May 10, 2004
Reading, UK
Well, I made it home safely, and even caught the flight I'd booked - which was a happy outcome after the rigamarole of insisting to use my so-called "unlimited use" MetroCard (which runs out tomorrow) to get to the airport, a trek lasting over 2 and a half hours.
Continue reading "Conclusion"May 07, 2004
New York City, USA
Perhaps this entry would better be titled "A Tale Of Two Cities" - one French, one English, with little bits of Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Greek, German, Polish, Irish and Japanese thrown in for good measure.
Continue reading "End?"May 01, 2004
Montréal, Canada
Salut! Quand je suis au Québec, j'écris en français; mais parce que le Canada est un pays anglo/francophone je complète cet article en anglais.
Continue reading "Gumption"April 25, 2004
Chicago, USA
Amendment XVIII
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several states, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the states by the Congress.
April 20, 2004
Portland, USA
Well, who'd have thought it? It turns out that the parents of a friend of a sister of the wife of a brother of a friend of mine live in Portland, and until yesterday I never knew it!
Continue reading "Organ"April 15, 2004
Seattle, USA
No prizes for guessing the inspiration for the title of this entry! Coincidentally (or not) the hostel here will be screening the above film on Saturday evening.
I would have written sooner, only internet access - like most things in the USA - is eye-wateringly expensive. Nevertheless, Seattle, being the capital of coffee culture as well as the headquarters of Microsoft and amazon.com, boasts lots of coffee shops with internet access... a winning combination!
Continue reading "Sleepless"April 08, 2004
San Francisco, USA
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for flying Singapore Airlines. [Hiring some pilots would probably solve that problem.] We will shortly be arriving in Los Angeles. Please return your seats to the upright position and stow your tray tables. Smog masks will drop automatically from the panel above you - ensure you fit your own before helping others. Hire car companies can be found in the arrivals hall, and if for some reason you don't want to hire a car, there's a bus stop outside where you might be lucky enough to find some public transport. What was that? You wanted to catch a train from the airport? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good one... We hope you enjoyed your flight.
Continue reading "Culture-shocking"April 01, 2004
Tokyo, Japan
First of all, may I say how nice it is to be back in the Northern Hemisphere. The stars (not that you can see any) are the right way up and water goes down the loo the proper direction as well.
From a distance, Tokyo resembles a lot of other cities in the world: full of concrete and blanketed with smog. Zoom in though, and I discovered how utterly bizarre it is, and totally different from anything else I've ever experienced.
Continue reading "Hemispheric"March 25, 2004
Auckland, New Zealand
Well, here I am in the largest city in New Zealand. It seems to me that the growth of Auckland to a city of over a million people took the Kiwis somewhat by surprise. The traffic is shocking, there's no public transport system to speak of, and, despite there being 4 Starbucks within spitting distance of one another on the main street the air of "metropolis" just doesn't seem to come off very well.
By the way, the latest batch of photos and videos are up on my photos page. Take a look, if you have lots of time handy! Alternatively, borrow the CD from my parents if you're in Reading...
Continue reading "Chups!"March 21, 2004
Christchurch, New Zealand
Past the cathedral... left at the Raj Mahal... straight over the roundabout... yes, it's nice to be back somewhere that I recognise. I shouldn't really be surprised, seeing that I have a flight in the morning out of here, and my circuit of the South Island is at an end. What was that? Did somebody say "bungy jump"?
Continue reading "Savings"