There is something weighing on my conscience. Today I saw a woman being pickpocketed and I didn’t do anything. I was biking behind this woman opposite the hospital, and traffic was heavy so we were going slow. I was waiting for a break in the traffic to cross the road and go to the market. All of a sudden a guy ran past me, with little clearance between him and my bike so it caught me by surprise. And he turned to look at me, then continued running in front of my bike, slowing me down. Then he ran ahead and caught up with the bike in front of me and ran behind it, at the same time reaching his hand into the woman’s slingbag dangling slightly behind her. So he ran with her bike and dug into her bag and all the while I was waiting for her to notice and turn round but it didn’t happen. I looked to my side and there were like 3 tuktuks, and they should have seen what was going on but nobody did or said anything. Same for the passers-by. Then the pickpocket ran to the pavement and bent over slightly, looking like he was panting and I was nearing and he was looking so I quickly crossed the road and went into the market. The sun was so blinding and I had to heed the traffic too so I wasn’t sure whether he succeeded in picking her purse. It occurred to me that I could very well have been his victim because I didn’t hear him approaching from behind until he ran past me. I was traumatized because despite my classmates and juniors having been targets before and me bearing witness to an attempt on my friends walking ahead of me before, this is the first time I’ve seen someone run after a bike. Sock told me she’d seen pickpockets running after bikes near her place before and she was so scared she backtracked but this is the first time I’ve seen such audacity myself. When I reached the market I told my veggie auntie that recently there’re many pickpockets around and she seemed surprised. While biking out of the market I had to check both the traffic and my shadow. My shadow’s now my best friend because I can see myself and my backpack while cycling. But that’s only if I’m cycling with the Sun in the right direction. I suspect the pickpocket chose the opposite direction because the shadows were all behind. Scary stuff. I miss the days when FZ was safe and secure. I miss Japan for its safe streets. And I felt so sorry for not helping that woman though I’ve seen syndicates around and many of my friends would have done the same for fear of becoming the next target or being caught by his accomplices. Anyway after that I went to the police station to renew my cert of temp residence and I alerted the policewoman of the recent pickpocketings in the estate and told her of today’s bike chase. She too seemed surprised. Is the whole FZ asleep? So many of us students have been targets or seen it happening, and I’ve heard stories from some nurses at our hospital of their own encounters too. I hope the police take action and step up patrol or something, then at least I wouldn’t feel so guilty for not helping that woman today.

on Korea and Japan

I'm back! In Beijing, that is. Wow. I can't believe we were almost stranded at Seoul station after waiting at the wrong place for the night limousine bus. Had to resort to black cabs which cost us a bomb but still better than running the meter. Slept in the airport for the first time in my life and experienced what it's like to be homeless. Haha. It was too late and we were too crashed to take photos or complain already. So anyway a flight and a bus ride later, we're back at friendly old FZ. Lol. Reality hits us in the face.


Seoul and Tokyo were just big cities, but what made an impact at Tokyo is that 99% of the people at the subway station or on the streets were dressed all in black from top to toe. Looks like black trenchcoats are the "in" thing haha. But I was impressed by the service standards, their smart dressing and the orderliness of the society. It was quiet in the trains and buses and everyone minded their own business. It seemed like nobody even talked. There were neat queues for the train and there was no pushing nor queue-cutting even at Disneyland. Unlike in China (think orange peeling and eating or talking loudly on hps, and of course pushing and spitting) and even Korea (think the occasional loud voice). The Japanese seem friendly and always eager to help. From the random uncle or auntie on the streets to the station staff, they'd go the extra mile to help and that touched me alot. Good thing was that station staff could speak english and we managed to get by with the random Jap words I knew and sign language when asking for directions on the streets. Funny thing is that once they started talking they couldn't stop, even more so if you spoke a few Jap words and they thought you could understand them. Haha. And the funny random uncles at Osaka who'd come up to us to say something in Jap then walk away when we gave them puzzled faces and gestured that we don't understand.


As for sightseeing, Jeju was still the best. I suppose it's because it's winter, and all the cherry and plum blossoms in Japan were bare. 淡季 everywhere, so it was quiet but that meant having less crowds to deal with when phototaking. Even during the DMZ tour there were much less people than usual and the skies were clear so we got a good view of South and North Korea's flags at the 38th parallel through the binoculars.
If you're planning a visit to Korea, don't ever miss out Jeju island! :))


I enjoyed Kyoto even though it was quiet and "ulu" because biking around for 2 days opened my eyes to more than you'd see if you took public transport. We realised that everybody obeyed the traffic lights and we felt guilty crossing Beijing-style so we waited with the lights too. We didn't get to see Nijo Castle because it was closed the day we went and that was a huge disappointment but the Kyoto Imperial Palace tour made up for it. Gion was disappointing too because I expected to see geishas walking the streets but the only 2 geishas we saw were indoors serving a guest and kept looking over to the camera flashes outside their window so we couldn't really watch for long. Shops closed really early too. Had to keep reminding ourselves it was 淡季 everywhere. Lol.


Seoul was the coldest, averaging -10deg but the people wore the least. Just trenchcoats and huge scarves (or rather blankets) wrapped around their necks and chins. It was funny to see them scooting about bordering on shivering, but obviously they were the 爱美不要命 kind. The Japanese are much more afraid of cold as we saw significantly more YRFs although temperatures were mostly above 0 deg. But they had weirder hair and more punkish street dressing: the standard black leather jacket-jeans with chains-black caterpillar boots combo. Conclusion: Seoul = trendy ; Tokyo = cool.


Nara (near Osaka) was nice, there were free-roaming deer. Yah, I got headbutted by a stray deer we were trying to take photos with outside a hotel we happened to pass by on the way to the deer park. Apparently it was angry we kept trying to touch but not feed it lol. Luckily stubs were left of it's antlers so my pelvis wasn't perforated. Lol. That first encounter made us wary and paranoid of all the other deers that tried to approach us in the park. We were so afraid to get stampeded or surrounded haha.


All in all, a great trip! Tiring towards the end but time flew and 2 weeks were up. It's been a really hectic month. Haerbin in wk 1 then Korea and Japan in wks 3 and 4. Haerbin already feels like ages ago! Haha. After 17 hours of sleep, I think I'm rested! But all the aches are coming back. Wonder if I lost weight haha. Hope my decrease in appetite continues in Beijing haha. Portions were so small and food was so expensive in Japan that my stomach shrank. It's time to get down to serious studying. Boo. I gotta stock up on groceries for the New Year too.

Good thing about Korea is that internet is fast, there are no ridiculous firewalls, people are generally nice and patient, the air is clean, it's clean everywhere, cars look new and luxurious, food is good, toilets are clean, have lockable doors and toilet paper, and I'm too tired to think of more. Bad thing is that there's a lack of trashcans around. And not all Koreans speak English. And their currency has too many zeroes.

Funny thing is that people outside Seoul wear alot more than those in Seoul though Seoul is colder than other places. The thing to wear in Seoul at -10deg is a trenchcoat but the thing to wear in Jeju at +5deg is a YRF. Ironic huh? But it's fun laughing at those who value their looks more than their comfort, hunching over and walking fast, shivering in their (lack of) clothes. I already miss Jeju.

Am stuck at Busan Gimhae airport waiting to check in for my flight to Osaka. Seems like there are no doughnuts around. I've yet to try Mr. Donut! :(

uplifting

Jeju-do is so lovely. Am considering retirement here! So peaceful and serene, just looking out the window in the cab while taking the sea road. Gulls circling low overhead, the sea waves splashing at the rocks, the fluffy clouds, blue sea and sky...it's been a while since I've seen the sea. Having been in Beijing for 1 year and counting, the part I miss most about our sunny island, aside from the food, is the beaches. The 3 "S"-es: Sun, Sea, Sand. Typically the first 2 would suffice to put me in a good mood. It's uplifting. Rejuvenating. Haha. I loved Sunrise Peak and Sangumburi Crater. It's an entirely different feel in Winter (not that I've been there in other seasons) but having sheets of white everywhere changed the landscape and differed from the typical all-green scenery seen in tourism brochures. There was light snow atop the crater, and it's the first time I was motivated to take a video of scenery because standing on the ladder platform and looking in any direction, the view was different yet spectacular. 360 degrees of good stuff. It's not only on rollercoasters that 360 degrees makes for fun stuff! Haha. Not to mention the abundance of windmills in Jeju-do. I somehow have a thing for windmills. Always associated windmills with holland, but they're pretty here too! :D

As you can see, Jeju-do slams Seoul hands down. I'm so not a city-dweller. Never felt so strongly about that until today. Having been to some of the major cities of the world, I'd have to say they don't differ by much. Mostly just the people, the language on the signboards and street culture, but cities will be cities. New York City, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, HK...I'm just waiting for Tokyo to prove my point. Nice lightings, decorations, night views and bustling with activity, but too polluted, populated, commercialised and humanised in my opinion. Nature is where the real beauty lies. No amount of nicely furnished theme cafes can beat that. If there's one place in Korea to visit, it has to be Jeju-do! Actually I realised that the part of WAT I miss most is the horse-riding in Frisco. North Carolina countryside where we camped out in the open.

I don't wanna leave Yeha Guesthouse and Jeju-do :( Japan, here I come soon! Please don't disappoint!

Haerbin was ok. Snow and ice sculptures were overrated (just like everything else in China) but I enjoyed the tiger sanctuary. Worst part of the cold was on the face, but indoors the heaters were unbeatable. They could maintain 20+ degrees indoors and we were melting on the train. Even the hot water in the hostel beat mine in Singapore. Overstocked on heatpacks and worried for nothing. Haha. But I slipped and fell in 冰雪大世界 and hit my patella hard on the icy ground, lucky not shattering it. Now that I'm back, no more red painful nose, cheeks and fingers! :) No more frozen mucus and crystallized water vapour! Point to note is that people, or at least taxi drivers in Haerbin are really nice and soft-spoken!


I'm currently feeling really depressed because I just destroyed my only woolen scarf by washing it in the washing machine upon coming back last night. Couldn't I just have beared with 3 days worth of frozen mucus and water vapour on my scarf? Oh man. It's now shrunken and felted. 面目全非. I'm considering dumping it so I wouldn't be reminded of my stupidity.