glasstorm studio

The week I spent in Tain, Scotland at the Glasstorm Studio was a lot of fun. We rented the studio for six days and worked from 8am to 8pm each day... but still it didn't seem like enough time since I rarely get to blow glass living here in Singapore. The long hours in the studio were fine since the weather in Scotland, even in August, seemed to be quite cold and I had no warm clothes at all- very unprepared! but standing in the studio next to the 2000 deg F furnace seemed sufficient to stay warm. I think I did pretty well for not having worked in a studio at all in several months and I'm pretty happy with a few of the cups that I made- I took a few of them home with me.


















Here are some other pictures from the trip into Tain and during the week there.
Lots of barley is grown in the countryside required for all the scotch made there. I took this on the train from Edinburgh to Inverness. From there I took another bus to Tain which was about one hour north of Inverness. Actually the trip from Singapore to Tain was so long. It was a thirteen hour plan ride from Singapore to London. Then it took 2 hours to get through immigrations at Heathrow! I've never been a line that long before. So it was already almost 9pm by the time I cleared and needed to get to Euston Train station across town to catch a train to Scotland. I missed the one I wanted to take because immigration took so long but I knew there one was one last train that would leave just before midnight. Once I got to the station though I found out that you needed to have made advance reservations for that train because it was a sleeper train only. I didn't have reservations so needed to wait to see if there was space left once everyone checked in.. there was a huge line of other people trying to get on and I thought there was no way I'd get on. but as it got closer and closer to the departure time they started to let people on and literally at the last minute I was able to get on and got a bed to sleep in even. It's not a bad trip when you can sleep during the overnight train ride. But tickets were so expensive I could not believe it. So it went overnight to Edinburgh and then I transferred trains to get up to Inverness. In hindsight I think I should have made better travel plans. I would have flown to Edinburgh or Inverness and it would have been cheaper than the train.... plus less time. But I really wanted to take the A380. Actually it was cool to take it but it didn't really seem much different than any other planes on the inside...



A yard with lots of oak casks for aging the scotch

The bed and breakfast we stayed at. The Craigh Du. most of the accomodation in Tain was the bed and breakfast type. Most people visit this part of Scotland for either golf or for the Scotch. They must have thought we were crazy.

The GlenMorangie Distillery was just down the road from Tain. We didn't have time during the days to go visit it but on the first day we walked down to take a look. They were not open for tours let since it was before 12:30pm on a Sunday... and there is a law saying it's illegal to drink before 12:30pm on a Sunday... so they didn't have tours running until after that. Actually I didn't even try any Scotch the entire time in Tain. In retrospect this seems very unfortunate.


Glasstorm Studio from the outside and from the inside. It was a very nice and clean studio and everything worked really well.

Scrap bucket with lots of unfinished goblet tops and bottoms.. working with glass, expecially cups, usually ends up with lots of rejects and broken pieces (hopefully as little as possible of both though). When making a set of matching cups even the master glass blowers might have to make 3-4 times as many pieces as the set calls for to get enough to match in color and size (this is what one of the masters in Murano, Italy, told me while I was there). Not that any one of us in Tain were trying to make a matching set of cups but we still ended up with lots of broken, unfinished or ugly pieces. We would normally work in the mornings concentrating on just making cup tops then spend the afternoons making stems, feet and assembling them into finished cups.
A few more of the cups I made. These two didn't survive and were broken so I didn't get to take them back... too bad because they were pretty nice.

On the last night we wanted to take Brodie and Nichola out to dinner for a show of thanks... Brodie suggested to have his fisherman friend catch some fresh lobsters and have a dinner in their studio showroom next door to the glass studio...
They set up tables in the studio and put together a great spread of food plus the fresh lobsters. It was a really great dinner and a great atmosphere to have dinner there in their gallery. I don't think I've ever had that much lobster in my entire life and we couldn't even finish all of it. Luckily we had lots of brand new wine glasses to drink from, too..the product of the weeks work.
One of the biggest lobsters I've ever seen with the fisherman... and that's a big guy- over six feet



The group photo on the last night just after dinner. we were happy and full. It was a really great experiance in Tain, everyone had fun, no one got too hurt. I only got one burn and we made some great new friends. Next time I'd bring more warm clothes but it couldn't have been much better.

busy

after getting back to Singapore from Europe I had one week at home then fly back to California to visit with my family for a week. It was nice to be home to see Mom and the rest of the family. The week went really fast which means I must have ejoyed the time with them.

Then then past weekend I went with a few friend to meet an old college friend- Joe- in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He had arrived in asia a week before and was traveling around to different places... in Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia. A few days in Phnom Penh was enough and though it was interesting to see I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation if it's the only stop in Cambodia... I'll have to post more pictures and descriptions in another post... the highlight was renting bikes and riding around the city in some of the most infamous traffice in SE Asia.

Now I'm at the airport getting ready for my last trip - in likely a long time since I'm almost out of vacation time (and good thing work's not been very busy right now which has allowed me to take so many trips at once). I'm going to Boracay, Philippines for 5 days and it should be the most relaxing trip so far... just laying on the beach and hopefully it will be sunny.

It's been very strange to be away from home for so many weekends in a row- this will be the 8th one and I'm actually looking forward to a more relaxing weekend when I'll just stay home. It's been a strange set of circumstances where so many trips have come together all at the same time and I'm lucky to have a job flexible enough to let me take so much vacation at once (but I guess it's better to take all at once when work's not busy then to take it when it's really busy).

Tain Cups

I've made it back from Tain, Scotland, and the Europe vacation earlier this week and have been pretty jetlagged since. Usually it doesn't affect me so much but for some reason this 6 hour change ahead compared to Europe has been killing me. I guess the good thing is that I'm still not adjusted to Singapore time yet as I'm leaving for California tomorrow (this Saturday). I'll spend a week at home in Visalia visiting with my parents. I'll have to get the rest of my pictures together from this trip to post and I still need to put up the pictures from the trip to Bangkok a few weeks ago with John.I didn't realize just how small this little town would be. Somehow when I was reading on the net about it, the population of 3,700 (people) didn't register with me.... I was thinking 37,000 for some reason and I was still thinking that was small too. The town was pretty quiet with not much to do but play golf or tour whiskey distilleries- neither of which I had time to do since I was in the studio from 8am to 8pm every day.
Here are some of the cups I made while at the Glasstorm Studio in Tain. I took a few back home with me as well as some simpler tumblers. I'll post the other pictures later on

Singapore to Tain

I'm leaving tomorrow just after noon for Tain, Scotland. Some friends from San Diego and I are renting a glass studio for a week there- the same friends who rented the studio in Bali with me this past January. The world has become so small with such convenient air travel that can put you almost anywhere in the world within a day that I think it's kind of warped my sense of distances and time required to traverse them because recently I got a shock. I purposly chose my flight from Singapore to London to have a direct flight on the A380; it's a 13+ hour flight. Then I'll take a train from London, England to Inverness, Scotland where I'll then have to get either another train or bus (or car)from Inverness to Tain, Scotland. This seamed kind of out of the way when I was initially booking but it only dawned on me that the train ride from London to Inverness takes 12 or more hours, and possibly longer than my flight... I don't know why I'm so surprised... i should realize the difference in speed between air and rail travel. I guess I'd never realized distances in Great Britain- this will be my first time there besides just the airports.

The other surprise I had today was when i looked up a map of Tain.
View Larger Map
It seems like a nice small town... but when I read the scale on the map, the whole town is less than 2km in length, Less than a mile?! That's shorter than the length of Orchard Road in Singapore... I won't say it's going to be exciting staying there for a one week, I also won't say it's going to be boring until I see it... but it should be quiet. and relaxing. and it's close to a lot of Scotch. The Glen Morangie Distillery is just 1 mile from the hotel. I think it should be fun for a week. Then I have one more week before flying back to Singapore from Paris

Singaporean Staples?

One of my duties while John was visiting SE Asia was to get him to try durian-the king of fruits. The only thing that everyone agrees on is that the smell of the fruit is strong. Whether it's a foul, putrid stench or a sweet, delicious aroma is where opinions mostly differ. To be honest, John's reaction was really boring. Maybe it was I who had follied by building it up too much so as to ensure an anticlimactic finish. He ate a few pieces but neither conceded to hate it nor love it as most people do, either spitting it out, vomiting or rubbing it all over their bodies in delight accordingly (I've never actually seen anyone do that last one... but the first two- yes!), and while he didn't hate it, he only wanted to eat a few pieces- not a whole one to himself. Actually, maybe not unexpectedly, his reaction was pretty much the same as mine. I never spat it out like some do and ate a few pieces the first time I tried it but didn't want more. Then every other time I tried it I enjoyed it more and more until now I love it and even crave it at times.Don't let his reluctant look fool you, John didn't hate the durian!


Despite the rumors that consuming durian and alcohol together will result in sure death we decided to risk it and try one of what is surely Singapore's most ordered drinks (by tourists): the Singapore Sling. And what other place to have it than the supposed location of it's origin- the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel where some also claim the last tiger in Singapore was shot dead.
Raffles Hotel at night
John and the the Singapore Slings. The recipe now served at Raffles is acknowledged to differ from the original recipe which didn't include grenadine, pineapple and citrus juice but the exact recipe is either unknown or debated. What is agreed on is that the drink at it's core is a Gin based drink. (not surprisingly since Singapore was a British Colony after all)

We survived the Durian and Singapore Slings though the price of the drinks nearly killed us- over $51SGD for the two drinks!
Okay, in seriousness, the Singapore Sling is not a staple for the average Singaporean and neither is durian- some Singaporean don't even like durian or alcohol, but for many, they are both undeniably enjoyable to consume...just not at the same time though!!

Another debatable Singaporean Staple though a food enjoyed by many is Chili Crab. Whether it's a staple or whether it's an official, unofficial or just a famous Singaporean dish, many people will recommend you try it while visiting...so of course I felt obligated to take John to try. Many places serve this dish, along with other types of crab like butter, pepper or garlic crab, and everyone has their favorite restaurant. We decided to have it at a place with outdoor seating along the Singapore River and had both chili and pepper crabs along with a few other seafood dishes. Maybe it's not the best place for either dish but the location is hard to beat, with the skyscrapers of Singapore's central business district rising up just along the river walkway in the background.I think he liked it, he said something like it was like the Asian version of ribs (comparing to U.S. bar-b-que style ribs)... uh, kind of- both are messy for sure but even so John would not accept a plastic bib to protect my shirt he was wearing*. I still think it's a lot of work to eat these crabs but actually it is pretty good. John liked the pepper crab more... in retrospect this is kind of surprising since he said he doesn't really like spicy food so much... (something that became really (painfully) obvious and a source of immense humor when I convinced him to try a Thai green chili with dinner a few days later in Bangkok... I think he seriously cried after eating it. Not nice since I had accidentally ate one about ten minutes before and it was way too much for me. Generally they can be anywhere from about 6 to 40 times hotter than a Jalapeño pepper which might be more familiar to you)

Of course Singapore has a lot more to offer than these "staples" and the time with John here really passed quickly. I think he was able to get a pretty good idea about what Singapore has to offer as I tried to show him around different parts of the island to get a range of experiences. John also did a lot during the days and took what sound like some good tours of different neighborhoods. I think I'll have to go check them out too.

*That's right, I found John wearing one of my shirts when we met for dinner that night. Hmm... I did offer though since all the other clothes he brought on the trip were some type of synthetic polyester sports blend. I guess it does make sense for travel in such a hot and humid region.

Lombok, Indonesia

Finally I'm getting around to posting some pictures from my trip to Lombok, Indonesia I took back in May. The trip started off great but on the second day I came down with some kind of fever or flu and felt horrible until the last day of the trip so I spent most of the time in bed sleeping and with no appetite... After the 4 days I think I lost at least 10 pounds and looked pretty bad. Thankfully I've gained it all back and am once again my handsome self (in my own opinion)! Also, getting soaked in a rain shower and falling into a waterfall probably not only contributed to me falling ill but it also meant that my cell phone and camera weren't working for most of the trip- So most of these pictures are from the island of Lombok on the first day. We also took a boat out to Gili Tranwangan for two nights but didn't get to enjoy any of the snorkeling or scuba diving which I had hoped to. From the boat ride over or even looking out into the surf you could tell how clear the water was. Another of my friends just returned from Bali and the Gili Islands and told me the snorkeling was great and they even saw some groups of giant sea turtles - he grabbed on to one and rode it underwater so he claims. But anyway, the first day of the trip was awesome and we rented a car to drive around the island. Some of the roads on Lombok are not that great and many are really bad. There's also a lot of horse drawn carts on the roads... as well as other animals. On the Gili islands there are no cars at all so besides walking the options are either horse drawn cart or bicycle.


Once out of the city parts of the island, Lombok is full of rice fileds. Mountains rise up quickly from the sea moving towards the inner island and many of the fields are terraced on these slopes as well. In the middle of the island is Mt. Rinjani, at 12,000+ foot volcanic mountain- the second tallest in Indonesia however with the constant clouds surrounding the upper peaks of the island we never even got a good look at it.



While driving out around the island we got hungry and stopped in to what looked like a roadside cafe. We decided to eat outside on the raised eating platforms which are not the most comfortable things you'll ever sit on but the shade from the thatched roof and ventilation though the floor keeps you pretty cool.
looking over the menu we wern't really sure what to order. We saw chickens walking around the ground under us and we saw Ayam Sambal on the menu (should be chicken with sambal or spicy sauce) so that seems like a safe bet Well, we were kind of right, it was chicken but we weren't quite expecting what they brought out for us. One baby chicken for each of us, cleaned and deep fried intact and whole, claws included, and served on some raw vegetables... with VERY spicy sambal on the side. There really wasn't much meat on those little birds at all and we were still kind of hungy after eating them (the before and after pictures don't look so different really, so we tried to just fill up on the rice.

And then the rain started while we were hiking up to see a waterfall...and with no umbrella anything to keep the rain off is better than nothing- Fal tries to use a banana leaf- but in the end it was useless and we were soaked.


This is pretty much what I felt like the whole time on Gili Trawangan (and I swear it wasn't from that beer... )

You can see some other pictures of Lombok and Gili Trawangan from my friend Fal's site http://singbrewer.blogspot.com/2008/05/lombok-indonesia.html
and his flikr site : trawangan Lombok

John's visit - pre visit

I'm picking up John from the airport later tonight- he gets in past 8pm so it will already be getting late by the time we get back. It should be good to have him staying here a few days and show him around the city. He's planning to stay here for a few days then we'll go to Bangkok over the weekend. He'll go on for there and meet some other friends traveling around SE Asia as well


UPDATE:
John arrived on his flight tonight and it was even early. Despite the late concerns that I would be unable to locate him at the airport it was actually very easy and uneventful to meet him.