Lost & Found

The boy that has no name

I took pictures of him in a classroom last year in December. It was an orphanage near Thamel, not far from where I stayed.

I didn't know his name. Worst still, I lost the email address he gave me.

Tomorrow when I arrive Kathmandu, the first thing I will do is to try to locate him. And give him this picture I promised a year ago.

I hope he will not find me a stranger. Wish me luck.

The young orphan whose name I forgot

On the road 10

In the comfort of a stranger

I do not know how others feel. But being with a stranger, to me, can be quite a refreshing experience.

When you are on the road travelling, you are bound to meet some.

Be they the taxi driver that takes you around, the waiter that serves you, the hotel manager that accommodates you, or the bunch of kids that always pesters you for candies or money.

You can't walk away from them. For you can't probably survive in a strange country alone.

A stranger, if you observe it mindfully, provides you with a great opportunity to practice non-judgmental way of looking at things. When you see him or her for the first time, you have no burden from your previous baggage, and therefore you are more likely to look at the person as he or she is.

You will not label that person as good or bad, interesting or boring, hardworking or lazy, until you know him or her better. That's the trickiest part, once you know a person in details, you begin to judge with your own dualistic notions based on the information you yourself collected.

I like meeting strangers on the road. That feeling of non-judgment really releases me.

An old stranger I met in Patan

Viral buddhism

Karmapa on Facebook

When asked what his life mission was for the 21st century, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, now 23 years old, promptly replied: " My mission in this life time is mainly dharma activity. However the dharma must change in order to suit the time and the needs of society and its people. I may give the Buddha dharma a new external shape. I will update its expression so it can most effectively benefit the people in this modern time."

Indeed, his statement comes timely, especially in this high tech era where playlist.com replaces conventional hi fi, and sms spreads the news faster than BBC and CNN.

I was on the net last night. and to my surprise I came across the 17th Karmapa on the Facebook too, with thousands of fans across the globe checking out his activities on a daily basis. He has quickly risen to be an iconic star in the west after confirmation by the 14th Dalai Lama that he was the incarnation of the 16th Karmapa who used to reside at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim.

His recent visit to the USA proved he has more than just good looks. His presence at the venue drawed in as many as 30,000 faithful devotees. His talks inspired many who came close to tears.

Even I was tempted, though not successfully, to become a fan on his Facebook.

www.facebook.com/pages/Karmapa/10737498099

In Rumtek or any part of Sikkim I saw him everywhere

Moroccan touch 1

說走就走

旅行，其實就是短期離家出走的經歷。

每一趟的出走，我把家人、朋友、工作及熟悉的環境擱置一旁，全心投入一個陌生的國度，讓自己疲于奔走的心暫時沉澱于異國風情的空茫中。

和其他旅人相比，我每一回上路，都不攜帶《孤星》旅游指南，只隨着性情和喜好，不管任何季節，一興起，背上背包，說走就走。

發現 Quarzazate，也是一次沒有設防的遊歷。

從卡薩布蘭卡 一路往南下，途經馬拉喀什，整十個小時的旅程中，我風塵僕僕地在高速公路上穿行于荒漠及峽谷間。當日光漸漸依山盡，夜幕低垂下的阿特拉斯山脈，美得難以言喻。

那柔柔的淡黃色月光撒瀉在覆蓋着微微發光的雪白山坡上，像剛抹上脂粉的回族少女。四周一片山靄蒼蒼，時有倦鳥歸巢，偶爾經過山區的小村落，藏有幾許零星燈火，儼如夜空中的朦朧辰星，閃閃爍爍叫人難以捉摸。

山迴路轉處，都是鬼斧神工只有阿拉真神才能造就的雄偉峰嶺，還有那些用石板及泥塊層層疊疊建構起來的傳統民居，在一片田野好山水之中勾勒出家的形象，給予夜間趕路的我一份沁人的靜謐。

我知道，這一路上的月落烏啼，今生沒有多少個機會能再讓我重遇。

Quarzazate 古城入口處

Moroccan touch 2

獨享山空

張開雙眼，面前晨光流滿一地，石土建造的房子聳立在眼前，而冬晨懶懶的陽光正為眼前匠心獨運的一磚一石，一樑一瓦，鋪添瑰麗的色彩。甚至是生了鏽的鐵門，依稀還展現出巧奪天工，釋放出幽幽的摩洛哥文化精粹。

多年游走的經驗告訴我，那些通俗平凡的地方，往往天意安排無數次的重訪，而那些山明水秀人情豐厚的地方，卻往往總是匆匆一瞥。

所以，每回被眼前的景象觸動，我都恣意貪婪地吸收、品味、沉澱。

就在一個拐彎處，期待已久的景象排山倒海般向我涌來，如此的震撼和悸動，已是如今鮮有的體驗了。

五層高的 Ait Benhaddou 大古堡近在咫尺，泥磚古堡櫛比鱗次大放異彩，輝煌的金褐色在晨光的折射下有如一件稀世古老珍品。令我驚悚的是，卑賤的爛泥巴也能孕育出如此氣勢磅礡的雄偉建築。

我小心翼翼趨近，伸手觸摸那扇住滿歲月精虫的大拱門，感受古堡體內蘊藏的一點一滴精華。此時的我，早已變成一台攝影機，時刻警戒地發掘身旁的事物，惟恐錯過眼前的龐巨荒漠峽谷、匪夷所思的泥磚古堡，以及隨時在面前經過，身着鮮艷衣飾又笑容靦腆的巴巴里人。

古堡旁的一角，樓房牆壁的花巧裝潢與手繪紋樣，也同樣叫我傾心凝足近觀，我細心地將每個映入眼簾的畫面留下，永遠保持着原來的面目。

我低頭鑽進那些隱蔽的角落，迎着冷冽的北風，徐徐拾級而上。也幸好是旅游淡季，我不用在人潮推擠中亂了腳步和思緒，可以用冷靜的一顆心獨享山空。

爬上堡頂，居高臨下的角度很適合坐看這座天際山城，我循着崎嶇地面，進入每一間荒廢的房間尋幽探密，窗口外的景觀也隨着每一間不同的房間而變化。

雖是空山不見人，但聞人語嚮，古堡內似有似無的幽靈依舊徘徊不去，彷彿還浸淫在千年王朝的浩瀚記憶中。

卑賤的爛泥巴也能孕育出如此氣勢磅礡的雄偉建築

Moroccan touch 3

冬夜的饗宴

負責載我到 Ait Benhaddou 大古堡的司機叫Mohamad, 風趣的他曾參與好萊塢大制作 Gladiator 的場景布置。由于Quarzazate的地勢得天獨厚，地平線一覽無遺，許多經典名片如 Cleopatra, Kingdom of Heaven, Kundum 皆取景于此地。

Mohamad 是個典型的巴巴里人，友善率直又好客，他帶我回家作客，其妻子和孩子們皆對我的到訪雀躍不已。

傳統的摩洛哥家居有點類似中國的四合院，四周建有房間、廚房和客廳，中間的露天庭院則是冬日取暖的好地點。

在盛意難拒之下，我留下來和他們一家五口用晚飯，大伙兒圍坐在矮小的圓桌邊，一鍋地道的 Couscous 在冷冷的冬夜里吃起來，叫我這個過客感到異常的溫暖。

現在回想起來，那一頓飯雖然不是山珍海味，卻是我生命中最豐盛的饗宴。

Quarzazate 當地流行一句家戶喻曉的格言：登門造訪的客人是上帝派來的，給予他們你所擁有的。

我有幸親身體驗這句格言的含義，實屬人生一大樂事。

Mohamad和他的傳統摩洛哥家居

Give a little

The Little Painters

Saigon Children's Charity approached me to help them design two sets of greeting cards, one for Christmas, the other for Tet Vietnamese New Year.

A total of 200 children paintings was sent to me for my perusal and selection.

In those colourful strokes I saw hope and ambition, and a new generation eagerly to explore the world of opportunities outside.

The charity kicked off with a spectacular live performance by HCMC Ballet Symphony and Orchestra at the Conservatory of Music, followed by an Art and Photography exhibition sponsored by HSBC Bank.

Ms Thu, the organiser from Saigon Children's Society, called up one day, and told me the greeting cards were doing very well.

In return I wished her all the best for the year of 2009.

One of the Christmas paintings.

One of the Tet Vietnamese New Year paintings.

Going home

回家

離開家鄉已經整整15年，由于工作因素，曾先後定居新加坡、曼谷及胡志明市。

總覺得自己活像一個居無定所的游牧民族，一路上隨着周圍環境的改變而更換目的地。

就這樣來來回回十數年，從湄公河邊的寧靜公寓，密密麻麻的政府組屋，機場旁的法式民樓，到土生土長的民居板屋，回家，因地點不同，感受也不一。

唯一的不變，是家的味道。

身為一位廣告創意工作者，自己確實是比常人較能接受新奇事物。家的詮釋對我來說，也有了不同的精神與物質層面。

一個創意是先從一張白紙開始的。而一個家也是始于一個陌生的空間，經過日月精華的悉心照料及主人和房子的朝夕相處，家的氣氛才會全然地釋放出來。

住不久的房子不會有家的味道。就像床頭上的舊被單的味道，往往令我們更容易入眠，新的被單在怎麼華麗，也取代不了舊的。

最近回一趟吉隆坡公幹，才赫然發現茨廠街賣福建麵的金蓮記有了新家，但我還是喜歡坐在舊攤前享受嘈雜的叫賣聲。

上個月回曼谷，常光顧的那家日落街老字號餐館也已搬家，取而代之的是一棟別墅洋樓。

家，不會永遠固定在一點，不會永遠不變，但百變中依然不會離開主人的存在。

家和主人是互相依存的。

偶爾一連幾個星期到幾個不同國家出差，家的界線也隨着出入境的頻密而變得模糊起來。有時候，晨早醒來，時空的交錯下也難免混淆，不知自己身在何處。

家，時時隨着“境”轉。但對我來說，回到哪一個家，我似乎完全已不在乎。

記得把心也帶回家去。