Back from two weeks visiting the touristy sites in Italy. Of the 20 pics I took, the shot below is my favourite one. It was taken in an alley in Venice near the Zattere stop. That ledge, according to our Venetian host, is to prevent people from relieving themselves in public.

At the weekend, I escaped the fickle London weather to attend a friend’s wedding in Pisa, the Tuscan city famously known for its unusual tower. As a mate pointed out, the attraction is no longer the tower itself but the swarm of people sticking their hands out from a distance, posing as if they were preventing it from tipping over.

Surprisingly, many buildings in Pisa were peppered with graffiti as shown below from my leaning shot of the wall. Locals have a long way to go to catch up with London’s street art, but I guess that’s the best they can do without stencils and spray paint.

As for the wedding dinner, it was a culinary feast as one would expect from Italians. And the party? Well, the Madrileños from the groom’s side initiated the crowd with the rituals of chocolatero, and were still singing and dancing after the DJ left, as one would expect from Spaniards.

On Monday, I wrapped up the partying circuit in Madrid at Palacio de Gaviria, a 19th century palace restored as a discoteca. I mainly stood at the back watching kids in their very early 20s prancing with grown-ups well in their 40s in a predictable set of mainstream music spanning 80s pop, hip-hop, eurotrash and commercial house.

Back in London, with my sleep schedule still set in Madrid time, I went to Nag Nag Nag, one of the best Wednesday parties in London, at the Ghetto. Tucked in an alley just steps away from Tottenham Court Road, this gay bar welcomed a more hetero crowd (90%?) on this “polysexual” night.

On Thursday, a friend from Zürich and I toured my favourite watering holes in East London: Cafe 1001 off Brick Lane and T Bar on Shoreditch for Berlin style dark, minimal house, and Favela Chic for some swing and 70s funk.

At the weekend, I went with a couple of mates on a culinary trip to Palermo and Cefalu. As Sicily’s not known for its exuberant nightlife, the lone trendy place for thirtysomethings we found was at Tribeca, a Japanese/Western fusion restaurant/bar on via Mariano Stabile. Didn’t matter if there were other cool places around as I was in no condition to bar hop after a shot of grappa and a gin tonic that was really 90% gin and 10% tonic.

Image courtsey of Eventoplus

Note: This post is again back-dated.

I just can’t avoid the comparison. Dubai and Abu Dhabi remind me of Vegas, but minus the sleaze, gambling, live shows, cheap hotels and rowdy behaviour. They are luxury urban resort centres for affluent couples and families to relax and bask at the never-ending opulence of the emirates’ lavish hotels.

As I’m leaving the area tonight, I’ve jotted down a few things worth mentioning from my two-week stay in the UAE.

Dubai vs Abu Dhabi
Although Dubai is a more happening place, it’s too surreal for my taste. I’d prefer to live in Abu Dhabi, which has as many expats (80%) but more character. Then again, my brother lives in the HSBC Building.

Saadiyat Island
Abu Dhabi is playing catch up with the contruction frenzy taking place in Dubai. The most ambitious project is Saadiyat Island, which will be home to a Guggenheim gallery, a Maritime museum, a Performing Arts Centre, and a Classical Museum.

Other notable works include the Gate District, featuring a Stonehenge-like design, and Yas Island, the future site of the F1 Grand Prix (via Timeout Abu Dhabi).

Burj al-Arab
You can’t just walk in as I thought you could. You have to make reservations and dress in proper attire, meaning collared shirt, no jeans and no trainers, just to get in. Fortunately, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi is a more inviting hotel.

Gridlock traffic
This is the bane of Dubai commuters. It took the cab driver an hour, rolling as fast as 10km/h in the congested area, just to get from one part of the city to another. Needless to say, public transportation is underway and is expected to be completed in 2009.

Images courtesy of Wikipedia and Cribs.

I’m packing my bags again. Flatmate and I are off to Düsseldorf, the fashion HQ of Germany (it’s also, unsurprisingly, home to the biggest Japanese community in Europe), and Cologne to celebrate Carnival.

DJs Tom Novy, who last year remixed C&C Music Factory’s Power, and Kurd Maverick are having a couple big nights there, but we’re not sure yet whether we will go.

After this weekender, I’m heading to Paris, Abu Dhabi and Dubai to see friends and family. It’ll be my first time in the Middle East. With the scorching weather there, I hope to see some people wearing T-shirts. Well, at least the men and expats anyway.

My bags are packed. In a few hours, I’ll be bidding farewell to Taipei, my home for three months in 2004 on a short-lived attempt to learn Mandarin. The 100 or so characters I had learned has now dwindled to about 5, 3 of which are the characters for 1, 2 and 3 (one bar, two bars and three bars).

Next stop is Hong Kong for the weekend, and then I’m flying back to London on a red-eye. Not the ideal flight but it’s a much better way to travel than slinging myself to the old continent. (FYI, sign was on the 2nd floor of a restaurant in Taipei).

Now I know how Australians in the UK feel when they fly back home. I spent practically the past few days traveling, 40 hours to be exact, jumping between 3 countinents, 5 cities and 6 airports.

I’m spending a month in Asia for work and holidays, starting from Taiwan and then working my way back to Europe with stops in Japan, Hong Kong and possibly Singapore. The plan afterwards is to move to Madrid for a month and then assess the situation in February.

Traveling this much can get quite expensive. But interestingly, it’s actually cheaper for me to move around than to stay in London. Although I haven’t been to Oslo yet, London is definitely tops on my list as the world’s most expensive city.