All, Inspire
Young, fresh, radical and more often than not totally illegal, street art has taken our hearts and minds by storm. Now way beyond Banksy (also on Artsy.net), hundreds of internationally known artists regularly enhance the urban landscapes of cities such as Bangkok, Berlin, Bethlehem, Bogota, Bristol, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Dublin, Gdansk, Istanbul, LA, Lisbon, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Montreal, Moscow, NY, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, Quintanar de la Orden, Rio, Santiago, Sao Paulo and Taipei, just to name the small ones. Our wonderful Penang deserves one of the higher rankings as street art is live and kicking in Unesco World Heritage Site Georgetown.
With one stunningly original mural around practically every corner, you have great chances of capturing your next perfect facebook profile pic (Penang was ranked by Time magazine to be one of the world’s 10 selfie capitals), but unless you are interested enough in finding out more about the origins of your newest Like-generator, this will be the end of your brief love affair as the artist themselves are rarely credited or mentioned.
Everyone likes something for free. And with something so unquantifiable as art that is not traditionally established (we’re not talking Monet or Damien Hirst here), it is more often than not up to the artists to follow their passion, beyond all the odds, keep their heads above water whilst they experiment, learn, develop and perfect their skills over years of hard work and financially supporting themselves through other means, only to then find someone willing to allow them to express themselves creatively on a piece of urban canvass or risk an ASBO (that’s ‘anti-social behaviour order’ to you non-Brits) or charges of vandalism if they go out in the dead of night and paint anyway.
Considering the working conditions and risks (from financial ruin to a criminal record) involved, it is quite honourable that there are people in this world willing to stick with their visions for the love of their art. As we all know, getting paid for creative work is hard enough when you’re in the corporate industry, but getting paid to completely free reign and –shock, horror – without ADVERTISING anything in particular is near impossible. Surely, if it’s not commercial, there is no real term value in it. No quantifiable cash profit attached. Therefore, why would any sane person invest in a piece of street art?
First of all, dear reader, if we have to remind you that there is more to this world than money, then we live in a bit of a sad place in time. Artistic expression can create a whole new world in a previously unloved place. It can turn a boring part of town into a trendy hideout, an abandoned park into somewhere people enjoy frequently spending time, turn a rough neighbourhood aspirational, inspire hope, humour and opportunity for communities in dire conditions.
And before you start waving a balance sheet at us, more than just human payoff, street art pays off in financial terms too. Penang’s tourism industry has vastly benefitted from attracting a whole new and young demographic following the explosive interest created by Ernest Zacharevic’s paintings around Armenia Street – most famously the two kids on a bicycle.
Originally commissioned by Mirrors (an art project from the 2012 Georgetown Festival), his mural was selected by the Guardian as one of the world’s best pieces of street art in 2013. And it’s only one of 6 fantastic pieces in the series, and Ernest is only one of many artists who have made it their mission to paint Georgetown in their spare time, for the love of their craft. Kenji Chai, Cloakwork, Drewfunk, Katun, Julia Volchkova and Siek as well as Natthapon Muangkliang, Louise Low, and Tang Yeok Khang of the 101 Lost Kittens project are also incredibly talented people who will make you sit up and take notice. And if you are fortunate enough to come to this wonderful place, check out the Hin Bus Depot, which hosts regular exhibitions, events and film screenings.
Despite the financial payoff, artists are still struggling. Interestingly it is now the same people who wouldn’t dream of investing in something as un-commercial as street art, who produce the endless supply of t-shirts, post cards, notebooks and re-prints featuring (and often not crediting) the artists’ work, making good cash off tourists willing to pay extra for that cute but ironically somewhat useless souvenir.
But there is no point in being bitter. After meeting up with Ernest (we have good mutual friend, who knew?), manager Gabi, Ronaldas and the Ipoh film crew, we strolled through the beautiful street light lit lanes of Georgetown. We heard all about his paintings being replicated in different parts of the world, of merchandise and re-prints being peddled for profit without credit or royalties but also about locals lovingly repairing damaged parts of the murals, or touching up faded paint. And if someone’s going to all the trouble to re-create your work, there must be something in it.
When we happened to walk past the mural of a boy on a motorbike, glancing fearfully over his shoulder, we heard the wonderful story of how someone had painted a child’s pencil rendering of a fierce dinosaur chasing the motorbike, and how everyone had been up in arms about the mural having been ‘vandalised’. Ernest’s response was to paint another boy behind the dinosaur, holding him by a dog lead. Talk about a positive spin.
Ernest’s years of hard work are now paying off, he has commissions by major brands including Samsung and Allianz, but there are plenty of artists whose talents still go un-credited or even unnoticed. Next time you’re out marvelling at a mural, take a bit of time to find out who made it, what their story is and what they are up to now.
Promote their work and credit them if you love it. Support it where you can. If you are in a position to commission artists, take the leap and pay them. And if not, take time in researching them a bit. Often, the more context you discover, the more alive the piece of art will be. Just like our little bit of insight about Ernest’s dinosaur, you’ll be part of the little stories behind the postcards.
All, Learn
I am just about to do something illegal. I’m about to cross an international border with what I am told is an invalid passport, which on top of that lacks one of the basic entry requirements of the country I’m about to cross into. Sounds like the beginning of one of 007’s stunts… but more of that later.
Visas are an interesting thing. They allow a country to decide which non-nationals to allow into their territory, for how long, and in which capacity. There are administrative fees involved of course, but when looking at the fees, one cannot help but wonder whether they are more connected to politics between countries than actual workload. Random ‘stamp fees’ charged at South East Asian borders most certainly go straight into official’s pockets, and if you are from anywhere wanting to go to the USA, you’re going to have to dig deep, and in return, if you are from the USA… well, some counties will delight in giving you get a taste of your own medicine.
This has seemed to be the year of visas. After battling for 5 months with the bug ridden Canadian working visa document online upload system, I finally bit the bullet and had my Australian Visa confirmed, a whole 4 hours after applying for it. Two of my close married friends (he is Canadian and she is Spanish) finally had his visa for living in the UK approved, after having to pay a lawyer to appeal years of applying and unjustifiable rejection by the authorities, that came down to nothing but rhetoric.
A very dear Russian friend’s ability to leave her country was recently threatened by other countries proposed boycott of visas for Russian nationals following Putin’s actions in Crimea. And another good friend is millimetres close to having enough to apply for a 3 year US visa – only a film industry reference is needed. Obviously easy to come by in a tight nit community even landsmen have difficulty ever getting into.
The Epic Journey is also giving us plenty of red tape and hoops to jump through to be able to travel through our 17 counties. Experiences have been mixed, with Mongolia super-easy to get a visa for, Russia easy if you pay an agency and China being our hardest so far. Having to put up with and smile sweetly at a rather power hungry and overall difficult embassy official who changed her mind daily on what we needed to supply (shouting “you bring me document… this is wrong document! Not my fault!… you bring me document and I DECIDE if you go to China!” at us), was nevertheless not enough to spoil our amazing stay in Tokyo.
Where visas get interesting is when you have to start figuring out how much you can risk to bend the rules. In countries like Thailand, whole industries depend on border officials turning a blind eye. Allowing scuba diver after scuba diver to re-enter the country after half an hour abroad means dive shops have a sustained supply of long term recruits without having to go through the bureaucracy of organising work permits. Ethical or not, this flexibility does allow for spontaneous work and financial support people would otherwise not be able to have. South East Asia has its ways.
Which brings me back to where I left off. For some reason no one seems to know, certain countries require at least 6 months’ validity of your passport to allow entry. We arrived in Thailand later than planned, so both of our passports needed replacing if we were to go…. anywhere else overland. Australia being as they are, Saxon had his brand new passport couriered within 9 days of applying to our dive centre on Koh Phi Phi. The UK was…. not so obliging.
I was told that upon sending my application, my current passport would become invalid, that I had to remain in Thailand without the option of border-crossing to extend my 30 day maximum stay visa. How long the process would take, no one was sure. When calling the passport agency in the UK, we were only able to speak to the call centre of an outsourcing company. The representative first refused to put me through as ‘it hadn’t been 4 weeks yet’, then admitted they hadn’t even started looking at my application 3 weeks after submittal. I had 1 week to research and try all my options.
My question of whether I was correct in my assessment of the situation that I was going to be forced to stay illegally in Thailand, pay fines and have my new passport red-listed as ‘overstayed’ which could cause huge problems when applying for visas in or even just entering countries vigilant of their borders such as Australia or the USA was answered with a curt ‘yes, it appears so’. Was there anything I could do? ‘No, just wait’. How long for? ‘We can’t say’.
So I’ve bitten the bullet. Spoken to Thai immigration who strongly advised me to go on a border run to gain an extra 30 days. “Your passport won’t be a problem”, I am told, but if the border crossing goes wrong, I could be arrested or stuck in no-mans land between checking out of Thailand and checking into Malaysia. One of our contacts got caught at Bangkok airport and was only allowed back through immigration after a few days rough sleeping on departure gate seats and a hefty fine. Guess where the money went.
Off the bus.
Back on the bus.
Re-check: It seems I got lucky. The Malaysian immigration officer heard my story, turned a blind eye and let me in. The bus is careering towards Penang through the night with me in it, and I am beyond relieved.
I am aware of how lucky I am to have a passport from a country that makes travelling amongst the easiest in the world. With travel being so important for global relations and peaceful coexistence and understanding between so many different people, surely it should be facilitated and encouraged wherever possible. Without having to bend the rules or putting yourself in dodgy, semi-legal situations.
I have been in Malaysia now for 3 weeks, and it has been amazing. Penang is one of the coolest places I have ever been and shooting in KL and visiting Melaka were interesting asides from editing in our little room in Georgetown.
50 days ago I handed my passport and application in to the British Embassy in Bangkok. Taking Thailand’s immigration authorities’ advice and coming to Malaysia has proven to be an immensely wise decision, as staying in Thailand would have cost me £210 in overstay fees so far (not counting accommodation, food and living cost, and not sharing a room as Saxon can only get 15 days after a border run).
Martial law was declared yesterday which in effect means that if anything had happened to me if I had stayed in Thailand (get mugged, hit by a car, slip on the pavement), the police have no power to do anything, and the military would be in their full right to arrest me at any moment.
I called the passport enquiry outsourcing call centre again today. The lady on the line informed me that someone has yet to look at my passport application, 7 weeks after I submitted it. The only explanation she could give me was that they didn’t offer a guaranteed service and the words ‘at least’ were clearly printed on their website when any timeframes are mentioned. The only thing she could tell me was what was written on her computer screen, as they had no direct link to the office actually working on the passports and had to wait for them to get in touch. Why I had not received a single one of the 5 promised phone calls from the passport office directly, no one could say.
As a solo female professional unable to work, travel or plan anything, illegally in a country governed by martial law, the passport office has nothing better to offer than ‘you’re just going to have to wait indefinitely’. I wonder how anyone is surprised that trust in the government is low (especially after the 2012 expenses scandal), and am concerned that these kinds of situations breed a culture of bending the rules as playing by them has so many unnecessary negative ramifications.
I am in a good place, but only thanks to myself. For how long? I wouldn’t want to guess.
I have just picked up my passport in Bangkok after another semi-illegal border crossing (which has saved me over £700 in overstay fees and being blacklisted) as the office was not able to send my passport to the British Embassy in Kuala Lumpur due to their ‘data protection’ (read: doing nothing but the minimum) policy. I am finally on the move again, after two and a half months of waiting.
I can only hope that the UK will make their services more sensitive to the requirements of people who use them, rather than the other way around. And if your job doesn’t require you to be able to be abroad at a moment’s notice, check your passport’s validity and have it renewed now.
All, Learn
You’ve just arrived in a brand new part of the world and it’s all incredibly exciting. You’ve remembered to get all your jabs, pack more than two pairs of underwear and your passport is somewhere safe (you can’t quite remember where that place is, but probably in that pouch thingy your mum gave you, stuffed down the front of your elephant pants). You’re ready to explore this new and exotic place all guns blazing – but when you try and find the bus stop you realize you’ve missed something.
Everyone is making these weird sounds, all the signs are in squiggly lines and you can’t for the life of you figure out where to get the bus to somewhere to sleep, let alone ask someone and understand what they are saying. To you, it’s all Chinese. Which it probably is if you’ve come to China (unless you already speak Mandarin, and it’s plain sailing).
Language barriers can be a bit of a struggle, but overcoming them is an amazing way of breaking the ice, especially when you make mistakes the locals are likely to find hilarious, and boom – you have yourself a new best friend for life. Whilst learning every language on the planet can be tempting to some and a living nightmare to others, there are certain little tricks you can use to help you along the way.
The German’s call the Eselsbrücken – or Donkey Bridges. Simple things that help the stubborn, donkey-like learning centre in your adult brain remember things it would have soaked up and stored in seconds for lifelong use when you were a kid. Back in the day, you read a word and it was stored automatically. Cat became gato, dog became inu, or vacuum cleaner pipe became stopsoucherslough, or whatever.
Now though, it helps to remember simple courtesies and random words by remembering what they sound like in your own language. With a little imagination, the Russian word for dog, ‘sabaka’, almost sounds something like the English phrase ‘It’s a barker’. Handy, huh?
You’ll be surprised what doors open, what new friends are made and how much a little bit of local lingo can smooth your path in this exciting world. So here you have it, dear reader, a non-extensive list of donkey’s bridges for useful words, the language they are in, and what they sound like in English. Enjoy!
German
Feel and dunk
Sounds a bit like: Vielen Dank
Meaning: Thank you very much
Goo 10 tag
Sounds a bit like: Guten Tag
Meaning: Good afternoon
Spanish
Grassy arse
Sounds a bit like: Gracias
Meaning: Thank you
Kettle (overpronounce the last e as an a)
Sounds a bit like: Que tal?
Meaning: How are you?/ How’s it going?
Portuguese
To do bong
Sounds a bit like: Todo bom?
Meaning: How are you?/ How’s it going?
Oi!
Sounds a bit like: Oi!
Meaning: Hello!
Russian
Ya table – loo blue
Sounds a bit like: Ya tebya lyublyu
Meaning: I love you
Horror show
Sounds a bit like: Harasho
Meaning: Good, fine, ok
River
Sounds a bit like: Riba
Meaning: Fish
Japanese
Don’t touch my moustache
Sounds a bit like: Doitashimashite
Meaning: You’re welcome (said in reply to ‘thank you’)
Eat a ducky, mass
Sounds a bit like: Itadakimas
Meaning: Something like ‘bon appetite’ (said before a meal)
Gucci sauce on my desktop
Sounds a bit like: Gochisosamadeshta
Meaning: Thanks for a great meal (said after a meal – this one will impress!)
Chinese (Mandarin)
War eye knee
Sounds a bit like: Wo Ai Ni
Meaning: I love you
Vietnamese
Come on!
Sounds a bit like: Kah moonh
Meaning: Thank you
Come car seat
Sounds a bit like: Com Kasi
Meaning: No problem
Indonesian Bahasa
Tear out my car seat
Sounds a bit like: Terimakasi
Meaning: Thank you
Summer Summer
Sounds a bit like: Sama sama
Meaning: You’re welcome (said in reply to ‘thank you’)
Hat-y Hat-y
Sounds a bit like: Hati-Hati
Meaning: Be careful/ caution
All, Destinations
As night falls, the shadows are shredded by a motorbike’s headlights shining through a gate whilst a cat peeps out from a doorway at the steaming noodle cart across the road. Our new found home (at least for a while) could create a thousand bright and colourful films of smiling locals and visitors enjoying the incredible architecture, art and easygoing vibe of this beautiful town, but it’s the night time bustling that intrigues your Rat & Dragon team this time.
Georgetown on Penang Island has been declared the most liveable city in Malaysia, 8th in Asia and 62nd worldwide, and there are many reasons why. Twinned with Adelaide, Taipei and Bangkok, the town’s inhabitants display various distinct cultures, religions and influences. Muslim Malaysians, Indians and Chinese rub shoulders on a daily basis and form one of the most functioning mixed societies in South East Asia, doubtlessly contributed to by the fact that most people are trilingual – speaking English, Bahasa Malay and Tamil or Chinese.
Penang’s standing as one of Malaysia’s leading tertiary education centres compliments Georgetown’s historic quarter’s status as a Unesco World Heritage Site, where street artists such as Kenji Chai, Cloakwork, Drewfunk, Katun, Siek, Julia Volchkova and Ernest Zacharevic draw a young crowd of visitors year round.
It is this multifaceted yet flowing vibe of Penang that inspired us when we arrived – this crazy mix of crumbling colonial buildings with locals living real lives in stead of begrudgingly manning souvenir shops in homes they no longer own. A fresh and vibrant young arts scene on an international standard were made all the better by the ready availability of incredible (and incredibly cheap) street food.
Not so much a place to ‘do’, to have a list of ‘must see’ attractions to tick off, Penang simply felt welcoming just to BE in. Local brothers Eddy and Ivan, who run independent Pit Stop coffee shop loved to sit down for a quick chat and brought us ‘food from around here you must try!’, including Durian – check out the lowdown on that crazy stinkball!
The Camera Museum, China House and Purrfect Cat Café were just other examples of quirky but sophisticated hangouts that could easily give London’s hipster lokales a run for their money. And having the privilege of staying in 33 Stewart Houze hostel, run by arguably Malaysia’s most friendly family was the icing on the layercake.
There are many cultural events around the year, the George Town Festival and Tropfest being only two to keep and eye out for, and there are some beaches and rainforest in the National Park at the North West corner of the Island. But whilst the beaches weren’t as spectacular as others we’d seen, they were a lovely respite from the bustle of walking in traffic along the streets of Old Georgetown.
Georgetown is a relatively affluent part of SEA, and where in KL anyone who can afford it is likely to move into the newest, shiniest, ‘yuppiest’ glass and metal mega-structure, Georgetown residents seem to quite like their crumbling facades and shrine filled front rooms. Life, as we soon found out, was lived everywhere, and we were by definition right in the middle of it.
And thus, dear reader, we head off to take you on a short journey through the maze of night time Penang, the long sheltered walkways, the midnight thunderstorms, the murals and sculptures by young and fresh artists everywhere you turn. Our Russian Lomo’s double exposures on grainy film inspired multi-layering our rushes, just as the many facets of this town light up all in one frame as a taxi passes by us through the alleyways to the main street beyond.
You’re in the proverbial rabbit hole, and all around you glitters with intriguing little snippets of all sorts of different types of life. Welcome to hours after after-hours.
All, Learn
You’re gonna die. Sorry to break it to you.
It’s nothing personal, just the nature of life. We’re all gonna die someday, but don’t worry – you might just get another crack at it…
In Thailand, it’s believed that after death, you’ll be reincarnated. You’ll come back as someone or something else, depending on how well you behaved in this life. Maybe you’ve been really good and you’ll come back as something awesome-fun and cool. Or maybe you’ve been naughty and you’ll come back as something really unpleasant.
Which got us thinking; what kind of asshole would you have to be to come back as a foot spa fish on Bangkok’s Khao San Road?
When we thought it through, however, we realised that maybe there’s a surprise in store when we find our selves back again for another chance at life.
I mean, at first glance, it seems like a shit existence – sweaty tourists lowering their stinking, sunburned feet into your home. You suck on crusty flakes of dead foot-skin – cheesy foot after cheesy foot – all day, and on Khao San Road, all night too.
Your fearless Rat & Dragon crew tried this freaky experience. (If you’re up for a laugh, you can watch the fishy fun on film here!)
One thing we couldn’t help but notice was the gusto with which the foot spa fish fed on foot. The little guys went absolutely berserk – hundreds of them, crowding over feet, squirming between toes and enthusiastically biting, rasping and sucking at hairs, nubs, corns, freckles and fleshy toenail cuticles.
It seemed the cheesier the part of the foot, the more they actually loved it. In fact, the little fish seemed to be delighted. You could see the little grins on their fishy little faces. (see them on the film!) Could this be the foot spa fish’s ultimate lifestyle? Is this what a lifetime of happiness looks like?
Think about it – a safe place to hang with a load of your schoolmates. You’re looked after lovingly by your owners, because you’re their money-spinner, after all. And all day, and all night, you have totally free access to all the foot flesh and toe jam (which you especially love) you could ever want. All you need to do is chill and munch.
Compare this to a wild fish’s lifestyle – swimming around endlessly in grotty wild-water, sifting through mud in search of food, and ever fearful of being eaten by a bird, a crab or a bigger fish.
When you die, if you’ve been a really nice person, what if you come back in the next life into the form of a being that is so happy and so fulfilled and has all it’s needs delivered, as a reward for all the good you have done in this life? You know what you love, and you get loads of it.
What if, when you’re not such a nice person, you come back as a being that works hard, toils all day every day for a lifetime, and is never quite fulfilled no matter how hard they work, no matter how much they have, always wanting more? Thinking they know what makes them happy but not being able to get enough of it?
What if the most important thing in life is knowing what you want, and getting loads of it? Maybe coming back as a foot spa fish wouldn’t be as bad as it first seems.
How are you behaving in this life..?
