Saturday 22 October 2011

The Dream Destination | Egypt - Part 1

The Dream Destination | Egypt - Part 1


The Dream Destination | Egypt - Part 1

"Who doesn't want to come to Egypt?"

I bet no one would raise the hand up! Long and rich chronicle of almost 7000 years, i was looking forward to explore and witness the impressive history and culture of ancient Egypt. However, i had my first sigh right after getting my passport from the immigration officer. Several touts approached me and kept asking what's my plan in Cairo while i was waiting for the baggage. (Imagine how easy the touts can get in and out the airport as they want.)

"Konnichiwa my friend, where are you from?" - If you wanna start the sentence in Japanese, please continue with "are you from Japan?", not "where are you from?"!

"Oh, good country! Good people." - You don't even know where is Malaysia located.

"I am teaching history. I like history. The museum is closed now, why not you come to my father's gallery?" - First, you don't look like a teacher apparently. Second, the opening hour of museum is until 6pm. Third, you are 100% one annoying tout.

Touts are standing at every corner of streets, waiting to bait fish from all over the world. Strongly advise you to ignore those who trying to approach you. They have hundreds of different patterns of ways to start a conversation with you. Keep walking or indirectly you are giving the tout a chance to waste your time.

I was told that Egyptians concern for social ethics that is evident by the soul of "I don't steal", "I don't rob". On the other hand, the touts have their own way to get your money. Dishonesty. They will never tell you the real story. Tourism is the most important sector in Egypt's economy. Cheating tourists is the common way to have the cash flowing into their pockets from you without any dispute. (You won't see them again after the trip) Since the tourism in the country has no proper system, and you will need to take the tour package to visit some attractions (it's also difficult for the Egyptians to travel around). You can't do anything after the tour but to complain to your friends and wish the situation will be improved sooner.

There's both bad and good people everywhere in this planet. You may feel uneasy being stared, flirted, honked and etc. Honestly speaking, Egyptians are nice and friendly. They are happy to have foreigners visiting their country. Proud to be Egyptians, they surely want you to bring good memory back home and visit the country again. I was greeted "Hallo, welcome to Egypt.", "Enjoy, my friend.", "Have a nice day., etc by the passers-by in Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor and a village near white desert. Egyptians are willing to help anyone, anytime and anywhere. But after all these unrosy moments happened in Egypt, you will start to ignore until don't trust everyone (policemen included), except your travel companion and other backpackers. Also, eventually, you will know who is reliable to lean on or how to seek help from the correct local around you.

The naive smiles from the kids had somehow mystically brought me back to pH-7 (the neutral level). After seeing their sincere and funny reactions, there's hope for the country actually. The point is whether the recent revolution could afford to properly offer appropriate education to the young generation for better Egypt in the future.

Cairo, Egypt, 16/10/2011

一個歷史豐富的國度
誰都嚮往到達的埃及
心情興奮及充滿期待
抵達後竟然嘆一口氣

滿街都是旅遊拐帶佬
專門打遊客的壞主意
搞不清誰隱有一把刀
會把自己砍得滿頭血

完全迷失自我判斷力
還有幾次好人當賊看
不知道誰才是真誠懇
心酸因爲不會再信任

不偷不搶也不擒不侵
笑容背後藏著不軌心
口是心非只會向錢看
滑稽狡猾欺騙不誠實

經常被驚訝眼神強暴
日本人韓國人中國人
我是從馬來西亞來的
之後竟然跟我說日語

其實埃及人非常友善
必把你問題妥當解決
只不過那麽一小黑點
污染了整片蔚藍天空

懷念小孩的天真無瑕
純潔的笑容令人樂透
希望會有恰當的教育
好讓他們把埃及搞好

Sunday 16 October 2011

沒有的...只有的...


沒有的...只有的...

沒有談不長的戀愛
只有交不出的真心

沒有偕不老的白頭
只有續不久的結合

沒有辦不好的事情
只有沖不破的困難

沒有吃不飽的早餐
只有填不完的食欲

沒有活不樂的人生
只有看不開的執著

沒有到不了的終點
只有跨不過的遙遠

Cairo, Egypt, 12/10/2011

Tuesday 11 October 2011

See. Stand. Sit. | 看 . 站 . 坐.


See. Stand. Sit

You don't need to stand high,
But you ought to see things clear.
If you manage to stand high,
Not a compulsory being able to see far.
Just remember to have a wide view.
Don't quickly glance though thousands miles,
And missed the treasure within several meters.
Sitting high is not a must as well,
As long as you could sit firmly.
But if you could sit higher,
Definitely you don't need to sit straight the entire time,
Comfortably sitting on the chair is more important.
Strengthen your seat steadily,
Get a correct sitting posture that won't hurt.
Stand high, see thing clear and wide, sit stably and comfortably.

看 . 站 . 坐.

人站得不高不重要
看得清晰才是重點
如果你站得高的話
也不一定要看很遠
但記得要看得寬喲
別沖忙地一眨千里
忽視幾里近的距離
又不需要高坐在上
坐得穩就已經夠了
如果你坐得高的話
也不需要常坐得直
可以坐得舒服就好
鞏固坐席不被動搖
坐勢不會腰痠悲痛
站高看清寬坐舒穩

Luxor, Egypt, 11/10/2011
Pictures taken in Perissa, Santorini, Greece, 28/09/2011

Tuesday 4 October 2011

Lemon and Life | 檸檬人生


Lemon and Life

I know i can't control the weather. So, i will never complain if it's too hot or it's a rainy day. Instead, i always enjoy what life throws me. If i was given a lemon, i will either make ice lemonade or boil water for a cup of hot lemon tea to keep myself warm.

Also, i won't blame if you don't want to help me. Cause, you have the right to choose. No point forcing other to get one's problem solved. Just, you won't deserve a sincere appreciation from FuFu.

Likewise, i categorise my friends. If you are not invited to be seated with me at the same table, don't piss off. Enjoy your dinner with your friends. Just, my stomach needs to better digest what i am going to eat.

檸檬人生

我知道天氣是無法被操控
不曾埋怨太熱或是下雨天
反而我會好好享受每一天
如果命運要給我一粒檸檬
我會立刻弄檸檬刨冰解暑
或燒水準備一杯熱檸檬茶

沒必要抱怨你不伸出緩手
因爲你也有做選擇的權利
永不會求人把我問題解決
大不了花點能量自找出路
只是你會得不到我的感激

同樣的我也會挑選朋與友
如不被邀請與我同桌用餐
你不需擺出憤怒鳥的表情
盡情和你的朋友吃晚餐吧
我的肚子想好好消化罷了

Skopje, Macedonia, 21/09/2011 - Cloudy (light shower)

Saturday 1 October 2011

Like and Dislike


喜歡和不喜歡 | Like and Dislike.

喜歡凴感覺就會很簡單 | Like = Simple + Feeling.
不喜歡很容易但要事實 | Dislike = Easy + Tangible.

感覺永遠都不需要理由 | Reasons don't chase after Feeling.
事實往往必須解釋清楚 | Tangible needs to be clearly explained.

感覺難以言談誰都喜歡 | Feeling is lovely and hard to describe.
實事句句有刺不被喜歡 | Tangible is ugly and it hurts.

喜歡要慢慢欣賞後陶醉 | Like = slowly appreciate before falling into it happily.
不喜歡要快刀斬後忘記 | Dislike = kill it immediately and then forget thoroughly.

Stockholm, Sweden, 15/08/2011