Kathmandu

just  quck update, we had a 10 day Dewal holiday. everyone in the office went to Koltata. Me and Laurits didn't have anything to do so we decided, why not go Kathmandu. niether of us had even seen a picture of this place. it was jsut a name. so we set off withotu any plans and hardly any money. travelled in general class sleeper for 24 hurs, was hel1! but worth the experience. then we got to luknow. our train got cancelled. we met a guy who brided a ticket conductor. and let us into AC 3rd classs. which was heaven compared to general. then we had to get a 3 hour bus from Gorukpur to the Sunali boarder. but our bus broke down. we noticed another bus coming. so Laurits heroicly bus onto the roof of the bus untied our luggage and we ran after the second bus to the boarder. then we got husted at the boarder. and finally made it to Nepal. then all the remained was a 10 hour bus to Kathmandu. in a very very cramped bus. 50 people on a 25 seater bus. something like that. then we finally got to Kathmandu. more detais to follow. peace.

i just watched this....

i just say this video, for those of you interested click here

i liked this comment someone gave, 

"As Hippocrates once said 'Life is short, art is long'. Seneca the stoic remarked "Hence too the grievance, most improper to a wise man, which Aristotle expressed when he was taking nature to task for indulging animals with such long existences that they can live through five or ten human lifetimes, while a far shorter limit is set for men who are born to a great and extensive destiny. It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it."

We are such wasteful creatures. In a way, only death can truly show us life.

Live well :)"

at Sept University, looking like a student.

"Madam, FOTTO FOTTO!!"

Children looking at the picture Rita took of them.

Education, what a wonderful thing

what to say about a child's eyes?

Mirchi

The woman is sat here sorting out 

'Mirchi' in her front 'garden'.

Long weekend!

we planned to go to Mumbai this weekend, booked the tickets and everything. then Sonke[boss] came on thursday evening and said, oh we have to hand a model into the client on monday[we haven't' even started it yet]. so you guys will have to work on the weekend. so we spent all weekend on this. finished 10pm on a sunday! mad 'ey? but its ok, when you doing stuff together nothing seems like a chore. its always feels like a wonderful experience.

the bone collector

so we went onto site, to see the foundations being started. they dug the whole and started to work on the shuttering for the concrete. then we noticed a bone! that was found whilst digging the whole for the foundations. we assumed it was a human bone because it fit perfectly on Roberto's arm. maybe its his ancestor![can someone tell us if it is or isn't?] now, that isn't the strange thing. the strange thing is that the builders used it to mix the concrete!! as they say.....only in Inida.

Dance

Here in India they have a series of festive days before Dewali. and everywhere across the city are people celebrating at night. me and my flat mate could here this incredibly sound noise from our flat. and thought we would see where it was coming from.  as you can see the building is a really run down concrete structure. and this is where all these people live. very poor condition. yet they dress up really nice and are so happy. thats one thing you notice a lot of the time. relative to us. they are living in such dire conditions, yet they are always filled with such joy. and when we have so many things we still walk around with dull faces. it brings the question of what really makes us happy and are we chasing the things that will make us happy?

monkeys at work!

so we walked out to eat our lunch, and what do we see? about 10 monkeys scattered around the garden. swinging in the trees. its so strange seeing wild animals just mingling in your lives. and there isn't anything isolating them or a barrier between you and them. was this scary for everyone? yes! it was hilarious, when the lunches got delivered. the monkeys were on one side of the garden in the trees and the people on the other holding their lunches, too scared to open them! quite the comical site. 

The end of an era

Forgot to post this picture earlier. I grew up in this place and it taught me a lot. i hope everyone in Gamestation is good! and they don't get too stressed out in the christmas period! i know how crazy it can be.

so thats how its done!

so yes, quick note for all those travelling to India in the future. one of the Italian interns told me how to use the rickshaw! you tap the meter to tell them to zero it. and then this is the important point... what it says on the meter is NOT the price. you have to divide it by 3 and then you get the price. in the night you divide it by 2 to get the price. and if they try to cheat you. ask for the chart. they keep it hidden. they have to keep it by law. and also no rickshaw driver knows street names. so no point knowing them. they only know landmarks! so you have to tell them landmarks if you want to get anywhere because they'll just pretend to know the street and take you here there and everywhere. like i said, they should tell you this kinda information on the plane or something!

Work

SO! as the dust settles, we can now speak about the real issue. the reason i set off on this journey. WORK.

i'm working for a company called Vastu Shilpa Consultants, founded by Balkrishna Doshi. he worked with architects such as Le Corbusier and Louis Khan. some of the most famous in History. and things are raised or reduced by what they are associated to. so you can imagine the measure of this man. the company is very well respected, like Manchester United in the footballing world. therefore making him like Alex Ferguson. 

Now the amazing thing about him, is his approach. every week. at least once. He gives a personal talk/discussion with all the student interns. teaching them about architecture. also he just spends time walking around the studio speaking to them. i found this to be a fresh approach to the architecture world. breaking this arrogance label that if often put on architects. 

the whole institute is run like a kind of temple of architecture a place where young people can learn and are given the opportunity. they have a mentoring system and get you straight into real work. none of this paper shuffling. so you are given to an architect and they look after you and teach you everything and get you to work on their top projects.  i have been put in a project called 'inflibnet', information library network. its a repository for universities to keep their journals. so universities from certain parts of India, can use it as a place to research and also store their journals.

what i would do for public transport!

well just got mugged of £5 from some rickshaw guy! they know your a foreigner and just take advantage. what i would give for public transport right now! just get on a bus and you have no worries. instead of trying to not get strewed by some Indian. i thought i'd last more than 4 days before i happened. but oh well. i guess you can't prevent the inevitable. so yeah.... public transport is amazing. typical india to be so backwards they can't work to get a proper bus service going.


i could buy a bike, but i would just die on these crazy roads. you can't imagine how crazy they are. anyway, i'm back in the flat. we'll have another go tomorrow. maybe better luck!

one thing no one told me....

Before i left for India a lot of people were giving me advice. and advice is a funny thing as Baz Luhrmann said in his famous graduation speech, "Advice is a form of Nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off. painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth". so i had to be careful what advice to take. some people make you feel very exited and tell you a utopian out look. and others tell you are really scary story. then you end up really worried. 

when giving advice its important to put your emotional bias aside. try and give a balanced and fair assessment of the situation relative to the person your giving it to as well. a lot of the time we give advice based on our own ways of handling a particular situation. remember its the other person who is going to deal with the situation not us! amongst all the advice one thing every single person forgot to mention and prepare me for. was the fact it would be lonely. 

the journey started back in england, its all full of excitement and nervousness. packing my stuff to go to another land. it didn't feel like i was moving, felt like i was going on trip or holiday. even when i landed in India and saw all the craziness. only when i reached this shed of a hotel and put my bags in, closed the door and lay down on the bed. did i realise what had happened. i had travelled 1000's of miles away from everyone i know and love. i would actually be alone in a country.

that moment was sad, but its important to remember that its times like this we find out things about ourselves we didn't know. when we step outside our comfort zone and try to sand up straight in a difficult moment. we have to remember that moments are like clouds, once they pass they will never return again. we take each moment as it comes and grow from it.

here is to character building!

India

OK so i made it safely to India. arrived at 3am got to a random hotel.... i would be lying if i said i wasn't scared! it was terrifying people. cars, motorbikes, animals and people all on the same road. just travelling in some hypnotic streaming of movement. anyway. got a amazing taxi driver, showed me around. helped me find an apartment. spent a good 7 hours running around looking for apartments. anyway finally found one. its nice. i will post pictures soon. i've just been in total shock if i'm honest with you. don't know how i'm going to last here! 

Dubai

well , got to Dubai safe and sound. staying with a really nice family, the flight was really very comfortable. emirates have really made economy class to a very good standard. the airport was amazing, because emirates have got their own terminal making everything so smooth and easy. while i have been here i started reading a book. "a New Earth". he makes some important points as concepts. the way he goes about the whole thing might not be to everyone's liking.take it with a pinch of salt and it might be worth a read. you never know your whole outlook on the world may change. oh yeah and Dubai looks odd! random tall buildings in the middle of a dessert.... old Dubai looks a lot cooler. its raw. but i guess people like the glits and the glamour.excuse my poor arrangements with the pictures, the laptop is annooying me because it keeps turning up in arabic and i havn't got a clue whats going on lol. but you get the general idea of things. right i'm off to sleep. didn't get a chance to sleep on the plane was speaking to some guy who's moving to Australia for a year. similar age to me. 

Welcome Sackboy

Here we say welcome to a new member of the Trajet family, Sackboy. it was a kind gift from a Gamestation brother. we started the company together and after a 4 year slog it is time to depart. Sad times...... so now Sackboy will accompany me on my travels and hopefully i can keep it consistent!

Who Moved My Cheese?

someone mentioned this book to me and as we all do, we whip it into good old google. little did i know how famous this book is. apparently it has changed peoples lives! well thats quite appropriate for a book that  tells you to welcome change. 

anyway, the book uses a fable to tell the story of change. and how complexity usually isn't the best option. keep it simple and welcome the change that is taking place. it begins with 2 mice and 2 small humans. the different attitudes and the journey to change. using the cheese as a metaphor for the goal you have set out and a maze as the journey you take to getting there. [you can google a better summery]

for muslims it highlights some nice topics. when things change, both ease and tribulation, its always from Allah so embrace it. hold strong and have faith that Allah is the best of planners. also eludes to becoming attached to things can cause a delusion. therefore hindering your progress on this journey. continuous gratification for what you have now because you never know when it can vanish. also not becoming content and comfortable, because these lead to laziness. just a few i have reflected on. maybe you can read it and let us know your feelings?

Read this book, you will like it. relate it to yourself it'll bring about interesting thoughts. very thin about 100 pages, the story itself is only 50 pages long. taking you a couple of hours to read. though i'm sorry to say it won't unveil the secrets of life to you, but it'll give you another perspective on things. happy reading.