Last images from Asia

I forgot to add some of my favorite photos while walking around Tokyo...There was an amazing Louise Bourgeois sculpture and many dog and cat dedications.

I am back in Paris today. Feels great to be back home even amongst the dog shit on the Parisian sidewalks.....

Tramways and MICMACS

I spent the day taking the tramways as Jean Pierre and actress Julie Ferrier did some press for MICMACS.

Sand storm blasts through Hong Kong

I thought it was a bit smoggy but in fact, Hong Kong was hit by a sand storm the first day we arrived. It was hard to make out any skyscrapers in its famous skyline.

Grass Trimmer at W Hotel Hong Kong

Some people still take their job seriously.

Fast Forward to Hong Kong

Arrived late tonight in Hong Kong @ midnight. I felt claustrophobic and aggressed by all the noise and music coming from the hotel hall. Very disappointed with our room at the W Hotel. I came all the way to HK only to have view of the highway. Most of the things in our room do not work and I had a mini meltdown in the hallway of the 17th floor. It would be nice if W Hotel would explain to their guests why the phones do not work or why it is so freaking hard to find the elevator button.

Next day I got to tag along with JP during his interviews. Waiting to discover HK....

Design Japanese style

This time around in Tokyo I decided to explore Tokyo's many art galleries and design centers. A pretty hard thing to do in Tokyo since I could not find a taxi to drive me to my chosen destinations. The taxis kept getting lost. I think this has to do with the absence of proper addresses in Tokyo. I did fall in love with the ethereal lamps of artist Chihiro Tanaka and the blurred gold fish and over saturated flowers of artist Mika Ninagawa.

Roaming around Tokyo one more day...

Another day walking around until my feet hurt, forget to eat and I am hungry by the time I hit the hotel elevator. Such an explosion of cultural differences and pleasures.I cannot find one plastic bag in the streets or in a tree.

Concrete Street

I find the Japanese architecture facinating in a ugly/beautiful kind of way. Of course, it all comes alive especially on a rainy night. Those photos will have to come later. A few snap shots of jolie/moche in action.

Unifrance Hysteria

Last night, MICMACS opened up the Unifrance Film Festival. We did the red carpet thing with screaming Jp Jeunet films shoving pens and photos in his face for signature. At least, the Japanese are organized. Each fan had a working pen with a photo of Jp or a publicity still of one of his films. The fans also wrote on a piece of paper their name so that Jp could dedicate the photo to them. I kind of felt like Alice in Wonderland who fell down the hole with a good jet lag buzz leading the way. Perfect way to spend an evening in Tokyo.

JAPANESE SMOKE OUT

As I finally exited the airport, the French film group I was traveling with immediately went into one of those plastic walled smoker zones to suck their nicotine sticks after a 12 hour plane ride. Little did I know this was a bad omen coming my way. In Tokyo, it is illegal to smoke outside on the street but ok to light up in restaurants and bars. Go figure. At 9pm, I found myself dining in a small private room in a Japanese restaurant with my new French friends puffing away between each course. I guess I am going to have to get used my smelly hair for the next few days.

On The Road Again....

Ah Japan, land of the warm toilet seats. This time I am traveling solo to Tokyo where Jean Pierre is presenting his film MICMACS at the Unifrance Film Festival. Time to go to bed when I start to feel like an elephant is sitting on my face....Good night.

Boats, and planes and trams, oh my!

Lyndsey and I had a wake up call in the form of coffee and tea at 5 a.m. delivered by our personal host, Hussein. He then shuttled us by golf cart to the dark and wavy ocean where we jumped on a speed boat to be whisked away in the wee hours of the morning. Strange thing to board a boat when it is still pitch black out side. Lyndsey was popping away her Bach's Remedy pills while I tried to close my eyes for a few minutes. After fifty minutes of a stomach turning boat ride, we arrived at the Kaadedhdhoo Airport to wait for another fifty minutes for our flight back to Male. All in all, we took one golf cart, one speed boat, three planes, one airport bus, one airport tram, and finally one taxi home. No more German charter planes for me!

The fun boat ride in the dark......