of for "darshan"- to offer prayers . After handing over the shoes at the shoe counter, I came up to a </span></span></span></span></span>huge Ganesha statue and mounts of offerings hung on tree branches. <span class="617484909-29042013">The 65ft tall Shiva statue was right at the back and was spectacular. It was built in 1995, with <span class="617484909-29042013">Lord shiva seated in Lotus position , the river Ganga flowing from his hair locks, against a </span></span></span><span class="617484909-29042013">background of cemented cave-like "yatra" , or Mount Kailash, the heavenly abode of Lord Shiva .</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 新細明體;"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013"><span class="617484909-29042013" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Shiv Mandir Temple is a fitting place to conclude my experience of India in this trip . This mixing of business with religion, modern vs tradition, and deep tranquil sanctuary right in the midst of high hustle and bustle<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;">,</span></span> is to my mind, an accurate portrayal of life<span class="609393510-22052013"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span>in India today. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856178274675511596.post-81873229315606714352013-01-30T03:59:00.001-08:002013-10-03T18:53:23.188-07:00 Biography - Kwok Shin King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, 19.9.1927. Family of Hakka origin, from TaiPo village in Canton Province, China. Family engaged in textile manufacturing and became reasonably well-off .<br />
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Primary and secondary schooling in Indonesia , university education in Shanghai 東吳大學 , a private university funded by the Americans. Studied in the Faculty of Law, but graduation was disrupted by the Communist Takeover .<br />
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Joined the underground Patriotic Students' Movement while in university, he was a good writer and was made sub-editor of the underground Student's Magazine .<br />
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After Liberation joined the Communist Party and was sent to North Kora as an interpreter in the interrogation of captured American GIs<br />
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After the Korean war was sent to work as Senior Official in the Chinese Embassy in Calcutta, India.<br />
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In 1957 was persecuted for alleged bourgeoisie ideology and sent into exile to Inner Mongolia , 2 years later was sent to a re-education labour camp in the North-West of China, and subsequently sentanced to death by firing squad in 1963 .<br />
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Parents in Indonesia organised signature petition of Indonesian Chinese which they sent by convoy to Premier Chow En Lai who personally signed his release papers, was then allowed to come to HK<br />
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Attempt to immigrate to Canada after coming to HK was quashed by the CIA who monitored his every movement for the first 10 years he was in HK<br />
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Did odd jobs in HK including watchman at construction site, finally landed a job through church and family connections as "assistant manager" of an import-export firm until retirement. Earnings came mainly from commission , so had to moonlight at different jobs including copy manuscripts by hand in order to make enough money to send children to study abroad . <br />
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Immigrated to the US before 1997 because of fear of further political persecution , also because of the traditional Chinese thinking that the aged must live with the son.<br />
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Personal life<br />
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Father was a good looking young man and very popular with the Shanghai girls from rich families back then, but he took no notice of any of them. After Liberation he met mother at a communal work camp but they were seperated soon after as they were posted to different places . They kept in touch by letter, met again after a year at another communal camp, then got married . My parents believed their union was by fate, so they named me 'Yuen 緣' <br />
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Father was baptized at the Swatow Baptist Church in Hong Kong in 1965, I believe due to a need for " church connections" for work .<br />
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Father was the most filial son, his lifelong regret was not haven't been able to see his parents when they fell ill and not been able to visit their graves after their death because he was banned from visiting Indonesia on account of his past association with Communism. After his older brothers gambled away the family fortune and he learnt that his parents were sick , even as our family at that time was living from hand to mouth, he still scrimped together sums of money to send them so they could have "precious medicinal food". In the early days we moved home almost every year in search of cheaper rent, grandparents' pictures were the only constant items in our shifting existence, staring impassively down from the wall of each new abode.<br />
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Father was the 3rd of 5 children , 4 boys and a girl. The sibling he loved most was his youngest brother who died in his early 20s, presumably (my diagnoses) from meningitis. The story was he followed father to study in China, he was a brilliant student and did very well in school, but one day after a game of football he complained of headache, developed a fever and 24 hours later he was dead. Father once said wistfully that had he lived the family might still have kept its fourtune.<br />
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Father was in his 40s when my brother was born , to a Hakka having a son was a big deal and it gave him a tremendous boost of energy. With a son he could at last hold his head up and crush the snide remarks of his mother-in-law. Because of the expanded family we were eligible to apply for company lodgings, and for the first time we had a flat with a sitting room instead of having the whole family living on top of each other in a single room. We were happy for a time - it didn't matter that the flat had moldy walls (which we covered with thick brown wrapping papers), being one of those buildings built with salt water which caused such a scandal in HK in the 1960s ; we didn't care the company boss only rented us the unit because it had no market value, or that we were on the 7th floor with no lift . Pitiful as it was, it was a step-up . Father named my brother 'precious jade'.<br />
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Father did quite a bit of travelling after retirement but the trips he treasured most were trips to China, re-visiting places of his past and meeting old acquaintances again. He kept in touch with the 'same surname village brothers' in his ancestral village in Tai Po, China, and asked that I sent them money in support of local publications in his home village. I sent the village US $1,000 and got his and mother's name engraved on the wall of the village hall. Father had wanted to visit China again when he turned 80, a sort of 'Last Goodbye' trip; it came to nothing because mother refused to accompany him, and he would not go anywhere without mother. Not even to the grocery store .<br />
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Poverty never sat well with father, he was ashamed and disappointed that he's achieved so little in life inspite of great potentials and an early illustrious career, and he's hyper-sensitive that people might look down on him, these were some of the reasons he shunned his rich friends from university years. Father was a scholar, he had a hard time fitting in the business world of HK. On the eve of my leaving for England for studies he lamented, " After a lifetime of toil I've nothing to show, unlike other men who have money and gold. My riches and gold are my children " This was why he was devastated while visiting England years later by a turn of events: he looked in the Clinic in Manchester where his doctor daughter worked and from the glass-door saw her chatting with the nurses at the reception desk, but as he approached she abruptly turned her back at him then walked quickly away, pretended that she never saw him - he was convinced it's because in his shabby coat and awful skull cap he looked like an old Chinese beggar, and there's no way the daughter risked losing face with her English colleagues. What made this harder to bear was this was the one of all his children he truly loved. Mother told me she and father were both aggrieved and shocked when they were handed a bill for gas and car rental after the daughter and son-in-law took them round some English Stately Homes during another visit . " I've already taken time from work to accompany you," the daughter told them, " that's more than gracious already "<br />
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The internment by the Chinese Communist broke father utterly. The one distinct memory of my childhood was woken up in the night by father's screams : in his recurrent nightmare he was back in the camp. His personality changed, for the rest of his life he was timid, suspicious, paranoid and reclusive . Understandably my politics and outspokenness<br />
was a cause of worry for him .<br />
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The years of want made Father thrifty to a fault . He loathed throwing anything away, including food, and suffered occasional bouts of diarrhoea as a result. When I sent him the tailor-made silk quilt coat he wanted, he was so afraid it'd get dirty he requested a coarse cotton cover specially made to envelope it, and would only wear the coat as a compos. It's no good arguing with him that I could always have another new coat made for him, or that the whole point of a silk coat is the feel of silk on the skin. Father believed British wool the best wool in the world, so I had several pairs of trousers made for him out of the finest British wool I could find, to use as everyday wear as he always felt the cold keenly. Problem was he would still wear the worn out old trousers over pyjama bottoms to keep warm while he's at home, and saved the good clothes for going out and for occasions.<br />
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Mother was a wonderful cook but father was a man of simple taste. When we were kids, on the days my mother (who's a nurse) worked shift, father would make his famous clear soup with just water and ' tung tsoi', but out of the 2-3 signature dishes that he regularly made, the one I liked best was "sliced potato stir-fried with sliced potato". His favourite dishes were steamed eggplant and steamed beancurds, though from time to time he still hankered after the Hakka 'mui tsoi' , and Indonesian prawn crackers which he insisted must be bought from the Indonesia Restaurant in TsimSaiTsui, the only Indonesian restaurant in HK he approved . <br />
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An avid reader, father read everything he could lay his hand on . Everytime I visited the US I'd bring him a stack of HK Chinese newspapers which would keep him busy for days. He found the HK Chinese newspapers in the US too expensive and opted for the cheaper local papers, but he missed the HK papers . His favourite book was " The Dream of the Red Chambers " He had plans to do a thesis on the book after retirement which never materialised . <br />
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The long hours of work took a toll on father's health, he had multiple episodes of haemoptysis in mid-life which turned out to be bronchiectasis . His lungs remained delicate and the cleaner air in Pleasant Hill suited him . Father had hypertension and gout for years, but what plagued him most in later life was degeneration of the knees. Unfortunately he never really trusted western medicine and had his own system as to how the medication should be taken ; on top he also had this idiosyncratic theory on diet which he swore by, none of which helped his condition . Even as he was diagnosed to have colon cancer, renal failure and the accompanying anaemia, he stubbornly held his own counsel and resisted treatment every step of the way .<br />
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The last few years of his life father became very interested in Buddhism, and would follow a TV program of Buddhist teachings by a Taiwanese monk every day. I could be wrong but he did not appear to have gained much enlightenment .<br />
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Finally, however unwilling , father went on a journey without mother ; 4:40 AM , Thursday , 24 Jan 2013 , San Francisco time.<br />
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Survived by wife, 3 children and 3 grandchildren<br />
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<br />The russian smilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03849056016673121319noreply@blogger.com0