Saint-malo: its no bondi

hey mark,

so you are still my good friend. i need more friends like you. u know. some good karma will do me good. anyway, how's size management going ? em. i meant chatswood going ?

Day 9 - house keeping.

my first impression when i saw the beach was eeeuuwww. people actually swim in there ? fuck look at them rashes growing ! hah !

anyway. didnt get to much today. the train ride took almost 6 hours. also i had to get organized. need to do my laundry. finally the smell of clean fresh underwear. mmm. get information on how to get to mont saint michele etc.

good karma:
oh yeah, almost had my second loss today - my diesel sunnies. i left it at the reception whist checking in. the guy came chasing after me ! how kind.

visit the old town. thought nothing much of it. the sunset save the beach though.



(the so called beach. look at the stairs to the beach ! - scary)


(the old town)


(sunset at the beach)


bad karma:
ok i had to share a room with this MEGA HUGE french guy. he is some 400 pounds and he had problem breathing. went i went to bed i wondered why would anyone make coffee at 11.30 pm ? then i tough no maybe some on is vacuuming, after 20 minutes or so i worked out that it was FATS who was snoring. fucking hell. he kept me up all night. no wonder my cough is not healing. i had my ipod on to max volume and i could still hear him. i took 2 sleeping pills and i could still hear him. fuck fuck fuck. he woke up at 7am and left. suddenly thought i went deaf. yes it was that bad.
humph ! not happy.

xxx. j.

Lille: French Gateway

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.

brussels: chocolate city

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.

antwerp: jackets galore

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.

brugge: the american retiree home

hey susanne & nick,

so i made it out of my first comfort zone. thank you very much for keeping me over the last 4 days in amsterdam. it was really comfy that couch of yours and as you can tell, i totally made it my space. i highly recommend that couch to everyone. haha

well the rain followed me to brugge and i was really glad that susanne made me carry that umbrella. when i first saw that humongous rainbow colored umbrella, my eyes just widen. but it allowed me to see brugge. thank you once again.

day 5 - on my own
the train ride into brugge was interesting. it took 4 hours because i missed the connecting train. gave me time to read up on my spanish. also had an interesting conversation with this chick on the train. she spoke little english and i speak no french. anyway, if only she was cute.



(train ride to brugge)

after stressing out to try to make bookings in brussels, going to brugge was a good choice. i got a room of 4 all by meself. the place was almost deserted. haha. as i entered the town center - its reminisce of amsterdam. tourist town. only this time, everyone there (literally) are 60 - 80 year old american retirees. some even seems older. haha. and i was the only asian there. young and em. looking good. haha. the locals there are really friendly, they kept smiling and saying hi to me. dont blame them. i'd do the same to me.



(if you are american and u r retired, welcome to brugge)

brugge is a great historical town. i m so glad i came. thanks to racheal for suggesting. the churches are massive and more importantly its free. i also learn that you can't wear a cap when u enter a church. one woman ran down the aisle shouting .. "take it of, take it off" in french or hindi. gawd knows but her action implied it.



(michelangelo and look a windmill but not in the netherlands)

saw a piece of michelangelo and a few windmills and i am not even in the netherlands. go figure.



(me and my colored umbrella - caption these)

in summary :
definitely worth visiting.

mmmm :-
1. free entry to churches
2. yummy waffles
3. relaxing

annoyance :-
1. american retiree home
2. HAS ANYONE TAUGHT THE EUROPEANS THE ONLY WAY TO EAT CHIPS ARE WITH CHICKEN SALT !!! WHERES THE CHICKEN SALT ??? I M SO GOING TO START EXPORTING CHICKEN SALT. ROGER ???
3. sort of miss the monotonous 4 story height limit facade.

xxx. j.

amsterdam: happy to be alive.

dear liz,

so, less then 2 weeks for chatswood huh ? i m sure everything will fall into place. they always do.

Day 3 : near death
was a relaxing day. spent the morning walking around and doing some sketches. spent the afternoon with nick and susanne, picnic in the park. was another nice sunny day.

on the way home, we were standing at the lights, waiting to cross like good school kids. when the pedestrian light turned green, i looked and there were no cars. so i started to cross. i took 2 steps forward. but for some strange reason, i stopped. maybe because i wanted to see where nick and susanne was. but i stopped. then i heard susanne screaming "JXEEEEEE" then i felt a car ran pass me. the car was so close what if i was another step forward i would have been hit. also, if i didnt stop but continued crossing, i would have definitely been hit. and at that speed that idiot was driving, he definitely wouldnt have been able to slow down in time. i dont know why i stopped but i did and i lived. counting my blessings now.


(picnic & chinatown)

city walk at night.

Day 4 - rain
ok it literally rained the whole day. went exploring the city without an umbrella. rained on me. and rained some more. managed to find what i think is chinatown haha. and rained again. but the highlight of the day was when i went to watch a film - hairspray. anyone who is a fan of john waters would know the classic and the musical. anyway this film lived up to john's name. totally love it. definitely have to go watch after the submission. maybe after the team lunch, go do a team movie. i am so downloading the soundtrack now with the itunes voucher. yay ! btw. it rained again after the movie. gawd. no one told me that it rains so much in europe.

ok. comfort zone has ended. belgium tomorrow.

xxx. j.

amsterdam: me gateway to europe

dear mei ...

so i promised u that the first post from europe is to you but more importantly you wanted to know my opinion on amsterdam. so here it goes...

DAY 1 - the arrival
my plane was delayed by 2 hours because the plane was waiting for 25 people from auckland. damn kiwis.
well, got interrogated at the immigration (as usual). its not easy being good looking because everyone wants to interact with you. so i really don't blame them.


(my bag - 11kgs and the arrival)

still recovering from my cold (coughing and blocked nose) i arrived at schiphol air port. dont believe i actually made it out of asia pacific. as i was figuring out where the train ticket machines were and how to operate it, there were people more clueless than me. people were actually asking me questions like i belong. again, more because ... interaction. sigh. if only they were cute too.

i arrived at susanne's place, dropped my bag, said hello and literally left the unit and went exploring. i was so fascinated by rows of 4 storey buildings running the whole length of the street and they were the entire city. took me a while to figure out that there were dedicated bike lanes on walkways and people driving on the wrong side of the road. almost got run down by cyclists (many times too).


(amsterdam & bikes)

found the van gogh museum and really enjoyed it. spent the rest of the day just looking around exploring. even the rain didnt slow me down.

VERDICT: i love this city even though by the end of the day i found the 4 storey height limit abit annoying. very monotonous. after a while i kept walking back to the same place. is the city that small ?

DAY 2 - lucky day
It was a beautiful day. apparently the first nice day in summer. whoa. lucky me. hung out with susanne all day. We went to the Rijksmuseum. enjoyed van gogh better but the rembrant's stuff was pretty cool.

found the proef amsterdam place you sent.
http://www.proefrotterdam.nl/proef_nederlands/proef.html
again. they were supposed to have closed till march next year. they only open for a particular season but the amsterdam indesign is on and they opened just for this event. we tried the picnic sampler which consist on a sandwich, pumpkin soup, some crumple desert and some organic drink. it was great sitting under the warm summer sun (still about 25C).


(proef amsterdam)


(proef amsterdam food)


(proef amsterdam surroundings)

after spending hours sitting under the sun catching up, we went to the old central post office. the elevator is amazing. will post a video sometime somewhere. and the entire ground level is filled with graffiti. made it all the way to the top through restaurant 11 to see the view.


(post CS)

walked by and saw my first architecture feature. a renzo piano building. pic to proof it too.


(renzo piano - so i was told)

walked though the red light district and made it back home.

hows everything back in sydney ?

xxx.jxe