Using an HT lens to examine how Ladakhis have survived and prospered across millenia, and the challenges faced by the arrival of the modern world
Two verdant valleys, one in Likir, the other on the road to Kargil. Both are overlooked by Buddhist monasteries, and the valley floors are cultivated by the local people who irrigate their fields with the glacial waters that come down off the mountains and bring life to the desert; female herders in Dras bring the young calves down from the pastures to shelter in the village pens at night.
In my summer holiday, I travelled for nearly 6 weeks to north west India. I had a brilliant time in the states of Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, but I wanted to focus on Ladakh as it was such a unique place and the food, the warmth of the people, and the awe-inspiring natural geography really captivated me.
I travelled there in the heat of summer, though I learnt that for over half the year, a long and severe winter strikes this vast system of arid desert mountains and valleys, keeping people living in tight farming communities bunkered down as huge snow piles cut off the arterial roads for months at a time. This is also a place that is home to the last remnants of nomadic communities who herd yaks and goats across the great plains that border Tibet.
The HT Lens/Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh. Click to play documentary trailer.
But the modern world is arriving. And fast. And this is causing huge disruptions for the social fabric of these families, as well as alarming disruptions to the fragile ecosystems that have been impacted by the very recent flurry of carbon-based human activity brought to the region upon the military grade roads that connect their ancient world, for better or worse, to the modern, industrial world.
The Ladakhis are a complex mixture of religions: Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic are the main ones, though these faith systems often sit in companionship with the more ancient animist B’on religion. It’s a sign of how intimately tied these nomadic and farming people are with the changing seasons of nature.
I wanted to write about my experiences through the lens of HT to help new and older students and their families at ICHK know more about the subject, and, crucially how we can keep an active eye out when we are exploring the world around us to see how some of these insights can be applied to improving our own day-to-day lives.
Human Tech. invites us to look at the world through the HT lens: we can technologise not just material tools such as the wool and looms the Ladakhis use to make their tents, blankets and clothes, but we can utilise Social, Spiritual, and Cognitive technologies, too, within our lives. (We can also overuse, misuse and abuse technologies, so HT offers us a chance to reflect thoughtfully on making good choices in our pursuit of “The Good Life”.
The HT Venn Diagram, featuring the newly relabelled “Psychosomatic Technologies”
Yet, to paraphrase J.R.R Tolkien, whose work I was reminded of as I hiked amongst these fantastical peaks, Psychosomatic technologies is “the one ring to rule them all, and in our lifetimes bind them”, as when we consider, investigate, practice and question the four other HT areas in the Venn diagram, it must be through the lens of our psychosomatic selves. We can’t escape the bodies and minds we have grown up with- though we can technologise them.
With this in mind, then, starting next week, I will serialise my experiences of Ladakh (this seems to be the best way I can think of to translate the wide range of inspiring ideas from the trip) and use the Psychosomatic lens to kick start the travelogue; after all, setting out on a hiking trip in a new place in the world, one that allowed me to connect to nature, to get fitter, and seek experiences that were mentallly energising was the catalyst for the whole trip.
Follow the HT travel series next week where I turn my focus to Psychosomatic Technologies in Ladakh.
Year 7-9 Flexible Learning Projects, ICHK Secondary
Please can students take note that any outdoor activity requires the full permission of parents. We advise you to wear a facemask at any point where you might come into contact with others. Please exercise a cautious mindset in-line with those the current conditions require.
Timeframe1hr: Urban/Waterfront2hrs + Hiking/Nature, but hopefully a hobby/habit you can get into for much longer than that….
Groupings: Individual/Pairs/Group
MajorsArts, Digital Media Literacy Minors: Mindfulness
Blurb: Through indulging in some gentle or more rigorous exercise, you can get some fresh air, and, through using a keen eye, LOOK CLOSELY at your local area for photographic inspiration. The photographs used as examples in this unit are based on my experiences walking away from crowds down to local parks, waterfront walkways and hiking trails, well away from crowds. You can just enjoy being in contact with nature. You can also use the photos to “footnote” your journeys so that you can organise future trips more easily/share ideas with others. If you take any kind of smartphone or camera with you, you can turn this physical activity into a creative, artistic one by challenging yourself to compose a series of images which document your local landscape, and/or the beauty of Hong Kong’s amazing natural escapes…!
OutcomesA portfolio of 24 images which showcase your inventive use of camera shots: Rule of threeSymmetryZOOMING INZooming OUTContrast NB: I am only a very amateur photographer and have very little technical knowledge of photography. This is just a very basic introduction to the subject, which, if you enjoy, you can study much more intently down-the-line!
Getting HelpIf you are stuck, please email submissions@ichk.edu.hk for help, and a teacher will respond as soon as possible. If you need instant help, please call the school reception (2655 9018) and ask to speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.Optionally, email jrees@ichk.edu.hk for help
Content
Prepare for your walk:
Make sure you have what you need. Be mindful and think about taking care of yourself.
Here are a few ideas to use as a checklist:
Water bottle, clothes in case it rains, sun screen, bug spray, money, octopus card, phone, camera, anything you need for the activity itself.
Be safe- tell someone where you are going and have a plan in case you get lost or something goes wrong.
Safety Plan:
Stop, Breathe, Think.
Work out where you think you are- look at landmarks, shop names, signposts, MTR stops, footpath signs.
Work out how to get in touch with your emergency contact.
Use a different contact if that does not work- friend, police officer, transport worker, shop worker.
Activity
“I want to encourage you to think back to the days when people had to get by on the 24 or 36 roll of film in their cameras…
They couldn’t constantly click thousands of photos. Nor do you want to have the hassle of sifting through a load of junk for the Instagram photos you eventually choose to upload.
There’s no hurry here, either. For this activity, you’re walking in parks, down near the harbour, or in the national parks. Basically, unless an interesting creature jumps out- you won’t need to hustle to capture it!
When I walk, I like to look around my surroundings. Sometimes I walk slowly to take in the scene. I love to “people watch” too and see all walks of life heading out to work, enjoying a leisurely stroll themselves, parents or helpers playing with children, the care and attention a flower seller takes to arrange their shop front, older folk engaged in tai-chi…
You can tap into the spirit of a place by observing people going about their days far better than visiting a museum.
Sometimes I walk fast for exercise. Being fit allows you the ability to walk further…to see and experience more vistas. When I hiked the 50km Hong Kong Trail, I took about 30 pictures in total. That’s quite a lot, I guess, but over 9hrs, and all those kilometres, maybe not so much. That gives you a sense of the frequency anyway- just try to take pictures of the scenes that you know are special.
But walking slowly has its merits too. And now I have injured my hamstring, that is what I am having to do..! Even if it means for some precious minutes escaping the bright lights of your computer screen, you can get outside and go for a walk. It’s nice to do this by yourself sometimes, but it’s also really nice to do it with a group on occasion. Why don’t you see if a friend/friends wants to join you?
Slow. Things. Down.
Your mind will respond to the calmness of the rhythm of your slower stride. And by taking things that much slower, you are likely to be able to admire things you might have missed, even if you had been walking down those streets a thousand times before.
By exercising discretion, and pausing to think about the shot, before you even take the camera out of your pocket, you will definitely take better pictures. But, also, by thinking along these lines, you can allow yourself to be more present in the moment…
As you enjoy the experience of walking and observing your area first and foremost- suddenly, a particularly arresting moment will present itself- then, SNAP!- you can capture that image and return to your peaceful state of mind, with your camera back in your pocket.
I will divide the next part of this tutorial into three sections: Nature/Hiking; Waterfront; Urban. All photos were taken with my Samsung phone and there are those that might say- “that shows!” I’m not saying they’re great, but I do think some are pretty interesting, and they are ones that I might enjoy looking at in years to come.
Finally, by taking photos and publishing to a real audience- which is what you are doing when you choose to write, post anything to Facebook/Instagram/Insight magazine etc.-, you are taking the first very important steps for communicating something about yourself to the world. It is the start of a process of self-discovery and self-confidence, and fomenting these dispositions of mind-set will help you so much down-the-line in fields far removed from photography…!
Nature/Hiking
Cows: Was there ever a subject so docile and placid than a Hong Kong feral cow?I did take about four photos of this chap, on the approach to the Macelhose Trail 1/2 at the Eastern dam- just had to wait for him to look up! But those volcanic islands in the background are like nothing I see back in the UK, and the presence of this little fella adds a bit of personality to a regular landscape shot.
Images of pathways are pretty easy go-to literary tropes. Photos of your hikes can be stories that you share with others. I have gotten into the habit of “footnoting” hikes with special views but also to jog my memory for when I undertake similar hikes in the future. This is a view of the striking mountain range ahead with the path angling off into the distance, while I have tried to use the plants to provide some sort of frame to the shot and to give a sense of depth.
In Hong Kong, sometimes the light just does magical things. I’ve no idea really how/why (maybe it is the sun that breaks out from behind the cloud, or the angle of the sun at certain times of day- this was towards dusk- but pretty much the same flora/fauna acquire a beautiful sheen and the varieties of greens can add a lot of contrast to the photos. I try to follow the rules of thirds by placing the paths diagonally rather than square on which could be discomforting and reduce the calm atmosphere.
Long-distance landscapes: This is from the top of the ascent from the very start of Maclehose 3- it’s a very steep 400m rise up from the road! Again, Hong Kong’s natural landscapes are just magnificent. The volcanoes extend into the distance and you can see Sai Kung there just on the right.
Hiking gets you out to explore a wide range of new areas in the city. This is a view of Kowloon and Hong Kong from the Wilson Trail 2/3. It’s a little hazy, and I regret that the ugly, rusty, metal rail is there- should have stepped forward- but it’s the “biggest” view of the city I’ve seen. Those closer-up views of HK skyscrapers from the Peak are amazing, but I love the sense of sprawl, despite the hazy day.
Colour/texture contrast: I think this is my favourite photo of a landscape I’ve taken, and, as usual, Hong Kong has done all the work. You simply have to get out there on the trails. We live in a uniquely beautiful place and the more you can get out and enjoy it, the better! The late afternoon light just before dusk seems to have a wonderful, soft golden glow to it. It adds a depth of colour to the spectrum of plant life from the golden bullrushes which bend with the breeze towards the green mountains beyond. Man, where he does intrude, even looks quite pretty with Stanley seen from a distance on the Dragon’s Back Trail.
Another one of those weird times of day/angles of the sun where the light does the work for you and there are all these interesting contrasts in textures, colours and perspectives between the types of vegetation such as the bullrush grass, hardy evergreens, the granite boulders, and the sea and mountains in the distance. This is from the ascent to Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest peak at 957m, from the Macelhose Trail Section 7 to 8.
Framing: A view back to the city. We almost missed this amazing view of HK Island , had not Mr. McDermott turned back and alerted us. I’ve tried to use the windswept tree branches as some sort of jungly framing device, and the contrast of the jungle and nature in the foreground, which dominates, and reduces the IFC- the sum of all man’s arrogant conceits!- to a tiny focal point in the centre, lower third.
Using natural elements to frame the photo. Early morning and after 3pm till dusk seem to be the best time to take photos of natural landscapes here in Hong Kong. This is the Hong Kong trail section 8, I think, winding down towards Shek O before you double back and up onto the Dragon’s Back Trail, ending in Big Wave Bay.
Urban:
The same subject from a different perspective. New Year 2020: this photo was taken from the way back down from High West, Hong Kong Island. It would definitely look much nicer with a better camera, but, luckily, coming to my aid that night was the massive “Wolf Moon” that occurred during early January. The ICC is proclaiming the new year and the IFC seems to be beaming its light up directly at the moon, but the moon was so bright that night that it really resonated even against the competition of all that man-made neon light below.
The view from High West on the same hike earlier that evening.
This is one of those days, such as right now, when the factories in Mainland China have shut down (then it was for Chinese New Year, now it is due to the coronavirus) and the views go on for miles. Lantau is visible in the background to this shot from Macelhose 6 walking north through the Kowloon Reservoir system. The powerlines act to dissect the shot horizontally into thirds. Hong Kong looked like a little toytown the way the buildings were so neatly stacked and the air was so crisp and clear.
Trying to find the old Hong Kong might be increasingly difficult as the glass and steel skyscrapers dominate, but there are pockets of ancient ways all around. This is the Tin Hau Temple, at, well Tin Hau. My phone camera definitely doesn’t do justice to the temple as a whole, but you can then Zoom-in to key features which give the sense of the place. In the first picture, I made sure I left in the column to frame, as well as the Cantones script, while the main focus is the beautiful paper lantern with tiger design, while the ceremonial doors and wooden awning frame the rest of the photo at an angle. You could do a whole photo series of those miniature shrines that appear in the foot of residential/shop doorways all over the city…!
Waterfront:
A fisherman at dusk. I like the balance between the natural sea and the man-made aspects of the buildings and the jetty. The wooden planks they have used for the materials of the waterfront park are very soft and naturalistic too. The planks form “vanishing point” to the sun in the distance. I didn’t notice this at the time, but I was trying to use the fishing rods to provide symmetry. Of course the light at sundown on a clear day is beautiful, so, it’s always worth keeping an eye on https://aqicn.org/city/hongkong/. If it’s green then GO!; if it’s yellow, then, well, maybe. To be honest, with photography, you can probably get some pretty cool effects if it’s pretty hazy too..!
In recent months, the Hong Kong Government have opened up huge waterfront spaces that allow you to access nature easily from your home. This is wonderful. You can avoid crowds and enjoy some fresh air the whole way down from Wan Chai Convention Centre to Kennedy Town now. This route takes you part of the way through a working industrial shipyard,which is fascinating; Hong Kongers have have cottoned on to the very Instagram-able nature of these tough, rough angular backdrops.
The rusty, old coal barge in this photo is meant to be providing both a frame for the view in the background, as well as the contrast between the rough, red, ionised metal and the softer blue sky in the background. If you were to Zoom in, there’s someone walking with an umbrella on the pier in the distance- It doesn’t quite work given perspective , but I do think that if you spend time thinking critically about your compositions while working with just your phone, you can think about whether it is worth buying a proper camera down-the-line.
Not a particularly beautiful photo, but I do love the reclaimed industrial space for pedestrians to enjoy. I’m all for any move the Hong Kong Gov’t makes to make the city more sustainable and the greening of formerly industrial spaces, and installation of exercise equipment for the older folk to enjoy is lovely. I think if you are photographing people then you really need to be polite and ask their permission, but I hope I’m far enough away here not to intrude in their personal space, plus, it’s anonymous as they are faced looking away and the main focus of this photo is Victoria Harbour, as well as the crane which has been incorporated into part of the urban park and play area for children. The “vanishing lines” of the shadow also appear to point towards the ICC on the other side of the harbour, but that is totally coincidental.
Even the mundane can become interesting if you are able to compose the frame to pick out some interesting angles and colour combinations. This is a photo of two coal barges at anchor together in the harbour with the multi-coloured barrels making it look like some kind of playground and the distinctive Hong Kong English and Cantonese scripts “anchoring” this photo distinctly in Hong Kong.
Same subject, different angle: The final thought to leave you with is a sequence of images I took of a ship coming into harbour. I didn’t know it was coming into harbour, but I saw it moving against the backdrop of the descending sun. Even a smoke-belching, rust-riddled old ship- with tons of character and tales from all the oceans it has traversed- has its own beaten-up beauty! As the ship came in closer-and-closer, there was a flurry of activity from photographers looking out to the bay. As I changed my angle the colour of the sea, changed from shimmering golden reflections of the sun, to ultramarine, and a dark, deep steel blue. The ship moving in meant I could look at it from different angles and let it dominate the frame from a low-angle, close-up shot. Then, as I walked along further, i just happened to notice these lovely hand-knitted puppets that some artist/artists had installed to help beautify the spot. They provided the audience for the final couple of shots as the ship pulled out of harbour and out, once more, to the vastness of the South China Sea…!
Bali is an incredible place, with family temples on every compound, as well as larger temples and even trees wrapped in shrouds. Unlike Muslim dominated Java, it can appear that the dominant religion is in Hinduism- given the lavish ritual observances connected to a Hindu faith system that arrived on Bali from India, over 1,000yrs ago; however, it is more like these rituals form a cloak over an omnipresent, even more ancient, deeply-felt spiritual belief system of animism.
I was lucky enough to visit Bali over the Easter break, and luckier still to meet up with an old teaching friend, Jesse, and his lovely partner, Merli, and their daughter Pu Tu. As Merli is Balinese, she grew up inculcated in the Island’s culture, myths and traditions. She was able to point out some of the differences between what it was possible to observe, and what was being truly experienced underneath the surface. As Merli stated, “often ceremonies are carried out as public displays more intended to assuage neighbours who may castigate people for not following these traditions.”
Visiting Bali was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had and this photo essay was compiled across my ten days there, with the Driver family adding anecdotes and explanations along the way- thank you for a great stay! In fact, Jesse made most of the key fact checks, though given the complexity of the faith-based systems here, he points out that there are very many features which we were not able to unpack, including the Balinese philosophy, Tri Hata Karana, “which brings together the realms of the spirit, the human world and nature” (UNESCO)
Devotion and care. Temples (not shrines, I understand), are ubiquitous across Bali.
Deities are cared for and daily rituals are offered. I loved this pair of gods, though I have no idea what their names and roles are within the spiritual realm of Bali. They sit atop a small altar next to the beach, and away from the main village temple. They are so old that their faces have been eroded by the salt in the sea air, and the passage of time has obliterated their expressions to which the mason gave form when carving them out of the chunks of volcanic rock from which the island derives its existence.
Expert artisanal craftsmanship is a key feature of Balinese life and accounts for the deeply woven beauty in the objects, temples and crafts visible throughout the island.
Ulan Danu Beratan Temple: one of the most important religious sites on Bali, this temple features on the currency. It also sits within the caldera of the Mt. Batur. The prevalence of the volcanoes whose explosive eruptions, along with massive tectonic movements, created the islands, including some still active volcanoes like Mt. Agung, that erupted just a few years ago, are stark reminders of the enormous violent forces of which nature is capable; therefore these stark reminders of the fragility and vulnerability of human existence- they are visible from across most of the Island- very likely play into the strong religious observance of a people who see nature for what it is- very much alive.
Also, Ulan Danu Beratan Temple. Instagram/Dino-tastic/postmodern melange..Jesse, Merli and Putu, my excellent hosts.
Yet, immediately next to Ulan Danu Beratan, on what used to be sacred land for the Hindu’s grazing cattle, there are now strange, Instagrammable phenomena such as this “Dino-park”/cactus house. There are also cutesy, cartoon-like fairytale castles and other chintzy plastic creations that now line the shores of the lake to allow the modern tourist to better frame their Instagram posts. So, while the temple used to appear on the bank notes, it is also being used to generate more income for the Balinese government through the tourist Dollars.
It reminds me of seeing scenes of the Bhagavad Gita depicted on certain family temple walls. These scenes would communicate important moralistic tales of Vishnu and the cast of sacred characters from that holy text. Now adverts and billboards implore the viewer to buy your luxury home of “overflowing abundance” complete with swimming pool, that consumerist sign of having achieved financial security and acceptance into the burgeoning middle/upper classes. Yet, filling all the swimming pools depletes the water table. families need freshwater – what happens when the wells go dry? Cautionary tales dot the landscape such as the folly of the luxury hotel built on a beauty spot on the approach to Mt. Beratan, but the developers found that they couldn’t connect a water supply from the lake. Merli speculates that particular episode may have had more to do with political shenanigans than engineering oversights, though.
The amazing view from this mountain-side hotel that was completed, but abandoned as water could not be connected. Given the locality of a nearby lake, and that the Hindu architects had perfected systems of aquaduts 1,000yrs ago when the Balinese culture was at its epoch, perhaps political machinations at play?
Kilometre square remnant of Bali’s primary forests. The rest of the island has been given over to agriculture. This is not at all dissimilar to the United Kingdom for example. Draw parallel to UK (98% cultivated/urban land); China’s eastern seaboard; Easter Island. At least they stopped before the last tree did come down…
The Camphor measures 25 metres tall and 3 metres in diameter. It gets its name because it had five branches like five fingers, although only four of them remain today. It was said that during Japanese Occupation, when Lai Chi Wo was occupied as a military backup base for the Japanese Army, the Japanese cut down many trees for fear that their enemies will hide near the area and make sudden attacks. When the soldiers threatened to chop this five-finger Camphor, the villagers stood up to protected the tree with their lives. Therefore, only one of the “fingers” has been cut.
UK woodlands ‘at crisis point’ amid wildlife decline
A religious procession – this parade was to celebrate the guardian, and the parade accompanies the guardian. The guardian is an actual spirit in the Baraong Landung – the black one is a boy guardian and the white one is a girl guardian. The hairy creature is a barong. There are several types, but these barongs represent the village guardians. The frond thing is called umbul umbul – which translates roughly to umbrella (like a luxury umbrella you’d attend a king with)..
We saw the elaborate funeral pyre of a 7th generation from the King of Ubud beginning to be constructed. In the two Instagram links you can see the tower being crowned and the huge procession through the streets of this relatively minor member of the Balinese Royal Family, which stopped all the traffic in Ubud.
One of countless beautiful temples across Ubud, and Bali. They incorporate nature beautifully into their harmonic designs.Balinese never use the word shrine and always use the word temple. They have different words for small temples and big temples and house temples and kitchen temples – but they are all temples and not shrines
These guardian temples are found on each rice paddy in Bali. This particular rice paddy is very close indeed to Merli’s dad’s fields. A heavy storm flattened the rice crop just as I left Ubud, but fortunately as it was so close to harvest, a team of workers were able to get in and save the crop this time.
The oldest statue in Penestanan village! It’s sacred for the spirits of the water to that particular river.. I asked permission to take a photo of this lady who was performing acts of devotion and tending to the site. It is wonderful to see how the cycles of life are respected as the face of the being has long worn away, and moss and other plants have begun to grow up and around.
The village temple for Penestanan Kaja village
Selfy-time! Jesse and I posing for a long overdue reunion photo. Behind are the beautiful, verdant, UNESCO protected rice terraces of Tegallalang. Above us, and artfully obscured from the frame, are tourists whooping as they slide across high wires, as well as various other unnecessarily Instagrammable objects littering the hillside, including, obscurely, a wooden fishing boat, despite us being miles inland.
This man is bent double in the Sun, picking up winkles from the beach, in between the tidal surge. I am having a coffee on a sunbed. I did think twice about the exploitative nature of the photo here, but it tells a story I think is worth telling.
Even the stones that could be found on the hotel’s beautiful sculpted walkways were likely sourced here at the beach. In the relative cool of the early morning sunshine, a team of workers could be found laboriously sorting stones according to various sizes. That must be a tough life and it starkly highlights the differences in incomes found on the island, and between the two separate Balines and tourist economies that function here.
A drink and a snack at this spectacular bar, The Rocks, built into the cliff face, is very probably quite a lot more money than the lady in the previous photo would make in one day…two days work?
The grim face of “development” in Bali. Hot, asphalt roads teaming with traffic. Though, it’s likely the case that motorised machinery for transport and agriculture represent something of a miracle. There’s the overly romanticised gaze of the tourist that likes the aesthetics of the villager at work in the field with water buffaloes and a plough. I wonder, until you’ve done it for a few hours in the Sun, or a lifetime- to survive- what the advent of a motorised cultivator for your rice fields, or, a car that could transport your goods to market, and your children to school would mean?
Beauty, nature and architecture in harmony. Hindu Uluwatu Temple – one of the main 7 guardian temples on the island. Temple viewed from the clifftop walk.
A monkey navigating its way along a glass verandah at a bar restaurant called Ritual. Religious and spiritual observances give way to the range of services offered to tourists who account for approximately one third of Bali’s GDP- a figure that was devastated by the Covid Pandemic a couple of years ago…
(L)A cow doing exactly what it pleases; (R) Nature repurposed.
The Sun sets on one of my favourite trips from the last decade.
Across the summer holiday, HT teacher, Jon Rees, took an extended trip through Ladakh, in Northern India. As part of a series exploring Human Technologies, Jon relates his insights- focusing this week on the enveloping psychosomatic lens.
(l)The view from halfway up the valley to the Stok-La Pass from Rumbak, which can be located through the bright green splash of cultivated valley floor; (r) The HT Venn Diagram
I came to the realisation that I was stuck. Perched high above Rock-a-Nore Road, and clinging on to the Hastings Cliffs that rose up from the dark, wooden fishermen’s smoke shacks below, my legs had locked up and were quivering, my hands were clammy and I had a tight knot in my stomach as adrenaline coursed around my system.
I was probably 7yrs old and my friend, Chris’ mum, had taken a group of us out for a day trip to Hastings, Kent. We had stopped for an ice cream after the cinema and then we had the freedom to go clambering up the rocky cliff face. Except, I realised, I had gone too far, probably showing off and now found myself trapped half way up towards Hastings Castle, staring at the road below and the faces of the pedestrians who all seemed to be mockingly gazing up, and none of whom were offering help.
Places that I have been psychologically and physically stuck: (l) the Hastings Cliffs up to the Castle above the fishing huts when I was seven or eight; (c) the path up from Rumbak towards Stok, via the Stok-La Pass (4900m). The path in blue which I took, and in green, where I should have gone. (r) Stok Kangri (6153,) can be seen rising up along the ridgeline connected to Stok-La Pass.
It was a memory of a moment of physical and psychological duress, a curious deja vu that I came back to almost 35yrs later as I clung onto the side of a bank of shale in Ladakh this summer. So close, just 70m or so, below the top of the 5,000m ridgeline adjoining the Stok-La Pass. Despite taking precautions like Googling and screenshotting the satellite contours, and after assessing what I thought to be the easiest route up the unmarked trail, I had opted for a dog-leg that seemed to follow an easier gradient and that would take me away from the formidable ridge-line ahead which appeared to me like the jagged silhouette of a giant bread knife.
Not sure the photo does this justice, but staring up from the valley floor, I didn’t fancy the route that lay ahead at all. My inclination towards the gentler looking dog-leg off to the right I spied on the Google Satellite image was reinforced through coming-upon rock cairns signifying a used trail ahead.
The purpose of HT, and this article, is to get students to think about the way in which they can regulate their lives through adopting some physical and mental technologies to lead more purposeful, fulfilled lives. I hope to share through some of the lessons I learned along my trip, how I was able to reflect upon one particularly vivid experience that led to a significant shift in my perspective on life. So, as I read this article together with my Y11 group, I will ask them a series of questions so that their own reflections on life can emerge…
Eagle-eyed HT fans might have noticed the updated HT Venn Diagram to include the overarching lens re-labelled from “Somatic” to “Psychosomatic”; what prompted Toby Newton to initiate this change was the clear awareness that not only do we experience and interpret the rest of the other HT circles: Material-Spiritual-Social-Cognitive through our bodies, but also our minds. We are born with our DNA, biograms, genetic dispositions, but for the most part we can’t (yet?) augment our physical and psychological selves.
Back to Ladakh: other precautions I took were researching the route through conversation with a local tour guide, as well as purchasing a Trek Ladakh book with maps of the area, but not, alas, of this exact route. The tour guide confidently suggested that as this was a well-used path, populated by herders driving their flocks, as well as hikers, I could just ask for directions. Actually, there were very few hikers, as I set out for the top early at around 5:30 am, and unlike previous preparatory hikes in the Balkans, and along some of Hong Kong’s 4 main trails across the previous year, there were no handy signposts along the way.
I had followed what appeared to be a used trail from a distance, and, indeed it was; yet, as I put my full weight gingerly down on the loose top rocks and found my foot slide back down the mountain, I quickly ascertained that this was a path for the surefooted blue sheep and mountain goats that could nimbly traverse the slightest edges with their incredible agility and uncanny sense of balance, and not one for an 80kg+ human being. And, as luck would have it, it also started to hail, so, I dug on to the mountainside with my fingernails and spent some time regretting my choices.
(l) Photo c/o The Snow Leopard Conservancy: The Stok-La Pass presents no problems for this urial, or his blue sheep brethren; (r) a tranquil pastoral scene as the villagers of Rumbak brought their animals down off the hills to the shelter of their pens
In short, the main advice here is not to hike on your own, especially in an area in which you are not familiar. I’m an experienced hiker, and all the way up to the top of the Pass, I could see human habitation back down the valley to Rumbak where I set out. Therefore, I reassured myself that I could be “sure” I was going to get back down if needed. But a twisted ankle, or broken limb could have been really bad that many hours away from help.
I wondered, too, what had caused the decision to embark upon this physical challenge anyhow? What compels us as human beings to pursue these physical goals? I think it is to “know thyself” as the universal maxim across religions speaks to. We want to know our limits, and show a “growth mindset”, as psychologist Carol Dweck would say, as referred to by Natalie Bailey in her Weekly Bulletin article last week.
Perhaps there are also certain psychological underpinnings that compel us to the need to achieve, to be commended, some remnant of childhood, that is, intractably, not simply a legacy of who we were, but who we are today. The Russian Dolls HT metaphor is a simple, but effective way to think about our continued psychological development.
The HT Russian Dolls
As I soon turn 43yrs, and am aghast to find myself in middle-age, I have come to hear more frequently my body’s signs as my metabolism slows down and I notice, for example, my speed diminished in football (not that I had much to begin with).
Yet, my stamina remains strong, and I believe it was the foundation of cross country runs and football undertaken in my youth that have allowed me the platform for enjoying plenty of physical exercise now. Knowing this, I want to engage in physical challenges today while my body still says, “Yes,” rather than wait too long and regret the chances that might have slipped by…
One message for the young students reading this is to really treat your body with respect. You only get one, and, so the adage goes, if your body was a Ferrari you’d garage it, and polish and tune it regularly so that you could enjoy the maximum performance.
And time spent doing physical exercise unlocks many positive benefits for our bodies and mental wellbeing. Check out this short video from Insider Tech:
Back on the mountainside…From this vantage point, with my cheek pressed against the rock, I took some deep breaths to calm my nerves and assessed my options., I turned my head to the left to see the harder rock surface so temptingly close, just another 20m away, and shuffled my foot forward to gauge the resistance. Bad move. Any time I adjusted my body more front-on to the mountainside and attempted to manoeuvre across, the loose rock would abruptly shift beneath my foot and send me jolting another few centimetres down, watching small rocks and pebbles cascade to the bottom of the sharp climb.
So, I gripped the shale and spread myself out starfish-style to try to spread my body weight over a large enough area to prevent me sliding all the way back down to the bottom of the section- about 60 feet below- and thought about what to do next.I had a decision to make: to struggle upwards was impossible, so I could either a) gamble on edging further forward and risk sliding down the bank; b) have a little cry (I really did give this some consideration), or, c) head back the way I had clambered, and evaluate from a safer position.
The rocks around me were so small, the consequence of hundreds of thousands of years of erosion caused by exposure to the fierce winds and freezing winters, so, I felt no great worry about sliding back and creating an avalanche where big boulders would be dislodged following me down, but I did feel that the mental and physical defeat of that moment could just spell the end of the hike and a sorry return to my homestay at Rumbak.
I took some more deep breaths, breathing in through my nose and then slowly out through my mouth as I had used this 4-1-7 breathing technique learned from cognitive neuroscientist, Andrew Hubermans, before to calm myself before an important football match, or whenever I might have to speak in public, or suchlike. You breathe in through your nose, slowly and deeply for 4 seconds, then take a final top-up extra breath so your lungs are replete with oxygen, and then breathe slowly out through your mouth for a count of 7. If you do just a few of these repeatedly, you can really feel the tension leave your body and your heart rate slows.
I also knew that I needed oxygen in my system as the air at nearly 5,000m is very thin, at just 11.2% that is half the oxygen available at sea level. My lungs were really burning and I could only move a short distance before stopping and sucking up more air. I learned through reading the hiking companion, Trek Ladakh, that you should only really look to ascend 500m or so each day, ideally sleeping above your destination point the next day, to allow your body time to acclimatise. What I was trying to do was go from 3,900m to 4,900m in one day, and my body was not happy with me.
Previously while hiking, I’ve noticed the effects of thin air at around 2,500m, and this was the highest I’d ever been and my lungs were burning with the sensation of climbing upwards at this height, but also on a surface that felt like trying to run in soft sand on the beach.
And, so, the physical effects of the altitude were also impairing my thinking. Through the recentering that took place with a series of deep breaths I reminded myself of one of the reasons why I was taking the hike in the first place.
Before the end of the summer term, I felt a “knot” in my stomach and because of my father’s/grandfather’s history of colon cancer, I recently went for an endoscopy and colonoscopy. It was with a slight sense of dread, as, to borrow from the realm of medical jargon, they perform this mildly invasive operation by sticking a camera up your arse.
One thought which struck me quite profoundly was the idea that were the diagnosis severe, this might be the last time I climb this mountain. Or, regardless of that, at 43yrs, at middle age, given my hopes and ambitions to travel to many other places, then, it was more than reasonably likely, that no matter how beautiful this scenery was, that I would never climb this mountain again. It really gave me pause to slow down and appreciate the moment, as well as compel me to carry on.
Writing in The Body Keeps the Score, by Besser van der Kolk, and in Gabor Mate’s book, The Myth of Normal: Illness, Health and Healing in a Toxic Culture, both authors affirm that we are impacted by our psychological profiles in profound ways. Mate criticises Western medicine’s tendency to administer pharmaceuticals to treat the symptoms of our unrest; yet, Mate and van der Kolk both make the case that in this modern world there can often be psychological factors causing physical symptoms.
Luckily, upon my return, I got the all clear, aside from gastritis which could be linked to diet and to stress, though the summer trip to India was highly restorative from a mental and physical viewpoint. And, of course, once you have received some positive news, that also ameliorates the stress that was exacerbating the gut spasm, and so a healthy mental-physical feedback loop is created.
So, eventually, I can let you know that I was able to reroute my path, get to the ridgeline, and then descend down to Stok-La Pass, where I was rewarded with the most sublime view of mountains, valleys and rocky desert that I have ever seen.
Life has a funny way of throwing things in your path, and you need to try to maintain a clear head to make progress through the various obstacles and tests that come your way.
As HT students you have the potential to start to think today about the ways in which you can technologise your body and mind for a healthier and more positive tomorrow.
Follow-up questions for students to write their own personal psychosomatic reflections
Can you describe a moment when you were “stuck”? This could be a psychological moment, or related to where you’d reached the limits of your physical strength. It need only be a vivid moment, and please make sure it is one you are comfortable sharing. No expectation to share anything too personal.
What’s an early childhood memory that comes to mind based upon what’s been described? I’d like you to stop to think about it for a moment or two, and see if you can examine how you were thinking and feeling at the time, and why that memory might have been retained by you for so long…
As you think back to that one particular moment in time, what thoughts were going through your head? Perhaps you only retain the emotional imprint of the moment, rather than vivid details. But try to think back as clearly as you can and see if you can unlock some associations through sensory memory.
What do you think about this claim: that we experience the world through our minds and bodies? At school we spend so much time focused on developing our cognitive technologies, but those are moments prescribed by the timetable and whatever homework you might have. Much of the world that we experience is through tacit knowledge, that is, time spent as sensory creatures establishing our meaning and position in the world.
Do you agree? How so if you do? Can you think of moments where your body has given you a message to respond intuitively to a situation? When have you stopped deep cognitive thinking, and embraced being immersed in your own tactile experience of the world?
Two of our Human Technologies teachers were very lucky to be invited to preview ‘The Little History of the World’.
Natalie Bailey and Jon Rees visited Christian and Stella Pilard’s incredible museum in Chai Wan, which they have built after a lifetime of inquiry.
Their Little Museum’s slogan is “A Time Machine for Building Peace” as within a tiny square footage in their museum space, they take visitors back to the dawn of life on this planet in an amazing fossil museum featuring rocks that at 4.2 billion years old are some of the earliest in existence.
We can take a leap forward to the first life on Earth with traces of bacteria in the fossil record to dinosaur eggs and skeletons from the Jurassic age, and then onwards again- in just a few steps- to view the first moments of our human story on Earth with paleolithic axes and spearheads.
This all within one small room, and Christian has an amazing story to tell you about every one of the hundreds of exhibits here that cause you to reflect on the vast scope of our planet’s evolutionary history; then, visitors step into the 20th Century and the stratospheric speed of development of human technologies in just over the space of a century that have connected us through phone, film and internet, taken us up into the air, and then out into space…and onto the Moon. You can see fragments of the parachute that delivered the Apollo 11 astronauts back to Earth, as well as moon dust and meteors that act as postcards from our solar system.
Sports fans will love the signed shirts of Pele and Maradona, as well as boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali and other photos of the evolution of sporting teams such as the 2023 World Rugby Champions, The Springboks, whose nation used sports as a catalyst to unite after the suffering inflicted under years of Apartheid.
The exhibition takes you right up to the present day and the problems that we face through overpopulation and the threat our expansion and consumption of resources places upon the lives of all other species with whom we share this planet.
The scope for teachers at our school and others across Hong Kong to connect students with visceral stories from history, science, ecology and human history is vast. Christian and Stella have done an incredible job with this museum, curated across the last 2.5yrs but built upon a lifetime of inquiry. You can find out more at /The-Little-Museum-of-the-World/
By Jon Rees; Edited by Liz Rose-Jeffreys. March 8th, 2024.
Photo:BBC Wildlife; Kadoorie Scientists and ICHK students
This week, Y9 and Y10 students from ICHK travelled the short journey to the world-renowned conservation centre, Kadoorie Farm Botanical Garden (KFBG), to hear a fascinating talk about one of Hong Kong’s most critically endangered species, the Chinese pangolin.
Resident expert, Liz Rose-Jeffreys, who also works with ICHK parent, Paul Crow, in the reptile research and relocation facility, shared some fascinating information about this beautiful, peaceful creature- it has no teeth, so can’t bite, sucking up ants and termites with its 40cm long tongue, and rolling into a ball when threatened.
However, Rose-Jeffreys also revealed some shocking and demoralising statistics about a species that in Hong Kong, and around the world, is teetering on the verge of extinction.
Before we get to that, a good news story: last year, Kadoorie Farm took in 1,600 snakes that had either been rescued because they were injured, or needed to be relocated as they had slithered too close to human habitation. Although more snakes are received during the warmer months, that works out at an average of nearly 5 a day- and the great majority of these are released once they’ve been identified and health checked. It’s a very healthy indicator of the biodiversity that does exist throughout the city’s country parks.
So, how many pangolins do you think that Kadoorie Farm takes in by way of comparison? Well, the answer is shockingly low, and an indicator of how very rare they are here: since 1997, the Kadoorie facility has only received 15 pangolins, and they were only able to release 10 of these back to the wild (in extremely secret locations to try to give them the best chance of survival).
We were able to see some charming footage of one of their most recent residents back in 2020; Liz revealed a funny and touching anecdote, that when the pangolin was trying to balance on the wooden log placed in its enclosure it fell off- face first into its food bowl!- and while there, realised that eating was actually a good idea, so it started to chomp away after a period of shock and readjustment to its circumstances.
At the end of Liz’s excellent talk, we were able to then see some samples of scales that had been seized by customs officials and donated to KFBG under special permission and held under permit, for education and research purposes.
Left: Charis, Anna, Jazzy and Kenza examine the scales from various species of pangolin. Right: Under the guidance of Liz Rose-Jeffreys, Angus and Nathan, along with Christian and Stella Pilard of Eco-Sys Action Foundation, inspect some more samples.
Jasmine and Fafa look on as Haile holds up the enormous back scales of the giant pangolin, found in regions of western and sub-saharan Africa. Scientists (L-R): Huarong Zhang, Benny Lai, Peter Yang, Aiko Leong. Students (L-R): Angus Ho, Nathan Cheung, Haile Cheng, Max Lefevre, Charis Chan, Anna Zhou, Fafa Wong, Jasmine Chow
The team of scientists at Kadoorie’s DNA/Genetics research centre are a remarkable group. We were lucky to meet them after the talk and hear about their work in their laboratory. (Aiko Leong’s work on otters is an excellent story I would like to focus on next time…) These guys are proper superheroes going about their work with quiet dedication and humility.
They were “rewarded” too with discovering a new species- that of the Asian Mystery Pangolin. Through testing of scales seized by customs officials, which included the scales and a claw from the back foot of one sample they received, they realised the genetic codes did not match any of the 8 known species- and so, a new species had been discovered! Yet, in a very sad way, the reason it is called the Asian Mystery Pangolin is because no-one has ever seen one in real life, only in fragments taken from a trafficking shipment. Their research paper is linked here if you’d like to take a look: “Genomic analysis reveals a cryptic pangolin species”.
In the team photo above, Nathan is holding a bag of around 1.5kg of scales. Rose-Jeffreys told us that 1,000kg of scales would equate to around 1,700 dead Chinese pangolins, although this figure does vary depending on the species. And in one shipment alone Hong Kong customs officials confiscated about 8,000 kilos of scales, which could mean about 14,000 dead pangolins.
The scale of the global operation is vast, and the criminal gangs who smuggle these animals (dead and alive) are highly sophisticated. An excellent expose by a young Vietnamese investigative journalist was recounted to me by Mr. Holland, and I post it here for anyone who would like to take a look. “Van”- her real name is concealed because of the threat to her life- took part in a 4 year investigation, and with incredible bravery and execution, eventually coaxed one of Nigeria’s biggest dealers to reveal key details that led to law enforcement officers being able to bring to a halt a trading network that accounted for half the world’s pangolin sales.
Huarong Zhang and Peter Yang (Benny Lai on computer in background) display the scales attached to a claw retrieved from a seized shipment of pangolins that they analysed with their DNA testing machines, revealing a new, 9th species of pangolin, the Asian Mystery Pangolin
Amidst all of these thoroughly dejecting statistics and facts, Huarong Zhang and Peter Yang, state that they are somewhat hopeful that the situation can be turned around and the pangolins saved. They say that the volume of shipments coming through Hong Kong is starting to be reduced. Also, more awareness from the public due to the kind of work they are conducting is helping to educate people that the scales have no proven medicinal value as they are made of keratin- that’s exactly the same material as your fingernails. The fact that pangolin has been taken off the official list of traditional Chinese medicines in 2020 (SCMP/Green Queen) is another huge step to ensuring their survival, and hopefully revival.
Kadoorie Farm is a real success story and its principles are a perfect model for you students reading this article. The people who work for this organisation are principled, knowledgeable, empathic and proactive.
Jasmine, Fafa and Max have been very lucky to conduct their work experience in such a wonderful organisation, and are to be commended for their proactivity in acquiring their placements, and their excellent attitudes across their time there. I think we have a bright future of vets and conservationists with folks like these.
And a huge thanks also to our Y10 Work Experience programme partners, Christian and Stella Pilard at Eco-Sys Action Foundation, who also run The Little Museum of the World- a Museum for Building Peace, and who have hosted Leo Birnbaum and Angus Ho. They couldn’t be under the guidance of two more compassionate and kind people, and I was assured that both young men had been excellent ICHK representatives.
Christian helped to organise the event at Kadoorie and he and Stella were in negotiations with HK authorities for weeks so that they could acquire some pangolin scales to feature alongside the hundreds of other objects in their collection that tells the story of our planet and our species. With people such as these- there’s hope!
Sustainability, Human Technologies and Theory of Knowledge 