Time Lapse Photography Driving Through North East Thailand

One minute of video condenses a 200 kilometre trip of driving through North East Thailand. It's a lovely sampler of doing the real thing. Via Isaan Life

Terence McKenna - Nine Recorded Hours Of True Hallucinations

I seem to recall listening to this 9 hour recording earlier this year in 15 minute chunks on Youtube before losing the plot line one too many times, due to occasional nodding off. Eventually I downloaded the pdf book off the net and read it to fill in the gaps I had no chance of identifying. 

It's very much about the young McKenna but between him and his brother Denis they experience something I don't think anyone else has described elsewhere though I have heard William Henry talk about the glowing blue electrolytic skin effect that Terence experienced during a sexual encounter he had on this trip. So there's a comparative mythology Stargate episode here but other than that it's unique and very possibly important though Dennis prefers to downplay the episode he is in some chapters the star of the story.

I've written more about it back here.

George Town Festival - Penang - Malaysia

Joe Sidek is this years George Town Festival Director in Penang, Malaysia. He's a good friend and super talented which means this years festival will have that youthful energy and optimism he brings to the arts as well as a great eye and ear for the hip and creative. If you've never been to Penang it's one of the gems of Asia to visit and I miss it just writing about it. July is a great time to visit.

The Fastest Train Service In The World

The new rail service from Beijing to Tianjin sums up everything I love about living in Asia. I had read about the service, but because of the media storm surrounding the Olympics including all the showpiece architectural projects such as the CCTV building, the Birds Nest, The Egg and of course the new T3 Airport (the best I've used aside from Changi in Singapore) I guess that this remarkable project was somewhat overshadowed.

The Purpose built new station 'Beijing South' is the same as an airport in style and appearance despite being located in the middle of one of those areas undergoing some 21st century urban regeneration. It's a bit of a pig to navigate to because of the road density in that area but on arrival it stands out like a beacon of the new Beijing. Very impressive.

Tianjin is 120 kilometres away from Beijing. It played co-host city for the soccer tournaments of the Olympics and has also been designated a special economic zone to parry the growth of Shanghai. It is also the third largest Chinese city after Beijing and Shanghai in terms of area. In short a city of 10 million plus that nobody has ever heard of. There are lots of those in China. The tickets for the journey are around 6 Euros or 60 RMB and the journey is remarkably fast. I wasn't expecting to go any faster than 250 Km/h but in the event the train topped out at 329 km/h. There is some dispute as to what defines the fastest train journey in the world but part of the equation is the regularity of service and distance between stations. There is however an amazing bit of Youtube for the fastest train journey ever over here on the French Rail service which is worth checking out.

Tianjin is a bit of an urban construction landscape with towering cranes and newly finished landmark projects. I might like living in Asia but the steroid growth of these new cities, particularly in China aren't without their victims. Usually I find that the cities are devoid of much soul, charm or character.

Who knows what his story is but I've included it to break the myth of shiny new cities. In fact I noticed on the train journey out that the primitive housing estates had been blocked off from view, probably to ensure that the Olympic guests weren't exposed to any sights of China that don't fit in with the one the Government wish to project.

 

Despite that, the train station for the return journey is just as splendid and modern. Taking a trip like this really makes me feel that trains are much more preferable for long journeys than by air which lost its attractiveness long before 911 took its toll on the quality for this mode of transport. 

 

The thing that most struck me as different from anything I've seen before on the return journey back to Beijing were the people using this state of the art new service. Anywhere else in the world I'd have expected the travellers to be similar to myself. Middle class people taking advantage of a new service and enjoying the relative luxury of travelling fast and in comfort. But what surprised me most were that the majority of Chinese travelling on the service looked like they had been yanked from the middle ages and thrust into the 21st century. That will sound elitist and snobby but it its only an observation that maybe the democracy of this type of travel opens it up to a far broader customer base than say could be expected from something like the launch of Eurostar. Maybe it's more reflective of what middle class means in China than anything else but in any event I didn't mind upgrading my ticket for the return journey and plumping for First Class (at a cost of  no more than 10 RMB) where an ice cold beer is served in a way that I could get used to. Better than Virgin no?

Travel - X

Danish Travel Management System Commercial

Sexy Beijing

I've been a big fan of Sexy Beijing for some time now or maybe its just Su Fei who has got it going on for me, as you may recall when I first tipped China's number one internet TV show off back here. On more pedestrian mattters, a few days ago I just had to get on the subway. The first free planning lesson in any country is to use public transport. There's so much to be learned from observing public social discourse, and on this occasion I had a real insight into how the Pekinese tick which gained momentum from a discussion I'd had some nights before thanks to a quality thinker called James about Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange and some very provocative thoughts on the idea of harmony and socialization vis a vis personal liberty. I'm stoked at what is going on. James, I really hope you start a blog soon you'd be a very welcome additional voice.

Beijing is a supercity and to manage all that human traffic takes some order, or the system would be dysfunctional. It starts with queues on the subway platform. The train arrives, those disembarking get off and those embarking wait briefly, as you can see from the orderly queues in the picture below. Any dawdlers getting off the train are smothered quite quickly by those waiting to get on board. There was a heated discussion in my queue one day.


The subway system (Die Tie if you're asking) shifts an awful lot of people around the city, and in my experience so far, is more often squashed than the London Underground which is a lot more extensive than the Beijing system completed in 1977. The Queens silver Jubilee right? Here's the view inside the train in the morning once all that getting on and off is completed. Lots more headroom there which is something the Northern and Piccadilly line can be a bit tricky providing to tall people like me standing close to the doors.

But the thing that really turned me on was the completely civilised way to exit the station. This one pictured below is new so its not very representative of rush hour, but the principle is the same. Notice how there is no barrier? Once you've handed in your ticket at the luxuriously manned (not turnstiled) subway entrance or swiped a 'tube Card' on a sensor, the journey is hassle free and you're good to go, on your way wherever you choose to get off.

This woman asked me why I was taking pictures of Subway exits, and when I explained she gave me her business card. Turned out we both work in the strategy end of communications and we're going to touch base when she gets back from Paris. Small world isn't it?

Moving away from public infrastructure (one of my favourite subjects), I have been shamelessly ambushed by McDonalds who have such a savvy marketing outfit, that not only do they know my weakness for a Sausage & Egg McMuffin breakfast, but have also accurately stationed a restaurant devastatingly close to my apartment. I thought I'd kicked the habit from my Brixton runs which were becoming less and less enjoyable but now that I'm back in the sausage patty groove I'd love to share a couple of points with you. First off is the amazing coffee in McDonalds China. Now I'm not a coffee freak although I do like my friend Terry's award winning Dakine Kona Coffee from his farm in Hawaii but other than that I'd be fibbing to suggest I'm an aficianado. I prefer tea generally, and I'm particuarly enjoying my Chinese and green tea these days. But getting back on track the McDonalds coffee here in China is on another level. To make the stuff bearable in the UK I'd need to order a latte or cappuccino, yet here its borderline fantastic and a real caffeine kick to boot. Which begs a serious question for me.

Why can the product be superior in one country and significantly inferior in another, and yet the logo and marketing communications have to be uniform? Does anyone else believe all that 'think global act local' pabulum? Whatever happened to 'when in Rome'? OK it's a little more complex than that but my point is that anything reduced to a binary input/output such as think this, do that is obviously questionable and in this instance is mostly about economies of scale with communication. That doesn't mean that consistency isn't important but as Richard over at Adliterate put it much more eloquently than I ever could, coherency is often more important.

I would go on but it does feel weird to be drinking from a Styrofoam cup again even though it insulates from the scalding heat much better than those cardboard affairs that seem to need doubling up anyway. They could quite easily have just as large a carbon footprint when all is said and done as far as I can figure out. Just less biodegradable I guess. Its one of those throwback things that I'm getting used to again. Its frightening how quickly we normalise from change and how much we disproportionately fear it in the first place. The other point that struck me as telling were the charity boxes in McDonalds over here. You may recall I did some qualitative research for a Childrens Charity back in London and I've a post about that process to finish yet, but ever since then I've been chucking my spare change into the box and so I notice details like this. McDonald's children's charity boxes in China are not chained to the counter as they are in the UK. I think this says a lot about social harmony, division in society or the benefits or socialisation versus liberty of the individual. I haven't figured it all out yet and will need to go into some more impoverished places to get a fuller understanding but I'm formulating ideas on subjects that I haven't really thought about for a long time now.

Virgin Ata - lantic ; We salute you

I like the randomness of different travel modes and rarely do much thinking about what form of travel will be best. I like variety. I've taken fourth class trains to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, heaving with noisy chickens and snoring rice farmers in intense heat, or more memorably one dangerous 26 hour coach journey from Rangoon to Ngapali beach on the Bay of Bengal in Burma (easily the most beautiful and tranquil beach in the world I've come across). The driver on that particular trip used vocal instructions to a "co-driver" pulling a piece of string which led out the window and underneath the bus to control the breaks. I was OK with that (I had no choice actually) but late into the darkest of nights towards the end of the journey I was compelled to use some ferociously strong language as the driver started nodding off and careering across the road until he was jolted awake by some innate ability to save his and our lives.

I was the only one witness to notice we were facing impending death as my co-passengers were asleep, so despite having only a few words of Burmese I made it clear I would personally throttle him if he fell asleep again by roaring at him in language that would have made mid 80's Millwall fans proud, and gesturing wildly like I was wringing a chicken's neck. This worked a treat and he woke up permanently at this although the snoring passengers were none the wiser.

So it was with some surprise that I received a text from Virgin Atlantic the night before my flight asking for my passport number. We were all having a few cleansing departure ales the night before and eating my red rose that darling Sasha gave me, so I couldn't oblige at the time.


I called first thing the next morning and to my surprise was confirmed as having a chauffeur to Heathrow which kind of made me feel a bit spesh. But once you've flown Bangladeshi/Ethiopian Airlines or Air India its all Bisto after that as Ricky B would say. I was however highly impressed with the whole experience because once inside, the very pleasant driver checked me in with his mobile phone, and within no time at all I was driven into the new Virgin Atlantic 'Upper Class' entrance and passed through the whole shebang within minutes. Without even time to conclude that I wasn't going to have my socks X rayed by a surly Heathrow security attendant, I sashayed into the Upper Class lounge. Virgin have got it going on and I wont even go into the massage treatment on board the plane or the bar that allows travelers to socialise and mingle a little.

Here's a brief 'squirt' as they say in the TV trade, of the lounge. I was most impressed with the food selection which included brilliant breads, roll mop herrings, fresh anchovies and lots of yummy salty things that only the Scandinavians know how to do best. All in all, Virgin Atlantic have got it going on. We salute you.

Calton Hill Acropolis

photojenni

I'm off to Edinburgh for a week (and then Leeds after that) doing depths for the pharmaceutical industry and I'm quite excited about the trip. Although I've made it into quite a few places around the planet (Junta or no Junta), and checked out a few locations that easily qualify for the 7 wonders of the world, I'm quite psyched about eventually visiting a place that if only for the Scottish enlightenment and its influence on the founding fathers of the United States is interesting in itself, but of course there is so much more. If anyone knows any bloggers/digital ramblers or agency/marketing types that might be interested in meeting up in the evenings I'm very much going to be up for some fresh air, insights into the place/people, lager or coffee. Expect random twitters to alleviate spreadsheet revolts and general monologue iteration wear and tear.