Should We Recycle?

To recycle or not to recycle? Have you ever thought of this question before?

In some countries, like Japan and Korea, recycling is part of their life. In Japan, there's special days for collection of recyclable items (containers and wrappings) and rubbish. At home, you need to separate the recyclable items from the rubbish. As the waste company doesn't come every day to collect the recyclable items, one has to make sure the items are cleaned, otherwise you'll find pests coming to your home. For the times that I stayed in Japan, I had to remember to have a few plastic bags to dispose the various items (rubbish), so that on the day of collection, I didn't have to separate them. For more details on recycling in Japan, click http://www.jcpra.or.jp/eng/index.html

In Korea, the government charges the waste that you dispose by weight! The more you dump, the more you got to pay. Therefore, Korean shoppers bring their own shopping/grocery bags to minimise the waste that they bring home. Also, they dispose of whatever packaging that comes with the products for the very same reason. You can always find unwanted cartons (big and small) outside the supermarkets in Korea. And if you have forgotten to bring your own shopping bag, you will have to pay about 20 won to purchase a plastic bag or 100 won for a paper shopping bag. To read more about recycling in Korea, click http://www.abanet.org/environ/committees/intenviron/newsletter/feb03/korea/

Even though it sounds rather troublesome, I find that it's a good habit for a worthy cause. Can you imagine the world our children (or our future generation) will eventually live in? More lands will be used as dumpsites or landfills. Lands that are supposed to have houses built on have rubbish (mainly non-biodegradable) buried in them. And the water that's from the ground? Can you imagine that one day we might not have clean water at all?

It is a huge and important issue that we need to think about. So, is recycling worth the effort? I think Singapore should and can do much more when it comes to recycling. I wonder how many plastic bags are used in the supermarkets each day.... and how many years will it take for 1 plastic bag to actually decompose (it doesn't really decompose anyway!), so, what's more about the thousands of plastic bags we use daily. Start using biodegradable and reusable shopping/grocery bags now!

Global Singapore

Have you realised that there is a sudden surge in the number of foreigners in Singapore in the recent years? Just the other day I was out with Darling, we were in the MRT when he made an observation - that we were surrounded by foreigners in that cabin.

Even as Singapore's population hits 4 million and still climbing, more foreigners are coming to make up that increase in number. What does that mean for the locals? Does it affect us in any way? Foreign workers are a great help in building our nation. They build our houses, they provide us with medical services, and now, we see them more in the retail and F&B industries. Without them, we cannot even move on with some of our daily routines! Yet, as they enter our homeland, they bring with them their culture and traditions. Some may ditch what they grew up with, while most of them bring it along with them.

In a way, I realise, that Singapore is truly becoming a global nation. In the midst of all this talk about equipping our young to be ready for globalisation in the near future, do we know that globalisation is already at our doorstep?

Old Times

Having lunch in school, and yes, blog-reading time too.

Read Jas's, DNA's and Juliet's blogs. By the time I finished reading them, I don't know why but I started to tear. As I read DNA's blog, I miss times with my brother (he went for hols with my mum & daisie!); and I know how Joy and Juliet felt after a family gathering.

Each time when I'm feeling down, I'd miss home. Well, don't mistaken the word "home". Where I am staying now is my home. But the "home" I'm talking about is "home" where my own family used to be...when Dad was still around. I miss having my family with me, all the time. I miss Papa.

When I was in China, I passed by the men's department and saw polo tees. The thought of getting a few for Papa just came naturally....before I caught hold of it and reminded myself that he's no longer around. It hurts, my heart aches. I dreamt of Papa several times these recent weeks. Maybe it's because Father's Day was just over, maybe it's because it's going to be a year soon... . And, this time last year, we were preparing to go UK, isn't it? Time flies so quickly.

I must learn to treasure what I have now and not keep looking to the past.

Mama, I love you. Didi, I love you too.

蓝天白云...好辽阔的大地喔!

The Mongolian "house" (蒙古包) that we stayed in for a night. A very simple room with two single beds and an attached toilet. Not bad for accommodation in the middle of nowhere!

The heat in the desert (响沙弯) was scorching and almost unbearable. We rode on a huge vehicle across the desert and on camels too. It was magnificent to be in the desert (not just to watch it on TV). We wanted to go sand boarding but were really exhausted (by the heat) after an hour or so in the sun. So we rested at a "teahouse" instead. Had ice cold beer and watermelon to beat the heat!

The camels were all so obedient! Unlike the horses we rode the day before....

Shanxi & Mongolia Trip

Waited months for the trip and alas, it came and gone!

It was a fun, interesting and lifetime kind of experience, but at the same time tiring and kind of unpleasant and uncomfortable at times. The scenery was beautiful and magnificent, culture rich and interesting, journey tiring and long, weather cold and scorching.

The weather of the places we went to the first few days was cool, the wind chilling. As we moved on to the grassland and desert, the heat was menacing, so we got to make sure we drank lots of water so as not to get a heatstroke.

We went horse riding and we thought how fun it would be to ride in the vast grassland! We settled for a 4-hour ride. That was a bad, bad decision! It was torturous as my left knee and butt hurt a lot! We were just riding and riding and could not even see the destination! It was by sheer determination that we completed the entire journey. I could finally understand why warriors in the ancient days yearned to be home, cos wandering (even with an aim) in the desert can be demoralising when you cannot see anything beyond the horizon. Thinking home is near, just after going over that slope, only to be disappointed that home is not in sight after riding over it. You will feel extremely weary, hot, thristy (for an iced coke!) and wishing you were sitting in a couch and not on the hard saddle. Cannot even pause for a while but to finish the entire journey. Real torture.... but, a never-before experience.

I guess the main part of the trip was the history of the places we had been to. Imagining the people and their way of life at the same place, spot where we were walking....Awesome. Look at the vast land in the grassland and desert! You'll realise how tiny you are!

Xuan Kong Si (Literal translation - Suspended in the Air Temple)
Can you see the wooden poles that support the entire temple? It was built about 1500 years ago. Holes were dug in the mountain and poles struck into them. The temple was built upon platforms that were supported by these poles. Amazing that it can still stand till this day, eh? I negotiated my fear of height to climb and walk thru' its grounds. On hindsight, it was very dangerous as the wooden poles that have been exposed to sun and rain may collapse any time, isn't it?