KZ Gedenkstätte Dachau

"Arbeit macht frei" (lit. "Work makes free" => work sets you free). This was a motto commonly used at most concentration camps and was one of the first things prisoners see when they walk in.

KZ (Konzentrationslager), or concentration camps, have now become one of the representations of life and rule under Nazi Germany. In particular, the one at Dachau was to become the model for the construction of the other concentration camps. On Saturday morning, me, Bernard and Enrique decided to visit this place that now stands as a memorial (Gedenkstätte) to those who've perished.

A whip on the apparatus. Don't need to tell you what this is for.

Many people relate the plight of the Jews when they talk about the concentration camps. However, there were also a large number of political opposition, poles, russians, homosexuals, communists etc. that were captured and placed inside concentration camps.

The original 2 crematories, used to burn corpses. When these couldn't handle the increasing amount, they added 4 more.

In the concentration camps it was very hard to survive. Sometimes you don't get any food, yet you have to toll long hours doing physical work. Death came in many ways: starvation to death, shot, disease, hanged, due to human experiments etc. It was really quite tragic. A learnt a lot more about the situations that the prisoners had to go through than I did in Berlin. There was a museum that explained what happened through the ages at KZ Dachau and what procedures the prisoners went through when they were brought in. We also watched a screened video about KZ Dachau, and there were lots of images of skinny (bony, I would say) people, as well as corpses etc. of those who perished during their stay or on the trains.


However, as much as I pity those who have suffered, a lot of injustice is still going on around the world today. Darfur, Israel/Palestine etc. Concerning the Jewish population...they are much better off now but if they ever think that past brutality towards them has now given them the right to mistreat others, then I think these memorials etc. have not met their objective to enlighten people. I always see the message "Never Again", which I assume calls for an end to atrocities made towards races, people, humans. Yet it is still continuing, and sadly Jews are committing it too. It's a mockery of sorts. To make it work they have to practice what they preach. These thoughts just popped in my head as I was walking around the compound.

The original barracks have been torn down but 2 have since been rebuilt. There were 30 in total. Only the foundations remain for the rest (1oom X 10m each) and the area is filled with gravel.

But anyway, I'm glad that I have improved my knowledge concerning WWII, and I am glad that there are survivors of KZ Dachau who are striving to make the world better.

The memorial sculpture on the site of the former "roll-call" grounds of the KZ Dachau.

Prague Trip (Part 2)

Day 3

On the 3rd day we woke up early. Left a note for the Europeans in case they decided to leave before we came back (they didn't. Lol). We wanted to see Karlův most early in the morning (as suggested by Lonely Planet).

almost empty streets

Passed by the Old Town Square first. Almost no one there! It was really a nice open large space and it felt like a really refreshing morning.

Pražský orloj (Astronomical Clock)

St. Nicolas Church

Shops surrounding the Old Town Square

There weren't many people on Karlův most so it was great. We crossed over and walked around the other side of the bridge. Saw some swans and ducks so we took some of our bread out to feed them. Then we walked South by the river and crossed over at another bridge. Walked south somemore to the famous Tančící dům (Dancing House). Striking architecture. We then went back to the hostel. The others just woke up. We fixed a time to meet for lunch and then we continued walking on our own. We went to Václavské náměstí (Wencelas Square) which is right beside our hostel and walked up towards the museum. Didn't enter though.

One of the many statues lining Karlův most

Me on the bridge, with the Castle and Cathedral on the hill at the background

Jump photo. Should do this more often! Haha.

Reminds me of my childhood days. Haha...

Dancing House

Wencelas monument along Václavské náměstí (Wencelas Square)

The three of us then decided to go back to the Castle area again to get the €2 souvenir. As we were leaving we saw a sign stating that the president's residence area (which is what you first see when you enter the castle grounds, should be their equivalent of the White House) was open to visitors today! So we decided to go in.

Marble floors and red-cushioned Sofas...

Chandeliers... so many that it was rather hot inside.

We then went to Tesco. The "shopping centre" looked worse than what I can find in Malaysia so it kinda reminded me I was in East Europe. It was kinda late as we walked back to the Old Town Square. Had some Glühwein and something. We then went to T.G.I. Friday's on Bernard's request. They actually have Singapore Sling on the menu!

The sign says Staroméstský Trdelník, dunno if that's the shop name or the food. Haha.

At night I joined the pillow fight. Lol.

Day 4

Woke up kinda late. We checked out but left our luggage/backpacks at the reception. Went to the shop outside Tesco to get a hotdog. Then we did some shopping near the Old Town region and around the "Pasar malam" area. Bought a T-shirt.

Hot Dog Czech style - dig a hole in a bun, squeeze some sauce inside and stick a sausage in. Tada!

The 3 of us then crossed over Karlův most (again) and trekked up Petřín hill. On top of the hill was Petřínská rozhledna, aka Eiffel Tower lookalike. There was a funicular train service but we didn't use it.

Going up Petřín hill, towards the "Hunger Wall"

the Eiffel Tower lookalike

Taking photos of Prague as we go up

Bye bye Prague!

Bought another T-shirt (after some hesitation. Could only find that particular T-shirt in one shop). Met up with the rest and then we took the train back to Munich.

On the train I mostly slept, read a book or ate stuff. If you recall from Day 1 I forgot to bring my passport. Well well, they checked at the Czech-German border. Jialat. Was explaining to the German customs officer in German that I forgot and stuff, but I had my student's card at least. The Czech customs guy seemed to want to let me off, but the German officer was kinda persistent and stuff, said I was to stay at the station until 7am (it was only 10pm or so then) until he came the next morning to get my details of activities in Czech and my friends were to bring my passport for me from Munich (!). Ludovic tried to argue for me but the officer accused him and my other friends, said that maybe they were bringing an illegal immigrant into Germany (me. lol). He left after awhile. It was just a shock tactic apparently. Managed to get back to Munich safely. Phew!

THE END

Prague Trip (Part 1)

Imagestation (where I used to upload my photos) is closing down in Feb 2008, so I have stopped using it. At my Photos! section at the sidebar of my blog I've uploaded photos from my HK/China trip, Sommeruni Course, Berlin trip and Prague trip. No captions, sorry. It'll take up too much time. Alternatively if you are friends with me on Facebook you can just see the photos from there.

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This trip was a sudden one and me, Bernard and Enrique made the sudden decision to join the Spanish guys after they invited us. Plus, the train ticket wasn't expensive and we had wanted to see a bit of East Europe.

Day 1

The train was a really early one so we got to Hauptbahnhof (main station) really early. It took some time to find our seats. Wasn't the usual type of train compartment and was not really as comfortable, but nonetheless acceptable by my standards. This is the first time I've travelled with Westerners (sorry, can't think of a better word). And this is also the first time I've travelled to a foreign country without a guide where they don't speak a language I know of.

Present: Me (M'sia), Bernard (S'pore), Enrique (HK), Ludovic (Fr), Jacobo, Maria, Pablo, Victor (Sp).

Arriving at the train station

The train ride was OK, but halfway I realised I didn't bring my passport! Got worried for awhile but thank goodness we passed the border and no one checked. The scenery in Czech was nice and calm... We reached the main station in Prague near noon time and proceeded to the hostel that Victor booked. He accidentally booked for next year! Lol! So we had to go to another hostel. We exchanged money at a shop below the hostel (They use Czech Koruna. I thought they switched to Euro; apparently only in 2012 or later).
Went to a restaurant recommended by the counter lady at the hostel. We wanted to eat the 84 Koruna meals but apparently they had none left (and they serve those until 3pm only. It was almost 3pm when we arrived). So we had to settle for 100+ Koruna ones. I tell you, it tasted so Chinese. Haha. Subsequent meals proved that the food tasted similar to Chinese food as well... Anyway, one thing I learned during this trip is that Spanish mealtimes are soooo "off" from what I deem "usual mealtimes". Lunch to them was like 3-4pm and dinner could be 10-11pm. @.@
Then we went to the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí). This should be the 布拉格广场 that is referred to in Jolin Tsai's song. The first thing that we saw as we walked towards the Old Town Square was the Astronomical Clock (Pražský orloj). "The Walk of the Apostles", which is a mechanical movement of some figurines occurs at the Astronomical Clock every hour.

Týn Cathedral

Me and Victor

We then went over to the famous Karlův most (Charles Bridge). It was quite dark already so we couldn't really see much. It would've been rather romantic if there wasn't such a huge crowd though. There were street musicians filling the air with some nice jazz music. And some distance away the castle was bathed in floodlights.

View from the Old Town side of Prague

We then went back to bathe. The Europeans then went to party and the Asians stayed behind. However the next day we heard that they didn't manage to go to any party though.

Day 2

Went out late coz we all woke up late. We actually skipped breakfast and lunch today. Crazy. Anyway the main objective today was to visit the castle. To go there we had to pass by Karlův most. Still too many people on it. But anyway we crossed over to the other side and had to walk a distance and climbing a long flight of stairs before reaching the castle grounds.

Karlův most and lots of people

Maria and Victor

Musicians. They were not bad!

Entrance to the Castle

We first visited the St. Vitus Cathedral, which is located within the castle compounds. Climbed up one of the towers to have a view of Prague.

Inside St. Vitus Cathedral

View from the top

We then went to see the Starý královsky palác (Old royal palace), Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane) and some other places within the palace grounds.

Zlatá ulička. Shops here sold mainly tourist-oriented stuff

Backside of St. Vitus Cathedral

We had dinner at restaurant near to area where I and Bernard call the "Pasar malam" (night market in Malay) area coz it's really similar to that. It was an OK meal, but wasn't quite worth the price we paid.

Then at night as usual we didn't go out with Europeans, who went to a disco. We instead chit chatted a lot in the room. There was this guy who could open our door (we had locked it previously), so we were a bit worried for our belongings. But we didn't lose anything. Anyway I was still awake when the Europeans came back. They were laughing uncontrollably and playing pillow fights! @.@ Haha...

Next up, Day 3 and Day 4.

post - bersih rally

So November 11th came and gone. The bersih rally met with a lot of opposition by police and FRU (anti-riot police). So what changes for the better will we see?

I'm afraid not much, at least not in the near future. There was an obvious local media blackout, most likely orchestrated by the government of course. I think it has become all to common for them and their spin doctors anyway. While there were probably 40,000 people who protested on the streets that day, local media reported 4,000. That's crazy.

Worst, they emphasised more on the jams that occured that day rather than the rally itself. But why was there serious jams in KL that day? Coz the police suddenly decided to make roadblocks everywhere, especially along roads entering KL. And coz the protesters were encouraged to wear yellow to signify the royal colors, people who wore yellow shirts were stopped or questioned! Incredible or laughable, depending on how you want to view it. It's sad that many of my fellow countrymen would have no idea about what happened.

The thing is, the whole thing was illegal. Permits for gatherings are necessary in Malaysia. But this bunch of people just wanted to do a peaceful rally, walking from Dataran Merdeka to Istana Negara to hand in a memorandum to the Agong. The coalition even had their own squadron for keeping the protesters calm and well-mannered. According to Al-Jazeera's reporter who was at the Masjid Jamek gathering spot, the FRU just sprayed a chemical-laced water out of the blue. The local media also reported that 275 people were detained when in reality only 34 were. I think they wanted to scare the public bah. Oh well.

Based on the forums and blogs that I've read, there were apparently more Malays than non-Malays who joined in this rally. The Bumiputera are the majority in Malaysia, but in KL the ratio between them and non-Bumiputera is rather equal. Given that information, why wasn't there a more significant non-Bumiputera presence?

1. they probably chickened out after the Prime Minister said "aku pantang dicabar" (I don't like to be opposed; don't challenge my authority), which I think he shouldn't have said coz it makes it sounds like he's a dictator.

2. Because they lack political awareness or are apathetic towards politics.

I think both of these reasons bah. I think it's sad. In my opinion, the Chinese in Malaysia suffer from the same disease Singaporeans suffer from. For example, saying things like "wah u say that u not scared later the government/police come and catch you ar", yet always interested to bitch about the government in a "safe setting".

My opinion has always been that people don't know how strong a political will or change can bring about benefits to the people. Politics is so interconnected with our lives. It's like, sure you have your businesses and education and science and stuff but when something wrong goes on in politics, you sure are going to be screwed in most of these fields. In a way, when MM Lee Kuan Yew said in an interview that "We [Singapore] are a standing indictment of all the things that they can be doing differently", I can relate to that. We could have been so much better and successful. I always like to take Myanmar as an example. Previously Burma, it had a higher GDP per capita than Malaysia when we became independent in 1957 if I remembered correctly, they have huge pieces of land suitable for agriculture, they have a great historic past and natural scenic environments (good for tourism), they had bountiful natural resources, they have (or had, I'm not sure now) a group of English-speaking people due to British colonial rule... but what has become of them?

Anyway, I was also dismayed that many of my friends were very negative about future prospects in Malaysia. Some basically just gave up hope. But I still have faith.

So... what is to become of Malaysia now? Let time tell.

汉服 Hanfu

汉服 (Han Fu), which means "clothing of the Han", refers to the Han Chinese type of traditional clothing. It is nowadays however not popular. People usually tend to link Chinese tradtional clothing with Qipao (旗袍) or Tangzhuang(唐装), however they are actually Manchurian clothing. The Qing dynasty (清朝　1644 - 1911), the last dynasty of China, was ruled by Manchurian emperors with the surname Aisin Gioro (爱新觉罗). During this period of time, they enacted a "Queue order" (剃发令), a series of laws that we violently imposed on the Chinese to dress like Manchurians. This resulted in the so-called "traditional" clothing we see and the long-hair hairstyle of men. It was meant as a sign of submission of the majority Han Chinese to the minority Manchu rulers.

A beautiful red Qipao

Tangzhuang worn by leaders during the APEC summit in China

Pigtail ("queue") look of Qing-dynasty men (I used Jet Li here. Haha)

So what then is the traditional Han clothing? Have a look:

Hanfu supporters

A beautiful green Hanfu

Male Hanfu, usually only seen in 古装片 (movies/series set in China's olden days)

Caucasians dressed in Hanfu in a Confucian ceremony

More pictures here. In recent years there has been a Hanfu revival. These revivals have mainly been initiated by overseas Chinese, but have now also a following in Taiwan and China. Based on what I've read (mostly in Chinese), some of these people have been accused of donning Hanbok or Kimono (Korean and Japanese traditional clothings respectively) and labelled as "traitors". Of course they are mistakened, but it's easy to understand why they are mistakened. The traditional garb worn by Korean and Japanese ladies are of course heavily influenced by Chinese culture in the past.

Of course, I don't expect a huge renaissance in terms of clothing amongst Han Chinese, but as Japanese and Koreans can proudly don their traditional clothings during important festivities etc. why can't Han Chinese do the same? Especially to those Chinese who view culture seriously... they should consider changing back to Hanfu.

I wouldn't mind wearing one. Haha. If only I could find someone who sells it...

bersih rally

Today marks a potentially important day for Malaysia. Some 70 NGO groups and opposition parties have formed BERSIH (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) and are organising a peaceful demonstration, demanding for a reform in the electoral system for fairer elections. The "protesters" will gather at Dataran Merdeka (Freedom/Independence Square) at 3pm and will then proceed towards Istana Negara (National Palace) to hand in a memorandum to His Majesty the Yang DiPertuan Agung hoping for his intervention. All involved in the rally are asked to wear yellow to signify the Royal family, and if any change is to become of this event, it will likely be known as the "gelombang kuning" (yellow wave).

However, the gathering has not been given permission by the police. In Malaysia, public gatherings of more than five persons without a permit is against the law and the police have the right to catch you, although this is rarely enforced. The government and the Prime Minister himself have advised against participation. The government is likely to make things difficult for the protesters: there are already roadblocks and road closures to limit the inflow of people into KL. This will be the largest rally since the Anwar Ibrahim one in 1998.

They are hoping to get 100,000 supporters. All the best for you brave souls out there. I hope for the best!

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Update: Great. Something has happened and I can't access Raja Petra's blog. Darn!

Update 2: As expected, police were mobilized, tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse the crowd. But it was a peaceful rally so there was no vandalism like in 1998.

Update 3: OK, they've managed to pass the memorandum to the Agung's secretary. Main objective accomplished. Got this from malaysiakini (click to enlarge):

Kinda like a battleplan eh? Haha...

Update 4: 80 people reported captured. Probably used the Internal Security Act (ISA) again? I don't know. Updates can be obtained from SuaraKeadilan (in Malay).

Berlin Trip (Part 3)

Day 3

We woke up late, and in addition, we were watching TV and they were talking about Bahnstreik (train strikes) being organised all over Germany. We were worried that there were no trains to the city, but worst still, that we couldn't go back to Munich. But it was all OK *phew* However, we spent most of the morning sleeping.

We checked out and carried our bags with us the whole day. First we went to the Turkish quarter to jalan-jalan, as Bernard knew of a place that sold Krumpler bags. But still too expensive lah, so we then just walked around the place. Enrique saw a post office and went to buy stamps for his postcard.

We then found the shop "Curry 36", which is one of the most popular places that sell Currywurst here in Berlin. Apparently even Tom Cruise drops by here. But we didn't find it particularly special. The fries with mayo were nice though =)

Curry 36. Went there by recommendation from Jan.

Currywurst und Pommes Frites mit Mayo.

We decided to eat more for lunch, so we went to a Kebab stall. There's a popular dish in Germany called Döner Kebab which apparently originated amongst the Turkish immigrants in Berlin. We paid 2 euros and we got this nice huge Dürüm Döner which was bigger than those we get for 4 euro in Munich.

Dürüm Döner

So anyway we then went to the Jewish museum (weird zig-zag building). Most places like this have discounts for students. The museum itself is somewhat an art-type statement. In the museum there are lanes such as "Axis of Exile", "Axis of Death" and "Axis of Continuity". There was lots to see but we didn't have much time so we rushed the last few sections. It's really worth a visit (got that Gun Kiat? Haha).

Strange zig-zag building

Along the "Axis of Death". Auschwitz was one of the worst deathcamps built by the Nazis. Might be visiting the actual place in Poland.

"Fallen Leaves" by Jewish artist Menashe Kadishman. Visitors are encouraged to step on the artwork.

A Jewish Torah

Jewish garb

Probably the most famous Jew - Albert Einstein

"Jews will not be served here" - sign showing the discrimination faced by the Jews during the Hitler era.

With a few hours left we went to the large famous shopping centre KaDeWe ("Kaufhaus des Westens "Department Store of the West), which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As a Jewish owned place it had hard times during the Nazi and WWII eras but it is now of course rejuvenated. Bought some chocolates and soft drinks. We then walked around the shopping district of Ku'Damm (Kurfürstendamm), which is the Champs-Élysées of Berlin (hope to visit the actual Champs-Élysées soon). Somewhere along the stretch is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which is one of the few buildings that has not been renovated/rebuilt after WWII and it serves as a reminder of the horrors of war.

Blurry picture, but if you see carefully you can see the top of the church steeple has been bombed off.

We then went back to Munich on a night train and got ready for the new semester ahead.

At Berlin Hauptbahnhof before going back

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Afternotes:

1. Berlin's U-bahn and S-bahn system is rather complex... and I already had kinda a shock when I saw Munich's! Guess the ones that I've seen before (in KL, Singapore and HK) are all simpler and smaller systems.

2. One night in an U-bahn station, we were going up this escalator and we saw puddles of water in front of us. When we got off we saw a trail of liquid leading up to a guy near a wall (who was still peeing). He basically started peeing while he was still on the escalator. That's Europe for ya! =P

3. This trip has been a very "Jewish" one, in the sense that we learned more about the plight of the Jews during WWII and more about their culture and history.

4. There were many other sights that we didn't manage to see such as the Fernsehturm. We really find the city a pleasant place and we wouldn't mind going there again! =)

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Next up, my Sommeruni trips or Prague trip. Depends on my mood bah. Haha.