Lura.net Blog » travel

Singapore Is Great

Lura — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:09:26 +0000

If you get a chance, visit Singapore. It is a really nice city. Yes, they are known for being strict: they fine people for all sorts of things, they even cane men. But you know what? I think it works. Call it an extreme version of the Broken Window Theory.

Here are my photos.

Wasai Eigo Janglish

Lura — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

The Japanese love the way that English looks for marketing purposes, but don’t necessarily want to learn proper english… so they make up words and phrases that are specifically for internal consumption. This phenomenon is alternately called “wasai eigo” or “janglish.”

In Janglish, the sound of a word is more important than the proper spelling, so yummy becomes “yammy” and one becomes “wan.” Addtitionally, throughout town, one word seems to take on special properties in janglish: the verb make, which magically transforms nouns into verbs. Soap is called “make wash”, holiday shopping becomes “make joy Christmas”

Here are a couple of interesting janglish signs:

Japanese Customs Signs

Lura — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:34:00 +0000

Arrived in Tokyo

Lura — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:17:00 +0000

I arrived in Tokyo and made my way to the hotel. This city is so different, and very beautiful!

Immediately after arrival, I went out to party with some locals who are friends of a colleague. A very fun introduction to the city!

Lovers with good taste prefer…

Lura — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:51:00 +0000

So I’m booking my 5-star hotel room for Japan (at the crazy low rate of $138/n). I thought it was funny when I saw this review:

“Rooms include rates at the Granbell Hotel for daytime use as well, making this a possible love hotel for couples (with good taste).”

Oakenfold Perfecto in Vegas

Lura — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Last Saturday, I went to see Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto show at the Rain nightclub/venue in Las Vegas.
It was a great show! In addition to him spinning some great music, there’s a really cool Cirque-du-Soleil type acrobats performing above the dance floor without a net. Here are 2 photos. More photos are located in my smugmug gallery for the Vegas trip.

South Bend Indiana & Chicago

Lura — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:55:00 +0000

Recently, I attended my friend Tamara’s wedding at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. I flew into Chicago & spent a few hours in downtown Chicago on the way back.

Here’s a photo of me and Tamara, along with a link to the photo gallery on Smugmug.

Cuba Vera!

Lura — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:22:00 +0000

Today, the Obama administration officially lifted the bans on travel & money transfers to Cuba.

This is pretty exciting. Having grown up in Florida, with so many Cuban friends, I am totally fascinated by the little nation that was the cause of so much political dissent and disagreement.

Right now, the travel ban is just for people with relatives in Cuba. But I don’t know how they will enforce that! Regardless, it just seems like a matter of time before they open it up to the rest of us. I’m looking forward to visiting.

Links to All European Photo Galleries

Lura — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:43:00 +0000

Here are the links to all of the photo galleries for my recent trip to Europe. I haven’t made a Best Of gallery yet, but I intend to do that sometime soon. In the meantime, click around all the different galleries & have fun.

Show all of my European Blog Posts (the web page will re-draw, showing all of my European-travel-related blog posts, including this one.)

Ice Cubes Galore!

Lura — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:31:00 +0000

Ahhhh… to be back in the good old USA where ice cubes are abundant & you get ice-cold tap water to drink without even requesting it from the waiter. And ice-cold Coca Cola too… I can finally have a Coke and a smile!

I was getting pretty thirsty over there in Europe where they won’t let you drink the tap water (even though it is potable) and your only option for water is to buy the small water bottles for 3 euros (roughly $5 USD.)