YOUR BRIDGE BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

EuroVancouver Profiles: Professional Watch Solo Watch

New Avenues: Rolf Brulhart and the future of the Vancouver Swiss Choir By Malcolm Morgan (Canadian Section Editor; infoBC@europeanweekly.net) Posted May, 2006 For a choir that’s been around 40 years, what ground is there left to cover? Looking to the future Rolf Brulhart, Vice President of the Vancouver Swiss Choir, is animated as he discusses Swiss culture and his choir. He continually rustles the flyers advertising the choir’s upcoming festival performances; one at the European Festival on May 27th in Burnaby, BC; the other at the choir’s annual Spring Concert on June 2nd at The German Haus in Vancouver. He promptly furnishes me with complimentary tickets for both. And during our discussion, he often leans toward me to make an emphatic point, planting his finger down on the cafeteria table. He has a clear and understandable investment in this well-established choir. The Vancouver Swiss Choir was founded in 1966, and has continually offered an engaging sample of traditional Swiss music to the public of BC’s Lower Mainland. The choir has also occasionally co-ordinated performances with the Swiss choir in Portland, an invitation that Brulhart says was “an honour,” having come from this traditional and respected Swiss choir of the region. In addition to regional appearances, Brulhart mentions that he would ideally like to take his choir on tour in Europe. Brulhart is thankful for any performance opportunities the choir gets because maximum exposure of the choir’s work will draw new members to it. This appeal to the next generation is important because the founding generation, which has done the work to bring the choir to its present point, is passing the age of active participation. New blood is essential – and Brulhart is willing to go to some unusual lengths to win it. Extension or Extinction “The second generation, they don’t have the inclination,” says Brulhart of the younger generation’s hesitance to join the Swiss choir. He explains that busy Swiss-Canadian kids living in a distracting consumer culture don’t find much meaning in traditional Swiss musical fare, such as yodeling. “To sing is hard work – and committing yourself to practicing once a week is hard as well,” continues Brulhart, emphasizing that there has to be something in it for the young people if they are to participate. Brulhart’s formula for winning youth loyalty is to, first of all, give them the spotlight. “You have to give young people the stage,” he says, elaborating that the veterans can’t afford to make the performances about themselves if they hope to gratify young members sufficiently to keep them. Secondly, he thinks the choir has to invite guest musicians who will be of interest to the young. The choir has already invited a traditional Swiss instrumental group for the May 27th performance (Familienkapelle Walker, from Gstaad, Switzerland). But Brulhart’s children are urging him to invite their favourite Swiss rap groups. Brulhart says it’s necessary to change “this old-cheese image, this numbered- bank-account image of Switzerland [that] is embedded in the world.” So, he’s perfectly willing to shake things up in order to draw in both new participants and new audience members – even if it means shocking and losing some of their old audience members. To change the image, says Brulhart, they require the new cultural influences, but also a macro decision on the direction the choir (and its associated guest performances) will take. “You have to decide which small part of Swiss culture you will highlight,” says Brulhart, explaining that the choir can only ever be a glimpse of the larger, multi-faceted Swiss culture. “Will you teach them (High) German songs, or Swiss (German), or Italian, or French, etc? Do you want to create a Heidi group or a Zurich rap group?” Swiss pride, Swiss posterity “The Swiss have a huge identity,” he says. “They’re very egotistical.” He says that a large part of their self-appointed stature among European nations comes from their status as a genuinely multicultural state; Switzerland is divided into French, Italian, Swiss-German and Romansch-speaking subcultures. These four Swiss communities manage to coexist (even amidst their individual egotisms) in what is one of the more prosperous countries of Europe. While the cultural breakdown of Switzerland itself is de facto multiculturalism, what Brulhart and his colleagues try to accomplish with their choir is what he calls a “soft multiculturalism.” This soft focus is what works in Canada, he feels, where different cultural communities can “hear each other’s music and taste each other’s food, but that’s about all.” This buffet-style multiculturalism manages to give voice to each cultural tradition and language group without bringing political considerations (such as that between the Balkan communities) into the forum. In terms of the management of the choir itself, soft multiculturalism demands a careful arrangement of performance material so as to give due representation to the participants, who are from different Swiss language groups. The choir’s Music Committee, comprised of members from each Swiss subculture, selects the songs for performances with a mind to fairness for each group. The choir actually sings in seven languages: the expected French, Italian, Swiss German and Romansch, but also in High German, Latin, and English. The language profusion is impressive and workable as far as the older people are concerned, but actually presents another barrier to youth enrolment. Singing “songs in languages they don’t understand,” says Brulhart, doesn’t interest the youth any more than yodeling does. Brulhart and company will have to change both the old-cheese Swiss image and the old-cheese structure of the choir itself. It’s a tall order, especially since Brulhart’s ideas for reaching down new cultural avenues mean the choir executives will have to please an entirely new Swiss subculture: that of their Westernized youth. Whether this initiative will work or not depends on the choir’s commitment to Brulhart’s vision – that is, extending itself in regard to both touring and performance material. If their commitment to these efforts is low, then they can look forward to admitting more non-Swiss participants, as they have done already, out of necessity to keep their ranks (musically, albeit not culturally). Brulhart recommends trying all of his ideas, and seeing which ones make an enduring difference. “From all my years of cultural experience and observation,” he concludes (Brulhart has a background in sociology), “there is one thing I’ve learned: time will show what survives.”

Zoo negara selangor north kuala lumpur

Zoo Negara: Orang Utans

Introduction: About 13km northeast of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s largest zoo, Zoo Negara (National Zoo) is laid out over 62ha around a central lake. The collection has a sampling of native Malaysian wildlife, as well as a wide range of animals from all over the world, a good aquatic display and an impressive reptile house. Among the more exotic exhibits are the Sumatran tiger, orang-utans, and gibbons (all are extremely rare outside of this part of the world).

Zoo Negara: “Locked Horns” (C) Kusou Gallery

Besides showcasing the animals to the public, Zoo Negara also emphasize on Conservation, Education, Research and Recreation. Animal rides such as elephant, pony, camel and horse are available around lunchtime. There are frequent animal performances throughout the day (check schedule with the Zoo).

Zoo Negara: Giraffes

Zoo Negara: A Sumatra Tiger (C) Abdhakamabdah

The spacious picnic grounds in Zoo Negara around the boating lake are excellent for family recreation.

For an opportunity to watch nocturnal animals, visit Zoo Negara on Saturday nights.

Location: Zoo Negara, Jalan Ulu Kelang, 68000 Ampang, Selangor
Tel: 4108 3427

Opening Hours and Rates

Zoo Negara by Day is open daily from 9.00am – 5.00pm

Zoo Negara by Night is open on Saturday, Sunday and Malaysian Public Holidays from 9.00am – 10.30pm.

Rates

Adult RM15.00
Children (3yrs old-12yrs old) RM 6.00
Senior Citizen (60 years above) RM 6.00

Free entry if it is your birthday!
(Please bring along I/C or birth certificate as proof)

Group discount (Malaysian Citizen Only)
15 and above RM1 off normal ticket rate
30 and above RM2 off normal ticket rate

School Consession Rate
Students with uniform RM 4.00

With every 10 students that comes in, one teacher only has to pay RM 6.00
2 complimentary tickets with the first 20 students

The Pink Pageant (Lake Nakuru, Kenya)

With a rich supply of blue-green algae, the UNESCO-listed travel wonder of Lake Nakuru plays host to immense quantities of flamingos, one of the greatest bird pageants on the planet. From afar at vista points such as Baboon Cliffs, the vast flamingo numbers give the rich saline soda lake an appearance of candy pink stripes.

With the flamingos typically in the shallow shores of the lake, nothing beats sitting quietly near the edge (Pelican Point seems best - see map) and watching them methodically go about their business. Mainly feeding, they also spend time parading on their skinny angular legs, the pink straw-like legs reflecting in the deep blues of the lake. The fading afternoon light leaves a silhouetting effect against the background hills.

In places, baboons and hyenas pace the shores in hope of a meal but the briny alkaline water provides a natural protection for these mesmerising birds and frustration for these opportunist carnivores.

The flamingos feed busily but nervously, their heads bobbing up and down continuously. If one flamingo spooks a little and seeks the sanctity of the sky, suddenly whole flocks take flight with an ungainly savage flapping of their wings. Despite their take-off, they fly gracefully, their long necks craning forward supporting their strange beak. Unusually, they eat with their beak upside-down, using it to filter the lake silt from the small shrimps and algae that they eat and which gives them their vivid pink coloring (apparently caused by the same chemical that makes carrots orange). I wonder if that gives them good eyesight?

The lake is protected as a national park complete with the usual cross-section of African wildlife including giraffe, zebras, lions, antelope and leopards. The park is actively assisting in the breeding and protection of the highly endangered white rhinoceros. It is encouraging to see these elegant animals waddling along with their broad mouths hoovering up the grass, rarely lifting their head from the joyous chore of eating.

The wildlife of the extraordinary Rift Valley is one of Africa's most compelling experiences (I rate it as second in my African top ten). Whether at dawn or dusk, being in the live audience to nature's greatest wildlife show leaves lifetime memories.

The travel wonder of Lake Nakuru makes a wonderful couple of days only 100 miles from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Beyond the wonderful flamingo pageant, the likelihood of seeing the rhinos on the wide open plains makes it a wildlife experience to savor.

The Aquamarine Necklace (Plitvice Lakes, Croatia)

In central Croatia lies the UNESCO World-heritage listed travel wonder of Plitvice Lakes. This necklace of 16 lakes, in an artist’s palette of colors from emerald green, through azures and turquoises to deep sapphire blue, are separated by walls of algae, moss, roots and stone. The water flows between the lakes in a series of tumbling waterfalls and gushing streams, constantly refreshing and filling the neighboring lake.

The geological story is remarkable and fascinating. The water in the lakes is rich in calcium carbonate leeched from the dolomite and limestone valleys in the area.





This mineral enriches the water giving the lakes their vivid shades of blue and green. Calcium carbonate has an unusual chemical property which means it releases from water only when the water is running, tangling and embedding itself in the plants and mosses between the lakes, hardening and turning itself into a porous rock called travertine. These hardened stone walls effectively act as barriers between the lakes acting like dam walls.

Much as limestone caves slowly evolve over the centuries and millennia, Plitvice Lakes continue to change as the travertine walls, plant life and water form and erode, continually and subtly changing the landscape of this majestic area.

Surrounding the lakes are rich forests of beech, firs and pine trees, creating elegant patterns and reflections in the crystal waters.Wooden boardwalks and natural paths surround many of the lakes. Electric buses ferry visitors to the far end of the lakes and an electric boat plies the waters of the largest lake which connects the so-called Upper Lakes with the four Lower Lakes. Strolling around and between these lakes on the undulating paths is comfortable and relaxing, the walk being spiced with the soothing sounds of running streams and the twittering of birds and the vision of colorful flowers and thousands of small fish.

One useful tip suggested to me by the helpful national park staff was to walk up-hill so that the best views of this enticing water garden always lay in front of you. The vast majority of people take the easier downhill approach.

Near the lower lakes and a favorite vantage point for group photographs is Croatia’s largest waterfall at around 80 metres (90 yards), though other waterfalls were more striking for their setting. Ironically this largest waterfall is fed from an external river and not from the runoff of another lake.

Plitvice Lakes make for a wonderful day-long escape to nature. Watch in awe at one of nature’s great travel wonders as water magically turns to stone.

Pulau Redang

One of the largest and the most beautiful of the east-coast islands, Pulau Redang has, inevitably, been targeted by big developers, and there are few options for the independent traveler; nearly all visitors come on all-inclusive package deals.

reef is teeming with fish, turtles, live corals and other spineless creatures

Pulau Redang is one of nine islands that form a protected marine park, and it offers excellent diving and snorkeling. Of most interest to travelers are the beautiful bays on the eastern side of the island, including Teluk Dalam, Teluk Kalong and Pasir Panjang. Most resorts are located around the sandy beaches at Teluk Kalong and Pasir Panjang. Berjaya Beach Resort is located at Teluk Dalam, a bay that is so sheltered that it is hardly affected by the northeast monsoon.

Photo from: AsiaExplorers.com

Pulau Redang: Pasir Panjang beach

There is so much to do on and around Pulau Redang, one can return year after year and still find new places to explore. The reef is teeming with fish, turtles, live corals and other spineless creatures. There’s snorkeling, diving, windsurfing and kayaking available at most resorts. Berjaya Resort offers a golf course in an idyllic setting if you are on a Malaysia golf vacation.

Pulau Redang Diving: Sea turtle

The Redang Archipelago is truly a gift sent from the heavens. The water surrounding these islands is teeming with marine life. About 500 species of living, breathing soft and hard corals create a wondrous seascape just below the white caps. And in turn these reef-building variety of corals shelter a host of inhabitants – a myriad species of bivalves and fishes. It forms part of Indo-Pacific Ocean’s breeding ground and nursery for many species of fish and other marine life. Sponges, algae and plankton provide a rich soup of nutrient for the thriving community. Green and hawksbill turtles drag themselves onto the white, sandy beaches to deposit their fertilised eggs into deep holes excavated under cover of night. Flying foxes, pythons, birds, mousedeers, monkeys and iguanas take refuge under the canopy of the forest. And in the late evenings when all human activities have quieten down, listen closely for you will here the heartbeat of the land, the whispers of the wind and the secrets of life – at Redang

Hometown Food is Where the Heart Is

Whenever someone asks me where I came from, and after my answer that it is Taiping, the next question definitely would be “what is good to eat in Taiping?” I am always stumped by this question, as to be honest, everything is good to eat here, but nothing is really so great to it that would make people travel from far and wide just to eat it. Other places are normally coined with a food, like Penang char kuey teow or assam laksa, Ipoh dim sum or nga choy kai, Malacca chicken rice balls, Anson chee cheong fun and, you get the picture. So normally I would just answer nonchalantly “oh, everything in Taiping is good to eat”, now you know not to trust a person speaking of its hometown food, after all it is an ego thing.

To be honest though, I do find a lot of food in Taiping really good to me, and I miss them a lot and compare them to KL food constantly, after all I grew up with these foods. What I can boldly say is, most of all the food here is of certain quality, ingredients are fresh, food are diligently made with care and some with traditional recipes which were passed from generations to generations. As I have mentioned, to be able to survive selling food here, you must have a certain degree of goodness. I never cease to be amazed by how food revolves around the life of Taiping-ites, it is common to discuss what the next meal is while having the current meal, or the subsequent ones even. The normal hot topic of gossips are mostly like which new stall had been opened and whether the food is worth a try, which food had hike up the price and lessen the ingredients, which shop has changed cook from father to son or to somebody and how is the current state now, which food are no longer what it used to be and so on. The viral word of mouth marketing in Taiping is so strong to the point that it is almost deadly. It is either make it or break it here for food business. If the people favours your food, you may well expect a huge crowd making beeline to taste your food, and hear people uttering the famous quote of “you better get there by this time, as they would sold out by that time and you would not want to miss it!” With that, you can safely know that the food is quite good enough and your food business is here to stay in Taiping.

In exception to the opening statement is one dish though, which is the kai si min (chicken slice noodle soup) which does have a kind of hook on people, like an addiction, especially to those who grew up or spent a significant amount of time in Taiping and left, this is one dish they always must eat whenever they return! It may not be something that would capture a visitor’s heart immediately; it will definitely grow on you if you savour it enough to admire its hearty simple taste that warms the heart. I have a cousin who had once spent a month here in Taiping, had my mum buy this kai si min for him every night for supper and till now, whenever he comes to visit Taiping, it is one dish he would head out to for a dose of. Similarly, I have various friends and relatives, who had left Taiping, would come back with anticipation of this dish and I myself am no exception to this crazy addiction.

Kai Si Min
Photo by Rokh

Normally when a non-Taiping person answers to the question of ‘what is good in Taiping’, it would be most likely with another question, “isn’t it popiah?”. I have never considered popiah, a soft thin crepe made from wheat flour that wraps around variety of fillings, often accompanied by a sweet sauce (a blend of soy sauce, bean sauce and hoisin/shrimp sauce and optionally a hot sauce), as anything special in Taiping. Curiosity got the better of me though and I went into a frenzy of asking many Taiping people that I know, young and old alike, whether was popiah famous in Taiping, where is the best to get one and so on, and I came to conclusion that popiah used to be really good in Taiping, the best stall was now closed down, and mostly it is just a reminiscence of the year bygones. Few times I tried ordering popiah at various stalls in Taiping, and to be honest, it fell short of my expectations, KL ones are way better (a rare case indeed).

There is one unique dish in Taiping that you can’t seem to find elsewhere, variations probably, but definitely not the same one, which is the chee cheong fun (large flat rice noodles rolled up and then served in various sauces). The chee cheong fun in Taiping is doused liberally with tim cheong (sweet red sauce) and sprinkled with sesame and fried onions. The taste is unique, with the sweet sauce pairing real well with the amazingly soft and silky cheong fun which will have one dreaming of it on many mornings. I remembered I used to even wake up early (very unusual for a teen) and then go for this as breakfast before attending tuition nearby with a fellow friend who is also an addict. It was such nostalgia, I remembered vividly ordering the chee cheong fun small with hong tao sui (sweet red bean soup) that just somehow sums up a perfect breakfast.

Another decidedly famous food from Taiping is the heong peng. Not to be mistaken as the mini heong peng from Penang, as this one large, with a tough yet crunchy layer of pastries enfolding just-right-earthy-sweetness-savoury malt and shallots inside of it. Taiping’s heong peng had always been famous for being really fresh, superbly flaky layers (do not attempt to eat this without anything to catch the falling crusts), and chewy yet not sticky sweet filling that just about brings the entire pastry together flawlessly.

There you go, after saying that there is nothing really to-die for in Taiping, I proceed to let you know there are some things definitely worth to-try for. If you are ever in Taiping, do not miss out those that I mentioned, in exception to popiah, and also to add is the Nonya Kuih-muih that I had featured earlier, as they would make your trip there worth a lot more times, gastronomically of course. One may leave you dreaming of it long after you had gone, another may have you tried something decidedly new and unique where you may not find anywhere else and the others may bring you the best of what Malaysian Chinese desserts and pastries can be! So what are you waiting for? Make an excuse now to make the trip to this tiny little town up north in Malaysia that has such big things to offer, or make it a point to stop by if you are passing by on the way up to Penang or on the way down to KL, and leave after that with a huge smile and a huge belly to boot!

The Reed Islands (Lake Titicaca, Peru)

Straddling Peru and Bolivia, the travel wonder of Lake Titicaca (with an area of over 8,000 square kilometres or 3,000 square miles) lies at a oxygen-deprived 3,800 metres above sea-level (12,500 feet) making any activity for a visitor beyond a slow stroll quite a feat of endurance. For hundreds of years, the Uros people have lived peacefully on a handful of small islands made solely of reeds dotted within this huge lake.

Nearly everyone, locals and visitors alike, seem to chew heartily on coca leaves, supposedly to combat the effect of altitude sickness. Though there is scant medical evidence, this South American equivalent of tiger balm also holds claims to combat the cold, fatigue and various other ailments.

Living on a reed island brings some interesting new chores and challenges. Everyone seems to be fairly active either working reeds or preparing food. The leathery skin on the hands of the island women shows the years spent crushing grains with large smooth rocks.

As the reeds slowly rot away in the lake’s waters, there is an endless cycle of collecting, drying and spreading the reeds to build up the island. Fortunately the lightweight reed huts can be easily picked up and moved, a new reed floor being laid every few days.

Exotic, viking-like long boats with giant dragon head fronts are also constructed from reeds and are used for transportation between the neighboring islands. Small stick and reed pens on the edge of the islands house fish which forms the staple diet of the Uros.

The Uros unashamedly encourage visitors, charging them for rides on their boats, to climb their watchtower (you guessed it, made of reeds), for souvenirs such as their colorful clothing and model reed boats and for snapping photos. This money assists them in buying other goods from the mainland.

The whole experience may feel somewhat voyeuristic but a few hours on the island provides a fascinating insight into this unique travel wonder, a chance to view a lifestyle so completely different from our own.

Footnote

Also worth a visit (and an overnight stay with a local family) is Amantani or Taquile Islands which have sustained subsistence farming families for generations. You may even get a chance to enjoy the Peruvian delicacy of cuy (guinea pig) which naturally enough tastes like chicken!!