Category: China
I wandered aimlessly in and out of the glossy boutiques - paying special attention to local designers like Shanghai Tang - rolling my Tumi cabin bag across the polished marble floors of upscale shopping centre Elements where the Airport Express had deposited me: right in the belly of the beast, so to speak. Despite having to wait the better part of 6 hours for Luxy to arrive I was in an unusually chipper mood - I wasn’t even offended that whenever I spoke Cantonese I was replied to in English, but just how ‘white’ is my accent?! - until I was hit with the realisation we would have only one full day in Hong Kong but we had a to-do list to rival the Labours of Hercules. And yet; despite having time, distance, and a serious shortage of *ahem* honest taxi drivers against us, Luxy and I took on the Fragrant Harbour and WON. Behold our victory, that it may someday pave your hurried but not harried way: this is how you do HONG KONG IN 24 HOURS.
May 19, 2017
"Where are you from? No, where are you really from?" SPURRED BY QUESTIONS ABOUT MY HERITAGE, I TRACED MY STEPS BACK IN TIME WITH A VISIT TO MY ANCESTRAL LAND.
BEIJING, CHINA - AUTUMN 2008 & WINTER 2011:
BEIJING, CHINA - AUTUMN 2008 & WINTER 2011:
A loaded question* that isn't always motivated by malice but is so fraught with oversimplification that at worst, is an inconsiderate leapfrog over the complex nuances of cultural identity for a conveniently-labelled pigeonhole system, and at best, is an invocation of this tedious dance: "Well, I look Chinese because I am ethnically Chinese, but my ancestors were immigrants so my nationality is Malaysian. I speak 3 languages + 1 Chinese dialect because not everyone has the privilege of their native tongue being widely spoken around the world..." And yet, sometimes going back several generations still isn't enough: some people won't be happy until I can prove that I'm related to Mulan and yet when I ask them about their history...crickets. Dishonour! Dishonour on your whole family! Dishonour on your cow!
*The other question I loathe (a favourite among white-worshipping/Eurasian-fetishising SE Asians who covet my above-average height and aquiline nose): "You got ang moh blood or not? Are you mix?" Yes, I am 'mix' - a mix of my mother and my father. Bore off.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THIS MONTH'S TRAVEL LINKUP: 'A PLACE THAT INSPIRED YOU'
April 01, 2017
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