A Sort of Christmas Message

CHRISTMAS 2019

My long time gardener, Glenn, has moved on to different pursuits.   I have cut down the stocks at my home food pantry  - in fact, I even managed to change my 

day-to-day nutrition, on a consistent basis, for some time now.    There seems to be more choice in contemporary society, but it has not meant a rise in in the quality of what has been offered.   The fish in my home tank are weary hardy, continuing to do their swims, both horizontal wise and vertically, providing me, still, with some measure of inspiration.

The 90 minute long commute by train to the Sydney Basin gets increasingly crowded.  Some commuters selfishly continue to prevent others from sitting next to them on three seat rows.  Those who deserve seats for a rather long commute have to stand or ask the more able to move over.   Occasionally, there are signs of human civility in public but ethical standards are lowering or people are not talking at all to each other but staring at their portable screens.

Such train rides are useful real life laboratories that showcase the best or worst of human behaviour.

I still drop by to visit specific neighbours once a week, maintaining our friendship face to face.   Mates observe that there is more gusto in my step.   There have been scandals and minor dramas in my resident village, but such is the vibe of human habitation.    Yet there is so easy communication with the world beyond my village.

Once again, I came across iced landscapes, hazy skies and little rainfall.   Bondi,Watsons Bayand North Sydney returned to my life with getaways and chill outs with good mates.   I loved walking at twilight at these places, feeling the outdoors, appreciating the changing ambiance and enjoying the company.

The persistent ageing of infrastructure in my adopted city was punctuated by the opening of a gleaming new metro line not far from my previous suburb, but it can still be disheartening to have to put up with the quality of the rest of public facilities.     Public toilets are not kept clean, a shame that Australian attitudes bear when compared to what we find in Japan, Singapore and China.  What a visitor first sees – the airport, main rail stations and roadsides with litter for example - can be embedded in their impressions no matter what the related excuse is.   

Eating out has cost more this past year, no matter what the inflation statistics issued by Canberra tell me.   What was originally street food is now charged by some at exorbitant prices. There are more barista styled cafes in the Illawarra  - does that mean there are more coffee drinkers?   

Restaurants that are not top class can still put up minimum spend requirements on customers. Specific eating outlets, churning out food that are not particularly inspiring, can still impose limits on the length of time you occupy a table, as the owners insist on having three revenue sessions per evening.   Yum charestaurant cashiers can unashamedly ask for tips when you pay the bill.   Wait staff can carry fancy laptops to take your order but may not be sufficiently well trained when interacting with customers.   The personal space between meal tables can get too close when operators pay expensive rents.   China town in Haymarket is dominated by other demographics and cuisine  - no longer Cantonese.    The food business is still pockmarked by underpayment to staff, lots of hype and high rental costs.

Commercial food in parts of the Sydney Basin became more East Asian, highlighted by such exotics like Mala Tang(spicy numbing soups) and more outlets of bubble tea and Taiwan dessert.    I seem to consume more east Asian, Greek and Italian culinary instead of my intended favourites of Spanish,  Sri Lankan and Serbian.     Oh yes, there were several occasions of savouring those Portuguese custard tarts and sashimi.

Hong Kong Palace, first Cantonese restaurant of some standard in my region closed down after several months.   There have been recent closures of my other fav restaurants  - Botolliin Burwood, Cornersmithin Marrickville, Sha Keein Woollaware, Costa Azzurain Fairy Meadow.     Yet at the same time, I rediscovered the inherent joys of crafted cheese in Sydney’s Shire, fusion at BillsBondi, contemporary styled Korean bakeries in Eastwood and home cooking.

Has the outside world become more risky and dangerous?   Every generation of Earth time has faced its peculiar set of scenarios.  Mankind may have been good at bettering technology, but has to improve in acting beyond both individual and collective selfish egos and narrow mindsets.   Every news event can be boiled down to this inherent cause.    We are not unique, we are just an animal species that got real lucky in competition with other life forms.  

The balance of power amongst nations has shifted.  Managing this optimally requires visionary leadership, sufficient time and new ideas.   Perhaps the more things change, the more remains the same.   May I wish you and family the best of this festive season.

Kindly Yours,

Kevin Yong 

High Speed Trains - China

My recent experience in south China was only riding on High Speed Trains or the HSR for segments between Chaoshan station near Shantou and Wuyi Shan station a thousand km north west.

The HSR station did slow down to stop at certain major cities along the way like Fuzhou. The trains had commenced from Shenzen first thing in the day and was heading to reach Beijing in the evening.   The benefits of such an infrastructure were already obvious to me, especially in a populous nation like China, with numerous conurbations, industries and economic activity.   A thousand years ago, the Grand Canal from central to northern China had already illustrated the significant benefits of a transport path that transformed the economy and politics of a growing nation.


At the most, my group experienced a maximum train speed of around 285 km per hour.  I understand the Shanghai to Beijing express normally exceeds that speed. The record speed achieved for a Non-Maglev train was in 2011 when a speed of 487.3 km per hour was recorded on a Beijing to Shanghai test run.   The Shanghai Maglev train can chalk up to speeds of 431 km per hour.


There are different companies in China allocated to operate the various HSR lines across this vast nation.  So apparently operational service quality can vary.  My group was happy with the high standards shown in customer service to my group of six seated with first class cabin tickets.   The rolling stock however is centrally owned by the China Railway Corporation.

Photo credit -  Ms. Gan Siok San

The HSR stations are huge with sizeable waiting halls.  There are various snack shops and restaurants to while the time away, for it is always good to be early than late when catching the HSR.


Boarding and disembarkation is orderly and tickets are issued with lots of security measures.  Electrical points, clothes hooks and snacks are liberally provided.  The aisle between seats in our specific coach is wider than on aircraft  business class.


I observed on-board toilets on HSR trains in China are cleaned regularly per hour.    Staff are smartly dressed.  The take off on these HDR trains is so smooth and stable to passengers, I did not even feel it!   The technology was initially implemented through agreements with Siemens, Alstom, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Bombardier, but later developed further with Chinese input.    China has the longest mileage of high speed train networks in the world, befitting a nation with many long distance points to connect.

I was impressed that the HSR could operate on a high mountain region like Wuyi Shan.   This UNESCO world heritage site has elevations from 200 to 2000 metres above sea level.  Back in Australia, the powers that be gave an opinion that it was not possible to build a fast train network through hilly terrain - so when I was sitting in the HSR, with my window views hurtling through topography and scenery that was more rugged than in Wollongong, I realised that I had been hoodwinked.


The importance of having sufficient funding to build and realise the HSR is critical - many nations just do not have the funds tucked under their belt.


HSR maximum speeds in China were moderated after an incident near Wenzhou several years ago in central China.      The HSR runs on specially built platforms that carry only the dedicated rail track, so it is inevitable that these tracks are built far away from already developed sections of the landscape.  To travel to a HSR station is a treat itself, for by road one gets to view the surrounding city streets and country side before arriving.


There is therefore a transport business opportunity for the locals in picking up and dropping off HSR passengers.  I am happy that public and personal security is tightly enforced at such stations.  Bags are scanned through machines and tickets are issued only when personal identity documents are matched with on line booking details.   Passengers are only allowed on to boarding platforms around ten to fifteen minutes before the specific HSR arrives.


Over the side seat racks are relatively narrow to hold luggage, so do avoid bringing bags that are too large - medium size would be the practical maximum to put them on such racks.   Travel is made with not much stress on these HSR.   

The Northern Explorer - Palmerston North to Wellington

The Northern Explorer - National Park New Zealand

The ferns, grass and native vegetation - relatively untainted, with still the trekking spirit nurtured.

The daily train from Auckland's Brittomart Station to Wellington City terminus rolls on past coniferous as it makes progress  in the early afternoon through the centre of North Island New Zealand

Life fights on, even in cold temperatures, little flora persist amongst difficult conditions.

Farming country, plains and valleys - the classic country New Zealand.

The viewing coach lets passengers embrace the fresh air, natural smells and captivating sights more readily than within an enclosed cabin.

A wet climate adds to the allure of the Long White Cloud - and engenders the right mix of factors supporting sheep and cattle farming.

Through mist and toil, the ground is so fertile to make my life grow.

Climbing uphill, one builds character and dignity - and takes pride in the effort to persist and overcome.

"Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side"

Valley deep, mountain high.

Self explanatory, 3pm on a June Monday.

The Northern Explorer - Waikato Valley New Zealand

Last Train Out of Singapore - Tanjung Pagar

The governments of the two nearby nations of Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to terminate, by mid-2011, the

historical rail service from Tanjung Pagar in downtown Singapore to Johor Baru, capital city of Johor State on the Malaysian Peninsular. This railway line has been etched in the memories of many, for those who came from British Malaya to find their fortunes in the island of Singapore; of those who went through the harrowing and challenging days of Japanese-occupied World War 2; for countless backpackers in the seventies and eighties of the last century; and to many foreigner tourists for which this stretch of the journey heralded the start of the Oriental Express to Bangkok. Amongst all these individuals are the forebears of many who hailed from or migrated to and settled in Australia and New Zealand in the past thirty years. Many war veterans of these two Antipodean countries knew this railway well as young blokes - on the dark side, it was their commencement of the trip to the intern camps maintained by the Imperial Japanese Army along the River Kwai in Thailand.

The colonial symbol of transport (above) sculptured on one for the four pillars at the entrance to the Tanjung Pagar rail station on the southern end of Singapore Island.

The ticketing counter of the Tanjung Pagar Station (below) has been maintained by Malaysian staff of the KTM, the government body that currently runs the railway network on the Malaysian Peninsular - and successor to the Malayan Railways under British colonial rule before 1957. The station has high ceilings, white-wash facades and has an ambiance not changed since the 1960s. It is kept spotlessly clean like the starched garb of officials who came from England and Scotland to serve the Empire.

Food outlets at Tanjung Pagar (literally meaning the Hedged Cape) include

Indian inspired rotis, freshly made through the twirling of the dough on a hot plate (below), a fascinating start to the Oriental Express adventure up north to Thailand.

A train passenger gets through Singapore immigration and heads towards the train platform.

The train journey north to the Malaysian border hardly requires an hour.

Last Train out of Singapore - The Ride

From Tanjung Pagar station, we chugged along along the rail tracks to Woodlands, going north across the island of Singapore, surrounded by strips of bush, mostly tropical plants, including banana trees, herbal species and leafy shrubs. Beyond the bush, we could spot modern day housing estates, primarily high rises, but accompanied by meticulously laid out gardens, lawns and running tracks.

(Image above credit to Ms Lim Bee Keok)

Every passenger (above) is required to get out of their coach at Woodlands, located at the central northern tip of Singapore Island. This is to enable stamping of passports before returning to the allocated train seats and the crossing of the short Causeway bridge between Singapore and Malaysia (across the narrow Straits of Johor).

End of our short dash - we arrive in Johor Baru rail station (above and below).

Many thanks to especially Bee and Kit for suggesting and organising this unique experience.