Travel
Cycling Vancouver to Blaine, USA
A combination of bicycle riding and public transport. View Vancouver to Blaine in a larger map Total round trip is about 4.5 hours, including lunch in Blaine: Ride from home to Commercial Skytrain Station Take Expo Line (heading east) to King George Station, $5 (or take the risk of riding for free Get off King George Station (last stop on...
Oregon to San Francisco
Second segment of my bike touring trip from Vancouver to Baja, this portion from Xmas day to just after New Years, where I'm taking a few days off to visit a friend in San Francisco. Day 7 144km 5:40 26 Dec 09 Just south of Waldport to Florence to North Bend to Sunset Bay Park 6:45 Tent dry again! and...
Victoria to Oregon
A recap of the first week of the cycling touring trip from Vancouver to Baja Sur, this portion covering mainly Washington and Oregon. Day 1 70km 20 Dec 09 Vancouver to Victoria 6:50 Larch House leave. Bus driver gives me free lift through Massey Tunnel. Ferry terminal. Tea with Melissa in Quay. 9:00 sailing, ride to Brad's in Oak Bay....
Vancouver to Victoria
What's in my panniers: Today's route: View Playa Costa Baja in a larger map...
Silver Circle Bicycle Diary
A day-by-day account of the 2,000km, 14-day bicycle touring route that loops across British Columbia from Vancouver to Banff and back. This particular trip was undertaken June 14-27, 2009. Part 2/2.
Silver Circle Bicycle Tour
A guide and map to the 2,000km, 14-day bicycle touring route that loops across British Columbia from Vancouver to Banff and back on first Highway 1 then Highway 3. This particular trip was undertaken June 14-27, 2009.
Emily Carr Pilgrimage
A video: students of the Emily Carr University make a winter morning pilgrimage to the grave site of their school's namesake, and Canadian painter, Emily Carr, in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, Canada. Post-respects coffee at Cafe Fantastico in Cook Street Village. Ed. note: best espresso I've maybe ever had. Also: below, an image of Carr's 'original' grave marker, installed by...
Learning to Drive
I am learning to drive a manual transmission as we truck across America. Although I've driven extensively for 12 years, and have owned two cars in that time, I never had the opportunity to own or command a stick. Scott is teaching me how in his '91 Nissan pickup. The first lesson in first gear was at a gravel pit...
Montana to Murdo, South Dakota
We woke up at sunrise in the Middle of Montana to the sound of a vehicle passing on the gravel road close to the tent. Two minutes later the vehicle returns and a man yells "This is private property, get going." And so we did, and continued across the never-ending rolling ranches and farms that is South Dakota. South Dakota....
Interning With NGOs
A friend is about to embark on an internship with a South East Asian NGO and asked for some advice. I've been thinking about some general principles I learned during my time in the Philippines, in Bali, and with other non-profits and project-based organizations over the years. The following is my response, a sort of thinking-out-loud.
Anne Frank House
I likely first heard about the Diary of Anne Frank in grade school, though I don't recall reading the actual diary. I never gave her much thought again until I happened to walk past the Anne Frank Huis, now a museum and major tourist attraction, on my first visit to Amsterdam in 2003. At that time I vaguely understood...
Utrecht Excursion
Spent the day (April 26, 2008) in this happening central Netherlands city with some fellow design students visiting the Dick Bruna Huis and the Rietveld Schröder House.
Student Exchange Spring 2008 Map
A Google map marking the locations of 24 23 24 Emily Carr Institute students currently on single-term exchange at art and design universities around the world. View Larger Map Camila Arango - COMD - IED-Barcelona/Spain Alex Buss - COMD - Designskolen Kolding/Denmark Jennifer Griffiths - COMD - ENSAAMA/Paris Tobias Ottahal - COMD - The Cooper Union/New York Theresa Wong -...
Petra Blaisse and Inside Outside
A design firm I toured recently through a friend. Blaisse's Inside Outside, located in an old school house in Amsterdam, consists of two studio spaces (one for Outside or landscape work and one for Inside, or interior design projects), as well as a meeting and supply room. Blaisse and her firm have completed work for the Seattle Central Library, Casa...
From Java with SMS
SMS messages I sent during a trip to Java, Indonesia
Bali Intern Day
A typical day during my first two weeks of a design internship with John Hardy, the bamboo company and Kul-Kul School near Ubud in Bali, Indonesia, August 1-14, 2007. Wake up with the sunrise around 6am, get out of tent. Make my way down to John Button (Australian permaculturalist living on-site for five weeks)'s place to take advantage of his...
John Hardy Bali
My Philippines Internship ended in mid-July. I then flew to Jakarta and rode my bicycle across Java to start a second internship on August 1st near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. I am working, observing and learning with a company that designs and builds bamboo buildings and sustainable communities, among other things. I am working with the architects, artists, craftspeople and administrators...
Filipino Text Slang
So the Philippines is literally the text--or txt--capital of the world. More people send messages through their cellphones here than anywhere. The P1200 (approx. $27 CAN) used, ubiquitous (Nokia has sold over 1 billion) Nokia 1100 phone I bought from a street vendor in Baguio. Here pictured during a hike overlooking the Banaue rice terraces, the only place I picked...
Philippines Bicycle Hunt
Or more specifically: How to Buy a Used Road Bike in Manila. A set of instructions. View of my new used bike riding a street somewhere in Quezon City, Metro Manila. It veers right without hands but otherwise pretty great. Spend two months spanning half the country asking everyone you meet where to buy a used bicycle. Give up looking....
Philippines Internship Part II
A recap of input and output from the second month--Part II--of a two-month, two-part design internship in the Philippines. Locations include Baguio City; dates span May 28 (arrive in Baguio) to July 12, 2007.
Dog
For lunch. The menu on the wall: Head 145 Toasted 150 Liver 120 1/2 Liver 60 Pulutan P65 1/2 Pulutan 45 Pinoneg P65 1/2 Pinoneg 45 Spare P65 Toasted + 5 1/2 Spare 45 Which one is dog, I ask. They all are. That's all they serve. Served in mugs as a starter: dog soup....
Baguio Digs
Some pics of the provided digs for the past six weeks of my Philippines Internship, i.e. where I live: Narda's main building and factory in La Trinidad, where all the dyeing, weaving and business goes on. Narda's also rents office spaces on various floors. The guest apartment I live in is on the top right, right next to the tapestry...
I plug away in Baguio
On prompting, an update of my daily activities. The past two weeks have been pretty much like many other summer spent 18 hours a day on the computer HTMLin', CSSin', Flickrin', Blogin', Surfin'. Except I'm doing it in an office alone in a small weaving factory in Baguio City, Philippines. My meals are fairly regularly prepared by Malene, the on-call...
Ifugao Hunter Backpack
Remember the picture I posted of Aklay (aka Philippe) the French Baker in Sagada wearing one of those water-proofed traditional backpacks? I found it (well, both Aklay and the backpack) interesting and posted a photo of them on my Flickr. I'd actually secured a standard variety model without the covering a week earlier, but when Roman Izdebski, a professor of...
Philippines General Design Observations B
Part two of two of a collection of general considerations from a design internship in the Philippines. We know packaging can speak to contents, but how do these conventions shift from culture to culture? Generally utilitarian isopropyl alcohol in more 'designer' green, contoured bottles; jumbo 'banana catsup' bottles. If you could only change one aspect of an existing design (colour,...
Philippines General Design Observations A
A two-part collection of general considerations from a design internship in the Philippines. Bridging the gap: traditional basket weaving with contemporary hardware. Souvenier shop, Baguio City. Variety based on geographic, climate, use and/or tradition? Woven pasikings (backpacks) from the Cordillera Mountain Region, for sale in Baguio City. The French baker of Sagada, Aklay, wearing a pasiking. When is practical too...
Straight Shave
One of my indulgences this internship is going to the barber for a shave. Waiting. The other barber at this stall would play and sing a few chords on the guitar during my shave. At 40 peso (a little under $1) in Baguio City you get a 20 minute straight-razor shave and a brief facial massage and neck cracking. In...
Philippines Internship Part I
A recap of input and output from the first month--Part I--of a two-month, two-part design internship in the Philippines. Locations include Manila and Puerto Princesa; dates span April 25 (leave Vancouver, Canada) to May 27, 2007.
Philippines Ukay-Ukay
Recorded June 5, 2007 walking around an oki-oki ukay-ukay (thanks to Marco for the spelling correction) complex in Baguio City, Philippines. Ukay-Ukay means to rumage and find from a pile, i.e. a used clothing store. Baguio is somewhat of a hub for ukay-ukay, receiving truck- and ship-loads of second-hand and discount clothing from Hong Kong and, primarily, the Western world....
Tools and Modification
How far can we modify an object before it becomes unrecognizable or permanently altered? How many mistakes must be made to determine that limit? At what point do modifications become useful enough to become adopted as the norm? When a modification doesn't quite meet needs, how much time and investment and additions must be made for them to function...
Puerto Princesa 1
Recorded May 19, 2007 walking around a central market in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. Sequence includes the dominant public transportation (tricycles i.e. motorbikes with sidecars and bodies), a mobile phone repair and accessory shop, a cashew dehusking stall and the local ferry dock. 0:34 video created with a Fuji F30, MacBook Pro 2.0, Final Cut Pro and QuickTime Pro....
Bacon Sandwich
Recorded May 16, 2007. 1:01 video created with a Fuji F30, MacBook Pro 2.0 and Final Cut Pro. Of note: the music sampled is by OPM (Original Pinoy Music) band BrownBeat and their track Romantikong Bastos. Download the QuickTime movie [5.8 MB]....
Philippines Nagtabon
Recorded May 13, 2007. 0:25 video created with a Fuji F30, MacBook Pro 2.0 and Final Cut Pro....
Philippines Underground River
Recorded May 9, 2007, Sabang, Palawan, Philippines. 2:40 video created with a Fuji F30, MacBook Pro 2.0, Final Cut Pro and QuickTime Pro. Text from the video: The Underground River Palawan, Philippines A protected national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site At 8.2 km under a mountain It's the second longest in the world Home to 50,000 bats And drains...
Security, Use and Packaging
Security and indications thereof: cashiers bag and then tie your groceries closed before exiting the store. SM Hypermart, Mall of Asia, Manila, Philippines. Security and legitimacy: a cashier rings you through while another employee bags and then seals your purchase shut, then the cashier affixes your receipt before exiting the line. A floor security guard checks your purchase and...
Philippines Mall
Video from Manila, April 28, 2007. Or download the higher quality QuickTime version, 00:56 sec., 13.5MB. Created with a Fuji F30, MacBook Pro and Final Cut Pro. Text from video: Henry "Retail King" Sy a taipan (tycoon) of Asia richest man in the Philippines and head of SM Prime Holdings, Inc started the Philippine "malling" phenomenon in 1985 now operates...
Philippines Traffic
Video from Manila, Philippines, April 27, 2007. - or - Download the better quality QuickTime video, 00:39 at 5MB. Created with a Fuji F30 camera, a MacBook Pro 15" computer and Final Cut Pro video editing software. Incidently, this was my first time in FCP and it is hella complicated. How do I take two 640x480 .avi clips from my...
Out of / In Place
Why a chair, sideways, at the head of the bed? Answer above: the AC without remote. Accommodating legacy hardware systems. Choice and needs according to environment. Not accommodating legacy hardware systems. Expectation, aesthetics and... Purpose. Observations of a guest room at a family home in Manila, Philippines....
Lachine Machines
Lachine is a suburb on the island of Montreal and also the largest weekly bicycle club race I've ever seen. But I should watch my terminology while I'm here. As a number of participants adamantly impressed upon me, Tuesday night Lachine is NOT a club race. It's a full-blown, no-holds-bar, anaerobic pain-fest of the highest degree for a road race...
Cycling Trip: Shawn's Photos
Shawn recently posted photos to his Flickr account of our August bike trip from Victoria to San Diego. See the complete set. A small sampling:...
Cycling Trip: Jeff and Nix
. Paul Nixon, designer and Apple employee, met up with Shawn and I as we passed through Santa Cruz yesterday. Great lunch at a real restaurant, and we even got a little ride in together. Inspirational that guy....
Cycling Trip: Routine
Generally Shawn and I wake up around 6:30-7:00am. If my little watch alarm doesn't do it, then the many calls of nature (ground hogs burrowing under the tent, racoons, bladder) do. If we're efficient we'll have the tent collapsed and our gear packed in under an hour and be on the road by 8am. We switch carrying the tent every...
Cycling Trip: Oregon
Just a quick update from Astoria, Oregon: Sunburned. Camping. Roadkill. Some of the best riding. Clearcuts. Drafting. Fog. Up at 6am, bed at 8pm. 450km down, 2400km to go. Shawn and I are doing great....
Postcards in 2004
A sampling of postcards I received last year. The backs can be clicked to enlarge the image.
A Year Ago Today
A good friend of mine recently embarked on his first backpacking trip. Got me thinking about my trip, which I started exactly a year ago and took me to England, Greece and the Middle East. My first travel entry from Sept. 4, 2003....
Raw Meat
In Holland, raw pork products are popular. You buy regular-looking bacon, but keep it in its super-market state from checkout to sandwich to stomach. Tastes surpisingly good and a little like cheese. Speaking of which, Holland is where Edam and Gouda comes from, by the towns of the same name. I also had some blood wurst (very warm, spicy, strong,...
Something completley diff
In Amstydam now, full of stoned, under-educated English and Canadian and Oz 20-somethings, and people with piercings and fancy sweaters. Everyone getting pissed every night, and stoned. Pretty town though, only explored it for 3 hours today having no sleep in the last 24. More later. Staying at Flying Pig Hostel in really nice area (it all looks nice so...
End of the line (almost)
Went to the desert oasis of Siwa after 4 days in Cairo. We weren't able to get a lift to Bahariya, which meant a whole day of travelling back to Cairo, then a train south to Luxor, tout capital of the world. They must have a university in Luxor dedicated to the higher pursuit of hassling tourists. Temples are big...
Cairo
Crossed Sinai two days ago thinking I was gonna be late to me Graham, but am in fact two days early. As it happened, my very expensive and extremely delayed ferry from Aqaba, Jordan, didn't arrive in Neuweba until 2am, so I caught a service van with 14 other young Arab guys across Sinai at 160km an hour on a...
Baghdad
The 15-hour, overnight bus ride from Amman to Baghdad was silent except for the odd horn from a passing oil tanker and cling of the good-luck bells hanging from our driver's rearview mirror. For 350 km to the border none of the 15 or so passengers, from an Iraqi expat living in the States to a mother and two children,...
Dead Sea and more desert
Spent 6 days at a monestary in the desert, washing dishes and sweeping for my keep, attending morning mass and evening meditation followed by communion. Amazing full moons and no car horns. Fresh goat cheese with every meal from the goats next to my 12th century room. Didn't even know about the Isreal attack on Syria for a few days...
My typical Syrian day
Wake up to the first call to prayer at 5 am, mournfully wailing across the city from the half dozen mosque minarets. Still dark out, but already the honk of a thousand car horns begins two stories below. Fall back asleep, slightly chilly under my cotton sleeping sheet. 7am crawl out of bed with the stirring of two Japanese students,...
Syria headlines
Will right more later, too tired and this internet time is costing as much as a night in a hostel plus dinner and an ice cream. Basically, I can go to the bathroom again after 5 days and I am returning to the desert of Syria, land of extreme hospitality. precious TV remote controls, filthy cockroach toilets from hell and...
Random Observations of Turkey
Transport: Turkey has an amazing bus system, if somewhat chaotic-looking on the surface. Over a hundred companies run buses everywhere at all times. And we're not talking old school buses with wodden seats and baggage mushrooming above the roof. Most of the buses are very modern Mercedes behemouths (some are double-deckers) with air conditioning, moderatley reclining seats, lights, fans, music,...
Cappadocia and Smokia
Truly one of the most amazing landscapes I've ever seen. Miles of valleys filled with fantastical phallic rock formations, thousands of which have homes and churches carved into them by the early christians over 1500 years ago. Many of the dwellings are perched metres above the ground and are still occupied by farmers who tend small fields of squash, tomatoes...
Off to see the fairies
In a rushö bus leaves ın 30 mınutes. Am ın Selçuk rıght now, famous for pıle of ubble called Ephesus. Met up agaın wıth the Swedısh couple I befrıended ın Istanbul. The guy ıs a dread-locked hıppıe vıkıng of a man wıth a masters ın chemıcal engıneerıng. Hung out wıth them at our hostels swımmıng pool ın the mıddle of...
Hagia Sophia and Toilets
Saw the inside of 1,500 year=old Hagia Sophia today. The dome was higher than I thought, very nice. As was the 1000-year-old graffitti on the marble banisters. As usual, scafholding to the extreme. Skipped the 32,000,000TL Topkapiand instead had a much needed nap. Also realized every single tolet I've used on this trip locates its flush mechanism in highly different...
Greece to Istanbul
Here I go on a Turkısh keyboard: Graham and I flew from Cambrıdge to Athens. Were sıttıng aboard the bus from the aırport to somewhere else when we get pıcked up by Katerına and Arne whose weddıng we were to attend. Spent the next 60 mınutes at 120km/hr wıth an Irısh gırlfrıend, a Greek bride, and a German Groom ın...
ME Update #1
Day 1 - 3 Vancouver - Amsterdam - Cambridge International flight is at once a marvelous, awe-inspiring thing, whilst giving a minor headache. It felt like I was in a space capsul, looking over the clouds at the curvature of the earth, seeing nothing but stars at night, as the jet turbines carried me and a couple hundred others through...
I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.—Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) Copyright © 2002–2012 Jeff Werner, Creative Commons (Some rights reserved), Login