Fiji coups and kava

I think the quality of life for Fijians is about average for a developing country. Their standard of living is about the same as Indonesians based on their incomes. Not as high as Thais, but much higher than Vietnamese. About 70% percent of the Fijian population relies on subsistence farming. Quality of life, based on the human development index, places it in the middle rank of countries. Average life expectancy is 72, a few years behind the developed world.

The country certainly has its problems, which I think it's doing its best to resolve. One of the biggest issues it faces is racial tensions between the indigenous-Fijians and the Indo-Fijians. When the country gained its independence from the British in 1970, the Indo-Fijians wanted equal rights and privileges, while the indigenous Fijians were concerned about protecting their customary lands and communal life.

We got a sense for this communal life when we visited a primarily Indo-Fijian market today. A lady saw us eyeing the kava powder for sale, and asked us if we wanted to visit an indigenous Fijian market. We said yes and were led around and up some stairs to a craft store. Once inside, we were treated to an indigenous-Fijian welcoming ceremony, still widely practised to welcome visitors and guests throughout Fiji. We sat barefoot on a mat across from two gentlemen. One of them made some kava by straining water through a cloth containing grey powder, and strained it into a communal bowl. The powder was made from ground kava root. We clapped once, I drank the kava from a carved coconut shell, and then clapped three times. Then we shook hands as friends. Catheleen did the same. The kava didn't taste like much, just somewhat bitter; I imagine if I drank clay it might taste like this. It also gave me a strange light-headed feeling and a tingling sensation in my throat.

This community life also includes many community obligations. Lynn who runs the bed and breakfast told me about karekare, which requires anyone to comply with any reasonable request from an indigenous Fijian, like the loan of shovel for example. She said you must comply with these requests or face social disapproval from this group. Extended families are very important, and requests to support extended family members cannot be ignored. It's not uncommon for indigenous-Fijian relatives in town to house cousins, nephews or nieces from rural areas so the children have better access to schools.

Back to my story. In 1970, the British brokered a compromise where each group could elect 22 members to parliament, with the remaining 8 seats up for grabs. This gave the indigenous-Fijians a slight advantage based on their population. What has transpired since over the last 45 years, with four coups and four constitutions, can best be described as a microcosm of racial tension and healing. At the moment the country seems more united as one multi-cultural nation.

The first two coups in 1987 were staged by military leaders on behalf of other indigenous Fijians, who felt threatened by the first coalition party of Indo-Fijians and other parties. This prime minister, who was overthrown in the coup, was elected partly based on a fast growing Indo-Fijian population, along with growing support for coalitions between the two racial groups. The new constitution stacked the deck in favour of the indigenous-Fijians however, and led to an exodus of Indo-Fijians and economic stagnation. The Indo-Fijian population dropped from slight majority to slight minority.

The country re-grouped, punished the perpetrators somewhat, and amended the constitution in 1997 back to the 1970-style constitution. But in 2000 there was another coup shortly after the first Indo-Fijian prime minister was elected. This time it was orchestrated by a local civilian businessman under the pretext of supporting indigenous-Fijians. He was also upset with the cancellation of some of his contracts, after a new government was elected. This was the only bloody coup with 15 dead, and the military leaders were implicated in the coup but nothing was proved. Within a couple years the coup leader was serving life and the 1997 constitution was restored.

Next in 2006, Fiji's military leader staged a coup to topple the government, under the pretext of government corruption, but mostly to prevent amnesty for the remaining participants in the 2000 coup. The leader promised a new race neutral constitution and free elections within two years. It was 2013 before the new constitution was issued and 2014 before new elections were held.

The new constitution is definitely an improvement over the previous three, since the Indo and indigenous Fijians no longer vote for a separate group of parliament members. Now each vote counts the same. In fact, the only differentiation between these groups is indigenous Fijians are entitled to the lease-hold rents from customary land. Over two thirds of Fiji land is customary land, which can't be sold and can only be leased. Some of it has been leased for development based on 99 year leases.

I think the jury is out on whether these two groups can get along for the common good. The elections held last year were free and fair, and a coalition party representing all Fijians won out over a party representing indigenous Fijians' interests. But they'll need to stop the coups for one thing, and trust each other more. The current cooperation will be tested again if the Indo-Fijians become the majority group by population. If they can stay united over the next generation, come what may, I think they will have set a good example to the world for tolerance.

I wish them well. It's a beautiful country and it would be a shame to see the country's future squandered over racial tension.

Here's Tony, who welcomed us into his store with a kava drinking ceremony.

War memorial and the Blue Mountains

On our last day in Sydney we visited the ANZAC War Memorial in Hyde Park. I'm glad we did. The building itself was beautiful. Built in the 1930's and constructed in an Art Deco style, it commemorates the Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) joint forces that fought in the First World War, starting with the 1915 Gallipoli quagmire. The exterior stone statues and bronze reliefs were superb depictions of the Great War, and the interior was dominated on the lower level by a sculpture. It showed a dead warrior carried on a shield by his mother, sister and wife. It is based on the legend of Spartan warriors from Ancient Greece who were raised to come home from war either with their shield or on it. Clearly the experience for many families during the First World War was one of sacrifice and loss. I found it very moving.

The memorial was re-dedicated in the 1980's to veterans of all wars, and inside we saw displays from the Boer War to Australia's latest involvement in Afghanistan. Of particular interest to me was information on Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war and the recent Iraq war. I wasn't aware that Australians fought in both these wars and I was intrigued to find out why Australia followed the U.S. into these conflicts (Canada did not fight in either). I did some investigation, and I understand Australians felt and perhaps still feel particularly vulnerable to aggression, given its geographic location far from other Western powers. For example, one of the memorial displays described Japanese bombings of Darwin Australia during the Second World War. Its foreign policy strategy appears to align very closely with the U.S. to help mitigate for this vulnerability.

Yesterday we rented a car and travelled to the Blue Mountains, a couple of hours west of Sydney in the interior. It was strange at first to drive on the left side of the road, but I think I got the hang of it. I still have trouble remembering that the change signal is on the right though. Driving around today we admired the landscape, with sheep and cattle grazing on gently rolling grassy fields, and individual trees scattered around. In the distance were the forested mountains, which did look blue. But I think all hills look blue from a distance, since the atmosphere tends to absorb or scatter red light over long distances, leaving only blue light. This is the same reason the sky is blue.

We stayed in Leura, a small but picturesque town in the mountains, at a bed and breakfast run by the owner Isabella. She was such a wonderful host, and we felt like guests in her home. She has a great kitchen which she offers to guests, so I made the most of it and cooked a roast beef dinner last night with all the fixings, and invited Isabella to join us. She did, and we heard many of her stories.

She immigrated to Australia from France 30 years ago after she married her Australian boyfriend, and has been living here ever since. She's since divorced and has one daughter, who now lives in Sydney. We enjoyed listening to her stories of visitors to her bed and breakfast over the last few years. She's a self-professed hugger, and told a story of one Japanese university student on school break who started to cry after she hugged him goodbye. He told her he grew up mainly in boarding schools and had never been hugged before. What a strange and sad story. One last story - her ex-husband lives in Vietnam now, as he always had a fascination and longing for that country. I asked why and she said that he couldn't serve in the Vietnam war since he had heart problems. In fact he was one of the first Australians to receive a heart transplant. However he felt a connection to Vietnam, since many of his friends served during the Vietnam war. Isabelle was very kind to us, offered us breakfast, and filled the kids up with ice cream and hot chocolate. I'm sorry we have to go so soon. It's nice to be in someone's home for a change.

Here's Catheleen watching out for kangaroos and wombats in the Blue Mountains.

Stepping stones and democracy

We've been at our resort on the east coast of Bali for a few days now. You can't always be sure what to expect when you book a place though. We thought this place was more of a condo, since we rented I through the AirBnB web site directly from the owner, but it is more of a hotel resort. No matter, it turned out to be an excellent choice. Our rooms have great views of the ocean, and when the tide is high we can hear the surf pounding against the hotel's retaining wall, and see white water shooting up past the railing. The place is pretty quiet. There are not a lot of other people here, which is nice. The first night we were here we had dinner at the pool by the ocean and listened to a really good guitarist sing songs from the '80's and 90's mainly. I think they were targeting our demographic.

Today we hired a driver to take us to some of the sites in the area. We first visited the Taman Soekasada Water Palace in Karangasem. The place was built in the 1920's by the local king for this eastern part of Bali, known as the Raja of Karangasem. The grounds were very beautiful with a large rectangular water feature and bridges leading to a rectangular island in the middle. On the island was an airy building which housed the king's bedroom and a family room. The focus was more on the grounds than the building, and we enjoyed walking around to the various water features and gazebos. Everywhere we went the view was amazing. I wonder what I would have been like to be the king, going for a stroll along the many paths. As Mel Brooks said in the movie History of the World Part I (an oldie but goody), "It's good to be the king."

We next took a harrowing ride on a narrow road up and down the side of mountains along the shore on the way to a black volcanic beach in Amed. The views of the ocean and shores below were spectacular. Every little beach we saw along the way was packed with fishing boats. The boats were not like any fishing boat I have ever seen. Each of the boat hulls were about 15 feet long and four feet wide, shaped like a banana, and painted white. There was a pontoon made out of a wide piece of bamboo attached to each side to maintain balance, each placed about five feet from the hull and attached with cross beams and line. The boats were all equipped with a small outboard engine and a brightly coloured sail on a 15 foot mast. The masts and rolled up sails were detached and lying on the hull. It was a striking site to see so many fishing boats all lined up on the beach. We must have passed many of the fisher men's houses in the hills, which were very modest and basic.

We stopped along the way at one view point with a cloud free view of the Gunung Agung volcano. It was something out of a movie with its perfect conical shape and black sides, rising 3,000 meters to dominate the island. The volcano was thought to be extinct before it last erupted in 1963, killing about 2,000 people and devastating the agriculture in the area with ash and debris. It still belches a little smoke and ash on occasion.

At the beach in Amed we had lunch and enjoyed some snorkeling. The coral wasn't as beautiful and varied as that around Gili islands, but we did see a large variety of strange and colourful fish. We even saw some bright blue starfish under rocks which were unusual. It was also nice to see so many local Balinese enjoying the day snorkeling with their families (it's a national holiday today). It seemed most of them couldn't swim and so were snorkeling in orange life jackets.

On the way back to Candi Dasa we stopped at the Taman Tirtagangga Water Garden, which was built in the 1940's, again by the Raja of Karangasem. I guess he liked water features. The grounds were once again unique and beautiful. The kids especially liked one of the rectangular ponds where you could step from pillar to pillar in the pond. The pillars were only an inch or so above the water, and you couldn't see the pillars below the water line, so it gave the impression that the octagonal tops to the pillars were floating stepping stones on the water. It was fun to walk along the stepping stones, with three foot long black and gold coloured coy swimming in the pond below.

I was glad to hear that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 went to The National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia for its contribution to building democracy in Tunisia following the 2011 Jasmine Revolution. I didn't know much about Tunisia, but learned that its new constitution was drafted in early 2014, and free elections were held later in the year. It's the first free and fair elections the country has had since gaining its independence in the 1950's. The Tunisian constitution is one of the most progressive in the region and guarantees civil liberties including freedom of expression and equal rights for men and women. Islam is the official state religion, but is not the source for law, and religious or non-religious freedom is protected.

Hopefully Tunisia can stabilize as a secular democracy as other Muslim majority states like Turkey and Indonesia have managed to do. It a good example for other countries in the region. As one pundit said, Tunisia proves that democracy is possible in the Arab world.

Here's a picture of Elizabeth on the stepping stones.

Hawkers and fat burgers

While we're having a good relaxing time on the whole, there are regular annoyances. The beach is the great selling feature of Legian. Otherwise the area is a bit too touristy for us with little to offer in the way of local culture. The hawkers are everywhere we go and a constant irritant. I suppose they get enough business to make their sales approach worthwhile. Sitting on the beach, I am asked to purchase either a watch, sunglasses, hat, ice cream or massage on a rotating basis. I'm pretty sure the same guy who had asked me to purchase a hat an hour ago asked me again. Another guy asked John if he wanted a henna tattoo with a typical sales approach- "Boy! Tattoo?" John laughed afterwards and thought it was odd that the seller thought he would have the money or decision making power for that.

The ATMs have been another pain here in Indonesia. It took awhile to catch on, but I learned that the ATMs from the big three banks do not work for me. In fact, one of these banks would not only not give me the cash, but would debit my account anyway. Only after two or three business days would my account be credited back the amount. Since then I've learned that I can use some of the ATMs in the convenience stores to take out small amounts at a time in small bills. After getting enough cash the last a few days my wallet is so thick I close it properly anymore.

Well, I think that's enough whining. I mean, we are here in Bali after all. On Monday the kids couldn't go surfing as planned since the water was too rough. But we enjoyed our time at the beach anyway, and we enjoyed venturing out into the waves up to our knees. When we went any further the lifeguard would whistle at us to get out. He warned us there was a riptide right where we were, but if we moved down the beach a hundred feet or so we would be okay to go in up to our waist. On Tuesday afternoon the weather wasn't quite as rough so we rented a surfboard for John and a boogie board for Elizabeth. After an hour John had enough with surfing so we switched him over to a boogie board too. Catheleen and I also tried the boogie boarding, but after a short while I was happy to sit in a lounge chair under an umbrella and watch the kids fill their shorts with sand in their attempts to ride the waves. They had fun but I'm sure we'll hear all about the war wounds later.

A few nights ago we were at the Fat Bowl restaurant for dinner, which offered some pretty good meals by the way. Two Australian guys at the next table each ordered the Fat Burger, which consisted of a one kilogram beef patty on a bun the size of a dinner plate. Their buddies were egging them on, but they each only managed to consume about half the burger. They didn't look like they were feeling too well afterwards. Last evening at a local restaurant we noticed suckling pig on the menu, which is a local specialty. With one or two days notice and a minimum of eight people, you too could arrange for a whole roasted pig, head to tail. Sure enough a large group at the restaurant had ordered the pig, which was served with an apple in its mouth. I personally don't like my dinner looking back at me, but to each his own.

Back to the newspaper, the Jakarta Post is just a head shaker every time I pick it up. There are continual stimulus plans in the works to boost the Indonesian economy, even though it is growing at around 5%. I guess that's just not good enough. One scheme is to grant amnesty to all those convicted of tax evasion, fraud, etc. so the perpetrators are incented to bring their ill-gotten gains home from abroad. A lot of this money resides in Singapore. The thinking is the government could take its 15% tax on the repatriated money to help boost their coffers and help fund stimulus efforts. I'm not sure this will deter future law breakers but the government must only be planning one step at a time.

Another crazy story involves shenanigans between the police and the Corruption Eradication Commission, which has been in operation for the last ten years and appears to have done some good work prosecuting graft cases. It's well trusted among the general population in any case. The commission has been rooting out corruption within the police department for years, but the police regularly retaliate by bringing charges against the commissioners. The latest row has two commissioners charged for alleged fraud committed years ago when the commissioners were lawyers defending or prosecuting clients. The charges are likely based on fabricated evidence if the police's past actions are any indication. The current president was elected last year on an anti-corruption platform, so this appears to be a test for him. He can protect the commissioners by directing the Attorney General to dismiss the cases. But by doing so, the police could always come after him on charges of one sort or another with the potential for impeachment action. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Prambanan, surfing and remembering the past

Yesterday was our last day on the island of Java. We had a late flight, so we were able to visit Prambanan, a 9th century Hindu temple compound, on the way to the airport. It contained about six stone temples, all tall pointed towers that we could walk around and into. There were statues in the temples dedicated one way or another to Hinduism's expression of God as the creator Brahma, the preserver Vishnu, or the destroyer Shiva. I understand this temple was built shortly after the Borobudur temple was built, partly as a response to the Borobudur structure. Funny to think that groups were competing in the 9th century on the island of Java to see who could build the most impressive architecture. But I suppose this has been going on in many places for a long time and is still going on today.

There were few tourists at the site so we were able to walk around freely and visit each of the temples in turn. The reliefs on the temples were my favourite part since they were artistic and varied, describing parts of the epic story Ramayana with its battles and adventures. Like Borobudur, there is a hierarchy where the zones become more holy as you move up from the lower to the upper levels. I found the lower levels more interesting though, and I wonder if the artists who made this temple felt the same way. Although it was hot, I think the kids enjoyed the site. At least they liked having the run of the place since there were many levels and places for them to visit on each of the towers. They also liked a deer park on the premise where the deer all had white spots like Bambi. I wonder what kind of deer they were.

Our flight was delayed, but we eventually flew back from Java to Bali and settled into our hotel in the town of Legian along the south-east coast. This is a beach town and known for its surfing. The next day the kids had surfing lessons and had some success riding the waves. I didn't see it, but they both said they managed to get up on their feet a few times. I've never been at a beach that was conducive to surfing but it's big in many parts of Indonesia. We're here for a few days so maybe I'll give it a go. Good thing we have travel health insurance - I might need it.

While Catheleen and I were watching the kids take their surfing lessons, we experienced a lot of hawkers trying to sell us this or that. One lady wanted to give me a massage, and was very insistent. I wasn't interested, but she still started massaging my neck and arms while she was talking to me. Talk about a proactive sales approach.

I had some time to wander about today and just relax. In the Jakarta Post the front page article was about President Jokowi of Indonesia, who attended an annual ceremony in memory of seven generals who were killed in a botched coup in 1965 blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. The article cited rumours that Jokowi might apologize to the families of the victims who perished in the anti-communist purge that followed the failed coup. As many as half a million suspected communists were killed in the purge. About 5% of the population of Bali perished, who suffered disproportionally. Some parts of the country still seem to be torn up about the incident, although the general population doesn't know much about it. It's hardly mentioned in the schools' history books. As it turned out the rumours were false, and the President had no intention of acknowledging or apologizing for the purge.

Here we are at Prambanan, with me wearing the required sarong.

Indonesia - it's complicated

I like to learn a few things about the places I visit to gain a better appreciation for my surroundings. I have to admit I didn't really know much about Indonesia before we arrived. We are enjoying our stay here, but now that we've been here for almost two weeks and plan to stay for a couple more, a few questions have come to my mind. Here in Java we're reminded five or six times a day by the call to prayer that this is primarily a Muslim island, yet the island of Bali is primary a Hindu area. Why is that, and do the various groups in Indonesia get along? Why are the people here better off than say Vietnam, but not as well off as the people in Thailand? And why is Indonesia, a vast collection of islands, one country and not many? I found some answers, but it's complicated.

The various religious groups in Indonesia tell a story of empire and trade spanning thousands of years. Buddhism and Hinduism originated from India and made their way to Java and Sumatra via merchants along the naval Silk Road. Buddhism is only practiced by a tiny minority in Indonesia today, mostly Chinese immigrants, but it played a much larger role in the past.

Yesterday we visited one notable temple called Borobudur, which has the largest and best collection of stone reliefs of any Buddhist structure in the world. It was covered in jungle growth and trees until the early 1800's when the British and later the Dutch took an interest in uncovering and repairing it. It caused quite a sensation in Europe at the time as the first example of a large and sophisticated ancient civilization in the area outside of China - this was before Angor Wat was uncovered in Cambodia. The temple was built in the 9th century as a homage to Buddha and as a site for pilgrims. Pilgrims would circle around this large step pyramid, which is in the shape of a stupa when seen from afar. As we moved around the large structure along the bottom level we saw really intricate stone reliefs covering the walls. The lower level reliefs showed the desires of daily life and its struggles with good and evil. By the time we moved up a few levels we were supposedly looking at a world of forms, a higher plane of existence closer to reality. Here we saw reliefs of holy men praying, contemplating and teaching. When we reached the two top levels we were looking at the "formless sea of nirvana", which was represented by statues of gods and holy men in stupas that you could peer into.

It was a good site to visit, and we followed the pilgrim's path around the structure to get a sense of what it might have been like to be a pilgrim in the 9th century. One difference was the Indonesian students we met along the way. I think they had a field assignment to practice their English, and so we were stopped a few times to answer basic questions about who we were and where we were from. We were asked to sign their score sheets for school, which we happily did, although I signed more score sheets than students I spoke with; I think they were working the system. It was nice to talk to them and take some pictures of us together.

Anyway, back to my history lesson. Hinduism was especially prevalent in the western half of Indonesia from 1200 to 1400, when the Majapahit empire spread from Java to conquer and rule much of modern day Indonesia. Islam made its way to the islands of Sumatra and Java at first via Muslim traders from western India and later from the Sultanate of Malacca in modern day Malaysia. The remnants of Majapahit culture retreated to Bali by the 1400's and is the reason Bali is a Hindu dominated island today with a culture much different from the rest of Indonesia. Islam became dominant in the western part of Indonesia by the 1600's and spread further over time to be the dominant religion today where 90% of Indonesians subscribe to Islam. Next the Portuguese and then the Dutch entered the scene, and the islands of Indonesia were controlled by the Dutch from the 1600's until around World War II. At that time the area was called the Dutch East Indies. During this period Christianity spread somewhat into the eastern portion of the islands, which had mostly subscribed to animist beliefs up until then. The islands were briefly under British control in the early 1800's and Japanese occupation during World War II.

The local resistance to the Japanese during World War II led to resistance to Dutch rule after the war. The Indonesians then won their independence in 1949. After some turbulent and violent years in the 1960's between local communist and anti-communist parties, it has settled down into a more or less stable, secular democracy. This has been especially true since the Suharto regime ended in the late 1990's. Since then, freedom and governance have improved for the most part.

There are still some areas of concern among freedom watch groups including government corruption, some curbs on freedom of the press, and some restrictions on religious freedom. One quirk is that the Indonesian constitution only recognizes six official religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Those who subscribe to another religion or have no affiliation are subject to discrimination and in some cases repression. The source of this odd situation? At the time of independence a compromise was made between some Muslim groups who wanted a Islamic state based on Shariah law and other groups who wanted full religious freedom. The compromise they settled on seems a little muddled to me.

However, there are pockets in the country where the rules don't apply. On our way to Indonesia from Singapore, I read the Jakarta Post, and was surprised to discover that people were being publicly caned per Sharia law in one part of the country for misdemeanours such as couples hugging in public. There are also a few extremist groups in Indonesia, and there was a terrorist bombing in Bali in 2002 which was claimed by an extremist group. But for the most part Indonesia is a safe place to be.

The country was very poor through its colonial period and started to improve its economy starting in the mid 60's after some changes were implemented to stabilize the economy. Since then, thanks to oil production, manufacturing, and crop exports, the economy has improved and the official poverty rate has dropped from 60% to 15% since the 1960's.

On a trek today through the countryside, we saw some of the crops grown here. Even though the land is very steep and mountainous, much of the land is under culivation. We saw terraces 10 feet high so farmers could squeeze in another rice or tobacco crop. The land seems so fertile and well irrigated. We saw endless crops of rice, tobacco, tomatoes, cassava, chilli peppers, green beans and other crops we couldn't identify. We also saw banana and papaya trees. I could see though how undeveloped some practices were. I saw water buffaloes pulling wooden plows, and ladies making gravel from rocks on the side of the road using hammers. In town yesterday I saw four men with sledgehammers and long iron spikes breaking up some asphalt in the middle of the road. At an average wage of $2 an hour I believe, I can only guess that this is a cheaper alternative than having one guy with a jackhammer do the same job faster.

By contrast, Thailand has been developing their economy in fits and starts since the early 1900's when serfdom was abolished, and Vietnam has only opened up their economy for the last 20 years. This mostly explains why Thailand is richer per capita than Indonesia, while Vietnam is poorest.

Here is Catheleen near some water buffaloes on our trek through the countryside today.

Singapore - it's been fun but time to go

One reason I like to travel is to confirm that Canada is the best country in the world to live in. Kidding aside (sort of), when I travel I do try to keep an open mind to how others live, and then ask myself if they are on to something. For example, throughout the world I'm often impressed with the food on offer and wish we Canadians would pick up a few lessons from abroad. Maybe a few less hotdogs and fries and a few more fresh tasty meals instead - just a friendly suggestion.

After enjoying another great meal at a mall food court in Singapore, jammed packed with the locals, I have to chalk one up to the Singaporeans. Great food, variety, quality and prices - and even a beer stand to get a bottle. Would it be so wrong if we could get such treatment in Canada? Cleanliness? Have to give Singapore another point. Yes Canada is pretty neat and tidy when we're not dealing with 'snirt' - that's my name for the mix of snow and dirt that we drag into our malls and businesses all winter. But it doesn't gleam and sparkle like Singapore. Modern infrastructure? Chalk another one up for Singapore. They seemed to have skipped that 60's and '70's minimalist-rectangle look so prevalent in Ottawa. Too many public buildings in Canada look like something out of a Soviet-era housing project. Traffic? Wow, the traffic runs smooth and light, not like the traffic jams common during rush hour in many Canadian cities. Weather? Maybe too tropical for some, but there are no snowstorms or freezing rain here.

But scratch a little and you'll see the cracks in the veneer - some downside in all this upside. You get the gleaming streets but make sure you flush the toilet (it's a fine for you if you don't), and forget about chewing gum on the street because that's not allowed. These types of rules indicate to me at least unwelcome constraints on personal choice. Yes everyone should flush the toilet, but is a rule and fine necessary? Less traffic is great but forget about owning a car unless you're rich. You'll need to pay import taxes, a certificate of use, and tolls in the city that will at least triple the price, and is only good for ten years before you have to pay again. Good thing the public transit is good here.

As for crime and punishment, this is where things just start getting weird. There is mandatory capital punishment by judge (not jury) for some crimes that wouldn't get you anywhere near life in prison in the West, like drug trafficking. The rate of executions here has been higher per capita than just about anywhere else. Some crimes are just strange - opposition party leaders turned bankrupt after successful defamation suits by ruling government ministers. Pornography, homosexuality, nudity - all banned. Most Singaporeans live in public housing, but cats are banned from the buildings. I saw a sign in the building we're staying in that prohibited pet owners from letting their pets relieve themselves on the lawn or bushes. As far as I understand it, there isn't anywhere a dog is allowed to go in the city unless you bring some kind of mat.

It's like Singapore became a nanny state with a mean streak. Or a right leaning party had the run of the place for the last 50 years. Pleasant place, just stay on the straight and narrow. 

So would I live here? Probably not, but what a fun, impressive place to visit. And what great food!

Here's us at Universal Studios.

Next stop Singapore - cool vibe, orderly state

From the moment we boarded our flight to Singapore from Ho Chi Minh City I felt more relaxed. I started by reading a Singapore newspaper called The Straits Times. Here was a press discussing the country's general election results from just a few days before. What a change from the dry newspaper I read in Vietnam, with its reports on official government meetings and statistics showing how the country is improving in various ways.

After arrival at the swanky Singapore airport, we passed easily through immigration control. We were greeted by a friendly immigration officer and waited briefly for our passports to be stamped while enjoying some candies on offer. Afterwards were got to rate our experience on touch screens - we ranked it an excellent experience. Much different from the long stares John and I received from a Vietnamese official before he stamped our passports one last time before letting us board our plane. The only indication at the Singapore airport that we were not in some metro paradise were three military personnel patrolling with sub machine guns.

We're staying downtown at a condo, and we're experiencing a modern vibe to everything. We've seen unique modern architecture - buildings with curves, waves and slices missing from the standard rectangle buildings I see in most places; and big screens covering the entire sides of buildings. We walked through malls lit from below with pulsating screens, and strolled over multi-level walkways crossing the streets. We've seen the well dressed and bored locals on their way to work, or perking up when chatting at an outdoor café, bar or restaurant. It all adds a cool vibe to the city.

It's certainly a nice change from countries we've previously visited, and it's great for me that just about everyone here speaks English. I've stopped random people in the street to ask for directions and everyone has been friendly and helpful.

The country has a large Indian community and we visited the Little India section of town yesterday. It was a place to pick up a few things and have a great meal at an Indian outdoor food court. It felt like I was in India, with people eating with their hands as is the tradition I believe. I tried eating with my hands but didn't quite get the knack of it.

As we crossed a pedestrian bridge to a mall and shopping area I noticed a sign warning of a $1,000 fine for riding a bike on the bridge. Over the next day I noticed more signs. A $500 fine for smoking here, a $500 fine for eating or drinking there. Instructions not to sit near the fountain, not to lean against the door, not to loiter near the statue. There were four or five separate signs on our way up the escalator explaining what to do and not to do. In the subway there were many instructions explaining where to stand, how to enter and exit the train, to keep the sound down on my device, etc. I didn't see any signs saying not to litter or the fines for doing so. Considering I didn't see so much as a wrapper on the ground over two days, I guess littering isn't a problem that needs fixing. There were also cameras everywhere, with notices posted that we're being monitored via CCTV.

It seems to me to be a very orderly, rules based society. Even the election was a harmonious affair as the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) won 70 percent of the popular vote, up from 60 percent in the last election, winning all but a few seats in parliament. I have to say I liked all the rules since they made sense to me and made for a more pleasant environment on the whole. But it did feel strange - maybe I just wasn't used to all the cameras.

I was curious though to learn a little more, so I looked into the history and politics of this place. The country was a British colony going back to the early 1800's, was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and gained its independence in the sixties. Singapore was originally joined with Malaysia but split after only two years. The main point of contention seemed to be concern over affirmative action policies by the Malay government, which were focused on improving the lot of the poorer majority Malaysian ethic group. The Singaporeans were half Chinese after years of immigration under favourable British colonial immigration and business practices. As such the Singaporeans did not consider the affirmative action plan fair, which led to race riots and the Singaporeans going their own way.

The country is very well to do. The per capita income is one of the highest in the world and it's recognized as the easiest place in the world to do business. It"s a world centre for shipping, banking and business. The people here enjoy a high standard of education, health care, and the civil service has a reputation for honest government.

It did appear odd to me though that the PAP has been in power since independence, with no signs of much opposition. I looked into it and this country has what Freedom House would call a flawed democracy. It's a bit subtle but a number of factors have hamstrung the opposition parties here including the lack of an independent electoral authority, a judiciary and press under government influence (journalists regularly engage in self-censorship), and restrictions on political associations, demonstrations and political ads.

It's like from the Singaporeans' perspective, having much of an opposition just wouldn't be very orderly or harmonious.

Here is John at the mall, riding the waves or something. 

Plastic stools and independence day

Over the last couple of nights in Hanoi we've walked around the local night market, where the neighbourhood had cordoned off some streets for pedestrians only. What a treat to walk around with some room around us, rather than being cheek-to-jowl with so many scooters and people. Most people were eating outside on the sidewalk on tiny plastic stools about a foot high, at little plastic tables about knee high. There must be at least seven million of these little stools in the city, one for every person.

So the last couple of nights we joined the crowd of locals with a smattering of tourists at one of these outdoor places, and had our dinner on small plastic stools like everyone else. All the locals were out, some dressed well and others more casually. Small bones were on the ground from all the happy customers who had come before us and enjoyed some pidgins I believe, which were a speciality there. I gave that menu choice a wide berth along with frogs and other exotic items, and we settled down for a good meal on our little perches, with a good view of all that was going on around that particular street corner.

The country is gearing up to celebrate their 70th anniversary of independence on September 2nd. Here's a quick history lesson. Japan announced its surrender, ending World War II, on August 15th, 1945. Quickly afterwards, the Japanese forces handed over power to Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader of the resistance, and his supporters. He then declared independence on September 2nd, hours after Japan's official surrender. Thirty years of war followed with France, the U.S., and then the southern Vietnamese forces before the fall of Saigon in 1975, ending any remaining resistance to the northern communist forces.

We've seen trucks rolling around with loudspeakers manned by officials in uniform announcing something related to the anniversary. Last night we saw a patriotic dance and singing performance on a street stage with ladies in red dresses with a big yellow star on the front dancing with uniformed men. Since this anniversary marks a new decade, we're told the celebration will be bigger than normal. We're leaving town tonight so we'll miss the fireworks display and the big gathering of crowds.

Yesterday we went on a walking tour with a couple of Vietnamese students from a local university. It's a program whereby students get a chance to practise their English and we get a chance to speak with some locals and tour around. Surprisingly it was free, and the students wouldn't even accept a tip afterwards. Frankly their knowledge of the sights wasn't the best, but it was great to walk around with them and chat.

Eng still has one year left before completing her degree in administration. Kim just graduated last week with a accounting degree and will be starting with the firm KPMG in October. He completed an internship with the company last year. He hasn't travelled much within Vietnam or left Vietnam but hopes to do some travelling in a couple of years. He indicated he might like to work abroad for a few years if he can arrange the work visas. 

I asked him what Vietnamese people thought about the West, and the French and Americans in particular. He said that some older people still talk about the wars and still had strong emotions about past events, but young people were not alive at the time and feel no ill will to the West. He explained that it is important to remember the past but also important not to dwell on it but rather focus on the future. Wise words.

Here's the back of Elizabeth and me working our way down a side street with father, mother and a kid with a mask and toy on a motorcycle coming the other way.

Newspaper articles and beer

I've tried reading the main English language newspaper in Laos called The Vientiane Times once or twice. There are many reports of meetings of government officials either praising other officials for improving infrastructure or occasionally criticizing others for not making enough progress. There are articles trying to encourage or educate people on something; one article provided a case study on a rice farming family that became more prosperous by learning how to grow vegetables. Another article provided some statistics on progress made to eradicate poverty by 2020, where poverty is defined as adequate food, clothing, shelter, clean drinking water and access to health care. One last article on the post and telecommunications sector "stressed the importance of imbuing civil servants and workers with stronger political ideology to ensure the successful implementation of the ministry's plan in the coming years." I'm not making this up. Apparently the Laos constitution allows for a free press, but it is also illegal to criticize the government. I guess if you can't criticize, the articles above are about all you're going to get. It's meagre stuff.

I forgot to mention that when we were zip-lining a couple of days ago we went swimming in the stream and pools. Almost everyone was in a life jacket in the pools, and when I asked why, I was told they were all Koreans and so couldn't swim. I imagine some Koreans can swim but not the group of 30 or so we were with.

We enjoyed our time in the small but growing town of Vang Vieng with its red muddy roads, chocolate brown and fast flowing river, blue/green streams and pools, white and black limestone cliffs, and misty green hills. But it was time to go.

We left yesterday morning by private van, passed by endless rice fields, and listened to our driver swear in Lao every time he hit a pot hole he couldn't avoid. Along the way south we passed a town every kilometre or so, with the same yellow sign at the front of two or three stores or restaurants with a picture of BeerLao and the name of the establishment. For the first two weeks in Laos we thought there was only one type of beer for sale, which is almost true. At one point we needed to stop the van to allow a gaggle of geese to waddle past.

It's now our second day in Vientiane and I'm sitting beside the pool at our hotel after another hot and sweaty day of activities seeing the sights. Catheleen and I went for a walk around town just after 6 AM this morning to beat the heat of the day, but it was already a hot and humid 26 degrees Celsius and rising. We had a nice walk along the boardwalk though where hundreds of stalls had been set up last night selling clothes and other wares. Everything was cleaned up and removed by the morning. There were a few brave souls going for a run along the river and we saw some aerobics enthusiasts exercising in the park to a dance mix of George Michael.

This town is much bigger than the other towns in Laos we've visited. Luang Prabang has about 50,000 people and Vang Vieng has about half that. The capital of Vietiane has a population of 700,000, and boasts infrastructure we haven't seen elsewhere in this country like street lights, some side walks, a park and an actual mall. I smelled garbage almost everywhere we went. I didn't know why since I didn't see much garbage in the street and Catheleen didn't smell it. It turned out to be dried fish, which is sold everywhere, and used for soups, pho, and probably other purposes.

Here are the kids at the Lao version of the Arc de Triomphe called the Patuxai. It's a war monument built between 1957 and 1968, dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France. It's ironic to me that the monument is in the French style, albeit with heavy Lao influences. To be fair though, the French borrowed the arch war monument style from the ancient Romans.

Last night in Luang Prabang

I caught the news today that there was a bombing of a temple in Bangkok; 20 dead and 100 injured. We are far from Bangkok now, but it was shocking to hear of this incident in a place so frequented by both locals and tourists. The world has always been a dangerous place at times and it looks like it's not going to get any safer anytime soon.

It's our last night in Luang Prabang and we took a different path than normal, looking for a new place for dinner. We went down a street with some more upscale restaurants and saw a small gym in a building with no wall facing the street, with a few Lao men working out. That was a first. And on the way back I saw some teenagers on motorcycles having a good time laughing together and then zooming off, with the guys driving their bikes and the girls on the back - I guess they can have fun here like everyone else. At the hotel restaurant for dinner we talked to Tok, our waiter, who spoke English very well, which a rarity here. He wanted to tell us all about the area. He mentioned that last January was unusually cold with night time lows of 4 degrees Celsius. The hotel was not set up for this kind of cold; visitors would order a lot of soup and the restaurant staff would drape them in blankets. He said March is not a good time to visit here also. It is very hot with temperatures near 40 Celsius with a great deal of smoke in the air from the farmers burning their fields. He had nice things to say about the town too, being a great place to relax and take it easy. This theme has some up a few times around here.

I had a business meeting with someone in Canada via Skype; I conducted the call from my balcony to get the best Internet reception. I called him at 7 PM my time which was 8 AM his time. While we chatted the dogs were barking, the motorcycles were zooming by, and the Lao people below me were talking about whatever soap opera they were watching at the end of their day. I hardly noticed the noise but I guess it was a bit unusual for my counterpart, who called me from his quiet office into the depths of South East Asia. He kept laughing at all that was going on around me.

Down by the river on a bike ride I spotted something new. It looked like a carpet cleaning robot, but its job was to keep cutting a small patch of grass in the only park-like setting I've seen around here. I think the park is associated with an adjacent restaurant near the river, but we checked it out anyway. As we strolled around the small collection of pathways, grass and gardens I spotted a fisherman on the river. He was on a tributary next to the main Mekong River and was casting a net from the bow of a small boat common to this area. The boat was like a canoe really, very low to the water but square and I assume more stable. He expertly cast the ten foot square net into the water and then pulled a line to try to catch whatever was below.

But it's time to move on. We'll take a van down south tomorrow, about a five hour drive.

Bangkok unhinged

Thailand is part of the developing world so it's easy to focus on the negatives - too crowded, too disorganized, too poor. But we've been to Bangkok a couple of times before so we know what to expect, and we wouldn't have come back if we were focused on the down side. Rather I think Thailand is just too special to avoid if travelling to this part of the world. The food is on par with the best cuisines, the people are friendly and welcoming, and it's just a unique place so different from the West. The kids seem to be focusing on the positive too for the most part. Case in point, John and Elizabeth ordered green curry and rice for breakfast. Way too hard core for me but they seemed to enjoy it.

The first thing I always notice when I come here is the Thai's reverence for their King and royal family. There are pictures of the royal family everywhere - some covering whole sides of skyscrapers. The monks in orange robes are also a striking site which always remind me we are in Thailand - only difference this time is some of the monks are on their smart phones.

Our afternoon activity today consisted of a visit to the Grand Palace, which is one of the main attractions in the city. Bangkok is a huge city and we've learned that using the water taxis along the Chao Phraya river is an efficient and scenic way to get around.

At the water taxi barge we visited the pet hog, a full sized black pig with his own food bowl - it is definitely a pet. Elizabeth was surprised and offended to see a hog as a pet. I suppose she was experiencing a little culture shock. On our way across the ferry to the other side of the river we were delayed for quite awhile as a number of massive river barges passed by. They consisted of a half dozen or more barges strung together, each around 100 feet long, pulled along by one or two tug boats. On the other side we hopped onto the river taxi which took us down the river to the palace. Along the way the traffic was thick with boats of all descriptions going up and down the river. I started to notice that all the long tail boats (another iconic image of Thailand) had garlands of flowers tied to their bows. These were the same flowers we saw at the flower market last night. I understand these garlands are used to provide good luck and protection and honour the spirits of the water.

At the palace Catheleen brought sarongs for everyone to wear since our legs needed to be covered to enter. But after seeing John wrapped in a sarong I just couldn't do that to him or me - it was just embarrassing. I confirmed my awkwardness when I asked a lady official if I could wear a sarong - she just looked at me sideways and said they were for ladies. So I signed out pants for us guys, we purchased our tickets with one hour to spare before closing, and then, much to our chagrin, we watched the sky open up in a torrent of rain which lasted the better part of an hour.

This is where Catheleen and Elizabeth, the intrepid travellers, parted ways from John and me. There were two factions at play here. Catheleen and Elizabeth fell into the enthusiast camp who were willing to get soaked through if necessary to see something special they may never get the chance to see again. John and I fell into the heal dragger camp who would just rather not get too wet if we could avoid it. So Catheleen and Elizabeth had their adventure seeing the sights. They also watched people's shoes wash away along the rush of water flowing down the street from where the temple goers had removed their shoes. I was just happy to watch the thick crowds of people go to and from the palace in various stages of sopping wetness. At least the rain cooled things down nicely for awhile.

Our adventure continued as we swarmed onto the water taxi for the return journey, swept along with the crowd from a moving pier onto a moving boat on a choppy river. I'm quite surprised the kids put up with all this since it was a bit extreme, even for Catheleen and me. But they seem to pretty easy going so far. Another day, another adventure.