Water channels

Next time you are in the Tai Tam Country Park, pause to check out the 21-arch Tai Tam Upper Reservoir Masonry Aqueduct. You are looking at a master feat of engineering.

Broadly used to describe any water-carrying channel, an aqueduct is a bridge-like structure supporting a conduit or canal passing over a river or low ground. The practice of using underground or land pipes and tunnels to transport water is as old as the Harappan civilisation. But it was the Romans who used them extensively to transport water over long distances for drinking and for public baths. It was one such relic known as the Pont du Gard, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which I visited a few kilometres off Nimes (尼姆) in Southern France (法國).

Pont in French means a bridge. Pont du Gard, or bridge on the River Gard, was built in 1AD “to carry a section of the channels and pipes” of the 50-kilometre aqueduct that transported water from the Eure Spring in the city of Uzes (澤斯) to Nimes, a Roman colony then. It also served as a footbridge for travellers to cross the river.
At 49 metres, Pont du Gard with its three rows of arches – six in the bottom row, 11 in the middle and 47 (only 35 remain) in the top row - is the highest and one of the best preserved Roman aqueduct bridges. Atop the third row is the covered water channel. The structure’s maintenance became irregular by the fourth century and completely ceased by the sixth century.

Watching the bridge as the sun blazes in the backdrop sets the imagination loose. It appears like a grand gate standing guard over a city. It is surreal to observe the signatures left behind by craftsmen and artisans of the Compagnons du Tour de France, a group that has since the Middle Ages travelled afar to apprentice with various teachers. The bridge casts dark shadows on the green river water, neatly dividing it into dark and sun-lit columns.

Trekking down so far to just meet an ancient sentry holding its post may not sound appealing to some of you. But think back to the many arched bridges you may have crossed in trains or watched in movies. Think about the Bowen aqueduct that quenches the Central District. There is history behind everyday phenomena. The present is but rooted in the past and it is the achievements and discoveries of the olden times that have brought the modern world so far.

Photo: Wikipedia

Work Relax Eat

When life throws lemons at you make lemonade. I am not sure if that is how it goes but I am sure that is what it precisely means. Past month, I decided to put on war paint and not duck the lemons that life has taken to throwing at me. Even war generals get cold feet. I started unsteady but steeled on the way. I worked late, over the weekend, forgot about the helper's impending leave and the gathering dust and laundry. As I pushed my aching self to the limit, I discovered that I may soon be glaring at the world with four eyes. At the end I got to lie down on the beach, go kayaking, spot jelly fishes, watch people, have yummy food, get tanned, sleep and shop. Putting up on of my favourite pictures of the short holiday I went on.

(That's not me)

Doubts

There are days when my confidence sinks like an iron ball in water. I am tormented by doubts - Am I intelligent? Do I look good? Do I dress well? Is my home pretty Do I write well?

Answers to these questions are best not answered I suppose. Because it is in the doldrums and in the storms we battle that we meet life and grow. I am still anxious but I hope that tomorrow will be better.

Freefall

My feet felt like jelly. The heart’s pounding seemed to be coming through a stethoscope. As I tethered on the edge, holding on to life, I felt myself being pushed forward into the endless abyss. Time stood still for a moment. The shock of being pushed out of an aircraft had numbed me. And then I screamed.

It all started a day ago when I arrived in Queenstown. Situated on Lake Wakatipu in the South Island of New Zealand, the town is essentially a haven for lovers of adventure sports. Of all its daredevil sports, Queenstown is best known for skydiving. After meeting almost a dozen people who were heading for a date with the skies, I could not resist the temptation to sign up too. I was to jump from a small aircraft the next day along with two other brave hearts.

Before the jump, we were given some vital instructions, jumpsuits, helmets, goggles and gloves. The drill was to be simple. The instructors who would be accompanying each one of us would help us jump out lest we had second thoughts. After a freefall of 45 seconds, they would open the parachutes and after five minutes we would be back on Earth.

As the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 12,000 foot, I silently watched my co-jumpers sucked out into the white emptiness. Soon it was my turn to take the plunge. My hands had turned cold inside the gloves. I inched towards the door but I was not supposed to charge forward like a bull and get over with it. I had to balance myself on the edge of the aircraft’s door and then jump. The instructor was getting restless at my chosen moment for reverie but I could not move. It was then that he pushed me.



When I had screamed my lungs out for what seemed like an eternity, I stared in awe at the scene below. The lake below was a blazing blue amidst brown hills. The stillness was sense-defying and I felt suspended in a timeless void. If silence could be defined, then that is how it would be. I was at peace. As the freefall was cut short by the opening of the parachute, I came back to reality. It was soon time to be back on Earth. As I sat down to pull myself together, I knew that I would be back someday.

Panting over paintings

I am in seventh heaven! Two paintings up! After listening to P’s grumbling for months over neglecting the painting he gifted me and feeling devastated over my own pick looking drab in frame, the Eureka idea hit me like lightning. P was immediately put to work and the genius he is, my masterpieces were up and hanging in minutes. Needless to say, they look fabulous together!

And every time I have one more frame up, I am reminded of the 14-year-old who left no corner of her room bare. There were drawings all over. A huge hand-made poster of Daisy Duck adorned the door that opened into the living room. My dad did a double-take every time he entered my room and I had to grudgingly take off a few of my lovelies.

Some day when I have a daughter, I want her to pick a pen and scribble like there is no tomorrow (a son will be no less welcome to do the honours). I know I will regret that! But I want her to get over her inhibitions and know that every discovery begins with few failures. Decorating one’s home comes naturally to some people but for most it is a tedious and scary process. I belong in the latter category.

I am taking baby steps towards putting together a home that has a soul and a look. Material goals are often more elusive than the spiritual ones. But I will be there someday. Till then back to drooling over my new loves.

Work

Apart from the back breaking hours I spend bent over proofs, the new job has been fun. It is like giving up the macro view for the micro; abandoning binoculars for a microscope; and giving up dreams of flying to scour the earth. I am still rusty with my commas and hyphens and ignorant of grammatical rules but I am learning to slow down and hunt for the errant quotation marks and the hideous z.

And as I frown at my computer screen all day long, the day turns into night and ships return to the dock after a hard day’s work. From a blazing blue the world outside turns into a cascade of black and from the window glass pane I look back at myself.

Burden

A feeder ship laden with sand stands alone in the middle of the harbour off Shau Kei Wan.