BANGKOK BYWAYS

After an extended period of island-hopping and backpacking through the peninsula, we finally arrived at Bangkok for some Siamese sightseeing. After flagging a taxi, we quickly discovered the alternative economic system that has developed here. Taxis boast extreme low rates, offering to personally follow you about town all day and give you local tours. Halfway into your ride, he will turn and explain that he needs "stamps" and would like you to browse the nearest jewelry or tailor shop. We pull over and window shop for black pearls and sapphires, while the driver receives a much-coveted stamp from the proprietor for bringing him "business." Turns out, the stamps are part of a government promotion to boost the Thai economy, and the driver can turn them in for gasoline, which is far more expensive than the fare! If you play along and accumulate 3-4 stamps, the driver will often let you off no-charge. It's the cheapest and most informative transportation around!

Flight back to Hong Kong tomorrow night, followed by intensive photo coallating. More to come!

THAILAND ADVENTURES

We landed in Bangkok safely and took a small propeller plane to one of the outlying islands of Thailand. We've been backpacking from beach to beach, spanning the distances via water taxi (traditional Thai longboats equipped with any variety of outboard combustion engine - stripped from a V6, tractor, or scooter - with a 7 meter propeller crankshaft which doubles as a rear-mounted paddle). When we arrived we hit the Full Moon Party, which is basically a gigantic party on the beach of Ko Pah Ngon. After that we moved on to the more secluded Bottle Beach where we were greeted by a wonderful local family who let us sleep on their porch for free. This trip has given me new perspective: now, when I see two palm trees about 2-3 meters apart, I think "perfect spot for my hammock." It's a true paradise out here, with plans for the coming days to include scooters, more beaches, and elephant rides. We're taking amazing pictures which I will upload after my return to Hong Kong on Monday. Keep your messages coming. Sawadee-kap!

LAST LATE NIGHT

It's the night before the FINAL presentation, and then the first project is over! I'm pretty happy with the results of the project - I managed to do create some drawings I'm rather proud of. Beyond the design, it has been an amazing experience, and I'll be sad tomorrow when we have our last dinner together and we bid our international teammates goodbye...

Super Typhoon Haitang was buffered by Taiwan before hitting the mainland, so Hong Kong was spared. We did have a spectacular electrical storm however... rapid-fire bolts of lightning strobed through the night sky at a rate of one every 3 seconds. We emerged unscathed...

For a bit of relaxation, some of my American and Dutch friends and I are heading to Thailand for an 8 day excursion, starting Saturday. We'll be staying in beach huts on the tropical islands for a few nights before trekking up to Bangkok for some nightlife. When we get back, there will be all new design assignments waiting for us in Hong Kong!

Well, that's all for now. Take care, and keep writing!

TYPHOON HAITANG



Looks like we're in for a treat...Typhoon Haitang is about half the size of China, and is currently 510km offshore, headed in the general direction of Taiwan. To quote Bette Davis: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!"

COMING UP FOR AIR

It's been a tough week, working late nights and early mornings to further develop our design proposal. Yesterday we had our third review, and as always we managed to throw together a presentation at the last minute. (Isn't it amazing when things fall into place in the 11th hour?) Afterward, we decided to spend the weekend relaxing in some of Hong Kong's hottest locales.

Immediately after the review, a group of Dutch, Swedes, Koreans, and myself enjoyed a much-needed entertainment break on the main island: Chinese Opera! We were treated to a beautiful performance of "The Poetess Li Qingzhao" at the Lu Opera Theatre of Hefei, Anhui. I was taken by the beauty of the costumes and the careful choreography of the actor's movements. Specific body gestures and hand movements seemed to convey particular meanings and expressions established centuries ago, reminding me of traditional dances of India. The majority of the musical score was pre-recorded with the stage actors singing live, in conjunction with some outlandish percussion instruments played offstage as audible punctuation. It was an delightful two hours not soon to be forgotten!

After the show we ventured up the hilly streets of Central Hong Kong to SoHo, which here means South of Hollywood Road. Our journey was assisted by use of the world's longest escalator, which continues alongside block after block up city streets whose steep angles would rival San Francisco. SoHo is notorious for its worldwide selection of culinary delights; this weekend we opted for Mediterranean and Greek (hi, Mom!). Opa!

After dinner a few of us ventured on to the famous Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood, which is littered with a myriad of bars and clubs. A little tip for your next visit: to survive in Lan Kwai Fong you must first stop at "Club" 7-Eleven for some US$.65 beers. Enjoy your right as a Hong Kong local to drink on the street, taking in the wild atmosphere and undulating medley of music from all directions. Then, enter your choice of chic no-cover bars for dancing, chatting, and mingling. When thirsty for a refill, simply stroll back over to Club 7-Eleven, and repeat. You have now successfully learned how to party in Hong Kong all night long (till about 7am) for under US$10.

The next day we took it easy, slept in, and took in a movie: "Madagascar." Afterward, we ducked into a small local restaurant for dinner, where I enjoyed a local delight: crispy roast pigeon! It was quite tasty, in fact, although I can't say it had more meat than a small quail (I'd recommend ordering two). I assume these are special farm-fed pigeons, although now that you mention it, I haven't seen any of our winged friends around the city...

To top it all off, we changed into some sleek threads and headed to the Hotel Peninsula to sip a few cocktails at Felix, a chic lounge designed entirely by Philippe Starck. Noteworthy design elements include elevator lighting which subtly dims and takes on a sultry red hue before opening into the bar interior, rippling sculpted walls, and a men's room with marble urinals placed strategically along a floor-to-ceiling glass wall overlooking the Hong Kong harbor and skyline. Certainly a view (and a context) nearly impossible to beat!

Now it's off to bed. Tomorrow we relax on the beach before diving into the final gruelling week of this design project. The work hard/play hard mentality is just another of the extreme contrasts of this unique city. Hope you get a sense for it here!

CRUNCH TIME

The heat is on...penultimate review day after tomorrow, with final reviews next Friday. Our group is working 18 hour days to finalize our concepts and develop presentation materials. I get home around 12:30am and can think of nothing other than sleep. Haven't found a spare moment to upload pictures from the factory tours last weekend, but let it be known that I have personally toured a cell phone factory AND a scooter factory - I can die happy now. =)

FIRST REVIEW

Had our first big design review yesterday...went great! My team is taking an alternative route and exploring an "experience design" approach...builds nicely on my exposure to Convention Services at the Westin. The clients loved it and we're moving forward at a rapid pace.

Taking a brief respite to the Pearl River Delta in mainland China this weekend...more stamps for my passport! Will be visiting many manufacturing plants and staying in a hotel. Tell ya all about it on Monday!

WILD TIMES IN HK



Oh man, this place is so cool. Hong Kong is larger than life, and very technologically advanced. They have a universal currency system called the Octopus Card, where you load up cash on your card (or link it to your bank account) and you can just wave your card in front of special readers to pay for everything, including all public transportation (trains, subways, buses, trams), 7-11 stores, small shops, all vending machines, you name it! No cash, no signatures, no wait! Hong Kong is the testing ground for all the worlds future technologies. You gotta love it!

I'm having a great time making new friends here. The international design teams include designers from Holland (Delft), Sweden (Stockholm), USA (Cincinnati), Korea (KAIST), and Hong Kong. It's amazing to learn new approaches to the design process, note patterns across cultural lines, and generally have a rockin' international time! Most of Hong Kong speaks English (as does the design team) but I'm trying to pick up some Cantonese when I can.

As a gadget freak, I'm simply astounded. Hong Kong has an extensive electronic resale economy, where no bit of electronics go to waste, but are instead resold at second-hand shops. I bought a used Motorola V-70 for US$38! Buyers sit on the street corners and offer cash for used MP3 players, cell phones, cameras, etc. It's slightly sketchy, but it's a very sustainable recycling system, if you think about it. I'm like a kid in a candy store.

This past weekend I visited Lamma Island, one of the tropical foils to Hong Kong's megapolis center, as well Hong Kong's amazing cliffside amusement venue, Ocean Park. (Pictures available in Photo Album) The whole region has so much to offer - it's an incredible land of contrasts: traditional/modern, urban/nature, East/West. Words can only say so much - check out the pictures and see for yourself!

Well that's all for now. Friday we're heading to mainland China to visit the Pearl River Delta, where just about everything that is "Made in China" is produced. We'll be taking factory tours, so I'll put up photos of that when I get back. Hope to hear from you soon!