I’m back in rainy/ sunny/ ponded Singapore my friends! Just in time for Christmas as well

Now that I’ve got my internet access fully back, here’s the next instalment of my Beijing trip!

~

If you’re ever in Beijing, you really need to check out this really cool and niche Arts district, 798.

It’s something like a 田子方in Shanghai but much, much bigger, and less commercialised- sitting comfortably at the crossroads of the modern and the new.

From what I researched on the place (after visiting it, no less :p), it was a former Soviet-owned, German industrial area that was disused and later taken over by the PRC government that was later gazetted as an arts district.

A lot of top artists in China had their roots here, living and working from this area once.

Now, the place has lots of cool museums and showcases.

Apparently there used to be a train station (still completely intact) that ran right into the heart of this industrial town, carrying whatever steel or what-not in and out. They even left the trains and tracks intact for you to walk around and explore!

Being a typical city-dweller (read: likes the finer things in life at times), I loved the niche little cafes that hung around some of the blocks.

The food I tried there was decently good too!

Roasted duck thigh in French dressing and Spinach

I visited the place with Jane, one of my now-buddy-Beijing friends whom I met while performing at the Shanghai Expo last year!

The hand of art is so prevalent everywhere, on every street corner- huge sculptures that form spectacles just on their own.

I'd be rich if I could lug this home...

Every little corner where you venture to in this huge district (it’ll take you almost a whole day just exploring the place!) you will see very clever and subtle artistic takes on history, politics and the artistic exploration of the artists.

It’s a great place to get some very special (and cheeky) souveniers too!

I absolutely love collecting figurines and so I parted ways with my money to bring back these two cute dolls, as well as (yet another) painting:

This next place I’m gonna introduce to you is awesome.

It’s a little shop where you can send postcards to your future self. Yup, what a concept right? Being a person who is obsessed with the concept of temporal art and space, I was really taken in.

They sell postcards with their mascot on it- cute little pandas.

Somehow all the messages that I took on the postcards are really 忧伤…

This next one is tough to translate- I hope all of you out there are Mandarin readers!

The shop has like tabletops where people either send something to a future-self, or simply pen a thought or two into the many notebooks available.

Even the kids were at it…

And I wrote a note to myself too!

798 is a really cool place to check out the next time you’re in Beijing- I’m certainly going to make it a point to return the next time I’m in Beijing again.

Although I must say it was kinda cold being outdoors for the better part of the day (in Winter, no less…)

~

2012 has finally arrived! No, I’m not one for resolutions, not going to pen any down here to bore people…

I’ll be back real soon with my next post on other places to check out in Beijing!

ttfn*!

*Ta-ta-for-now!

it’s Day 21/36 now, and despite my FB/ Twitter cold turkey, I’m still surviving alright thus far!

Many of you have been looking forward to my posts on Beijing- well, although I’m mainly hanging around the conservatory most times busy writing/ sleeping/ eating/ daydreaming/ watching drama serials, I did try to conscientiously try and take more pictures of my usual haunts whenever I’m here in Beijing. I’m not very good at introducing places to visit per se, whenever I travel it’s really more about just experiencing life and soaking up the atmosphere…

My next post will be about this really really cool place called 798 which I visited recently- it’s a huge former industrial area that’s been converted into a super niche arts town- not unlike 田子方 in Shanghai, for those of you who know of that place. Just that it’s not as commercialised yet, and it’s much much larger!

Meanwhile, here’re some of the random things that I’ve been doing…

To start things off, I’ve never really introduced the place where I’ve been coming to annually since 2006 for my studies- I used to spend 4 months a year here in Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music, during my undergraduate days at NIE, making use of the summer vacation breaks to further my training on the sheng.

Since then I’ve been returning every year and in more recent times it’s more for lessons on composition than anything else.

The school (which is at 西便门 Xi Bian Men for those of you interested in visiting) is not large in itself, but there is a very nicely preserved/ restored residence at the back which is now the conservatory’s concert hall.

When I first arrived here this year in mid-November, it was still relatively warm (around 6 degrees-that is warm to the locals here :p) and I still managed to snap some nice pics of the last bits of Autumn before Winter set in proper.

Most of the time I’m here in the conservatory I don’t actually have lessons, I mainly have been hiding in my room writing, reading, listening to music, attending the millions of concerts available and occasionally gatecrashing classes with other foreign students who are doing their undergrad studies here.

Here is a picture sneakily taken during a mass lecture conducted by one of China’s leading young composers/ teachers, Qin Wencheng 秦文程.

I couldn’t help but snap a pic of this super fail fashion disaster at one of the erhu 二胡 concerts I attended recently- trust me, the students here are usually way more hip and cool and this is really an anomality!

Fashion Sense Fail

Some of you may wonder if the food is to our tastes- well, to be honest, I usually find myself eating at joints that are actually more of the Southern or Taiwanese variety, which the Beijing-ers say are not as ‘heavy’.

Here is my favourite 红烧牛肉面 Beef Noodle joint (Taiwanese, I believe…), Master Kong 康师父！It’s a super must-have everytime I’m here. In fact, I just had it for lunch today..

Ok I was too greedy and finished my meal way before I remembered to snap a pic, so here’s me trying to foreground a free calender instead :p

When it’s still bright (the sun sets at around 5pm during Winter) I take a walk around the neighbourhood near the conservatory, and just soak up more of how locals here live.

This little boy’s english name is Neil, and he was so cute I couldn’t resist snapping a pic of him eating those sunflower seeds:

I love watching concerts/ performances here because there’s just so much vibrancy in the arts scene here, plus there are so many gorgeous performance spaces that are a sight to behold in itself.

I recently caught a modern opera with music written by the legendary composer Qu Xiaosong 瞿小松, one of the post-1979/ Cultural revolution composers who went international along with other classmates like Tan Dun, Chen Qigang, Ye Xiaogang, Chen Yi etc…

I even managed to snap a pic with the man himself, smitten like a 16 year-old seeing some superstar:

It’s december now and I awoke one morning to this gorgeous sight that we ‘Equatorians’ never get:

Of course, I’m still very much the music geek and I’ve been snapping away for my music musings scrapbook:

fancy a flutey snack?

or how about a scented flute?

Ok this one is not really THAT music related but I saw this really cool iPhone cover and I snapped a pic of it!

Look out for my next post coming out soon! ttfn!

¡adios mis amigos!

Yup, I’ve been in Beijing for a week now and I’ve not been able to get into sites like Twitter, Facebook and WordPress.

In this rare moment that I’m actually attempting to send a message out to the outside world (and I hope it works), just wanted to say that all’s well here and so far I’m at Day 6 of 36 here in Beijing and still going strong

It’s been a whirlwind time so far catching up with all my old Beijing pals, teachers, and getting through the ceremonial drinking sessions with them.

I wish I took more pictures for this rare post, but I guess I’ll update proper when I’m back and the internet and firewall stuff are all stable!

~

Here’re some photos which I had already successfully uploaded from before I left for Beijing, featuring some of the recent happenings:

TENG performed at the opening of the Sun Yat Sun Memorial at Wan Qing Yuan- it was a fabulous affair by Creative Director Royston Tan!

We had a real fabulous time playing for the thousands strong crowd that turned up!

Really love the whole retro/ pseudo-Getai getup stage

Hopefully I’ll get to post a few more times whilst I’m still in Beijing- if not, take care meantime and happy holidays everyone!

I’ll be back with more photos, tips and all about Beijing and I’ll definitely be returning to Singapore with a lot more completed works!

Yet these few days I noticed a spike in hits to this page, and I braced myself for some ‘blast from the recent past’ kind of thing- I’ve ignored it the past few times but after visiting the ex’s blog to see what the commotion is about, as well as reading all the ‘positive’ comments, I felt real compelled to just simply, break the silence. To tell the story from ‘the other side’.

Yup, it’s a little out of character for me, being naturally shy and all. I know, doesn’t look like it, but I’m really horribly shy when it comes to my personal life. But yet, it has come to a point where really, being a nice guy is really like being a scorpion- bearing all that within yourself and you end up stinging your ownself.

 All the comments I’ve received these few months since the break-up, some of your emails pouring out your stories- I’ve been blessed with the encouragement and love from strangers. And in return I feel I should speak up too for people who’ve been ‘left behind’.

It’s never easy the one being left behind. The one left to pick up the pieces.

I’m not afraid, ashamed or bitter to tell my side of the story because I feel I’ve really moved on from her, and I’ve really found peace somehow through this passage of time.

Many of you have asked, isn’t it horrible because she left with another girl? Honestly, that doesn’t bother me one bit.

All my best friends are of that orientation and they’re wonderful people who’ve seen me through thick and thin.

But I think what really kills one’s sense of hope and faith in relationships is when trust and deceit is the cause of the breakup.

It’s funny, how, she used to get all insecure about me cheating. I told her, I won’t paint myself out to be a saint- that I don’t get tempted, or have never been tempted throughout our relationship.

Yet, it was the fear of losing what we shared that kept me from ever straying.

I once innocently asked my late mom, ‘Dad “works” from 7am to past midnight. Don’t you ever wonder if he’s cheating?’

She simply replied ‘Like air in a balloon, the more you try to contain it by pressuring it into a small space, the more it feels like resisting and breaking out.’

I wasn’t convinced then and still suspected my dad might one day tell us that he actually has another family/ lover somewhere else.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It’s coming close to 4 years since my mom passed away and my dad has never seen anyone else, or even come close to a hint of someone else possibly coming into his life. All this despite my brother and I saying we’re cool with it and all, we understand that he’ll need companionship etc.

He dutifully buys flowers to put at her niche in the church every week, and he even converted to Catholicism, got baptised and all because my mom was cremated as one.

If that’s not love and commitment I don’t know what it is.

Anyway to end this post off, I want to simply state that I really have moved on.

Being single is not a crime. It doesn’t mean you’re a freak.

Everyone deserves a shot at happiness, even if we don’t play the game the way everyone else does.

When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow-
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o’er me-
Why were thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well:-
Long, long shall I rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met-
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?-
With silence and tears.

-Lord Byron

The school term is almost ending and I’ve been swarmed with work- will update with pictures and happenings these weeks when I’m more free!

The TENG Ensemble is playing again on Sunday, 30 Oct 2011 at the newly opened Sun Yat Sun Museum

Come on by if you’re free and say HI!