On the Street: LEBO in San Francisco

November 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I realized I haven’t done an “On the Street” post in a while. So here’s one I shot on my recent trip to SF.

Pictured above is LEBO’s handiwork which was commissioned by Hotel des Arts. It’s been up for a year and is part of the artist’s Fatboy and the Holy Trinity series. The piece showcases a sketch of a boy tied to an atomic bomb or an atomic bomb tied to a boy – whichever way you want to look at it. What is interesting is the heart painted on the atomic bomb. A bit ironic to have a symbol of life and love on an icon of death isn’t it?

LEBO explains his inspiration in the video here: LEBO studios

I lucked out finding LEBO’s work by doing the touristy thing and visiting Chinatown. The hotel is located on Bush Street just a few steps away from the Chinatown gate.

I always get excited when I find graffiti that has meaning and is not just an act of self promotion. When done the right way, graffiti essentially is a free art show which everyone is welcome to enjoy. The discovery of it, the nuances in art and its reflection on society also adds to the excitement.

LEBO’s work fits well with the edgy image of the hotel. All the rooms in the hotel are painted differently by various world-famous artists. I have seen pictures of the rooms on the hotel website but I’m curious to see it firsthand. If anyone has stayed there, let me know what it’s like!

Filed Under: Art + Design, Travel Tagged With: , ,

Halloween in San Francisco

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Happy Halloween!!!

I know, a bit late.. but better late than never.

I was in San Francisco with family for Halloween weekend and I saw some really stellar costumes. It was enough to walk through Union Square en route to dinner to get my fill of the funny and the uncanny.

The thing is, right before Halloween everyone was coming out with these “Top 10 Halloween Costumes” listicles with Snooki (of Jersey Shore fame), Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga and the like* in almost every single list.

But in SF, I found people were sticking to the “classics”. The whole Marvel enterprise was really popular as was pirates, prisoners and princesses.

Til next year! Mwa ha ha..

*a post with Snooki, LiLo, and.. oh no, I’ve turned into one of those people.

Filed Under: People, Travel Tagged With: , ,

Escape Mondays: Prague

October 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

With the rain comes the desire to be somewhere else. I was looking at old photos and found shots of my visit to Prague.

Prague Orloj

The Prague Astronomical Clock (Prague Orloj) is possibly the most famous tourist attraction in Prague. I remember being herded by a throng of people into the Old Town Square where it is located. The clock is beautifully designed with two dials and intricate details, but what people come to see is the “Walk of the Apostles”. That display happens every hour and on the hour around the astronomical clock.

On October 9, 2010, even more people came to see the Prague Astronomical Clock as it celebrated its 600th anniversary. Macula, a Czech company, created an evocative play of light on the face of the clock tower using video mapping.

See the video here: 600 years of Prague Astronomical Clock

Similar displays have been seen in Madrid, Russia and Amsterdam among others.

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Seeing Salmon in Weaver Creek

October 12, 2010 By 2 Comments

Salmon Run

The Salmon Run in BC is world-famous. You have millions of salmon who live out in the ocean and every 2 or 4 years come back to where they were born. When they spawn and die depends on the specie of salmon. Sockeye, coho, chum, and chinook are usually on a 4 year cycle while pink salmon have a 2 year cycle. Part of the sad fact of life is that after they spawn, salmon’s meet their end.

This year’s salmon run is the largest since 1913! Sockeye salmon have come in droves through the Fraser River (as of September, the Canada-US Pacific Salmon Commission increased its estimate of Fraser sockeye to 34.5 million!!). It was time to drive out to Weaver Creek Spawning Channel in Harrison Bay.

A spawning channel is a man-made stream with gravel bottom that run next to natural streams. Water that flow through it is controlled and regulated creating the perfect environment for salmon to spawn. A spawning channel is also the perfect place to view salmon.

Weaver Creek

Up close you can see sockeye salmon’s that have turned bright red. Salmon are naturally silver in color but change colors when they spawn.

Salmon Run

Salmon runs vary but spawning usually happens October-November. We drove out last Saturday and it was the right time to go. Apparently, other people thought so too as Weaver Creek Spawning Channel was packed! More fish (and people) are expected to come next week.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: , , ,

Tips for Booking Travel Online

August 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I’m so excited! I’m going on vacation in September and was able to get a really good deal on my airline fare.

Normally, I fly using the same airline because of the frequent flyer program in place but it never hurts to shop around.

Here are 10 tips you must know:

1. Compare fares using travel websites. I use Kayak but there are a lot of similar websites out there. The reason I like Kayak is because it has a comparative calendar that shows you prices for the next 2 months. If you have a bit of leg room to adjust your travel dates, you can easily take advantage of the cheaper rates offered on different days.

2. Subscribe to travel news websites like Travelzoo. It scours the net for online deals and delivers it straight to your mail box. The only drawback with subscribing to a website like this is you can get inundated with promos to places you will never visit or have no interest in visiting.

3. Check out auction sites such as Priceline and Hotwire for deals on airlines and hotels. It’s a blind auction because there is no way of knowing what you are bidding on until you complete your transaction. For hotels, you are simply given clues on which area it’s located or how many stars it has. But there are websites which can help narrow your guesses: Priceline and Hotwire Forum. It is kept up to date by customers who have successfully placed a bid by crossing out from a list the hotel they got and for what dates.

4. Look for promo codes before booking your trip online. Websites such as RedFlagDeals sometimes list promo codes which can potentially save you a lot of money.

5. Log on a comprehensive website such as Tripadvisor which combines hotel reviews with hotel deals from all the major online travel agents. What’s great is you get to read reviews written by real people.

6. Always check out the homepage of the airline or hotel you decide to go for. Sometimes the best deals are offered on their own site.

7. If you’re not familiar with or have never been to the place you are visiting, take advantage of Google Maps and use street view. It’s a good way to see the actual street where your hotel is and what it really looks like from the outside. Hotel websites are famous for posting misleading photos.

8. Delete cached cookies on your computer. I don’t know how big price-fixing is in hotel websites but I saw a CBC news clip discuss how the number of visits to an airline’s homepage can affect the price you see because of stored cookies on your computer.

9. Good times to bargain-hunt: September to early December, January right after the holidays, April to early June.

10. Shop around. I cannot emphasize that enough.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: , ,
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