Traveller's Tales..Travelling on Greyhound buses.

This segment was aired on 20th August 2007 on the RSI 93.8 Live programme, Travellers Tales. In this segment I was asked by Yvonne Gomez whether I had experienced any potentially dangerous or difficult situations during my extensive travels. Well, there really were quite a few stretching all the way back to the mid 60's in Bangkok ,then later in Medan,Indonesia and elsewhere. ( I will cover these in future posts )
But owing to the lack of time, I recounted one particular encounter I had with a rough and tumble character who was seated behind me in the Greyhound coach in December 1992. My wife D2 and younger daughter D4 were seated in front of me. I was alone in a double seat similar to this huge caucasian who looked pretty much like one of those bad men from western movies. As soon as the journey began in the night,I settled into my seat comfortably. We were heading to the Grand Canyon area from Las Vegas. I was hoping to catch some 40 winks as we would soon be in near desert country...pretty dark outside and nothing much to see anyway. As I leaned back to rest my head on the seat top, I found to my utter shock and dismay that the guy behind had placed both his legs and smelly boots over my seat ,on either side of my ears ! It was obviously an act meant to provoke a confrontation.
I turned sideways to have a glance at him . He had a kind of Texan hat pulled low over his forehead, perhaps pretending to be asleep. After assessing the situation, I discounted complaining to the driver as that may be the start of an explosive incident that can only end in any number of ways.....and all bad, may even be fatal in the extreme scenario.
But I had to do something out of respect to myself. I have never in my entire life run away from
louts and bullies, no not even to this day. And I've encountered many, both home and abroad.
So, I whispered to my dear ones not to worry, whatever will happen. I will "handle him properly".
Greyhound coaches make intermitten stops for toilet breaks and some for refreshments lasting about 15-20 minutes. At the next refreshment stop, I exited the coach and waited for this chap at the doorway. Once on level ground, I introduced myself in my most charming,friendly manner, " Hi there! I'm from Singapore. My name is Dicky." As I spoke gently I offered my hand in handshake. He took my hand and shook it warmly. Good sign, I heaved! " Can I buy you a coffee or something?", I asked.
Then he spoke, "Sure!" Another Good sign, I breathed easier.
And we began to chat over coffee.
I asked if he had ever visited Singapore. No, never.
I told him if he had any questions or comments to just shoot.
He said," You speak very good English for a Chinese person. Where did you learn to speak such good English? Do all the people in your country speak like you? "
When we returned to the coach, we chatted a little more ,having opened up.
He was no longer the brutish lout earlier but was a perfect gentleman!
I recounted this story many times in many sharing sessions.
All it took to turn a potentially ugly situation around was my offering of warm,genuine,open friendship over a cup of coffee.
He had no reason to decline as I wasn't his enemy and a total stranger from a faraway land.
I opted for the non-confrontational approach that time.
It worked.

Traveller's Tales...Ukelele: One man's faithful travel companion

The 2nd episode of Travellers Tales was aired on 13th August 2007 at 8.50 pm on 93.8 Live. In this segment,Yvonne Gomez asked about my faithful ukelele on my travels.
The very 1st time I saw someone play the uke was around 1960. He was from the Geylang Methodist Church and had brought along the uke to a picnic. I was about 12 years old then. There is nothing quite like the soothing strains of a ukelele being strummed by a good uke player, by the sea shore and accompanied by the sea breeze, sand and gently rolling waves.
I was mesmerised.
Until then, the only other musical instrument I had tried was a small, cheap Harmonica which I experimented with and taught myself some tunes.
All that changed in 1963 when a classmate of mine sold me his ukelele. It was a gift from his pastor father but he could not play it.
That was how I started on with ukelele playing. I bought a chord book and invented my own strumming style. Over the years, my uke collection increased. Today, I have a handmade
genuine Kamaka ukelele made in Honolulu, Hawaii which is more than 25 years old.
You can hear the sounds of it as I play and sing " The Hukilau" from this segment.

My Very 1st Trip

Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia on 16th September 1963. That year I was still a Sec 3 student of Victoria School then located next to the Jalan Besar Football stadium.
Towards the end of that year my late father, a typical Chinaman who spoke no English, had requested for me to accompany him to Kuala Lumpur. He had started a specialist roofing business and managed to secure a potential contract in the Malaysian capital with William Jacks & Co.
He needed me to act as an interpreter and translator at meetings as he only spoke Cantonese and read Chinese.
We departed by train from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
It was my very 1st train experience and also the one and only
overseas journey I ever made with my father. Perhaps as a token of his appreciation, he presented me with a Parker pen just before the trip. It could have cost him around $ 8, a big sum in those days. And we were not well to do people. That gift surprised me as it was the most expensive present I had received upto that time. I proudly put it at my crisp shirt pocket.
The train soon got underway and our journey began. I felt terribly excited and even exhilarated leaving the safety of our beloved shores for an adventure to the unknown. The train picking up speed moved very fast, swaying from side to side. Not long after, I had to go to the loo.
I found the loo which had an opening through which you could actually see the rushing tracks beneath. Then disaster struck!
Just as I was hovering over the opening, the train rounded a bend and went over some bridges, swishing from left to right. I was suddenly jolted, nearly losing my balance. I saw the Parker pen fly out from my shirt pocket right into the latrine opening. That was the last time I had seen my pen. I had not even used it yet!
And I wondered what and how I was going to tell my dad, sitting pensively at the nearby cabin. Much of it was recounted in my radio interview recently, recorded at Media Corp's Studio in Caldecott Hill.
I was interviewed and featured on Radio Singapore International ( RSI ) 93.8 Live on the segment "Travellers Tales" by Yvonne Gomez, the producer, on 6th Aug 2007.
Those who missed it can still hear it. Just visit the site,locate the date and search it at Archives or podcasts.

ps: What unforgettable lessons did I learn from the pen incident?
1. Expect the unexpected in any situation.
2. Every piece of important thing must be kept secured....as in a pouch around the waist.
3. Carry inexpensive items when travelling where possible.

Interesting English in Thailand

On a visit to Wat Po located in Bangkok, the Thai capital, in June 1996, we came upon these two eye-catching signboards. One said simply, "SOFT DRINKS" inside Toilet " followed by an arrow pointing the way. Can anyone guess what it really meant?

The 2nd sign stated clearly and again simply," Massage Toilet"

and followed by the arrow pointing the way.

It sounded pretty much like a new proto-type toilet that had been invented over there with massage capability. To take it literally would mean there really was such a toilet offering a massage service within.

To solve the mystery ( or was there one in the first place? ) we simply followed the arrows....and had a good laugh !

Interesting English in China

Hi to one and all visiting this site. This is my first personal Blog site I'm trying out.
On this site I intend to capture in pictorial format my journeys and travel around the world amongst other things....over the last 4 decades.
I am no expert in the technical aspects of working the formattings of a blog.
So do pardon me if the page arrangements looks untidy. I hope to improve as I progress along this sharp learning curve.

On a trip to China in June 1996 my wife and I stayed at the Qian Mien hotel in Beijing.
After checking in we went for a stroll to get to know our surroundings. That was when we came upon some of these interesting English used on signboards.
The "otice to tourists " was embedded in the wall at the entrance to the Summer Palace.