One Plus One Equals Three

Saigon: Eat Korean, Charge Your Phone

Spied in a Korean restaurant* in Saigon: why not charge your phone (if it happens to be a Nokia, Samsung or LG, Motorola or Siemens) whilst eating some hearty, spicey Korean fare... washed down with the local 333 beer of course. Unfortunately my phone's a Sony Ericsson so I couldn't utilise their unique complementary in-meal recharge service. However I can report that the meal itself (dolsot bibimbap) was very good.

*When travelling with a Korean (my darling wife), within minutes of arrival – no matter where you are, one grows accustomed to the habit of looking for the nearest available kimchi – even when the local fare is devastatingly good, as it was in Saigon.

The Beautiful Signage of Old Vietnam

Most of the photos here are from the city of Hoi An, now largely a 'tourist town' in Central Vietnam. From the UNESCO site: "Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site."

A fascinating place to visit, and highly recommended for type-nuts. The mix of Vietnamese, Chinese and French typography is spellbinding. (But note that in order to fit in with the surrounding streetscape, some signs have perhaps been deliberately 'aged' – see Phuc Loi below). Cars are banned from the old city area of Hoi An too. You get around by walking, cycling, perhaps a ride on the back of a motor-scooter. Lovely.

Vietnam: Propaganda Preserved (Sort Of)

Upon landing in Vietnam, the first thing I was keen to spy was a propaganda poster or three (and then have a bowl of steaming phở). However the first thing I spied, which kept us entertained over a few days spent in Ho Chi Minh City (which I'll call Saigon, the locals' preferred term for the city-proper) was a completely dizzying and endless sea of motor-scooters and bicycles all politely jostling for position as they whizzed through Saigon's streets (everyone gives way to... everyone!). Then the propaganda posters came into focus.

Unlike other communist countries that have seen the development of their economies and cultures evolve into 'market-based communism' and perhaps have no real need to pursue the design of posters promoting anti-Western concepts and nationalistic concerns (such posters would compete with KFC, Honda and Samsung advertisements and signage after all), Vietnam still continues the 'propaganda poster tradition' (in a way). North Korea maintains a hardline 'old-school communist' approach to their propaganda (guns, tractors, heroic stances), whilst Vietnam's 'propaganda' has evolved into public service and health-related announcements, as well as creating posters based on traditional nationalistic and nation-building themes. Saigon's bustling streetscapes are dotted with them.

Now it's easy to see communist propaganda being commodified into hip, street-savvy clothing and it's readily available in a few galleries about town that cater largely for tourists. The hip element of Saigon culture has embraced the propaganda poster as an indigenous 'street' art form with shops such as Dogma printing prop-posters onto t-shirts that wouldn't look out of place in some of the trendier night-spots around town. The Apocalypse Now bar being a Saigon favourite(!). My favourite propaganda poster gallery in Saigon was the Hanoi Gallery, with a remarkable collection of decades worth of posters. Originals retail for US$200, small prints for US$10.

Of course I walked away with a few...

Good Afternoon Vietnam

I'm just back from a short trip to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An). Stay tuned for some Vietnamese design and visual culture-related posts.

At left are some of Vietnam's old style of banknote. They're made of paper and are readily identifiable (handy in crowded markets) due to each note's distinctive colouration. The new Vietnamese banknotes are polymer, complete with a transparent window (just like the Australian ones – I bet they're made here). They lack the visual charm of their predecessors – but then again, what rapidly developing nation wants to be known for using elephants as a construction tool? – and some denominations are so similar in colour that sometimes it's a little tricky telling them apart. That's not so good in crowded markets or dimly lit restaurants and bars.

You can always use US dollars over there – but they look even more alike...

A fascinating place. More posts to come.

Fancy travelling there and want to learn how to cross the extremely busy, motorscooter-populated roads? Watch and learn... More in the continuation.

Developments in Norwegian Uphill Cycling (Not Exactly)

For (Norwegian) cyclists too lazy to ride up hills (psst: riding up hills makes you a fitter cyclist... oh well).
Via Bikehugger. OK, OK, this could be handy for elderly and infirm cyclists or for those perhaps weighed down by shopping. (I still think you should ride up).

Simon Watts: one plus ukraine

Simon Watts "recently spent close to a year in the Ukraine painting artwork on the ceilings and walls of the home of one of the world's richest men. And as intriguing as it is to witness the level of pure bad taste that can only exist when money is no object, [he] was far more fascinated by the world outside..."

Read and see more at the one plus ukraine photo gallery.

Omar Sharif: Sockmaker

It is a little known fact that the Franco-Arabic actor Omar Sharif started a career in hosiery parallel to his career in the movies. It's a similar story for James Dean. Before he died, Dean started a company that designed men's underpants. As it was the young actor's dream to one day be the leader of his country, his underpants company decided to honour their founder's wish and to this day they label every single pair of briefs and boxers that leaves the factory with the descriptor 'James Dean President'.

Actually the above is a fabrication. We have my Korean in-laws staying with us for a bit and they're doing the Melbourne/Sydney tourist thing. I was doing their laundry recently and couldn't help but notice the above 'faux name-brand labels'. Eui Soon and Ho Jae – they're now in the third drawer...

Credit Card Cuteness

From South Korea's Shinhan Bank. Just don't drop the print collateral that comes with your new card on the street... that would be kitty litter.

Sockless in KL (Again)

Whilst I'm discussing things Malaysian and architectural, Kuala Lumpur International Airport deserves a mention. Designed by Kisho Kurokawa (he of Nakagin Capsule Tower fame) in conjunction with local architect Akitek Jururancang, KL's airport knocked my socks off too. Stunningly designed, featuring a lovely curved timber ceiling and a 'Malay forest enclosure' (complete with waterfall), KLIA was a pleasure to frequent (although the dining aspect of KLIA was pretty ordinary).

There's much happening with Asian airports, and this region probably leads the world in contemporary airport design. Read an earlier post on that subject at this blog here. Norman Foster has also designed the world's biggest and most technologically advanced airport in Beijing (more at The Guardian).

Read more about Kuala Lumpur International Airport at Architectural Review and Archidose. There's a few shots of the airport in this Flickr set too.

I Lost my Socks in Kuala Lumpur

I had been looking forward to seeing Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers for quite some time (panoramic image here, image gallery here). I'm quite familiar with skyscrapers in the Western world (the largest of which are in the US), but what of the Islamic side of things? (Malaysia is a Muslim country). Until recently the Petronas Towers were the tallest building(s) in the world. Taiwan's 101 Tower is currently the world's tallest skyscraper, and Dubai's Burj Dubai looks set to gazump them all, once they figure out how big they want it to be (more here).

But whilst tallness alone is impressive, an interesting, captivating design of a tall building is even moreso. And one that intrinsically relates to the culture it's amidst – moreso again. That's what kept drawing me back to the Petronas Towers in KL – their astonishing, downright beautiful, theatrical and dare I say, haunting 'Islamic' presence.

For me, these towers are the most gob-smackingly impressive skyscrapers I've yet come across. Repeated viewings, especially at night when the two shiny steel clad towers are extensively lit – knocked my socks off completely. So I then took to wearing sandals (which are much better for KL's heat anyway).