neonascent

(Illustration image is from a night shoot with Tegan on Bridge St…)

Well this is the end of an incredibly long day. Today I got up at 4am and rode down from Paddington, Sydney to Central Melbourne. That’s about 900kms, which is roughly the entire length of britain tip-to-toe.

It all would have been great except for the freezing my ass off. It took about 12 hours in the end, having to stop 6 times for feeding, fuelling and hot cups of tea to help thaw out and brace for some more chill. Other than than eveything went pretty well. Riding into Melbourne was like riding into a different country - the difference in driving styles and road layouts really compound together, along with their hook-right-turn system which just makes it surreal!

Ironically at the same time as freezing, I also managed to get my face sunburned! :S

Anyway, Melbourne seems nice and interesting (and welcomingly different in a way), and I’ve got a few days of swish hotel to enjoy.

Well, I’ve had a fab few days here in Hong Kong, and Maja, her parents and siblings have been fantastic! It’s about 11:00pm, I’m absolutely shattered, and now have the trip back to do. Hopefully this will mean I’ll sleep on plane and be in good sync with Sydney morning.

Bought some fun surprises, and have good non-touristy experiences to remember of HK, although I managed the obligatory Star ferry ride and shaky picture of the Island at night.

Talking of night, ‘night!

Zzz

he said, conscious of a sharp decline in blog quality.

Well, I’m flying out tomorrow lunchtime. It will be my first time to Hong Kong, my first flight on Cathay Pacific, and my first few thousand airmiles on my new frequent flyer card! Very first impressions of Cathay Pacific are exciting; I checked in online to discover that whereas all my previous long-haul flights had been in the format 3 seats-4/5 seats-3 seats, this one only has the aisle seat and window seats. Not sure if this is because the plane is tiny, but here’s hoping there will be much lounging room.

All the promise and excitement of the East is waiting for me in Hong Kong, in the form of crappy rainy weather. Of course Maja (dare-devil dramatic dancer of danger) is there to insure I have a good time.

Tally ho!

Well thankfully these last few weeks haven’t been totally bankrupt and bereft of creative output. I managed to make a few nice “personal touch” style Christmas presents. The picture above is an ink on paper sailing boat I painted for my Dad.

I have a few more pictures to add, so watch this space for additions. In the meantime, if you are so inclined, check out the Flickr set.

• Link

After many quiet, stillful nights in this concrete city of digital dreams, I have returned to blow new life and fresh colour into these pages. “O frabjious day! Calooh! Calay!” I hear you chortling in your joy.

In case you wonder: Christmas involved mild yucky-illness, though was nice and toasty and mince-pie-ish.

First post back is a photoset of pictures from my daytrip to Amsterdam with my cousin. Unfortunetly, the digital camera died right on cue as we got into Amsterdam Central Station, but did managed to get some chill-evoking white snowscenes captured on the way there. In case you are unaware, a large portion of the Netherlands is reclaimed wetlands (hence “Low Lands”) and so tends to be vast swathes of completely flat land. The wind struts unchallenged where it will, and makes for chilly times.

I’d love to say that our visit to Amsterdam revolved around the enormous collection of museums and galleries, beautiful architecture and canals, but this would be a big fat lie. Realistically, my cousin is an excited teenager who/and so has very specific things in mind when in comes to the Big A. Our day was spent roughly devided between oogling through the seedy quarters of Amsterdam’s red light district, and relaxing (with some herbal assistance) in some of the many Coffee Shops. Some shopping, a little cultural osmosis, and introduction to some traditional Dutch food helped to even things out a bit, and all in all the day was turned out to be fun.

• >> Link to Flickr Set

I was standing outside a restaurant with my mum yesturday, debating whether to go in. A policeman (English; decked out in the usual english policeman getup) came up to me.
In a tone of sombre authority he said something along the lines of:
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this sir,” <dramatic pause used to full effect> “but you have a tail.” He then called to his police chums down the road suggesting that they “Have a look at this!”

It was quite funny, though it’s certainly indicative of a different reaction from this hemisphere.

While going through security at Changi in Singapore, the security detector was evidently more sensitive than the one at Heathrow; it went off. I was taken quite benignly to one side, and a security woman used the magic wand on me. After buzzing around my stomach, she lifted up my T-shirt and said “You’ve got a belt buckle.” I replied that yes I did. She then noticed something else, and said with an amused smile, but in the same voice “You’ve got a tail.” Yes, I replied, just the usual. Maybe this anecdote could be told better, but the point is really that it is lovely when my tail gets to bring warmth into two people’s day: the security woman for seeing it, and myself for sharing

Just finished an epic 34 hours of travelling, including hiring a car and driving to where I’m staying. Incredible culture different. got to go.
tired.

Well. I’m in Singapore’s Changi airport waiting for a transfer. I’ve just had a nice shower and complimentry green tea, so I’m all fresh-faced and bushy-tailed for the next leg.

Ain’t I just the international traveller?
My fellow companions were very friendly. Talked mostly to the Gary on my right who is a Ski judge on his way to the north of China for a “world cup” ski event.

Well got to go.
Love is all around

It’s over. My head is still buzzing with wonderful experiences with wonderful people. What an absolutely fantastic time.