Sandcastles

Took DD to Pangkor two weeks ago - seeing as how she has a passionate interest in working out how much sand she can fill in her swimmers before she sinks - we think we have a physicist in the making here folks. Drove up to Lumut on Friday and took the ferry across to Pangkor and stayed at the Coral Bay Resort Pangkor. So the thing about Coral Bay Resort Pangkor is this - ITS RUBBISH, and if you're thinking of staying there - DONT. There are better ways to spend your RM260 a night.
The rooms were dirty, the food was revolting - creates a new definition for the word revolting, and the facilities were so far removed from the pics in the web-site - it goes to show how little you can rely on websites and advertising. We were thoroughly dissapointed and more than a little pissed off. Further the advertised 100 metres from the beach - while accurate - was not really a beach for swimming - it was where boats were docked for picking up passengers for island boat trips - very inappropriate for swimming as it was too deep. Thankfully Pangkor island in itself is so charming it made up for the the disappointment in the accomodation and we managed to get a cab and go to a "real beach" for the better part of our holiday there. On the plus side we had the best seafood I have ever had in my entire life at Restaurant Yee Lin in Pasir Bogak. The food was so tasty I'm still having spasms thinking about it - if you are ever in Pangkor this place is a must - you will not regret it.

DD has learnt that if you build your sandcastles too near to the shore they get swept away - a lesson for us all I think.

So here's an interesting fact (am reading Crunch Time by Mike Hanley & Adrian Monck and its really scaring me) - apparently if everyone in the world were to have the same standard of living as one enjoys in downtown Europe - the earth's resources as it stands at present can only sustain 2 billion people. The current population of the world stands at 6 billlion.Doesnt that statistic scare the pants off you? We have two choices- the ones who are living it up can tone it down a little to let the 4 billion get a bit of the pie OR we can get the 4 billion to voluntarily jump off a cliff - eliminating the problem. So you gonna tell them or me? At the heart of this lies the idea of sustainability - how can we make sure we have enough to go around - and what is enough for those of us who have enough? Also can we really blame the "have nots" for loathing the "haves"?

Did you know half of the world's population live on less than US$2 a day - US$2 a day. That's less than RM6.80 a day. Now lets see what can that buy you? - A loaf of white bread costs RM1.90, a nasi lemak costs you at best RM1, a bunch of spinach from the wet market would cost you RM1, a fish would cost you (at RM9 per kilo for the cheapest fish) maybe RM3 for one fish - so that's what you'd get a loaf of bread, 1 nasi lemak, 1 fish and 1 bunch of spinach for the day - never mind clothes, rent, amenities, education, medical expenses etc. And this is what half the world's population get to enjoy every day - that's half - ie 50% - ie its just luck of the draw that you and I happen to be on this side of the 50% fence - ie OMIGOD!

Ok we all know there are poor people and we all know we are privileged - but just think about these statistics at this basic level what do we spend a day compared to what The Others get to spend a day. Its hard not to be overwhelmed by the futility of it all - and its hard to know what we can do to make any difference, its hard not to feel like bashing your head against a brick wall. But just to be aware of the statistics in itself is surely a start - a way to shake us out of our stupor - and give us perspective - RM6.80 a day - thats not a life.

"There but for the grace of God go I" - never made more sense than it does now.