Yearly Archives: 2009

Kuala Lumup, and the Many Names of Irman Hilmi

Posted on by

When traveling in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is a necessary stop, and for many people, there is never any need to look further, because it feels so much like home.  There is a spectacular variety of cultures and customs to be seen in Kuala Lumpur.  Hotels and restaurants can offer a taste of the variety, where the visual splendor and culinary delights speak of many cultures at once.  There are also times and histories that get crossed here, where old world sensibilities come face to face with the absolutely modern, and traditions meet up with a deep love for innovation.  The sense of the new is profound here as well, with the Petrona Towers serving as a visual reference point for KL’s love for the newest and the largest.  It’s a city of multiple contradictions, and it can be enormously charming when the contradictions start to make sense.

Life here is hard to describe, but it’s certainly very sweet.  There is a tendency toward the modern and the speed of technology, but this is always overwhelmed by a natural rhythm which speaks to slowness and easy relaxation.  It’s a lovely way to get lost in a day, and if the call of the urban heartbeat gets to you, and you want to hear more of the modified sounds of nature, keep an eye peeled for some of the experiments of the local artist Irman Hilmi.

He plays with the local art rock group, klphq, or the Post-Harmonic Quintet, playing rowdy and profound shows in the city.  The sound is definitely on the experimental side, as they modify sound electronically through digital loops, pedals, and synthesizers to make a noise that is utterly urban and also very pleasing.  These kids aren’t kids any more, and have a magnificent sound.  There are also drums, and a visual artist in the mix, to make for an experience that is new and very exciting.  Irman Hilmi also spends time DJ’ing under the name Spacebar, and the sounds here are also radical experiments with what a couple guitars and a few loops can do.  He’s a very exciting artist, involved with multiple projects, and is an exciting force to watch.

Vacations on the Island of Lana’i

Posted on by

The question remains, just what can you not find to do on the small Hawaiian island of Lana’i, in a world of big island vacations? Many travelers come to the island in search of outdoor adventure in a serene setting, and there is much to be found in this arena.  However, for those wanting a bit of a more relaxing holiday, this is found here too.  There are many Lana’i travel deals which include weeks spent at resorts.

Resorts with spas, hot tubs, and massage therapists…three elements which will relieve stress for months following such a sojourn.  The spas are small and have a great connection with customers as a result.  Massages are given in the middle of tropical Hawaiian gardens with the sound of waterfalls in the background.  No CDs of ‘nature music’, this is the real thing.  For those who find relaxation on the golf course, there are many on the island that will accommodate.  To hear and smell the ocean while setting up on Par 5?…what could be better?  The weather is so accommodating, for most always it will be a great day during your big island travel.

Tennis too, is widely popular on the island.  Most resorts and hotels offer lessons with the pros, and sponsor mixers, wherein people play tennis in a party atmosphere.  Water aerobics are offered in the pools and in the ocean itself, and water aerobics is so much better than standard classes.  It’ fun, you are in the sun, and the impact on the body is greatly reduced when doing “step one, step two…now whirl your arms” when you are surrounding by smiling people in a swimming pool.  There are many gardens located throughout the island, and almost every hotel lobby is filled with paintings and artwork.  What more could one ask?  For those wanting a bit more of adventure while relaxing, there are deep sea fishing tours, snorkeling excursions and scuba diving.  There is much to find in the way of adventure combined with relaxation on the island of Lana’i.

Walking around Melbourne

Posted on by

We flew in from Sydney airport and went to our luxury hotels melbourne straight away, because I was anxious to “meet” the city.  From the air, you can see it doesn’t have any skyscrapers, but row upon row of little Victorian houses, enough I imagine to hold the 3.5 million population.  You can see the Yarra River, too, among all the gardens and parks.  Melbourne is certainly a very different place than Sydney.

There are absolutely places I loved here: Brunswick Street for its shops and cafes; the Royal Botanical Gardens, just as a place to enjoy the day.
I loved walking beside the Yarra river, just walking down the city streets to take in this environment was fun.  Other places…  The Great Ocean Road, The Phillip Island, The Twelve Apostles, this stack of rocks seventy meters tall.  Our guide showed us a great way to make billy tea, and then introduced us to another Australian favorite — some spread called vegemite. I can’t say I liked it.  I had an Australian friend tell me that he didn’t know any Americans who liked the flavor.  I guess it’s an acquired taste!

It was extremely windy the day I went out to the Great Ocean Road and that actually made it hard to stand, but I managed to snap a picture of the Twelve Apostles, and on Phillip Island, I had a chance to see penguins returning.  They were really funny.  The next time I go to the island, I’ll have to check out the Koala Conservation Centre.

All in all, I really liked my time in Melbourne, which was only a few days.  Just enough to get in some of the major sights, like St. Patrick and St. Paul’s Cathedrals and Queen Victoria’s Garden.

New York on a Budget Will Still be As Much Fun as Going First Class

Posted on by

I was not going to take no for an answer. I realize our financial situation is not as good as it has been in the past, but I did not want to give up our annual visit to New York City. We would normally go first class all the way but this year is just in not in our budget to do so. But I am not believing for a minute that we couldn’t make it some how.

Well cheap hotel New York saved the day. With going from our usual midtown five star hotel to one that is much less expensive the savings was enough for us to be able to pull off a trip just within this years budget.

Our usual trip would be staying at a five star hotel, eating wherever we liked, catching some shows on and off Broadway and pretty much anything else we wanted to do. I think we will have fun though. On our budget we will be forced to be creative, do some things that are more out of the way and less trendy. I actually think and hope to be getting a more authentic view and flavor for what living in New York City is like. Our previous trips have always been centered on our luxury hotel, upscale eating and shopping and Broadway plays in the best seats.

Well change is good and I am not going to let this change get me down. With the availability of reliable public transportation we will be able to get to anywhere we want to go. With all the many neighborhoods that are off the well-beaten tourist path we will find interesting adventures around every corner. I hope to meet local people whom actually live and work in New York City, maybe make a friend and end up having a personal contact there. I sure we can find a lot of fun and interesting things to do with out having to spend a fortune.

Fiona Foley, the Multi-Media Sydney Artist

Posted on by

When traveling to Sydney, five star hotels are plentiful and affordable.  Many of them are situated in areas of the city that are ripe with activity and filled with many sights to see.  The artistic world in this cosmopolitan city is flourishing, and one such contributor is an artist that really does a bit of everything, she expresses herself through a variety of mediums and will be performing in the cities throughout the country through the end of January 2010.  Her name is Fiona Foley and she is one of the cities most significant and influential artists working today.

Foley is known for diverse and innovative artistic endeavours that have spanned the last twenty years and include works in photography, sculpture, painting, mixed media and installation pieces.  She focuses on the ongoing history of colonial Australia with themes that range from culture to identity and language, politics and ownership.   The Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney has teamed up with the Art Museum of the University of Queensland to present the show which will be published once the show closes.

Through January the exhibit will run at the museum in Sydney, and will then run at the museum in Brisbane from April 2 through May of 2010.  Foley grew up in Queensland and received her education in art in Sydney.  She then studied for a time in London at the Saint Martins School of Arts.  Her works reflect the world as she sees it through the roots and the vision of where she is from.  She has stated that in her studies this was not something that was encouraged, as indigenous art was not at the time considered fine art.

She did absorb what she was taught regarding the techniques of the European traditions, however she simply used what she wanted to add to her own style and techniques.  She is active in social causes and was a founding member of an artists’ cooperative in Sydney.  Whether you are in Sydney in the month ahead, or in Brisbane in the months of April and May, every attempt should made to see her show.  She exemplifies the entirety of the culture of the country and the beliefs of the people of Australia.

Going to San Francisco to Visit my Friend

Posted on by

I have a friend going to acupuncture school in San Francisco, CA. She has been there a little over a year now and I am thinking I had better get there and visit her before she finishes or I’d end up having to stay at a hotel San Francisco and not getting the advantage of staying with her. She has a Friday off from school latter this month so I will fly up on a Thursday afternoon and spend a long weekend there with her.

It has been a very long time since I have been in San Francisco so I am looking forward to going. I have to admit I do not remember a lot of details about that trip, but I did have a lot of fun. I was fairly young, only 21 and went there for my first time on Pride weekend. It was a non stop party. I do remember arriving there on Friday with my friend we drove up from Los Angeles, that is where I was going to school at that time. I know we hit some bar on Castro St. Friday night and the rest is a blurred memory of dancing and drinking. I remember I slept through about half of the Saturday parade and when I got up I headed out to the streets to see the rest of the parade and get back to the party scene.

Well that was many years ago and those days of parting are far behind me. This time I am looking forward to some site seeing, enjoying the views the bay some museums and possibly a play or the opera. A big change from the days of drinking and parting the nights away. I am sure I will be remembering more of this trip and it will not be one big blur.

A long and relaxing weekend in San Francisco is what I am looking forward to.

Pseudo Moms in Palma

Posted on by

Palma was amazing. It’s exactly what I thought it would be after reading all the blogs written by the American expats. It’s lazy, sunny and the cafe culture is fascinating. A school friend met me at the airport and helped me get situated at one of the luxury hotels Palma has, which was one of the nicest hotels I’ve every stayed been in. She told be she chose this hotel because it’s centrally located, plus it’s not too far from the the Plaza Espana, which is the central meeting point for all the students from abroad people in Palma.

All the students studying abroad here live with there host families and have ‘madres’. The ‘madres’ act as a substitute mother and does all the cooking, cleaning and will even dote on the student! The set-up is so different from the independent living situation I have. My friend had to have dinner with her ‘madre’ that evening, so she showed me a small tapas bar nearby, this place, bar was adopted by all the abroad students. It was a small English speaking bar and I could tell this helped make them feel less homesick. But there are local people our age too and most of them are the crew on these huge luxury yachts. What I liked most about this place was all the shirts on the wall.

The next day, my friend and I had some of the best coffee and what’s called an ensemada, which is a flaky pastry, and then we met up with another girl and began to walk around the city. She showed us the downtown and where all the best shopping can be found. She didn’t have to go back to her ‘madre’ for lunch because her ‘madre’ was gone for the day, so she had time to show us a spectacular sandstone Cathedral and then she took us down to the waterfront and marina, where we saw all those luxury yachts. That evening, we went to dinner and it was my first time to have sushi! I really like it, I thought for sure I’d be only eating Spanish dishes. It was time to head back to my hotel, and for my friend to head back home and wait for her ‘madre’. That kind of made me envious that she had a pseudo-mom to go home to.