This week we're mainly listening to...

Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson

Switch Design

Just stumbled across this lights switch - random I know - but it's fabulous!
If only I had a house to put it in...










See the full how to at:
http://www.craftzine-digital.com/craft/vol01/?pg=40

Langkawi

The little known set of 99 islands off Malaysia's north-west coast are home to the est selection of duty free in SE Asia. Full of locals and visiting Malaysians Langkawi is like the Thai Ko's without all the Brits. What could be better! Obviously as soon as we lay our sarongs onto the white powder beach the heavens open and a storm arrives but nevertheless, a tropical island in real Malaysian style!

Malaysian

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur, after a rather rickety sleep train from Singapore, to the sights (and smells) of Malaysia. After being refused a taxi by a grumpy driver as it was 7am we eventually made it to our humble abode. Our most culture shocking moment was visiting the Petronas Twin Towers, we sat watching a 3-D presentation for what can only be described as 7 minutes of corporate brainwashing. By combining images of children and digging for oil the company tried it's hardest to convince it's captive audience (in 3-D of course) that digging for oil is great. We left stunned by the sheer propaganda produced, while the rest of the audience nodded in appreciation of this video and left feeling all fuzzy inside about how kind this oil company is. We did note there was no mention of their environmental policy - that would probably have taken the whole charade too far!

This aside I am enjoying Malaysia second time around and boldly showing my arms and bleach blonde head. A bold move. I shall keep you posted how it goes...

Diving to Destruction

Yes, you've all seen my un-make-uped mug in the papers looking all broody and windswept or caught my rather terrified interview on Good Morning America but things seem to be dying down. Finally! (If you discount NBC's Dateline) Having discovered that, in true celebrity style, flying to a remote island does actually work. The Internet was too slow to email, my phone has not enough coverage so I was left to top up my much flagging tan.

The best part is having the best diving story to tell, and having an interview in the Independent - true fame (although I was informed that being in Woman's Day means true fame).

All this excitement aside, the trip is going well, I'm glad to be back in sunnier climes with gritty culture coming out of my ears. On the other side I do miss the brilliance of Melbourne, a definite highlight, where great design is not only important but integrated into every aspect of the city. It is stuffed to the rafters with cool coffee shops, boutiques and design shops without any pretence or posing art students. It seems everyone knows cool, and cool is in the city's blood.

Move to Melbourne to be a designer? Hell yeah!

Sweet as, bro.

Yes, I am in New Zealand, and yes I did love it, but no I will never utter the words 'sweet as' call people bro and refer to things as 'choice'. With breathtaking beauty, laid back bars and food to die for (eggs benedict every day) this is the country with everything you could want for a holiday. However as long as you forgive the South African/Aussie/80's Surfer accent it is quite a perfect country full of dub loving outdoor enthusiasts.

As we near the end of our New Zealand time slot (we fly in a few hours) and cram in the last 'fush and chups' and eggs done every way I can proudly say I've seen the length and breadth of the country, from the black beaches of Raglan to the icy winds of Milford sound. I've hiked, fished (to no success) skydived and eaten my way through a whole country made up of small towns and ex-pats and backpackers, with the coolness brught by the Maori culture. Yes we will be sad to leave but as the daytime temperatures herein CHristchurch limp to a pitiful 7 degress by midday we leave for a land with places called 'Sunshine Coast' and 'The Gold Coast' and dream of days where we can wear the many pairs of havianas we brought in Brazil.

Viva Australia!

Argentinius

So, it is my last day in Argentina. So sad to be leaving my new favourite country, the land of the cheap as chips fillet steak, the even cheaper than the cheapest chips red wine and the lovely scenery.

Since the ends of the earth in the Antarctic we´ve travelled hundreds of miles across Patagonia through the most breathtaking scenery and the strangest of towns - most of which haven´t changed since the 1900´s where people still ride on horse and cart and tourists are still an unusual sight. This place is one of those I hope to return to in ten years and rattle on about how I visited before the tourist boom, before they had Internet, and cottoned onto charging tourists wine that costs more than 20 pence a bottle.

OK, yes there are some tourists of course, but walk along the Fitzroy path or the `W´ walk in Torres and guaranteed every photo will be hiker free - something often impossible elsewhere in the world.

Next adventure then... Chile.
We head across the border and over to a town called Pucon apparently just starting the tourist boom, but our main aim in to climb the active volcano with hiking and ice climbing, and imaginatively get down the volcano by sliding on your bum with only your ice picks as breaks. Health and what now? Yes this may be the point in my trip I appear with a cast on my arm but with an excellent story involving air ambulance and a tanned paramedic. Well, one can only hope...