A contest of 3 cities! Bratislava, Budapest, Prague in a showdown.

Budapest, Bratislava and Prague are similar in many aspects the most obvious is that they were parts of the Soviet Union and this is what I think of them: (Vienna is not part of this contest because unlike these three cities Vienna stayed independent and wasn't terribly effected by the war and it had a wonderful time to flourish after the war)


Most beautiful- Budapest
Least beautiful- Bratislava

Cleanist- Prague
Dirtiest- Budapest

Best Subway- Prague
Worse Subway- Budapest

No subway- Bratislava
Best transportation-Budapest
Worse transportation- Bratislava

Most American like cities (in apperance)-Bratislava
Least American like cities (in apperance)-Prague

Most Capitalistic- Prague
Least Capitalistic- Budapest

Most Socialist like- Budapest
Least Socialist like- Bratislava

Most attractive Men- Budapest
Least attractive Men- Prague

Most attractive Women- Bratislava
Least attractive Women- Budapest

Best food- Budapest
Worse food- Bratislava

Happiest Residents- Prague
Saddest Residents- Budapest

Most prograssive- Prague
Least prograssive- Budapest

Most expenisve- Budapest
Least expensive- Bratislava

Most English speaking- Bratislava
Least English speaking - Budapest

Most drunks and Homeless- Budapest
Least drunks and Homeless- Prague

Best shopping- Prague
Worse shopping- Bratislava

Most bars- Bratislava
Least bars-Prague

Most Chinese population- Bratislava
Least Chinese population- Budapest

Best place to live- Prague
Worse place to live- Budapest

Best art scene- Budapest
Worse art scene- Bratislava

Friendliest People- Budapest
Least friendly people- Budapest

Best music- Budapest
Worse music- Prague

Most interesting the first day- Prague
Least interesting the first day- Bratislava

Most interesting after 3 days- Budapest
Least interesting after 3 days- Bratislava, Prague

Most designed-Prague
Least designed- Bratislava

Most money hungry- Budapest
Least money hungry- Bratislava

Most money making- Prague
Least money making- Budapest

Most Romantic- Budapest
Least Romantic- Prague

Best dressed- Prague

Worse dressed- Budapest

Budapest Day 46/ Los Angeles: A return...

pic left: Budapest airport

pic right: London airport

My last day and final time in Budapest for a while. I got up bright and early and enjoy my likely last breakfast at Medosz hotel and what was absence was the abundance of cake selections. I will miss them.


I did a bit shopping at the airport and spent 35 dollars on Budapest t shirt and said my goodbyes to this wonderful experience of a lifetime. I arrived in London and had a delicious lunch at Gordon Ramsey's Airport restaurant. The long flight took me back to Los Angeles and the weather was just perfect and the freeways lined the landscape and palm streets doted the cityscape. Finally, I am home, once again.

Vienna Day 8th- Budapest Day 45: Death and Goodbyes

pic left: view from the "middle"

pic right: little old lady twins at the train station



The hostel was alive with noise early in the morning so I decided to wake up early and see a few sites before leaving Vienna for Budapest. While eating breakfast at the Hostel's dining room I got to know my roommate of 1 night pretty well.

He is Phil from Australia and will be traveling in Europe for the next 6 weeks and is on his way to Budapest today. He only stopped in Vienna for one night and didn't see anything around town at all. He decide to tagged along and travel with me to Budapest but first we went to St. Stephen and climbed the center tower (only allowed in the middle 22 out of 45 stories) it was some workout but the pay off view was amazing. I wonder what it would like to be on the very top.

I than took a tour under the Cathedral in the catacombs. It's a 25 mins tour of the old and creepy, saw tons of sculls, coffins and dead bodies. Sculls and bones stacked up from the ground up to the ceiling, jars with body organs, ancient coffins with real dead bodies from the 12 century, even a well with bodies of people died from the Plague loved the experience too bad no photos were allowed. We got on the train and it was good traveling with someone and it was a breeze!

We arrived in Budapest and I helped him with finding a hostel, direction and Budapest advices and went seprate ways. I have returned to the Medosz hotel and it's like I have never left. It felt like home which is a little bit scary.. and I really want to come home to LA at this point. I saw Beata and exchanged goodbyes and some warm words.

I met up with my friend Sandor for a drink in a lounge and suddenly a pouring rain with horrifying winds blowing through the city followed by a half an hour of hail. Budapest is always surprising! After meeting with Sandor, I went to Attila's restaurant to say goodbye and a little snack. It was wonderful to have a least a little bit of time to say goodbye to some friends.

Day 37- July 1st :Modern Architecture in Budapest

come see the ugly

I skipped breakfast and had lunch with Balasz and his boyfriend today. We than took the train and went to Alex's apartment to hang out. The apartment is near one of the last stop of the Blue metro and is one of the city's “newer” suburbs. The building gave out clues of the areas age and I think it was mass developed in the 60's and early 70's. Most building are fairy utilitarian and not very attractive. It looks like the projects in the U.S. But the area does feel safe. Upon entering his apartment I notice how many gates he had to pass, exterior security gates, interior gates and finally the apartment door with 4 locks.

I fell in love with his rodent pet! I am not sure what they are but they are utterly adorable. They are so cute but they do bite strangers... I think of them as miniature puppies.

After the visit I met up with Andreas for a “scary adventure” we took the Metro and picked a couple of random stops and see what would be awaiting us at the other side of the exit. First it was ....... stop and we saw a collection of contemporary buildings just on the out- skirt of the city. The style of these building are very geometrical with very little design elements. They are pretty bad in terms of design and offered almost nothing to the architecture community and Hungarian culture. There are also buildings that are 5 blocks long with no signs of design and style and they would have continued the block for miles and no one would noticed or not noticed.

We went back on the train and went to the last stop and it was worse... modern buildings disappeared and ornate Gothic buildings feels like a few light years away... What what there was South Central Los Angeles low rises with fast food joints and unkept sidewalks, overgrown empty lots, and trash littered streets. We walked around briefly and went back to the Metro station.

It's strange how “newness” became the universal language for “better”. The real estate here never shows exterior photos of any beautiful ornate buildings of Budapest. The only time exterior photos are show if the building is new or newer and often times they are just another soul-less “contempoary” building that can be found anywhere in the world; simply just buy the plans in insert it in any empty lots.

Day 36- June 30th: IT'S COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pic: my friend Alex's rodent (not sure what they are) but adorable!!! They tried to attack my fingers

Wow I can't believe it's June 30th already, last month flow by like a hawk. It's my 34th day in Budapest and my 39th day or so in Europe and I am really getting used to the life and the lifestyle here. I understand Hungary is not perfect but it does start to feel like home.

As I am doing a mapping of Budapest for my last art piece, I started to mentally revisit all the places I have visited and the streets I have wondered on. It's amazing everything is coming back so clearly and wonderfully. It like it had just happened last week. On the art work I can physically see I had cover a huge portion of the city and all the places I had visited and revisited.

I know my time here is ending in just over 8 days and I will be traveling to other parts of Eastern Europe and new adventures will be discovered but I feel this city will always be special in my heart.
Other than being a little sentimental about my last days in Budapest I had been busy all day making my art work, managing email and other typical tasks. I also saw a couple of my Hungarian friends tonight.

Day 33- June 27th: Tell me why logic doesn't exist in OZ, Wonderland and Budapest!!!

pic: chairlift gondola ride down
pic: teenage train station gang

My friend Attila invited me for an outing today and I thought it would be nice to go explore the maze-like cave systems on the Buda side. We took the bus to an out-skirt part of the city and had a very nice walk in the mountain and through dense forest. The view of the hills around with Budapest in the basin was amazing. We also saw some strange wild life and tons of interesting bugs. We must have walked about 45 mins and I kept asking him where is this cave located and he kept on saying 'almost there'.

When we finally reached the mountain top but there was no cave in-sight. Only thing was a chair-lift gondola ride down the steep hills. We were both very confused and I finally called Beata and asked her the Hungarian pronunciation for “cave”. Attila was way wrong.. he thought I meant a ride down the hill but I meant to walk down underground into a 'cave'; regardless of the mistake it was a nice time.

We had a nice lunch at Mammoth- a mall built on ancient mammoth habitat (like the La Brea Tar-pit), the mall interior is dotted with display boxes of fossils of mammoth bones found on constructing the mall.

I than went to Gallert bath (built in the 1800's) by myself and it was what I expected: grand and very ornate. I actually prefer the a little run down Turkish ones (built in the 1600's) because it felt more 'real' to me and it feels like you have been taken back in time.

I than decide to go get my train ticket to Bratislava, Slovakia. I arrived at 6:48pm and was #706 and they were on the #630 I almost pass out because only 2 windows were open and 100 people waiting for their # to be called. During the 1 hour an 45 mins of my wait, I have encounter, angry, frustrated tourists, menacing teen gangs, tearful mothers, tricky con- artists, and all sorts of colorful people. Did I mention all tickets are issued by hand and written by hand! How delightful!

Also since I will be going to Prague from Bratislava I asked for 1 one- way ticket but she issued a round trip ticket I noticed the mistake and told the ticketing lady immediately but silly me; apparently one-way cost 22 euros and round trip cost 16 euros. So everyone gets a round trip ticket and save money! I am sure this experience makes going through immigration in the USA like going for a free shopping spree!

Also one additional note on the post office trip a couple of days ago, I went back and mailed more postcards and they do have computers and postage printer they just prefer to lick the stamp and stick 3 stamps per postcard manually because it doesn't matter if you help 100 guests per 8 hour shift or 10 guests. It's a government job and they just don't care... this element of the old soviet socialist really sucks ass.

Another odd thing: lot of men here mostly guys under the age of 35 shave or trimmed their underarm hair but some of them are missing more than a few teeth; try this for logic.
I have come to realized logic doesn't really work in Budapest. No one runs this country and you are govern by cashiers, train station, subway and theater Attendants. As long as you have money and a ticket you are ready to rock!

Day 27- June 21th: Art Night, my poor feet!

There are many moments in life when pain is deeply entangled with pleasure and tonight a rare event will bring both of of them together and make them a enjoyable as a pair.

Every year Budapest throws a party for the Art- lovers. The Museums and Galleries in the city are open all day and night until 4am with a low one time entry fee at 1,200 HUF and it's good for all museum and galleries. A great bargain because that is the price for one Museum entry. The town became more alive than ever, people young and old, lovers and old friends are all around the city for this major event. Big parties, special events, and performances are scheduled at most museums.

I met up with my roommate Andreas at 8pm at the Ludwig Museum- Budapest and we started there and 5 museum and galleries later it was already 2 am and we were exhausted. The city transportation hours was extended but all lines were jammed pack with passengers. It was a wonderful city-wide event but I wish it would have longer hours or the entire week ended like The Pasadena Art weekend.

My highlights are the wonderful interior space at the Applied Arts Museum. The white classic interior and it's large Hungarian antique collection is contrasted with video displays and ultra modern art installations. It worked seamlessly and wonderfully! The electronic music echo through the space where modern and classic blends much like the attendees of the event; punks, metrosexuals and century old people.

The Contemporary museum's Roman exterior is impressive and the interior is massive. I wish LA could have similar places for modern art. MOCA is nice and the shows are good but having 3 different small to mid-size galleries just doesn't work as well as MOMA or the Hungarian Contemporary museum did for me. The art there is mostly good but with some weak pieces but it was a enjoyable experience.

We finally got back to the hotel around 2:30am and tired as hell but we slept happily after seeing so many wonderful work.

Day26- June 20th: They asked why; I said Why not?

I had a few of interesting conversations with several different people today. They didn't know one another and came from different culture and social backgrounds. They all asked why have I decided to extend my stay in Budapest? What are the things I like about the country and the city? What the the things I do not like about the city?

This might seem a simple question but it actually involves a lot of analyzing. I know there is not one thing that would make me want to stay in Budapest longer than what I am supposed to. I like Budapest because it's real, human, and imperfect. It give you a sense of place but yet it is displaced on the crossroads of industrialized and socialist society. It's so unique because it's completely foreign and take me out of my comfort zone. It's lovely, beautiful when you look from afar but rundown, dirty and smelly when you are close.

People here are either super nice and go out of their way to help you or they simply don't care and scream at you. It's the city of two extremes and the city with hope. To me Vienna is perfect and what is there left to do when you live in a utopia?

I believe human being thrive on imperfections and Budapest is the place for thriving.

Day 5 in Vienna June 17th- Ebenfurth vs. Tonglo; what's the difference

Interesting day today; I have figured out that everyday is interesting and I wake up with excitement everyday and know that there is something in the store for me!

A great to get lost god said: so I did, I took train #8 at the train station and thought it was going to Beverdear gardens! It was #8 alright but it's scheduled to go to Budapest! I should have been on #8 street car not the train. It was 45 mins later before the first stop and I was 60 miles away from Vienna and if I had my luggage I would just go back to budapest but NO!

I ended up in a little town called Ebenfurth! I had to wait about another 45 mins for another train to come back to Vienna! What a mis-adventure. I was amazed how the town of Ebenfurth is so much like Tunglo (Where my grand parents live in Taiwan); the train stations looked the same, the little villages feels the same, the farms look the same... I said what the hell what's the difference; people are all the same in this world. I am sure people in Tunglo have never heard of Ebenfurth and people in Ebenfurth doesn't know Tunglo exist. They live a paralleled universe!


I came back to Vienna and tried to salvage the day by visiting a the Kunsdalle Museum's Punk exhibition and it was ok... I didn't see or learned anything remarkable so I ventured near St. Stephen's church for a little shopping therapy. I feel cured, had the same dinner as I did the first night here in Vienna and went to a historical spa for some relaxation.

This is really a great opportunity for me to be here in Europe and I really thank god's plan, Beata's recognition, my mother's help and my boyfriend's support; without any of those elements I would not be here and have this amazing experience. As I was sitting on the train coming back from Ebenfurth, I rally thought of my mother and how she had always told me to 'go and see Europe, go travel', at the time I would always joke 'I have all the time in the world to see Europe after you die'. I didn't know this would be the reality of today and with the money she left me, I am indeed seeing Europe.

Day 21th -June 8th: Working , sleeping and eating not in any particular order

pic: men at work: flyer handler in traffic



After staying out late and a little weekend drinking, my internal clock still wakes me up at 930 am just in time before they take the breakfast away at 10am.

It took about 2 weeks for me to completely getting over having cake for breakfast . Lately, I feel nothing when I see a large variety of cake all perfectly lined up on the buffet table each morning. Can it be that I am now an anti sugar zombie? I moved to the yogurt and cereal table and had a quick breakfast.


I than came back to the room and did a little thinking about staying in Budapest for a longer period of time. I think I want to do it because this is a significant event in my life; here being in eastern Europe and only saw a fragment of what it has to offer. I want to see as much as possible before returning home because I am not sure when will be the next visit would be.


I took a nap and finally recovered fully from my weekend hangover. Even with a population of over 1.4 million people Budapest still feels like a small town. The night life happens on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday most businesses are closed and there are not really a a lot of stuff to do other than drinking (which can take place anytime, any day or anywhere). I spent a couple of hours working on my last project and took the train to my friend's restaurant for ice cream and golush soup and for everyone's information: I had ice cream FIRST!!!!! hahahah it's great being an adult! I can do whatever I want.


It didn't take long before I left the restaurant and came back and worked more. I am pretty happy on how it's turning out and it's about 90 percent finished and just a little minor touch up and gluing it will be finish. Hopefully a wonderful collector will buy!

Day 20th -June 7th: Granny Sunglasses and a Clown

An interesting thought came to me today:

I have been getting a massive amount of attention here in Budapest since day one; for just being myself: Asian. It's strange that many people glance over, often time a couple of second looks and sometimes just stop and stare ( This happens more with children).
I first didn't understand why but now it's clear to me.

There is a small Asian population in the city but very sma

ll, and most are working class and older people. In addition the majority of Asian tourist seldom venture into the city center, they usually stay with tour groups or in the buses at tourist sites. They usually are “hit and run” tourist on their way to Vienna. It's rare to see any young, normal, clean- cut, hip looking young Asians in town. I don't think I have seen more than 5 of them since I have been here. When I walk into a bar sometimes the entire bar turns their head and the air flow seem to stop. It's funny!

This topic also links to another subject my bf and I have talked about. He hates when I wear my favorite light brown, retro granny sunglasses in LA. He thinks it's too loud, feminine and too wild.
I disagree with him because it's a nice touch when I am just wearing something simple and dark tone. It bring out a bit of fun and style statement (it would be totally wrong to wear patten fabric and have those sunglasses on, that would be way too much). I have worn those sunglasses here many times in Budapest and I don't feel I am receiving extra attention with them because in Budapest I am the light brown, retro granny sunglasses.

I meant to post this picture the other day... I brave myself and took a picture with the “artist” clown!
scary!

Day 19- june 6th: sort of uneventful

We had meetings on our residency for over 4 hours and went over our art work and statements as well as bio and pricing. Things are coming to an end in less than a week and i am still working on my last piece of art work, i hope i can make it in time before i got to Vienna.

I have talked to my boyfriend and decided to stay in Budapest for another month so it should be very interesting. I cant wait to do everything here in town and venture into other countries...

I work on my art for a few hours today and thought I would go down to the Danube for another wonderful sunset. It was sure amazing!!!! I didnt see the rent boy i winder what had happened to him. Later, I ventured into a bar and now sitting here .. why cant American bars have free internet access at the bars. it just make sense when they are no one but older men here... i guess I would pour myself another drink.

Day 17- June 4th: Lost and Found

Lost:
(I meant to write about this 4 or 5 days ago but haven't had a chance to)

It was one morning when I stated to plan my daily material hunt and site visits than I noticed my map is gone. I became frantic and started to panic because it became my perfect assistant and it was tattooed with notes, dots and routes taken. It's a young map but had aged gracefully with layers of tapes to keep it in shape. I felt this was personal lost, as if I have lost days of experiences. I than realized even the physical map is lost the mental map is still fresh in my mind.

Found:

I worked on my art today and did some writing. I spent a good amount of time in the park painting and prepping my art pieces for the next stage of production. I feel the sense of urgency to speed up my work as the residency is coming to an end. It has just over one week left.
Around 430pm I decided to take a break and visit the Terror Museum 2 locks away. It was a very unique experience and the museum is devoted to the history of the Hungary's Communist rule and Nazi period before the Communist occupation.

The museum is divided into exhibition “story rooms” and each room is design to reflect different historical events during the occupation. The museum is very well designed and modern. It really conveys the massage through its minimalistic design and color representation. It is so powerful it made me completely uncomfortable and I can sense the sadness and hopeless of these people of the time.
I had tears in my eyes as I walked through the exhibits, some imagery are too hard to watch and stories are too tragic to listen to.... this experience was nothing but the triumph of humanity and once again the Hungarian people found themselves.

This experience made me have a even greater appreciation for having been born in Taiwan, not China and for living in the United States.

Day 13th- May 31th: Inspired hate and Negative Feeling

pictured: the $40USD "Antique" painting with holes

My experiences in the last couple of days had been strange and I feel I am obligated to write a darker, negative elements of my visit. I think all the positive things written in the last 13 days or so might have been overwhelmingly one sided and this is my attempt to balance things out a little and examine Budapest under a different light.

This blog is inspired by a young 25 year old tourist visiting from Israel. He is having a complete different experience than my. He hates the city and wants to go home after 3 days of being in Budapest (his trip is for 5 days) He feels Hungarian people are rude, inconsiderate, unfriendly, do not understand English; the city is dirty, and outdated. He loves cities like New York, Paris and Los Angeles. He can't wait to return to Tel Aviv and escape Budapest for good. This blog is devoted to him.

The following the things I dislike about Budapest:

• Public drinking and drunkenness:
  One of the biggest problems facing the city. Liberal drinking policies and the culture acceptance to public drunkenness is insane. Drinking every hours in the day and streets filled with drunken people at night can be a bit unnerving and annoying.
  


• Water pressure:
  Many Hungarian establishments (modern or vintage) do not have good plumbing systems. No water pressure and water closets on top of toilets.
  


• Impossible to get a late night bite other than American fast food.
  Kitchen in restaurants close around 9 or 9:30pm and only serve alcohol after that time. Only eating establishment open for business are American Fast food joints and forget about eating anytime after midnight.
  


• Expensive American fast food
  Value meal starts at 8 dollars and more for a standard 4- 5 dollars meals we get in the US. I have had American fast food here at least 4 times now and It's very rare for me to eat this in the states, maybe 2 times a year.
  


• The none- existing middle-class
  The daily necessities are cheap comparing to the States but anything imported are expensive. There is no middle- class here and there are almost no mid- price goods. We take Gap, Banana Republic, Crate and Barrel, Kenneth Cole and A/X for granted. Also aside from imported taxes the sales tax here is 20 percent.
  


• Lack of casual coffee shops and the abundance of watering holes.
  Replace your big American city Starbucks or take away coffee shops and replace them with watering holes or beer joints you will have a good idea how many of these beer joints are in this city.
  


• Lack of air conditioning
  It's early summer and it's hot and humid but no air conditioning in most buildings and even some nice stores they do not have air conditioning installed. I heard from July- sept the heat is excruciatingly hot.
  


• Flea Market “Antique” dealers
  Crooks, most of these dealers are not dealing with antique but junk or garbage they found around the city. They have open price police and they rip people off. If things are in disrepair and the goods have no value It can't be called antique.
  


• Tourist trap, rip offs and be aware of your surroundings
  Tourist beware, restaurants without pricing or menu posted are traps. Taxis are traps!!! I have noticed (and been told) locals are very aware of their surroundings they will start moving their purses, or bags in front of them when others walk close.
  


• Weekend store closures and short business hours
  Most places, other than the mall is closed on Sundays and some closed on Saturdays even. Their business hours are short too. Most stores are closed by 7, no shopping is possible after that time.
  
  


• Lack of Asian cuisine
  I have seen one sushi restaurant and a couple of cheap Chinese restaurants... Asian cuisine doesn't exist here in Budapest.
  


• 20 something's without teeth
  In America we have 2 types of people: people with good teeth (naturally or had braces), people with bad teeth (cruet). In Hungary, there are 2 type of people also, people with good teeth or dentures (most with dentures if they have good teeth) and people with no teeth. I am not talking about 60 year olds with missing teeth but 20 somethings with only a couple of teeth left. This is rampant especially if you are the lower class. It will happen to anyone if they smoke, eat all these sweets and don't brush or seek Dentists' care. Although I don't understand why people don't take care of their teeth because health care is free to it's citizens.
  


• Littering
  I love how they have public trash cans on almost every corner of the streets but people still litter especially in parks or any where that offers a sitting area. Most popular trash item, beer cans!
  


• Disable unfriendly if not hostile
  It's sad to be handicapped in Budapest and its darn right impossible because the Metro system does not have elevators. None of the underground cross ways have elevators and no eased curbs and forget about ramps!!!. Maybe their plan works because since my arrival, not a sight of anyone with disabilities just many tired mothers trying to lift their strollers up and down 2-4 stories of steps.
  


• Money charging public bathrooms
  No free use of toilets! No matter it's government or privately own proprieties. They cost money, train stations, parks, museums, public market places, even at Burger King it cost anywhere from 90 to150 forints. So far the only place withs free toilets I have found is the mall.
  


• Public urination
  Well this is the consequences of the last item. Some people just don't want to pay and many places in the city do smell like bathrooms especially in parks, streets and alley ways off the main boulevards and underground cross ways. Yuck!
  


• Chain smokers
  This is the land of chain smokers! I have never seen so many people smoke, it feels as if the entire population smokes. By the end of the day your clothes will smell like an ashtray if you should decide to do anything outside of your home.
  


• People with bad personal hygiene
  I believe the weather is partially to be blamed, it's hot and humid right now and people smells bad especially in enclosed areas like stores, subway carts or even at bus stations. The lack of air conditioning is also to be blamed because Taiwan is far more hot and even a higher level of humidity but every building is air conditioned and you get a chance to “dry out”. In Budapest you just sweat all day and it builds up. For a couple of those really hot days I have had taken 3 showers in a 24 hour period and I know it's hard for most people to do but some people really smell like they had not shower for 5 days.
  


• Humidity, heat, pigeons, motorcycle street racers, aging public transit stations, tourist, inconsiderate tourist, limited transit hours on the metro system, Few people understand of speak English. A good amount of great buildings in disrepair.

The above are minor and no city is perfect, I certainly don't expect Budapest to be. They are really just problems that most cities have to deal with.

ok, I am done bitching!

Day Three- Work starts

We had our Art residency meeting today for 7 hours, went over the program's history, information, and what we are expected to do. We later drove to a hardware store on the outskirt of the city and did some material researching. I also realized I haven't had the need to speak a word of Hungarian... shocking how people are able to understand each other without the need of a common language.

I got a metal rod and needed a wire/ rod cutter for it at the store and got the wrong tool. I asked a worker and made a sawing action with my hand and he pointed me to the right tool. We didn't understand each other's language but we understood each other's hearts. That was beautiful.

It's been only 3 days since my arrival but I am starting to fall in love with Budapest and can see myself living in this beautiful city. I can's say the same about Taipei, which is totally ironic because I was born there and lived in Taiwan for 14 years. Life in Taiwan is either too boring in the country or too exciting in the city and Budapest is just right with a mixture of everything and very much like a larger Pasadena, which I totally adore.

Due to unexpected internet problems my blog and flicker sites will be uploaded once every 2 days instead of daily

Day Two- War and lost in Budapest

Today I got up early after sleeping for 12 hours. I went to the Nygugati station (hub) and it's attached Westend mall to shop for a SIM card for my cell phone. The train station is beautiful but I forgot my camera so I will have to go back for pictures, it also helps for being a 10 min walk from the hotel.

The mall is new and supposed to be the largest in Europe and it's just slightly larger than Glendale mall; America has Hungary beaten on this one. The mall design was blend, stores there were boring but I did have the most delicious melon ice cram there.

Very much like the Taiwanese, the Hungarians love their hot spring bath. Bath culture is wonderful here also. I lingered over the Danube river in the afternoon and took a great bath in Ruda's (established in the 1500's) and had a very hairy fat man massage my naked body for 22 USD (yes, I had to paid him, what a lucky guy huh). It was also the first time I worn a lion's cloth which it's much more homo- erotic than being nude (that's how hot springs are done in Asia).


I find the city pretty easy to navigate on foot or via subway. I wish LA will have a greater density of mass- transit system soon, very soon.

Although there are some Asians in the city but they are in such small number I find myself a hot commodity amongst some. I have been getting a lot of curious vibes and it's very interesting because I never encountered this before.

I wondered the city until 10pm walked through many nameless and pedestrian-less alleyways but made it back safely. I was a little uncomfortable and scared that someone might “jump” me. The organizer and travel book had repeatedly warned about tourists mugging, pick-pockets and credit card crimes, so far I still haven't felt 'that' unsafe.


i found ur right hand....

Day Zero- Budapest here I come.

Long- lines at check in counter

delayed- flight for 2 hours

disgusting- terrible uneatable food

smelly- neighboring passenger

overcast- London weather

smooth- landing

modern- London airport

shopping- heaven

shame- on LAX

beautiful- people

attractive- British accent

5 hours- of walking back and forth

I had such high hopes for being on my first British Airway Flight but it was such a let down. The food was blend (contrarily to American's sodium rich airline food) and tasted terrible. I am waiting for my five hour layover at London Airport and I cant believe how ultra modern the design and architectural hardware are here and it made our LAX airport feels like a third world airport.





The design of the airport is very space- age, Jetson's like with modern materials like glass, stainless- steel and it's a shoppers' heaven with stores like Five- Star, Apple, Gucci, Coach, Boosts, and Harrod's department store. The stores added the sense of humanity to the somewhat cold' interior. The interesting thing is Taipei- Tauoyong airport is exactly opposite (with airport's design modern and with interesting traditional Chinese architecture details but the eve super upscale stores there made it traveler unfriendly).



I finally finished eating at Gordon Ramsey's restaurant “Planefood” and I had Miso crab salad, and small cauliflower soup, both from the appetizer menu. Soup was wonderful sand salad was way too salty and he didn't use fresh crap meant its very salty. The bill came out to be 45 US Dollars.. for just 2 little portion. He is over-rated.



Finally got in to Budapest at 1145. the airport here is petite so it takes 2 mins to get through customs. One other Asian was on board.

Escape from LA!

I am all packed and getting ready to head to the airport and heading for Budapest and later Vienna. I feel extremely lucky to have this opportunity and am glad to be escaping this 90 heat wave of S. Cal.

However the flight might delay for about 2 hours and I will be blogging/ flickr again once I have landed in Budapest.

Benjamin Page: Lectures, Slide Presentation, Gallery Exhibition in Budapest, Hungary 2008-2009

If you happen to be traveling in Europe or planning for a great destination this summer I urge you to join me and other artists from around the globe in Budapest, Hungary for a wonderful culture and mind inspiring experience.

Benjamin Page in International Artist in Residency: Budapest, Hungary
*May 20th- June 13th, 2008 (Residency dates)

Lectures, Slides Presentation and Gallery Exhibition by Benjamin Page and Artists from around the globe all summer long.

• Lecture and Slide Presentation: 3-4pm, May 22nd , 2208 with topics and discussions on modern sculpture, assemblage, architectural and interior design.
  


• Gallery Exhibitions: Untitled art piece created during the residency will be exhibited at the closing exhibition in mid- June 2008, and is scheduled to be exhibited at Vizivarosi Gallery in Budapest, Hungary and Congress Center, Balatonfured, Hungary in the year 2009 (committed, exact dates to be determined).
  


• Residency Blog and Flickr: http://benjaminpage.net anytime.
  

International Artists Residencies Lecture and Seminar- Budapest, Hungary 2008:

This residency program and year long event is hosted and facilitated by Hungarian Muti- Culture Center; a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.


Lecture will be held at: Hunter's roomVI. Jokai ter 9. Budapest, Hungary

*May 22, 2008

09:30 Beata Szechy, HMC
10:30 Lisa Erdman, FL, multimedia
11:30 Rudee Westphal, SD, mixed media
14:00 Megan Randlett, MA, mixed media
15:00 Benjamin Page, CA, mixed media

June 19, 2008

10:30 Odette England, UK, photo
11:30 Jenna Spevack, NY, drawing, installation
14:00 Howard M. Christopherson, MN, photo
15:00 Gregory Euclide, MN, painter
16:00 Niku Kashef, CA, photo, installation
17:00 Andreas Papanastasiu-Greek/UK, photo, painting, video

July 17, 2008

10:30 Candida Pestana, Portugal, painter, video
11:30 Hannah Verlin, MA, installation, performance
14:00 Holly Boruck, CA, painter
15:00 Marlene Vinha, Portugal, mixed media
16:00 Lana Ing Gabor, Canada, photo
17:00 Patricia Tinajero, TN, installation
20:00 Kristine Trever, VA, film

Exhibition and FilmFest by Hungarian Muti- Culture Center: opening reception: August 3, 2008 at 6:00pm

Sincerely,

Benjamin Page
Designer- Artist


Studio Functions
architectural, interior, graphic, environmental design

385 S. Oakland Ave. #101Pasadena, CA 91101
626 568 3641P
626 628 3741F
info@studiofunctions.com
www.studiofunctions.com

P.S. Many of you have asked about my HGTV appearance--it's still being scheduled and will email once I have more information.

It's been almost a year since I blogged on my Urban Pasadena blog but am back now or should I say "I will be back by before leaving for Budapest, Hungary May 17th."I am planning for a head- on full blog during my 4 weeks in Eastern Europe. It's very exciting to be doing my Artist in Residency program in Budapest.

It's really one of the last places I thought I would be doing art but it's going to be wonderful!I will also be leaving for Taiwan on May 15 and returning on May 3o. It will be diffcult but I will try to submit a blog or 2 during my stay.

Also stay tune for a new Flicker and a fully updated benjaminpage.net