Cape Jaws

It might have been the 16'C water that I was immersed in, or the wobbly cage I was stuck in with 6 other strangers, but there was something quite chilling - and thrilling - to see a 4.5m great white shark swimming merely a metre or two around you.

Photo credit: "the crazy Irishman" on his go-pro (I literally don't know his name)

This was our final day in South Africa.

Prior to the trip, mum signed us up for shark cage diving - yes you read that right - my mum signed us up for it.

On the cool friday morning, we woke up before 4am, got picked up at 4 something, picked up a few other tourists - including a band of hungover but chatterbox "lads" consisting of 4 kiwis and "a crazy Irishman" - drove 2 hours towards Gansbaai as the spring sun rose over the Cape. After a briefing about no peeing in the wetsuits and no sticking our hands out of the cage to try and pet the sharks, we got on the boat, got driven to the middle of the bay and waited in anticipation, with 6 or so other shark boat-load of tourists. The boatmen threw some kind of fish-gunk-soup into the water, we waited, someone yelled "sharks!", hurriedly got into wetsuits, jumped into a cage about 2.5m tall and 8m (?) wide (wide enough to fit 7 people). I couldn't stop shivering - partly from the excitement but mainly from the bone-chilling cold water.

And, we saw sharks! Casually swimming by, being totally uninterested in the contents inside the cage, 'sniffing' the fish heads that the boatmen dangled over the water trying their best (but rather unsuccessfully) to get the sharks to move quickly or come out of the water.

It's hard to describe the feeling, watching this underwater wild animal getting so close to man...quite surreal but at the same time a little familiar - maybe because we just spent the last 3 days in the safari watching other wild animals (on land) wandering around us as well. But it was still a fun and unforgettable experience (save for the waking up at 4am part and the being cold part perhaps).

And!! How could I mention sharks without mentioning my friend Kathy's amazing NGO - The Dorsal Effect, which tackles the issue of shark finning on the supply side by working with shark fishermen in Lombok to develop eco-tourism as a way of finding replacement income that would otherwise have come from hauling in dead sharks which is causing the rapid extinction of sharks. Having "hung out" with sharks myself and seen these amazing creatures up close, I definitely want to do more to support this cause. 

Untitled randomness

Randomest of random thoughts whilst walking from lunch to coffee...

Why don't we recycle our grey water more? Eg. using bath/shower/sink water for toilet-flushing, using vegetable-washing water for irrigation...

Are there any cafes in Hong Kong that  serve coffee with lactose-free milk, since so many Asians are lactose intolerant?

Neither blue nor yellow

I am for democracy, equality, freedom of speech and expression, and having a government that is accountable to the people that it devotes it's energy and resources to govern.

I am also for justice, law and order, a solid legal system, and a force that serves to protect the city's people, and discipline those who violate it's laws.

But first and foremost, I am for the Truth. For Light. For Love. Love that is patient, kind, joyful, humble. Love that is not rude, not self seeking, not easily angered, keeps not record of wrongs. Love that does not delight in evil but rejoices with the Truth. Love that always protects, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love that can only come from an all powerful, all knowing and always present Creator and Saviour and Comforter, who delights to pour His love into and through us, transcending all understanding and earthly knowledge. Love that is demonstrated on the Cross.

Losing sight

Sigh.

It's like watching a horror movie unravel over 20 days and counting, with no end in sight, and the original plot completely lost and forgotten and all that's happening is the exact opposite of progress.

Images of protesters facing off with the police pour over all our newspapers. Tweets, Instagrams, Facebook statuses - not a single word about 'democracy' or 'universal sufferage' or anything. Just condemnations, rebukes, blame, insults. Our society has become so polarised - yellow vs blue, police vs protesters, adults vs students...and not to mention the unfriending of friends, cancelling of family dinners, tip-toeing around lunch-time conversations with coworkers for fear of kickstarting yet another round of Occupy-related debate.

And of course both the media and social media don't help at all - rather, they seem to only aim to sensationalise everything, escalate trivialities, cause division that is deeper than ever with their skewed headlines and emotionally-provocative photos and stories only telling half-truths.

And as a result, further division - people are picky, they only hear what they want to hear, believe what they want to believe. Rumours and video clips that do not reflect truth spread like wildfire. What do they promote? Hatred and opposition.

How long before constructive conversation can commence? Both sides need to sacrifice something, compromise something, otherwise we're all just going in the reverse direction of progress.

Why do I travel

I travel to learn about the rest of the world.
But also to discover things about myself.

I don't belong to the place I travel to, but sometimes traveling makes me unsure of whether or not I truly belong at the place I call home.

No matter how many times I travel, it doesn't make me an expert, or any give me any authority.
I am merely a visitor, an observer.

Traveling for just a few days only gives you a glimpse of what's happening there, a drop on the tastebuds.
But even a glimpse of the unknown can feel like a large dollop of discovery.

Travel isn't always rainbows and butterflies.
Sometimes it hurts, humbles, humiliates.

Travel is about leaving marks on your memory, consciousness, heart, and even body.
Travel is about being changed by the journey.


(Inpired by Anthony Bourdain, in his Borneo episode.)

Justice and photography

[edit: after I posted this, I was asked to take the photos down a day later...sensitive issues here]

My latest photography adventures has taken me to the heart of very much under-addressed justice issue in Hong Kong - the plight of asylum seekers and refugees in Hong Kong. The Justice Centre Hong Kong is currently doing a campaign to raise awareness about the terrible conditions the refugees have to put up with in Hong Kong - a city of affluence and prosperity. In their words:

Refugees in Hong Kong are not allowed to work, so they have no money to buy their own food. They have to pick their food up every five to ten days, pre-packaged from a grocery store that is usually far away from where they live.

Sometimes the food is out-of-date; sometimes it’s rotten; always, it is limited. But we think it doesn’t have to be this way. Because in a city of plenty, no one should have to eat like this.

A few of us were asked to do a documentary on these guys from [an oppressive African country] as a part of the campaign - my two friends did the videography and I the photography. It involved going to Sham Shui Po to pick up their 10-day ration of food from the government, walking half an hour in the heat and humidity to their street because they can't afford to pay for transportation, walking up 8 stories to their tiny old flat. At this point the back of my entire dress was drenched, and my makeup gone. But I was too fascinated to care. We then got them to show us what food they got from the government, they cooked their dinner and ate, told us their story, while we filmed and photographed creatively so as to avoid getting their faces in any of our footage, in order to protect their identities. Their lives and stories really put things into perspective - who would ever think that one day their own government would turn against them, torture them, and even threaten to murder them?

The documentary is their story, and it should be out soon. Will post again.

I think this photo should be OK to keep though. right?

Occupy Facebook

I absolutely can't bear my Facebook feed these days.