Thoughts « JEWELLE TAN

Dreaming Of IndoChina

Filed in Asian | Thoughts Leave a comment

On the same week in which I re-read Terzani a.k.a. my Asian-travel-cultural-supersitions-bible, focusing on Indochina now, I was pleasantly surprised to catch (only halfway so far) a charming Thai/Laos movie called “Good morning, Luang Prabang” on TV.

My interest about this part of Asia went into overdrive – much to the annoyance of my poor husband who has had to listened to names like Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Angkor Wat, Luang Prabang all this week.

As well as what he knew is coming every time I started talking about places – “LET’S MAKE A TRIP THERE!!”.

But their bloody history is always what puts a stop to any real plans, or as he simply puts it, “Why do you want to go to places which have seen so much death?”.

Laos was reportedly bombed with more explosives during the Vietnam War than Germany and the whole of occupied Europe during World War 2 – can you imagine how much devastations that caused? The generations of people still affected with deformity caused by the chemicals released during the wars and their general hardship - how can I see them and enjoy my trip?

Maybe I can arrange an itinerary that focuses on their natural and historical sites; majestic temples, fascinating culture and tradition and scenic landscape and waterfalls – and avoid places like the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (why anyone would want to visit this place is beyond me…)

But there is still one thing that stops me.

I would loath to be one of those tourists coming in droves, descending on heritage sites with no capacity to cope with mass visitors, photographing like there is no tomorrow, disrupting daily lives and sacred rituals of the locals, turning them into spectacles for our entertainment – effectively, taking away their charm and all their mysteries.

What a dilemma.

I dream of touching the ancient ruins and experiencing the atmosphere of lives untouched by progress.

But I will resigned myself to reading accounts of these places from visitors who have had the chances of seeing these places before they became tourist spots.

And console myself that I am doing my tiny part in preserving heritage sites like the Plain of Jars and Luang Prabang.

30Apr

Where Are The Lady Engineers

Filed in Brunei | oil & gas life | Thoughts Leave a comment

The oil and gas career roadshow which took place last week was something which interests me.

Having lived in the oil district of Brunei for more than 10 years, hearing and seeing what work and life is like for those in the industry, I feel a certain connection to it too.

It is best explained by my husband – it is an industry he was born to go into simply because, he grew up with it.

Born and bred in the district where everyday and everywhere are sights of oil and gas activities; towering rigs, flare stacks, helicopters flying to and fro the intriguing “offshore” and even the occasional smell of gas in the air around town – it’s hard not to be interested or at least, curious about this industry.

Herein lies the one thing that makes this career path a clear choice for some and hazy for most – and I meant students who live outside the Belait districts who have probably never seen a working nodding donkey, the universal symbol of oil production.

How can they be interested to venture into this career – especially when it most likely brings up images of oil stains, hard and heavy labour work, amongst others? But at least, this is an obstacle which cannot be tackled in a 3 days career roadshow.

What can be tackled during the roadshow was to field speakers/representatives of this industry that can relate to the majority of the audience i.e. the FEMALE STUDENTS.

Where are the lady engineers who would be the only ones who could answer questions such as what’s offshore life is like from women’s perspectives, what roles can women do at drilling rigs or the special challenges and difficulties faced by women in this industry that is globally dominated by men.

But oil and gas is not an industry meant only for men.

It is time we realise that to get more of our female students into this line of career and to contribute to the biggest income-earning industry in our economy, we must highlight to them their role models – the small but hopefully growing group of female oil and gas professionals.

Lady engineers of Belait, our girls are depending on you for guidance.

05Apr

Breakfast With Mama

Filed in At Home | Thoughts Leave a comment

Much is said about adults who still live at home with their parents.

“Still living with his mother? How childish!“, “Not independent“, “Mummy’s boy” – and so many other judging statements that usually lean towards the negative.

Yet, this morning, when I walked past my mother in law and one of my brother in law having breakfast and chatting together, I found myself hoping to be blessed with this kind of mornings with my own children in 20 years to come.

I know both of them enjoys it, being the only time in a day for them to have a one-to-one chat, even if only for 15 mins (or less).

Living in a time where the world is smaller and people are living and working thousands of miles away from their hometown, to still have ones’ children within sight and sound most days (my mother in law has all three with her) is to me, an uncommon good luck to any mother.

She treasures her 15 mins with her youngest son and he will look back on these mornings with fond memories and know that he has played a part in making his mother’s day, just by having breakfast with her.

09Feb

If You Can’t See The White Of Their Eyes

Filed in Random | Thoughts Leave a comment

There is this Facebook group where members would list all the messages they receive from conmen.

The men who sent these messages usually claim to be engineers, many work in oil & gas industries and nearly all are Caucasians (photos are always included).

One member shared one particular message she received from a supposedly-pipeline engineer, whose message was filled with detailed description of pipeline and such – in his very first introductory message.

You just cannot help but laugh.

Of course, this is not a joke. Many women seeking companionship (via various paid and free dating online sites or social networking sites) would find these scammers, would fall for them and soon after would willingly wire them money in the tunes of tens of thousands of dollars.

It is hard to believe how anyone could fall for them but maybe when a person is really eager to “find” someone, it is easy to ignore danger signs.

There was one documentary on this particular issue, whose host said this at the end, “If you can’t see the white of their eyes and they are not buying you a drink, don’t talk to them“.

Or at least protect yourself by learning how to date online safely.

03Feb

Five Stars Maternity Hospital

Filed in Thoughts Leave a comment

On the same line of thought as the previous post on the cost of labour these days in Kota Kinabalu, I wonder what necessitates such huge increase in rates.

For one particular hospital where I delivered all my three children, the panel of doctors only had a few new additions, the nurses uniforms’ are still the same, the furniture did not change much and the furnishing are still sparse.

I have no experience in the other private hospitals but I am sure there are none in Kota Kinabalu with a five-stars-hotel ambience or I know that the whole mothers and mothers-to-be community would be raving about it.

But I think our market is ripe for such luxurious service as offered at The Cradle at Hawthorn, claimed to be the first five-stars maternity hospital in Australia, don’t you think – those of you who are willingly forking out RM5000+ for a normal delivery?

Older Entries