Prawns


http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/reports/biodiversity/shrimp/shrmp03.html

Ethical Tourism
What to do when we impact on the very people and places we go to see? I stayed at a marine-park-listed tropical island last week. White sand, palm trees, coral reef and no sewage treatment at all for any of the island's big resorts or little bungalows. Do you think the earnest backpackers with sunburn I passed knew they were swimming in their own shit? Do you think they knew that all of their solid waste would be stored in uncovered heaps river-side, incinerated at a poorly designed plant and that the airborne particles would waft out to sea and settle over the coral reef they were there to see? Did they notice the mangroves trying to regenerate where they had been cleared in the area adjacent the ferry terminal on the mainland? The passengers alighting from their long haul Taiwanese 737's on the new runway planned for just offshore the island probably don't care much. Welcome to our duty-free golf-coursed air-conditioned ecotourism mecca. We used to have coral here. Anyone want to buy a key ring?


Overview

Ecotourism options?

And what about the people?

Language. It's a virus.

Today's thoughts are about language and society. Interesting article about diagnosis and whether it creates dis-ease and another one about the power of words in guiding behaviour.

This week I am over the general feeling of weepy exhaustion that dominated week 1, over the feeling of rising horror at mass consumerism and unquestioning mall culture that plagued me in week 2, over the dawning realisation of the things that are difficult to reconcile (time alone, living as part of a family; independence, being a house guest; feminism, traditional conservative Malay gender roles; Australian & Malaysian perspectives on respect and authority; Australian & Malaysian perspectives on dissent and debate; caring what people think, wanting to not care; people catching cholera, big shiny mercedes; the benefits of a sheltered youth, the benefits of looking out for yourself; being quiet, piping up; and wanting to buy novelty cartoon Tshirts from market stalls, having boobs that wont fit) you know, all the burning issues...

Week 4? The 'making lists and trying to weave a model that explains it all' phase? Rather than an elegant mathematical model I am thinking shoebox with glue and cellophane.

Just as an aside, 4 is an unlucky number for some Chinese people as the word 'si' (four) is similar to the word 'si' (death). Apparently our apartment was originally 704 but they couldn't sell it with that number so it was changed to 705. There is no 704 on our floor. Some lifts have no 4th floor (which is all a little bit like the start of some creepy Murakami novel if you ask me - whoa, look out for the sheep man!)

I laughed at this and
this today

Got a mixed CD in the letterbox tonight, never has such a little parcel been so appreciated! My CD wallet of music has been listened-to to death. I have even taken to rifling through Uncle's collection in the loungeroom, but it is a risky venture navigating around the unexpected horrors of "Music of a French Cafe", Richie Sambora (nooooooo? what are you doing in there?)and some nasty little oz rock nuggets.

I've been away for like a long weekend right? It feels like years.

Anyone who feels like sending supplies, here is my list:
- coffee from Cafe Biancho on Marion Street
- tim tams (the ones made in Indonesia just aren't quite the same - too crunchy)
- tapes of Sunday night ABC melodrama
- music

Ah, that should just about do it. This is so much like when I ran away from home and packed my singlet and a doll in my kindy case and only made it to the front door (I was only 3)- felt like the biggest adventurer ever - I'm sure if I'd left I would have ended up calling mum for the barbie horse, the books and the dress ups, "yeah could you just drop them over? I know I wanted to get away and see the world, but I kind of miss them...oh bugger it, ok then I'll come back".

Anglia Shandy - the real shandy. A refreshing blend of lemonade and beer. Serve Chilled.

I broke the drought with a tinny of shandy bought from my local Chinese grocer for RM1.50* and sipped it in front of Buffy season 7 episode on cable, subtitled in Malay.

Ah, that's the life. Well it's a life. Oh shit, it's my life!

*Or 50c Aussie.

Tonight I went to a wedding of complete strangers. That is to say, they weren't strangers, they knew each other, but I'd never met them. So I go, frocked up, with the people I did know and it is a big affair, with glitz and glamour, in a big hotel. Table after table, like the biggest conference dinner you've never been to. And icy, ice-creamy, with sashes of white and mint green fabric draped from the room-sized chandelier and wedding party in ice ice green and sugar pink. This was a big affair, the current deputy prime minister was there, the former chief of police was there, the supplier of chickens for all of Malaysia's (fried chicken chain) stores was there...

Bride and groom were fanned by their attendants and select people came up to put chopped pandan leaves, rose petals and rose water in their palms, kiss their hands etc. When they walked in they were preceded by gold and silver tinsel palm trees held high by people in traditional warrior outfits. It was regal and formal and grand and tacky.

The whole deal was completely without alcohol. Completely. We had water at the tables in wine glasses and a glass of slightly toothpaste flavoured water that exactly matched the pale green chair bows. No wonder the whole night was so orderly and over so quick. No dancing, no drunk old uncles, no speeches from the couple.

Just FYI - absolute useless pop mind fluff:

The 4th May 2004 Marc Almond Update Newsletter is out now! I somehow* subscribed to these months ago and get regular updates of dates for his Telaviv performances... Thought I would share the joy.

Theatre of Marc Almond
http://www.marcalmond.co.uk

Oh also, in the local rag I saw that Deep Purple are playing Singapore. 'Back by Popular Demand'. Great, might have to pop down.

* A carry on from the February Big Question of 'where is Marc Almond now?' Which is easy - he's in Telaviv performing or online whilst in Telaviv answering readers questions about his new album.

On a note only related by the common thread of almond I need to tell you that I have bought an almond tart and that, working backwards, takes me to my dinner, which I will skip entirely, but merely use it as an opener to relay to you the horrors of my dinnertime beverage - which being (supposedly) a Singaporian specialty means it has something in common with Deep Purple come backs - and that is: tea/coffee! Not as in either or but as in both!! All the sickly sweetness and wrong orangeness of teh-tarek, combined with the edgy hit you in the face muddy bitterness of traditional kopi - all together mixed in a cup and spilled decoratively into the saucer. If given the choice, pay the cafe the 2 Ringgit to not pour you a cup. Truly a case of "nuts and gum, united at last"...

One new combination I was pleasantly surprised by recently - honeydew and tapioca ice cream. Seriously. Apparently tapioca originated in Sarawak on the Island of Borneo - is a staple derived from palm cellulose and did not spring up in the kitchens of English boarding Schools afterall. I was genuinely shocked. Or do you think someone is taking the Mickey?

Fun with fonetiks

English words adopted into Bahasa Malaysia You have to say them out loud sometimes to get what the hell they mean...
Aksesori
Teksi
Basikal
Insurans
Optik
Restoran
Kafe
Akitek
Bajet

(Although Malayisation of English is kinda cool, means I can find things)