A day to remember 10 December

2 years ago on 10 Dec, it was Mayday's Final Home Concert. Why do I remember this so clearly? Not because I am an ardent fan, but because it is a memorable day for my friend Kanning.

Some time in June 2005, when me and my friends knew that Mayday was coming in that same December to hold their concert, it got us all excited. Immediately, we counted the number of people who would go to the concert together and even decided on the price of tickets that we were going to get.



A couple of weeks passed and Kanning came to us with an uneasy look. She asked... would we go to her wedding or Mayday's concert because it would be on the same day. Lightning strikes on a fair weather day (晴天霹雳), immediately our plans to become crazy fans for a night shattered into pieces. Yet, I did not hesitate any minute to give my answer to Kanning, of course it's her wedding that I will choose.

On the wedding evening, Kanning and hubby looked gorgeous. What really moved me is that during her thank you speech, Kannning thanked us all for sacrificing Mayday's concert to attend her wedding. Now, as I think of this day, I can't help but to smile. Such a meaningful and touching day, I will definitely remember for a long long time.

Here's an extract of what I wrote after the wedding 2 years ago... From My Space

"Attended a few weddings lately.... all of different themes and set up. Favourite one has got to be kanning's. Why? In her speech, she expressed her appreciation to us for sacrificing Mayday's concert....... that is so "cunning"! I am very touched!

But I'll be the one who'll regret if I missed this special evening. I really felt happy for both of them..... It seems like forever before Kanning and hubby finally tie the nuptial knot. I still remember the time when she had to endure the long distance relationship, how she saved up for her Europe trip, how she waited in anticipatioin for her then boyfren to return for good........ And of course her more recent "endurance" of the fish soup diets, and to abstain from her favourite "kong ba bao", kopi, and blah blah. This is really a perfect way to embark on a new journey and I hope they will always remain happy. "

On hindsight, I probably have made up for missing the Final Home concert in 2005. Haha... I attended Mayday's Singapore and Shanghai concerts this year! Oh and I forgot to mention, the same group of people who wanted to go to the concert back in 2005 finally made it this time.

The little girl from Summer Island

There is a girl who has a dream, she dreams of becoming a teacher one day. What seems like a simple wish to most, yet to live it up may not be that simple afterall. How many of us really became what we had wanted to be as a child?

I tried hard to remember what my childhood ambition was but I just could not recall. Certainly not becoming an accountant, come on, which kid would aspire a life so dull and boring like that of an accountant? I asked myself, what happened to those forgotten childhood dreams that I once had. Maybe they were lost when I was struggling to grow up, maybe it was because I made compromises along the way, or maybe I just stopped believing in dreams....

This little girl lives in "Summer Island", Sri Lanka. Summer Island is the name World Vision has gaven to this particular aide project, which I am one of the child sponsor. I do not know, however, if the village is really as exotic as the name suggests. My little girl has painted me pictures over the years, which I believe is her vision of home. Sometimes, she painted herself inside and I certainly hope she is as happy as she seems in the drawings.

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2007

A child's world is full of colours, beautiful flowers and lovely trees. The harsh reality of life may be totally unknown to the child, or maybe not in the case of this little girl who lives in Summer Island. She told me that her father has died, but what does that mean to her since her father has abandoned her when she was just a toddler. The truth is, some people just have a bigger share of misery in life than others do.

So to this little girl who still have dreams, where the mystery of life is awaiting for her to uncover, I could only wish for her the best. May she always keep her dreams alive and have constant faith and strength to live a beautiful life, exactly the way she wants it to be!

I believe in Shangri-La

The mountain roads were curvy and it was a bumpy ride. On the back seat of the jeep, I was swung left and right and it was almost impossible to hold my camera still for a shot of the magnificent mountains.

The Gandan Monastry was on the top of my travel itinerary to Tibet. Although I had never been there previously nor seen pictures of it, I had a strong desire to visit this place as I believed that could be where a dream would turn into reality. Such is the strange affinity between the Gandan Monastry and me.

As the jeep drove into the high mountains, I caught a glimpse of the Gandan Monastry, hanging on the mountain cliff. I exclaimed softly, "Oh my god, it really exist.... this is Shangri-La!".



Nothing could ever prepare me for what I was going to see. As I set foot on the mountain at 4,200m altitude, I was breathless. Yes, the air was thin high up there, but it was the sight of the Gandan Monastry, in front of my eyes, that took my breath away.

17 years ago, when I laid my hands on the book "The Lost Horizon", I never knew it was going to become my pursuit for many years that followed. The Blue Moon Valley, a place secluded from the rest of the world, where people do not grow old and monks are wise, where magnificent mountains stood and sacred rivers flow, that is a paradise described in the book. For years, I had an image of Blue Moon Valley deeply entrenched in my mind, though I was never so sure if it really exist.

If only I could make you understand the intense emotions inside of me when I saw the Gandan Monastry. A dream became reality, and in fact much better than I had imagined. Suddenly, I lost track of time... it was as if I became the teenage girl once again, reading "The Lost Horizon" and losing myself in my own imaginations.



Going to the Gandan Monastry is like putting a closure to something which once seemed like a lifelong pursuit to me. I feel peace as I have finally found my paradise, my Shangri-La! The images of Blue Moon Valley that I once had are now replaced by the memory and photographs of the astonishingly beautiful Gandan Monastry. And I can finally say this... Shangri-La really does exist!


Symbol of Shangri-La

My soon to be new home!

This week, I am on a fruit diet for lunch in an attempt to detox from the week long feasting one week ago. Since I am stuck in the office, I might as well blog!

This is my soon to be new home, making good progress.... Friends, time to save up for the house warming gift!







Photos courtesy of a kind neigbhour

Holiness (Updated)

I found this as I was sorting my pictures.

Somewhat difficult to explain, but this picture gives me a lot of "feel". It's serenity, calmness and balance written all over the pilgrim's face. I'm touched.

Holiness

Updates...
It is probably hard for you to understand why this picture meant so much to me without sharing with you the story behind the prayer wheel and the pilgrim's journey.

While in Tibet, I saw many of the pilgrims carrying prayer wheels of different sizes and spinning them in clockwise direction every now and then. The prayer wheel （转经轮）has a sacred meaning as Buddhist scriptures are inscripted on it. By spinning the wheel once, it is as if you have recited the Buddhist scripture one time and accumulated good karma.

A pilgrimage is never easy. Those pilgrims I saw in Lhasa have probably travelled miles on foot, just to get to holy Potala Palace. Sometimes, on the deserted roads in Tibet, I saw pilgrims resting by the road, drinking butter tea from their thermos flask before they continue with their journey. And this journey would probably last many months. Very often, the whole family will be travelling together and it is not unusual to see children and babies, wrapped in arms, in the party.

The pilgrims are mostly nomads who will embark on their pilgrimage trip only during the winter season. This is because when the weather is still good (spring & summer), they will be busy farming, harvesting and grazing their sheeps and yaks. It is only during winter time, when farming activities have stopped that they will leave home to come on this religious journey.

What really moves me is the firm religious belief and peserverance of the Tibetian pilgrims. They could travel so far, and some kneeling and praying along the way, just to get to some monastry in a distance place. In life, they have already so little and yet the pilgrims will bring home made yak butter to add to the oil lamps in the monastry and offer tokens in cash to paint gold on the Buddha statues. I don't know what the Christians will say about this, but I am deeply moved by their actions and faith.

The Tibetians believe in after life and reincarnation. This is their motivation to do good and pray religiously, so that they can be reincarnated into a better life form in the next life. For a simple wish like this, there are so much to give. While I may not fully understand the meaning of all these, I have certainly been touched by the Tibetians.