charrrliieeeeeeeeee

it has been a year of cataclysmic ups and downs.

woowwwwwww.

all i can say is.......TAKE ME TO CANDY MOUNTAIN CHARLIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

DAEMON FOG TAKES OVER SHANGHAI!!!!!!!

on a normal, smoggy day in shanghai, this is the view from my dorm room on the fifth floor of the 留 學 生 公 寓 .





however, yesterday, i opened the drapes and what did i see?





NOTHING.

i saw absolutely NOTHING. you know what's freakier than seeing a cockroach scrabble across the table right in front of you?! looking out your window and seeing absolutely NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what i missed out on during NYE

it's january 8, 5:50 in the evening here and for some inexplicable reason, there is a bewildering panoply of noise and colors outside my balcony window.

somewhere, about 500 meters away, an extended display of fireworks has been going on for about 20 minutes.



i have no idea why, but it's great! at least i'm getting the dose of nonsense that i'd been longing for since the last time i saw some great fireworks, which was about....two and a half years ago? spectacular! almost makes up for my disaster of a new year's eve.

-

in other news, i happily found myself a new love in the form of this man:


sigh....

drumroll....

tyler brûlé! like creme brulee only better, because this man lives the life that you can only dream of. and looks soooo sooo delicious.

he's the editor and creator of wallpaper and monocle magazines, a lifestyle and trend expert. i've read articles of his before, and for some reason imagined an incredibly unattractive, middle-aged bald, portly man in glasses who showed the signs of a good life (in other words, fat. because he eats a lot). my suspicions were disastrously off-mark.

in a recent iht article, he lists the top fifty greatest travel-related items that he/monocle magazine encountered in the past year. if you're interested (and if nothing else, take a look at #22 wuuutt!!):

1. World's most efficient transit hub: Haneda Airport, Tokyo.

2. Bed linen to look forward to: Carmignani sheets at the Hôtel des Bergues, Geneva.

3. Best new link: the Metro to Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport.

4. Most daring airline innovation: the launch of a domestic first class by JAL.

5. Best high-altitude retreat: Bad Dreikirchen and Briol hotels in Bolzano, Italy.

6. Best short-haul transport: Zurich's trams.

7. Top in-room innovation: delivery hatches for packages and laundry at the Peninsula Tokyo hotel.

8. Best venue for a business lunch: the Savoy, Helsinki.

9. Top travel snack to restore your faith in business: the "Wursteller" on Deutsche Bahn.

10. Best city to cure your jetlag: Sydney and its outstanding coffee culture.

11. Top hotel for a breakfast meeting: the Shilla, Seoul.

12. Europe's top weekend escape: the Hotel La Minervetta in Sorrento, Italy.

13. Best outdoor terrace: Hotel Baur au Lac, Zurich.

14. Best service we never knew we needed: Terence the butler at the Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong.

15. Most handsome newsstand: Ichiro Katami's kiosk at JR West's Himeji station outside Tokyo.

16. Best hotel gymnasium: the Park Hyatt, Tokyo.

17. The most tastefully over-the-top hotel: the George V, Paris.

18. Best airline uniform: Asiana Airlines.

19. Best boutique airline: Air Dolomiti.

20. Best way to fly between New York and Los Angeles: Qantas Airlines.

21. The leader in airline lounges: Cathay Pacific Airways.

22. The world's most underrated capital: Taipei.

23. Best low-cost carrier: Air Berlin.

24. Fail-safe gift for friends, family and clients: Sprüngli Luxemburgerli macaroons.

25. Best international airport: Munich.

26. Best gift shop and one-nighter hotel: the Tawaraya, Kyoto, Japan.

27. Top global time-saver: Iris scans.

28. Best comeback in the travel industry: inflight wi-fi.

29. Most ambitious carrier: Finnair.

30. Best hotel lobby: the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.

31. Best place to colonize for a holiday: Lake Orta, Italy.

32. Best in-flight entertainment: Cathay Pacific.

33. Best short-haul catering: Lufthansa.

34. Coziest city hotel concept: Hotel Cortiina, Munich.

35. The complete concierge: Adrian at the George V, Paris.

36. Best job title in the sky: Swiss's maître de cabine.

37. Hub to watch: Berlin's soon-to-be-built BBI airport.

38. Top short-haul aircraft: A320.

39. Most eagerly awaited scheme: Munich's Transrapid.

40. Best new restaurant: Mathias Dahlgren's creations at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm.

41. Five of the best bars: K Bar in Copenhagen, Kronenhalle Bar in Zurich, Kita-Aoyama Salon in Tokyo, Durrant's in London, Schumann's (either branch) in Munich.

42. Best airline livery: Lufthansa.

43. Top long-haul aircraft: the 747-400.

44. Best long-haul business-class catering: ANA.

45. Best first class: ANA.

46. Best 48-hour weekend escape: Murata Ryokan, Yufuin, Japan.

47. Best in room amenities: Agronatura products at the Dojima Hotel, Osaka.

48. Best hotel for serious runners: Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg.

49. Best all-around travel brand: Deutsche Bahn.

and 50. is the Japan's royal family's "tastefully decorated 747-400s". homie.

i mean, tyler brule can't just be satisfied by having a great lifestyle and the wordsmithery to delivery it to the masses, he has to look that great doing it and be spectacularly gay too. well damn you tyler brule, for being all that and appreciating taibei while you're at it.

love me just a little...please?