Episode 136 - Dayang Yihao

Dayang Yihao (Great Ocean No. 1), China's deep-sea research ship, is visiting Hong Kong and mooring at the Ocean Terminal.

Judith read the news about the visit a few weeks ago and noted that the ship would open to visitors during her stay in Hong Kong.

Each of Judith and I sent a letter to the University of Science and Technology, one of the sponors of the event, to apply for the visiting tickets. Each letter applied for 2 tickets. According to today's newspaper, there were 5,000 tickets for the public, but the University received over 50,000 applications. So the University drew lots. We were lucky and got 4 tickets!

As we got one extra ticket, we invited one of Chiu Yin's classmates to join us today.

I know very little about deep-sea research, but I believed that it would be an enjoyment to board a ship and have a look at something unfamiliar to me. The doctrine of "Defamiliarisation", which I learned from my literary theory studies, has always been a golden guideline that brings live water to my heart.

The beautiful white ship, the long boarding ladder, the crew's rooms, the research centre and the various strange equipment knitted together in an orderly manner. Together with the friendly crew members, they presented before me a new horizon of life, a different view of looking at our beautiful planet, and gave me the chance to see, talk and listen to people from different walk of life. Judging from the environment of the ship, the life of a deep-sea researcher must be interesting, rewarding and relaxed without work pressure.

The pressure, if any, can easily be washed away by the great ocean.