Japan undoubtedly thinks of everyone. Even those people who are travelling with dwarfs and would like them to watch you do your business. Is this post too wrong?
Category Archives: travelling
Posted in culture, Divergence, Planning, Random observations, travelling
Turning Japanese
Well only for a week then I will be back to normal. Anyone in Tokyo who fancies a sake then give me a shout.
Posted in travelling
Don’t come to Sydney it is kicking off
I have been to some rough places in my 28 years. Rio’s Favelas, La Paz’s San Pedro prison, watched kick boxing in Bangkok, stood next to the infamous Ultras of River Plate during a BA derby and Sompting Village cricket ‘ground’, which can get nasty are up there among my faves. But when I got to Sydney I was in for a nasty shock. Basically I moved into my apartment with a roof top terrace and as I was admiring the view of the harbour bridge, I was horrified to find that someone had thrown a per of shoes over the power lines. Yes, I know scary as, I need to move I hear you say! As I walked around I saw more and more of these intimidating objects and after many sleepless nights I asked someone yocal what the hell it was all about. Apparently this is how the gangs in Sydney mark their territory.
Posted in Random observations, travelling
I’m back…well almost
Now I’ve finally stopped being a travelling bum I’m left with the reality that I need to start working. It’s exciting getting settled in a new country and getting your head around a new market and culture but I’m sure my brains have turned to mush over the last 7 months. In my first interview, which was the day after landing and the first real conversation about work in a long time, I was asked my thoughts on the future of planning. Talk about in at the deep end.
It has been a difficult first week to say the least but I’ve stacked up on Adnews publications and it is like I’ve never been away. The industry in Aus are talking about many of the things being discussed before I left the UK such as the new agency model, employing interesting people, skill shortages, measurement and effectiveness etc etc etc. There are alot of surprising differences starting to emerge, some of which are good and bad but I’ll blog about these shortly.
So it’s back to school for me and hopefully back to this blog a bit more frequently.
Posted in Advertising, Australia, Blogging, travelling, UK
An actual Zebra crossing
Anyone who has tried to cross the road in South America will know that Zebra crossings are just a complete waste of paint. And if you have been to Bolivia you will also know that they are possibly the worst drivers on the planet. However I loved this campaign in La Paz that consisted of people dressed up at Zebras trying to get cars to stop and pedestrians across the road safely. I hope they got danger money for that.
Posted in Bolivia, Campaigns of note, La Paz, travelling
Who cares about advertising # 8
When you work in a Bolivian mine…
Despite being a relatively well paid job by Bolivian standards (2,000 Bs a month compared to 400 which is the national average) it comes at a price. The average life expectancy of a Bolivian miner is 45 years old. The youngest person I met on my trip down the mine was 13 years old and to be fair he seemed to be smiling. I know we were a nation renowned for mining but even in this day and age safety standards in Bolivia are appaling.
They even let me hold some dynamite which was about to explode in `3 minutos, mas o menos`. Jane doesn`t look quite as happy as I do about it.
And this is proof that I`m a planner who isn`t afraid to get his hands dirty.
Inventive spaces
Since I´ve been away I have kind of become obessed with toilets. Not just because a good one is often hard to find but some people think of them as more than just a functional space. After this one in Panama I have since come across this in one Ecuador.
A sort of toilet come research facility.
After you`ve spent time alone with your thoughts you can write your comments and categorise them into music, food, service and other.
Probably my best so far is this one also in Ecuador. I stayed at The Black Sheep Inn eco-lodge and this is the view from the number two.
And not like many ´Eco-lodges´ that are simply holes in the ground and you need to take your own toilet paper with you – this is a real one. Complete with a dry toilet where the remnants are fed to the ducks whose eggs make the Brownies you can by for a dollar.
I like the fact that people who have no perception of how things should be create things in the way that they actually should be. If that makes sense at all…
Posted in Ecuador, inventive spaces, toilets, travelling
Is Beckham really Ecuadorean?
This might just be my imagination but the Ecuadorean in this picture seems to have an uncanny resemblance to golden balls himself. Could this be the origin of the famous right foot.
Posted in Beckham, Ecuador, Football, travelling
Stencilcities
Whilst Brazil won the graffiti award I think the best stencils I have seen have been in Buenos Aires. It is such a political place where people are passionate enough to protest. Since Evita made her speech in the Plaza de Mayo has become a constant place for people to voice their opinions.
Here are just a couple of cool stencils you can find all over BA.
If you life a good stencil here is a good blog.
Posted in Argentina, Buenos Aires, Graffiti, stencils, travelling
Who cares about advertising # 7
When you can have Welsh tea….in Argentina
Here´s us enjoying a nice cuppa and some cakes. Ooohhhh, just like Auntie Vera used to make it. You have to love the tea cosy and she does actually speak Welsh!
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