September 29, 2007 at 8:57 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Hello again.
First of all, I finally got around to wearing the mortar hat. Never thought doing my thesis could have been a blast but an übergood program and tutor made it felt like all those years of all-nighters was really worthwhile.
Having said that, I make no apologies for disappearing for a little while more to plan my next adventure! The internet has grown quite a bit since my last blog, a lot of which I am taking advantage of so I’m confident this blog will easily best its predecessor.
However, I won’t be carrying a laptop this time and broadband access is a little dubious. So if I disappear for weeks, bear with me, I guarantee you that I’m preparing my next post with my notebook somewhere in the rainforest.
So wish me a pleasant voyage, and keep coming back here until I told you my trip is over !
August 23, 2005 at 9:47 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I AM HOME, I AM BACK !!!
Just to give you an idea of what I have been preoccupied with, I had …
10,244 photos and movies to sort …
870 emails to review ..
18 snail mail in my letterbox ..
13 kilograms of backpack to unload ..
4 stupid architecture assignments to hand in (one late) ..
3 promises from Europe I had to fulfill ..
and ..
my iPOD DIED !!!
At this point I have 24 draft posts. So my good friend, Hai Lin, recommended that I deliver that slowly. So I will upload them DAILY over the course of two weeks.
That’s right, DAILY updates for TWO weeks.
Upcoming highlights include-
Meeting with a FAMOUS FAMOUS American celebrity …
“The Attack of the Killer Squirrels” …
and ..
according to pre-release audiences, the FUNNIEST VIDEO EVER (beating the Villa Savoye one apparently) !!!
This is the spike that went through the stomach of my good friend, Constantine the Great. As you can see it is very long, very sharp and rusted at the same time.
If you somehow missed it below. While I was hanging out with the bunch of Greeks, Constantine was trying to collect a UIA (Union of International Architects) Congress poster behind a cast iron fence and got his belly punctured. And it happened about 4:30 in the wee hours of morning at Taksim Square. He was taken to a public hospital by a police car but it was too dodgy. Then they found a private one which landed him a fat bill of TRL2,000 (about AUD2,000 or RM5,800). I still don’t know if he bought travel insurance. This picture above was taken in the evening of the next day.
By the way bro, if you’re reading this. You promised you’ll give me your email the next day but landed in hospital !!
Hi people, sorry for being “missing” for about a month. If you can appreciate, I was packed day to night for two weeks in Barcelona, then spent one week in Finland where internet is way too expensive, then finally one week again to properly settle down again in Sydney.
I have to say, this last part of the journey had been the most surreal. Trust me, WAY surreal. The most interestingly unbelievably bizarre events! Hopefully I will be able to put it up during the weekend.
First off, I want to say the THE VIDEOS ARE FIXED, GO BACK AND SEE THEM !!
I had just finish the longest singular route for my whole trip, flying halfway across Europe from Istanbul to Rome, then a ferry from Rome to Barcelona, a trip that took two days. My brain is tripping a little, which I really have to sort out because my Barcelona workshop begins tomorrow!!
Which brings me to how I will maintain the blog from now on. It’s pretty silly to update my studio stuff here, since this page is for “bringing Europe to you”. So I may post more culturally general stuff, like Tastebuds. Anyway, it also means less frequent updates in the coming days. I will resume my “backpacking” on the 28th of July by going to Helsinki in Finland, it will return to normal then.
This is also the only time I have to give the website a face-lift and possibly fill-in stuff like, a minimap of where I’ve been etc. We’ll see how we go, adios !!
June 25, 2005 at 12:24 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Florence may be old, dirty and chaotic but it’s FUN. Happy Hour now, want to hit the pubs soon. I’m sharing the room with like a thousand people, so-called “8 bed mixed dorm” but much dodgier. But whoa, it is actually the bedroom of one of the hostel workers, and he plays rock guitar !!! His guitar is pretty shit but it is plugged into a Marshall JCM900, right below my bunk bed !!!! Don’t think I’m going to sleep much tonight.
Florence is really funny, there’s these two other American Hispanic dudes from LA (USA) and they were like telling their absolutely hilarious backpacking stories. Their most funny one, they asked for Florence accommodation while they were in a s*** hostel from Rome, just yesterday night. The receptionist booked them a reservation in a place called “Florentine” or something. When they got here this morning, the whole place got shut down !!!! Apparently it was overcrowded or something. And it was shut down because they were like repeat offenders of the council laws.
When we finally got to our hostel, they had to take us elsewhere using a golf cart, zipping around the tiny streets of Florence. Imagine 5 backpackers with their huge luggage just crammed onto a little cart going at 20km/h, tourists were taking photos of us!!
Once we got there, I noticed at least 20 other people in three bedrooms, each with probably 8 beds. And there were more coming. I also noticed hostel workers were pulling out spare beds, I think they had to be “illegal” tonight. And when they mean MIXED dorm, they really mean it. The other girls don’t seem to be very modest as well, walking around in their, ahem. Most are Americans so .. I don’t know.
June 22, 2005 at 11:13 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Hey guys, I have to write something, just to signal that I am still alive. I have been trying to blog for the past two days, but wherever I go, the terminals they provide only has a monitor and a mouse. No USB !! I find it quite pointless to blog without pictures or video and I will be in Lugano for three nights. So this will be a quiet time for the blog.
Just so you know, I intended to blog on Le Corb’s Firminy-Vert, Ronchamp, Signal box in Basel, Congress Centre in Lucerne and Therme Vals. This will probably be the highest concentration of contemporary architecture pilgrimage. So check back in a few days, fingers crossed, I will have good architecture stuff on.
For non-archi dudes and dudettes, I have actually already prepared the Swiss Competition (which will be freaking hilariously HARD) and the Swiss Video special as well. The video will be more serious, but cool to watch nevertheless.
June 19, 2005 at 11:42 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Hi guys, I’m overwhelmed by the positive response I got, and in the matter of 24 hours !!! Don’t worry, you guys have justified it. I will go on with the blog, it’s not inconvenient but the effort needs to be justified.
Anyway, I heard there were issues with the Quicktime streaming movies, I will sort it out when I reach Lucerne tomorrow.
By the way, just to let you know, the next blog update will feature A LOT of Le Corbusier. And I really mean it. Tell your archi-friends!! Until next time, see ya!
June 18, 2005 at 9:26 am · Filed under Uncategorized
I am seriously considering abandoning this blog.
Currently my budget for internet is blown by the fact that it costs CHF8.00 per hour in Basel. Moreover, it’s taking a LOT of time and energy (you have no idea), walking alone in the city streets after midnight, cracking good ideas, making sure I always have to finish blogging before running out of battery power in my laptop etc. etc.
Currently the projects I am on the verge of blogging is the “I Don’t Believe I’m in Paris” video special and a Swiss special still in production stage. Places include, Eating in Lyon, The Le Corbusier City of Firminy-Vert, Geneva the Home of Humanitarian and Basel (with the Kunstmuseum, Botta’s works and Herzog & de Meuron’s Signal Box). Upcoming places I haven’t been to includes Thermal Vals, Jean Nouvels Congress Centre at Lucerne, all the landmarks in Rome, Florence, Vienna, Milan, Athens, Istanbul, Barcelona and of course, Helsinki again. And of course, all the topical ones like the Tastebud series etc.
I REALLY need to know how many people are actually reading this blog in order to justify if I should go on. Otherwise I’m working so hard to come up with content just for 2-3 people, not worth it. I’d rather spend personal time explaining to those few people when I get home.
So drop me a note using the comment feature or the ShoutBox to tell me you’re reading this !! The future of this blog depends on YOU!
Mmmm… I’ve ordered it so many times I can do it in French now, “Boujour madame, crêpes Nutella du coco, sil vous plait!” They cost roughly €2.40 each, so I’ll go broke if I don’t break the addiction.
