That China has emerged as a global economic powerhouse especially in the aftermaths of the global financial crisis cannot be disputed. In fact, it is credited as having been the key driver of global economic growth, in a period where the western economic markets were largely subdued. Africa has benefitted immensely from the growth of the Chinese economy in the recent past. Statistics show that by the end of 2012, China`s Foreign Direct Investment in the continent approached the $20 billion mark. For all intents and purposes, this is a significant amount of investment which goes to show the prominence with which the so called ‘sleeping giant’ is rising.

Zimbabwe has increasingly become more reliant on China, on the back of the ‘look east policy’ being pursued by the Zimbabwean government. Chinese owned Anjin investments invested $400 million to form a joint venture with the Zimbabwean government to mine diamonds in the Marange fields. Furthermore, various companies in the country, Zisco Steel (now Zim Steel) being a case in point, have benefited from China`s investments in the country, giving more currency to Sino-Zim trade relations. Additionally, a deal for the installation of two generators at Kariba South worth around $400 million is said to have been concluded with Sino-Hydro Company.

According to the World Bank, Zimbabwe has managed to increase its Foreign Direct Investment nearly eightfold in just four years, to $387 million form a paltry $51, 6 million in 2008. Much of this resurgence in capital inflows is greatly as a result of the investments the Chinese have made in Zimbabwe. This however, is not out of sync with current global trends. Recent statistics show that China has surpassed Japan as the world`s second biggest economy. China also has the largest foreign exchange reserves, which stand at a staggering $3, 4 trillion, mainly held in US, and other western countries` debt instruments, showing how dominant the Chinese have become in global trade and investment dynamics.

While China`s role in Zimbabwe`s economy mirrors worldwide tendencies, one cannot avoid but question the effects of a weakening Chinese economy on the country. These concerns are not too farfetched considering that recently, Chinese data released showed that the Asian giant`s economy grew by 7, 7%, missing forecasts which stood at around 8%. Some analysts have attributed the recent slump in the price of gold, the biggest in a year and a half, to China`s weakening growth, at a time when it is a key driver of global demand. Zimbabwe’s economic model dependent on foreign investment from China is therefore, a cause for concern as it renders the country susceptible to external shocks presented by a downturn in China`s economy.

At a time when there are nascent signs of recovery in the local economy, every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that robust economic fundamentals are established within the economy, to ensure that this recovery, translates into sustainable growth going forward. Efforts to delineate the country from risks such as those being presented by a global system over-reliant on China must be the focus of the powers that be. One may argue that in an era of global interconnectedness, the risks of contagion may be difficult to contain. While this argument has its merits, history has shown how diversification insulates economies from adverse global economic developments. The major cause for concern would be the impact on the economy, if these capital flows largely from one destination where to come to an abrupt halt. This will obviously have detrimental effects on the Zimbabwean economy, and is an event that should be avoided.

At a time when the amount of Foreign Direct Investment in Zimbabwe is nothing to write home about, comparing with other regional countries, the objective for the Zimbabwean government becomes two fold. The first and perhaps the more crucial at this point in time, is to attract significant foreign Direct Investment into the country for investment spending, to boost the productive capacity of the local economy. Secondly, we must ensure that these capital flows come from a diversified base to limit the risk of shocks on the local economy.

Over the recent years, the continent has seen rapid growth in intra-African trade, particularly in sub-Saharan countries. This is a trend that should be encouraged, as a way of collectively expanding African economies. Soft infrastructure in the form of enhanced institutional capacity in African countries, respect for the rule of law, complimentary foreign exchange controls and tax regimes need to be implemented to boost intra-African trade. As trade amongst African countries gains traction, so too will the capacity of African economies to invest inwardly, thereby ensuring sufficient funds for investment purposes within the continent.

Whereas the reliance on China has so far been working to some extent, this model is simply not sustainable. China`s long term growth prospects are increasingly being threatened by the recent trends of decline in the working-age population, somewhat attributed to its ‘one-child’ policy and its socio-economic structure where an estimated 900 million people of its 1, 2 billion population still live in poverty. Already, some are predicting that the Chinese economic bubble may be starting to burst. A weakening of the Chinese economy as a result of these structural issues would inevitably be a precursor to a massive scaling down of their outward FDI flows. Basing on the current economic model, Zimbabwe would be adversely exposed to this economic risk.

Moreover, Zimbabwe must be on guard from opening itself up to a new form of imperialism by the Chinese, and recognise that at the end of the day, like any other investor, they are competitively driven by the profit motive, and will ultimately look out for their own interests. In my opinion, the question of the effects over-reliance Zimbabwe, and perhaps to a level, Africa has on capital flows and trade with China is one that merits debate, especially as we rebuild our economy. Granted, the country has benefitted from the support of its ‘all weather friend’, but the question is how sustainable is this model moving forward?

When Dr. McGee left my office to investigate a matter concerning Venus and Saturn, along with its moons, he left with me his memorandums on his research up to date on the issue he was putting together. Somehow I was not optimistic I’d not see him again in the flesh. I had no doubts he-as always-had discovered something, after he had denoted something about hand-axes made of flint 700,000-years ago found on a Norfolk beach, a recent axe made of basalt 49,000 years old, then referring to the first Sumerian King, A-lu-lim, 241,000 B.C., and the north and south poles being reversed by earth’s magnetic invisible shield which seemingly took place 778,000-years ago, he called it: ‘Planet Reversal’ and then he went home, sat in chair, had heart attack and died. My old Army friend, and scientific comrade, just like that. The funeral took place in Alabama yesterday, and his manuscript, or memos he left behind for me to ponder on, a step into the mysterious cloud-enwrapped planet earth, as it was perhaps known to humanity or its inhabitants, per near a million years ago, information unattainable had he not left them with me.

As I started reading them in my office today after his funeral yesterday, a strange, outwardly unearthly world we had back in those far-off days, and so now I shall let Dr. McGee tell his own story in his own words as I read the manuscript, but a few pages long in its entire, to be his verbal scribe, the impersonality of my role being his explainer:

“They were dark haired people called ‘black-heads’ and spoke an agglutinative language, similar to the Ancient Turkish (Turanian). I do believe they came from another world, perhaps Venus, Saturn, or one of their moons, or one of the many 4000-planets now discovered by our interspace telescopes, searching the galaxies, especial the one hundred galaxies hidden behind the Milky Way, with their countless solar systems and planets:

“I found a map, purchased it, it was a redrawn map from around the 15th Century, which was a duplicate of a prior map I was told of a more ancient type. I traced the map back to King A-lu-lim, the first known Sumerian king, 241,000 B.C. His dynasty ruled five to six kingdoms, one being Antarctica. His region alone lasted 28,800-years, and his dynasty as I mentioned went back to, 241,000 B.C., thereafter onward. Until the second dynasty came into to play 24,510-years was its length, and the three or four or five dynasties thereafter, perhaps lasting 3000 to 3500-years a piece. It is safe to say, the Sumerian race goes back to perhaps 300,000-years or so, at which time, during this period the map was originally made. And on the map, Antarctica was a luscious green landmass.

“Now we must keep an open mind to this. One mystery leads to another, and things don’t get solved unless another unsolved mystery appears, and so King A-lu-lim whom I believe had the map original made, and made at a distance above the earth, and prior to his coming to earth, perhaps from some spacecraft, since it is a view overlooking the globe.

“To make the story simpler to understand I am abandoning any formal phrases in physics, or clutches, and try to explain how this all came about in more or less modest way, but I must assume the King and his astronauts came from some planet, I choose Venus, although it very well could have been anywhere among the star planets. The King, perhaps the Captain of the spacecraft, was courageous in his own right, hacking his way through space, hesitate to leave any real data on his trip about his trip, other than the map, having to overthrow the known world of hybrid humanoids. Even avoiding to a certain degree their presence, perhaps using them for labor purposes, when need be.

“Prior to the King’s arrival, about 778,000 B.C., another happening was in process, inside earth, and outside it, and around it. Earth’s turbulent and invisible magnetic field and shield, was taking a reversal.

“As we know within earth’s molten core, here fluid motions generate this field, some 3000 km beneath our feet. In a swirling opinion of liquid iron, this is what makes a compass do what a compass is supposed to do, and also creates the effects, as in the magnetism in rocks and ocean currents. As a result, we have this magnetic ‘bubble’ that protects us from space radiation, now weakening. Should it weaken excessively, north will become south and south, north! This very thing was taking place 780,000 B.C., slowly but surely, perhaps completed 250,000 B.C., which we can conclude Antarctica was green prior to this, whereupon, the Sumerians in its first eight kings, would have lived through this cycle change, of the mass magnetic field thinning at its midriff and reversing itself, changing the seasons in the south predominately and permanently, or at least until now, as it is changing once again.

“This change intensity, can be seen in the magnetic north, which is off more often than 400-miles any given day, and the geographical North, is never the same as the magnetic north as we know, and perchance think it should be. This all of course takes place in earth’s liquid motion within her east-west fluctuation flow.

“Now back to our dear Sumerian Kings, what happened to their dynasties? For the old dynasties perished, and the lesser dynasties came into play, those that ruled for 3500-years or so. By 70,000 B.C., the whole process of earth’s reversal had taken place. And because of this, a tragic event took place, that per near vanished earth’s humanoids to extinction. And the Sumerians likewise, actually the study shows the drastic dip in humanity to about 5000-total, male, female, old, young, children, and the entirety of humanoids and sub humanoids. Of them, perhaps forty-Sumerians survived, of which out of this, about 7600 B.C., the first Dynasty of Erech came into existence. But what took place on the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, and in the South China Sea area, during an Ice Age, Toba, a volcano erupted; a number ‘8’, of a mega-colossal magnitude, the greatest volcanic eruption in historic times. It blew 650 miles of vaporized rock into the air. Leaving a great portion of earth with six centimeters of ash, it cooled the earth by twenty degrees, and what was left of mankind, were simply small bands of humans, hungry and scattered for 50,000-years. And the legacy of the Sumerian Kings.” Dr. B. G. McGee

#5237/ 5-11 & 12 2016

Wreck diving is a popular form of diving amongst many divers. Wrecks can make exciting dive sites due to their history, the treasures they are home to, the volume of marine life and the skills they help divers develop. There are many wreck dives around the world. This article provides an overview of wreck diving in Sabah, Borneo. Situated along the west coast of Sabah are four large World War 2 wrecks. The wrecks are all ~150m WW2 Japanese cargo ships home to historic treasures, stunning coral gardens and teaming with marine life. Find out more about these wrecks and wreck diving along the west coast of Sabah, Borneo.

Whilst there are believed to be many wrecks in the South China Sea (from World War 2), there are currently four WW2 wrecks identified off the west coast of Sabah which are also suitable for scuba diving. All of the wrecks are Japanese cargo ships – meaning they are large (~150m – 200m) and have historic ‘treasures’ that were being transported at the time they went down. Due to the length of time they have been sunk (~65 years) they are all covered in stunning soft coral gardens, hard corals, teeming with fish life and home to an amazing range of tropical water marine life. Find schooling Barracuda, Nurse Sharks, large Groupers and large shoals of Yellow Snappers and Fusiliers.

Three of the wrecks are located in Usukan Bay (Rice Bowl Wreck, Upside-Down Wreck and the Usukan Wreck) which is located 30 nautical miles north west from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The fourth wreck, the Gaya Wreck, is located ~ 20 minutes west of Pulau Gaya (outside Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park near Kota Kinabalu, Sabah). The wrecks offer both non-penetration diving (i.e. swimming over and around the wreck) and limited penetration diving, within the “light zone”. The rest of this article provides an overview of the wrecks to be dived along the west coast of Sabah.

The Rice Bowl Wreck– So-called because a cache of rice bowls was found in the bow when it was first dived, this is a relatively long vessel (~150m) lying in a North Easterly direction in 40m at its deepest and 26m at its shallowest. The depth of this wreck makes it suitable for minimum PADI Advanced Open Water Divers and is best dived recreationally using nitrox (EANx30). The superstructure is punctured in many places, making some exploration possible and interesting, and the metalwork is robust. The soft coral garden is memorable. During the ‘Dry Season’ you can often enjoy stunning visibility on the wreck of 30m+.

The Upside-Down Wreck– The name gives away the orientation of this ship, which lies in the same direction and at similar depth to the Rice Bowl wreck. This wreck has good swim-throughs, though a torch is essential and is good for exploring as well as a training ground for Wreck Diver specialty.

The Usukan Wreck– This is the deepest of the three Usukan Bay wrecks at 35m – 45m and consequently only available to technical divers (divers certified for decompression diving). It is a good wreck for diving on rebreathers or diving twin-tanks / Trimix. The wreck is interesting and has a spectacular whip coral coverage that can give it a frosted appearance in a certain light.

The Gaya Wreck – The large Gaya wreck is a deep wreck and sits upright in 36m – 50m of water. The wreck is generally intact and there are lots of interesting exploration and wreck penetration opportunities for technical divers with suitable experience and training (rebreather divers of twin-tank divers). Whilst the identify of the wreck has not been confirmed, it is believed to be the Nittetsu Maru. On October 14th 1944, Submarine Dace (SS-247) sank two Japanese merchant tankers, the Eikyo Maru and Nittetsu Maru, and damaged merchant ore carrier Taizen Maru off North Borneo, 06°05’N, 115°55’E”. The description of this wreck matches that of the Nittetsu Maru. Post action reports state the Dace sunk the Nittetsu Maru (a cargo ship of 5,993 tons), the Eikyo Maru (an oil tanker of 6,948 tons) and heavily damages the cargo ship Taizen Maru (5,396 tons).

Wreck diving is a popular form of scuba diving amongst leisure divers. Diving along, or inside, a shipwreck is attractive to divers for several reasons. Shipwrecks have a history to them which provides a different perspective when diving along one. Wrecks also quickly become an artificial reef, which creates a habitat for many types of marine life – they are normally surrounded by fish and home to critters. Scuba diving along a wreck also presents new skill challenges for scuba divers.

When writing and/or speaking about tea in Burma, or any other country for that matter, it is inevitable to depart on the journey into the realm of tea in China – in south-west China to be precise – for that is as I will explain in the following definitely from where tea is originally coming from.

The discussion on whether or not the history of Burmese tea and the drinking of tea in Burma have originated in China has probably more to do with at least some Bamars’/Burmans’ reluctance to admit that the origin of tea is China and that the drinking of tea was adopted by them later from the Shan, than with tea, tea drinking and tea culture itself. The facts are that tea both as plant and beverage was discovered and had become important part of Chinese and later Shan culture already at a time when no Bamar/Burman had ever set foot into what is nowadays Burma (since 1989 also called Myanmar).

In other words the first kingdom of the Bamar the ‘kingdom of Pagan’ (that was actually founded by the Pyu, and while we are at it, Anawrahta, the 42nd king of Pagan who is by the Bamar/Burman considered the founder of the 1st Burman kingdom was a Pyu, not a Bamar/Burman) did back then not exist what is already the definite answer to the question of the origin of tea, tea drinking and tea culture in Burma; Burma or any predecessor of it simply didn’t exist in or during the era in question, period. But why are there still people (not so many of them, though) who in the face of all facts and logic say that Burmese tea, tea drinking and tea culture are not originated in China? Short answer: Because the area that was in pre-Bamar time inhabited by the Shan is now laying partly within the far north east of Burma. However, that these areas are nowadays located within Burma’s boundaries does not necessarily mean that the exact area in which Camellia sinensis was initially found and from where it then spread to India, through all of south-east Asia and, finally, throughout the world lies within north-east Burma. It is possible but it is also possible that Camellia sinensis – translated from Latin into English the name means ‘Tea flower’ (camellia) ‘from China’ (sinensis) – has at a later point in time extended into the area now covered by the north-eastern part of Burma.

The book of tea is a book with many pages and chapters starting shrouded in the mist of myth and legend some time back in 3000 BC. There is even the concrete date 2725 BC mentioned what is linking the (accidental) discovery and the later drinking of tea to the Chinese emperor Shen Nung about who I will tell you more a bit later. No one really knows when it was that the drinking of tea (what back then was always green tea because it was unfermented also called unoxidised) began to become part of Chinese culture. That is why it cannot be within the scope of this article to (as interesting as this may be) deal with related myths, legends and folklore in order to reveal tea history’s secret of when and where this was and how it happened. The answer to this question will never be found anyway what means that it will for always remain hidden behind the curtain of legend. Therefore we have to find facts in the form of written records and archaeological finds that will give us tea related information we are looking for. And as far as that is concerned we do not have to search for long.

We are given the first reliable information in a Chinese encyclopaedia that was started to be compiled and written during the Han Dynasty sometime around 325 BC and further expanded from then on: its name is Erya also spelled Erh-ya. The author of the Erya is unknown but it is among scholars accepted that this have been disciples of Confucius. Here we find records letting us know that tea was already known and drunken at least at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty in 1046 BC, probably earlier. However, it is not specified whether it was tea brewed from camellia sinensis leaves and drunken for pleasure or some herbal probably not very delicious tea drunken for medical purposes only.

From later records we know that brewing and drinking tea was already part of the Chinese people’s everyday life at the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 206 B.C. or even earlier. That the drinking of tea has so relatively quick permeated the Chinese culture would certainly not have been possible without Buddhist monks. It was the Buddhist monk orders that have not only spread the drinking of tea among the population but that had also taken over the planting and processing of tea. Soon after tea as beverage had been introduced during the Han Dynasty, Buddhism was associated with tea. The Buddhist monks have very early recognised that tea was a cheap and refreshing beverage with good taste and fragrance that kept them awake.

From the by Lu Yu during the Tang Dynasty written and at about 760 AD published book ‘The Classic of Tea’ (Cha Jing in Chinese) we can take that green tea was known and drunken throughout all of China for pleasure from 618 AD, or earlier on. For Lu Yu tea was the symbol of harmony and mysterious unity of the Universe from which we can see how highly he thought of tea.

A sensational discovery would (at the time of this writing in 2016) 1255 years later prove Lu Yun wrong in so far as green tea was already a popular beverage in south and west China earlier than 141 BC. The a.m. sensational discovery was that it was proven that leaves found in the tomb of the 6th Emperor of the western Han Dynasty, Emperor Jin of Han (Liu Qi), where actual (Camellia sinensis) tea leaves that were given him along with thousands of clay soldiers and many other things as grave good for the journey into his afterlife. To avoid confusion, the emperor’s tomb was already discovered in the 1990s during road construction work, which in itself (not the road construction but the discovery of the Emperor’s tomb) was a world sensation. However, with respect to the contents of this article the finding of the tea leaves was even more sensational because these tea leaves are the most ancient and finest tea leaves ever discovered what has earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as ‘The world’s oldest tea leaves’.

As with so many other things the beginning of drinking tea is steeped in legend. There are different stories about how the first chapter of the book of tea begins and having read them I have come to the conclusion that 99.99 percent of them belong into the realm of legends. One of the most popular Chinese legends is the with great pleasure again and again told legend about an emperor’s pot of hot water that happened to be placed exactly under a tea tree where tea leaves were sure to drop into the pot. Naturally, oh wonder (how could it be any different) tea leaves fell into the pot with boiling water whereupon the emperor took out of curiosity a sip of the previously unknown now slightly yellowish-brown coloured water. He was, as the legend goes, so excited about the fragrance and taste that from then on he made tea his favourite beverage and the drinking of tea became part of Chinese culture. The emperor in this legend is the mythological emperor Shen Nung also spelled Shannong, Shen Nong who is by the Chinese worshipped as the ‘Divine Farmer’ and the ‘Father of Chinese Herbal Medicine’. He was what is nowadays called ‘pharmacologist’, and it is believed that he has ‘lived’ 140 years, from 2838 BC to 2698 BC. This is no doubt all pure legend but its origin might be seen against the backdrop of the fact that Shen Nung was herbalist and that tea was at the beginning used as herbal medicine in both solid (as vegetable or salad) and/or liquid form (as tea).

What is tea and where is it originated? Briefly put, tea is a beverage commonly comprising of water and natural (uncured) and cured tea leaves of the species camellia sinensis. This is, as previously said, an evergreen shrub native to Asia that can when it remains untouched grow in the wilderness into a tree with a height of some 55 ft/ 17 m. By the way, why do we call tea, tea? Let me briefly explain where the name ‘tea’ originated and from where it spread around the world. The name ‘tea’ has its origin in China where 2 names are used for the same beverage. It is called ‘Cha’ in Mandarin dialect and ‘Tay’ in Xiamenese dialect. In 1644 the British established a trading post in Xiamen and anglicised the Xiamenese ‘tay’ what, subsequently, became ‘tea’ a name that in the following time quickly spread through and was accepted by the English speaking world.

Where exactly is Camellia sinensis originated? As unbelievable as it sounds and whatever we might think about it, extensive and detailed research has led to the result that this tea plant – the Camellia sinensis – was not a plant that had or could have evolved and grown independently in several parts of the world but astonishingly enough only within a relatively small area located in and confined to a region that does include parts of what is nowadays the Shan state (as north and north-eastern part of the back then not existing Burma) and the Chinese provinces Yunnan and Sichuan.

But whether ‘Burmese’ tea has its origin in China (what it has) or not, or whether or not the drinking of tea became part of the Burman’s culture only after it was introduced to them by the Shan (what it was) or whether or not the famous ‘Burmese milk tea is actually Indian tea introduced by the Indian – and NOT British – people during British colonial times (what it was and is) does really not matter much – if anything at all – because the fact remains that ‘tea’ has over time (trough all the Bamar/Burman kingdoms, the British colonial times and the past-independence time) developed into an integral part of the so-called ‘Burmese drink and food culture’ what it remains to be to this day and will always be wherewith I have now ‘beamed’ us from the ancient past into the present.

Prior to our arrival at one of the many Burmese tea shops in Yangon – no joke, they are literally at every corner, what is true for every place with more than two houses in all of Burma – to enjoy a cup or two of the famous ‘Burmese Milk Tea’ and one of the delicious Burmese tea leave salads called ‘Lahpet Thoke’ at the end of this article let us start at the beginning, by briefly answering questions such as, where tea is growing within the boundaries of present-day Burma, what kind of tea it is, how it is processed after being plugged, of what quality Burmese tea is compared to the qualities of e.g. China, India and other Asian countries, and so on.

Where is tea grown in Burma?

In Burma more than 80 percent of the cultivated tea is grown in the Shan state located in north-eastern and eastern part of Burma. Namhsan, Kyaukme, Namkham, Kutkai, Kalaw, Yatsouth, Mong Hsu and Mong Tone townships in Shan State are the major tea growing areas.

What kind of tea is grown in Burma?

In Burma are almost exclusively grown Camellia sinensis, Camellia sinensis var. sinensis and Camellia var. assamica. Camellia assamica is extending into Burma from Assam/India in the west and Camellia sinensis from south-west and east China.

Quite recently I have read somewhere in a magazine an article that was as far as I can remember promoting Burmese tea in the context of which ‘Camellia irrawadiensis’ was mentioned as a tea species native to and grown in Burma. In case you should also read something like that I want you to know that ‘Camellia irrawadiensis’ with its blossoms comprising of white petals, a yellow centre (pretty much like ‘giant’ buttercup flowers) and dark green leaves may be nice to look at in the garden but it is nothing for the tea cup because ‘Camellia irrawadiensis’ Is a so-called ‘Non-tea’ tea. This means that the total absence of caffeine in ‘Camellia irrawadiensis’ and a very unfavourable biochemical composition does not allow the plant to produce any liquid that comes even near a quality that would pass as tea.

What is plugged from the tea plants and when is it done?

Tea harvesting time is roughly from April to November. However, the leaves plucked in the first 2 weeks of April are of best quality. This because in April the harvesting time is beginning and the first leaves known as ‘spring tea’ (in Burmese ‘shwe phi oo’) are those fetching the highest prices.

As far as plucking also called picking is concerned there are two methods, which are ‘fine plucking’ and ‘rough plucking’. Fine plucking means that only two leaves and the bud, what is called a ‘flush,’ are plucked and in rough plucking an entire sprig with between 2 and 5 leaves. The average amount a tea plucker is plucking and placing in his/her basket is about 25 kg. After being plucked the tea leaves are collected and partly dried and left unoxidised as green tea and partly send to the tea factory for being processed into black tea. Most of the produced tea in Burma is sold as green tea and consumed domestically.

How is the Burmese tea processed after being plugged?

Once the tea has arrived in the tea factory the tea leaves are processed into oolong (withered and partly oxidised) and black tea (withered and fully oxidised) in the following order: withering, rolling, roll-breaking and the final step is oxidisation.

Of what quality is Burmese tea compared to the qualities of other Asian countries?

Compared to the quality of the tea grown in other countries such as China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India Burmese tea is of lesser quality although other countries are using more fertiliser and pesticides.

What role does Burma play in the global tea production and trade?

The Burmese tea industry is by and large a cottage industry. This means large areas of tea plantations are distributed among a large number of tea growers often in areas of about 50 hectare/125-acre that are owned by families since many generations. The local tea industry is poorly organised and the tea growers’ and workers’ professional expertises are rather low. Additionally, the infrastructure is very poor and machinery and technical equipment of tea factories are hopelessly outdated and storage facilities are extremely unsuitable for tea. As if this would not be bad enough many areas are strewn with land mines and cannot be crossed because of heavy fighting between ethnic armed groups and the tatmadaw (Burma’s army) so that tea farmers and workers are exposed to great danger. In consequence of the deplorable overall situation the country’s tea production is low and steadily declining and the tea export is of negligible quantity. In the global tea production and trade Burma does therefore presently not play any role at all. See for yourself. Burma had in 2015 a total tea production of some 60.000 tons. Of these were exported 2.800 tons. Here are the tea export figures from neighbouring tea producing and exporting countries: India (900,094 tons), China (1,000,130 tons), Sri Lanka (295,830 tons), Vietnam (116,780 tons). I think these figures speak for themselves.

However, there is huge potential for Burma’s tea in the international tea producing and trade market once quantities, qualities and global tea promotion are improved and the civil war has ended what will conservatively estimated take at the very least 4 to 5 more years. Personally, I fear it will be at least about 10 years till there will be real, constant peace in all tea growing border regions, which by the by would also contribute greatly to the solving of the drug problem in which more than just a few tea grower are involved because they are growing poppy at least on the side as source of additional income; but that is a different story.

Where did present day Burma’s milk tea recipe originate?

Burma’s milk tea recipes are of Indian origin.

Where did present day Burma’s tea salad ‘Lahpet Thoke’ recipe originate?

Burma’s famous pickled tea leave salad (Lahpet Thoke) may have its origin in what is now Burma but this cannot be said without any doubt because in China tea leaves were already eaten as salad or vegetable in 2000 B.C.

So, as promised we will from the historical as well as growing and processing part of the story of tea enter tomorrow morning into Yangon’s tea shop scene and enjoy a cup or two of the famous ‘Burmese Milk Tea’ and one of the delicious Burmese tea leaf salads called ‘Lahpet Thoke’ within the unique atmosphere of Burmese tea shops. See you tomorrow morning.

OK, it’s 08:00 am, the employees who make paratha, samosa, nambia, etc. are about to stop frying and the shop is still bustling with guests. But do not worry they have prepared enough on stock to be sold later; we will not need to starve.

After a good night’s sleep we are here now, seated on the for authentic Burmese tea shops so typical low plastic chairs at the equally low plastic tables with a hole for the post of a sunshade (umbrella for outside use) in its centre and placed next to it a plastic container with a role of tissue paper, a plastic bowl with a bit of water and three or four small tea cups in it and a small plastic container with single cigarettes. Additionally, there are small electrical fans fastened to the wall as well as slowly whirling colonial style ceiling fans. All of this is tea shop standard in all of Burma and that what makes up the ‘Burmese tea shop style’.

As you can see, there is nothing in the way of fancy about a tea shop; it never is. Always the same more or less old and/or clean furniture, often old placards with landscape and pagoda motives accompanied by beer advertisements taped to the in turquoise painted walls, a Buddha statue accompanied by fresh water and food offerings, flowers and joss sticks in a glass showcase attached to the wall at a height of about 8 ft/2.6 m and sometimes a small wastepaper basket at each table.

Like practically all tea shops this one too is family owned and it is now operated in the second generation with the third one already in waiting. Let’s order our tea, and whatever you may desire to eat. You can choose between e.g. e char kway (fried Chinese bread sticks), thayar paratha (thin and flat multi layer bread with sugar, origin India), pe-byohk paratha (thin and flat multi layer bread with steamed or boiled peas, origin India), samosa (a paper-thin deep fried dough sheet filled with mashed or finely chopped potato, green peas, onions, cumin and coriander powder, cumin seed, masala and – if not for vegetarian – with different kinds of minced meat (chicken, pork, beef, etc. that is folded into a for samosa very typical triangular shape to cover the filling, origin India), spring rolls (rolled deep-fried paper-thin wrapper made from wheat flour filled with a mixture of finely chopped bean curt, onions, shrimps, beans, carrots and spices, origin China) and some sweet pastry such as buns with sweet red or yellow bean paste filling. You can also have fried rice (thamin kyaw) or fried noodles (kaukswe kyaw); up to you, make your pick.

As for tea you can now take some of the thin Chinese green tea (Yay nui yea) from that thermo on the table (it’s free; the tea, not the thermo) and then order a cup of the famous Burmese tea lahpet yea cho (strong black tea with condensed milk (no si) and sugar (thayar). By the by, the ‘professional’ way of drinking the thin Chinese tea is to pour a bit of tea from the thermo into the cup, swirl it two, three times around inside the cup and then to pour it on the ground. Does this help to clean the cup? I suggest you take additionally a piece of the tissue paper and clean the brim and inside of the cup properly, that will do the job. With our fermented tea leaf salad (Lahpet) we will have to wait because that is not served so early in the morning. I will later go and ask. So having ordered and been served it’s time to start our breakfast.

While we are sitting, drinking tea and eating let me tell you a bit more about this tea shop, in particular, and other tea shops in general. After all this is not a fast food restaurant but a tea shop (more properly phrased tea and food shop) and here you need time to enjoy the typical taste of strong black tea, water, evaporated and/or condensed milk and sugar combined, the delicious food and the wonderful atmosphere to the full; back home you do not have something like this.

This shop is like most other authentic and traditional Burmese tea and food shops open from 06:00 am to 10:00 pm but preparation work in the kitchen starts already at 04:00 am. Business is buzzing from about 07:00 am to 09:00 am at breakfast time and from about 06:00 pm to a few minutes after 10:00 pm when the shop is closing. During breakfast time and in the evening the shop is always crowded, especially when there are interesting football games. Burmese are football crazy. During office hours the shop is – with exception of lunchtime (from about 11:00 am to 12:00 noon) when employees from companies in the neighbourhood are coming – almost empty.

I know tea shops from all over the country. There are, of course, differences in e.g. size, numbers of tables and range of food items offered. Some are just bamboo huts (in suburbs and country side) and some are in the ground floor apartments of better stone/brick buildings (larger villages, towns and cities) but they are all tea shops with the same atmosphere; it’s like you know one you know them all. Well, and I like to sit in them from the time of my arrival in this beautiful country 26 years ago. I love the many different sounds from the shop and the exterior environment that mingle into the cacophony I call typical ‘tea shop’ sound. It always reminds me on one of the Neil Diamond songs I grew up with: ‘What a beautiful noise’.

During the 26 years I am regularly visiting my favourite and (depending on where I am) other tea shops nothing that is of significance has change on the part of the tea shops; they do now than ever look basically the same, offer basically the same food and beverages as well as cigarettes and have the same important social function in and for the life of communities. There is a lot of chatter, gossip, exchanging of information, breaking news, dealing, haggling, laughing and fun. And it is the typical tea shop ambience that draws the people into the tea shops; the drinking of tea is of subordinated significance. And, by the way, tea is mostly drunk for breakfast and in lesser quantities during daytime; in the evening it’s mostly beer and liquor that the tea shop guests are drinking. That is why I say that in my opinion Burma has more a ‘tea shop’ culture than a ‘tea culture’. At home or work the people do not drink much tea. There they drink mostly plain drinking water, soft drinks, and instant coffee.

We have now also finished our tasty lahpet thoke and leave the tea shop. Hope you have enjoyed the article and that I have succeeded in bringing the world of Burmese tea and tea shops a bit closer to you.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins first appeared in 2006, the paperback including corrections and clarifications in 2007. Dawkins starts from the fact that the world changed in the mid-nineteenth century when Charles Darwin finally published his theory of evolution. He reminds us also that Nicolaus Copernicus in the sixteenth century brought about a similar paradigm shift by postulating that the earth was not the centre of the universe or even the solar system. It may also be relevant to remind ourselves that some of these facts had been known to ancient Greek philosophers (Aristarchus) and that the knowledge had been subsequently suppressed by various religions, contrary to evidence, such as the appearance of ships´ masts over the horizon at sea. It is this denial of evidence whenever it challenges dogma that is the central theme of The God Delusion.

Richard Dawkins charts the process whereby scientific evidence has continually rolled back the previously dominant supernatural explanations of reality as we perceive it, thus calling in question the basis of continued allegiance to any form of religion. He goes as a far as describing a child´s indoctrination into a faith by parents as a form of abuse. The arguments will not convince or convert the religious. They were clearly never intended to do so.

There is one word that he uses many times and it is “evidence”. As a scientist, Richard Dawkins maintains a rational approach to the physical world. Science explains nothing, by the way. The question “why” is perhaps inadmissible, since it really represents an amalgam of the answers to how, when, how much or what. And these questions must be answered before anything amounting to explanation can be adopted. Dawkins´s position is little more than a restatement of Kant´s Categorical Imperative, which is almost three hundred years old. Dawkins´s opponents, however, apparently regard him as a modern radical. He reminds us that science creates intellectual models that fit with and relate to the physical world. In reality, whatever that might be, an electron, for instance, is probably nothing like what we imagine it to be. But is our model of what we understand an electron to be fits the phenomena of its effects, and if our expectations of its presence correspond to what we observe, then we have something that is workable, even though, ultimately, we can never know if it is literally accurate.

And this is Richard Dawkins´s main problem with religion. To believe something merely because it is written in a book that someone else has previously labelled sacred is as anti-scientific as denying gravity. It is, as Dawkins points out, irrational to the point of being disingenuous and disingenuity, in most religions, would be condemned.

A major argument used by Richard Dawkins is, of course, that these religious texts are only ever interpreted or adopted selectively. He quotes numerous examples from the Bible of divinely handed-down rules that are broken in every self-proclaimed Christian society. If particular aspects of these texts have been selected with other ignored, and if that selection is dictated by the cultural, moral or intellectual mores of a particular place and time, then what is it that still makes these texts both authoritative or divine, let alone literally true?

More than a decade after The God Dilemma appeared, it seems that its reading is if anything more essential now than then. The political presence of the populist right, often associated with the same ideological blinkers and rejection of evidence that characterises the fundamentalists of religion, had in 2006 only a fraction of its current influence. There is thus no more important time to remind ourselves of Dawkins´s approach – even if we might disagree with his final destination – that evidence is all important and cannot be either discounted or denied. In an age where the powerful say one thing today and deny it tomorrow or insert a word like “not” after the event to change all sense, then it is the responsibility of all people who respect evidence or eschew anything that ignores it.

Richard Dawkins also reminds us that human beings collectively still know very little about anything. The expanding universe – that bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to any universe described in any sacred text – poses perhaps the greatest question. Where is the matter that might drive such expansion? The question currently cannot be answered. And it would be no answer, as Dawkins points out, to lump this question, along with all the others we currently find hard, into a box, call it something supernatural, and then consider that matter solved, let alone explained. Such intellectual laziness would do nothing to enhance our paucity of knowledge. What The God Delusion also illustrates, however, is that those who espouse this intellectual laziness are often apparently more confident than those who refuse to commit because of a lack of evidence.

The moral of it all, and it is more important now than in 2006, is beware of all counsel that comes without proof, without ability to demonstrate or illustrate. And the only acceptable proof is a weight of evidence that cuts across opinion and is demonstrable. And, importantly, distrust anything that claims there is no need for such authentication.

Malaysia History:

Wikipedia, the encyclopedia says: “the history of Malaysia is a relatively recent offshoot of the history of the wider Malay-Indonesian world”. It is so because anthropologists and historians could see very little aspects culturally and linguistically, to distinguish today’s Malaysian territories from the lands of the Malay Archipelago. According to their research, today’s division of the Malay world into six different states– Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei and East Timor – is largely the result of external influences, like the Hindu India, the Islamic Middle East and Christian Europe (west), China and Japan (north-east). Besides, the most direct shipping route passing through the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia has naturally been a melting pot of trade routes and cultures. Thus, it has been found out that the geographical position of Malaysia has literally made it difficult for the Malay people to resist foreign influence and domination.

If one analyses the history of Malaysia, he can see these successive phases before the final assertion of Malay independence.

o The domination of Hindu culture imported from India reached its peak in the great Srivijaya civilisation in Sumatra (from the 7th to the 14th centuries).

o The arrival of “Islam” in the 10th century, leading to the conversion of the Malay-Indonesian world, having a profound influence on the Malay people. The Srivijayan empire broke up into smaller sultanates, the most prominent one being Melaka (Malacca).

o The intrusion of the European colonial powers and European domination: (i) Portuguese, (ii) Dutch and (iii) British, who established bases at Penang and Singapore. This triggered off the most revolutionary event in Malay history – the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, which drew a frontier between British Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia). Thus, the division of the Malay world was established permanently.

o The British had obvious economic intentions in establishing their empire in the Malay world. In colonizing the Malay world, they had forseen financial profit, banking on the obvious attractions of Malaya, the tin and gold mines. However, soon after, the British planters started exploring the tropical plantation crops including pepper and coffee. On the other hand, there was a mass immigration of Chinese and Indian workers to meet the needs of the colonial economy. To meet the needs of a large and disciplined work-force, plantation workers, mainly Tamil-speakers from South India as well as immigrant workers from southern China were imported to the land. Thus, the Malay society suffered the loss of political sovereignty to the British and of economic sovereignty to the Chinese.

However, after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930’s, Chinese emigration to Malaya stopped significantly, thereby stabilising the demographic situation. In 1957, Malay became an independent nation, with 55% Malay population, and with rich export industries, consisting of rubber, tin, palm oil, and iron ore.

1963 was a significant year for the Malay world, when Malaya became Malaysia with the acquisition of the British territories in North Borneo and Singapore. It was followed by various political onslaughts like confrontation with Indonesia, the race riots of 1969, the establishment of emergency rule and a curtailment of political life and civil liberties forever. However, after the New Economic Policy introduced by the government in 1971, the Malaysian economy improved significantly, with the elimination of rural poverty, and with the identification between race and economic function. The political culture of Malaysia, on the other hand, remains increasingly authoritarian till recent times, with a notable decline of democracy. The question of when and how Malaysia will acquire a multi-party democracy, a free press, an independent judiciary and the restoration of civil and political liberties remain unanswered, despite its economic maturity which has been quite a phenomenon in the Malaysian history.

Malaysia Economy:

With a small and a relatively open economy, Malaysia is a country on the move. Earlier what had been a country dependent on agriculture and primary commodities has today grown to be an export-driven nation, thriving on high technology, knowledge-based and capital-intensive industries.

This drastic structural transformation of Malaysia’s economy which has been quite spectacular in these forty years, has been the result of pragmatism and a number of decisive steps taken by the Malaysian government. Largely depending on its wealth of mineral resources, fertile soils, agriculture and manufacturing, the Malaysian economy achieved average annual growth rates of about 7% during the last decade. And it has been possible because the government did not rest on its laurels, but took important steps instrumental to the country’s economic progress, like eradicating poverty with a controversial race-conscious program called New Economic Policy (NEP). First established in 1971, it was designed in particular to enhance the economic standing of ethnic Malays and other indigenous people, collectively known as “bumiputras”.

The results of such a revolutionary economic policy introduced by the government clearly shown, as the GDP doubled to reach an estimated RM219.4 billion (US$57.7 billion) in 2002. On the other hand, the country has shown tremendous potentials in its exports and imports which have almost quadrupled to reach RM349.6 billion (US$92.0 billion) and RM298.5 billion (US$78.6 billion) respectively. These highly contributed in placing Malaysia among the world’s top 20 trading nations, for which today the country even boasts of being an important trading partner for the United States. With a manufacturing sector that now accounts for 30.4% of Malaysia’s GDP, Malaysia today is considered one of the world’s leading exporters of semiconductor devices, computer hard disk drives, audio and video products, and room air-conditioners.

Rapid industrialization became a boon for the country, after the government opened itself to foreign direct investments (FDI) in the 1960s. Currently, with its market-oriented economy, combined with an educated workforce and a well-developed infrastructure, Malaysia has been regarded as one of the largest recipients of FDI among developing countries. Though the Asian Financial crisis in 1997 saw Foreign direct investment in Malaysia falling at an alarming rate and Ringgit depreciating substantially from MYR 2.50 per USD to much levels lower (up to MYR 4.80 per USD at its bottom), the economy rejuvinated shortly afterwards as the country had a strong growth in exports, particularly that of electronics and electrical products to the Unites States. Today, the country enjoys faster economic recovery compared to the neighbouring South-East Asian countries, though it is true that the level of affluence that was before 1997 financial crisis has yet to be achieved.

Malaysia Culture/Religion:

A multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society, housing 65% Malays, 25% Chinese and 7% Indians, Malaysia is also home to the largest indigenous tribe in terms of numbers, the Iban of Sarawak (over 600,000). As an interesting matter-of-fact, the largest community in Malaysia, the malays, are all Muslims since one has to be Muslim to be legally Malay under Malaysian law. However, there are also Christians and Hindus amongst them. Playing a dominant political role, the Muslims amongst the Malays are included in a group identified as “bumiputera”, speaking the native language “Bahasa Melayu”. However, despite “Bahasa Melayu” being the official language, when members of these different communities talk to each other, they generally speak English, recently reinstated as the language of instruction in higher education.

The Iban of Sarawak, interestingly, still live in traditional jungle villages in longhouses along the Rajang and Lupar rivers and their tributaries in Malaysia. Along with them, Malaysia also houses quite a large number of Orang Asli or aboriginal people, who comprise a number of different ethnic communities living in Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers and agriculturists, many have been sedentarised and partially absorbed into modern Malaysia, though still remaining the poorest group in the country.

Apart from the original nomadic tribes, there are the Chinese comprising of about a quarter of the population and also Indians who account for about 7% of the population. While the Chinese are mostly Buddhists, Taoists or Christian, and speak a variety of Chinese dialects, the Indians are mainly south-indian Hindus, speaking Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam and Hindi. However, english as a first language is used by umpteen middle to upper-middle class Chinese as well as Indians in Malaysia.

The remaining population of Malaysia comprises of a sizeable Sikh community, of Eurasians (of mixed Portuguese and Malay descent as well as mixed Malay and Spanish descent), Cambodians, and Vietnamese. In most cases, the Cambodians and Vietnamese are Buddhists of the Theravada sect and Mahayana sect.

The Chinese forming a sizeable part of the population, Malaysian traditional music is heavily influenced by Chinese forms. Saying that, the Islamic forms also influence the music to a great extent. The music, based largely around the gendang (drum), also includes a number of interesting percussion instruments, and even flutes and trumpets. Infested with a strong tradition of dance and dance dramas, some of Thai, Indian and Portuguese origin, the malaysian culture also incorporates artistic forms like wayang kulit (shadow puppet theatre), silat (a stylised martial art) and crafts like batik, weaving, silver and brasswork.

In terms of religion, Malaysians usually tend to personally respect one another’s religious beliefs. However, inter-religious problems arise mainly from the political sphere. Often non-muslims are said to experience restrictions in activities like construction of religious buildings. All Muslims here are obliged to follow the decisions of sharia courts, although when it comes to leaving/renouncing the Islam faith, the court of malaysia is said to have denied one the right (such as the Yeshua Jalilludin versus the Minister of Home Affairs case in the 1980’s).

Malaysia Travel/Tourism:

A glorious haven comprising of island life, adventures, city excitement and oriental culture & heritage, Malaysia has been attracting tourists from all nook and corner of the world as an ideal travel destination for over a decade now. With energetic, entertaining dance forms, with a mythical culture that represents fertility, vigilance and dignity, with elaborate traditional festivals like the bamboo dance and the warrior dance, and with a strong sense of community, Malaysia is truly a land of many cultures, wonders and attractions in the heart of Asia.

A land of fascinating extremes, where towering skyscrapers look down upon primitive longhouses, it truly accounts for a memorable eco-holiday. Above all, with some of the best beaches and diving spots in the world, it is ideal for island getaways. It is no wonder then, that with promoting Malaysia as a destination of excellence, the travel/tourism development department of Malaysia has been able to increase the number of foreign tourists and also extend their average length of stay, thereby increasing Malaysia’s tourism revenue considerably over the years.

Island Life highlights in Malaysia consist mainly of the Langwaki Island, Kedah, and the Pangkor Laut, Perak. While the local legends, beautiful beaches and natural marvels make the Langwaki Island especially enchanting and unforgettable as a fascinating Island getaway, the Pangkor Laut, Perak, is basically a private island whose market value has increased dramatically after it was voted as the ‘Best Island in the World’ by the UK-based Conde Naste Traveller Magazine. Aficionados of adventure would just love to explore Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site and one of Southeast Asia’s highest mountains (4,093 metres). Towering amidst a veil of clouds, while the largest cave chamber in the world at Mulu Caves beckons the tourists with its inexplicable mystery, on the other hand, lush tropical jungles teeming with wildlife for millions of years, like the Taman Negara, Pahang, would be tempting one to experience the exhilaration of endless escapades.

Those looking for city attractions in Malaysia like glamour, shopping, fine dining and more will definitely be able to satisfy their fine tastes and sensibilities. With the ultra-modern Petronas Twin Towers (in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre), the classic Moorish-style old Railway station, the luxurious and extravagant shopping malls and restaurants with succulent Chinese and oriental food fests, one cannot fail to revel in the umpteen alluring attractions of Malaysia.

With all these and much more in store, its no wonder that global tourists continue to return to Malaysia time and again to explore its mixture of cultures and environments for a fantastic, inspiring holiday.

While the term “poo” causes most of us to giggle with glee of childhood memories, it could be one of the biggest factors in climate change, both today and in the past. A recent study has indicated that the cause for the last ice age could be due to mammoths and their ability to create huge quantities of methane.

Methane is a heat-trapping greenhouse gas and is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. According to the article, ‘it was not enough to trigger runaway global warming. But when all that gaseous output suddenly tapered off, it caused or at least contributed to a prolonged freeze known as the Younger Dryas cold event, they argue.

Calculations by a trio of researchers led by Felisa Smith of the University of New Mexico, published in Nature, show how all the pieces of this previously unsolved puzzle might fit together. Extrapolating from data on cows and other modern-day ruminants, the scientists estimated the total methane output of pre-historic megafauna at nearly 10 trillion grams per year.

At the same time, ice-core samples reveal that an abrupt drop in atmospheric methane levels of 180 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) coincides with both the virtual extinction of these gas-gushing herbivores and the onset of the deep chill that followed.’

Today it’s not large creatures that create huge quantities of gas, but the simplest of farm animals, the cow. On its on the cow could never have achieved such large quantities, but thanks for humans need of meat, milk and other products, we have breed them to the point that have become severe contributors towards climate change.

Through their process of chewing cud and belching, they not only give off methane but also nitrous oxide and ammonia. According to a report, livestock is responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas problem. The oxide and ammonia in their manure is responsible for acid rain and killing off marine life in the South China Sea.

An animal that was much larger than the mammoth, which exists today, does the exact opposite. In a twist of dilemma, the animal we breed and populate our land with causes climate change, while the animal that we have killed in large populations to the point of almost extension, might be the solution.

The whales waste is rich in iron which stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, which in turn, serve as carbon traps that remove 400,00 estimated tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year, according to an article. Each time the sperm whale comes to the surface it releases about 220, 462 tons of carbon dioxide. But every time they go for “a number two” it stimulates the drawdown of 440, 925 tons of carbon.

“If Southern Ocean sperm whales were at their historic levels, meaning their population size before whaling, we would have an extra 2 million tonnes (2,204,623 tons) of carbon being removed from our atmosphere each and every year,” lead author Trisha Lavery Told Discovery News.

“However, most whales are currently at 1 to 10 percent of their historical population sizes, so in the past, whales may have made a substantial contribution to carbon drawdown,” Lavery said, adding that other marine mammals probably beneficially redistribute carbon just as whales do. These may include seals, sea lions and other types of whales, such as fin whales.

Thanks to marine protection areas, programmes and endangered species protection, these giants of the deep might be able to help us find the answer to our cow problems.

As one of the monkeys said in the cartoon movie, Madagascar, “If you’ve got any poo – throw it now.”

Half a century beyond its publication in 1958, W H B Court’s A Concise Economic History of Britain now makes truly fascinating reading. Its subtitle, From 1750 to Recent Times, is somewhat misleading, perhaps deliberately vague, since the book avoids crossing the Second World War divide into the author’s own era, perhaps in an attempt to avoid becoming embroiled in contemporary politics. How many authors, writing a similar text today, would exercise such caution?

It was just after 1750 that the jewel of India was added to the British crown, creating an empire out of existing opportunism. Twenty years later, the future jewel of the North America colonies embarked upon their revolution and split with the old country, at least politically, if not economically. Twenty years on again saw Britain embark on yet another war with France. It was a war that lasted a generation and then, apart from a couple of minor tiffs far away from home, such as Crimea and South Africa, there was a hundred years of peace. The Great War bankrupted the British people, and the nation’s economy, it seems, never did fully recover.

W H B Court uses this broad structure of historical narrative to set a framework for his history. Each segment of the era is then dissected into its salient parts as the author considers the contemporary state of foreign trade, manufacturing, banking and investment, agriculture, and the general social setting. War inevitably set different priorities from peace, and the changes imposed on economic life by those different demands are admirably described and comprehensively contextualised in the book.

But this economic history also looks back beyond 1750 to the seventeenth century revolution and the creation of the Poor Laws in Elizabethan times. Cromwell, the Parliament and the Civil War are largely missing from the account, perhaps implying that the writer’s view is that this particular conflict’s contribution to the nation’s economic history was negligible. There are other possible interpretations.

It is W H B Court’s attention to detail, however, that makes this book such an interesting as well as informative read. If anyone is in any doubt about just how short-lived some famous economic activities might have been, then this book will also surprise. Even at the height of British economic ascendancy, we are only looking at annual growth of around 3.4%. Much of the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century growth possibly stemmed from the demand of a growing population. Despite common parlance ascribing the growth of the industrial towns to employment decline in the rural areas, Court reminds us that the number of people employed in agriculture during the period in question was roughly static.

And we all forget that the only king in Britain during its period of economic power was cotton, since the commodity and manufactures deriving from it dominated the nation’s trade. We also forget that the industry was built on technological advantage born of innovation, and it began its decline as soon as other countries began to build up their own technological base.

The almost constant and eventually severe decline in Britain’s fortunes that had begun by the time of the First World War and continued apace in subsequent decades is admirably charted. What the book does not examine in any detail are possible explanations for this decline. But throughout Britain’s history, it was the contribution of invisibles to the economy that usually repainted a poor picture into better shape. Times do not always change. The bottom line, it seems, can always be used to hide a trend.

Books such as W H B Court’s A Concise Economic History of Britain may not often attract the casual reader. But anyone who has the slightest interest in political economy would benefit from and surely enjoy at least a dip into this volume. There is not much here that is either new or different, and certainly nothing that is sensational, but the book’s detail and clarity are nothing less than vivid.

There are many harbour cruises which you can enjoy from Singapore. One of the more interesting harbour cruises would be the Imperial Cheng Ho Harbour Cruise.

Admiral Zheng He, or Cheng Ho, was born in Kunyang, Yunnan. He was brought to serve the Imperial Court of the Ming Dynasty. Under Emperor Zhu Di (the Yongle Emperor), Zheng He rose in power to become the principal envoy and commander of the fleet of 300 ships, with more than 27,000 men on board. He began his first voyage in 1405, following which he visited more than 30 nations, bringing with him China’s influence to South East Asia, India, Middle East and Africa. Admiral Zheng holds an honourable place in the Chinese history and in the history of Singapore and Malaysia. He crossed the Indian Ocean seven times and began his voyage seventy years before Columbus discovered America.

The cruise vessel Cheng Ho was exact replica of the famous Imperial vessel of the Ming Dynasty, however, with modern comforts and safety added. This vessel is predominantly yellow, which is the Imperical colour, and bears the dragon which signifies the emperor and the phoenix, which signifies the empress. The dragon and phoenix are traditional Chinese symbols used to keep the evil spirits at bay and ensure divine protection.

There are four different cruises which start at various timings of the day. The Morning Glory cruise departs at 10.30 am, the Dragon cruise at 3pm, High Tea cruise at 3pm and Imperial Dinner cruise at 6.30pm. All cruises depart from the Marina South Pier. Whether you are enjoying the day cruise or the evening cruise, you will enjoy the beautiful sights of vessels anchored in Marina South Pier bay. The journey will bring you past the Singapore Flyer, Sentosa Cove, Tanjong Pagar Container Port, which is the busiest port in the world by shipping tonnage, and the coastline of Singapore’s famous Sentosa Island.

See the Singapore Flyer from another perspective; you can view the mammoth structure from the sea, which is different from how you can see it from the land. During the day cruise, there will be a 30 minutes stopover at Kusu Island. Kusu Island, which means Tortoise Island or Turtle Island, is located at the south of main land Singapore. The island was said to be formed by a magical tortoise, which turned itself into an island to save two shipwrecked sailors, a Malay and a Chinese. The two men gave thanks by building a Muslim kramat and the latter establishing a Taoist shrine.

For the dinner cruise, you will be able to enjoy the fireworks display by “Songs of the Sea” and also the spectacular night skyline of Singapore and Sentosa island.

From its fanfare opening in 1925 to its closure almost 45 years later on 6 July 1998, Kai Tak was the major Hong Kong airport that provided a spectacular aerial return for passengers arriving at or departing from, the former British colony.

However, with a runway that jutted out almost its entire length into Victoria Harbor, mountains to the north and surrounded on three sides by skyscrapers, landings at Hong Kong airport were always challenging for pilots. Frequent crosswinds and monsoon conditions often made for scary touchdowns for quite a few flights!

An airport with only one runway, conceived and constructed in an age of smaller propeller-driven aircraft it started to struggle from the jet age onwards, especially following the introduction of Boeing 747s, and when the Airbus first touted its double-decker A380 super airliner , the writing was on the wall for Kai Tak.

Following the handing back of Hong Kong back to China when the UK's lease on the colony was up, the new masters of the dominion decided to construct a brand new airport further along the coastline on an artificial constructed island, but one with a far easier approach than Kai Tak.

It was not the difficult approach for pilots that finally forced the relocation of Hong Kong airport, but rather the need to increase its capacity and capacity to handle more traffic and larger jets. For, in addition to being the fifth busiest airport for passenger traffic, Hong Kong is also the world's largest cargo handling airport and is a prominent hub for entry into China. The old airport at Kai Tak simply could not handle the level of anticipated traffic for a location located in such a strategic site for South East Asia trade.

Now, all flights to Hong Kong International Airport arrive at Chep Lak Kok which, nine years after opening, added a second terminal building in 2007. With two runways the airport is capable of handling 50million passengers per year and 85 different airlines now use it flying to 150 world destinations.

Situated 18 miles to the west from its outdated predecessor, the new Hong Kong International Airport is a superior facility conceivable, designed and built for the 21st century, but the operators are not resting on their laurels. Plans for refurbishment and improvement have already begun and will see a change to the lay-out of the departures' Immigration Hall, as well structural improvements to the runways and taxeships to cope with ever-increasing traffic. There is even talk of construction of a third runway as the airport firmly cements its place as the hub to southern China.