Sunday 31 December 2017

Döstädning 清理遗物

Time flies, it is another spring cleaning season.

一年匆匆过去,又是大扫除的季节。

Ever wonder, if one day we were no longer around, who is going to clear our stuff?

可有想过如果有一天我们不在了,留下的遗物该由谁来清理呢?

How embarrassing if we have to bother others (even our own children) to clear the messy stuff after our death.

如果我们死后要劳烦别人(就算是自己的后代)帮我们清理一屋子杂乱的东西,情何以堪。

Some may say: Touch wood, I am still too young to die!

可能有人会嚷道:大吉利是,我还年轻没那么快死啦!


Life is impermanence, life and death are destined, it is just a matter of time.

人生无常,生与死都是注定的,只是迟或早。 

In fact, life is pretty much helpless, from birth to death are beyond our control.

人生其实挺无奈的,生老病死都由不得我们控制。

The only thing that can be controlled is that you do not burden what you think is valuable to others.

唯一能控制的是,别让自己认为有价值的东西成为别人的负担。


Trust me, your treasure is just a pile of waste in the eyes of others!

相信我,你的宝贝在别人眼里只是一堆废物!


Why not say goodbye to those useless stuff that have been left for a long time when you are still capable.

为什么不在自己还有能力时,跟已经很久没用的东西做个告别。


At least after discarding something, it will make your life "lighter".

至少扔掉一些东西后,让自己的生活“轻盈”一些。



Recently I had learned from a friend that a Thai friend who had known for more than a decade passed away a few months ago.

最近从朋友那得知,一位认识超过十年的泰国朋友在几个月前逝世。

Not yet fifty, he died young.

五十岁未到就英年早逝。

Fortunately we met early this year so nothing to regret.

幸好今年初还见了面,也没什么好遗憾的。

A few years ago while browsing my Facebook, it caught me by surprise that a Malaysian friend had passed away, 

前几年在浏览脸书时,意外得知一位马来西亚的朋友撒手归西。

I cried.

我哭了。

He was only thirty-two when he died.

死时才三十二岁。

He died early that year but I knew only end of year, no chance to bid farewell.

年头死,我年尾才知道,没机会告别。

When we reach a certain age, meet up with relatives and friends is indeed see once, less once.  

人到了一个年龄,亲朋友真的是见一次少一次。

P/S: Döstädning is Swedish. Dö means die and städning means cleaning.

注 :Döstädning 是瑞典语。Dö 意为死,städning 意为清理。

Monday 25 December 2017

Christmas Trivia 圣诞节冷知识

Things you probably did not know about Christmas.

你可能不知道关于圣诞节的事情。

Christmas was not always on December 25

圣诞节并不总是在12月25日

Though Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, there is no mention of December 25 in the Bible.

虽然圣诞节是庆祝耶稣基督的诞生,但圣经中并没有提到12月25日。

Most historians believe he was actually born in the spring.

大多数历史学家认为祂实际上是在春天出生的。

It was not chosen as the official holiday until the Third Century.

直到三世纪,才被选为官方假期。

Some argue that the date was picked because it coincided with the pagan festival of Saturnalia.

有些人认为,这个日期被挑选出来是因为它恰逢土星祭典节日。

Celebrating agricultural god Saturn with partying and gift-giving.

以派对和送礼来庆祝农业神土星。

Thank Germany's Prince Albert for introducing the Christmas tree

感谢德国的艾伯特亲王介绍了圣诞树

Another Christmas tradition stemming from Saturnalia was the Christmas tree.

圣诞节的另一个源于农神节的圣诞传统是圣诞树。

During the winter solstice, branches served as a reminder of spring.

冬至期间,枝桠充当了提醒春天的到来。

The Germans are credited with first bringing evergreens into their homes and decorating them.

德国人首先将常青树带入家中并装饰它们。

Germany's Prince Albert introduced the tree to his new wife, England's Queen Victoria, that the tradition took off.

德国的阿尔伯特亲王向他的新妻子英国的维多利亚女王介绍了圣诞树,传统就此起飞。

The royal couple were sketched in front of a Christmas tree in 1848 and royal fever did its work.

这对皇室夫妇在1848年在一棵圣诞树前画了一幅画,而皇室狂热起了效应。

Coca-Cola came up with the red Santa suit

可口可乐推出了红色圣诞装

Santa wore a variety of colorful suits through the years including red, blue, white and green.

圣诞老人穿着红色、蓝色、白色和绿色等多种色彩的套装。

But the popular image of his red coat came from a 1930s ad by Coca Cola.

但他的红色大衣的流行形象来自可口可乐公司的二十世纪三十年代的广告。


St Nicholas morphed into Santa Claus


圣尼古拉斯演变成圣诞老人

St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop living in the fourth century AD.

圣尼古拉斯是生活在公元四世纪的基督教主教。

St. Nicholas gave away his abundant inheritance to help the needy.

圣尼古拉斯放弃了他丰富的遗产来帮助穷人。

He also was known for good deeds like rescuing sisters from prostitution.

他的善行也因为从卖淫中拯救姊妹而获得了。

He was not just the protector of children, St. Nicholas is also the patron saint of unmarried women, prisoners, thieves and pawnbrokers.

他不仅是儿童的保护者,圣尼古拉斯也是未婚女性,囚犯,小偷和当铺的守护神。

Hanging stockings

悬挂袜子

According to legend, hanging stockings came from the take of a poor man who could not afford his three daughters dowries.

据传说,悬挂袜子起源自一个穷人,他付不起三个女儿的嫁妆。

St. Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down their chimney one night so that the eldest could wed.

一天晚上,圣尼古拉斯把一袋金子扔在烟囱里,这样老大就可以结婚了。

But it fell into a stocking that was drying by the fire!

但是它却掉入放在炉火旁烘干的长袜里!

Rudolph was almost named Reginald

鲁道夫几乎被命名为雷金纳德

A copywriter named Robert L. May first invented the oddball reindeer in 1939 as a marketing gimmick for Montgomery Ward holiday colouring books.

一位名叫罗伯特·L·梅的撰稿人于1939年首先发明了古怪的驯鹿,作为蒙哥马利·沃德假日着色书的营销噱头。

May considered naming the reindeer Reginald and Rollo.

梅考虑为驯鹿命名为雷金纳德和罗洛。

And his nose was not originally going to be red.

它的鼻子原本不是红色的。

A red nose was viewed as a sign of chronic alcoholism and Montgomery Ward did not want him to seem like a drunkard.

红鼻子被认为是慢性酒精中毒的征兆,蒙哥马利·沃德不希望它看起来像酒鬼。

Good thing they changed it.

幸好他们改变了主意。

Jingle Bells was originally a Thanksgiving song

《铃儿响叮当》原是感恩节的一首歌

James Lord Pierpont, an organist from Savannah, Georgia, first performed a song he wrote, "The One Horse Open Sleigh," at his church's Thanksgiving concert.

乔治亚州,萨凡纳的风琴手詹姆斯·皮尔蓬首先在他的教堂的感恩节演唱会上演唱了一首他写的《一匹马打开雪橇》。

The song was re-published in 1857 and given the title of today.

这首歌于1857年重新出版,并获得今天的称号。

It is also the first song broadcast from space.

这也是第一首从太空播放的歌。

It was broadcasted on December 16, 1965, on the Gemini 6.

它于1965年12月16日在双子座6号播放。

Santa has his own zip code

圣诞老人有他自己的邮政编码

Every year, letters to Santa Claus flood post offices across the world.

每年世界各地的邮局都被写给圣诞老人的信淹没。

Some Canadian Post Office workers even started answering them.

一些加拿大邮局的工作人员甚至开始回复他们。

But as more letters arrived, they set up a special zip code for Santa as part of a "Santa Letter-Writing Programme".

但随着更多的信件到达,他们为圣诞老人设立了一个特殊的邮政编码,作为“圣诞老人写信计划”。

The zip code? (H0H 0H0).

邮政编码?(H0H 0H0)。

The twelves days of Christmas

圣诞节十二天

The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as "Twelvetide", is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ.

圣诞节十二天也被称为“十二潮”,是庆祝耶稣基督诞生的基督教节日。

In most Western ecclesiastical traditions, Christmas Day is considered the "First Day of Christmas".

在大多数西方教会传统中,圣诞日被认为是“圣诞节的第一天”。

The Twelve Days of Christmas are from December 25 to January 5.

圣诞节十二天从12月25日到1月5日。

Friday 8 December 2017

Budget Airline 廉价航空

Thailand - Bangkok (Don Mueang International Airport)

泰国 - 曼谷(廊曼国际机场) 


In Bangkok, there are two international airport.

在曼谷有两个国际机场。

Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Mueang International Airport.

素万那普机场和廊曼国际机场。

What mentioned has nothing to do with this article.

所提到的与本文无关。

This article is about budget airlines.

这篇文章是关于廉价航空。


My mom will jokingly say that I take a flight like a bus.

我妈会开玩笑地说我搭飞机好像搭巴士。

Would not dare to say I have a lot of flying experience.

不敢说我有很多飞行经验。

Other than economic class, I had flown in business class too.

除了经济舱也搭过商务舱。

Yet to try first class flight. (Any sponsor?)

还没有试过头等舱。 (任何赞助商?)


When budget airlines were first introduced in Singapore just over a decade ago, I had tried them too.

当十多年前廉价航空首次在新加坡推出时,我也曾经试搭过。

At one point of time, I enjoyed flying via budget airline as I could rest / sleep the moment I got in the cabin.

有一段时间,我喜欢乘坐廉价航空,因为当我进入机舱时,可以直接休息 / 睡觉。

To me is very simple, I just need the plane to fly me from Point A to Point B.

对我来说很简单,我只需要飞机把我从A点飞到B点。

I do not need any kind of service from the flight attendants.

我不需要空服人员的任何服务。

But eventually I had lost interest in budget airline as it is norm for flight delay.

但是逐渐的我对廉价航空失去了兴趣,因为航班延误是正常的事。

What are the differences between budget airlines and full-service airlines?

廉价航空和全价航空有什么不同?

Other than the price, legroom is something to consider too.

除了价格之外,脚部的伸展空间也是需要考虑的事项。

Normally budget carriers have very limited legroom.

通常廉价航空脚部的伸展空间非常有限。

If you have long legs, you can either forgo the budget airlines or chop off your legs to squeeze into the seat.

如果你有一双长腿,你可以放弃廉价航空或考虑砍掉你的双脚来挤进座位。


You can forget about the comfort of using the boarding bridge.

你可以把舒适地使用登机桥给忘了!

Some airports do not provide boarding bridge for budget airline travellers.

有些机场不提供廉价航空旅客登机桥。

Passengers need to climb the stairs to board their aircraft.

乘客需要自己爬楼梯上飞机。


It may sound crazy, it is best you can bring along your umbrella just in case it rains.

这可能听起来很疯狂,最好可以带上你的雨伞,以防万一下雨。

Although most budget airlines provide umbrellas during rainy days but passengers have to take turns.

尽管大多数廉价航空公司会在雨天提供雨伞,但僧多粥少得轮流用。


So when purchasing the ticket it is better to indicate whether assistance is needed.

因此,购买机票时最好表明是否需要协助。

There were cases whereby passengers with hearing impair or in wheelchairs were banned from boarding the aircraft.

曾经发生过,有听力障碍或轮椅的乘客被禁止登机。


Passengers will be transported from the departure hall to the aircraft by buses.

廉价航空公司会用巴士把乘客从出发大厅运送至停机坪。

The bus will not start until a certain number of passengers have been on board.

巴士只有在有一定数量的乘客上车后才会启动。


There are not many seats, so most of the passengers must stand.

座位不多,所以大部分乘客都必须站立。

Even if you have seat, do not expect to rest as you will be bombarded with noises.

就算有得坐也别休想在巴士上闭目养神,因为你会被南腔北调疲劳轰炸。


For those who cannot travel without food, it is advisable to order the food when purchase the ticket.

对于那些不能没有食物的乘客来说,购买机票时最好一起订购食物。

It is cheaper than to buy it on board.

这要比在机上再购买便宜。

The food printed in the catalogue (above picture) and the food served (below picture).

目录表呈现的食物(上图)与机舱内端上的食物(下图)。


Reality is always cruel.

现实永远是残酷的。

What you see, is most of the time, not what you get.

你所看到的,大部分时间,不是你所得到的。

Budget airline cannot expect too much.

都说是廉价航空咯,那就将就点呗。


The only advantage of flying budget airline is the close contact with the aircraft.

乘坐廉价航空的唯一好处就是与飞机的近距离接触。

P/S: Most budget airlines allow 7Kg of hand carry baggage but Thai Lion Air allows additional 20Kg of check-in luggage.

注:大多数廉价航空公司允许7公斤的手提行李,但泰国狮航允许额外的20公斤托运行李。