烘炉地南山福德宫 Hongludi Nanshan Fude Temple

I believe I came across this idea for a day hike within Taipei in some travel magazine, and decided to go for it. (probably spurred by some ingress goals)

how to get there: alight at NanShiJiao Station 南势角站 and start walking! it’s a long walk but there are many shops along the way for you to grab a bite and a drink before you hit the base of the hill.

from here onwards, the climb starts in earnest. the good thing is that it’s all stairs and no muddy trails. I believe I did the climb in ballet flats.

and you’ll be rewarded with a view!

there were portals here, but it’s not the end of climbing, lol

more stairs

and then it’s the temple itself

although, since I’m not Buddhist, I enjoyed the view instead

and now the descent, to the night market for a good meal

it’s a nice activity for half a day!

Confucian Analects

while decluttering, I found a stack of Confucian Analects that I’d picked from the Taipei Confucius Temple – thought to record them here along with some photographs of the temple.

(8) Confucius say:
“A man is worthy of being a teacher when you learn new things from reviewing what you have learned.”
子曰: 温故而知新， 可以为师矣。
《论语•为政》

(10) Confucius say:
“If one learns but does not think, one will be bewildered.
If one thinks but does not learn, one will be bewildered.”
子曰: 学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆
《论语•为政》

(13) Confucius say:
“One who is not benevolent cannot handle long periods of difficulty or long periods of comfort. The benevolence rest in benevolence. The wise desire benevolence.”
子曰: 不仁者， 不可以久处约， 不可以长处乐。 仁者安仁， 知者利仁。
《论语•里仁》

(18) Confucius say:
“When you meet someone better than yourself, think of becoming his equal.
When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self”
子曰: 见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。
《论语•里仁》

(28) Confucius say:
“If a student is not eager, I won’t teach him; if he is not struggling with the truth, I won’t reveal it to him. When I have pointed out one corner of a square to anyone and he does not come back with the other three, I will not point it out to him a second time.”
子曰: 不愤不启; 不悱不发; 举一隅， 不以三隅反， 则不复也。
《论语•述而》

(30) Confucius say:
“I was not born with knowledge, but I love the ancient teachings and have worked hard to seek it.”
子曰: 我非生而知之者; 好古敏以求之者也。
《论语•述而》

(38) Confucius say:
“The man of wisdom is never confused.
The man of benevolence is never troubled.
The man of courage is never afraid.”
子曰: 知者不惑， 仁者不忧， 勇者不惧。
《论语•子罕》

(39) Confucius say:
“Do not watch what is improper; do not listen to what is improper;
do not speak improperly and do not act improperly.”
子曰: 非礼勿视， 非礼勿听， 非礼勿言， 非礼勿动。
《论语•颜洲》

(47) Confucius say:
“The gentleman is in harmony but does not follow the crowd.
The small man echoes the crowd, but is not in harmony.”
子曰: 君子和而不同; 小人同而不和。
《论语•子路》

(61) Confucius say:
“To make a mistake and not correct it, this is a real mistake.”
子曰: 过而不改， 乏味过矣
《论语•微灵公》

(64) Confucius say:
“If your paths are different, you do not make plans together.”
子曰: 道不同不相为谋，志不同不相为友。
《论语•微灵公》

(69) Zi-Xia say:
“Someone who is aware every day of what he lacks, and every month does not forget what he has developed, can be called ‘a lover of learning’.”
子夏曰: 日知其所亡， 月无忘其所能; 可谓好学也已矣!
《论语•子张》

(70) Zi-Xia say:
“Learn widely and be resolutely determined,
inquire earnestly and reflect on what is at hand,
and here lies benevolence.”
子夏曰: 博学而绝志， 切问而近思; 仁在其中矣
《论语•子张》

the meals I had in Portugal

it’s been more than a year since I’ve returned from Portugal but never quite got down to recording it. thought I’d better do it before potentially changing phones. this post features some of the meals I had in chronological order. I can’t say that Portugal is a food haven – food was edible, but not quite what I’d consider delicious. I distinctly remember feeling disappointed with the food while I was there…but it could just have been depression clouding every thing.

Lisbon

near the mosteiro dos jeronimos, i found a cafe (flor dos jeronimos) serving the prato do dia: grilled octopus

I originally meant to spend Christmas in Porto, but somehow, when I reached Lisbon, the depression was so overwhelming that I felt I needed to get home earlier. the flight couldn’t be changed online, so I had to go to the booking window at the airport to get it changed. I shortened my trip by a whole week. it seems extremely wasteful, but it was the meaningful choice at that point in time. this was the first meal I had after the fact, where I felt the trip was a lot more manageable.
from the supermarket: roast chicken and quiche

Fatima

this was a great hot meal at lebre churrasqueira after a morning of exploring Fatima.

it was the down-season in winter, so many places weren’t open in the evening. I was rather relieved to find Combo Caffe open serving hot sandwiches. it was my reward after doing the stations of the cross + reaching 16 in ingress. somehow, I remember texting rhodenbarr while I was having this meal. he was the only one from Singapore who was up that late.

Sintra

I had the seasonal special from hamburguer real: goat cheese, walnut and honey hamburger.
the burger itself was good, but the goat cheese got a bit much and I kinda regretted my choice. should have ordered the normal burgers hahah.

casa piriquita is the most famous sweets shop in sintra, possibly all Portugal. by sweets, I do mean all manner of sweets, from hot chocolate to pastries. I really wished I had company for this meal. I ordered the shop’s specialties, but they ceased to be enjoyable after a few bites because they were too damn sweet. sharing it with a friend or two would have been nice.

this fish diner was recommended by our guide of the free walking tour of Lisbon. I happened to hit it off well with a couple on the tour so I had company for this meal. the diner itself is kinda non-descript, and they run out of daily specials pretty quickly!

my last meal in Portugal was a bacalhau (cod) sandwich for breakfast at O Trevo. it was rather strange eating fried cod in bread (kinda dry?). it was rather early in the day, and it was a pity that they didn’t have the bifana (pork sandwich) ready yet, or that would have been my first choice.

ended the trip with hot wine at the Christmas market, with the winter sun finally showing its face.

now I have a craving for hot wine!

farewell, Bukit Merah Public Library

today marks the final day of operations at the Bukit Merah Public Library. I have many happy memories of using this library – from reading storybooks on the weekends when I was a kid, to grading work there as a working adult, and more recently, bringing my niece and nephew there to borrow books before letting them play at the playground next to the library.

I approve of NLB’s strategy to situate the libraries where there will be greater footfall, but last week, as the day of closure loomed close, I couldn’t help but weep for the memories past. I paid a few farewell visits to soak in the place and say goodbye.

here’s the children’s section that allowed me to be that auntie associated with books and reading

and look how the niece has grown! I no longer have to read to her; she looks for me when she needs help with a word or two.

the adult section is upstairs. see the fantastic Singapore Collection in the corner – these shelves were indispensable when I prepared GP lessons based on Singapore.

on one of the visits, a familiar logo caught the nephew’s eye and he snatched it up excitedly.

the fictional aisles that gave me tomes of agatha christie and elif safak.

and the mandarin section that usually sank into the blind spot

I am also deeply indebted to the travel section where I did much of my travel research before free-falling into a new country.

and lastly, the loan counter, which has seen many many iterations. frequently, I would hurry through this section because sambal would be waiting for me in the carpark outside, and then he would frown at all the books I’m laden under, and shake his head because it’s obvious I wouldn’t be able to read all that within 3 weeks.

thank you for the services and memories you provided, dear bukit merah library. I didn’t think I would be this attached to you, but I guess it is a case of 日久情深. I will miss having you around, and miss exploring your depths full of mystery and adventure and profound sadness.

farewell.

sunday cooking 10

my entire family sans me were invited to a wedding lunch, so I decided to cook myself a feast in their absence. (havoc in the kitchen without anyone’s interference!)

this is the first time I bought (half a) fresh chicken from the butcher – usually I’d only order the breast, thought I’d try something new. marinated in salt, pepper, italian herb mix and a splash of orange juice.

I oiled the pan with the chicken skin before sautéing the onions, followed by the peppers (I like my peppers very soft). next came the potatoes and the chicken, and a can of lager.

chicken stew! the recipe asked for stout, but I substituted it with a strong brew in my possession that I didn’t enjoy. great way to use up unwanted alcohol.

my sister ate my leftovers for dinner and she liked it! hooray. but she prefers last week’s egg-tomato dish haha.

sunday cooking 9

I tried my hand at a basic shakshouka of chopped tomatoes, sausages and runny eggs.

definitely an all-day breakfast dish I’d repeat!

What the living do during the Hungry Ghost Festival

I’m guessing some foreign readers had their interest piqued by my mention of the Seventh Month in the previous post – quite a number of clicks for the wikipedia link!

You may be interested to see how it is celebrated then. (I’ll admit, I don’t know much – a lot of it are just practices I observe year after year without understanding the symbolism behind.)

There’s usually entertainment put up for the visiting souls – the traditional one being Teochew street opera on make-shift stages.

When there are seats laid out, the first row would be left empty for the ‘good brothers’. In this case, no seats were laid out, but there were decorated joss candles (sustenance for the spirits) and offerings being burnt.

There would be a big (again, make-shift) altar for deity worship –

The gods depicted on the banner are FuLuShou – Prosperity, Status and Longevity. This particular ceremony was organised by the Redhill Market association. The evening would begin with prayer and invocation of the spirits for their blessing and continued support, thereafter the hawkers gather for dinner and a very noisy auction of auspicious objects.

Those objects would have been blessed earlier at the altar and include things like deity statuettes made of gold and pots of blessed rice that you can choose to display or cook. The proceeds from the auction will go toward funding entertainment like the street opera and getai (lit. song stage) for next year’s seventh month.

While the living enjoy their food, nobody forgets about the invisible guests. Dinner is set aside for them too –

Note the joss sticks sticking out of the rice bowls. This is why we Chinese, no matter what religion we may subscribe to, think it rude (some say inauspicious) to stick chopsticks into rice bowls. It is customary to lay them flat on the rim of the bowl.

Hope you enjoyed this slice of old Singapore, with rituals that have since died out in China under communist rule.

WEP Challenge: Spectacular Settings

Here’s the first part of the challenge for Spectacular Settings

1. Firstly share a paragraph from a novel, or an extract from a poem, or a photograph that stopped your heart with a spectacular setting etc.
2. Describe how your chosen ‘setting’ spoke to you. Why did you like it?

(A still frame from a video clip) Welcome to My Home, Singapore

I was on a study abroad programme to the UK when this National Day Parade was aired. I streamed it live over in London so that I could watch it “with” my family, 8 hours apart, and my breath was literally taken away at the skyline of Singapore. Being in London at the time, I revelled daily in the history and architectural marvels of England, always feeling regretful that Singapore had chosen to rid ourselves of many a heritage marker in order to build the modern city. At that moment, though, the glitz and glamour of our Central Business District (CBD) stopped my heart. The irony of me learning in the land of our (ex-)colonisers was not lost on me – sometimes, decades on, we have yet to lose the flawed perspective that the colonial masters are better, even though we have since proven ourselves to be as capable (or more). This video remains one of my top choices whenever foreign friends ask me for a quick introduction to this mysterious land called Singapore (which is NOT in China, by the way. We are a tiny but proud independent nation.) and it usually takes their breath away too.

* * * * *

Part 2 of the challenge
Then you have the option to:
a) write your own ‘setting’ piece in any genre, or share a ‘setting’ from your WIP, or…
b) write your own poem which highlights ‘setting’, or
c) share a photograph that blows you away every time you look at it and tell us why.
d) share an artwork that shows a ‘setting’ you love and tell us why you love it.
e) write a small playscript which highlights ‘setting’.

This is a supremely incomplete piece for options a&e (hurhurhur) – I was gunning for travel writing, but I also imagined it as a conversation between two people, and thus it became a dialogue-heavy play. Have mercy, and here goes –

For two.
A bare stage, with a backdrop of a forest.
A road-end, during a jog.

Dan: Where to, next?
En: Follow the pony tracks!
Dan: But that goes…into a forest. We are going to a forest?
En: Yes!
Dan: Oh. I didn’t expect that. I thought you said a cemetery.
En: It is the cemetery. Straight ahead, I think.
Dan: I was kinda expecting tombstones, not the woods.
En: This was before they realised that land is scarce in Singapore.
Dan: By the way, Google Maps says we are standing in a random grey patch. Big random grey patch. You’re the boss now.
En: Uh, I’ve only been here twice. I followed wherever the experienced guide went. Hehe.
Dan: Now you tell me! You bring me to a cemetery during the seventh month and you don’t even know the place well!
En: Heehee.
Dan: Wahlau seventh month leh. Other times I don’t care, but this month the spirits are up and about…
En: Don’t worry, just be friendly! After all, these are our forefathers. They won’t harm us. Hehe.
Dan: Oh please, take a look at yourself. They will probably think you are incompetent and destroying their hard work.
En: Ah. Good point. It’s ok. Just don’t step on any incense or food offerings and don’t step on the graves themselves and it should be alright.

* * * * *

Some background information:
I used some Singlish vocabulary and grammar structure in this for authenticity.
The seventh month refers to theHungry Ghost Festival, where the realm between the spirit world and ours is open, and the deceased are believed to visit the living. We are in the eleventh day of the seventh month as I write. Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 669 words
MPA: Minor Points Acceptable

Our National Pledge

Last week, in light of National Day, I used the national pledge that we in schools recite every morning as lesson material. (authentic learning!)

“We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”

Find out more about the history of the pledge here.

Little strips in our national colours of red and white were used (mini craft therapy for myself amidst the marking). Each student would receive a random phrase from the pledge and have 4 minutes to free-write.

It made way for some interesting discussion, as I’d hoped.
The student given “to build a democratic society” echoed Churchill’s doubts about a democratic system – that it is ideal to give the public the right to vote but the stupidity she reads on social media makes her worried about putting that power in the hands of the common man.

That prompted another student to propose that only the educated should be allowed to vote. A quick debate ensued, considering how that system will no longer be representative and will possibly make the country better in the long term, but that’s only if we get through the chaos in the short-term = no go.

The two who received “for our nation” questioned the necessity of sacrifice. One shared honestly that she is as self-entitled as the rest, and cannot see the point of having to contribute to the country. Others were sympathetic to the idea, but could see how disturbing that might be for our future.

I am quite glad that other major issues about citizenship, freedom of religion, socio-economic (in)equality, the opportunity cost of simple happiness for prosperity’s sake were briefly covered by the students’ free-write and sharing. This is a lesson I’d repeat for new students next year!

A brief reflection on the Prime Minister’s National Day Message 2015

For the 8th of August, 2015 – PM Lee shares…

“My Fellow Singaporeans

50 years ago, on this very night, Singapore was on the eve of a momentous change. The Cabinet had already signed the Separation Agreement. The Government Printers were busy printing the Separation Agreement and the Proclamation of Independence in a special Government Gazette. The Commissioner of Police and the Commander of the army units had been told by the Malaysian Government to take orders from the new government the next day. But all this happened in strict secrecy. Our forefathers went to bed oblivious of what was about to happen, still for the time being citizens of Malaysia.

Then morning came. The 9th of August 1965. Our world changed. At 10 a.m., a radio announcer read the Proclamation. Singapore had left Malaysia and would “forever be a sovereign, democratic and independent nation”. The Republic of Singapore was born.”

(Read the full transcript here.)

I found this particular portion to be the most poignant of all –
“Year after year, we have kept the promises that Mr Lee Kuan Yew made on the 9th of August 1965: that we will be “one united people, regardless of race, language or religion”; that we will always have a bright future ahead of us.”

* * * * *

The stuff that makes the news indicates a world filled with people who are not very friendly towards someone of a different race, someone who speaks a different language, and particularly someone who worships a different religion. After seeing for myself how the Christians and the Muslims are restricted from practicing their religion in China, after being a victim of racist comments and rude gestures on Australian streets – I consider myself glad to come from a society that celebrates unity despite race, language or religion, and considers it sacred enough to be enshrined in the National Pledge. I feel thankful that, as a Singaporean Chinese, I have close friends of different races and differing religions. I feel proud that I teach students of varying races, nationalities and religions, but who nevertheless live, study and play together (but with the occasional non-malicious racist joke).

Case-in-point: After the recent National Day Observance ceremony in school, my class gathered to bid farewell to another teacher of my class who is leaving for maternity leave. Someone made brownies. While serving them out, she suddenly exclaimed in mild anguish, “OMG! I am so sorry – I just realised that my brownies are not halal! Halal ingredients but not baked in a halal kitchen. I’m so sorry, can you still eat it?” The Muslim students politely declined, but they hung around to socialise anyway. I thought that was a brief and beautiful slice of inter-faith, inter-racial interaction in Singapore.

Of course, there is still an embarrassing amount of ignorance about other cultures and each racial harmony day brings much cultural (mis)appropriation. People still commit faux pas in these matters, but we are not in conflict, and I think we are continuing to learn with each day, with each year.

Happy 50th, Singapore. I am so proud to call you my country.