Of Ducks & Chicken

The Ori-yeonmot [Duck-pond] is one of the most beautiful places on the KAIST campus..








The One : with a coloured plumage amongst milk whites


Four Ducks and Two Pigeons

Believe me these are the only live animals which we have seen so far..all others have been served on platters..





Sorry to bring about the irony in the title in such a manner but truly speaking this is what the experience has been so far. I still haven't dared much though the extent that I have seen till now is oysters & octopuses being eaten..by my colleagues.
[Haven't dared even to click pictures..but would surely be daring sometime soon..]

So amidst all this, it was really comforting to have some middle/west asian style food at Ahmed Bhai's..


Chikad Chane, Tandoori Chicken & Tandoori Naan

Ahmed bhai has been in Korea for 13 years now after leaving Pakistan and apart for his business of exporting cars in the day does community service in the night for desolate souls like us by gratifying our tongues..

Thanks Ahmed Bhai!!

And to put in Ahmed Bhai's tongue.."yeh kutte khane wali kaum hain yaron..kya batayein...."

But, still the optimist that I am, will hope to see more of 'lively' & 'beautiful' 'ducks'..let's see how it goes..

Wilderness!!

I sometimes wonder how the contrasts enhances everything..the spring had not been awaited had there been no winter..but the winter in itself brings a different scenic quality to the nature..here are some of the shots from the KAIST campus.


Entrance to the campus


Our Department [Industrial Design]


Stairs to Nowhere!


The Wait












Another Famous Entrance nearby


Post rain on a chilly winter evening


The Bridge to the Forest

S Korea!!

Well we reached the Incheon International Airport, Seoul at around 3:30 pm as scheduled. After immigration clearance we came out to take bus to Daejon where we were going to work at KAIST [Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology]. The three things we were warned a lot before leaving was language,food & weather. But the weather was not so cold as we were expecting [around 7-8 °C was pleasant enough for Anshuman but not that great for me. I had wrapped myself well]. About language..as not more than 2% people speak english and while trying to learn my address [KAIST, Kusong Dong, Yusung Gu, Daejon]..I came to know what problems would lie ahead. But I had never imagined that it would be so excruciating. We could not make a call about arrival because we could not read the instructions about how to dial in Korean. But a lady obliged by lending her cellphone and reduced our problems.
Waiting at the bus stop..we were relieved that the sign boards read english but I guess it didn't matter much..the pronunciations were still gonna take their tall.


Phew! None of them was our destination!

But once in the bus it was not much of a problem..as we were supposed to get down at second out of three stops and were going to be received. But again we could not find a phone nearby..but the people around were really friendly & again were lent a cellphone this time by a young man who happened to be student at KAIST but was headed to meet his girlfriend an a cool Sunday evening..so we decided to wait for the Ph.D. candidate at ID KAIST [Design Department where we were joining as Lab Interns] who was supposed to pick us up.

Finally he arrived an what a relief it was! He is a really nice fellow and made us quite comfortable. We got our place in the dormrooms and he treated us to a nice dinner of a Korean Barbecue. I must say it has been an amazing time between my last dinner at India [Barbecue on IDC Terrace] and the first dinner in Korea. I hope the two dinners mark a great beginning to the New Year.


The lane lined with restaurants just outside KAIST Campus


Daeeop Kim : Our Host for the night..the Ph.D. Student


Me, Anshuman & Daeeop

Anshuman was too quick to learn to handle the chopsticks in one set of instructions..m still fiddling with my grip. [:(]..will pick up soon I know getting inspired from him.

Got a glimpse of the building of ID KAIST where we were going to work on our way back.


Installation in front of the department


Same installation in daylight


ID KAIST Building..yeah the Santa Claus is an installation which we missed in the dark :)

We were welcomed by the faculty members, met with our guides, got our spaces decided in the labs...and finally at the end of the day..an exclusive welcome dinner from Head of the Department.


Clockwise : Prof. Kun Pyo Lee [Head, ID KAIST], Prof. Tek Jin Nam [Head, CIDR lab, ID KAIST], Daeoop Kim [Ph.D. Student], Your's Truly & Anshuman



Side Dishes during the dinner

After two days, none of the problems seem so big..the weather is not dreadful, most of the people on campus speak english..and the food is ok if you are not an hardcore vegetarian and a little flexible!

Looking ahead to a good stay! Hoping to achieve something worth..

More to come..stay tuned..

Singapore!!

Since on saturday [5/1/2008] no official work was scheduled most of it was spent roaming around the city area...visited Little India, Chinatown in the afternoon and Oxford Street [High Profile Zone ;)] and Clark Quay [Party Place].

The city has an amazing commuting system in place with prepaid cards which you use both in buses and local trains. You just tap it while entering your departure station and again when you move out at the arrival station [entry door & exit door in case of buses] and that's all. It automatically cuts the proper amount from your account. No hassles of queues or proper change!


Tapping the Card while exiting at the arrival station


Card Readers on a Bus

Well the whole system is running like a strictly managed machine and there are rare outlaws. I was objected by a policewoman on a train station drinking water from my ow bottle of water. Reason: "If while drinking, you get a push by someone and the water spills over the floor, someone might slip over it and it would be a big problem! "
No bigger surprise on the day I must say... :)


It was a nice walk in the strong cultural identity areas of Little India & Pagoda Street [Shopping Place] in Chinatown. Just could'nt help amusing: there is also a station named Dhobi Ghat!


Entrance of an Indian Restaurant


Miniature Transformers on sale in ChinaTown


Traditional Shrine on backdrop of Modern Skyline




Pre-dawn in front of my cousin's apartment


Nice Graphics of a backlit banner on Changi Airport

सिंहपुर!!!

Well..though its a misnomer..the name of Singapore orginates from Sanskrit meaning 'The City of Lions'..but even when the name was given there were tigers here and not Lions..but I guess the Merlion wouldn't have looked as fascinating if it had been a Mertiger.. Anyways the city is a damn neat place..and though I was expecting some surprises the ones I got were surely not what I had expected..[perhaps that's why they were good surprises..]..The first was just outside the airport! The taxi in queue for my no. was a Merc! A Merc as a taxi! and that too at the same fares as the other ones..well I take this a sign of the things that lie ahead [touch wood :P]..


My first Mercedes ride

The next surprise was in the lift at my cousins building..the signage that read..

What the hell is that???

Not many surpises after that though..
Visited the Art Design & Media [ADM] department at NTU and Lasalle School of Design today..Enchanting Edifices!

The ADM building is built with the theme "A Furniture to the Landscape...An element in the context of Nature"..its just breathtaking..


Walk to the ADM entrance

I guess not being traditional is emphasized as a design philosophy with the structures in which the classes happen..as the construction of Lasalle Institute which hosts the School of Design, School of Media and School of Performing Arts was also very uncontemperory..












And after these professional visits chilled out in the evening near the Marina Bay area...


The Esplanade theatre


The Merlion


The Mermaids and the Lion
With Afina & Fabi [Thanks for the pic Victor..& I hope all the names are spelled right!]



The Elixir!



And finally at the Esplanade theatre with my sponsor/mentor - my cousin Shekhar Dada

Stay tuned for more updates...

From Up There II .....

Well this time around I really got to see for myself what I had heard in the Sunita William's talk I briefed in my last post..though I was not in a space shuttle I was high enough aboard SQ421 on my way to Singapore from Mumbai..


Me in a pensive mood aboard the flight


Mumbai from 800m above sea-level



On cloud nine!


Well..lots of experiences to be shared in coming months..stay tuned!