Go-anywhere doors どこでもドア

Doors.  There’s just something about them that fascinates me photographically.  Maybe it’s the curiosity of wondering what’s behind them?  Sometimes they might be open just a crack to allow just a glimpse of what they hide.   In some cases, it’s because they’re beautifully constructed.  At any rate, I think they make for a good picture.

ドア。面白いと思います。何かちょっと分からない。多分、好奇心があります。後ろに何ですか。時々ドアが少し開けています。それから隠された物を垣間見ています。時々きれいだけですので。さあ、いい写真を撮れさせていると思います。

Hanoi, Vietnam ハノイ、ベトナム

My Xmas/New Year holiday can best be described as “schizophrenic”.  I went from warm, sunny weather in quiet, sleepy Luang Prabang to cool, mostly damp weather in noisy, frantic Hanoi.  I had heard many stories of the traffic, in particular the motorbikes but nothing really prepares you for it the first time you see it, or better yet, are right in the middle of it.  People drive by what I came to think of as the 2H rule: horns and headlights.  There are very few traffic lights and the ones I did see were more or less ignored.  Lines on the road?  Mere suggestions.  Yet, despite all that, it all seems to work somehow.  Everything flows and in the four days I was there, having walked all over the place, I didn’t see one accident.  I even had a ride on the back of one of the ubiquitous motorbikes after I got turned around and then sent in the wrong direction (by a soldier holding an AK-47 no less).  My driver assured me he was the “number one motorbike in Hanoi”.  Actually, it was great.  My one regret is not actually shooting some video while on the back.

もちろん、ハノイとルアンプラバンはアジアの都市ですけどぜんぜんちがう都市です。ルアンプラバンはしずかなやゆるやかな都市です。反対にハノイはうるさいや忙しそうな都市です。ハノイに交通は信じられなかったです。バイクが多いがあります。混沌としたそうですがよく機能しています。初日、ちょっと迷うになりました。それからバイクを乗る人がバイクで乗りされました。面白かったです。残念ことはビデオを撮らなかったです。

I had two disappointments during my trip to Hanoi.  The first was that my hotel did not at all live up to the way it was billed on the website.  I’m seriously thinking that the positive comments on the website were actually put up by the people running the hotel.  I won’t bother going into detail but honestly, despite being a budget hotel, there’s no reason it couldn’t be neat and clean.  The only saving grace was that at least the bedding and towels were clean and it was located in an interesting area of the old part of town.  The second disappointment was that I lost my cell phone.  I have a feeling it slipped out of my pack when I was at a cafe or restaurant.  Obviously it was picked up and not returned.

ハノイに失意なことがありました。一つ目、僕のホテールは汚いでした。ホームページでよさそうですけどうそです。二つ目、僕のケイタイは失われました。しかったがないですね。

Those two disappointments were offset by the friendliness of the Vietnamese people.  Honestly, I had more people greet me or stop to talk in four days there than I have in four years living in Hong Kong.  Food, coffee and funky places to enjoy both also enhanced the experience.  The cafes in particular were a welcome retreat from the constant noise of blaring horns.  Thankfully, several of the ones I found were set back away from the road in early-20th century buildings being perfect, quiet oases.  If you go, I recommend Cafe Nola and La Place.  As for restaurants, the “must go to” is the Green Tangerine.  It’s French cuisine with a Vietnamese twist.  The food, setting and service are impeccable.  Also, if you’re looking for something really authentic, go to Cha Ca La Vong in the old quarter.  They only have one thing on the menu (cha ca) and they’ve been doing the same dish since 1871.  They’ve definitely had a lot of practice.

その大変なことは優しいベトナム人を相殺しました。本当に香港に四年よりベトナムに四日のほうが道に歩く人を話しました。面白いカフェも見つけりました。ハノイはうるさいですがカフェの中に静かだった。ハノイに行ったらグリーンタンジェリンおすすめします。フランス料理レストランです。とても美味しかったです。伝統的な料理を捜しますか。チャカラウオンがおすすめします。チャカは魚料理です。このレストランは１８７１年からチャカを料理しています。実行が多いですね。それからとても美味しいです。

A long time ago… 昔々。。。

I had a bit of a blast from the past recently.  A childhood friend reconnected via Facebook and he posted this photo on his page.  This is us on my brother’s wedding day in my 1969 Camaro convertible.  Lord, how I miss that car!  Four-speed manual, 350 cubic inch engine with 300 hp with a ton of torque.  Good times.  One day, I’ll have another.

この写真は子供の時友達がファスブークにポストしました。僕の弟の結婚の日です。二十年前です。車は僕のです。１９６９カメロ。エンジンが5.7L、300 HPありました。いいなあ。その車はとても楽しかったです。未来に他のほしいです。ぜったい。

Luang Prabang, Laos ラオスノルアンプラバン

Let this be a lesson to you; always double check visa requirements before you head off on holidays (unless you’re from Singapore).  I went to the airport knowing I needed a visa to enter Vietnam but what I didn’t know was that I needed to pre-apply for one.  I figured it was like Cambodia, Laos, Turkey and any other number of countries; I’d be able to get one on arrival.  Nope.  So, when the folks wouldn’t let me on the plane I had to scramble to get flights changed for the following day as well as call hotels in Luang Prabang and Hanoi letting them know I’d be late.  I also had to rush from the airport to Wan Chai on HK island to the Vietnamese immigration office in order to get an emergency visa ($100 USD for about 5 minutes work).  In the end, I managed to leave on Christmas day but due to weather and the subsequent delays, I arrived at my Hanoi stopover 5 hours later than originally planned.  More than once I thought that maybe something was telling me I wasn’t supposed to go on this trip.

僕の旅行の始めは大変でした。もちろん、ベトナムの査証が必要な事ですが前に手に入れてなければいけませんしらなかったんです。それで空港からベトナムの入国管理所に行きました。緊急査証は高いでした。百ドールを払いました。高いですね。さらに、旅行者は新しい飛行切符を予定されました。そして、１２月２５日に出発しました。でも、香港天気が悪かったので五時間ぐらい遅延しました。大変！

I quite liked Luang Prabang.  It’s definitely a nice place to visit though it has certainly become like much of south-east Asia; geared toward tourists.  Which I guess is good in one sense but detracts in another.  I had been looking forward to seeing some of the Buddhist temples and the Pak Ou caves, historical resting spot of Buddhist statuary past its prime.  I guess I’ve been completely spoiled by temples and shrines in Japan because the majority of the temples that I saw left me unimpressed.  Granted, they were old at several hundred years but many also seemed fairly uncared for despite still being operational monasteries.  The caves at Pak Ou have also become a disappointing tourist trap.  The slow boat up the Mekong river was nice (though out pilot seemed to take the slow-boat part to heart) but once you get there, the landing is chock-a-block with other tourist boats and the lower cave where most of the statues are is full of people.  That’s become par for the course in that part of the world though.  It was the same when I went to Siem Reap to see the Angkor temples.  A far cry from what one friend of mine described as her trip there over a decade ago.  Though, the mad dash out of Cambodia when civil war erupted I could do without but certainly seeing the sights without the throngs would be a bonus.

ルアンプラバンは好きでした。いい所ですがたくさん旅行者がいました。いろいろな面白い所に行きたかったけどラオスのお寺はちょっと面白くなかったです。たぶん日本のお寺とは比べ物にならないほど劣っている。パクオー洞窟もがっかりさせました。有名な所ですけど旅行者が多すぎました。でも、メコン川に船旅が楽しかった。

There is a lot to be said for the town though.  It’s definitely a quiet, relaxing place and the people are very friendly.  There are a lot of great restaurants and cafes to choose from, many of which have seating on either the Mekong or Nham Kan river.  I can honestly say I never got a bad cup of coffee while in Luang Prabang and most of the places have free wifi.  A rhetorical question: If little ol’ Luang Prabang can manage amazing coffee and wifi-ready cafes everywhere, how is it that Hong Kong, the self-proclaimed “Asia’s world city” can fail so miserably on both counts?  All told, I would definitely go back to Laos on a vacation.  A long weekend is really all that’s needed to see most sights and relax with a Beer Lao or two by the river.

ルアンプラバンは素晴らしい村です。静かだし、いいレストランがあるし、人が優しいです。たくさんレストランは川岸の席があります。美味しい食べ物食べたり、ビールを飲んだりよかったです。本当にルアンプラバンにどこでもレストランやカフェに止まりました美味しいコーヒがありました。香港にそれはぜんぜんちがいます。それは分かりません。本当にルアンプラバンの休みを勧めます。でも、二、三日もいいと思います。

２０１０おめでとう！ Happy 2010!

皆さん、本当に明けましておめでとうございます。新年が良い年でありますように。

I hope everyone has a great 2010.  Happy New Year!

Congratulations Xavi! ザビ、おめでとう！

My friend Xavi Comas is a Spanish photographer and graphic designer who lives in Bangkok.  He has just had one of his ongoing photo projects published in the Asia Literary Review .  Not only that, but he actually got the cover!  His photo essay is on a little known form of traditional Japanese dance called jiuta mai.  The essay of Noe is remarkably shot and like the dance form, is full of nuance.  I highly recommend taking a look at either the actual journal or head over to his website to see even more of the essay as well as the latest stuff he’s been working on.

僕の友達、ザビ　コーマスはスペイン人写真家です。最近、彼の写真エッセイがAsia Literary Reviewで発表されました。テーマは地歌舞です。とても面白いですが記事は英語だけです。それからザビのホムページを見て下さい。たくさんきれいな写真があります。

Nail on the head

This clip is from the latest Rick Mercer Report and while it’s from Canada, it is a bang-on assessment of the way people act here in Hong Kong.   The only difference between Canada and here is that it’s worse in Hong Kong because the population density is higher.  Like Rick, I’m generally a calm individual but the type of behaviour that he talks about in this clip sends me into fits of apoplexy.  And that’s just due to the type of discourtesy on escalators and elevators.  I won’t even get started on how people behave on public transport.

Far too long 久しぶりですね。

Yep, I realize it’s been a hell of a long time since my last post but honestly, life hasn’t been overly exciting lately.  It just happens that way at times.  Things will be a bit more exciting soon though as I’ll be away in Luang Prabang, Laos for Christmas and Hanoi, Vietnam for new year.  Luang Prabang will be another UNESCO world heritage site to add to my list which currently includes Japan, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Cambodia.  Maybe my next exhibition will include shots from the heritage sites of each country?

In the meantime, I finally developed and scanned the rolls of film shot in Hong Kong that had been hibernating in my fridge.

久しぶりですね。実は、最近僕の生活は面白くないでした。すぐにもう少し面白くなります。クリスマスでラオスのルアンプラバンに行くとお正月でベトナムのハノイに行きます。ルアンプラバンはユネスコの世界遺産の所です。他のユネスコの所に行った事があります。もちろん、日本にあります。チェコ、トルコとカンボージアにもあります。次の写真展のテーマはユネスコの所をしましょうか。

年末後まで、最近、冷蔵庫に冬眠したのフイルムを現像しました。ぜんぶ、ライカで撮りました。楽しんで下さい。

Vegas of the (far) East アジアのヴィガス

I had a friend in town at the end of September.  She’d been living in London for several years and took the time to stop over in the big Lychee enroute to her return to Oz.  Since neither of us had been to Macau before, we figured it was a good opportunity for a bit of an adventure.  I had pretty much knocked Macau to the bottom of my “must see” list because I figured it would be a rehash of Hong Kong for the most part, albeit with casinos (of which I have no interest).  I was happily surprised that it surpassed expectations.

九月終わりに友達が泊まりました。６年ぐらいロンドンに住んでいましたがオーストラリアに帰ります。僕たちはマカオに行った事ないです。前に面白くないと思いました。後で本当にびくりしました。面白かったです。

It was quite interesting to see that while it is obviously part of southern China in terms of feel and architecture, there are things that definitely set it apart from Hong Kong.  There is an underlying feel of Europe from the subtle accents to the buildings and the use of blue and white ceramic tile as road markers.  Of course, there’s the liberal use of Portuguese everywhere.  One aspect that was a bit disappointing was the lack of European style cafes.  We found a few but expected more.

もちろん、雰囲気が香港同じぐらいですけど少し違うんです。建物が少しヨーロパらしいです。交通標識も少し違うんです。香港のは英語と広東語があります。マカオのは広東語とポルトガル語があります。少し残念ことがありました。ヨーロパ式のカフェを捜しましたがあんまりないんです。

The old part of town and the southern peninsula are worth walking around.  We walked down to the southern peninsula thinking that we’d see the A Ma temple and then have dinner at one of the highly recommended Macanese/Portuguese restaurants, A Lorcha.   The god A Ma Gau (also known in Hong Kong as Tin Hau) is where Macau gets its name.  Well, we got there too late to go into the temple and too early to get into the restaurant.  We wandered and went back to the restaurant 10 minutes past opening.  It was already packed and there was a 1 1/2 hour wait for a table.  This, we figure, is partly due to the “Lonely Planet” effect:  A Lorcha is the highest rated restaurant in the Lonely Planet guidebook.  We walked down the street to #3, Littoral.  We still had to wait about a half-hour for a table.

下町と南半島は面白い所だと思います。徒歩で下町から南半島まで行きました。予定を立てました。アーマー寺見てそれからマカオ料理のレストランに行きます。アーマー寺に６時０５分ぐらい着きました。６時に閉まりました。残念！ポルトガル料理を食べたかったですが行きたかったレストランは６時３０分から開けっていました。アロルカはガイドブックで一番おすすめのレストランです。それから６持４０分に空いている席がなかったです。待ち時間が１時間半ぐらいでした。ほかのレストランに行きました。

With cod (bacalau) being a Portuguese specialty, that’s what we decided to order. It was a bit of an adventure.  First, we ordered a caesar salad.  Now, a caesar salad is fairly universal in its preparation and presentation, right?  What we received was, while tasty, nothing at all what one would recognize as a caesar salad.  So too the Macanese version of grilled – it was deep fried.  Overall, it was interesting to try new food.  It helps not being too terribly picky.  Might have to plan ahead for A Lorcha and make a reservation next time.

タラはポルトガル料理の名物ですから注文しました。まず、シーザーサラダを注文しました。世界中シーザーサラダは同じぐらいでしょうね。そのレストランのシーザーサラダは美味しかったですけど全く違いました。その料理は面白かったですが次にアロルかで予約をするつもりです。

After dinner we hopped a taxi (no seat belts!) and headed over the bridge to the island of Taipa and the Cotai strip which is supposedly modeled after The Strip in Las Vegas.  We only had time for one destination – The Venetian.  This is the 17th largest hotel in the world yet smaller than the original Venetian in Las Vegas (that one’s #5).  It’s still huge and the opulence is mind boggling.  No wonder it’s a favourite of the nouveau-riche mainland Chinese.

晩ご飯後、タクシでコータイストリップに行きました。ベネチャンカジノとホーテルに行きました。マカオのベネチャンは大きくて華やかなです。それから成金中国人はいました。

Now that I know what’s on offer and how easy it is to get to (only a 1 hour ferry ride), I’ll definitely head back.  I wonder how much a night at one of the new casinos costs?

行き方は簡単ので将来に行くつもりです。カジノ一泊はいくらかなあ。

Opening reception 発会式

Well, the opening reception of my first solo exhibition went off really well the other night.  The comments were extremely positive and people genuinely seemed to have a good time.  Maybe the wine helped?  Thanks to my friend Carman who did all the photographer duties for me so I could concentrate on the show and the people who attended.

火曜日の夜の発会式はよかったです。７時から９時まで３０−４０人ぐらい来ました。皆が楽しかったです。たぶんワインが助かったかもしれない。僕の友達カーメンさんが発会式の写真を撮りました。ありあがとうございます。