Month of März, 2008

Imagine coming home one day and finding a goat tied to a pole in the backyard of your house. Surprised about that rural sight, you ask your father about the animal. “I stole it from somebody,” he tells you. What do you do?

This problem arised over a discussion with Ah Hong and Ouyang Yin. We were talking about differences between Chinese and European culture, and Ah Hong shared this example with us. For simplicity, let’s assume here that stealing a goat is something bad¹, and that in general you respect your dad ;-)

I’d really be interested in your opinion. Please write a comment to this article. I’ll do the same to share my personal view, and I will explain where this story comes from. However, please think about it yourself before reading other’s opinions!

Is Ignorance Bliss? The question didn’t arise over a juicy and delicious beef steak¹, but the parallels are remarkable. Read on…

Three short conversations of Mr. J, on a random weekend in a random city.¹

Die Würfel sind gefallen: Ich werde am 23. MärzMai um 13:20 Uhr wieder auf Schweizer Boden sein. Ihr dürft mich gerne am Flughafen abholen kommen, am liebsten mit einem Stück Vollkornbrot oder Züpfe und etwas Käse (gäu Melchior) ;-)

Drudel: Was ist das?

Je sais que je vous dois encore une ou deux articles sur les vacances en Philippines. Il n’y a simplement pas beaucoup de temps libre ces jours… Mais j’aimerais quand-même vous montrer cette image pris juste devant ma chambre, dimanche soir.

Moon (from outside my room): Sunday, March 9, 2008, after a rainy day, the moon setting.

Un image dit plus que mille mots. Alors 57 images doit être l’équivalent d’un roman! Puisque je n’ai pas le temps de l’écrire, et puisqu’elles sont simplement belles, regardez les images des Philippines!. Ça donne envie des vacances, non?

J’aimerais remercier Gregor, Patrick et Quentin pour leur talent photographique et pour la générosité de partager leurs images.

Me seit, chliini Buebe hei a chliine Sache fröid. Was mi hüt gfröit het, isch bi Google nach “Jonas Wagner” z’sueche. Lang isch mis Blog unger de Top Ten gsi, und hüt zum erschte Mal… erscht. Danke aune, wo läse, kommentiere, Links setze…

Uf MSN Live Search und bi Yahoo isch allerdings nüt z’wöue :-/ Macht nüt, i blogge wiiter.

The return to civilisation could not be more abrupt. From the back of beyond to never sleeping Manila, where we arrived at four in the night. With nowhere else to go, we stranded at a McDonalds, open 24 hours a day, and for once were glad about a standardized and safe Egg McMuffin. This breakfast also was a farewell meal: Gaultier and Olivier flew back to Taiwan to study, Fleur and Fanny left for Boracay, and the six of us from NTU headed, one way or another, to Malapasqua Island.

The first long night after two short ones didn’t feel long at all. But the fantastic breakfast could have motivated even the most sleepy traveller: fried sweet potatoes, noodle soup and a choice of tea, coffee or Milo was presented to us. After eating we packed our bags, payed our bill and thanked our hosts for the great stay. At 7:30, we hit the road again.

Good morning and welcome to Banaue! Still a bit sleepy, we stepped out of our refrigerator on wheelsaircon-bus. On the road we got to know excellent Buko (Coconut) Pie as well as four Parisian students on their vacation before their exchange semester in Taipeh starts. Together we decided to hire a guide for a two-days hiking trip through the rice fields.

In this post I’ll try to write down some memories from my Philippines trip that are worth preserving. It was an intensive trip with few moments to write a diary, so I’ll do it now as a retrospective. English will be the language used, because that’s what I’ve spoken during most of the trip. Also, one of the first surprises in the Philippines was that all the road signs, advertisements and messages were in English ;-) Allright, let’s go!

… I thought, when i left the cab and walked up the stairs to block 58. I’m safe and sound back in Singapore, after a journey rich in experiences.

That’s it for today, more travel news tomorrow!