Live well, work hard, play play? 
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The Communist Merman
Ladybaby, don’t you know it’s true? They call me the communist merman from the land of the blues. I don’t remember the things you said, just the nights and days we laid on the burning sand when we promised our desire would never end.
You swore I was your only one, but that was a lie long before we were done.
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The Pagoda on the Hill
But this is not how this tale starts, I’ll tell it right even as we sail off the charts. For when our affair did turn sour, the kindly monks turned me out of their tower. No longer can I return to the pagoda on the hill, no longer will this unbuddha have his thrills.
Instead the priests of deep piety allowed the deeper seas to swallow me, and I was left to sink or swim or simply drown in a watery dream. Yet ever the stubborn mongrel dog I am, so you know I’d make shore or be damned.
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The Woman in the Boat
I met a woman rowing on a boat while I was busy trying to keep afloat. Her name she wouldn’t say, but would I like some oysters from the bay? I declined politely and enquired, whether land was near as I getting very tired.
She dug up a map from under her rotting trout and offered it to me, adding, “Why don’t you figure it out?”
I turned to thank her for the favour but already she was gone without even a “see you later.”
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The Map with No End
Now I had a solution to my problem for the constant wetness was surely tiresome. Quickly I unfurled the map only to discover it was a trap. The seas went on and on without end. There was no sight and clue of any land! O woe is me, I decided. Finally, it seems I’ve been bested. By lascivious monks no less, and a rather (I thought) very pretty lass.
The map with no end soon got soggy and that’s when the sea got foggy and I a little groggy…
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Mr. & Mrs. Dog
… and when I opened my eyes again, I discovered I had not rejoiced in vain. For the seas had changed colour and no longer had that deathly pallor, and while I was still floating in the waves, I no longer felt I was heading to my aquatic grave.
The sun shone once more and the seabirds flocked and cheered galore. All was bright and good; now if only I could get some food. My prayers were answered almost instantaneously as a boat appeared towards which I swam furiously. I was helped on board the seaworthy vessel by my saviours with a large barrel.
Mr. & Mrs. Dog were kind and generous and soon filled my tummy and my purse. Still, while they proved perfect hosts to be, I’m still a communist of pirate pedigree. I soon commandeered their little ship, threw them overboard and continued on my trip.
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The Bay of Lost Junks
After sixteen days and sixteen nights, finally did land fall within my sight! The shore, the shore, the sweet shining shore. I wonder if I had stumbled upon the city of Singapore? But nay, as I scaled the highest peak, I saw something that made my knees grow weak…
… it was the Bay of the Lost Junks! O surely my life my fate is now surely sunk!
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Photographs & design by Kenny Mah.
Vịnh Hạ Long, Vietnam.
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Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Part 1: The Communist Merman
Part 2: These Pages They Dream
Part 3: The Streets of Long Goodbyes
Part 4: The Garden of Lanterns of Grave Lament
ws gonna say nice foto on twitter! now i know whr its from ! So merman merman, do u shed your scales to walk on land and does glass pierce ur every step? Oh the agony suffered for the one u love:P
Yeah, I was using the same photo on Facebook for a bit too. This was in late February too… The Vietnam post(s) have been a long time coming, heh.
As for the Mr. Merman bit, well, I just thought I’d try something completely random with this post… post a picture first, write a bit, post another, write some more, and so on. So the story’s a bit jumbled up and jagged but at least I get to be surprised too! Yay.
And I so do not have scales. This merman wears Paul Smith and stays only ankle-deep in water as a gentleman should.
The merman wears Paul Smith? What a fashionable creature! =)
Nah, he just likes the colours…
Ha Long Bay!!!! Oooh Love the tranquility of the place. Maybe these days it has one too many junks and pesky woman in the boat. No? Ok you can see that I’m totally just looking at the nice pictures. Just browsing through while having my breakfast. I’ll prolly take my time to read the rest of the post later in the day. Have a good one ahead bro!
Hope you’re having a nice breakfast with the pics. Maybe the text would go well with your lunch? Hehe
And there are more junks, yes. But it’s still very nice.
Such deep thoughts the the sour aspects of the story, you have a sweet balance of sights around you = )
Wait for Part 2, the pictures get nicer and the story? Well, I’ll know how the story is once I write it lah. Hahaha.
Wow. That’s a really communist looking banner
Just short of the Mao uniform and the cap.
Yeah, it’s the Vietnamese national flag. It’s so iconic it’s emblazoned on caps and T-shirts everywhere… and of course, being the reluctant tourist that I am… I had to buy the T-shirt at least. Something like, “I went to Vietnam and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”
Merman? Show us your “mertail”.
Shy lah… Maybe in private?
Very poetic. Great observations. Mr and Mr Dog…hahaha.
Not “Mr and Mr Dog” lah. It’s “Mr. and Mrs. Dog”… I’m sure, I checked… LOL
Ack. Freudian slip. My bad.
Hmm, didn’t realise you knew Sigmund personally…
where is the man-tail?
You also want to see ar? Maybe I should get my secretary to schedule some appointment slots… Hahaha…
yeah you should. LOL…
I think she can slot you in after dinner… three weeks from now.
onz!
Ape tu ‘onz’?
*kick merman down the sea… LOL*
by the way, why do you compare yourself to mongrel dog??
*falls in to sea. ouch.*
A mongrel dog is tough and never gives up. Bites hard, too. Grrr…
Your description of a mongrel dog reminds me of Alligator – from Henry Lawson’s ‘The Drover’s Wife’.
Btw, it’s a date regarding the private showing.
Why does that title sound so familiar? Have I read it somewhere before? Hmm…
P.S. Sweet date, then! LOL
Halong Bay is just beautiful!! Especially the view of the junks from the hilltop.. But it was a real hefty climb! =) And it is worth it..
Hahaha, there’s a story behind my climb… and how I tricked five other folks to follow me with promises of “It’s just 15 more steps.”
I must have said that line twenty times before we reached the top!
The view, though, was glorious and well worth it. Gorgeous… Expect more in the next post!
on the junks the fishermen await, oh curious fishes come, come to bait. white squids are dancing, red lobsters are parading. fresh from the net, fry or steam choose your set. promise us dear communist merman, a delicious poem of seafood in a pan.
O dear Chairman Nic, what delectable cheek, to dare foretell this blog’s future and not fear needing sutures… But right you are, as the sun is a star, that a poem next beckons… of shrimp wrapped in bacon… served in a hot pan as yours truly gets his tan…
What a title what a sneer
Continue with naked merman sipping beer?
Naked merman sipping beer wearing nothing but his sneer? Sure, no problem, my dear… I’ll show ya… just not here.
I wanna go Halong Bay too!
*jeles habis*
Don’t lah macam tu… Halong Bay is right there waiting for you…
To cheer you up, more pics coming soon in Part Two!
Oooh sneaky woman on the boat! There’s a real The Beach gone wrong feel to this Indochine sea adventure! But bring on the shrimp wrapped in bacon, for surely that must have been what weakened your knees, you waterlogged creature lost in a fog!
Haha, I like that description — “The Beach gone wrong” — which may be a perfect way to put it. But mostly it’s me scribbling rubbish at an hour past my bedtime. Hopefully I’m more coherent by the next post.
And oh… there’s more where the shrimp wrapped in bacon came from… Yums, indeed.
“You swore I was your only one, but that was a lie long before we were done.”
Everyone lies sometimes, right?
True, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing…
Whoa.
Went to Vietnam huh? Holiday eh?
Thess final weeks of the semester is killing me slowly! I need a blue-sky holiday after the papers are over!
Do get one, bro, all all the exam madness is over! You sure deserve it, haha.
“Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature. ”
So.. keep on being creative! Love the first photo on your FB!
We tend to forget how intrinsically important creativity is to keep us growing and evolving… I must confess I forget that myself sometimes. Thanks for the reminder! I will work on being creative always!
LOL i can imagine u and nic locked in poetic battle ;p where is part 2 faster! else u bet this blog will definitely need sutures ;p
Part 2? Man, I haven’t even looked at the rest of the photos yet… there’s HUNDREDS!
Get started on the hundreds on photos then, we want Part 2! :d
Aiyo… so pushy lah you guys! Okay, okay…
P.S. If this blog ever needed sutures, you’d be the doctor to fix it!
the last one of the bay is stunning! i wanna go vietnam too. haha. yeah the story a bit confusing at first, was wondering whether there’s any link between the diff parts. lol
Yeppers. That last shot was one of my favourites. Especially considering the work I had to put in climbing all those steps before reaching the top. But so worth it once I’m there… the view, O the view!
finally after soooo long. hahaha ….
it was cold back then, right? and the weather was foggy lah. … cant even make out the hills from the boats. (a little exaggerated, but somehow twas true).
Not really, it was nice and chilly but never cold…No fogs either… good timing, I guess. This was late February, by the way.
What was the woman in the boat selling? Looks like a lot of stuff!
Amongst other things — junk food, chocolate, soft drinks, beer and even condoms!
The puppies look so cute!! ^_^
The cutest. They have really beautiful and well-groomed dogs in Vietnam (even when they are strays and not actually groomed). Maybe it’s in the water that they drink?
the bay of lost junks? sounds like something from pirates of carribean =)
Who knows? Maybe pirates might turn up in Part 2… or maybe not. We’ll see, won’t we? Stay tuned, dear readers!
Can’t believe you threw nice Mr and Mrs Dog overboard! May the Lord Dog smite you with the flat side of a rawhide bone, Merman!
Mr. Merman don’t get smited, just smitten… with LURVE.
The dogs.. the dogs! I noticed that all of em (even strays!) are so handsome!!! Their coat of fur so shiny and healthy. Eyes always look so eager. And there was one particular one I saw at the Perfume Pagoda which was so fit! I should see the legs muscles really toned.
It’s a competitive country… especially for canines. But more on that later… Hehe.
Dog Eat Dog World?
More like Man Eat Do… well, let’s leave that for later, shall we?
Ha Long Bay has some of the bluest waters I have soon. Vert Beautiful.
In total agreement, sir.
at least this pirates tale doesn’t star that elf from lord of the rings, haha.
Oooh. Orlando Bloom would be so hurt to hear that, man.
orlando bloom isn’t piratey enuf. make my pirate johnny depp anyday!
I can hear the screams of fangirls yelling their agreement all over the globe. Yikes.
I would prefer Johnny Depp also. Looks more like a real man. Scruffy and sexy.
Bravo, Mr. Depp on your loyal fanbase. But I can’t help but pity Mr. Bloom here… I kinda liked him as an Elf. The stiffness becomes him in LOTR, a perfect poker face for subtle humour, no?
You do bring out Halong Bay in a different way. ..nice pics!
Perhaps this is the real Ha Long Bay that I remember? Hehe.
nice flag! is that vietnamese or a communist flag?
It’s the Vietnamese national flag, and an emblem of their communist status. But now, more than ever, it’s an iconic fashion symbol too… I certainly bought the T-shirt!
Sent me into the dreamy world with the sights and prose. I could have fallen asleep if its aat night I am reading!
Dreamy? Let’s hope it’s sweet dreams then!
tat lady in the boat doesnt look as if she gt any space for herself!
Well, let me tell you the story about how one of these boat ladies tried to get her away into one of the gentleman’s bunks in my junk… another day!
ah, so i am correct! every line does rhyme! so that means ur whole vietnam series will rhyme also? very creative, hehe.
Hahaha, it’s been sorta rhyming so far, through no fault of mine, really. I even tried to make Part Two normal prose but it just took over…. I’m certainly not adverse to verse.
Ah, you have a picture of the boatwoman here. So this is Part 1. When will Part 3 come out?
This weekend, I hope. No promises though!
I thought merman will naked just like mermaid? ^.^
Er, well, you see… He discovered the G-string?
These are beautiful photos. I love the way you played with color.
Thanks, mate. Colour is everything to me some days… Reminds me I’m not living in a black-and-white world but neither one that is full of greys either.