Qingdao, 1931

It was more than a decade ago that I last visited this old house where my grandparents used to live. The blue door plate writes the address from which I once received LETTERS in the 90s; the red wooden spiral stairs lead home on the second floor; inside, the big family squeezed in the bed as the room was too packed for chairs; the black-and-white family photo is still hanging on the wall, but the old generation in it has long gone and the babies grown up.

Today the coal stove in the room has been changed to an air-conditioner; we no longer write letters on paper; the old pictures have been scanned and saved to the computer.

This house built in 1931 by the Japanese listens to the firecrackers blown up every Chinese new year and it has witnessed the changes upon people over the years. It can be nostalgic and also a reminder of how we used to live.

2008 in pictures

Been to some interesting places during the past one year and here they are:

Cambodia, Dec.

Outside the forbidden city, Beijing, Oct.

Houhai, Beijing, Oct.

Duolun Road, Shanghai, Mar.

A journey across time

It happened to be Christmas Day when we arrived at Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. It was 9pm, humid after the rain. There was no trace of the festival. The streets were quiet and dimly lit and scattered with stalls selling local foods. The scene suddenly reminded me of my hometown in the 80s.

The journey began the next day. After a six hours’ drive, we were in Siem Reap. The bumpy and dusty road, the strange words, the ocher-red soil and the wilderness of the land made this place like Xinjiang in the tropical world.

Angkor was swarming with tourists and you could hear a polyglot of languages. Near each scenic spot, there were kids selling knick-knacks. Young as they were, their bargaining skills surprised me. “One dollar, yi kuai”, “I don’t have money to go to school…” That was their cue when you turned away.

Needless to say, the temples are formidable. People may marvel at the mystic sculptures and centuries-old trees in the jungle during daytime, they can also have fun in the pub street at night. Clusters of lights from bars and restaurants lightened the sky. It was just as vibrant as any other bar street in the world. But locals were seldom seen, except the tuk-tuk drivers vying for business.

A few miles’ distance separates the ancient and modern world, locals and foreigners. Here, everyone seems happy-go-lucky. There are no high-rises, no glittering shopping malls, no fast food chains, no financial crisis. It’s a temporary haven, or heaven.

Back to the hotel, I saw a commercial of Discovery channel, it says “The world is just awesome.” Yes, it is.