The Invictus

Bangkok's Emerald Buddha Temple......................................Tiananman Square

Just back from a business trip to Bangkok & Beijing! A trip that was a little bit enjoyable, and a lot tiresome! Spent 1 night and 1 day in Bangkok, before flying out to Beijing. Spent exactly one 24-hours day in Beijing, before leaving back for Singapore...

Given the short stay and the purpose of my visit (work, remember?!), cudnt see much of these places...But, then, i must say i managed to see whatever maximum i cud in that time...
In Bangkok, I saw the Grand Palace (where the king still stays), and the oh-so-beautiful Emerald Buddha Temple - Thailand's most important Temple...This temple is like no other I have seen - back in India or anywhere else...Its breathtakingly beautiful with stunning colors - glass, gold, emerald and all kinds of colorful items decking the walls!

Beijing was Brrrrrrr--Cold!!! Just managed to see the Tiananman Square (and the various monuments around it - albeit from the outside)..Tiananman Sq. is this wide open space where people - lots of people - come for a walk or to fly a kite! I also met quite a few college-going youngsters who come there for a specific reason: To practise their spoken English! Yes, these guys come there so that they can speak to English-speaking foreigners, and get a chance to practise / improve their own English-speaking skills!! Some of the guys / gals I spoke to told me that these days unless they learn to speak English, they dont get jobs...and English language "colleges" are opening up left, right & centre (or shud it be "Left-of-centre" in a communist China?!)...And thats not the end - Most bof these people infact add a "Christian / English" name to their original chinese names! e.g. "Biao Zhao" becomes "Bob Zhao", and you are expected to call him "Just call me Bob"!

Makes me wonder...in India, we dont make too much out of English..Well, its a Language and an important one at that...So we learn, so we speak..thats about it...we dont read too much into it..Its a norm, not a differentiator...but in China - its a big differentiator...This in Beijing, the capital city of China..You can imagine what the situation could be in the rest of China.....

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