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Marshall Cavendish International - Rodney Ee

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99 pages

English

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Rodney Ee launched his first book of travel anecdotes in 2013 after collecting stories and travel experiences over many years of globe-trotting. The world has changed a lot since then: The advent of 4G and the abundance of free WIFI have created a culture of instant gratification on Social Media. Furthermore, before the Covid-19 pandemic struck and completely altered global tourism, travel had never been easier with the proliferation of budget airlines and handy navigational apps. In the past, Asian travellers with "yellow" skin (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and others) were sometimes collectively treated with disdain and subject to racial slurs in some countries. Fast forward to the present, and almost a fifth of all tourism spending is attributed to Chinese travellers, who are now warmly welcomed and targeted by many merchants and tourism authorities around the world. The Chinese diaspora has also emigrated to almost all corners of the world, and as an Asian traveller it is common to hear foreigners try to catch your attention by calling out "Knee How, Knee How" everywhere you travel. Covering all kinds of travel experiences from bull-fights and safaris to unique spa sessions and fiery festivals, this collection of 20 pieces are mostly drawn from Rodney's further travels since his last book, and reflect his keen observation of human nature and his ability to spin stories that are both humorous and entertaining.

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Travel writing

Humour

Informations

Publié par	Marshall Cavendish International
Date de parution	28 décembre 2020
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814928984
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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Extrait

2021 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: (65) 6213 9300. E-mail: genref@sg.marshallcavendish.com
Website: www.marshallcavendish.com
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices:
Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 800 Westchester Ave, Suite N-641, Rye Brook, NY 10573, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd, 253 Asoke, 16th Floor, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data
Names: Ee, Rodney, author. | Cotton, Herv , illustrator.
Title: Knee how? : the further misadventures of a globe-trotting Singaporean /
Rodney Ee ; illustrations by Herv Cotton.
Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2021
Identifiers: OCN 1224299304 | eISBN 978 981 4928 98 4
Subjects: LCSH: Ee, Rodney-Travel. | Voyages and travels. | Travelers.
Classification: DDC 910-dc23
Printed in Singapore
All illustrations by Herv Cotton
C ONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue
Knee How?
Technology Dinosaur
Beware Of The Bidet
Before Google Maps
Insane In The Membrane
Run! Run! Run!
Shin Pads Not Included
What A Load Of Bull!
Have Siren Will Travel
The Meaning Of Life
Filipino Time
Why Did The Wildebeest Cross The River?
Worst Case Scenarios
The Toilet Inspector
Rain Rain Go Away
Of Mouse and Man
The Day I Flashed Florence
Try The Miso Soup
Recipe For Steamed Marinated Chicken
The Global Smorgasbord
A Meal To Die For
Do You Want Flies With That?
Say Cheese
The Chinese Photography Factory
A Festival For Everyone
Human Geography
Obscene Village Names For 200
The Elephant In The Room
Epilogue
Silver Linings
About The Author
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
A special note of thanks to all the following people who supported me in the creation and publishing of this book.
My family, for always being supportive of my endeavours.
Herve, for always being a great friend and contributing more wonderful illustrations for this book.
Julie, for helping me review the preliminary drafts and giving me great feedback.
Melvin and the team from Marshall Cavendish, for continuing to support local writers like me.
And finally, my long-suffering wife Michelle, who after enduring sub-zero temperatures, many hours of disruption to her beauty rest, and squadrons of tsetse flies on our travels, is still by my side.
I NTRODUCTION
It was April in the year 2013. In a savvy French caf named Cordon Bleu along Thomson Road, a little-known writer invited an audience of family and friends to join him for a small event. The ambience was cosy, with some of the writer s photos adorning the walls of the caf , and the food was magnifique - compliments of the very talented Monsieur and Madame Herve Cotton.
After more than ten years of collecting stories and travel experiences, two years of hammering away at keyboards, enduring countless hours of writer s block, and many more months of cornea-damaging proofreading; rewriting of several paragraphs (and sometimes whole chapters); haggling (and begging) with editors to save some lines, and running after the cartoonist for completed sketches, the book was finally launched to some fanfare. It was mission accomplished, a dream fulfilled, and a time for carpe diem .
The writer signs a couple of books at the event for some fawning fans (or so he imagines), and then comes face-to-face with an old friend. He picks up the book, looks at its cover, skims through the pages quickly, read a couple of lines, and then, in one fell swoop, proceeds to throw the writer off the face of a steep cliff. Nice book, when s the next one?
The world has moved on since that fateful day. Great men and women have gone to meet their maker, global markets have continued on a rollercoaster ride, and Singapore s soccer team is no closer to qualifying for the World Cup. Political correctness has been booted out the door, the tension between globalisation and nationalisation has never been higher, and the route to the presidency is now through your twitter account.
Global pollution levels remain high, and leaders are turning a blind eye. Global warming is on the rise, and with the heat, so too the number of times I need to shower every day. The fresh water needs of the global population are also rising, in tandem with global sea levels, which threaten to wipe out tiny island states. In a few years, my honeymoon location might be under water, and we would need to scuba-dive to make a romantic return. Species extinction rates are accelerating, yet dodos and morons are proliferating.
The only constant in all this is change, and the only certainty is taxes and death, plus the fact that I always seem to need to take a dump in toilets that were last cleaned at the end of the last millennium. Free Wi-Fi is everywhere, and the most important travel accessory is no longer your passport, but the selfie stick. Instant gratification on social media is on the rise, and TikTok is no longer just the sound that your clock makes, but the latest must-have platform for promoting yourself and your products.
Not long after the book launch, I moved on to a new job, but my voracious appetite for travel meant scooting off on airplanes whenever I could find some time, even if it was just for a few days. Trying to juggle the desire to document these experiences with the demands of the new role, has been like trying to maintain adulterous relationships with two insanely jealous mistresses, whilst trying to keep the affairs private from my long-suffering wife Michelle. At times, it has been a challenge to find the energy and the inspiration after long days at work, extended periods of procrastination, and endless hours of distractions on Netflix. So, if I should see you at the launch of this new labour of love, please do me a favour - do not ask me there and then, when the next book will be.
Warning I bite.
PROLOGUE

K NEE H OW ?
Sometime during the late 1980s, when big hair and shoulder pads ruled the fashion world, a seventeen-year old walked around the cobblestoned streets of London with his college mates, on his maiden trip to the country that gave him Queens Elizabeth and Mercury. He took in the sights of landmarks he had come to know from watching television and reading books, and listening to broadcasts from the BBC World Service. He visited the great museums and the flea markets, and bought memorabilia of his favourite soccer team. He navigated the complexities of the London Tube, and ate fish and chips at Picadilly. He also came to appreciate the theatre of the West End, and reeled in shock and horror, when fellow Singaporean Glen Goei did a full monty onstage, opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins in David Henry Hwang s iconic M. Butterfly .
Most of all, he began to understand what it was like to have black hair and yellow skin, and walk around in a foreign country and be shouted at: Go back to China, you chink!
Somehow, when I look back on that fateful day, I do not recall feeling any anger or resentment over the racist jibe. Notwithstanding the fact that whoever yelled it was a first-class moron and a second class racist, I am after all, a descendant of a China man. My nurture has taught me to speak differently, to think differently, and pledge my loyalty to another country, but I am, at the end of the day, ethnically Chinese. Of late, whenever I did travel to China, it felt, somewhat nostalgically, like I was going back to China. Don t get me wrong - I love my country, and I am as proud a Singaporean as one can be (except when I m trying to haggle for discount, or when I do something really embarrassing). But as I grow older, I find myself becoming more curious about why my ancestors made the arduous and dangerous journey across the South China Sea; where they lived before they decided to emigrate; and if I have any long-lost cousins and family still living in China.
Presently, the Chinese diaspora has emigrated to all four corners of the earth, with large overseas Chinese populations even in countries like Ghana, Peru and Kazakhstan. I also experienced a culture shock when I visited the small Pacific Island country of Vanuatu, and observed that all the provision shops and supermarkets were owned and operated by Chinese. The Chinese communist planned economy of the past has given way to market driven capitalism, and the Chinese are among the biggest investors in the world, driving global investments in mammoth strategic infrastructure projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative. Even Hollywood is not spared, and a significant number of Hollywood movies now have opening sequences with Chinese production logos, and increasingly feature a token actor or actress from China.
The Chinese now have the highest purchasing power parity in the world, even higher than the United States, and almost a