Are you ready for christmas? Help me decorate this christmas tree… please!

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Bangkok xmas at Zen from the bridge

According to this gigantic Christmas tree in front of the Zen mall (aka Central World, Bangkok) that is across the street from my wor place, apparently, Christmas is here already… Even thought I don’t get to see the sunset, I am able to enjoy the night simply enough with only 5 minutes walking. Listening to music and just relaxing at the water fountain was a very pleasing experience and peaceful.

Well, better start getting your hands on the tree… or it won’t be ready and nicely decorated, as if it wasn’t enough time, by Christmas!

Get busy!

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Tuk Tuk!!! A ride of a life time that you MUST try when you visit Bangkok!

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Thailand Tuk Tuk Train station Hua Lum Phong Bangkok

TUK TUK!!!
That’s right! You have not arrived in Bangkok, Thailand until you ride one of these bad boys!! You would be surprised how many people can fit in that tiny little Tuk Tuk! The most I have seen was 6 high school students fitting in that one Tuk Tuk. Myself, I’ve only experienced 4 in a tuk tuk. !!!

This photo was taken at Bangkok Train station… Hua LumPhong!

Hum… what I forgot to take a picture of, is was what was behind the camera. There were so many street vendors and food stalls there that the camera was getting covered with smoke. In the end, I bought a few of those food and just ate away while incessantly taking photos there!

Yum and Fun!

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Nothing we can do about traffic in Bangkok. Just get over it. Literally!!!

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Thailand Traffic at Victory Monument

After 10 years of being away from Bangkok, there seem to be a slight improvement in traffic. So I guess, this is the signature of Bangkok? I would really hope that is not the case!

Fortunately, today we have a sky-train and subway to help reduce the traffic conditions and also a better transportation system throughout the city. This traffic has become a part of my everyday routine every since my training started. At least 2-3 hours of my day would be stuck in one of these long lines of traffic. The only way to really avoid the traffic is to avoid the rush hours which means… get to work really early in the morning and go home really late at night.

About the photo, I took this the same day that I was at the Victory Monument. This is one of the roads that lead to the round-about at the monument.

Traffic as far as the eye can see! Oh well… Just get over it!

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Here, the taxi drivers drive Mercedes-Benz… where am I ?

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Berlin Taxi

Take a moment to examine the picture, can you tell where is this?

The answer is… BERLIN-TEGEL airport. Yup, it said right on the top at the tower. Kindna obvious isn’t it?

To me, this is a totally new experience to see so many Mercedes-Benz as “TAXI” because in Thailand and U.S.A, speaking from my experience, we value Mercedes-Benz as a high luxury car that only those that who can afford it, buy it. At first I thought they were making a commercial advertisement for Mercedes-Benz and these are just for show but to find out later that they are really taxi drivers waiting for passengers.

Wowwwww.

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Beauty… Luxury… Temptation… Speed…

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Lamborghini

Beauty… Luxury… Temptation… Speed… Adrenaline rushing… Blood pressure rising… Breathless!

It was at the Los Angeles Auto Show, last November that I got to see this beauty presented in one of the galleries. I took a few angles of this Lamborghini, however, I believe that this view, this angle, this moment is just right. It is not about more is less… but it is about Less is More. The design, from an architecture point of view, is so basic with the cause of simple shape elements that creates the elegance of the design. The speed of the car is unquestionable as everyone must know how fast it is. The color of the car, white, black and touch of red/orange to bring out its characteristics.

The selection of the picture today is because I have seen a few of this Lambos here in Marbella already in typical red and yellow paint. I think it would have been much nicer in white just because white is not a color and it represents neutrality, which in my opinion, is also Richard Meier’s reason for choosing all of this architectural design in white is one of the most fact that I must agree with.

Below is the Pritzker Acceptance Speech by Meier:

I would like to share with you, tonight, the ongoing conversation that I have with my children, Joseph and Ana. It revolves around the question “What is your favorite color?” Joseph, who is four and three-quarters, always replies green, and states when asked why, that “green is the color of grass, the trees are green, green is all around us, it’s the color of spring and dollar bills.”

Ana, who is three and doesn’t like to be outdone by Joseph, replies that her favorite color is blue, and that, “the sky is blue, the pools and ponds and lakes are blue.”

And then they turn to me and ask, “Daddy, what is your favorite color?” And every time we play this gave, my response is the same: “White is my favorite color.”

“But Daddy,” Joseph says, “You can’t have white. White is not a color; white isn’t in the rainbow; you have to take a color that is in the rainbow, like red or green, or blue or yellow.”

And I have to explain that for me, white is the most wonderful color because within it you can see all the colors of the rainbow. For me, in fact, it is the color which in natural light, reflects and intensifies the perception of all of the shades of the rainbow, the colors which re constantly changing in nature, for the whiteness of white is never just white; it is almost always transformed by light and that which is changing; the sky, the clouds, the sun and the moon.

White conventionally has always been seen as a symbol of perfection, of purity and clarity. If we ask why this is the case, we realize that where other colors have relative-values dependent upon their context, white retains its absoluteness. At the same time, it may function as a color itself. It is against a white surface that one best appreciates the play of light and shadow, solids and voids. Goethe said “color is the pain of light.” Whiteness is perhaps the memory and the anticipation of color. For me, the contrast becomes the definition — that which is natural, organic, changing, contains at different times, all of the colors of the rainbow. And that which is man-made should help to focus and intensify one’s perception of all that is around us.

It appears that he has found a successful formula and he’s sticking with it, a eventually it becomes his trademark as an architect, pretty much like Frank Gehry has his dynamic architecture, and Tadao Ando and his minimalist architecture.

Beauty within Neutrality

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adrenaline rush at 125 MPH / 201 KMH !!!

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Audi R8

I took this picture during the LA Auto Show in November 2008. I happened to get free tickets after attending one of the private events held by Porsche at the LA Auto Show for the pre-opening. Porsche is always great, especially the Cayman!!! However I feel that… this AUDI R8 has changed my mind. The style is very very very attractive!!! So much that, I have it on my wish list (when I can afford one) haha. I have never driven this one, but I did drive an Audi TT… and it was fun especially when I reached 125 MPH, or 201 KMH (on a legal stretch of road, of course!)… The adrenaline rush was just awesome. I didn’t feel like I was driving the car anymore at the point, but more of piloting a jet on the freeway.

And in Spain… it must have been fun to feel the speed here with all the round-abouts to drift around to long stretches where I can press that gas pedal and driving to the beach to just cruise day til night. >.< I miss my “coche”

Talk about speeding… I never get pulled over when I speed up to 110 MPH, but ironically I got pull over twice for speeding at 75 MPH (65 MPH is the limit) and that was the traffic speed. These cops really had nothing to do or what? They tailed me for 10 minutes before they fire up the sirens and pull me over. The worse thing is, it happened 3 days before I left to Spain.

But hey, we got to be responsible for our actions, at least that is what I believe.

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