ma ma ...
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thalassemia and Chinese medicine
Thalassemia, being a genetic disease, runs in a family. Most are silent carriers or suffer mild anemia. Severe cases such as the Hemoglobin H disease with enlarged spleen, small body and malnourished look shows more prominent symptoms. [Pic below: Enlargement of spleen, small body]
TCM looks at Thalassemia from the genetic perspective too. Its symptoms such as anemia, feeling tired, paleness, jaundice, enlargement of spleen, pigmentation of skin, and skeletal deformity can be treated with Chinese herbs. Typically, there are three syndromes associated with it: The deficiency of kidney-qi is the fundamental syndrome as it relates to genetic effect. As time goes on, the child may suffer more deterioration of kidney-qi and thus the chance of accumulation of damp-heat in the body. Toward the third syndrome, the child loses more blood, more accumulation of damp-heat coupled with stagnation of blood.
Early symptoms such as slow growth, big head, protruded forehead and front teeth, collapsed or low nose bridge, wide gap between eyes must be observed closely for the degree of severity. [Pic below: Big forehead, low nose bridge, paleness]
Depending on the type, syndrome and severity, therapeutic principle varies accordingly.
For treatments for cases with obvious and known symptoms and syndrome, matching OTC (if there is any on the market) can help. For most other cases, treatments are individual based with herbal prescriptions.
TCM looks at Thalassemia from the genetic perspective too. Its symptoms such as anemia, feeling tired, paleness, jaundice, enlargement of spleen, pigmentation of skin, and skeletal deformity can be treated with Chinese herbs. Typically, there are three syndromes associated with it: The deficiency of kidney-qi is the fundamental syndrome as it relates to genetic effect. As time goes on, the child may suffer more deterioration of kidney-qi and thus the chance of accumulation of damp-heat in the body. Toward the third syndrome, the child loses more blood, more accumulation of damp-heat coupled with stagnation of blood.Early symptoms such as slow growth, big head, protruded forehead and front teeth, collapsed or low nose bridge, wide gap between eyes must be observed closely for the degree of severity. [Pic below: Big forehead, low nose bridge, paleness]
Depending on the type, syndrome and severity, therapeutic principle varies accordingly.For treatments for cases with obvious and known symptoms and syndrome, matching OTC (if there is any on the market) can help. For most other cases, treatments are individual based with herbal prescriptions.
Monday, May 05, 2008
The eel that arched her abdomen
In ancient China (Song dynasty? (960–1279)), there lived an educated man named 周豫(Zhou Yu). One day, his friend brought him some fresh eels, a delicacy that Zhou Yu liked very much. Having little to do that day, Zhou Yu wanted to try his culinary skills, which he had long left unused, and prepared to make a batch of unseasoned eel stew.
He placed the eels in a pot, and when the stew began to boil, Zhou Yu lifted the lid and saw an extraordinary phenomenon: One of the eels had pushed its abdomen upward in an arch, leaving its head and tail in the soup. With great curiosity, Zhou Yu immediately spooned the eel out of the soup and cut open its abdomen. To his amazement, he saw countless eggs inside. In order to protect its spawn, the mother eel had struggled to prevent hot water from hurting its abdomen by pushing its body into an arch.
The sight left Zhou Yu dumbfounded, and he could not contain his tears. Even an eel knew how to protect its eggs, he thought, yet he, a human being, the highest of all creatures, had not been filial to his mother. Deeply moved, Zhou Yu vowed never to eat eel again. And he loved and respected his mother evermore.
Original writing
“学士周豫，尝烹鳝。见有鞠身向上，以首尾就烹者，讶而剖之，腹中累累有子，鞠躬避汤耳… 物类之甘心忍痛，而护惜鞭子如此。恻然感叹，永断不食。” --《护生录; hu sheng lu; Protecting-lives-records》
"xue shi zhou yu, chang peng shan. jian you ju shen xiang shang, yi shou wei jiu peng zhe, ya er pou zhi, fu zhong lei lei you zi, ju gong bi tang er... wu lei zhi gan xin ren tong, er hu xi bian zi ru ci. ce ran gan tan, yong duan bu shi." --《护生录; hu sheng lu; Protecting-lives-records》
“Scholar Zhou Yu, tried to cook eels. [He] saw an eel bowed up, with head and tail fully cooked in soup. Puzzled, [he] cut open the eel, abdomen strains of eggs, bowing to avoid soup… living kinds willing to suffer, to protect babies at such. Deeply touched and sighed: Never to eat eels. ” --《护生录; hu sheng lu; Protecting-lives-records》
The story tells us:
“Animals do not live without feelings, emotions.
Neither do they live without love.”
Like you and I,
animals have mothers who care about them,
even when they die, babies come first.
Happy Mother's day
to all animals!
All living beings!
Shall we celebrate this Mother's day without taking lives? with vegetarian food?Neither do they live without love.”
Like you and I,
animals have mothers who care about them,
even when they die, babies come first.
Happy Mother's day
to all animals!
All living beings!
Note:
1) I was preparing to translate this article from ancient Chinese expressions to English when I stumbled upon this writing. Apparently Sonoflight, a blogger from China, had already done the translation a while ago. Her narration of the story is of my taste and I can’t resist but to ‘borrow’ her work over here. Thank you, Sonoflight. A good job, indeed. The original article is at: http://sl.iciba.com/viewthread-85-347008-1.shtml#2625029
2) Original writing, quote from 《护生录; hu sheng lu; Protecting-lives-records》, was written probably during the time of Song dynasty (960–1279). A slightly more illustrated version (by John Lew, for the sake of more complete sense. Pin Yin pronunciation and English translation by John Lew) is shown above in Chinese language. Anyway, there is more than one version with slight difference in wordings.
3) The first illustration (首尾就烹; shou wei jiu peng; Head-Tail-In-Cooking) is by the late Mr. 丰子恺 (Feng Zi-Kai) in his book 《护生画集》第二集39; hu sheng hua ji; Protecting-lives-drawing-collections, 2nd episode, page 39. Origin of the second illustration (烹鳝; peng shan; Cooking-Eels) is unknown, though the style looks similar to that of the first one.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Life forms, souls, on earth.
Life forms come to material world with bodies wrapped around the soul. Using bodies as a tool or vehicle to carry out earthly activities to fulfill destinies, whether to pay debts or to seek debts, life forms shed the bodies when the time is up for another journey.
Lessons learned. Souls move on.
Coming from the earth, going back to the earth. This is what it is for material world.
Jobs done. Souls move on.
These ants help the fly to decompose the left-over body which is no longer necessary. The soul, which previously took the life form as fly on earth, has moved on to another journey. The soul has her path to go. All life forms help each other to progress and to alleviate to higher regions; some, unfortunately, get lost, confused and jeopardize the process, hurting oneself and therefore others.
Quick, hurry, come back to the righteous path.
Note:
1) Photograph by John Lew. All rights on photographs reserved. More nature shots at http://www.lews.info/wallpaper/index.html
2) Click on the Photo No. 2 for a complete 1024x768 wallpaper.
3) Photo No. 3, title “Beautiful Earth – What are we doing?” by David Lewis-Baker.
Lessons learned. Souls move on.
Coming from the earth, going back to the earth. This is what it is for material world.
Jobs done. Souls move on.
These ants help the fly to decompose the left-over body which is no longer necessary. The soul, which previously took the life form as fly on earth, has moved on to another journey. The soul has her path to go. All life forms help each other to progress and to alleviate to higher regions; some, unfortunately, get lost, confused and jeopardize the process, hurting oneself and therefore others.
Quick, hurry, come back to the righteous path.
Note:
1) Photograph by John Lew. All rights on photographs reserved. More nature shots at http://www.lews.info/wallpaper/index.html
2) Click on the Photo No. 2 for a complete 1024x768 wallpaper.
3) Photo No. 3, title “Beautiful Earth – What are we doing?” by David Lewis-Baker.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tibet, Olympic, China 2008: Things got complicated
It’s always difficult to see the truth.
There were protests against Olympic torch relay in America, France, and Britain recently. The reason behind the protest, as the protesters claimed, was to voice out complaints for recent Tibetan crackdown. The protesters believed Chinese government had cracked down on pro-independent movement of Tibet and brought about bloody incidents.
Not being an intellect in this field but with a careful and solemn attitude I would like to try to sell short and analyze the situation from a few perspectives. Below are some questions we can try to answer for a better or hopefully non-biased understanding of this issue:
Q) What really happened in Tibet? Chinese government said it’s the Tibetan riot conspirated by Dalai Lama group. Some western media said it is Chinese government inhuman crackdown on pro-independent demonstration of Tibetan. We see altered and modified photos (admitted later by some media) on newspapers and internet. We see lots of views of video shots on the net, each telling their sides of stories. What really happened? For sure it’s a complicated issue with many parties chipping in their shares.
Q) Did the Tibetan really look for independence? Tibet first became a part of China back in Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). There are actually two versions of story of how Tibet became part of China (or not). In 1950s, Dalai Lama was in charge of Tibet, the rich noblemen and religious institutions in Tibet owed almost all the wealth; local Serfs had no education. In 1951, a 17-point agreement concerning the peaceful liberation of Tibet was signed in which the 14th Dalai Lama acknowledged Tibet is part of China. Dalai Lama later fled from Tibet in 1959, partly because of pressure from the Tibetan religious institutions and a riot arrangement by CIA and MI5 (or MI6?). And there are different versions of the view too. And we do see many players involved.
Q) Which party/parties was/were responsible? Parties involved could be: 1) Some local Tibetan group or probably rioters; 2) China government and policemen; 3) Dalai Lama group; 4) Politically-motivated world leaders/figures; 5) Invisible economically-motivated big companies and etc. 1% of population of rich and powerful but evil force can squeeze the rest of 99% dry. Is this true?
Q) What were the motives? Different people have different motives: 1) Tibetan wants more freedom? 2) Dalai Lama group was manipulated by external influence? 3) Some current world powers see China as a threat and try to bring her down? Any oil in Tibet? Wonder if some parties involved really care about the welfare of Tibetan people. 4) Some media tycoons flex their manipulating power as political wings? “The motive behind Tibetan riot is an international conspiracy to destroy Beijing Olympic”, an article wrote, 5 days before March 14th riot.
Q) Why so close before Beijing Olympics? The timing is near perfect. Some parties could be taking advantage of this time to make China conform to certain requirements. So is this a threat? A weakness that some mighty powers seize as good time to stop ever developing China? Some believe one would have to be blind not to see the connection.
Q) Which parties would benefit from such acts? To answer this question, let’s take a look at countries on the prints, countries/political figures/economical companies who or which have a lot of says with Tibet or China. Tibet is a place that is lacking of many monetary and natural resources. How does this place come into the picture? So it can be safely said that China is the target. If China failed to rise up economical and politically in world map, who or which countries would benefit more? Some former colonial powers still believe in imposing their own standards and rights onto others.
Q) Any biases in reporting the issue? Biases take place in many places; especially when it’s very politically and economically motivated (This writing is biased too, simply because I’m deliberately offering a DIFFERENT view?). Since strong media are mostly controlled by the ex-colonial powers, they could work hand in hand to bring upcoming players to their knees. Can we say there have been some crude attempts at misrepresenting China? You can be your own judge. Before rushing to do so, read many prints as diverse as possible and as many languages too. Bias may take place if there are misunderstandings, misrepresented critics, or malicious attacks.
For a very complicated issue we were looking for one simple answer. Could the approach have been wrong?
Many incidents are blinded or manipulated in the history of human beings. For many we’ll never know the truth. For those that matter to us we’ll have to relearn the lessons.
We always have to ask ourselves these questions: Am I doing the right things? Is this really for the benefits of mankind? For the healthy growth of a dignified and conscientious being?
More often than not, we know the answers are mostly “No” in our hearts, which is the reason why it’s always difficult to see the truth.
Link: www.beijing2008.cn
There were protests against Olympic torch relay in America, France, and Britain recently. The reason behind the protest, as the protesters claimed, was to voice out complaints for recent Tibetan crackdown. The protesters believed Chinese government had cracked down on pro-independent movement of Tibet and brought about bloody incidents.Not being an intellect in this field but with a careful and solemn attitude I would like to try to sell short and analyze the situation from a few perspectives. Below are some questions we can try to answer for a better or hopefully non-biased understanding of this issue:
Q) What really happened in Tibet? Chinese government said it’s the Tibetan riot conspirated by Dalai Lama group. Some western media said it is Chinese government inhuman crackdown on pro-independent demonstration of Tibetan. We see altered and modified photos (admitted later by some media) on newspapers and internet. We see lots of views of video shots on the net, each telling their sides of stories. What really happened? For sure it’s a complicated issue with many parties chipping in their shares.
Q) Did the Tibetan really look for independence? Tibet first became a part of China back in Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). There are actually two versions of story of how Tibet became part of China (or not). In 1950s, Dalai Lama was in charge of Tibet, the rich noblemen and religious institutions in Tibet owed almost all the wealth; local Serfs had no education. In 1951, a 17-point agreement concerning the peaceful liberation of Tibet was signed in which the 14th Dalai Lama acknowledged Tibet is part of China. Dalai Lama later fled from Tibet in 1959, partly because of pressure from the Tibetan religious institutions and a riot arrangement by CIA and MI5 (or MI6?). And there are different versions of the view too. And we do see many players involved.
Q) Which party/parties was/were responsible? Parties involved could be: 1) Some local Tibetan group or probably rioters; 2) China government and policemen; 3) Dalai Lama group; 4) Politically-motivated world leaders/figures; 5) Invisible economically-motivated big companies and etc. 1% of population of rich and powerful but evil force can squeeze the rest of 99% dry. Is this true?
Q) What were the motives? Different people have different motives: 1) Tibetan wants more freedom? 2) Dalai Lama group was manipulated by external influence? 3) Some current world powers see China as a threat and try to bring her down? Any oil in Tibet? Wonder if some parties involved really care about the welfare of Tibetan people. 4) Some media tycoons flex their manipulating power as political wings? “The motive behind Tibetan riot is an international conspiracy to destroy Beijing Olympic”, an article wrote, 5 days before March 14th riot.Q) Why so close before Beijing Olympics? The timing is near perfect. Some parties could be taking advantage of this time to make China conform to certain requirements. So is this a threat? A weakness that some mighty powers seize as good time to stop ever developing China? Some believe one would have to be blind not to see the connection.
Q) Which parties would benefit from such acts? To answer this question, let’s take a look at countries on the prints, countries/political figures/economical companies who or which have a lot of says with Tibet or China. Tibet is a place that is lacking of many monetary and natural resources. How does this place come into the picture? So it can be safely said that China is the target. If China failed to rise up economical and politically in world map, who or which countries would benefit more? Some former colonial powers still believe in imposing their own standards and rights onto others.
Q) Any biases in reporting the issue? Biases take place in many places; especially when it’s very politically and economically motivated (This writing is biased too, simply because I’m deliberately offering a DIFFERENT view?). Since strong media are mostly controlled by the ex-colonial powers, they could work hand in hand to bring upcoming players to their knees. Can we say there have been some crude attempts at misrepresenting China? You can be your own judge. Before rushing to do so, read many prints as diverse as possible and as many languages too. Bias may take place if there are misunderstandings, misrepresented critics, or malicious attacks.
For a very complicated issue we were looking for one simple answer. Could the approach have been wrong?Many incidents are blinded or manipulated in the history of human beings. For many we’ll never know the truth. For those that matter to us we’ll have to relearn the lessons.
We always have to ask ourselves these questions: Am I doing the right things? Is this really for the benefits of mankind? For the healthy growth of a dignified and conscientious being?
More often than not, we know the answers are mostly “No” in our hearts, which is the reason why it’s always difficult to see the truth.
Link: www.beijing2008.cn
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) vs. Menopause, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine
[POF vs. Menopause] To begin with, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) looks at Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) from the point of view of amenorrhea, infertility and its related symptoms. Many symptoms of POF are like premature menopause, amid an abnormal one. These symptoms are hot flashes, night sweats, energy loss, vaginal dryness, low sex drive, sleeping problems, loose bladder control and etc.
[The role of Kidney-Qi] From TCM theories, kidney system is the one responsible most for POF. If the kidney-qi (energy) is strong, the Chong and Ren channels (of which acupuncture is based on) will be full of energy and menstruation will come on time every month. POF, with its absence of menstruation, therefore falls into the category. According to modern research, Chinese herbs that boost kidney-qi, by regulating kidney system, remarkably raise estrogen level, and doing so without the side effects of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). Modern research and traditional efficacy seem to blend in well in this case. (Pic: Visualization of qi of internal organs & systems)
[Other syndromes] Warming the kidney-qi is suitable for those who are (1) lacking of kidney-qi or warming energy. There are other syndromes manifested by patients of POF. Among them are: (2) Deficiency of kidney-yin, (3) Blood stagnation due to qi-exhaustion, (4) Stagnated liver-qi and deficiency of kidneys, (5) Accumulation of phlegm and wetness, and (6) Deficiency of blood and kidneys.So there are at least 6 syndromes of POF. The question is: which one does a particular patient belong to?
[What type am I?] Sometimes it can be a combination of two or three syndromes in one body. It depends on which syndrome is more prominent than the others. In fact, every individual is unique. And therefore manifestation of diseases on different bodies can have different symptoms. This is a very important concept of TCM. Another woman may have POF but display quite different signs and symptoms; because of different body types and syndromes.It's therefore important to have the correct diagnosis, both from conventional medicine and TCM diagnosis.
[TCM diagnosis of syndrome] Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), nonetheless, doesn't work by just knowing diagnosis (the name of the disease) of conventional medicine. She will need to go to a TCM physician for a complete TCM diagnosis based on methods of, among them, pulse taking, tongue reading, symptoms profile, and histology and so on. By combining all these information then only can a TCM physician diagnose your SYNDROME, a phrase describing your body and constituent and its relationship with the illnesses. After knowing the syndrome of her illness, an herbal or acupuncture (choice of acupoints and manipulation methods) prescription can then be formulated. An herbal prescription can have from 8 to 16 herbs (or more or less, depending on individual needs), ranging in different amounts. Prescription of Chinese herbs can hardly be one or two herbs. It’s the interoperability of these many herbs that works in a more complete care for the body.
[Acupuncture treatment in accordance with syndrome] The above are herbal treatments. Another treatment method worth considering is acupuncture. The kidney essence is everything before an ovulation is possible. Deficiency of kidney and its essence is thus one of the most prominent syndromes of POF. By tracking both of DU channel and kidney channel, a few acupoints such as Guan Yuan, Zhong Ji, Da He, and Zi Gong, Shen Shu, Yong Quan can be taken for acupuncture treatment. All these have been proven to be effective for symptoms related to POF. (Pic: Ren channel)
Consultation with a qualified TCM physician is for sure necessary for proper diagnosis of syndrome and the subsequent herbal or acupuncture treatment methods.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix
I got to know Jimi Hendrix when I was studying in America. It was the time of ignorance for me and his music, I suppose, had some positive influence on me. Positive in the sense it opened up more rooms of contemplation.I remember I had roughly four CDs of his. They were the re-mastered version of Are You Experienced?, Bold As Love and so on. Not all the four compilation titles I can recall. This tells how ‘ignorant’ I was with the surroundings. I’ve probably left some in Taiwan or China when I brought them along with me. What’s gone doesn’t matter (especially in the material sense); what matters can no longer be found in the physical forms, but in the mind.
Read a little about him too. I think his story can be one of the inspiring stories for us to learn something from. Not saying I know I lot about him – probably I will or I should – his going against many odds in life in the then racially unjust society with love of music must have something great for all of us.
And he died young – not that long life matters either – and he died young. Many of us live through vain and till we become Alzheimer’s disease bound without knowing what we’ve given and learnt in life. When are we human beings going to learn time and space don’t matter?So what matters? Love and compassion. To all of us, be compassionate, for we are all one.
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
G6PD Deficiency & Chinese herbs
[Hundreds of forbidden drugs] Parents whose child with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency have this nightmare of guarding against drugs or medicines which may cause contraindications of hemolytic anemia (breakup of red blood cells) to their child. There are indeed many drugs or medicines which are forbidden to be used for children with this genetic disease. A little search of the web will reveal hundreds of them. And it’s definitely a terrible nightmare for any parents.
[Confusion over unsafe Chinese herbs] Whenever I talk about children diseases the topic of G6PD deficiency will be touched by concerned parents asking about the safety of taking Chinese herbs for their children with the disease. Often time the parents are confused as there are plenty of different sayings and beliefs in the society; many of which, it comes to me, are misunderstandings and unsubstantiated conceptions.
[Sulfur vs. sulfa] There was once a woman who mistook sulfur (a substance commonly used to preserve dried Chinese herbs in a safely controlled quantity) for sulfa (also sulpha, a SO2-based medicine of Sulfonamides/Sulphonamides/Sulfones/Sulphones group which is known to be offending drug of G6PD deficiency) medicine refused all kinds of Chinese herbs treatment for her baby. I had to explain the differences between the two substances (and the fact that they are completely different except for close spelling and pronunciation) and clarify some other misunderstandings she had had.
I hope this writing can help shed some light on the issue.
[Unsafe Chinese herbs] After much search of medical literature and clinical findings I’ve concluded that there are six (6) Chinese herbs which should not be prescribed for babies/children with G6PD deficiency. And they are:
1) 黄连/川连; Huang Lian / HuangLian / Chuan Lian; Rhizoma Coptidis; Coptis Root / Golden Thread
Huang Lian, mainly yielded in the province of Si Chuan (四川), China. It's therefore also called Chuan Lian (川连). Bitter in flavour, cold in property. Acting on heart, stomach, liver & large intestine channels. It clears away heat, dries dampness, purges fire and clears toxins. Commonly used to treat diarrhea, high fever and suppurative infections of the damp-heat type. Dosage: 2-10g. Caution: Very bitter & cold; overdose or prolonged use may interrupt stomach function.
2) 牛黄; Niu Huang / NiuHuang; Calculus Bovis; Bezoar
Bitter in flavour, cold in property. Acting on the liver & heart channels. It relieves convulsion, resolves phlegm to induce resuscitation and clears heat and toxins. Commonly used to treat epidemic febrile diseases with high fever, spasm, convulsion & unconsciousness due to phlegm-heat in pericardium, and sore throat, throat ulcers, canker sores in mouth of toxic heat. Dosage: 0.2-0.5g. Caution: Cautious for pregnancy; Not suitable for non excess-heat type.
3) 金银花; Jin Yin Hua / JinYinHua; Flos Lonicerae; Honeysuckle Flower
Bitter in flavour, cold in property. Acting on the lung, stomach and large intestines channels. It clears heat and detoxifies, removes heat from the blood and arrests dysentery. Commonly used to treat epidemic febrile disease at the early stage, high fever, sores, carbuncles, furuncles, and diarrhea and dysentery with purulent and bloody stool. Dosage: 10-15g.
4) 腊梅花; La Mei Hua / LaMeiHua; Flos Chimonanthi Praecocis; Wintersweet Flower
Sweet & mild bitter in flavour, neutral in property. Acting on the lung, stomach and spleen channels. It relieves heat stroke, promotes body fluid, regulates qi flow. Commonly used to treat heat stroke, thirst, abdominal pain. Dosage: 5-10g.
5) 珍珠; Zhen Zhu / ZhenZhu; Margarita; Pearl
Sweet and salty in flavour, and cold in property. Acting on heart and liver channels. It tranquilizes the mind and arrests convulsion, improves acuity, removes nebula, removes toxin and promotes granulation. Commonly used for palpitation, insomnia, convulsion and epilepsy, nebula, throat ulcers, carbuncles, skin pigmentation. Dosage: 0.1-0.3g.
6) 熊胆; Xiong Dan; XiongDan; Fel Ursi; Bear Gall
Bitter in flavour and cold in property. Acting on the liver, gall bladder and heart channels. It clears away heat and toxic materials, relieves convulsion and spasm, clears liver heat to improve vision. Commonly used to treat high fever, convulsion, epilepsy, mouth ulcers, sore throat, heaty and reddish eyes and nebula. Dosage: 0.25-0.5g. Caution: Not suitable for weak-cold type.
[Unknown mechanism] The mechanism of how these 6 Chinese herbs come to interact and cause hemolysis among G6PD deficient patients are pretty much unknown. There 6 herbs were shortlisted based mostly on clinical reports of unfortunate incidents than controlled laboratory experiments.
[Rather be safe than sorry] Commonly used Chinese herbs for me are about 400 types. A typical herbal prescription may have 8 to 16 herbs (or more or less, depending on the need), prescribed after proper TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) diagnosis including tongue reading and pulse taking methods. Subtracting 6 unsafe herbs from 400 doesn’t affect much the choice I have over herbs I prescribe remedies/prescriptions for my young patients. Without these six herbs, the selection of herbs combination to treat illnesses is still endless. If in doubt, I’ll always put safety at first criterion and choose other alternative herbs which share similar nature and functionality with that of G6PD deficiency offending herbs. After all, safety, always, comes first.
There are indeed a few other Chinese herbs which are listed in some websites as unsafe Chinese herbs in addition to the six I mention here. These other herbs are, to my findings, not substantiated and not clinically proven to be so.
[Parents’ responsibility] Parents with G6PD deficient child should always check if certain OTC (over-the-counter) prescriptions contain any one of these 6 ingredients and choose not to use them if found so. It’s everyone’s responsibility to know what they are taking by checking out the individual ingredients. They should bring their child to qualified physicians for proper prescription which suits the symptoms as well as the body syndromes; and which contains no such unsafe ingredients.
Links:
1) Associazione Italiana Favismo - Deficit di G6PD
http://www.G6PD.org/favism/english/index.mv?pgid=chineseherbs
Footnote: Hi mates. I'm sorry I can't be answering questions about suitability of products (herbal or chemical) for G6PD Deficiency people. Like I wrote previously, check for yourselves for these 6 herbs and if in doubt, consult your Chinese medicine herbalists/physicians/doctors. Thank you. John, date: 29-Jan-2020
[Confusion over unsafe Chinese herbs] Whenever I talk about children diseases the topic of G6PD deficiency will be touched by concerned parents asking about the safety of taking Chinese herbs for their children with the disease. Often time the parents are confused as there are plenty of different sayings and beliefs in the society; many of which, it comes to me, are misunderstandings and unsubstantiated conceptions.
[Sulfur vs. sulfa] There was once a woman who mistook sulfur (a substance commonly used to preserve dried Chinese herbs in a safely controlled quantity) for sulfa (also sulpha, a SO2-based medicine of Sulfonamides/Sulphonamides/Sulfones/Sulphones group which is known to be offending drug of G6PD deficiency) medicine refused all kinds of Chinese herbs treatment for her baby. I had to explain the differences between the two substances (and the fact that they are completely different except for close spelling and pronunciation) and clarify some other misunderstandings she had had.
I hope this writing can help shed some light on the issue.
[Unsafe Chinese herbs] After much search of medical literature and clinical findings I’ve concluded that there are six (6) Chinese herbs which should not be prescribed for babies/children with G6PD deficiency. And they are:
1) 黄连/川连; Huang Lian / HuangLian / Chuan Lian; Rhizoma Coptidis; Coptis Root / Golden Thread
Huang Lian, mainly yielded in the province of Si Chuan (四川), China. It's therefore also called Chuan Lian (川连). Bitter in flavour, cold in property. Acting on heart, stomach, liver & large intestine channels. It clears away heat, dries dampness, purges fire and clears toxins. Commonly used to treat diarrhea, high fever and suppurative infections of the damp-heat type. Dosage: 2-10g. Caution: Very bitter & cold; overdose or prolonged use may interrupt stomach function.
2) 牛黄; Niu Huang / NiuHuang; Calculus Bovis; Bezoar
Bitter in flavour, cold in property. Acting on the liver & heart channels. It relieves convulsion, resolves phlegm to induce resuscitation and clears heat and toxins. Commonly used to treat epidemic febrile diseases with high fever, spasm, convulsion & unconsciousness due to phlegm-heat in pericardium, and sore throat, throat ulcers, canker sores in mouth of toxic heat. Dosage: 0.2-0.5g. Caution: Cautious for pregnancy; Not suitable for non excess-heat type.
3) 金银花; Jin Yin Hua / JinYinHua; Flos Lonicerae; Honeysuckle Flower
Bitter in flavour, cold in property. Acting on the lung, stomach and large intestines channels. It clears heat and detoxifies, removes heat from the blood and arrests dysentery. Commonly used to treat epidemic febrile disease at the early stage, high fever, sores, carbuncles, furuncles, and diarrhea and dysentery with purulent and bloody stool. Dosage: 10-15g.
4) 腊梅花; La Mei Hua / LaMeiHua; Flos Chimonanthi Praecocis; Wintersweet Flower
Sweet & mild bitter in flavour, neutral in property. Acting on the lung, stomach and spleen channels. It relieves heat stroke, promotes body fluid, regulates qi flow. Commonly used to treat heat stroke, thirst, abdominal pain. Dosage: 5-10g.
5) 珍珠; Zhen Zhu / ZhenZhu; Margarita; Pearl
Sweet and salty in flavour, and cold in property. Acting on heart and liver channels. It tranquilizes the mind and arrests convulsion, improves acuity, removes nebula, removes toxin and promotes granulation. Commonly used for palpitation, insomnia, convulsion and epilepsy, nebula, throat ulcers, carbuncles, skin pigmentation. Dosage: 0.1-0.3g.
6) 熊胆; Xiong Dan; XiongDan; Fel Ursi; Bear Gall
Bitter in flavour and cold in property. Acting on the liver, gall bladder and heart channels. It clears away heat and toxic materials, relieves convulsion and spasm, clears liver heat to improve vision. Commonly used to treat high fever, convulsion, epilepsy, mouth ulcers, sore throat, heaty and reddish eyes and nebula. Dosage: 0.25-0.5g. Caution: Not suitable for weak-cold type.
[Unknown mechanism] The mechanism of how these 6 Chinese herbs come to interact and cause hemolysis among G6PD deficient patients are pretty much unknown. There 6 herbs were shortlisted based mostly on clinical reports of unfortunate incidents than controlled laboratory experiments.
[Rather be safe than sorry] Commonly used Chinese herbs for me are about 400 types. A typical herbal prescription may have 8 to 16 herbs (or more or less, depending on the need), prescribed after proper TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) diagnosis including tongue reading and pulse taking methods. Subtracting 6 unsafe herbs from 400 doesn’t affect much the choice I have over herbs I prescribe remedies/prescriptions for my young patients. Without these six herbs, the selection of herbs combination to treat illnesses is still endless. If in doubt, I’ll always put safety at first criterion and choose other alternative herbs which share similar nature and functionality with that of G6PD deficiency offending herbs. After all, safety, always, comes first.
There are indeed a few other Chinese herbs which are listed in some websites as unsafe Chinese herbs in addition to the six I mention here. These other herbs are, to my findings, not substantiated and not clinically proven to be so.
[Parents’ responsibility] Parents with G6PD deficient child should always check if certain OTC (over-the-counter) prescriptions contain any one of these 6 ingredients and choose not to use them if found so. It’s everyone’s responsibility to know what they are taking by checking out the individual ingredients. They should bring their child to qualified physicians for proper prescription which suits the symptoms as well as the body syndromes; and which contains no such unsafe ingredients.
Links:
1) Associazione Italiana Favismo - Deficit di G6PD
http://www.G6PD.org/favism/english/index.mv?pgid=chineseherbs
Footnote: Hi mates. I'm sorry I can't be answering questions about suitability of products (herbal or chemical) for G6PD Deficiency people. Like I wrote previously, check for yourselves for these 6 herbs and if in doubt, consult your Chinese medicine herbalists/physicians/doctors. Thank you. John, date: 29-Jan-2020
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) & Chinese medicine
[Diagnosis of Syndrome] Herbal treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) depends on the diagnosis of TCM syndrome. The diagnosis of conventional medicine may have it determined as RA; TCM diagnosis has yet to be determined. Different patients with RA may display different pulses, tongue impressions, facial impressions, physical changes to joints and etc. A same disease falls on different body constituents gives rise to different manifestations. A TCM physician takes all clues into account and concludes a syndrome for a particular patient.
[Typical Syndromes] There are six to seven typical syndromes of RA. A body may have heat and wetness accumulated at joints and some have more heat than wetness and some the other way round. A body may also be lacking of fluid nourishment and thus inability to cool blood, giving rise to another syndrome of yin deficiency. A body can be too weak to wall off climactic changes, which is the case of weak qi (energy). A body may show great swollen knees with minimal sub symptoms and this is usually the syndrome of weakness in the three lower yin channels.Understanding syndromes for many people can be a difficult task as people these days no longer live in tune with the nature. Simple differences between summer and winter and what they can do for our bodies are frequently ignored by us.
[Importance of proper diagnosis] Suggesting prescriptions without proper diagnosis of syndrome is unprofessional and unethical. Not only does it not help but it may even worsen the conditions. Each syndrome may also differ as a body can have a combination of those said syndromes. A prescription can have from 12 to 18 (or more or less) individual herbs with different amount in adjustment to the need of the specific body. Without proper consultation and diagnosis of syndrome, the direction is aimless.
[Corticosteroids Replacement] Having said that, there are some herbs (雷公藤 [Lei Gong Teng, Radix Tripterygium Wilfordii (1st pic), Property: bitter, pungent, warm, toxic; Channel tropism: liver, spleen, kidneys; Effects: Ridding wind & wetness, unblock channels & blood stagnation], 
昆明山海棠 [Kun Ming Shan Hai Tang, Radix Tripterygium Hypoglaucum (2nd pic), Property: bitter, pungent, cold, toxic; Channel tropism: liver, kidneys; Effects: Ridding wind & wetness, unblock channels & promote blood circulation, reduce swelling & stop pain], for example) which have been known to have the effects of promoting CRH and ACTH, encouraging the body itself to generate natural hormone -- instead of relying on cortisone or prednisone which have severe side effects. The patients using the herbs rely less on conventional steroid-based medicine.
RA can have serious effect in the long run if not treated well. The patient should make an effort to see a physician to determine the syndrome, and thus obtain corresponding prescriptions. Any kinds of treatments, synthetic drug or natural herbal, with prolonged or inappropriate dosages or consumptions, will pose unwanted and unfortunate results. Long term supervision is necessary.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Open source health care system
Open source IT applications in healthcare is a relatively new topic as information technology doesn’t creep into medicine field that fast and widespread, especially in the practice of small clinics.[Problems faced] Similar to the issue of standardization of linux desktop or other environments for that matter, open source healthcare standardization faces difficulty in interoperability and sharing of data. This is especially true when the open medical IT world is in infancy era.
[Ready? Not quite so.] Members of medical associations are not yet exposed to a few things that are essential elements of the healthcare system like electronic medical record (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR) and clinic efficiency. When even the most infant stage has not been attained, the water isn’t muddy enough to create more creative life form. This is currently what’s happening in many of the developing countries.
[Open source vs. Proprietary] And quite typically enough, infant stages of IT medical applications are usually dominated by proprietary solutions because these closed source solutions offer rigid and seemingly more user-friendly interface even though they’re usually more costly. Not having to tweak with difficult and messy coding of open source feeds well for many people looking for “fire-and-forget” application. Doctors and medical physicians are just human beings who could be as short-sighted. Good things don’t come easy. Those that come easy aren’t usually good. But hey, “I want it and I want it now!” is the attitude of spoilt modern generation. In the end, proprietary are chosen over open source solutions, initially. Almost always the case.
[Idealistic view] The idealistic solution is that the open source solutions will be the de facto standard used by the majority of the doctors. One day. Hopefully sonner.
[History repeats itself] This is a long and challenging task. With members from the developing nations learn from the mistakes made by those in the developed nations. If human beings learn well, we don’t have to repeat the mistakes.
[Evidence-based medicine & Open source] Dr. Molly Cheah, president of Primary Care Doctors’ Organization Malaysia (PCDOM), puts it this way: “Using open source in healthcare is almost similar as evidence-based medical practice processes. How can the processes in medicine be improved? You share.” I find this rather interesting and in line with many of the evidence-based traditional medicine practice. You find a better treatment method or a better explanation of disease mechanism and you pass it on to others so that others can improve upon it and keep passing it on to others too. “There is freedom to use, improve, share and collaborate.”
[My vision of IT usage in medicine] A mature system of medical IT software package should not be just handling of patients’ records and streamlining clinic or hospital efficiency, it should also cater for analysis of symptoms, patients’ profiles, with that of syndromes. For example, the package should help to analyze how two similar patients differ in treatment reactions and how different body constituents or syndromes give rise to different efficacy of the treatments and so on. From the point of view of a physician, this is what counts for the benefit of the patients.For now, I can’t wait to lay my fingers on Gnu General Public License (GPL) software…
Links:
1) Open Source Health Care Alliance, www.oshca.org
2) International Open Source Network an initiative of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Asia Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP), www.iosn.net
3) Primary Care Doctors' Organisation Malaysia, www.pcdom.org.my
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Signatures from natural beings
A dear friend forwarded me a writing that relates the characteristics of fruits and vegetables with internal organs of the body. It writes about how the shape, color, composure of the fruits or vegetables relate to their targeting organs and help nourish the organs’ functions.“The Doctrine of Signatures”, as how we call it these days, is our ancestors’ observation and experience of how fruits and vegetables work in our body. Many traditional medicines around the world believe and take this idea into consideration when prescribing herbal diets.
取象比类 (Qu Xiang Bi Lei: Take-Impression-Compare-Category): Categorizing various impressions of natural living things is one of the fundamental theories of traditional Chinese medicine. The impressions take on the form of shape, composure, cognitive recognition, color of natural living beings. These impressions are then categorized and compared to deduce a certain way of mapping or working among them. In Chinese, it’s called 取象比类 (Qu Xiang Bi Lei: Take-Impression-Compare-Category). This theory is one of the ways how our ancestors came to understand which organs and how fruits and vegetables work on our body.
The writing is from the hand of David Bjerklie, a senior reporter of TIME. Since the email comes with nice and convincing pictures, I figure I’m just going to post it here:
David Bjerklie, TIME Magazine, Oct. 2003
A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today’s investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called “The Doctrine of Signatures” was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye…and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? …. It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Grapefruits, Oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like body cells. Today’s research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.“The news isn’t that fruits and vegetables are good for you, it’s that they are so good for you, they can save your life.”
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Chicken essence and its contraindications
Much has been said about the benefit of consuming chicken essence, I thought I would shed some light on some contraindications (Cases it shouldn’t be taken):High cholesterol: People who have high cholesterol especially the bad guy (LDL, Low-density lipoprotein) should refrain from taking chicken essence. Chicken essence will raise the formation of cholesterol. With higher amount of cholesterol in the blood stream, they will be deposited on the inner vessel walls, making artery ‘hardened’. The artery wall becomes thickened and looses its elasticity, posing conditions such as atherosclerosis and coronary atherosclerotic heart disease.
High blood pressure or Hypertension: Chicken essence can raise blood pressure. Chronic high blood pressure leads to secondary heart related diseases such as myocardial thickening (thickening of heart muscles) and enlarged heart.
Renal function: Chicken essence contains a few small molecular proteins. They can be burden for patients with acute nephritis, chronic or acute functional renal failure and uremia. Because of inferior renal function, kidney system is not able to manage the byproducts of these proteins, which may further lead to renal azotemia, worsening the conditions.
Gastric acidity: Chicken soup/essence has a remarkable effect on stimulating gastric acid. People with gastric ulcer, hyper gastric acidity and upper gastrointestinal bleeding may be affected by taking chicken essence.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Bali trip day 4
Day 4:
Early morning I was eager to get up to meet up with Billy. Louise and I headed to the Lobby to wait for Billy. Then I got this sms. It was from Billy saying he was on the way and probably would reach here at 8:45am. He hoped it was not too early. I was a little puzzled as it was 9:05am when I got this sms. He could have gotten caught in the traffic, I reckoned. Then another sms got in. It's Billy too. He said he just realized his first sms was delayed and was waiting for me to alert him if I had gotten up from bed. So I called this guy and assured him we were up and running for breakfast.
He sure is a busy businessman. I saw this guy coming in and talking in his phone. He looked familiar but I wasn't too sure. And this man seemed a bit 'big' in size. Ha. While talking on the phone, he gestured to me 'John?' silently and I did the same thing 'Billy?" The two of us are equally good in reading lips. No kidding. Good enough to spy anyone talking from a distance.
Billy definitely changed a lot, from a boy to a man and with career flying high, a man with confidence and responsibility. The big warm smile and sense of humor were the same.
I introduced Billy to Louise and we sat down for breakfast. I, having to wait for 30 minutes, was already quite hungry and therefore waited no time to get something to eat. Billy had probably taken something 'cause he only asked for coffee. It's definitely a happy feeling to see Billy again to know the changes we have gone through. Both of us have certainly changed a little in the past 13 years. Oh, he mentioned Wooi Kheong. I wonder too how this guy is doing. Should do some searching to look for this guy.
The three of us talked about how he didn't want to go to USA to study and how his parents tricked him into visiting Berry in USA before making any decision, things about the sunglasses industry as Louise is also involved in sunglasses, though of different categories and about his plan to move to Jakarta for a new company he just joined…
He blamed me for not letting him know in advance about my visit and threatened me to do so next time as he loves to be troubled and bothered when friends visit him. Sure, I said, not knowing when I would visit Indonesia again.
Time passed so fast and we were gently reminded the breakfast was about to be over and the bar was putting things away. We said goodbye to each other and Louise and I invited Billy to come to Kuala Lumpur for Formula 1 competition in March. Then again, the Singaporean night match in September seems to be more appealing.
We then went back to hotel room to pack things up for the flight back home. At 1pm we checked out and had our stuff left at storage. We took the shuttle bus provided by Bali Collection to head to Nusa Dua. We were told Nusa Dua is a very exclusive neighborhood with 5-star hotels and convention facilities. I noticed also a talk on global energy was going on then. The impression we had was right. Nusa Dua is quiet, exclusive and I suppose, more expensive too. The landscaping is of different class with broader roads and deeper depth of view. All these are giving the place a unique feel unlike any other places. And the beach we saw had fewer people.
Part of the Bali Collection is owned by Sogo retails and it feels exclusive, especially when all other players are of smaller ones. Entering the compound needs tight security checking, quite similar to custom checking. Certain places set up security checks to deter terrorists, I suppose. And it must have gotten tightened up because of Legian/Kuta bombing in October 2002, Bali.
Flight back home was uneventful except people didn't seem to bother with proper queuing at the boarding room. Since AirAsia uses free seating for all the tickets, people are usually lining up much earlier before the gates open for boarding, just to make sure to get better seats. And some just care less about civilized rules. Things like this happen everywhere, some less, some more. We can't be bothered too much but it certainly poses a nuisance.
In Conclusion:
Louise and I enjoyed the trip very much. People we've met are warm and friendly. Smile is a culture in Bali. People who have forgotten how to smile should come to Bali to relearn the art of smiling. Louise and I did a few things together for the first time, memory of which will certainly be with us for a long long time. And meeting Billy again for such a long time brings great feeling. It’s always comforting to know someone you know is doing well, happy and healthy.
Early morning I was eager to get up to meet up with Billy. Louise and I headed to the Lobby to wait for Billy. Then I got this sms. It was from Billy saying he was on the way and probably would reach here at 8:45am. He hoped it was not too early. I was a little puzzled as it was 9:05am when I got this sms. He could have gotten caught in the traffic, I reckoned. Then another sms got in. It's Billy too. He said he just realized his first sms was delayed and was waiting for me to alert him if I had gotten up from bed. So I called this guy and assured him we were up and running for breakfast.
He sure is a busy businessman. I saw this guy coming in and talking in his phone. He looked familiar but I wasn't too sure. And this man seemed a bit 'big' in size. Ha. While talking on the phone, he gestured to me 'John?' silently and I did the same thing 'Billy?" The two of us are equally good in reading lips. No kidding. Good enough to spy anyone talking from a distance.
Billy definitely changed a lot, from a boy to a man and with career flying high, a man with confidence and responsibility. The big warm smile and sense of humor were the same.
I introduced Billy to Louise and we sat down for breakfast. I, having to wait for 30 minutes, was already quite hungry and therefore waited no time to get something to eat. Billy had probably taken something 'cause he only asked for coffee. It's definitely a happy feeling to see Billy again to know the changes we have gone through. Both of us have certainly changed a little in the past 13 years. Oh, he mentioned Wooi Kheong. I wonder too how this guy is doing. Should do some searching to look for this guy.
The three of us talked about how he didn't want to go to USA to study and how his parents tricked him into visiting Berry in USA before making any decision, things about the sunglasses industry as Louise is also involved in sunglasses, though of different categories and about his plan to move to Jakarta for a new company he just joined…
He blamed me for not letting him know in advance about my visit and threatened me to do so next time as he loves to be troubled and bothered when friends visit him. Sure, I said, not knowing when I would visit Indonesia again.
Time passed so fast and we were gently reminded the breakfast was about to be over and the bar was putting things away. We said goodbye to each other and Louise and I invited Billy to come to Kuala Lumpur for Formula 1 competition in March. Then again, the Singaporean night match in September seems to be more appealing.
We then went back to hotel room to pack things up for the flight back home. At 1pm we checked out and had our stuff left at storage. We took the shuttle bus provided by Bali Collection to head to Nusa Dua. We were told Nusa Dua is a very exclusive neighborhood with 5-star hotels and convention facilities. I noticed also a talk on global energy was going on then. The impression we had was right. Nusa Dua is quiet, exclusive and I suppose, more expensive too. The landscaping is of different class with broader roads and deeper depth of view. All these are giving the place a unique feel unlike any other places. And the beach we saw had fewer people.
Part of the Bali Collection is owned by Sogo retails and it feels exclusive, especially when all other players are of smaller ones. Entering the compound needs tight security checking, quite similar to custom checking. Certain places set up security checks to deter terrorists, I suppose. And it must have gotten tightened up because of Legian/Kuta bombing in October 2002, Bali.Flight back home was uneventful except people didn't seem to bother with proper queuing at the boarding room. Since AirAsia uses free seating for all the tickets, people are usually lining up much earlier before the gates open for boarding, just to make sure to get better seats. And some just care less about civilized rules. Things like this happen everywhere, some less, some more. We can't be bothered too much but it certainly poses a nuisance.
In Conclusion:
Louise and I enjoyed the trip very much. People we've met are warm and friendly. Smile is a culture in Bali. People who have forgotten how to smile should come to Bali to relearn the art of smiling. Louise and I did a few things together for the first time, memory of which will certainly be with us for a long long time. And meeting Billy again for such a long time brings great feeling. It’s always comforting to know someone you know is doing well, happy and healthy.
Bali trip day 3
Day 3:
Paying a visit to Billy (Berry’s brother, we met in the winter of 1993 in Ames, Iowa, USA) had always been part of the plan for this trip. And I didn't want to interrupt nor trouble him at all. The address I got from Berry, which I thought was Billy's office, turned out to be his house address. So the surprise visit to his office during office hours didn't work out well. We ended up at the front gate of his residential area and he wasn't in! This was what happened in the morning on the third day. Who to blame? I'll say Berry and I had miscommunication, which is hard to believe as we both speak and write good English! (Are you sure about that?) Anyway, Billy on the phone sounded surprise (That was my intention, this went alright) but could vaguely remember who he was talking to. Well, 13 or 14 years is a long time. I don't blame him for not remembering me. The cold snow blizzard in Chicago and a near mugging experience at a restaurant hopefully bring back some not-so-sweet memory. By the way, it was Berry's fault of not organizing a better trip to Chicago or Minneapolis, not mine. Billy must remember this and not pin the blame on me. :@)
So there we were, two honorable guests from Malaysia, who flew to Bali to give a pleasant surprise to a long lost friend, were turned cold down by a young business-minded hotshot friend (Enjoying too much being sarcastic!).
Fine. I told myself. Kerobokan is well known for handicraft works. We can live with that. But Kuta seems more attractive with her happening setup and surfing beaches. So we told our nice cab driver Gede to head to Kuta and leave this sad sad sad place of Kerobokan. (Ha!) And it turned out to be not-too-bad a choice. Kuta has many streets where if you venture in you'll find lots of artistic pieces for decoration and drawings. Shopping was fun but exhausting. Before long, Louise and I felt the humid heat and we had to fall back to a shaded shopping complex called Matahari. It turned out this Matahari (the Sun) shopping mall is first class in Kuta. We were delighted to see plenty of souvenirs suitable for friends and family and got what we wanted. We also went to the beaches and had to say it's full of people, in big contrast to area like Nusa Dua and Benoa. Again, the people and the heat proved too much for us. Soon we found ourselves heading back home (Home was where hotel room was then).
The spa appointment was at 7pm. It was a retreat Louise wanted us to try. I've never done a spa before and thought it shouldn't be bad at all. Indeed the experience was comfortable and relaxing. First we had our feet soaked and cleaned with foot bath. My spa lady was Eka, a young lady with warm smile and beautiful eyes (This would make Louise very watchful). The scrub was gentle and it took some tension off the feet. Then we lay on the massage bed and had tingling aloe vera gel rubbed on us. I was told it helped to ease the sun burn. But the cold gel was quite sensational coupled with the cold air-conditioning. She put the gel all over my body, hands and legs and wrapped me up with thick blanket. It felt better, less cold. But I felt like a mummy in making. I turned over to Louise and she was shivering in cold, so was I. Next, Eka told me to relax my facial muscle and put some other creams on my face. Okay, I thought. And two pieces of cold pads covered my eyes too. If the idea is to be pampered, it sure felt like it.
30 minutes passed and Eka and her other colleague unwrapped us. It's time to wash the gels off. The next procedure was to enjoy relaxing bath tub together. We even took a picture together in the bath tub! Ha! And too bad the bath tub was not equipped with Jacuzzi function, according to Louise. 15 minutes or so we were ready to move on to massage.
The massage, as I recalled, was good and relaxing. It was all 'passive' one if we are to compare it with the traditional Thai massage. Thai massage is 'active' in the sense the body would move and joints bent for flexing purpose. But this Balinese massage wasn't anything like that. It was different and I must say I prefer the latter.
With a nice spa, sleep turned out to be really easy.
Paying a visit to Billy (Berry’s brother, we met in the winter of 1993 in Ames, Iowa, USA) had always been part of the plan for this trip. And I didn't want to interrupt nor trouble him at all. The address I got from Berry, which I thought was Billy's office, turned out to be his house address. So the surprise visit to his office during office hours didn't work out well. We ended up at the front gate of his residential area and he wasn't in! This was what happened in the morning on the third day. Who to blame? I'll say Berry and I had miscommunication, which is hard to believe as we both speak and write good English! (Are you sure about that?) Anyway, Billy on the phone sounded surprise (That was my intention, this went alright) but could vaguely remember who he was talking to. Well, 13 or 14 years is a long time. I don't blame him for not remembering me. The cold snow blizzard in Chicago and a near mugging experience at a restaurant hopefully bring back some not-so-sweet memory. By the way, it was Berry's fault of not organizing a better trip to Chicago or Minneapolis, not mine. Billy must remember this and not pin the blame on me. :@)
So there we were, two honorable guests from Malaysia, who flew to Bali to give a pleasant surprise to a long lost friend, were turned cold down by a young business-minded hotshot friend (Enjoying too much being sarcastic!).
Fine. I told myself. Kerobokan is well known for handicraft works. We can live with that. But Kuta seems more attractive with her happening setup and surfing beaches. So we told our nice cab driver Gede to head to Kuta and leave this sad sad sad place of Kerobokan. (Ha!) And it turned out to be not-too-bad a choice. Kuta has many streets where if you venture in you'll find lots of artistic pieces for decoration and drawings. Shopping was fun but exhausting. Before long, Louise and I felt the humid heat and we had to fall back to a shaded shopping complex called Matahari. It turned out this Matahari (the Sun) shopping mall is first class in Kuta. We were delighted to see plenty of souvenirs suitable for friends and family and got what we wanted. We also went to the beaches and had to say it's full of people, in big contrast to area like Nusa Dua and Benoa. Again, the people and the heat proved too much for us. Soon we found ourselves heading back home (Home was where hotel room was then).The spa appointment was at 7pm. It was a retreat Louise wanted us to try. I've never done a spa before and thought it shouldn't be bad at all. Indeed the experience was comfortable and relaxing. First we had our feet soaked and cleaned with foot bath. My spa lady was Eka, a young lady with warm smile and beautiful eyes (This would make Louise very watchful). The scrub was gentle and it took some tension off the feet. Then we lay on the massage bed and had tingling aloe vera gel rubbed on us. I was told it helped to ease the sun burn. But the cold gel was quite sensational coupled with the cold air-conditioning. She put the gel all over my body, hands and legs and wrapped me up with thick blanket. It felt better, less cold. But I felt like a mummy in making. I turned over to Louise and she was shivering in cold, so was I. Next, Eka told me to relax my facial muscle and put some other creams on my face. Okay, I thought. And two pieces of cold pads covered my eyes too. If the idea is to be pampered, it sure felt like it.
30 minutes passed and Eka and her other colleague unwrapped us. It's time to wash the gels off. The next procedure was to enjoy relaxing bath tub together. We even took a picture together in the bath tub! Ha! And too bad the bath tub was not equipped with Jacuzzi function, according to Louise. 15 minutes or so we were ready to move on to massage.
The massage, as I recalled, was good and relaxing. It was all 'passive' one if we are to compare it with the traditional Thai massage. Thai massage is 'active' in the sense the body would move and joints bent for flexing purpose. But this Balinese massage wasn't anything like that. It was different and I must say I prefer the latter.
With a nice spa, sleep turned out to be really easy.
Bali trip day 2
Today is the 5th day of Chinese new year (CNY). Three days of CNY posed to be a good one with family gathering and reunion on the last day of last year. Members of the family these days rarely see other often due to work and own commitments. Festive seasons then help to reunite us together.
Let me continue with my Bali trip...
Day 2:
Breakfast time! It's served in an area coolly named Bar Nanas (Pineapple Bar) behind the front desk and reception area. Foods are decent with different categories catering for major needs. There were cereals, grains and fruit based yogurts for seed eaters; hams and hotdogs for the meat eaters, plain porridge spiced with salted vegetables for stomach-qi lovers; omelets, bull eggs for egg eaters; pancakes with banana and chocolate cream; various soups with chicken, beef and so on. The distinctions among Halal, vegetarian food and others are not obvious. Die hard religious people may find it a little difficult to eat properly. But then that's the beauty of mixing things together, you have to know what food they are to choose your own needs. I have to say I enjoyed all of them very much (the non-meat categories).
I want to mention one more thing about the breakfast provided by the hotel. I miss it very much. Yesterday morning and this morning I woke up asking Louise if we were going to have breakfast like that here in our neighborhood. The answer was no. It's not that such breakfast isn't available here in Kuala Lumpur, It's just that the mood is not the same and at home we have to hurry to get to work in the morning. The vacation mood is no longer there. And the stress from commuting and work is back.
Vacation is vacation. And work is work. Can we blend them in? Ha!
The first tour on the 2nd day was to play with water activities including snorkeling, parasailing, banana boat, Jet Ski, and a visit to Turtle Island. Snorkeling is relatively new to Louise as she doesn't swim, and is scared to water. On the first day we swam a little and I taught her technique to breathe with mouth and how to balance the pressure of outer ears with sneezing and saliva swallowing. The fear of water must be eradicated to really enjoy the free support of water. She started a little clumsy but then was able to pick up fast. The snorkeling area chosen was not a good spot. The water quality is less than that of Kapas island, Redang island and Langkawi island. I think it's just the spot we swam in. I'm sure there are some other nicer spots to do diving and snorkeling in Bali.
An hour and a half passed by and Louise, doing her snorkeling the first time, went exhausted. And the time was almost up for this activity and we carried on to sailing to Turtle Island. Turtle Island, to the north of Tanjung Benoa, is a place (Government owned?) where activists are trying to conserve Greenback Turtles and the likes. Some wild life animals are bred there and it's open for public to learn more about them. We had simple lunch there before we moved on to another beach for water activities.
As exciting as they can be, water activities are always so much fun. First we did Jet Ski. My Jet Ski couch, who sat behind, was a real pro. He let me play a while with my pathetic slow speed and unadventurous turns. Toward the end of the sport, roughly about 10 minutes, he showed me what I felt like Formula 1 driving on the sea (Not that I've tried the real F1 car though)! It was fast and rough and making sharp U turns, creating vortex on the sea! Super high and cloud nine! Sometime a rough wave came and hit us I swear I was scared to death I'd be thrown out into the air and land flat of my tummy! And worse, be torn into a few pieces!! After we reached the shore, I asked him if he joined international Jet Ski competition. He said no. I told him he should have. What a shame talents go untapped.
There are in many of us good talents, what people need is a chance to prove.
Another fun sport is parasailing. I took so many pictures of Louise doing parasailing and the adrenalin was always running high. It may not be as free as parachuting; it's close to being like a bird as it gives us a nice bird eye view of the place. Sometimes with so much excitement and anticipation it's harder to learn anything: One of the helpers asked us to identify the flags on the ground; if he raises blue flag, we will then pull the right rope close to our body with our right hand, gloved with blue glove. And vice versa, if he raises red flag, we'll then pull the left rope with our left hand, gloved with red glove. This process is supposed to help us land properly and steadily, with the flags as guidance. At first, the two of us were puzzled. You know, when you're too excited you don't learn new tricks (No matter how simple the tricks are). Only after a while we reasoned that out and we all burst into laughter, embarrassed obviously by our stupidity and nervousness. Ha! But I wonder how the colorblind could work that out.
The view and the feeling was magnificent. I managed to take 3 shots in the air with the digital camera strapped to my right arm. Like all good things, soon the speed boat made a turn and set me back on course to landing. Looking down the blue flag was raised and thus I pulled the right rope as close as possible to my body. Suddenly I heard them say: "Lepas! Lepas!", which means to let go of the rope and thus I obeyed so without questions. And there I was a perfect landing.
Happy hours fly by just so fast. The banana boat was a comfortable ride as Louise wasn't so keen on 'fall-off' routine.
Oh, by the way, it was raining quite heavenly when we did all these activities, especially the Jet Ski part, where rain dropped on the face so painfully it hurt so much and eye vision marred. But what an experience! From November to February is the monsoon season and rain is expected to be on and off all day long.
Before I wrap up this water sport writing, another accident took place: Louise was stung by a bee on the beach on her left foot! It could have been a wasp or hornet! Accidents come in pair, the Chinese says. The first day there was food poisoning, the second day the bee stinging. And it was right before we rode on the Jet Ski. She felt a sharp in the flat of her left foot and saw this bee stuck there. Out of reflex she slapped the bee off. Upon checking, the sting was there on the flat and I had to work many times to remove the sting with my short nails. The itchy and swollen sensation actually stayed on for a few days… in which she complained all the time. I wonder what Louise had done to have offended the bee so much… And the bee had to give up her life to seek for revenge (Bees eventually die a few hours to a few days later after stinging others).
Guess we all have to learn to be peacemakers.
I also wish to mention our tour guide, a nice young lady by the name of Ni Made Rai, who have her tour guide service offered at Jalan Pratama 97, Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua, Bali. She was friendly and helpful, catering to our need of rest and lunch in between the tour. We also got to meet her father (bapa) who was also responsible to fetch us to Turtle Island in his boat, and her husband, who was the van driver, and her son (around 4 years old), whose left eye have gone swollen because of peeping girls taking shower! (A local traditional joke to make fun of people having swollen and inflammatory eyelid.)
When we got back to hotel in the afternoon, it's 3pm. And the trip to Uluwatu was at 4.30pm. We were eager for the trip as we were told the sunset on cliff view was superb. And there is this romantic dinner at Jimbaran beach too!
There we went: the second tour would be to the famous Uluwatu Temple on the west leg of Bali. What impressed us was more than the place itself: Our tour guide, a young man by the name of Leo (who has his service offered at Jalan Pramata 89c, Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua, Bali) was a very intelligent person. He speaks Japanese, Russian, some Mandarin and probably a dozen others. For each one he took courses for three months to ensure he got the right stuffs.
For this trip we were joined by a new friend from Russia, Uliya. The four of us took 30 minutes or so to get to Uluwatu. I must say I had this eerie feeling when I looked at the cliff and how close we could get to the edge of it. "What if I fell off?" was the thought I had, reminding myself how fearful we are to death. Upon arriving at the temple's entrance, we were given a yellowish golden rope to wear on the waist and ladies who worn shorter skirts or pants were given purple Sarongs to wear as long skirt. There were two routes to go. First we took the right one where plenty of monkeys followed us for some bananas. We were already warned to remove sunglasses and have our cameras strapped properly. Most monkeys were mild and polite; some were a little nasty. The law of universe applies to all species, right? The existence of monkeys poses not as a distraction, but rather a unique adventure for most tourists from the West. Many seized the opportunity to take pictures with them. Many of us commented who the monkey mother was and what the monkey fathers were doing and bla bla bla…
The path of the northern end took only about 10 minutes. Yet the view was more than incredible, offering a view to Indian Ocean with the sun gradually going down. It was a bit cloudy that day, nice sunset pictures was not an option. We took pictures with each other and commenting on the beautiful scenery and the serene feeling we had. It felt like the end of the world in the physical sense, even though we know by now it wasn't.
Long long time ago our ancestors had the courage to build ships to sail across the unseen and unknown places just to find out if it was the end of the world. These days human beings are repeating the same by exploring the universe with high power telescope, satellites and space ships. And equally many of us are training our minds inside to sharpen our focus to tune to the voice of God (the force of universe). All these, be they inside or outside, are more explorations to come, and one way to understand what position and role are we in this vast universe.
The path to the southern end took another 15 minutes. Upon arrival we saw many structures of temples. There we were at the famous Pura Luhur (Uluwatu) Temple, a temple built in the 10th century (or 8th, or 17th? Different parts of the temple could have been built at different times). I have always been fascinated by ancient architecture and marveled upon how these master craftsmen could engineer and build such incredible pieces of art work. The dedication and hard work and consistency amaze me. If I hadn't become a physician, I'd most probably be an artist. Anyway, diagnosing itself is already an art. Ha. Oh, I've drifted off again. Let's come back to the temple. We walked around the temple and I paid great deal of attention to the stone sculptures. It seemed to me that the square blocks used are made of corals. Some dead corals can be vividly seen in some broken pieces. Where else can be better for the sourcing of building materials if not the sea 250 feet below? Later on it's confirmed that the materials used was a form of black corals.
Like I said, it was a bit cloudy and therefore it's not especially easy to take pictures of sunset. We didn't opt for the Kecak dance 'cause we were too hungry for a quick dinner at Jimbaran.
Beach dinner at Jimbaran was indeed very unique. A stretch of 18 restaurants along the 2km or so beach is a sight to behold. And our guide Leo mentioned a few times how to spot airplanes coming in to Denpasar airport from the south-west, and those red dots far up north along the runway. The sea and sky were so dark sometimes the airplanes look much alien feel, however. The food was delicious and very affordable. I think it'd be particularly special to our new friend Uliya, as she told us the seafood in her hometown is very expensive for a funny reason: Because of state bureaucracy, applying for fishing permit is very difficult if not impossible. Local fishermen in her hometown then illegally fish and sell their catches to northern Japanese buyers before bringing just a little catch back home for self consumptions. Because of short local supply of seafood, the residents at her hometown have to buy seafood from Japanese businessmen, and what they are buying most probably are the catches of their own Russian fishermen. In a way, they themselves export the goods to another country and pay much more to buy them back, which turn out to be a legal way. In the end, local people suffer high cost of living expenses and a third party profit from it. And the local government sits on and watches the show going on and on.
Things like this make me sick.
There are always people value stupid procedures more than their catastrophic impacts. Moral education is the key. Family moral education to begin with.
Another drift. Sorry.
And there were musicians singing to their guests' home tunes. These musicians with bass, guitars and drums asked what country the guests were from and thus sang popular and traditional folk songs of that country. Very impressive I must say. It made us felt so welcome. Some countries can be too big, or too diverse, to have some all-so-popular folk songs – it took a while for Uliya to recognize the Russian song that they sang to her. :@)
The food we ordered were tiger prawns, fish, craps, Kangkong and a vegetable salad. They were cooked in traditional way and it's quite similar to Malaysian way. We all enjoyed the food very much. Nonetheless, Louise and I actually 'opened the rules’ (a polite and less guilty way to say 'broke the rules') a few times when it comes to being vegetarian for the trip.
To pay respect to the beings we're eating, once we order them, always make sure we eat them all in to become part of our bodies and share our deeds with them.
Life goes on, and pick up good lessons along the way. And share the good deeds with others, including those we've eaten, and that their deaths are dignified. It seems logical to think so.
All these exciting activities could have been too much for one short day that we had difficulty in falling asleep when we got back to our hotel room. A late night swim provided the remedy…
Let me continue with my Bali trip...
Day 2:
Breakfast time! It's served in an area coolly named Bar Nanas (Pineapple Bar) behind the front desk and reception area. Foods are decent with different categories catering for major needs. There were cereals, grains and fruit based yogurts for seed eaters; hams and hotdogs for the meat eaters, plain porridge spiced with salted vegetables for stomach-qi lovers; omelets, bull eggs for egg eaters; pancakes with banana and chocolate cream; various soups with chicken, beef and so on. The distinctions among Halal, vegetarian food and others are not obvious. Die hard religious people may find it a little difficult to eat properly. But then that's the beauty of mixing things together, you have to know what food they are to choose your own needs. I have to say I enjoyed all of them very much (the non-meat categories).
I want to mention one more thing about the breakfast provided by the hotel. I miss it very much. Yesterday morning and this morning I woke up asking Louise if we were going to have breakfast like that here in our neighborhood. The answer was no. It's not that such breakfast isn't available here in Kuala Lumpur, It's just that the mood is not the same and at home we have to hurry to get to work in the morning. The vacation mood is no longer there. And the stress from commuting and work is back.
Vacation is vacation. And work is work. Can we blend them in? Ha!
The first tour on the 2nd day was to play with water activities including snorkeling, parasailing, banana boat, Jet Ski, and a visit to Turtle Island. Snorkeling is relatively new to Louise as she doesn't swim, and is scared to water. On the first day we swam a little and I taught her technique to breathe with mouth and how to balance the pressure of outer ears with sneezing and saliva swallowing. The fear of water must be eradicated to really enjoy the free support of water. She started a little clumsy but then was able to pick up fast. The snorkeling area chosen was not a good spot. The water quality is less than that of Kapas island, Redang island and Langkawi island. I think it's just the spot we swam in. I'm sure there are some other nicer spots to do diving and snorkeling in Bali.An hour and a half passed by and Louise, doing her snorkeling the first time, went exhausted. And the time was almost up for this activity and we carried on to sailing to Turtle Island. Turtle Island, to the north of Tanjung Benoa, is a place (Government owned?) where activists are trying to conserve Greenback Turtles and the likes. Some wild life animals are bred there and it's open for public to learn more about them. We had simple lunch there before we moved on to another beach for water activities.
As exciting as they can be, water activities are always so much fun. First we did Jet Ski. My Jet Ski couch, who sat behind, was a real pro. He let me play a while with my pathetic slow speed and unadventurous turns. Toward the end of the sport, roughly about 10 minutes, he showed me what I felt like Formula 1 driving on the sea (Not that I've tried the real F1 car though)! It was fast and rough and making sharp U turns, creating vortex on the sea! Super high and cloud nine! Sometime a rough wave came and hit us I swear I was scared to death I'd be thrown out into the air and land flat of my tummy! And worse, be torn into a few pieces!! After we reached the shore, I asked him if he joined international Jet Ski competition. He said no. I told him he should have. What a shame talents go untapped.
There are in many of us good talents, what people need is a chance to prove.
Another fun sport is parasailing. I took so many pictures of Louise doing parasailing and the adrenalin was always running high. It may not be as free as parachuting; it's close to being like a bird as it gives us a nice bird eye view of the place. Sometimes with so much excitement and anticipation it's harder to learn anything: One of the helpers asked us to identify the flags on the ground; if he raises blue flag, we will then pull the right rope close to our body with our right hand, gloved with blue glove. And vice versa, if he raises red flag, we'll then pull the left rope with our left hand, gloved with red glove. This process is supposed to help us land properly and steadily, with the flags as guidance. At first, the two of us were puzzled. You know, when you're too excited you don't learn new tricks (No matter how simple the tricks are). Only after a while we reasoned that out and we all burst into laughter, embarrassed obviously by our stupidity and nervousness. Ha! But I wonder how the colorblind could work that out.
The view and the feeling was magnificent. I managed to take 3 shots in the air with the digital camera strapped to my right arm. Like all good things, soon the speed boat made a turn and set me back on course to landing. Looking down the blue flag was raised and thus I pulled the right rope as close as possible to my body. Suddenly I heard them say: "Lepas! Lepas!", which means to let go of the rope and thus I obeyed so without questions. And there I was a perfect landing.Happy hours fly by just so fast. The banana boat was a comfortable ride as Louise wasn't so keen on 'fall-off' routine.
Oh, by the way, it was raining quite heavenly when we did all these activities, especially the Jet Ski part, where rain dropped on the face so painfully it hurt so much and eye vision marred. But what an experience! From November to February is the monsoon season and rain is expected to be on and off all day long.
Before I wrap up this water sport writing, another accident took place: Louise was stung by a bee on the beach on her left foot! It could have been a wasp or hornet! Accidents come in pair, the Chinese says. The first day there was food poisoning, the second day the bee stinging. And it was right before we rode on the Jet Ski. She felt a sharp in the flat of her left foot and saw this bee stuck there. Out of reflex she slapped the bee off. Upon checking, the sting was there on the flat and I had to work many times to remove the sting with my short nails. The itchy and swollen sensation actually stayed on for a few days… in which she complained all the time. I wonder what Louise had done to have offended the bee so much… And the bee had to give up her life to seek for revenge (Bees eventually die a few hours to a few days later after stinging others).
Guess we all have to learn to be peacemakers.
I also wish to mention our tour guide, a nice young lady by the name of Ni Made Rai, who have her tour guide service offered at Jalan Pratama 97, Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua, Bali. She was friendly and helpful, catering to our need of rest and lunch in between the tour. We also got to meet her father (bapa) who was also responsible to fetch us to Turtle Island in his boat, and her husband, who was the van driver, and her son (around 4 years old), whose left eye have gone swollen because of peeping girls taking shower! (A local traditional joke to make fun of people having swollen and inflammatory eyelid.)
When we got back to hotel in the afternoon, it's 3pm. And the trip to Uluwatu was at 4.30pm. We were eager for the trip as we were told the sunset on cliff view was superb. And there is this romantic dinner at Jimbaran beach too!
There we went: the second tour would be to the famous Uluwatu Temple on the west leg of Bali. What impressed us was more than the place itself: Our tour guide, a young man by the name of Leo (who has his service offered at Jalan Pramata 89c, Tanjung Benoa, Nusa Dua, Bali) was a very intelligent person. He speaks Japanese, Russian, some Mandarin and probably a dozen others. For each one he took courses for three months to ensure he got the right stuffs.
For this trip we were joined by a new friend from Russia, Uliya. The four of us took 30 minutes or so to get to Uluwatu. I must say I had this eerie feeling when I looked at the cliff and how close we could get to the edge of it. "What if I fell off?" was the thought I had, reminding myself how fearful we are to death. Upon arriving at the temple's entrance, we were given a yellowish golden rope to wear on the waist and ladies who worn shorter skirts or pants were given purple Sarongs to wear as long skirt. There were two routes to go. First we took the right one where plenty of monkeys followed us for some bananas. We were already warned to remove sunglasses and have our cameras strapped properly. Most monkeys were mild and polite; some were a little nasty. The law of universe applies to all species, right? The existence of monkeys poses not as a distraction, but rather a unique adventure for most tourists from the West. Many seized the opportunity to take pictures with them. Many of us commented who the monkey mother was and what the monkey fathers were doing and bla bla bla…The path of the northern end took only about 10 minutes. Yet the view was more than incredible, offering a view to Indian Ocean with the sun gradually going down. It was a bit cloudy that day, nice sunset pictures was not an option. We took pictures with each other and commenting on the beautiful scenery and the serene feeling we had. It felt like the end of the world in the physical sense, even though we know by now it wasn't.
Long long time ago our ancestors had the courage to build ships to sail across the unseen and unknown places just to find out if it was the end of the world. These days human beings are repeating the same by exploring the universe with high power telescope, satellites and space ships. And equally many of us are training our minds inside to sharpen our focus to tune to the voice of God (the force of universe). All these, be they inside or outside, are more explorations to come, and one way to understand what position and role are we in this vast universe.
The path to the southern end took another 15 minutes. Upon arrival we saw many structures of temples. There we were at the famous Pura Luhur (Uluwatu) Temple, a temple built in the 10th century (or 8th, or 17th? Different parts of the temple could have been built at different times). I have always been fascinated by ancient architecture and marveled upon how these master craftsmen could engineer and build such incredible pieces of art work. The dedication and hard work and consistency amaze me. If I hadn't become a physician, I'd most probably be an artist. Anyway, diagnosing itself is already an art. Ha. Oh, I've drifted off again. Let's come back to the temple. We walked around the temple and I paid great deal of attention to the stone sculptures. It seemed to me that the square blocks used are made of corals. Some dead corals can be vividly seen in some broken pieces. Where else can be better for the sourcing of building materials if not the sea 250 feet below? Later on it's confirmed that the materials used was a form of black corals.
Like I said, it was a bit cloudy and therefore it's not especially easy to take pictures of sunset. We didn't opt for the Kecak dance 'cause we were too hungry for a quick dinner at Jimbaran.Beach dinner at Jimbaran was indeed very unique. A stretch of 18 restaurants along the 2km or so beach is a sight to behold. And our guide Leo mentioned a few times how to spot airplanes coming in to Denpasar airport from the south-west, and those red dots far up north along the runway. The sea and sky were so dark sometimes the airplanes look much alien feel, however. The food was delicious and very affordable. I think it'd be particularly special to our new friend Uliya, as she told us the seafood in her hometown is very expensive for a funny reason: Because of state bureaucracy, applying for fishing permit is very difficult if not impossible. Local fishermen in her hometown then illegally fish and sell their catches to northern Japanese buyers before bringing just a little catch back home for self consumptions. Because of short local supply of seafood, the residents at her hometown have to buy seafood from Japanese businessmen, and what they are buying most probably are the catches of their own Russian fishermen. In a way, they themselves export the goods to another country and pay much more to buy them back, which turn out to be a legal way. In the end, local people suffer high cost of living expenses and a third party profit from it. And the local government sits on and watches the show going on and on.
Things like this make me sick.
There are always people value stupid procedures more than their catastrophic impacts. Moral education is the key. Family moral education to begin with.
Another drift. Sorry.
And there were musicians singing to their guests' home tunes. These musicians with bass, guitars and drums asked what country the guests were from and thus sang popular and traditional folk songs of that country. Very impressive I must say. It made us felt so welcome. Some countries can be too big, or too diverse, to have some all-so-popular folk songs – it took a while for Uliya to recognize the Russian song that they sang to her. :@)
The food we ordered were tiger prawns, fish, craps, Kangkong and a vegetable salad. They were cooked in traditional way and it's quite similar to Malaysian way. We all enjoyed the food very much. Nonetheless, Louise and I actually 'opened the rules’ (a polite and less guilty way to say 'broke the rules') a few times when it comes to being vegetarian for the trip.
To pay respect to the beings we're eating, once we order them, always make sure we eat them all in to become part of our bodies and share our deeds with them.
Life goes on, and pick up good lessons along the way. And share the good deeds with others, including those we've eaten, and that their deaths are dignified. It seems logical to think so.
All these exciting activities could have been too much for one short day that we had difficulty in falling asleep when we got back to our hotel room. A late night swim provided the remedy…
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