to buy a fat pig…

However, these three marketplace that i have been to ain’t exactly a place to get that. .. But, you will find plenty more!

This time round, i will let the pictures do most of the talking….

京都东寺市集  Kyoto

This market ,on a good day, will have hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of stuffs from local delicasies,kimonos,bonzai…….;;;;;;;;;;;

Interestingly, we are not the only visitors…

If i could age like this, make me fifty anyday..

As the marketplace coincides with the festivities of the temple, i got to see this awesome sight of monks walking and chanting by..

伊斯坦布尔大市集 Istanbul Kapali Carsi ( grand bazaar)

 I guess this Grand Bazaar needs no intro, with thousands of shops under one historical roof, your shopping will definitely hit the roof!!!!

Rays of light filtering thru the openings..rather etheral ,me thinks..

Mostly hand crafted stuffs..extremely colourfully exotic..

It is practically a male dominated bazaar as almost all the sales people are..males

Eyes galore…Hang one at your door or your neck and ward all evils away..

With creativity aplenty, blue eyes are now giving way to the colourful ones..However, i like the authentic blue ones better

Besides carpets,porcelain wares and evil eyes, the other goody that got me all preky would be these moroccan inspired lamps..

伦敦波多贝罗市集
London Portobello market

Thanks to Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, Notting Hill is never the same again…

I chanced upon this delectable fantabulous cafe/bakery nestled at the corner of the street and this  i found!!!!!

If you are now presently undergoing a diet of somekind..Please stop here 

If pastry and cakes are a no no, salads could just be the answer..

Revelations in this episode are not so many

  Nothing out of the ordinary…

  But the knowledge that i gained aplenty..

  As i emptied my pockets  rather full of monies..

  Things to buy are many.

  Some are for my mummy..

  Marketplace in the world are aplenty..

  Where people meet and trades are many

  So long as you have a dime or a penny

  You will never go home with your hands empty……

  Shop with me

and you will be happy.

This episode of DMW takes us to three rivers that played an instrumental and monumental part in the development of their respective countries.This is not the river of Babylon, but the ganges river in Varanasi India, The River Thames in UK and The Osaka River in Japan Osaka…

 瓦拉纳西河: The Ganges in Varanasi India

Frankly, amongst all the destinations that i went, this had to be the most dreaded one. Unfortunately, i had the opportunity to watch a programme once when i was travelling in Japan and it was about a traveller’s journey to understand the mystery of Death in Varanasi, how the dead bodies were cremated right on the river bank and the intricate details of the whole ceremony, till the last details of how some monks from temples along the river had to clear up floating half burnt body parts drifting along the river. I guess that had a great impact on me and the tone was then set. I am not looking forward to cruise along the river, much less to even touch the water..

However, after 24 hrs in Varanasi, i knew i was wrong. Dead wrong. For when one ran out of excuses, one has to face the obstacles as it was thrown right on one’s face upon which, one is then forced to open his pea brain and understand things , however unpleasant, and after which,when  shed off all denials, began the journey to understand what life is all about and what death entails.This trip has changed me..and i hope that it has made me a better person, in accordance to my own standard  , and i sincerely do hope that you will make time to watch this encounter of mine and share my revelations….

 泰晤士河: THAMES River United Kingdom

Remembered vividly my first visit to London..I was so busy doing the tourist rounds.In hurried steps i conquered the various attraction.Rushing from trafalgar square to picadilly circus ,from sloanne street to oxford street, drinking in the sights of glorious London and washing down a few pints in the quaint little bars tucked away in corners.Nodding to the bobbies and forgetting to bring the brollly..having tea and scones and running through hyde park..oohing with glee and freezing underneath my layers of clothing. The pace i undertook was anything but leisurely..takinga brief stop at Tower bridge just to check if London Bridge is falling down before dashing of to the town of Oxford, regretting my academic inadequatecy as i brush shoulders with the students from The reknown Oxford university. However, this trip to Thames river allowed me, even though the pace wasn’t that much slower, to breathe the wonderful air of the english countryside and stroll along the river..slowly enough to experience the euphoria of discovering the scenic spots in London and getting to know the pleasure of leisurely pursuits.

 大阪运河: Osaka River Japan

Once again i found myself in Osaka, a good many years since my first visit there doing a programme with Shao Guang.Was so focused on the city that i totally ignored the river and the life along the riverside.Perhaps many would have commited the same crime as i did, looking only at the present and not knowing much about how it all began and the heros behind the success. This river in Japan is the gateway to the rest of the world and it is through the dexterity and the ingenuity of the businessman from Osaka that modern trade and amenties were introdued into Japan.The modern affluent world that Osaka now is probably enjoyed its success because of the important role that the river played…

Life begins and ends at the river..No wonder much praises are sung about rivers.We too, have our very own, our Singapore River. Though all rivers are different, me thinks they carry with them the hopes of their people and with every rise and fall of the tide, our lives flows on..

Comes adrift with me,

in search of a beautiful life.

Been back for a couple of days..Wanted very much to update but woe alas, immediately a day after i touched down, i have to move to my new abode and instead of unpacking simply one yellow luggage, i have to deal with like zillions of carton boxes..and of course difference in time helps not as i found myself staying up really late, like till four in the morning and waking up twelve in the afternoon.Somehow or rather, everything seemed topsy turvy and i guess all this travelling is really getting to me ..

Me               : As i looked at my own reflection in the mirror, i seemed to have lost the sparkle in my eyes….

Inner voice: but of course the sparkle is gone la! especially when you are looking at yourself like three in the morning and then just seconds after you awoken from sleep..stu….pid!

Me               : As i looked at my meals I hardly felt the urge to gobble it all up

Inner voice: but of course you have no appetite la, you have been eating at the weirdest hour ma!

Me               : And as i now stare at my mac i could hardly carry on!

Inner voice: but of course la, you twit! you have have yet to even download the pictures that you have taken in Turkey and what materials do you have to sustain this somewhat” becoming to be lame”

and definitely” heading for the hills” post?

Me               : And so i shall! But not until i have sorted out the eight cartons of boxes that seemed to be  blocking my way to the loo, very difficult to make poo poo…

And so i think, between the sorting out of treasures and poo, i might just have a min to download the pics and then, perhaps i may, if i could, complete my update on Starguide: Turkey.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So, the quest for Starguide: Turkey continues as i am now back from a day of filming at suntec and the date today is umm..well..21st of september time 22:46. My boxes are yet to be unpacked but, amazingly, i am now doenloading some of the more interesting pics that i have from this trip, not exactly comprehensive though, as the program has yet to be telecasted, probably mid october la..

On the 5th of sept,sin time:2100hrs, i found myself once again in terminal one .This time, however, is not just merely four of us(that’s how big our group is for the programme Destintion MOST wanted.Just me,the ep,soundman & cameraman.Full stop.No camera assistant, no make up artist, no chaperone blah blah blah..) its 129 tourists to be, comprising of folks from singapore, malaysia ,indonesia and even china! Though i was told beforehand that i am leading a rather substantial group, i was rather taken aback by the sheer size of  ppl and luggages going on this trip..i was that close to either puke, or to black out and drop to the floor.Somehow or rather, i guess , in this tiny pea brain of mine i knew neither of the above options are ever opened to me and so, i put the shameless on screen me forward and welcomed the group with gusto!

I have got to make myself clear, not that in any way i am adversed to doing this trip..however, one has to comprehend and emphatise that for a great long part of this year, i am practically a loner, a hermit..and most of the time, in some foreign land, my only source of companion is just three other beings and most of the time, i hold conversations with a camera..It was high time that i have to make the switch..and i prayed long and hard that somehow miraculously after a twelve hour flight i might just be able to retrieve a fraction of my former ” wacky,crazy,titilating self…

Apparently, the old Bryan did come back for a brief stint of eleven days..I think he came aboard as we were flying over Iran or Iraq….

I shall not go into like a day to day kind of a thingy as that would mean loading lots of pics and writing lots of stuffs and frankly, i am just too plain old  lazy for that.I am just gonna do pictorials and perhaps some little stories or thoughts that tags to the pic.

Now, that’s my size 45 feet against the manifique sunset over the agean sea!!!!!!! Me thought since my other attempts in including myself in the other pics are not so great and so i thought, i should be just so contented that a part of me is in the pic.Me thinks me should have been a foot model.i mean, its really well formed and huge and if i may say, the oldwives tale about the size of the foot equals the…hmm..Oh ya! just a fleeting thought, now, there’s this really funny,vivacious,loud(i mean, EXTREMELY LOUD) and lovely manager from Chan Brothers by the name of Reshel came along this trip and she is to take care of the film crew and link us with the local guides and blah blah blah and you can just die when you are in her company.Anyway, can anyone tell me, how do you pronounce this two words {Agean Sea} Do you say, A) Ah Jen See or B) Agency ?? we were collectively perplexed by this question as somehow or rather, these words came up rather  differently from either of us….

So this is me doing a self portrait of my semi naked self out on the balcony.Just managed to get the major part of my face in and a partial shot of the scenery..can’t say that this is the best of both worlds but i think some members of the tour staying above moi did manage to get a couple of my semi naked self doing self pic.very embarassing but wat to do? wats done cannot be undone..should have just marched upstairs and delete their pics..however, did wonder how their shots of moi turned out..

Any idea what’s this? its COTTON!!!!! On our way to cotton castle( that’s not the actual name but i just literally have it translated from mandarin), we encountered fields after fields of cotton and close encounter with cotton revealed to me that they do not exists in stick form for cleaning ears and definitely not wooly wooly  bite size for cleaning thy face! Rather pretty though..

That’s me enjoying life( that’s what my own personal quirky T shirt says),sometime around eight in the morning, at the cotton castle..Over here, you can soak your feet in puddles of water on a terrace like farming ground littered with numerous ponds of lukewarm mineral water and its supposed to be really good for your health if you do it like for months..

It is definitely not snow that you are seeing but mineral salts that paints the whole land in shades of white and colour hues of blue like the sky..

Some tourists,not from our group, came forth in bikinis as their intention was to immerse their whole entire being in the mineral water.One word of caution though..better to do it upstream then downstream..129 pairs of feet upstream means you have 129 pairs of feet cum other stuffs trodding all over thy voluptous bikini clad body.. not exactly the best way to spend thy holiday ya ?

That’s the film crew..recording bits and pieces that would translate into an half hour long  programme that would allow you guys who are not there to share our joy and discoveries…

After doing my fair bit of filming and after tons of picture sessions, i got to finally immerse my size 45 feet into the lukewarm mineral water, enjoying the luxurious massage that only running water can do..i revelled in the tender swoosh that the water made as it gently lapped around my sensitive ankles and when i almost climaxed in furious unadulterated joy i foung myself looking to my left….Only to realise, that I, mighty me is…in fact…situated at where i would describe as…mid stream.perhaps , well, thirty odd happy looking faces were beaming at me, asking me if i enjoyed the water. i guess, well, playing footsie with thirty odd folks ain’t that bad ya? ( till two days later, i sort off imagined that my feet felt rather ..umm.. itchy..) EEEWWWWWWWWWWW!

always thought that only if i were to go to Salt Lake City in the US that i will then be able to stand on a vast sea of salt.Amazingly, there is a salt lake in turkey and its really salty..My shadow and I had a good old fun time with the noon sun and believe me, its a real experience to stand on  sea of salt .…makes you feel like the dish ‘Oysters kirkpatrick/Mornay”!

One of the reasons that i do adore Turkey is that you could get to see a diversity of historical  artifacts that are just mindblowing..Roman columns and buildings preserved in almost pristine conditions allows you insights  to the ingeniouity the romans applies to their lives..the cultures…ooi ya..simply divine.

I remembered rather vividly that when i was young, i was very much into the mythological figures such as Zeus, Hercules that when i , or , as i walked amongst the ancient ruins that i felt i am living my dreams! When i was there, as i reached out my hands and touched the fallen columns, fingers tenderly tracing the outlines of the grains running along the marble, the limestones  that i almost wept with joy for i am actually touching a piece of history!One could only imagine that once upon a time,a roman figure would have done exactly just that..i closed my eyes as my skin made contact with the cold stone, willing with all my heart that it might just reveal to me the stories that were never told…but a cold stone it was.for it revealed nothing to satisfy my thirst of knowledge.I know i should be ever so privilleged to be able to see and to touch history. and So i took pictures.Many pictures.Many, like, many many, i mean, lots, really like lots..yup..guess you got the picture..just this one, because i really have a lot you know,really…  LOTS>

I love it when autumn comes along..i simply adore the contrast in colours and whether it turns red or brown it always goes well with the rich blue sky .I wonder if you share my sentiments too..Do you sometimes just like ignore the obvious stuffs around us?Do you revel in the beauty of Nature? Its…gosh..almost beyond words how something as insignificant  like the brown wild grasses with some bits of green weeds and blue sky could be so surreal together…

perhaps you might know that turkey is part of the Silk Road and this huge stone mansion is actually one of the rest stops that merchants could stay for a night or more with their goods and camels as they travel through the silky route in search of wealth and new stuffs.Had the pleasure of exploring this historical building with this bunch of lovely folks from the REd flag group..the Hong qi’s.. I name this rest stop mansion “Dragon Gate’s INN” like those you see in those period chinese dramas because, it functions kust the same.Walking through this well preserved building waves of nostalgia hits you over and over again..Only if you were to appreciate the history behind every nook and cranny and if you ever do visit a sight like this, try touching it, rather than just taking pictures.Perhaps you could even bend down and grab a fistful of earth as i told this group to do, find a way to communicate with the past and revel in their existence.Only when you try to understand or at least know the historical facts of such places that you will be able to fully appreciate the long journey to see such sights. If not, it would only be a pile of rubbles or a dilipidated building to your naked eye…..

My favourite part of Turkey would have to be cappadoccia.. the undulating mountains, valleys..the plateaus, the rock formation, the work of years of wind, erosion,……created this magnificent work of art of mother nature…And this time, all its glory revealed to us from another perspective, as we soared into the skies. No more words from me. the pictures says it all….

I have now come to the end  of my update and feeling rather pleased about it.

There are still many wonderful stories that i know of but not mine to tell.For it will forever live in the hearts of the 129 lovely folks who were there with me and our trip well documented in pictures that we had gladly snapped away.

To the many wonderful new folks that i had the pleasure of knowing and spending time with on this trip,

thank you for the memories…

Reprising the role of the “dude”, this is the second installment of the dude series and the focal point now shifts to the Hot Mamas! Finally premiered tonight and its kind of a weird to see myself on tv again..as i am so used to explaining to people why i have disappeared from screen. Wonder if you guys can see that i have seemed to adopt a more different kind of a presentation style..not so loud anymore..more toned down..perhaps this is the result of doing the travelogue, where i am told to be my other self, where i don’t have to go many octaves higher and seemed to be running on everlasting batteries..much happier with this approach though..i can finally be more of the real me. However, still a little bit of the wacky me though….

Am now in a hotel room in delhi, comfy and safe..however, the scenario was very much different 48 hours ago, when we, (cameraman ah thong, soundman ah yap, ep yan) were told to cease our work in darjeeling immediately and vacate the mountain, if not, when the curfew sets in, we will not get to leave infinitely. It was rather chaotic then, when we made our way back to the hotel, we saw hordes of people thronging the streets with their luggages, attempting to get into the cabs that would evacuate them from the town.

A political strike is on, visitors were told to leave.Fortunately, we have our own transport and we started fleeing around five pm, started our descent down the 2200ft mountain. then it started getting darker,fog came and enveloped us totally, the steep winding road down made it all seemed impossible…night came and from the top, we saw the train of cars almost creeping down the slope like a snake,a snake in the dark…Tried to establish contact to get a flight out of the region of west bengal but i guess many beat us to it..flight was full…as everyone wanted to fly off to another city, in fear that the airport might shut down too… we managed to get to the town of siliguri, where we stayed for a night, awaiting news of a possible flight to delhi..alas, it was a no go. We had no choice but to stay on another night and this morning we manage to fly to delhi with our original booking and miraculously, here i am,typing away , safe and sound. Later in the morning, we will embark on our journey home.This has been an experience that none of us will ever forget.Thank you Mrihal(our guide) and the driver, without you guys, we might just not have the chance to go home.Hope that all will turn out fine and you guys can go back to your homes once the protest is over. Though the strike’s duration was deemed indefinite, one could only hope that things are resolved with greater speed for the good of all.. Be well.

I was told that even a seasoned traveller would have some difficulty with the local food and thus,cup noodles dominated three quarter of my case along with a big bag of remedies ranging from actifasts to charcoal pills.Joining the strong contingent we have also chocolate bars,yoghurt museli bars,three in one coffee mix and natural nuts ( just in case i go nuts).

We checked into Hotel Himalaya and was welcomed with chorouses of Namaste..( not forgeting i still have a sort of a sash around my neck which was presented and placed around my neck with a hearty ” welcome To Kathmandu”)
The hotel seemed out of place, as it is a stark contrast with the madness and chaos on the streets…

After a brief clean up, which includes my clinique three steps, we are off for reccee and it was heavenly… Went to the square where time stood still..historical artifacts lined the streets…ghost of the past whispered gently as the wind drifted past my ears….a sight to behold. Never to be forgotten.

Intricate patterns lined the silver and copper jewelleries and bronzed buddhas, resplendent in the afternoon sun, glowed behind the dusty display counters…little children running and chasing around the square, only to break their stride as they zoomed past you, just to wave a hearty Namaste, and off they go.

Such innocence and purity filled the air and a sudden downfall got us scrambling for shelter and we found ourselves seeking shelter within the walls of the ancient palace, right in the heart of the square……..
(to be continued)

If you guys are wondering the absence of pictures for my previous entries to greece and spain, its because as it is a working trip and also the programme is yet to be out, i can only express my own opinions and perhaps a brief diary of my encounters as that seemed to be the only “property” that belongs to me.However, somewhere in september or so, there will be a website that specially caters to this programme whereby i will write in detail, with pictures, of the destinations that i have been to for this programme. So, lets wait and see huh…

In the meantime, take care and be well and lets see if i could do my day to day updates while i am in turkey. The weather over there seems to be on the cold side though..that makes it cold turkey?…………

As you might know by now, i am starting the very first leg of a new programme that i am doing entittled “Destinations Most Wanted”. I am hosting solo and will have to visit 39 different destinations, which would span over a period of say six months …Actually, very much happy about doing this programme as i have always wanted to see the world..not being able to be an air steward seemed rather bleak when i passed the cut- off age but now..hmmm… i get to fly ! may be, wats lacking would be the chance to do the demonstration drill of putting on the life jacket and asking coffee tea or….hmm.

Will be away for two weeks,back for five days and then flying off to turkey..and off to japan two days after getting back from turkey and many many more to come.. For once, i envy myself! kicked and slapped myself for quite a while just to believe that i am actually doing this!

Thus, it might be quite a while before i get to finish my China entry, much less to say about Athens … Bear with me and wait for me… i will try so very hard to make it happen!

Sometimes..

think of me.

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Date: 02-04-2008 Time 0715hrs weather: 12degrees

Hi Hi again! After a 12 hour long flight i am now in Istanbul airport, in transit, awaiting the 0805 flight to athens. This is the very first time me fly with Turkish air and it was good! Aircraft was a Airbus 340 and was really comfy and food was good!!!Upon arrival, it was still dark so i can’t really see anything but its okay because two weeks later me will be back here for filming. It is really good to reunite with my favourite Cameraman Ah Thong and Soundman Ah Yap( aka Yau yau) for this trip! You guys must still remember ah Thong, the very first celebrity cameraman whom was constantly harassed by me on screen during the days of Channel U, when it was still…..hmmm. Anyway, the time difference should be about 6 hrs so today i would probably have a very very long day!! can’t wait to be in Athens, because i am so into Greek Mythology and can’t wait to see ancient ruins and blue skies white buildings blue doors wa wa wa!!!!!!!!! Am feeling rather delirious and a wee bit oozy!!!Am finally feeling that i am now catching on to the present world as here i am, sitting at the cafe in the airport and typing away on my mac..it just seemed so…hmm.. businesslike..so executive..ha! always wanted also to be a businessman jetsetting around the world, sending emails opn planes, airports,reading financial times…but, i guess, that’s hardly the route that i am taking but however, one could always pretend, isn’t! ha! me so happy now…Life is like a box of chocolates..just open it and eat it!! Till the next update, this is bryan, signing off, Turkey.Istanbul Airport.

Date: 02042008 time:1750hrs(hydra time) weather: 12′

Latest update.have arrived in Hydra after an hour and a half journey from port of Athens. This is paradise. Amazing view of mountains and crystal clear waters! Am now using my communicator tapping into wylan from a restaurant overlooking the bay.. Stacks of serene white buildings with blue doors dotted the hillside..almost all the shops are closed at this moment as this is still spring and slightly drislly now..can’t believe that just a while ago i was walking amongst ancient stones and now i am on an island that is totally out of this world… I am indeed lucky and how i wish i could bring all of these back with me!!! Gotta go now, my food is here! This is bryan, signing off from Hydra, Greece.

Date:05042008 Time:0900hrs(Hydra) Weather: 11 degrees

Been a couple of days since my last entry.reasons being well, not quite able to access to any hot spots, only to discover thyat we are able to use the computer at the little reception at the exquisite little hotel |Miranda… Was blessed with beautiful weather fot the past two days of filming. PPl here are wonderful, warm and extremely friendly, in fact, it is like a big family out here, where nobody is a stranger..In fact, yesterday evening, when we have wrapped filming at Hydra, we had a brief r&r and we walked towards the bay, hunting for a cozy place to eat, we bumped into many familiar faces who gtreeted us as though we have known each other for ages.It is indeed a world without strangers over here. This is paradise over here..for i have always wanted to be at one of the islands scattered within the agean sea.. my dear friends, i almost wept when i took in the sights of houses with whitewashed walls, blue windows, blue doors, walls littered witrh grey stones…i felt like i have fulfilled this void in me that has always been unfulfilled..life is good and life is beautiful..In a few hours time, we are leaving this island, making our way to |Athens, where we will spend the night and tomorrow, we shall conquer Madrid/sevilla, where the bulls and the metadors are waiting..

this is bryan, signing off from the unbelievable island of Hydra.Greece.

Date:05042008  Weather: wet 9 degrees

 It rained cats and dogs since we left the island and now, we are finally back in athens in hotel stanley.Went for din din and enjoyed using the metro and now trying to upload the china pics before i could do an entry on it. Gotta wake up early tomorrow but first, have to fully utilise the 200 ins of internet time that i purchased with 10 euros.So, signing off once again from hotel stanley,athens.Btw,this is bryan wong.

Date: 06042008 Time:1335hrs Weather 20degrees

Am now at the lounge of Madrid airport,awaiting the 1530 flight to Sevellia.The flight from athens to madrid was uneventful however, from check in at the athens to the opnflight services offered by Olympic airways left much to be desired.Ground staff at the airport seemed rather grumpy and not very helpful!Air crew on board the B737 were okay but for a three hour forty five min international flight you would expect them to walk down the aisle with water service at least more than once and not spending most of their time in the little kitchen area reading newspaper or having their friends/colleagues off work  also having a mini party at the same area exchanging current news.. Perhaps a wet towel would be good, at least before meals..amazingly, minutes after take off they rush into feeding you with little navy blue trays that has seen better trays. Amazed to see the breakfast tray reminiscent of those used by airlines some twenty years ago… Well, at least the leg room is rather generous..and well..that´s about the only credit they are getting.. Hope that the flight to Sevellia is gonna be good..keep fingers and toes crossed. this is bryan, signing off Madrid airport,Spain