New Year celebrations started off in Hong Kong with a bang. Synchronized fireworks exploding from tall high rise buildings in perfect precision. My first thought was, how and when did they do the rehearsal for it? At night... when the population of the city were asleep in bed? This was the International New Years celebration on the 31st of January 2011. Most of the people we met had decided to take off to warmer parts of the world for the Chinese New Year which started on the 23rd of January but we did not want to miss any part of it. Many traditions are upheld but one of the main ones is to have Lai See packets ready filled with crisp bank notes to give to anyone who wished you a happy new year. Kung Hei Fat Choi! We had thought that the fireworks we had enjoyed on the 31st were spectacular. The ones we saw on the 24th of January were even better. Absolutely stunning. Decorations for the celebrations consisted of trees with little oranges: Trees with the Lai See packets on them (not full of money I think or else the tree would be bare)! There are certain traditions for Chinese New Year, like you must visit your relatives on the first day of the Chinese New year and must not fight with anyone or else you will be fighting all year round. We were told that the weather will be dull in Hong Kong and most places will be shut but that was not the case. When we went to the malls they were decorated beautifully, a little quieter than normal but still alive! This was one of the many puppet shows we saw: The colour red is very lucky for the Chinese and as this is the year of the Dragon, it is very special indeed. We heard that many people would be trying to have a baby this year so that they would fall under the year of the Dragon. We went to a wishing tree festival which was magnificent and very colourful: Entrance to festival Stunning lantern The Chinese are very superstitious and everything they do has a reason and a meaning. They are also very wise because a lot of it makes sense too. We had to write our wishes on a card that was attached to a string tied to an orange and throw it up a tree where it had to stay. We did the same by floating our wishes on a candle in the water. We were given bags of sweets that are meant to be lucky. All in all it has been the most culturally enriching experience and we are beginning to love Hong Kong and the people here. So I must end by wishing you a very Happy New Year of the Dragon, 2012. Kung Hei Fat Choi. May all your dreams come true.

 

We had undergone a long journey to get to Male, the capital of Maldives and we had to spend a night there. So far I was not impressed. Perhaps it was just tiredness and the constant lugging of our luggage from place to place. The next morning we took a sea plane to get to the Island, Iru Fushi. It was an adventurous flight in every sense of the word. We sat snuggly on the leather seats of this very small aircraft with the ear plugs that they had provided plugged into our ears. I must admit I had to shut my eyes for most of the journey to block out the noise and the thoughts of 'if we crashed we would land in the sea,' out of my head. My family however excitedly looked out of the window, munching happily on sweets, using the excuse that they were helping their 'air sickness.'

 Sea plane that takes you to the Island

The words that I have used to recount my perception of this place cannot do it justice and hence I have added pictures. Paradise describes it perfectly. The white sand and the blue colour of the sea are what I had only seen in magazines and often I had thought that the photographers must have fiddled with the colours to make it look better. I was wrong.

       The island felt like it was deserted. Although there were many people staying at the hotel  it was so quiet – just what we needed. So other than eating, drinking and the water sports there was nothing to do but relax… absolute bliss! Let me now tell you a little about Maldives.

Maldives lies in the Indian Ocean, South of India. It comprises of 1200 coral islands, only 200 of which are inhabited. It is the world’s most dispersed country. The total population is 313,920. It is the lowest country on the planet as the average ground level is 1.5m above sea level. It also is the country with the lowest highest point in the world, which is 2.3m. Can you believe that? By now I realised that the Maldives had many firsts in world facts.

    We were lucky to stay in both a beach villa as well as one in the middle of the ocean on stilts.

It was mind boggling to think how the waves did not sweep away all these stunning villas that were just built on poles protruding from the bed of the ocean, being only 1.5m above sea level. Surely in a storm all of it could be destroyed easily? Well this is why that does not happen.

Maldives is composed of coral debris and living coral. The coral acts as a natural barrier against the sea. The circular group of coral islets form lagoons. The name Maldives is derived from Sanskrit, Maladvipa which means a garland of Islands. So going back to why the low level structures don’t get destroyed, there is another reason as well. The islands are set parallel to the reef and each one has its own protective fringe of reef. The opening surrounding the coral allows in the calmer lagoon waters and the barrier reefs protects the islands from storms and the high waters of the Indian Ocean. How nature works never fails to amaze me. It is however a concern for the Maldivian government that the rising sea levels due to global warming could threaten the existence of the Island nation.

  Vegetation is limited to mangrove, banyan trees and coconut palms and odd looking trees that looked like they had a multitude of legs holding them up. The islands also have limited wildlife but we saw many variations of lizards and I think that the tourists, baring all, were a feast for the mosquitos!

     We did meet the island’s parrot who was very friendly and drank only red bull out of a can. We were told that he despises water and will only drink out of a can!

 The limited wildlife is made up by the abundance of marine life, some 2000 rare species of fish, including reef sharks, manta rays and green sea turtles.

               In 1968 Maldives gained independence from Britain and the Sultanate became an Islamic republic. Originally between 300BC and 300AD the settlers in Maldives are said to have come from Kerala (Dravidian people and Tamils), Orissa in India (Sinhalese people) and Sri Lanka. Dhivehi and Sinhalese are the two most widely spoken languages.

The economy is sustained by tourism and fishing and took quite a battering after the Tsunami in 2004 but soon recovered the following year.

We spent a week on the Island. Snorkelling, and other water sports were the main forms of entertainment. Not to mention swimming in the pool and in the sea, the games room and tennis as well.

You could just sit and gaze at the view for endless hours and be completely mesmerised by the beauty of the place. Complete relaxation!

     After 7 days part of me did not want to leave, but I think we had done it all. I did feel for the inhabitants of the island as I met a lovely lady who worked there called Janine. She had moved there to work a few months ago from Germany. She told me that ‘Island fever’ can set in when you just need to get away. I can understand that. Male is not a very large city either so escapism from the island from time to time is essential. I never thought I would ever say this but I was rather pleased to see the civilisation and the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong again!

I would highly recommend Maldives as your next holiday destination. It is like being in Heaven. Totally surreal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

(also known as the Moon cake festival)

I would like to share some stories about the Mid-Autumn festival with you. It is a day that the Chinese celebrate by lighting lanterns. They go to see the moon in large groups and give each other moon cakes. Here are some tales behind the celebrations:

I. The Lady - Chang Er

The time of this story is around 2170 B.C. The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved by a strong and tyrannical archer Hou Yi. He succeeded in shooting down nine of the suns. One day, Hou Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However his beautiful wife Chang Er drank the elixir of life in order to save the people from her husband's tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating and flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he didn't shoot down the moon.

III. The Hare - Jade Rabbit

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit."

IV. The Cake - Moon Cake

During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.

They say that after the Mid-Autumn festival, when the moon is the biggest and brightest the weather begins to change and we have certainly noticed it getting cooler. On the 12^th of September night we went to Repulse bay beach to celebrate with many others and waited for the moon to show in the sky. We lit lanterns and it was magical. The moon was magnificent. Moon cakes however are an acquired taste but we did try some!

 

It was absolutely magical. I spent and hour with each year group from Year 3 though to year 6. We did a brainstorming workshop on how to write a story and the theme was 'Africa' which is where my third book is set.

We ended each session by doing a quiz for which the winners will get a prize.

I must admit that after signing about 300 times (books and book marks), my hand was rather sore that evening, although it was a pleasure to spend time with each child individually, however brief it was.

Then we had assembly where each Year group had something to read for book week. Each performance was special and the stage was set for the 'stories in a tent' theme. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them and the story telling was of a high standard.

The day ended with the 'Library opening ceremony' where I was given the honour of cutting the ribbon. During the day plenty of photographs were taken by the school photographer as well as by the Surrey Advertiser, so watch this space.

The library itself looked beautiful and all the new furniture and book stands were complimented by a brand new rug which stole the show. It was colourful and had the world map on it. A great library and the school should be proud.

What impressed me about the school was that the parents and staff all worked together to improve the school. It was a pleasure to meet some of the parents and Governers of the school.

So thank you for inviting me St Bede's and thank you for the flowers. I hope to see you all again with my third book and till then - Use that library and keep reading!!!

Anjali Mittal