The South, Uno
Blogging to me is like a vicious cycle. The more things I have about to blog, the less time I have to actually sit down in front of my laptop. Multiply that by a few weeks and you get me writing about my trip to the South Island only now...
27th August 2007: Auckland/Christchurch
Gate 20 at Auckland International Airport, the first step we took to get out of the insipid city.
Base Backpackers Christchurch, our home for 3 nights
28th August 2007: Christchurch
After an uneventful night exploring the hostel and experimenting the horrid shower heads, our day started on a cold morning note. *shiver*
Along Armagh (sounds like Ah Ma) Street, we ate our breakfast at Copenhagen Bakery, an award winning bakery specializing in Danish pastries.
The wonderous array of pastries and pies
Spoilt for choice, I settled on a rather expensive award-winning pie which contained asparagus and some other stuff, of which I can't remember. :p But it tasted absolutely excellent.
Leaving the warmth of the bakery behind, we started on a walk around the city. At 9AM in the morning, there certainly wasn't many people around.
Christchurch Art Gallery
A surreal walk in the park
The Quintessential Fountain
The serene Avon River
Caught by Yan Choo, in the act of terrorizing the little ducklings along Avon River...
There were multitudinous varieties of flowers surviving in the wintery conditions, but none had a name that sounded as sinister as...
My version of pseudo artistic shot
Tree hugging freaks
The tree hugging technique soon evolved to an Indian inspired dance move.
Ever had a bad hair day?
This tree is probably the perfect paragon of bad hair.
Misery loves company, so here's the elder sibling of the above.
The Peace Bell...
which ceased to look peaceful with a giant pine cone meditating on it, courtesy of Grace.
As the morning mist slowly gave way to sunshine, we made our way to the cultural centre of Christchurch, The Arts Centre. (Super duh name...)
A quick chronology of the site
1873 University of Canterbury founded
1877 Clock Tower and classrooms opened
1878 Christchurch Girls' High School
1881 Christchurch Boys' High School
1882 Great Hall
1887 School of Engineering founded now houses Southern Ballet
1888 Classics Block added to Great Hall
1896 Biological Lab (Observatory)
1908 Boys' High Gym, now Academy Cinema
1910 Chemistry Building
1916 - 1917 Library built and quadrangles formed
1917 West (Hight) Block, currently University Theatre and Residential
1923 Last major building, Engineering extension
1926 Boys' High moves to new site
1929 Students Association
1952 First TV broadcast in new Zealand on site
1953 Fire in Little Theatre destroys part of Old Boys' High interior
1974 University of Canterbury completes move to Ilam. Arts Centre of Christchurch Inc established
1976 Court Theatre moves onsite into the old Engineering Extension
1978 The Arts Centre officially takes over ownership of the site to manage change from University to cultural centre
For a moment, I was vaguely convinced that I had been transported to the world of Harry Potter.
I have no idea what that silhouette was supposed to mean, but it looked cool hanging in mid air.
To continue our cultural theme, we headed to the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu for a free guided tour around the museum. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in the galleries.
But that did not prevent me from sneaking a few boh liao shots.
It was the exhibition "Handboek: Ans Westra Photographs" which really captivated me. Ans Westra.Pity I couldn't stay there longer without having the unappreciative rest annoying me to leave the place.
We were soon back at Cathedral Square where I pondered upon Christchurch's Christ Church while eating my bratwurst mash potato meal.
This is the first time in my life witnessing a building not only having toilets, but as a toilet.
Next up installed was a generous shot of sugar to our bloodstream.
The secrets for the sweet tooth was revealed in the fudge cottage tour around the fudge kitchen.
The surprisingly smaller than I thought kitchen.
We manage to witness the step by step process on how they produce Bailey's fudge.
Of course, the highlight was probably the "free flow" of fudge in a variety of different flavours.
Initially, flavours such as Macadamia Nut Fudge really stood out. But by the time we came to the fourth or so tasting, the sickeningly sweet feeling started to take a toll on us.
*yuck*
After an overdose of caramel and sugars and chocolate and sugars and more sugars, we trudged to Regent Street, between Armagh and Gloucester Streets.
Interesting architecture but too small to make an impact. You can view the whole street through this link: New Regent Street
Perpetually negative 6 chairs
By 5pm, we were officially bored and took a piss at Picasso Bathroom Cafe. Apparently, the cafe was spawned off from Taiwan. I vaguely remembered watching the Taiwanese cafe on the news in Singapore.
By nightfall, we were desperate to explore the nightlife of Christchurch, without bursting the budget.
Sadly, after 2 failed attempts to find jazz/blues bar with live performance, we cozied ourselves in a Belgium (I think...) Bar. Of course, Danny was the man that night...
... because he ordered a cup of hot chocolate in the bar.
The highlight for me was a disturbingly green photo I took along the streets of Christchurch.
Is it me or do you notice something at the windows?
27th August 2007: Auckland/Christchurch
Gate 20 at Auckland International Airport, the first step we took to get out of the insipid city.
Base Backpackers Christchurch, our home for 3 nights
28th August 2007: ChristchurchAfter an uneventful night exploring the hostel and experimenting the horrid shower heads, our day started on a cold morning note. *shiver*
Along Armagh (sounds like Ah Ma) Street, we ate our breakfast at Copenhagen Bakery, an award winning bakery specializing in Danish pastries.
The wonderous array of pastries and pies
Spoilt for choice, I settled on a rather expensive award-winning pie which contained asparagus and some other stuff, of which I can't remember. :p But it tasted absolutely excellent.
Leaving the warmth of the bakery behind, we started on a walk around the city. At 9AM in the morning, there certainly wasn't many people around.Christ Church at the Cathedral Square
Christchurch Art Gallery
A surreal walk in the park
The Quintessential Fountain
The serene Avon River
Caught by Yan Choo, in the act of terrorizing the little ducklings along Avon River...
There were multitudinous varieties of flowers surviving in the wintery conditions, but none had a name that sounded as sinister as...DARKNESS
My version of pseudo artistic shot
Tree hugging freaks
The tree hugging technique soon evolved to an Indian inspired dance move.
Ever had a bad hair day?This tree is probably the perfect paragon of bad hair.
Misery loves company, so here's the elder sibling of the above.
The Peace Bell...
which ceased to look peaceful with a giant pine cone meditating on it, courtesy of Grace.The one-legged duck that was hopping around
As the morning mist slowly gave way to sunshine, we made our way to the cultural centre of Christchurch, The Arts Centre. (Super duh name...)A quick chronology of the site
1873 University of Canterbury founded
1877 Clock Tower and classrooms opened
1878 Christchurch Girls' High School
1881 Christchurch Boys' High School
1882 Great Hall
1887 School of Engineering founded now houses Southern Ballet
1888 Classics Block added to Great Hall
1896 Biological Lab (Observatory)
1908 Boys' High Gym, now Academy Cinema
1910 Chemistry Building
1916 - 1917 Library built and quadrangles formed
1917 West (Hight) Block, currently University Theatre and Residential
1923 Last major building, Engineering extension
1926 Boys' High moves to new site
1929 Students Association
1952 First TV broadcast in new Zealand on site
1953 Fire in Little Theatre destroys part of Old Boys' High interior
1974 University of Canterbury completes move to Ilam. Arts Centre of Christchurch Inc established
1976 Court Theatre moves onsite into the old Engineering Extension
1978 The Arts Centre officially takes over ownership of the site to manage change from University to cultural centre
Old Chemistry Building
For a moment, I was vaguely convinced that I had been transported to the world of Harry Potter.
I have no idea what that silhouette was supposed to mean, but it looked cool hanging in mid air.
To continue our cultural theme, we headed to the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna O Waiwhetu for a free guided tour around the museum. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in the galleries.
But that did not prevent me from sneaking a few boh liao shots.
It was the exhibition "Handboek: Ans Westra Photographs" which really captivated me. Ans Westra.Best known for her portrayal of Maori social, cultural and political life, this photographic journey captured by Ans Westra is a challenging and revealing record of the growth of our nation over nearly half a century of change.
The comfortable conformity of late 1940s and 1950s New Zealand was forever changed with the post-war arrival of European migrants and the urban shift of Maori. It was a time when Maori and Pakeha had to interact widely for the first time. As a society, New Zealand and its citizens were far from prepared to accommodate the difficulties accompanying such a challenge to their homogenous cultural, social and institutional frameworks.
Ans Westra's arrival in New Zealand in 1957 coincided with that shift, and her life-long record of photographs show how the resultant changes and tensions have continued to characterise our nation’s social and cultural evolution.
Handboek comprises a gallery of Ans Westra's most revealing and challenging documentary images, taking us on a remarkable photographic journey of the growth of a nation.
We were soon back at Cathedral Square where I pondered upon Christchurch's Christ Church while eating my bratwurst mash potato meal.
This is the first time in my life witnessing a building not only having toilets, but as a toilet.
Next up installed was a generous shot of sugar to our bloodstream.
The secrets for the sweet tooth was revealed in the fudge cottage tour around the fudge kitchen.A sickly sweet entrance to the kitchen in the basement.
The surprisingly smaller than I thought kitchen.
We manage to witness the step by step process on how they produce Bailey's fudge.
Of course, the highlight was probably the "free flow" of fudge in a variety of different flavours.
Initially, flavours such as Macadamia Nut Fudge really stood out. But by the time we came to the fourth or so tasting, the sickeningly sweet feeling started to take a toll on us.*yuck*
After an overdose of caramel and sugars and chocolate and sugars and more sugars, we trudged to Regent Street, between Armagh and Gloucester Streets.
Interesting architecture but too small to make an impact. You can view the whole street through this link: New Regent Street
Notice the teddy bears trying to escape...
Perpetually negative 6 chairs
By 5pm, we were officially bored and took a piss at Picasso Bathroom Cafe. Apparently, the cafe was spawned off from Taiwan. I vaguely remembered watching the Taiwanese cafe on the news in Singapore.Constipated!
By nightfall, we were desperate to explore the nightlife of Christchurch, without bursting the budget.
Sadly, after 2 failed attempts to find jazz/blues bar with live performance, we cozied ourselves in a Belgium (I think...) Bar. Of course, Danny was the man that night...
... because he ordered a cup of hot chocolate in the bar.The highlight for me was a disturbingly green photo I took along the streets of Christchurch.
Is it me or do you notice something at the windows?Labels: Christchurch, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch Botanical Garden, South Island, The Arts Centre, The Fudge Cottage
posted by Kelvin Lim at 8:16 pm
10 Comments:
This is about the 'ghostly' windows. Which window did you spot anything different?
I tried zooming in on the photo and inverting the colours but the resolution is too low to spot anything really outstanding.
It is weird that the green glow came from below but of course, the lamps could be placed.
However, there are two area worth looking. 2nd panel of 1st window at the bottom - white spot there. Ghostly photos usually have these spots.
2nd area: Bottom of 3rd panel of 3rd window on the top. If you imagine hard enough, you might visualise a face there. Inverse the colours and a small barely noticeable fuzz will appear there.
Have fun! =)
Oh yah, don't imagine too much. The green glow makes things look eerie and also strangely dreamy. Haha.
Btw, the white spot seems to be the 'head' of a humanoid figure. Zoom in on the the photo.
Hmmm... Someone trying to be really observant here.
Well then, William. I shall replace the current photo with a high resolution one. Heh.
Kelv Bing Kelv!!!!!
I'm going to Shanghai nxt wk!!!!!
It's confirmed!!!!!!
So I was all excited and nothing cld get me down today until Celeste, the psycho bitch told me at lunch that she saw CH and another girl grocery shopping at Taka's supermarket.
............................
............................
Wah! Really confirm ah?
Aiyah. I thought you don't care about CH liao. Heh..
Ha. Nothing conclusive. It's all how your brain wants you to see. But the 'imagined' human face is a little more visible now at the bottom of the 3rd panel of the 3rd window. Haha.
On another note, love the flora and fauna of New Zealand. Interesting mix of plants there.
free, flow and fudge, all three words together? side by side? to form a phrase???!!!!
GANGWAY!
Yup. Especially now that spring is here, there are certainly more colours around now.
And thanks Chiew. I take that as a compliment. Heh.
It's 2 nights at Base Backpackers... not 3!
Aiyah. 3 days plus minus also the same lah...
Heh.
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