[chinese blood, irish heart] - DEFUNCT

There's Padraig and I with two potential scammers in Tianamen Square, Beijing.

I've always known about the scams people pull on tourists, but it got especially annoying when we offered a 1,000 Yuan (100 euro) taxi ride to the city centre from the airport, when it only took about a 100 Y. And it's like that everyday; people are desperate to make money. Everyday we are bombarded with street hawkers offering us deals. In fact, the two girls up there were good enough to be subtle: at first they wanted to show us some of their art work in the museum. After a short tour of their shabby exhibition room, they drew us some calligraphy as a gift then wanted to sell us some more professional art. Perhaps they were hoping to wow us with their work that we would give in. Of course we didn't buy anything but we decided to give them a few quid for their hospitality. I guess everybody wins!

I only wonder about the news we've been hearing about China becoming a global superpower and an economic powerhouse soon to rival the U.S & Europe. In reality, it's the big businessmen and politicians that really benefited from China's growth. A huge majority of Chinese aren't earning what they should be. I would think most Chinese here in Ireland whether they be studying or working, were lucky enough to amass the money to get out of China and come get 10 times higher wages here. But such is the fate of capitalism- wealth falls into the hands of the few. And especially under the dictation of the Communist Party, they don't have to pride on wealth distribution measures, after all there's over a billion Chinese to deal with!

People have got to start learning better English, what with the Olympics in two years time. Chinese efficiency needs some tuning too. The services & attitudes we came up with shabby to say the least. Our hotel was a four star yet it felt like a cheap motel. What's worse our conditioning was broken and when I asked maintenance about it they just told me to open a window! It would've been OK if not for the construction work outside that went on till 4 am!

To be honest I really don't like Beijing. All I wanted to see was Tianamen, Forbidden City and the Great Wall and then get the fuck out. But only after achieveing two, I had to leave early because my eczema was getting worse and I wanted to go see my dermatologist in HK again to get it treated ASAP. The UV treatment takes about 2 weeks so I had better start now.

Cambodia

After years of political strife, 2004 saw the Kingdom of Cambodia transform into a constitutional monarchy ruled by King Norodom Sihamoni. Though ravaged by war and atrocities by the Khmer Rouge in the 70’s, the people of Cambodia are still one of the world’s most friendliest and peaceful people. With palms together, a warm traditional greeting ‘Sur sdey’ is way to bond good relations. Its Buddhist heritage and enchanting history of Angkorian period is a testament to the strength of Cambodians.

Yet beneath the shroud of welcoming faces and luscious Buddhist temples, many Cambodians suffer from abject poverty, high infant mortality rates and malnutrition, especially in rural areas. The social, educational and economic destruction left by the Khmer Rouge has put Cambodia in a struggling recovery. Therefore NGO’s like Concern are playing a vital role rebuilding a shattered country and improving the livelihoods of these people. Although the income per capita is steadily increasing, civil war and internal strife continues to weaken the already stagnating economy.

The nature of Cambodia’s development and inherent poverty leads to many social problems such as crime, rape, trafficking, exploitive child labour and violation of human rights. It is worth reporting on these issues not just for journalistic reasons, but also to provide information and statistics for other organisations on how to deal with these problems. In March this year, journalists and NGO staff witnessed government forces evicting over 200 families from Kbal Spean village resulting in 5 deaths and 40 injuries. These mass evictions are an unfortunate trend in poor rural areas and highlights the need to protect these communities and giving them a voice in the court of law.

Coverage of the continued development of women’s and children’s rights are also worthwhile for these two groups are vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and domestic violence. By offering them education and empowerment, they can take leading roles in rebuilding Cambodian society.
In addition to writing reports from the field, I can also use my own audio/visual equipment for greater effectiveness.
Tourism is one of Cambodia’s biggest industries; with its magnificent Angkor Wat, lively Phnom Penh and beauty of Siem Reap, reporting on Cambodia’s attractions for external sources may help to boost its tourism economy.

When I went to Japan 3 years ago, I had walked so much that my toes was cut from the inside of my shoe from walking too much! When I came back home I noticed some blisters had been growing on my toe. Went to the GP and said it was Athlete's foot. So a year later the blisters had grown symmetrically and was becoming a pain. Went to see a Chiropodist and said it was a viral infection so I used an ointment for the next few months. Seemed to work for awhile but this summer it had gotten considerably worse. So bad that I could barely walk and the same thing was happening to my hand.
So finally this week I went to our family's GP and have been officially diagnosed with 'Pompholyx Eczema.' Well well.. after 2 years I finally know.
For half the summer i've been limping because it had grown viruently on the sole of my foot. That equals no running, sports and a lot of stress. After being denied a US visa for the third and final time, the frustration and anger may have been a precursor. In mid-July I went to see a Chinese herbal doctor and I followed his treatment for about 4 weeks. Although there was improvement, it flared up soon after. So I felt quite distressed.
Now the same thing is happening on my hand. I was surprised at how quickly it spread so now i'm shitting myself whenever I see a teeny blister anywhere on my limbs, knowing it might flare up in the near future.
So i'm following a strict treatment regime now. It's so tiring and stressing that I had to take some leave off work. What's worse is that I'm going travelling next week and I hope I can improve my condition.. for a while. So that's why I'm staying at home full time to take care of this situation. I know eventually I'll have to live with this new condition. It's frightening to know that I have to live with the prospect of eczema flaring up at any given time. Even more painful that it cannot be cured entirely but controlled.