Capitalistic Seoul

Part of the reason why I'm struggling of studying in Seoul is that I'm not sure if I like the city. When asked by the Koreans which place in Seoul I liked most I could think of nothing but shopping. Yes shopping here for clothes and cosmetics is great. But once I've replenished my supplies (torn jeans and Korean cosmetics bought 2 years ago) my shopping mania died down and I have no incentive to even walk around.

I don't even watch any Korean dramas or listen to KPops. The palaces are not spectacular and food is too spicy. So am I interested in Korea really?

I enjoyed very much being with the people though. They are super friendly and funny. Proud of their own culture, language and identity (which sadly we Hong Kong people find hard to) on the journey I've came across with all kinds of people and most of the best friends are Koreans, even though we had a hard time communicating in English. You can truly feel they value the friendship with you and not just a random person to kill time with. 

I have yet to decide whether I like Seoul. It is a huge city. Everything new, convenient, hot shower, wifi (2 things I have been longing for) but something's missing.

I want to be with the nature. It is so big that it is hard to escape. Maybe I'm not familiar with the place yet. But I miss Hong Kong, where I could find as many trails as I want to walk on. Seoul is truly capitalist. So glamorous and new that you hardly see any old poor people in the city. (Or I have a tendency to be with people who suffer?) It is all very mechanical, not natural. I have yet to observe.

Almost the end

Sitting on the balcony of the orphanage watching sunset has been my favorite pastime these days. It gives me plenty of time to think. I'm thinking about the past, the future. I know I should be enjoying the present. But some times you need to have time to reflect right?

Coming to this point I am always thinking of getting home and the situations I would face. I had just finished a book about an inexperienced backpackers story. When he got home he could not tell clearly what had happened to him. And his mum just couldn't understand and lost interest and kept rambling about nothing important that happened during the time he left. 

This is exactly how I'm picturing the situation when I get home. I would be meeting some old friends and they would ask me about my trip. I wouldn't know how to start and the topic changes when they could not understand or lost interest in what I'm saying. Then the conversation would resume to the normal cheesy tv drama or work or career or relationship or gossips. Even just imagining that made me scared. It was a priceless experience for me though. But I could just keep it to myself, or those interested. 

I miss home somehow, for the food, for the things I don't have here. People tend to remember only the good things. And it strikes me that I had almost forgotten about what I hated most, the boring conversations, the inescapable tv dramas and noise. 

Thinking about that made me a bit melancholy. I'm afraid that I could not enjoy my time any further. I'm also afraid that I would not have the determination to leave my family again once settled down. It is pointless to think so much about the future though. I will know when the time comes.

Hong Kong, in between the east and west

I was often asked how it is like in Hong Kong. And some are surprised of how different I am from their Chinese friends.

When I was with westerners I could see many differences between both cultures. The way we think, habits, interpersonal relationships etc. but it is with Asians that I realized Hong Kong is much more international (or should I say westernized) than other Asian countries (China, Korea and Japan). Interesting facts like:

We all have our own English names

Everyone can read, write, speak English at varying degrees

Some of us can't even speak Chinese

We listen to western music, and dramas and movies

We have so many western brands

We have the same shoe size measurement as Europe and US (or maybe it's Japan who is different)

Our official language is English and Chinese and everyone learns English from kindergarten (and shamefully not speaking well)

We have lots of expats from around the world

And many of us studied or lived abroad for some time

We have restaurants of all kinds of cuisines

And (maybe) our media reports from the western point of view

Etc etc.

Other interesting things:

Our trees never turn yellow in autumn

It never snows

It never had earthquakes (Japanese thought it happens everywhere)

We don't need visa for Russia and Europe

We speak Cantonese, not Mandarin

I begin to feel it is such a comfortable place to live in. Everything close at hand. Convenient, fast, efficient. But sometimes we Hong Kong people lose our strength and instinct with the nature by being too comfortable in the city. Bad times may not come in our lifetime. But who knows? Sometimes it is saddening to know young kids kill themselves for just minor failures. Strange world.

In the end, we are all traveling solo

It was a long story. 

I met 2 Koreans and 1 Japanese friends in Moscow. We became good friends instantly and had a very good time and in touch even after we split from Moscow.

The Korean boy and girl were good friends but not a couple. They headed to Eastern Europe and I joined the Japanese girl again in Iceland.

The Korean boy was very outgoing and funny and the girl was not very adventurous and spoke no English. It seems that every decision was made by the boy (which Korean men were very pleased to) and the girl just followed. They knew each other very well but no romantic relationship in between.

Days after we heard from them they separated and the girl was traveling alone by herself. We were surprised because the girl knew no English and it was the first time she was abroad. She was always very nice to him but don't know why she suddenly left him. We thought at some point even good friends may not want to be together all the time...

I had been traveling with other girls (girly and not girly) but it did not work out very well. Maybe its just me who are not compatible enough. I prefer meeting people and explore off the beaten track but they may fancy seeing some famous sights and less keen to meet new people. But one thing for sure we felt better when we can go independently whenever we wanted. 

The time with the Japanese girl was great. We cooked together and came up with new ideas each other day. We met new people and had an incredible road trip around Iceland with 2 Eastern European guys. She was fearless (and careless), flexible and willing to try new things. We planned our next trips together and I thought we would travel together for the rest of our journeys.

But no one is perfectly compatible. I'm afraid traveling with someone is more dangerous than being in a relationship...at least for me. The other day she found 2 Japanese guys and we went on a another road trip together. They had no plans, indecisive and dependent. They talked only in Japanese and I could just follow. I was more pleased to be just silent and watch the window and think and go wherever they took me. But too many stupid things happened and I decided better not to go with them the next day. I was never a fan of Japan and I am sorry this made me even more negative...

So I am traveling solo again. But somehow this helped me decide to visit my friends in Germany instead.

How much can you live without?

One of the most important thing I learnt from traveling is how to live simple and flexible. In a small backpack you could only bring what is necessary and can't live without. It was a compact 50L backpack to most people but still quite heavy for my size.

On the Gobi trip it was interesting to see what others brought with them. Although 3 meals are included, they still had the family sized coffee, milk powder, salt and pepper, chili sauce, whiskey and honey with them. It was nice to have though. But for me it does not bother me much to eat just what was offered. I am not a snack person so it took me weeks to finish a pack of Oreos cause I always forgot to eat them.

I'm still struggling to leave anything unused behind. When I pack I always want to have my favorite brand of shampoo, conditioner, cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen with me (I have a sensitive skin and my hair gets oily with other brands) I've packed supplies that last for months but now I'm looking forward to replace them soon. I can buy them even in Mongolia. Or maybe I can adapt to what the locals use, or not use at all!

Adventures in Gobi desert

30 Aug to 5 Sep (7 days 6 nights)

Before the trip the hostel owner Bobby said it would be the toughest trip of all routes. With no showers, no toilets as expected, we had to bring all the food and water supplies along. Plus I was the only one in the group who had not been on other trips so I was a bit worried.

The first day was not that bad. We had 2 German girls, 1 Swiss man and a Spanish couple who hardly speak any English. So I was with the German speaking group but all I can speak was just "Ich kann kein Deutsch" (I can't speak German).
We spent most of the time on our great Russian minivan. It took two days to go into the desert. Lunch was in the middle of nowhere. Our great guide Moogii prepared for us quick and delicious non-meaty dishes just behind the van. I would like to learn some too.
While we waited we went far out to pee in the nature, played games with stones, and picked up nice stones for souvenirs. I had a device to pee standing so it was not a problem ;-) but better not to look around for someone or you will see something you don't want to see.

We visited a nomad family with many kids and they served us goat cheese and a big bowl of horse milk. We each took a sip and passed to another for a few rounds. At last our great guide Moogii helped us finish it all or we would all get drunk before the night.

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Things and people in Beijing

Too much happened in the week in Beijing. I have just been to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Temple of Heaven and those are simply too touristy to enjoy. What made it remarkable, was the people.

Girl in the middle of a plastic surgery
The other night I met a girl having a plastic surgery in my hostel. We were staying in the same room. At the beginning I thought she was having an accident or something but I did not ask. Yet she was pretty open about it and told me she was having a surgery for slimming the face and deepening eyelids (I don't know what it is called). Brave.

New North Korean best friend
North Koreans are much more open to the world than I have expected. Or perhaps it is just those I met. Of course they are the special ones as the father is a diplomat in China and his 16-year-old kid was very well built than our average size. They speak fluent Chinese and some English and open to talk about their country. And the kid, which is my friend now, knows very well about international issues but just from different perspectives as we do. We cannot judge who is right or wrong. And he can watch whatever Hollywood movies and never thought his right is restricted. He reminds me of the book "Nothing to envy". When some of us are getting aware of the negatives brought by capitalism, can we say socialism is necessarily a bad thing? At least I don't see it from my friend's point of view. One thing different is that North Koreans are very conservative. They do not allow women to drink alcohol so he kept pouring mine. We went for a picnic and played ukulele at the gate, trying to see if anybody would throw in some money, and he thought it is a shame and stopped us doing it. We may think he is crazy and so did he. Overall he is a fun and normal kid, we are all humans beings.

An unexpected morning in the Chinese police station
I was about to get breakfast in the morning and saw some men in uniforms taking videos and asking questions in the reception. I was curious and stopped for a bit and then I was asked to show my ID card. I was so surprised that he kept our cards with no intention of giving us back! Then I was bound to wait until he got a couple others staying at the hostel to the police station. Everyone was confused and had no idea what was happening. I was half excited but for a moment I remembered cases like fake policemen or dying accidentally in the police stations. Who knows what could happen. At the station we waited one by one to have our records on paper. One of the police looked very serious about me being a Hong Kong citizen staying at this unlicensed hostel. He said it was illegal and I would get into trouble.
I was taken to a small room with a computer, a single bed and an underwear hanging at the corner. Probably they sleep here. Then I was asked to the very detail of what happened at the day I arrived the hostel, what the girl at the reception was wearing, her height and weight, how I did the transaction, my political background (I suppose this is important) etc. it took around half an hour to finish. And I had my fingerprints and signatures on each page of the records. The police were nice though. They told me to check out immediately so I moved to another legal place to stay in the end.

Discussion with the communist youths
I met a Chinese girl in a Hutong on the way I looked for my illegal hostel. The other night she came to visit with her friends and we had a great night discussing the difference between HK and China. One of them is a member of the communist party but he was open to different ideas.

Officially unemployed

These days I have been experimenting a more dynamic lifestyle as I mentioned before, to the extent that I have almost forgotten it is just a week before I leave!

It was my last day at work few days ago (feels like weeks). It was the time when I got more attention from friends and colleagues than on my birthdays. I just saw it as a normal day but the people made it special.

Since then I am free to do whatever I want to do. It is such an amazing feeling that I have lost for a long long time. Days are never boring. I meet friends, play snookers, movies, cook, make delicious Chinese dumpling with grandma, water my plant, play ukulele, hiking, watch fireflies, enjoy the time with my funny family (and forget about packing). And it is the first time I would say I am living at present. Not worrying about the trip, jobs, houses, the future. I have a feeling that things would go on the right track no matter what and I am not wasting my time to worry about it.

As a result I have not booked or planned anything except the train tickets and nothing is fixed after Russia. (p.s. I am was one of those excel addict who would prepare a detailed spreadsheet for my previous trips)

So a little update of my plan:
19th August - a 24-hour sleeper train from Hong Kong to Beijing
27th August - a 30-hour sleeper train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar
-----adventures in Gobi desert (no plan)-----
10th September - 5-day Trans-Siberian train from Ulaanbaatar to Moscow

Sounds like a good plan.

Choked in my comfort zone

In the past week I had a really good time with friends from around the world in Hong Kong. Yes Hong Kong my hometown, the city which I do not really like much.
Well I guess it is not the city that I don't like, but rather the comfort zone, the routines, the people without inspirations and thoughts.
I know of a lot of people who want to get out of London, Switzerland, Italy...all the great places that many others dream of settling in.
Cause it is not about the place, but the comfort zones that you are in, that makes you feel pressured and want to get out.

Then why still travel? Travelling is an easier way to meet new people and try new things, a great way to experience the cultural shock and reflect on yourself. But it is not a sustainabe way afterall. If a nomadic lifestyle is not for you in the long term, you may need some changes here and right now.

Experience #1 - To continue with this lifestyle when I come back to Hong Kong

The Alchemist

As a "why-not" person I always don't see why not to do. All you need is just: desire and circumstances (not excuses be careful). Until recently from reading the Alchemist I found 3 kinds of people:
1) The shepherd, who has a dream and willing to realize it
2) The candy shop owner, who is content of doing what he is doing because he is living his dream
3) The crystal shop owner, who first starts from working towards his dream, but soon work dominates and he feels comfortable at the status quo. He knows he can do more but he fears failure, fears change.

Which one of them are you?

When vision changed

Sometimes life gives what you want, but the only problem is you don't want it anymore.

Back to the dreadful 9-5 work after a week of study leave. I wonder why I got this discontent to work day by day. This is what I have been working hard towards in the past few years, the "future" I envisaged. I was once very excited to be able to work in Central, where everyone is looking so glamorous and smart. Now that all is a joke. Highheels just scare me. I wear converse to work.

Yes fortunately my hard work paid off and I get exactly what I wanted. Or is it? I believe by looking at the life of your colleagues you would pretty much figure out how your life would be like in the future. And it absolutely does not interest me. Worse still, it scares me.

But I'm glad that I got a chance to see it, to rethink if I should continue with this "future". It is always better than you work hard to achieve that goal in your entire life and find out it is in no way close to your satisfaction, right?

So what's next? I'm not sure. What I know is from the moment I submitted my resignation, I have opened myself to many other options:)

The Stories of the Sahara

An old blog post about a book written by a Taiwanese woman who moved to Sahara with her Spanish husband and the life and death experience there. And remember it was in the 70s when travel information is not as common as now. She is still a legend to me.

p.s. If you can't read Chinese you can always translate it at the bottom of the page (it works!..sometimes)

Saturday, 21 July 2012
重讀三毛 - 撒哈拉的故事 

近來重溫了中學時期一些很喜歡的作品，那些日子的我曾經天馬行空，愛研究外星人的存在，迷上MJ，愛探險故事，更曾為拍一套電影認真的計劃起來。當然，當時年少，只能熱烈的幻想著。
接下來的會考，高考，大學，我面對現實，這些不切實際的幻想（至少在當時）已被遠遠的拋開。 大學畢業工作了快兩年，相隔閱讀此書時已有十年時間。 我不愛回顧當年，因為我相信未來只會更好，但原來，中學時代塑造的本質一直未變，一段時間沒見面的人，多少都覺察我的一些轉變，在我看來，只是變得更接近本質而已。

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The Old Man and the Sea

Smartphones are boring. So I switched to a more exciting alternative: books.

I am reading and finished reading two books at the moment. The Old Man and the Sea and Life of Pi. Both are adventure stories in the ocean. Will they sow the seeds for a sailing adventure? Who knows but first I have to befriend with waters.

Upon finishing the book I already miss the old man and his adventure. He was born a fisherman and life was that simple. His goal was to fish, even if it was one larger than his entire boat. I wish I am born to be something too. Life has too many options for us fortunate individuals and this somehow pushes me to the point of deciding what I like to do and, quit my job to travel. Worries come like waves and you have to calculate if every decision is worth. This is too stupid.

Children in Cambodia

This photo was taken at the moment when these kids jumped into the water, in Cambodia.

Have I ever jumped into the water? No never. The last time I swam was a childhood memory.
I have not even climbed a tree (which is now on my to-do list!). There are too many things that seem normal but I have never tried.

On the other hand I feel sorry for the kids in the city, who always have to play silently on their own with their parents' iphone, ipad, i whatever...
Some may think: So what? We have the things they can never buy.
Some even think their children are smart enough to handle an iphone, ipad, i whatever
Yes the iphone is the greatest innovation in this century. It can be powerful and flexible if you use it well.
Steve Jobs is smart. The phone is smart. But you are not. You didn't even realize you need it before he created it.

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