Faria's Map

To blog or not to blog (sorry Will)

2008-01-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

So....

How do we feel about retroactive blogging?

(silence. cough. again silence. a cricket.)

uh, yeah. me too. i don't think one is SUPPOSED to blog about the past. It's over and done with, too late, missed your chance, ha-ha.

BUT, seeing as how this is the first January in five years that I have not had a significantly cool trip, AND I'm feeling a little blog envy of other friends of mine who ARE on vacations right now, I find myself scrolling through pictures remembering blog posts I wanted to write, but for whatever the circumstances didn't....

uh, yeeeaaah. ok, this really isn't a good enough justification. but sometimes, the best way forward is to take a look at the past, and it seems I have a little time to do that now.

As one philosophical rower once said, "When you are rowing, as in life, you know where you are heading by paying attention to where you've been. The path behind you shows your future trajectory."

Personally, I don't think that rower won many races.

But let's pick up where we left off this summer.

The Coolest Place in the World

2007-07-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

.... and then we arrived at Vaux-le-Vicomte.

the road forks off diagonally from a small country intersection. Unspectacular except for the fact that the tree line is actually lining the road to the magnificent estate.

The Chateau was known to be the envy of Louis XIV (and thus the inspiration for Versailles). Nicolas Fouquet's lavish parties entertained guests from La Fontaine and Moliere. So inspired was Louie, that he framed our dear rising star, imprisoned him, stole the Chateau's statues and landscape architect, and created Versailles.

My opinion, though much smaller, Vaux-le-Vicomte still outclasses Versailles. Like the difference between a 2 carat diamond with a fair polish and a 1 carat diamond with an excellent polish. Though smaller, you can just tell the difference in quality. But then again, there are always people who like the bigger diamonds. I mean, what do I know about diamonds, really.

I do know that this is one of the coolest places in the world.

Crowning achievment

2007-07-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have done it. The most amazing combination.

a Belgian waffle
a Blanche de Bruges (a Belgian white beer)
Belgian chocolates

in the Bruges city square.

It was quite a climactic experience.

Rodin and the movement of stone

2007-07-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

Rodin is incredible. His statues are AMAZING. Fluid motion. Something so hard as stone can appear as soft as a blanket. Amazing.

Another noteworthy sculptor to check out at the Rodin museum is Camille Claudel's room. This one is probably one of my favorite sculptures of all time. Note the similarities to Hokusai's famous painting of The Great Wave.

And as many times as you see pictures of The Thinker or of The Kiss, it does not compare with seeing it in real life. It just doesn't.

The Rodin Museum is certainly one of my favorite museums in Paris. Truly great.

au chateau de chenonceau

2007-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

The French love a little drama.... so of course when we arrived at Chenonceau we immediately took in a few stories. This is the renowned castle favored by Catherine de'Medici whose story involves kings, mistresses, revenge, and brutal uses of power.
(yes, Chenonceau is built over the water, no, it is not Disney's Magic Kingdom)

For a woman in her day, she took care of business. Despite her husband (Henry II, brother to Donald) favoring his mistress over her, after his death, she banished the mistress and for the next 30 years, effectively guided the monarchies of three of her sons (Huey, Dewey, and Louie). Way to go Catherine!
(we'll treat this as a woman's lib case and overlook her abusive machiavellian monarchy moments. I mean, she's justified right? she HAD to react that way to overcome the sexist, male-dominated society. I mean, chauvinism IS a french word....)

Catherine de'Medici's famous gardens.

She threw quite a few parties in her time, but in the end, couldn't quite figure out how to pacify Catholics v Protestants (the French edition). Her role as roaming statesperson seems oddly familiar.... isn't that what Hillary wanted Bill to be if she was elected?

Why France is beautiful

2007-07-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

After Versailles, we headed out of town. West, in fact, to the Loire Valley. Le Val de Loire is known for its 300 some chateaux, fertile vineyards, and beautiful countrysides. This might possibly be one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen.

A morning run takes me by flowers, vineyards, and open pastures. (yes, I took my camera with me while I was jogging. no, you can't question my judgment!)

And now we are off to visit some chateaux!

l'arrivee des mes amis

2007-07-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

Tell you what, it is GOOD to have friends and family visit. Quite good. But with so much happening, how can one keep track of it all?

It started with my friends' visit. From the minute they came into town, our itinerary was so packed with places to go and things to do, I was loving it.

It commenced with Versailles.

Investment property of Louis the XIV, and the infamous destination of the mob angry with the lovely Marie Antoinette's culinary habits. Pretty freakin spectacular.

I'm still trying to figure out how we got into this impressionist painting. What a great place to have a picnic!

I'd have to say that Versailles is pretty amazing. However, when you hear that Louis really had just ripped off what other nobles had created, you realize that the best is still yet to come....

le chat

2007-07-01T04:55:00.000-07:00

Seemingly innocuous. Fairly small. It's an open window to my apartment.

My friend said not to leave the windows open in Paris. I said why? It'll be hot! (more on that later) he said, no, pigeons.

well... I don't have a problem with pigeons

it's the neighbors cat.

who apparently also knows how to open the refrigerator.

I have come home now three times and chased the cat out of my apartment. Torn packages of lunch meat on the floor. Completely consumed.

Even once in the middle of the night while I was sleeping.

I'll admit, I'm a little scared of that cat. It's not your typical lazy eyed cat. It's a black cat that has big green eyes that stare widely at you and follow every move you make. As if it doesn't trust you - and certainly you can't trust it...

I decided the thing to do is to stop feeding the cat bad food and found a way to tie of the fridge door so that it won't open. so far so good. haven't seen the cat in the house for a week!

the 'hood

2007-06-27T04:07:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, sorry for the long delay in posts. It has been quite a busy summer.

So, let me begin about the neighborhood. My apartment is in a neighborhood of Paris called le Marais. It covers part of the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements. It is historically a Jewish neighborhood and still remains one of the only places in Paris where shops are open on Sundays. Highly trendy, the Marais has many fashionable boutiques and Salon de Thés (double as coffee shops and pubs w great food and great brunches on the weekends)

.

The neighborhood has some great architecture and some pretty interesting random detailing. No roads, of course, are straight.

(yes, that's a very large door)
I can't help but imagine what it was like living in the Jewish Quarter when the Nazi's rolled in. I wonder how many people hid behind these large doors; how many were tucked away in nooks in crannies in the countless hidden spaces behind large doors just like these.

and here is a close up of the door carving. Not sure how long it has been here, but for wooden gorgon it is quite something.

but not to omit the stone carvings either. This is just on a random side street - no real draw, just typical Paris random acts of senseless beauty.

a short walk away from me is the Cathedral de Notre Dame de Paris. I say short, I mean ten minutes and there you are at the gates. This photo is from a bridge that is actually a further walk away.

Je suis arrivé!

2007-06-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

C'est Paris.
My first day, I climb up the stairs to my apartment, open the door, and, Lo! I'm outside again!

My apartment is really cute, although quite small. It does have sort of a separate bedroom, but the living area is no more than 6 feet wide. It wraps around the interior outdoor landing seen above... There is also a spiral staircase leading up to the shower. You can see this in these pics taken from the same swivel on the chair.

This the view from the "real" front door of my flat.

More on the neighborhood and adventures next....

Hong Kong

2007-05-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

By this point, we have been traveling for two weeks and we are exhausted. We had only a day and a half in Bangkok, and now only a day and a half in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the most western of any of the cities we've visited. Being a British outpost until 1997, Hong Kong has many English street names (ex. Hollywood, Caroline, Happy Valley, etc.), a couple of British taverns, and a wholly metropolitan feel.

I felt like I was in Chinatown in New York, only Manhattan was inverted. Instead of Chinatown being in Manhattan, Manhattan was in Chinatown. It felt very much like I was in an American or European city.

And it is beautiful. Mountains into the sea. The city on the coastline and the island. Misty clouds drifting in and out of the mountain tops.

The view from Victoria's Peak:

Hong Kong is fascinating in that everywhere in the water you see boats that are dredging up the bottom of the sea. It took us a while to realize that the boats are gathering dirt, and then filling in the bays between two mountains in order to build more buildings. It is a way to increase the area of the city without having to try to build on the treacherously steep mountainsides. Disneyland Hong Kong is built completely where there used to be water. You can see the shape of Hong Kong from this satellite image.

Another thing that blew me away.

Bamboo scaffolding.

Not metal. Not steel. Apparently in Hong Kong they use bamboo scaffolding to build even the tallest skyscrapers. They lash the bamboo together and just go from there. I couldn't believe it.

And the Star Ferry ride across the channel.... just before the light show that all the buildings put on at 8:00.

Pretty cool.

And that wraps up Asia... Paris is next.

And on to Bangkok

2007-05-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

Friday was the worst travel day for us. Leaving Bangalore at 1am, flying to Mumbai, departing Mumbai at some unheard of 4:30am hour, landing in Bangkok at 10:30am to have a meeting with a company at 2pm. Ridiculous. Good thing we had not only a company visit, but an alumni event, and an evening tour of the Bangkok live music and dj venues to coax us to sleep.

The next morning we took a floating market tour.

Not quite as dangerous as a tuk-tuk, but something still didn't seem relaxing about it... (notice how my classmate is gripping the edge of the boat)

The market was fun. Great fruits, great bargains. The stuff we were able to negotiate for purchase was so much cheaper here than in China. It was kinda funny. You ask first what the price is for a wooden block with a picture painted on it just to get a ballpark base to measure everything else in the market. "800 baht" is the answer. You hesitate only for a second. She suddenly replies "400 baht." You look up at her. You really don't want this wooden piece, but you are fascinated by the negotiating tactics. You pretend to look it over with a discerning look on your face. You move to put it down. "300 baht! 300 baht!" You think, ha, let's try 100. "100 baht - and that's all." She screws up her face in anger, shakes her head, and is appalled. 100 baht? that's an insult. She gave me dirty looks for the rest of the time. Go figure.

However her co-bargainers WERE willing to work down some of the other goods to make it a fairly success day.

Thailand is the only country in SE Asia never to have been colonized, so it has retained a strong sense of its culture. Thais are really nice and consistently respect and help you out with anything. The King - well, it is illegal to say anything bad about him, so we respected and honored the pictures of him that were hanging in homes, on the street, inside buildings, on little kids, everywhere.

In the afternoon we went to the Imperial Palace. Really really amazing.

The place is huge.

So much ornamentation. Shiny-ness... and the distinguishable Thai architecture mark - the uplift at the corners of the roofs.

I'm not even sure I understand the significance of half of what I saw. Everything was symbolic, yet it was all right on top of each other. The palace was built over 200 years ago - during the fledgling years of US independence, and was the home of the King.

There is a beautiful mural depicting the crowning myth of the Thailand all around the inside of the outer wall. Something about monkeys vs demons... monkeys win.

Thailand was a great place. Especially after India, it felt like we were living again, in charge of our own destinies. If you avoid certain parts of the city (and certain denizens) it's a great time. Next time I'd like to hit the beaches....

Where the tourists go....

2007-05-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

So what do tourists in Bangalore do? They go shopping. Welcome to Commercial Street, where everything is negotiable, even the shirt on your back.

Missing something? Yeah, me too. It's called appeal.

This lady with the maps I swear came up to us five times, popped the map open in our faces, and asked us to by one. You can get nice dress shirts at the store down the street. It may even have air conditioning.

I eventually decided to take a ride in a tuk-tuk. At speeds of 30 mph, I at first thought it was similar to an amusement park ride. Then I realized that these things are in accidents all the time.

India is funny because it has a rapidly growing GDP, yet none of it is translating to infrastructure, unlike China. India, being the world's largest democracy, is also one of the most corrupt, where money persuades, and rivalries and egos stall any collaboration that could happen. For example, highways end in the middle of nowhere. We had to take a dirt road for an hour to go from one highway to another. IN A BUS. We almost got stuck, tipped, hit and got hit by numerous cars, bicycles, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, cows, goats, and people urinating. None of which actually happened (...I think).

My roommate and I had a great time watching Bollywood music videos. The songs, the dancing, the clothing. There was one channel that just played all the Bollywood classics. You should have seen the red and pink denim suit and mustache on the one guy.

We also watched the Liverpool Milan game. Nothing like drinking Kingfishers at an afterhours in your hotel, because everything in Bangalore closes at 11pm, with only people you know around you. A little upset about the Reds, but what are you going to do.

I have to say that India will probably not be my next vacation destination.
But it certainly was an incredible experience.

India oh India

2007-05-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought?? Beautiful colors, great food, fun music..... and POLLUTION. Noise, air, water pollution - it's a mess. and total chaos. can you imagine?

motorcycles everywhere, bicycles everywhere, cars everywhere, motorized rickshaws everywhere. you take your life into your own hands when you step outside. especially since there most often will not be a SIDEWALK that you can walk on. oh, and did I mention the kids and adults that cut you off, force you into the street, touch you, and ask you for money? right.

humidity is high, heat is high, the smell of exhaust is everywhere, and every vehicle seems to have lost its muffler. traffic is horrible here.

and cows. oxen. pulling things down the middle of the street. men with carts full of carefully stacked apples in the middle of a six lane road. The MIDDLE LANE, not the side or the median. I don't understand it.

Bangalore is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in India. With a moderate climate and luscious parks, Bangalore was a favorite location for the British, and now for the world's leading tech companies. I went for a run in one of the "luscious" parks. Nice trails, very green, pretty flowers, though still very urban and couldn't really escape the noise or exhaust...

The only escape seems to be the corporate grounds. These are offices! Finally serenity... at work!

India is quite a place.

Welcome to India

2007-05-22T08:20:00.000-07:00

Upon entering the hotel at 1 in the morning, after traveling for 18 hours, and having the room reek of wet carpet, I guess I was supposed to feel assured.

day 5

2007-05-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

As I had mentioned before, Shanghai has planned out the growth of their city. From the development of Pudong over the past 5-10 years to the upcoming development for the 2010 World's Fair, you have to respect what a strong government can do. In order to lure business investment (and to show off, I assume) Shanghai has developed an urban planning museum. On the fourth floor they have a model of the entire city, including what buildings will look like once they are built. Note the TV Tower, Jin Mao, and the new tallest building in the Pudong area, the Shanghai World Financial Center in the model. And yes, this model is HUGE. The spread is larger than the floor space in my house. Those are people at the far end of the "city."

If they can do this, I would bet they can fix their pollution problem.

For other bits of info and more pictures of Shanghai not my own....

One area that is overlooked is the French Concession... I wish I had better pictures of it.
Perhaps I'll have to leave those photos for the next visit...

But the French Concession is huge and has many great restaurants and homes. I would say it is similar to the Back Bay in Boston. Open air patios, jazz clubs, tree lined roads, clean, great to walk around.

This city never ceases to surprise me.

Shanghai day 4

2007-05-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

ah, tourism at its finest. two big stops today - the first was a buddhist temple, the second a garden.

The temple was really neat. It's an active temple, you can see the folks praying and waving incense.

there are two jade buddha carvings that are the center pieces of the temple. neither of which we could take a picture. we did see other statues of buddha and had great tea at the tea house at the end of the tour.

After the jade buddha temple we went to the yuyuan garden. once i have a backyard....

there is just something about bamboo and goldfish....

and the ornamentation on the roofs...

pretty amazing. shanghai is an incredible city.

Shanghai day 3

2007-05-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

These days we spent visiting companies and doing more tourist stuff. Shanghai is a pretty amazing city. Looking back I realize I didn't provide enough of a idea of Nanjing Road- the pedestrian shopping walkway that stretches for blocks and blocks. This is a larger picture of one in a previous post, gives a better sense of the whole stretch. Looking the other way is toward the Bund.

The other half of Nanjing is also shopping - we had lunch at a great restaurant there the following day.

the street...

le restau....

Afterwards, we went to the Jin Mao building - the fourth tallest in the world. Incredible views.

Unfortunately, China is still a little behind when it comes to air pollution. It is likened to New York in the 70's. Since the 70's, all of the manufacturing that polluted New York has closed down and moved to China. New York has cleaned up, China..... not so much. go figure. Know any environmentalists that want a job? I hear the Chinese government is hiring.

Next door to the Jin Mao will be the newest tallest building in the world. Looking from the top of the Jin Mao you can see it under construction. The whole Pudong area (this area in the photos, across the river from the Bund) was just rice paddies 10 years ago. This entire area is an incredible example of growth, opportunity, and careful planning. Pretty impressive.

Shanghai continued

2007-05-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

So, to be truthful, I am in India now, but I am back-dating my posts.... It is sooo nice to have a the blogger website in English and not just randomly guessing what the Chinese characters mean. So, let us go back...

Second day in Shanghai was fun. We visited a silk plant- had no idea that the silk comes from just unraveling the cocoon. And apparently the worms are edible... don't know about that - I'll have to ask my roommate.

Then that night we went to an acrobat show. This was really amazing. We weren't supposed to take pictures or film the show, but after seeing that EVERYONE was doing it and no one said anything, I sneaked a couple photos. This is seven people standing on seven chairs balanced precariously one on top of the other. There were some really great colorful musical pieces. My favorite was the green tone piece with umbrellas and yoyos.... (this was before I realized I could take photos). I could have seen the show many times just for it's color and entertainment value, not to mention the amazing acrobatic skills.

Ok, this is all I can do for today. Much more soon.

Shanghai - Day 1

2007-05-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

We started off by heading down to the French Concession. I'll have to add a little more detail and a link to some history at another time. Here is a photo.

This photo was taken in front of the first meeting site of the CCP in China. The funny thing was, when we posed for the picture, an entire group of Chinese tourists quickly pulled out their cameras and took pictures of us.

Afterwards we heading down Nanjing Rd. to the Bund. Shanghai reminds me of Stockholm. Amazing architecture, just a little rough around the edges. Ah, except for the ethereal look....

And an evening in the Bund.

Getting Started

2007-05-17T02:02:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you how great it feels to have a Starbucks iced coffee and to walk around an airport after 19 hours in the air. wow. Here is a picture from the Hong Kong airport. btw, I am a total believer in Ambien. Never again will I fly distances without it.

Packing up

2007-05-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

First entry of the blog - about to set forth a series of photos and stories documenting the "progress" de ma vie. We shall see how it goes.