我的第一次给了她。。。。KTX

This year is the 45th anniversary since the opening of the Tokaido Shinkansen. The development of bullet train being a sustainable transportation mode to replace the private car, busses and conventional train symbolized the maturity and efficiency level of a country. Until last week, I was an ordinary layman from a soon but yet to be developed country, who never ride on the bullet train before in my whole life. (Msia aimed to become a developed country by 2200. Opps sorry , i mean 2020. Yes, i just said 2020) New high-speeed rail routes along linking mainland Europe such as Paris-Brussels-Cologne-Franfurt, have significantly improved the rail journey times through by-passing the relatively slow conventional routes along river valleys (David SPaven, 2006). Cant believe that the high speed rail technology has been exist for nearly half a century and we are still arguing wether or not to built a bullet train linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore which will cost pproximately RM8.1 billion (USD 2.4 b). It was also the first year that Msia government rejected the proposed bullet train that link KL and Singapore (325km), reducing car travel time from 5 hrs to 90 mins. The conventional train takes 7.5 hours excluding time for immigration clearance. The 1 hr in-flight by air will take approximately 3-4 hrs if including the travel from city to airport and the immigration clearance.

Last Friday trip to Daejeon by Korea KTX (high speed rail) was a pleasant trip though it was too silent that it will be annoying if you start talking to your friend or wake-up by the announcement. The high speed rail enable passengerss travel to a far city and back to Seoul in the same day, saving time and increase productivity. The Korea KTX was opened in April 2004 between Seoul and Busan, using the technology based on the TGV (France). In 2004, Korea was the 8th country with trains operating at 300 km/h and only in the second in the Far East after Japan. Now Taiwan and China had join the league table with other player in the world such as Germany, Spain, Sweden, UK, Italy, USA, Finland and ect (Ryo Takagi, 2004).

I'm doing some research on the proposed bullet train mentioned above though it was rejected by the Msian government. I would think that it was a bad call since the initial cost will be supported by YTL Corporation who prepared the proposal and had successfully built another semi-high speed rail connecting KL to KL International Airport in a low cost. The reduce of road traffic will solve the congestion of the highway and save the government subsidies on the petrol beside other environment benefits. It is better to spend the money in the infrastructure especially in transportation that involving energy consumption saving than spending our taxpayers money onto the empty city of Putrajaya (new government ministry city) and its ever luxurious buildings which we seldom go. Do you think Msia can become a developed country like Korea in 2020? I am a lier if i say yes. The worst thing is everybody including i am starting to feel nothing about the speed of the KTX thinking that it should have been faster; and Msia is still using the ever slow KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu). A good choice if you plan to stay a nite in the train until reaching Spore in the morning with bed sleeper costing RM40 (USD 12), 10.5 hours journey. I need info on the statistics of number of passenger travel by cars, busses and train form KL to Singapore. Send the link or info to me if you have any. I have contacted both Singapore and Malaysia authorities. Though with negative outcome, the Spore side replied within 2 days and still no reply from Msian side in after 2 weeks. This is the difference of quality and efficiency. Now you know why it might take another 190 years for Msia to become a developed country and the developed countries like Japan, Korea and Spore will no longer be called developed but sustainable matured countries. Hmm... do i sound radical and only knew how to damage my own country's image? But dont you think a father will critics his son if he doesnt loves him? I would not say a thing if i dont care... Lets hope for the first bullet train in Msia when KTM evolute to KTX. ^^

我的diyici

More Global Warming

How Serious is Global Warming?

Korean friends told me that the weather in Korea is changing. In the old days, there will be a routine of about 4 days cold and 3 days hot in the late autumn. However, it is very hard to predict the weather now due to global warming. Koreans depend very much on the weather forecast to decide fashion and what to wear the next day. There is a saying in Korea that you will sense the changing of weather by just looking at the daily girls fashion on the street. Last year summer, the girls shortest skirt is up to 24cm above the knee. However, it was reported that the record has gone to 28cm during this summer. Good for guys. ^^ However, th disadvantage is that the sexy skirt may draw off your attention on the street and endanger you to the traffic around. Too bad, i cant provide you with Korean girls photos on the street. ^^ Korean girl can really stand cold. The girls like to wear shorts and mini skirt plus a layer of stocking during the late autumn or sometimes in the winter. However, they wear 3 to 4 layers on the upper part of the body. Quite a contrast^^ This might anger most of you cute ladies but my hypothesis is that girls tend to have more fat on their legs hence able to stand the cold. Wahahaha!

Attached herewith the photo descriping how serious is the global warming . Dont just 'talk' the global warming but 'walk' it. Only 48% are willing to spend additional money in gasoline taxes to achieve the goal in reducing US GHG emissions. It is convenient to blame the industry but most people are unaware that they are actually the source of the CO2 emissions. Some countries had made clear that they wouldn't sacrifice the economy development to CO2 emission deduction policy. So my humble first step in reducing Green House Gas is to wear sexy short pant in the next summer to reduce the usage of aircond; and stop taking bath for 3 months in the coming winter to save hot water ^^

No More Racist, i have my own 'pure' blood pride too---Drafting of law to prevent discrimination in Korea

Recently, New York Times posted a special topic in its Asia Pacific section pertaining to Korea. The lawmakers in Korea are starting to draft legislation that for the first time would provide a detailed definition of discrimination by race and ethnicity and impose criminal penalties following the recent incident reported in July which caught the eyes of all Korean nations. On the evening of July 10, Bonogit Hussain, a 29-year-old Indian man, and Hahn Ji-seon, a female Korean friend, were riding a bus near Seoul when a man in the back began hurling racial and sexist slurs at them. however, was that, once it was reported in the South Korean media, prosecutors sprang into action, charging the man they have identified only as a 31-year-old Mr. Park with contempt, the first time such charges had been applied to an alleged racist offense.

South Korea is a country where people were taught to take pride in their nation’s “ethnic homogeneity” and where the words “skin color” and “peach” are synonymous. Koreans are very proud of their 'pure' blood. Most of the Korean parents prefer their children to marry with their own race. Once i talked to an 'Ajuma' (Korean middle age lady), she is the owner of my frequent restaurant. She told me that she prefer her daughter to marry with Korean man because international marriage brings alot of unforssen problems in the future. She also advice me to marry a Msian women instead of Korean lady. ^^ I was up-set at that moment thinking that i have my own 'pure' blood pride too. However, i understand it was just a normal judgement that international marriage might couse confusion for the future generation.

If by any chance i got marry with a Korean lady, is she willing to stay with me in Msia, a hot country and with its own discriminative law towards minority races like my race. Anyhow, i believe there are only two types of homosapiens, the good ppl and bad ppl. How good is good and how bad is bad? I have my own standard but it wont variant too far from what you expect. All and all, Koreans are nice ppl and i salute them for their pride and culture. Wish me luck so that i can meet my right companion here in Korea (no prejudice but only ladies are welcome, not men), the lucky place for me.

From the article, i've also learned that even today, the North Korean authorities often force abortion on women who return home pregnant after going to China to find food, according to defectors and human rights groups. For many Koreans, the first encounter with non-Asians came during the Korean War, when American troops fought on the South Korean side. That experience has complicated South Koreans’ racial perceptions, Mr. Seol said. Today, the mix of envy and loathing of the West, especially of white Americans, is apparent in daily life.

Feel free to visit the website of New York Times for more details on the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world/asia/02race.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

Internet speed

Generally, Asia was being placed at 4th among 6 continents in the world for the speed of internet. The top continent is Europe but that only shows the average statistics for European countries. Korea has the world faster download speed of 21.87 Mb/s, followed by Japan , 16.09 Mb/s, Aland Islands, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Romania, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Moldova, HongKong (9.56 Mb/s), Andora, Portugal and Germany. Our good neighbour, Singapore rank 5th among Asian countries with downloading speed of 7.46 Mb/s. In Malaysia, the region with best internet download speed is Penang (2.87 Mb/s), followed by Melacca, Kelantan, Selangor, Perlis, N.Sembilan, and Wilayah Persekutuan (1.85 Mb/s).

However, Korea placed at 14th with its 3.18 Mb/s of uploading speed. Lithuania has the fastest uploading speed to internet at 8.98 Mb/s, followed by Japan, Bulgaria, Latvia, Aland Islands, Hong Kong and ect. However, not all spot in Korea manage to achieve the speed that provided. I've done a test in my university and the downloading and uplaoding speed is 6.8 Mb/s and 4.22 Mb/s respectively. Of course, this is far more better than the announced speed provided in Msia. Feel free to visit this website for more details and do a test for your IP.

http://www.speedtest.net/global.php

Yonsei New Campus in Songdo, Incheon

Went to visit Yonsei's new campus in Songdo, Incheon last month. Songdo is targeted to be developed into a new city by the Korea government. There are many landmark high-rise buildings forming a future business hub and centre for higher educations. All reknown Korean Universities are having their new campus there forming Songdo Global University Campus. Yonsei is having its lifetime rival, Korea University nearby. So, it's going to be very interesting when it comes to the YonKo Festival annually.

Following are some info found in wikipedia:

New Songdo City is a planned international business center to be developed on 1,500 acres (6 km²) of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, 40 miles (65 km) west of Seoul, South Korea and connected to Incheon International Airport by a 7.4 mile (12.3 km) highway bridge, called Incheon Bridge. Along with Yeongjong and Cheongna, it is part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone[1]. The Songdo International Business District (IBD) will include a convention center, international school, museum, ecotarium, cultural center, Jack Nicklaus Golf Course, Northeast Asia Trade Tower (NEATT), First World Towers, and Central Park. The Incheon Tower is part of another parcel within New Songdo City. State-of-the-art schools, hospitals, apartments, office buildings and high-end cultural amenities are to be built in the city. Architectural hallmarks from around the world, including New York's Central Park and Venice's canals, are to be incorporated into the city. English is planned to be the lingua franca. This 10-year development project is estimated to cost in excess of $40 billion, making it the largest private development project ever undertaken anywhere in the history of the world. The project aspires to make the city and South Korea the preeminent business hub of Asia.
When completed in 2015, the city's infrastructure will be a test bed for new technologies, and the city itself will exemplify a digital way of life. "It will be one of the world's first cities in which all information systems - residential, medical, business - are linked." [1]
Songdo IBD development is being undertaken by an international joint venture led by Gale International and POSCO. The masterplan was designed by the New York office of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). Infrastructure development, labor, and funding are also being provided by the city of Incheon.

연고전 2009 Yonsei and Korea University Festival

It is end of summer again and Yonko Festival is once again the limelight of all. Five games including ice hockey, basketball, baseball, soccer and rugby were played. Both Yonsei and Korea Univeristy won two games and draw in one game.

I dint go to watch the game at Olympic park due to my class schedule on Friday. Saturday was a busy day for homework and meeting my visiting cousin and friends to Seoul who happended to book their hotel in Shinchon. They were able to experience the aftermath of the festival because students from both Yonsei and Korea University were having a huge party inside and outside of the University near Shinchon. They sing and cheer in front of the pub and restaurant asking for free beer and soju. The owner of the restaurant will listen to their cheers and offer the prepared souvenir for them. This is a yearly culture and the owners are more than happy to award the drinks and some food to the students because they are the main customer in Shinchon area.

There was a concert party in the campus . Free beer and popcorn were served too. It has been great night and i had a good time with my cousin and her friends who fly to Jeju island the next day.

Hongik University Industrial Design Exhibition

Went to Hongik University Industrial Design Exhibition last week. Was invited by an Argentinian Kyobo (Korean born in Argentina). The exhibition shows final and 3rd year students products and ideas on certain topik such as industrial products for emergency rescue, hygiene and ect. I like to visit industrial design exhibition because it creates new idea on things which can be done in a different way. "The best gift that God had gaven to us is the ability to imagine"---Albert Einstein.

Girl Scout of Korea, 12th International Camp

The Girl Scouts of Korea (GSK) had successfully organized the 12th International Camp from 5 to 11 August 2009. The camp was held at Incheon Grand Park, Incheon, Korea. The Asia Pacific Region, WAGGGS is one of the sponsors of this camp. Participants from all around the world gathered for the magnificent activities, shared their thoughs and enjoyed their friendship together in a week and more.

I joined other students from Argentina, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, The Philippines, Germany, Mozambique and ect as the international volunteering staffs in the camp. We normally start to set up our countries' booth in the morning and waiting for the campers. What we do were to introduce our home country's culture, dance, games and any other traditional elements to the campers. The campers were from all over the world, of course with majority local Korean kids and children. The were so cute and we had a wonderful week together.

My booth consist of Malaysia, Kazakstan, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. I got to meet the friendly girl scoutss from Thailand, Myanmar, The Philippines, , Japan, Maldives, , Poland, Germany, Fiji, Taiwan and HongKong too. On the other hand, i was once ignored by those from USA, England and Australia. Perhaps they thought i was just an English learner who simply wanna practice my English with them. Or have they heard too much of the bad things about Malaysia? Very good, our racist government had not been doing any good. Some international pressure is needed.

Hey, what am i writing here? Scouting should be promoting friendship and peace, yet i'm criticising our friends here. Will try to look for the sincere and polite group of our friend to correct my pre-occuppied thought. All and all, i enjoyed the camp very much with the air-cond toilet, open-group-bathroom, delicious food and the soft sleeping bag. ^^