In the end, who pays?

Fine collections of arts, gilded buildings and fountains, painted ceilings and luxuriously furnished interiors mark Paris, the city of lights. It is a beautiful city to spend a week in, and it was a dream come true for me to see for myself the legacies of the history I did at A level. Bastilles, Tuilleries, Napoleon's tomb, Versailles and a whole string of other monuments were built by or in memory of the Kings, Napoleon and Napoleon III. These buildings took an extraordinarily long time to build by modern standards, and lasted even longer. I used to complain that 1789, the year of the French Revolution, was such a long time ago, and to visit these buildings that even predated the Revolution was awe-inspiring, to say the least.
It is also a city full of colourful contradictions. It craves peace, dedicating monuments to its patron saint, St. Genevieve, to avert the destruction of war. Yet, it was constantly plagued by wars and revolutions, and is to this day, proud of its military achievement. It is a fine balance, the abhorrence for war vs. the celebration and commemoration of French military legacies.
It was the birthplace of the Enlightenment, the Age of Reason which replaced the unquestioning faith in God, and in Paris, some churches were converted to Temples of Reason during the Revolution. Yet, it has very beautiful churches, like Notre-Dame with its cute gargoyles. The Parisians have achieved a balance in this too, being able to reconcile the idea of honouring great French mortals like Voltaire and Rousseau in the Pantheon, originally dedicated to St. Genevieve.
The trip would have been perfect, if I had time to slow down and walk through Paris' shopping districts and eat Parisian food rather than sandwiches. But I guess, this is the cost for seeing as much of French history and art as we could.
But it was great to be able to meet a longtime friend again. I met Yvonne for dinner on three nights, and we had French food, Korean food and bubble tea! Yes, there is no bubble tea in Coventry. Really grateful to her for keeping me company and showing me around despite having only a relatively short one-week holiday. And it is always good to be able to catch up with a long time friend.
All in all, it was a great trip, though I left with a tinge of guilt that the pinnacle of French cultural achievements that I got to witness came at the expense of generations of French who suffered their rulers' excesses.

For pictures, click on the Gargoyle. :p

A bit of everything

"Half of life is happiness, the other half is hardship," said Sai-O (the empress of the Sai Kingdom).

"I live in greater luxury, because I have greater responsibilities," said the empress of Kyou.

These two characters are from Twelve Kingdoms, my favourite anime. Cartoons present the realities of life simply, without hurting too much and cutting out the happy endings.

I remembered the wish on my 18th birthday, that I won't be in SG to celebrate it. I got that wish, but that was kind of silly, because for the next three years, it will be birthday, new year, CNY, dragonboat festival, mid-autumn festival and christmas in a foreign land.

Yes, masochistic me seeking self-punishment. But I get my fair share of rewards, I would think.

One and a half weeks ago, I went to Dublin for 3 days, where I would otherwise have gone only as part of some 12-day Europe tour. We travelled for an entire night to arrive in Dublin the next morning, tired and semi-comatose. It was folly, but also characteristic of a wild adventure. I loved the place, soaking in the atmosphere for three days, walking by the river, going to the various museums, eating fish and chips at the roadside and experiencing the qualitative distinctiveness of the place. Places of attractions are more or less the same everywhere, but each must feel different.

10 000 miles away from home, so that I can set up a base camp, from which to venture further afield.

More photos if you would click on the above image. =)