so, what's on dmentedboy blogger ? everything dmented about jxe's travels. here, there and everywhere.
dear daniel,
so u are now my myspace friend haha. you have to sign up to facebook so i can have one more friend. hehe. all this traveling is great. will have to catch up with you soon on msn sometime.
Day 17: stranger than fiction
so grenoble. town surrounded by mountains. so fucking what.
anyway, my train ride. took 3 hours. change once. there was this chick who sat within viewing distance. she is quite tan and blond. so u know light hair on dark skin is pretty obvious. she was wallowing a long roll but thats the norm. what was disturbing was i noticed she had more hair on her arms than i have hair on my legs. now thats disturbing. eeeewwww !
then there was this other guy who sat on the opposite side. i was trying so hard not no burst out laughing but kinda feel bad afterwards coz he was a really nice guy. ok i do have a heart. well, he wasnt fat and/or ugly and/or hairy and/or smelly. so i'll be nice and not say what i saw. ok i cant change the subject who the fuck told me to come to grenoble BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY WHY THE FUCK DIDNT ANYONE TELL ME TO TO COME HERE !!!! fucking waste of time. this place is completely dead. its sunday and everything is close. even VIDEO X is closed coz fucking porn needs to go to church. fuck man. even the ghosts have fled this town.
still it was interesting to see these events :-
1. a truck driving through a small tunnel. i was the only one who thought it was an amazing tight squeeze. everyone else just wanted to get through. idiots. why am i constantly surrounded by idiots ? anyway, the driver noticed that i took notice and i was cheering and encouraging him all along. i must say he was very skilled. he pull through and thank me for supporting him.
2. 2 idiots trying to fit a oversized glass table top into the back of their car. i heard a loud crash.3. this other car driving with a cupboard in the trunk and the trunk was left open. the cupboard went flying out onto the streets.
4. saw my first french live performance. they sung in english. so much for french live music. you can check them out at http://www.myspace.com/centenaire
(watch that truck squeeze ...)
my cough has gone all time worse. i leaving at sunrise for annecy.
xxx. j.
dear matt,
so cool that you subscribed to my RSS. i didn't even know you can do that. need to catch up on technology when i get back. i try to write abit every night before i go to bed and post them whenever i get access to the internet. so i dont like spent hours on the net everyday. some of these deserted towns here in france dont even have dial up. haha
Day 16 - uncool vibe i was talking to the guy at the reception. he was super friendly. so i started asking him for some advise and where to go next and got him to book me a night at montpellier. as we went on chatting, i attracted more people into the conversation, suddenly there were a few more french people giving me advise. and then i thought it would be better to go somewhere else instead and so forth. so i got the receptionist to change a few bookings and made a couple of new ones and in the end, somehow i was convienced, montpellier is the place to go. so i got the receptionist to rebook again. for some strange reason he stopped being so friendly. french. they are just weird people. dont understand them.
anyway. got to montpellier and damn. the place is crowded. i have never seen so many people in europe until today. i walked through the mall and people everywhere. packed. it was like walking in wong kok in hong kong where all you see is heads. plus the fucking rugby world cup is on. come on who the fuck watches that. them losers.
(people everywhere ...)
anyway.
turned a corner away from the mall strip, deserted. almost no one in sight. go figure. its amazing how people are just concerntrated in the strip of the mall. the entire population in montpellier lives in the mall.
(people magically disappeared !)
anyway.
even though the architecture and the historical feel to the building is nice, but somehow the city feels very cold and uninviting. also it rained on me again. fucking hell. 16 days in europe and it rained like 9 days.
i just need to escape from this city. anyway. seen the city, decided to avoid south of france .. nice, cannes etc. since is getting cold not worth going to the beach. instead, lets head to the alps. booked the next destination ... grenoble. leaving at sunrise.
xxx. j.
hey mei agian,
so i read your email about lies and living a fake life. well you will love this one.
Day 14 - Get a load of this ;)
wanted to stay for another day at la rochelle but the hostel was fully booked. so i tot great. go to toulouse then. but the chick at the reception said, no u cant, the hostel was recently burnt down. urgh.
so i said fine, "how about tours ?"
she called the place, "sorry fully booked for the day but u can go to blois ?"
i was like i m trying to avoid someone who lives there even though the thought of
making a call, putting up a front to just to get a free night's accommodation ? nah i am not that low.
finally i decided, what the hell, lets go to carcassonne then.
being smart:-
so i thought who the fuck pays for public toilets. i was at the train station. there was these cubicles where u have to slot in 0.30 euros. so i thought. i'll be smart. i will wait for someone to come out and when some old lady did, i held the door open for her and she kindly said "merci" and i went in before the door shut. genius. as i began to pee, the whole cubicle began to clean itself and suddenly i was being splashed all over! fucking hell. so much that. come on who the fuck pays to use the loo !!!
the train ride was interesting. took me 5 hours to get there plus had to change trains twice.
(dark clouds following the train)
being smarter:-
i settled into my seat. there were these 2 chicks sitting on the other side. i noticed they were wearing name tags with blah blah blah jesus christ blah blah blah written on it. after establishing a couple of eye contacts and smiles, they couldnt resist me any longer (hey i cant even resist me) the came to talk to me. i was like great. some one to chat to. they spoke pretty good english.
they were like "hi we are missionaries .. " yeah and all that introduction shit.
so i was being friendly and i just played along. trying to avoid the big Q.
it was all find we talked about france and traveling etc etc. and then came the big Q !
"do you believe in god ?"
i looked at them, "yes. i believe in many gods"
"huh what do u mean ?"
"i believe there are many gods, u know god of thunder, goddess of love, medicine god etc..?
"huh ?"
i looked at them and whispered, "are you a god ?"
they looked at each other and shook their heads. so i said, "look that that guy sitting there looking at us. he could be a god spying on us !"
"i have never heard this before can u explain some more ?"
"well, i believe gods are everywhere, they watch and help us. and they bring balance and harmony to our lives. but sometime they bring us may surprises."
and i went on and on about the ying and yang and then about the goddess of love for instant, she can hit you when you least expect it. i went on to tell them about my lesbian lover who has licked more cunts then they have ever said "amen" and how she sucks me off only to ... in her own words "swallow some holy water to cleanse her soul". and how she is off making some porn film with 50 other chicks in italy and before i could continue to tell them about the dungeon i own in sydney, the train arrived at my terminal.
i got up and say goodbye and left. i didn't even had time to tell them its rude in australia to stare at people with their mouth wide opened.
i got off the train, it rained on me. suddenly my after life dont seem so bright.
(random city shots)
i walked into the old city, i saw the castle walls, i told myself, i had to stay one more night. so i checked in for 2 nights.
xxx. j.
Hey team chatswood (ric, jeff, liz, matt, andrew, basil, mark, murray, karina, mathieu, zahar, catharina, dodie and any new team members
so, you people did it. i knew you people can do it. after all i did almost everything before i left. hahaha. well, i m having a great break for all of you.
Day 13 - Time out
Moon was right. la rochelle is really nice. rich man's town. never seen so many yacht in my life.
(the arrival)
(view to the fortress town)
the fort that surrounds the old town looks stunning. i thought the old town is one of the nicest old town i have seen in this trip. love the big shutter windows everywhere. the tourist crowded around the town center, as usual, and i walked every empty streets, such a good vibe.
anyway decided to take it easy today and try to rest my cough away. it feels as if its getting worse now. see how it goes.
(ok love them shoes. should i get them ?)
(love the shutter windows)
counting to the days....
excitement:
paris : 10
NYC: 15
barcelona: 28
sydney: 650 ???
the past:
left sydney: 22
in europe: 14
cough: 18
the valuable:
lost : 1 item
found: sanity
ok. if anyone do leave any comments, dont forget to leave your name too so i know you are not some crazy ugly stalker.
xxx. j.
Eric,
so, i am crazy but u must me so proud of me. i went out of my way to see an architecture piece and not just any architect's work but Le Corbusier ! Yes. i walked 1 hr 30 minutes looking for the Maison Radieuse. its actually not in nantes but in another suburb called reze. and yes i walked all the way there. which i m glad i did because i saw lots of other interesting things long the way. boy, i am impressed !
Day 12 - casual encounters
so i thought i stay one more day here and i m determined to go look for le corbusier's building. from the map i got it didn't look too far but i didnt realize the map was scaled at 1:1000. fucking hell !
Encounter #1
This woman came up to me and went "blah blah blah blah".
jxe, went "huh ? english ?"
woman "oh" took out a poster showing god and destruction.
"do you believe that god and he brings destruction to the world" (along that lines but broken english)
jxe shook his head
woman, "how u explain that ?"
jxe removed his sunnies, looked into her eyes and responded, "bad karma !" and put his sunnies back on.
woman laughs profusely and responded, "maybe haha!"
jxe walkes away.
along the way i saw some really interesting buildings, warehouses, structures and cranes. one that i was most impressed was the Palais de Justice.
Encounter #2
i was taking pictures, this guy came up to me and went "blah blah blah blah".
jxe, went "huh ? english ?"
he went, " no blah blah blah blah ..."
jxe just noded and noded and smiled and noded ...
more, "blah blah blah" and then we shook hands and we walked away.
(Palais de Justice)
(Maison Radieuse - in sight)
when the Maison Radieuse was in sight, i got very excited because with my lousy sense of direction, i was actually heading the right direction. the booklet said i should call and make a booking for a guide and pay 5 euros. though fuck this shit i'd just turn up and look for the guide. when i arrived, i was really impressed by the building. i was surprised that its a residential apartment and people live there. really run down building. went to the reception but no one was there and everything was written in french. so i thought fuck it. i m here i may as well give myself a tour and go up the elevator.
(Maison Radieuse - ground level)
people were all staring at me and all going blah blah blah. i just ignore them and went to every level. its just literally a corridor leading to the individual units. so i saw nothing.
Encounter #3
she saw me lost and all clueless. "blah blah blah, tourist ?"
jxe, noded, "yes, english ?"
woman, "a little, blah blah blah, come come, blah blah blah"
jxe followed.
anyway, she took me to her pad, unit no 633. she had a little 4 year old kid. could tell she didnt have much, living very modestly. yet she was really proud that she is living in a designer building. to my surprised, she took out a folder filled with information about le corbusier and the building and started explaining to me about the building. the pad is a duplex and give me a tour around the pad. she was explaining the desgn concept of the pad to me, the balcony, the kitchen, the arched doors to the toilets and baths, the colors, the floor materials etc. i could only understand 1/4 of what she said but enough to put the pieces together. she even had a 3D section of her pad. i was so impressed with the spacial planning of the pad. i tot it was abit inappropriate to take any photos, so i took pictures with my mind. its such an experience. love it.
(Maison Radieuse - roof top: kindergarten)
(me and Maison Radieuse and more)
when i left, it rained, so i had my packed lunch under the building.
head back to the city and it rained some more. i ran to a shelter.
Encounter #4
this guy started talking to me in what he later claimed to be japanese.
jxe, "errr english ?"
guy, "oh i love speaking in english, i love expressing myself in english"
jxe, what the fuck ?
anyway he went on about shit and more shit, to world piece and how he just found out he is a jewish and there are jewish out there who dont even know they are jewish.
jxe rolled his eyes.
he asked me what i did today and i said i went to the Maison Radieuse.
guy, "no way. i live there !" he took out his wallet and showed me his address and then went on and on again.
the rained stopped. jxe smiled. we parted.
what a day.
back at the hostel at night, got abit upset that i couldnt book anything for bordeaux tomorrow.
Encounter #5
this korean guy saw me feeling disturb and asked me whats wrong. i told him why and he said, "no problem, go to la rochelle, very nice."
so i said, "really? ok!" and chatted to him and his wife all night.
coincident ? its the moon cake festival tonight and mr korean is called Moon !
i love this city. this is by far the best city i have been. love to live here for a couple of years. if only i could speak french ... and what a day !
xxx. j.
hey gloria and wenmin.
so, how are the girls going ? hope all is well with your studies and painting. keep me in the look ok ?
day 8 - my first loss
so, i had to go through immigration at the train station to get into france. the whole security check and x-ray scan of the bags. which is all fine. i almost forgot my rainbow umbrella. the security guard came after me to give it back to me. got up the train, 30 minutes to lille. was so excited to get into france BUT i left the umbrella on the train !!!! fucking hell. just dont tell susanne ok ! susanne u r not reading this are you ?
(random shots of ME !)
(lille streetscape)
Ok i am finaly in france and i am loving it. the thoughts and the feeling compliments.
Loving it:
1. the smell of fresh bread from bakeries
2. sitting at a cafe by the streets, having a croissant and cappuccino, sketching and watching beautiful people walking by
3. no buses with a groups of people wearing the same hat with a guide holding a banner or some sort.
(never seen before food - edible ?)
(window art)
4. no insipid tourist. i am a tourist but i have taste. i avoided the crowd and went exploring. i found a street where artist hangs their painting out on the windows. the whole street seems like a out door gallery and the best part ... its free !
(ok whats with europe?)
ok can somebody tell me if H&M the equivalent to giodarno in hong kong ? they are everywhere in europe. cheap and nasty ?
talking about cheap and nasty ? they've got bata here ? i'd always thought that bata is a malaysian brand. its so cheap and nasty we literally call it Buy And Throw Away. haha. i guess its a french thing too.
(Pl. de la Republique)
(my name is ...)
really love the square. could just sit here for hours. its for everyone, people come together to play drums, skate board, practice street performances, hang out, and ... art. some one was pasting posters of people holding a piece of paper saying "my name is ... " so cool. love it.
hating it:
1. my loss - the rainbow umbralla.
xxx. j.
hey roger,
so, we didn't get to meet before i left. i hope all is good. i have to tell you that i m so proud of myself. i have been wondering aimlessly for more than a week now and i haven't gotten loss ... yet. better still i managed to find the same place twice ! i m still found. hahaha. i know. i surprised myself. hey i did return from japan !
day 7 -
ok i arrived and i needed to take the tube.
silly moments:
1. at the subway, when the tube arrived, i was waiting for the door to automatically open. a guy jumped forward, pushed the button, rolled his eyes and walked into the tube. urgh ! and how was i suppose to know ?
rachael gave me a fantastic guide to follow around the city. i followed it like a GPS satellite. was great. went to every place she mentioned and when she wrote 'you will like it'... i arrived with a big grin on my face :)
mmm waffles and chocolate everywhere. unfortunately i m not a big fan of chocolate. even though i was tempted to buy some just because its belgium chocolate. i resisted. but had my share of waffles. yummy.
(chocolates - look they even come with a CD now)
the grand place was impressive both day and night. again. crowded with people and not very good photo op.
(grand place - day)
(grand place - night)
architecture moment:-
i guess the most impressive was the palais de justice. pure monument. the size of it is astonishing. the detaling, the ionic and corinthian columns fell in place, unlike some greek's houses in sydney. this made me wonder if belgium was once a communist country because the buildings here are all so monumental. someone google it and leave me a comment ok.
(palais de justice)
exploring this city is really exciting. every corner looks interesting and almost wants to draw you into it.
(brussels streetscape)
musical moment:-
and finally, i understood what falstaff beer is when sheryl crow sings it in 'a change will do you good' ! hah !
(random shots)
one thing i learned in this trip is that when you get really tired and need a place quiet and warm to rest, just walk into any church, sit on a bench and look like u belong. its dead quiet and people will just leave u in peace. this is when your ipod comes in handy.
drawbacks:-
1. anything looks remotely old and interesting that tourist would want to walk into, charge 5 euros for it ! urgh ! i m so not paying 5 euros to see a beer collection or some chocolate machine just so i can see the interior of a building.
2. i just cant seem to shake this cough. its getting fucking annoying. omfg. can i can i say fuck here ? fucking hell. fuck fuck fuck fuck. omfg i can say fuck in my own post. this is fucking awesome. from now onwards, my posts is so going to get so fucking interesting.
xxx. j.
hey phil,
so i m glad that you have decided to go on a trip to the states at the end of the year. its so much fun to be on the road and i m sure you will have a fantastic time. keep checking the posts. i will will give u places to go in the states.
also, before i left, i managed to buy 'the wreckers' CD from HMV for 5 bucks. its now keeping me company on my trip. woo hoo.
day 6 - jackets galore
the train ride to antwerp was interesting. it was only a 1 hour 15 minutes journey. had another interesting conversation with this chick. this time she spoke no english and i spoke no french. anyway, i managed to work out that she wanted to use my cell. she is cute, so i let her.
architecture momment:-
i arrived to what i thought was one of the most beautiful station ever. one big massive vault structure above me. let the pictures speak for themselves.
(antwerp station. simply amazing)
i kinda fall in love with this city almost instantly.
plus :-
1. dogs can read sign.
2. tits (porn) are everywhere
3. shopping is great. they have really nice jackets everywhere. the prices are transparent. they are all displayed at the window. no need to go in and check the price and get hassled by the shop assistant. infact even when you go into the shop, they leave u alone. if u need help, ask ! SYDNEY LEARN FROM THIS !
(caption this)
my first impression of this city was 'this is a jewish city'. they were everywhere, with them hats and funny sideburns. anyway cityscape is ...
reminiscence moment:
kuala lumpur in the 80s. just the feel, the smell, the look. seems dated.
was walking around randomly and saw this same chick that was in the on of the old church back in brugge. i think she is stalking me. if i see her again in another city, i am going to go confront her. and yes. she is cute.
(antwerp streetscape)
went into the modern museum. bernhard willhelm was displaying his work. great fashion designer. had to go check it out. glad i did. love the jackets. almost ripped them from the mannequin and become one meself.
(modern museum - bernhard willhelm: love them jackets)
although this town is fully historical. lots of old buildings, there are so many cool shops. did i mention before ... jackets everywhere ... great. if it wasn't because i have no room in my bag, also i m going to new york ('nice collective' - here i come !)and paris, i would have bought 5 jackets already. i was told that the rent for these old shops are between 20,000 - 50,000 euros per month and they all run at a loss. that is why most of the shops are chain store which have other stores to recuperate the losses.
(jackets everywhere: prices are all transparent)
(random shots - look which flag is flying high !)
the lows ?
1. bad weather - windy and chilly
2. still can't shake my cough. although my nose is now clear. yippee.
3. the main square is again crowded with tourist. not very good photo op.
(main square)
again, lots of old buildings and churches. similar style.
xxx. j.
