l_ingax

I got on the train early this morning, the view was amazing. The hell with all those people who recommend only taking the night train. Amazingly green rice fields and farm scenery's. The train was 4 hours late though, so I was already dark an empty when I arrived at Pithsanulok. It not a nice city, the atmosphere is more Muslim then Buddhist too, very different. You can tell most of the people here aren't Thai. So I took a bus to Pithsanulok that same night, and from that bus station to the old city. The tuk tuk driver drove me along some hotels and I saw a nice one, I thought it was quite cheap for it facilities. After freshening up I realized I was in BOMMA paradise. Bierbuiken en boerenjongens, overduidelijkeen plaats waar de giga touristenbussen toestromen. Ma soit, 't is even goedkoop als een guesthouse en t ziet er veel sjieker uit. Heb me plat gelegd met de play back band en de niet zo gracieuze serveuses. cfr wolven met schapenvacht!

Morgen vroeg opstaan om zonsopgang boven de ruines te zien en erna weer tot aan de trein te geraken naar Bangkok!

Ciao!

After another wild mosquito night I took a day of relaxation. Thai massage, cocktail, and a long sunset walk to Doi Suthep. ( Highest point in Thailand according to TROTTER, with nice temple on top). There were no tourists or people at all, only chanting monks. I stayed till midnight. I found the peace I was looking for on this trip.

ON the way back I found a LOCAL night market runned and visited by studens. Such a nice and creative atmosphere. I got some T-shirts and some souvenirs and a Buddha from my since today favourite temple.... and great great Sushi!

Very fun day including elephant riding, moutainbiking, rafting and walking ... I met Isadora from New York who is currently voluntering for a couple of months in Cambodja and went to a Reggea bar with her an Miquel - Barcelonese professor who works in London-. Very funny thai with dreads singing bob marleys songs. No 'r' pronunciation.

I rock 'n rolled with a ladyboy..., was asked how much I asked per hour (grr) by a drunk Irish guy and had good times with our tour guide, who joined us.

Trekking to Chiang Rai today. At the Golden Triangle ( former OPIUM route on the Birma, Laos and Thailand border) I feared for my life on the small wooden speedboat on the Mekong river. But I got in Laos just fine. Very quick visit though, but another stamp :) jaja arwen :)
--- this makes up for NOT GETTING one at ABU DHABI

On the way we saw the longnecks hill tribe, awful how they present these people as if they were animals in a zoo. Very very weird trip, but I met a great guy from Saudi Arabia.


Did I mention the fact that I am actually sleeping in the international Youth hostel and that mosquito's terrorize my nights? Unfortunately their bytes don't heal very well... I look like I have some kind of a disease I guess.

This morning I went to the railway station to find a solution on how to get back to Bangkok in time. Well, no AC trains, no Sleeping trains, no sleeping buses, no long ride buses, no flights... Only third class train tickets for the local train.... I booked whatever i could. This means going to Pitshanulok on Thursday. Hopefully getting a way to visit Sukhotai ( 2 hours by bus further) and then 24 hours later getting on the same train from 10 pm to 3 am to Bangkok. I hope it works, the girl couldn't guarantee a seating. It might be standing .... ,


the Songkrna parade started at the railway station so I walked along to the center. It is absolutely crazy people trowing water. Luckily I took a ziploc to put my camera in, but the plastic bags around the purse didn't help. so some of you might get watery cards... ny tourist guide was also soaked.

I was able to put my stuff in a restaurant where i ate... and ran out to enjoy the festival to the fullest! water fight! Nothing more fun then pooring buckets of water over other tourist heads. i was on the local side of the party now :). First it was just water pistols but in the end we just used full buckets. I had so much fun, I laughed the whole day. 2 dutch girls and an old french guy joined in... we just ran and surprised the tourists with cold shozers...stout i know... but hilarious! ofcourse no pictures of the heavy part available due to the wet circumstances ...


I'll go to sleep now. Tomorrow I am leaving on a trekking tour to Chiang Rai and the Golden triangle and the day after I go jungle trekking, elephant riding and waterrafting ... So sleeping in the hills means no internet connection available ... but feel free to mail me anyhow. i will check in the morning :)

Today I booked a snorkling tour, In the bus I met Mohammed a Parisien guy that lived in Belgium from his 0 to 6 years. So I got to practice my dutch. lol. It was funny on the speedboat we sat next to eachoter and fell a sleep onto eachother. The rest of the day everybody thaught we were a dutch speaking couple, But in fact nothing happened. I didn't want things to get anymore complicated then they already were. Ill probably visit him next time I'm in paris for fashion week though.

The snorkling was amazing and the second island -which was private- was absolutely gorgeous!

Back in the hotel I went to bed early since I was completely exhausted. I slept for 12 hours and packed to catch my plane to Chiang Mai.

DAY 6 FLIGHT TO CHIANG MAI

On the three hour flight I even slept more. I met Jessy from Chili and checked- in at the same hostel as she did, since it was cheap and quiet here. We planned to go Tonight to celebrate Thai New Year with the hostels interns but apparently nobody is here anymore and I can't find Jessy either. I don't know what to do, I am still extremely tired... I ll go anyway. Just to enjoy the scene.


And in fact the scene was really really nice. very easy going night bazaar with delicious food ... yay sushi :) and coconuts


Beetje heimwee vandaag ... beetje veel en toch ak an de miserie thuis denk, gn zin om nr huis te komen .. lost

Instead of booking a tour like all tourists, I decided to walk all the way to the waterfalls. So I did< getting there I walked around a little more and a all of a sudden some thai guy showed up and led me to a more beautifull part of the fall where I could actually swim. ON the way there Karine a canadian girl joined us. After resting and swimming for over an hour we ( karina and I ) walked towards the closest beach through the coconut jungle avoiding the tour buses. From there we walked along the island shores and saw beach after beach. We enjoined coconuts on the gorgeous beach and went out for Thai dinner afterwards.

Today I visited the Grand Palace and afterwards I had my flight to Koh Samui. Landing there made me cry ... it was sooooooooooo beautiful, the complete island is covered with coconut palm trees and the airport looked like a resort. it had aquariums in the toilets and rotan Emanuelle seats.

I convinced the information center lady to let me check online in what hotel Jason was staying nad he answered! Varinda resort. A little scared that it would be to expensive I went there anyway. The price was fine and I checked in.

Later that night Jason and his friend Jason arrived. We went out for dinner and had cocktails at one of the bars. Really weird how the girls there try to entertain the men by playing four by four and some pole dancing etc...The guys didn't seam to bother though.

We took our last cocktail under a palmtree at the beach and enjoyed the hotel's swimming pool by night. All the lights were turned of and we had an amazing view on the bay and the stars in the sky.

Apparently guys think it's incredibly sexy if a woman travels by herself. It shows confidence? kuch?

Last night I could sleep so I went out for a drink. Loungebar, hiphop?punjabi MC music and a nice margerita...

This morning I tried to plan the next step of my trip. I planned on doing several trainstops on my way to chiang mai. But it's Thai New Year and therefor there were no seats available the upcoming 7 days.
So after going to the trainstation for checking this information and some thinking over in Lumpini park I booked the following:

Flight to Koh Samui tomorrow, where I will meet with Jay and his friend (I met Jay through Geoff and Kedar in New York) so that will be fun, probably more enjoyable to go partying at night :0.

On the 12th I am flying from Samui directly to Chiang Mai, that leaves me 9 days to travel back southwards... should work!

Can somebody be so kind and print and fax or text this to mommi?




I spent all day in the modern city center. Lumphini park, sukhumvit road, the huge mall and some more Times Square type of scenes. I also went up to the Bayoke hotel. It's incredible on the 18th floor ( out of 83 - as high as eiffel tower) they have a golf yard in open air! The view from the top floor was also amazing!

According to my travel guide there was a lolita scenery in an outskirt of BANGKOK. It took me a while to convince a tuk tuk driver to bring me there ( no taxi wanted to take me). The tuk tuk called it Bollywood a place where no tourist ever went, but where the thai big ass clubs are. So finally sitting in the tuk tuk, racing over the incredible highways ( multiple layers above each other in between buildings and obviously you could see that poor people build houses
underneath them ), I realised that I was actually doing something really odd. Travelling way outside the city in a tuk tuk, where a normal tourist never goes. The speed on the highway, ... well I got a little scared I must tell. But then again, all Thai or so into Buddhism that they would never hurt anyone. I feel really safe in Thailand.

So arriving in Bollywood was like arriving in an empty and abandoned Coney Island (NY trip with Arwen). But this time I was all alone and it was already dark. Although the neons lightened up the weird area I didn't dare to step outside and wait and hang around in the area till teenagers showed up (9 o clock is no time to go out anyway). It's a little like the edgy and empty part of Brooklyn. I also didn't see to many taxis out there so friendly and kinds as the Buddhist driver was he insisted on the taking me to my hotel. I agreed. I just had another coconut at a thai peoples booth along the river before heading back to khao san road. The tuk tuk ride was the event of the day I guess... Since I spend sooooooooo much time on planning the next couples of days and thinking about where I will spend New Year's. They say it's fun people trow water at each other. Hopefully I can come back by train from Chiang Mai because all flights back were fully booked. It will be an adventure getting back in time. Should I come back?

Arriving early to the city. Found all transportation and the hotel very easily... I took the bus guys, not the taxi...

The hotel is way bigger then all the guesthouses, but not really living up to my expectations, compared to what I pay. Imagine if it would be cheaper! I got some issues there but hey maybe I'll change towards the end of the trip. It's all about putting some boundaries (guesthouse trauma's) on the side, crossing my border.





I only had a few ours of sleep on the plane, but was way to excited to go sleeping. A dive in the swimming pool (don't expect anything) freshened me up and I went walking along the shore of the river to catch a Ferry to Wat Arun.

It's really crowded everywhere and the stand on the streets sell al kinds of things that look delicious, but I don't dare to try to much. My Khao san Road lunch -a red curry with chicken- was very nice, but the papaya juice that came with it was mixed with tab water and that didn't feel to nice in my stomach. Craftsmen are sitting on the sides selling their product, toys build ropes of metal garbage left-overs, encraved buddha's, drawings, dry fish of all kind, dumplings, pineapple, orthodontic 'beugels'...






Pictures of the temple will speak for itself.





I met an Indian environmental engineer who was really nice. he works for the WORLD T OI LET Organization (typing weird for avoiding googling people).
Back on the Other side I went to the What Po with the giant lying Buddha. It was here where I started to learn about buddhism.








By the way did I mention that THE way to talk to monks is taking pictures of flowers, apparently the appreciate it if you enjoy the small things in life. That's what I do here, enjoy everything. Thank you Bruno for giving me the huge raise that pays for all this. I wouldn't be here otherwise.

After What Po I realized my feet hurts like hell of wearing my ballerina's and ofcourse my feet got a little sunburn, no other sunburns though and I did put factor 15 on my feet to. Hurts! The longtail boat tour zhich I shared with to German girls made me forget about it. Gorgeous to see all pole (?) houses on the shores. Thai are so friendly they keep on smiling even with all these tourists who strand in Bangkok.

Note to self: Smile to tourists in bruges if they jump in front of your bike and then ride them over. Zen.







At 6 I crawled into bed to get some rest before hitting the nightlife of Khao San Road. Luckily my hotel is one road behind it, it still has the same stuff as Khao San Road but a little less noise. Hitting the dark here is really different for breathing, it's like having no air. but the search for food and the overall noise and the Khao San Road feeling made me forget about it.





It's really out there, so many expressions, so many different music genres base-ing into the night. Highlighting the tempo of souvenirs sales and life itself. Backpackers drinking beer buckets and some Thai girls dressed-up and costumed-out. Stores selling T-shirts with: It's better to have a blow job then no job at all. All of that is just ... Bangkok

Now I am sitting here typing this journal and hoping that I somehow will overcome my jetlag, because the sleeping is really messed-up right now.

and we are back online!

The Etihad aircraft was amazing, nice seets with private tv's. I took place at a window seet next to a nice guy, but his very jealous wife made perfectly clear that her HUSBAND, prefered to sit next to her and if we could swap. Nice as i am i gave her my place and sat in tthe middle row. Turned out that I had 4 full seets to sleep on. Miss was jealous again, but hey her mistake!

Flying on Abu Dabi is amazing, you see all the lights of the city and islands. The airport itself had something spacy to it. (The televisions show you a down and front view during the whole flight. it makes you dizzy for take off and landing)

I was the only backpacker for sure, all other Belgians zhere flying to Pattaya, such as the English guy sitting next to me who bored me with his stories and kept me from sleeping.

Telling my boss about the great hotel I stayed in for the other company, made him reconsider the hotel issue! Wit my second raise in 6 months, I negotiated some hotels for my business trips. The result:

Tuesday I flew back to Antwerp from Casablanca and Friday evening I was at some company in Ghent for business. They were in trouble. A collection should be at Modefabriek in Amsterdam on Sunday. But it wouldn't be finished before Saturday. And DHL doesn't fly on Saturday nights.

So I had my passport with me. And before I knew it I was on a plane to Istanbul. It's been 4 years since I was in turkey but I still knew some Turkish :). Saturday afternoon I spend inspecting their collection and in the evening I went to Sultanahmed to relax and enjoy the view of Aya Sophia and the blue Mosk. I went out for dinner with the people from the factory and you know what: They have Starbucks in Istanbul! mmmm



My day couldn't get better when I found out I was lodged in a 5-star hotel with hot tub in my room. I had some baklava roomservice with it :).

The next day I was supposed to fly back on Brussels, but I changed the ticket directly to Amsterdam. At the fair I had my meeting with the headhunters who've been following me since third year in school. (inside information). We discussed I'd work there in a couple of years, but by Monday they had their offer ready to start immediately. When I told Bruno on Wednesday, he matched their offer. And in the end I love my job so I'm staying at Bruno's. Well not bad, working 6 months and 2 raises. :). Quite happy but still doubting about moving to Antwerp and renting out Bruges, or keeping it.

De regen viel met bakken naar beneden. Het was in de fabriek nog kouder dan de dagen voorheen. Ik niesde en snotterde me een weg tot de lunch pauze, maar bleef maar bibberen. Tenslotte haalde Kristien een slaapzak boven, ik wikkelde me erin en na enkele minuten viel ik -hangend over 2 stoelen in slaap-. Toen ik wakker werd bleek ik ook nog een buikprobleem te hebben. Vermoedelijk een combinatie van de kou, het voedsel en de .... stresssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nog 12h te gaan en ik moest al vertrekken naar de luchthaven.

Midden in de namiddag stapte één van de stalenmaaksters op omdat ze tot de constatie kwam dat ze het gewoon niet degelijk gestikt kreeg.Gelukkig reageerde de rest van het team anders. We werkten verder tot 9h en op dat moment egin je natuurlijk nog meer fouten te ontdekken. Omgekeerd ingezette mouwen. Voeringen die trekken (dit zie je maar na de eindstrijk). Me met slaapzak en decouvit in het atelier genesteld. Erna nog labels zitten innaaien en strijken en helpen coördineren met de knoopsgaten. Ik ben doodnerveus.

Om 22h het atelier getrakteerd op tahine à emporter en toen we om 1h30 smorgens het laatste staal in de valies plooiden had ik nog 3h om te slapen. Helaas moesten we nog de strijksters aan huis gaan afzetten (je kan ze moeilijk zolaat 's avonds te voet door de velden en donkere steegjes sturen). Een avontuur op zich. De peugot dient zich écht niet als 4x4. Nu ja één uurtje onder de dons gekropen om op te warmen en om 5h alweer opstaan om mijn vlucht te halen.


Toen de valiezen écht lang op zich lieten wachten werd ik zo nerveus dat zelf mijn maag anti-zwaartekracht begon te duwen. Deze namiddag gaan werken en 's avonds nu in mijn bedje ben ik aan het crashen... Heen en weer geloop naar de badkamer... Ik begin me echt af te vragen of het nog steeds stress is of een voedselvergiftiging?

But at least the collection is finished, in belgium and almost ready to be shown in Paris on Friday.

Zoals gisteren aangehaald. wachten op de eerste stik resultaten... Dus ja 's ochtends eerst es binnengesprongen in 't atelier voor een uurtje of twee. er gecontroleerd waar ze mee bezig waren en al wat aanpassingen en verbeteringen laten doorvoeren.

Ik kreeg van Kristien te horen dat er 'een beetje verder in 't dorp' een souk (lokale markt) was. Natuurlijk iets waar ik naar op zoek ging. Helaas zonder resultaat, ik bleef maar wandelen tot ik voorbij het centrum was, niets te zien. Dan maar een gewone kruidennier binnengesprongen om dadels en amandelen te kopen. Toen ik een foto wou nemen vroeg ie met twinkelende oogjes of hij een foto van mij in de winkel moest nemen. Dolenthousiast gebaarde ie me achter de toog te gaan staan bij de noten, daarna de dadels 'proeven' om uiteindelijk winkeltje te spelen bij de olijven.
Tjah ok, die man was ook content eens zo'n toestel in z'n handen te hebben zeker?

Op de terugweg naar de fabriek op een zonnig terrasje van traditionele muntthee genoten.

Weer effe toestand van de stalen in de fabriek gaan nakijken, waarna Kristien me naar de souk voerde (ongeveer op een uur wandelen, langs de grote weg, voor mij lijkt het twee dorpen verder, maar blijkbaar was het nog steeds hetzelfde dorp. Een van de mannen in de fabriek had me gewaarschuwd niet alleen te gaan naar die markt. Het zat er vol dieven. Dus ben ik vertrokken met enkel mijn camera op zak. Zelf die durfde ik nauwelijks boven te halen. Maar toch enkele leuke beelden kunnen maken :).


Toen ik halverwege was werd ik gevolgd door een jongen die in het arabisch begon te roepen tegen me. Ik heb duidelijk gemaakt dat ik dat niet aangenaam vond. Direct erna komt een andere oudere jongen naast me lopen. Hij waarschuwt me voor de dieven en dat het hier onveilig is voor toeristen etc. Ik antwoord dat ik niet bang ben, ik heb niets te verliezen, geld heb ik niet bij en mijn camera heb ik stevig rond mijn arm gebonden. Mr. Pienter vraagt me nog of ik mijn gsm of bankkaart bij heb, waarop ik glimlachend van nee schud en hem verzoek mij alleen te laten verder wandelen...

Ook hier zijn er secties in de goederen die ze verkopen. Kruiden, karren, oude brommers, speelgoed, tamboerijntjes voor de kinderen, koeien (levend of dood) en sur place te slachten kippen... hm... Het tafereel leverde een filmpje op dat als spot voor Gaia zou kunnen dienen...

Ik wandelde terug naar de Zone Industrielle door de groene -met vuilnis bestrooide- velden. Onderweg passeerde ik o.a. een in golfplaten opgebouwd wijkje. Het valt me meteen op dat de bevolking er net iets ijveriger was dan in de appartementen, daar lijkt alles leeg en gesloten... Weer een paar uur in de fabriek gezeten om erna dadels uit te delen aan de arme kindjes die tussen de schaapjes en koetjes spelen.

's avonds werd het erg koud, ik kon nauwelijks slapen van de kou.

Vroeg opstaan went al... 's Morgens werden de eerste stalen opgestreken, en ik mocht alweer beginnen vitten op details. Ware het niet dat ik niet voor Bruno werkte. Een knoop verkeerd, een hoekje slecht geincrustreerd. Maar toch chapeau voor de mantelmakers want 't is echt vakmanschap. Op één dag een ingewikkelde trench perfect afwerken is niet voor iedereen weggelegd. Tegen de avond had hij er trouwens al anderhalf bijgemaakt. (Voor de leken onderons: 1 model wordt in meerdere stoffen uitgevoerd)

Ikzelf begon mijn dag met MANUEEL snijden. De verantwoordelijke hier had van ons 10m CAMEL (=mantelstof uit kamelenhaar +- 80 euro/meter) ontvangen om er 3 verschillende mantels mee te maken. Helaas had ze ergens iets fout geinterpreteerd: een jas die in camelkleur (maar katoen was) gesneden moest worden reeds hieruit gesneden en dan nog wel dubbel. Daardoor hadden we maar 2,5 meter over om 3 mantels te maken ... ps da gaat niet, per jas heb je ongeveer 3 meter nodig!
Dus ja ik uit alle foute deeltjes de juiste deeltjes proberen snijden om
a. stof te sparen
B. haar mensen tijd te besparen, want de deadline voor alles is maandagnacht! en daarbij het knippen gaat me toch nog net beter af dan industrieel stikken...

Als een gek proberen stof recuperen en hersnijden dus. Uiteindelijk kunnen we 2 mantels stikken... 1 verloren... gelukkig is het mijn fout niet, maar het blijft erg!

In de namiddag even een ommetje gemaakt in de het dorp bij wijze van verpozing. Het is érg duidelijk dat ze hier geen touristen gewoon zijn. Ik durfde bijna geen foto's nemen. Trucks die door het dorp razen trompen bij wijze van...? jongens fluiten... etc (Ik ben nochthans écht niet uitdagend gekleed, zwarte rolkraag, broek en platte schoenen --- het zal m'n bleke huidje zijn zeker?)


Een leuke ontmoeting gehad met een grote groep kinder die op straat muziek aan het maken waren, met zelfgemaakte instrumenten. Erna op de thee uitgenodigd door de moeder, die mij meteen begon te smeken achter werk. Met handen, voeten en 2 woorden arabisch uitgelegd dat ik hier maar tijdelijk ben en geen nieuwe fabriek kom opstarten...

Rest van de namiddag helpen stof opleggen en de automatische snijmachine bedienen (zelf dit is ervaring die ik eerder niet had opgedaan), om 6h waren de laatste B runo P ieters modellen van de snijtafel, nu is het enkel nog wachten tot de stiksters klaarzijn. Ze werken al elke dag van 8h-20-21h... maar het gaat vooruit. Je ziet trouwens dat alle werknemers hier erg gemotiveerd en loyaal zijn t.o.v. de Belgische bazin. Ze zeggen ook allemaal dat ze graag voor haar werken.

Nu ja rond 7h kon ik dan even niets meer voor Bruno doen, dus nu zit ik hier in de fabriek wat te typen. Want 's avonds buitenwandelen mag niet van de bazin's assitent. Deze man is trouwens erg bezorgd over ons europese vrouwen. We mogen niet alleen naar huis wandelen, etc... wss meer om de reacties te vermijden.

Om 6h30 opgestaan en door het ontwakende dorp naar de fabriek gewandeld. De eerste stalen werden bij de stikkers gelanceerd en we bleven maar snijden. Rond een uur of 10 tot de constatie gekomen dat mijn collega van collectie geen zwarte voering stof meegeleverd had.

Hier in Marocco is trouwens alles al heel de donderdag en vrijdag gesloten wegens moslim nieuwjaar ofzo. Desondanks met de chauffeur naar Casablanca gereden in de hoop er ergens voering in een of andere klein winkeltje op de kop te kunnen tikken.

Na hilarische verkeerssituaties -foto's volgen- (het was lang geleden dat ik nog in een niet-westers land reisde) ons een weggebaand naar de stoffenwinkels. Na een uurtje dan toch voering gevonden. Van de gelegheid ge profiteerd om me eens naar de Moskee van Hassan II te laten voeren. Het gebouw is immmens en uitermate mooi. Daar gelunched (brood + kaas, moest tenslotte ook voor chauffeur eten kopen, niet?) om dan vlug terug te keren naar de fabriek waar we weer werkten tot 20h.


's Avonds zijn we gezellig gaan eten in het dorpje. Man man man, in heel mijn leven nog NOOIT zo'n onhygiënische slagers geweten!!!Een rij van restaurantjes met in het midden een keuken met haarden en oven om de tahines te maken en het brood te bakken. En op het einde van die zaak allemaal doode koeien en dergelijk aan de haak hangende op zo'n meter van de tafels. Ik heb er haastig proberen enkele foto's van te nemen, maar durfde de camera niet goed boven halen, tenslotte zitten we in een arm boerendorp. Nu, het eten was lekker, het vlees goed gebakken en het gezelschap aangenaam. Een goed opwarmertje, want ondanks het hier 's middags zalig de 20° bereikt in de zon, is het na zonsondergang ijzig koud.



In de fabriek trouwens altijd, waardoor ik dag in dag uit loop te klutteren. Ik hoop maar dat ik er geen verkoudheid aan overhoud. Ook 's avonds is het koud om te slapen... Met 1 dons en 2 dekens, met een dikke trui -waar Bruno Pieters niet allemaal goed voor is- boven mijn gebruikelijke zwart/goud pyjama, kan ik me verwarmen en alsnog inslapen.

Ik besluit trouwens dat het super is dat ik wat ervaring opdoe door écht in de fabriek te staan, meteen ook de gelegenheid om eens te oefenen op orders uitdelen en kordaat te laten weten als er iets fout gedaan wordt.

Ik had helemaal geen zenuwen de dag van het vertrek. Zoals de meesten onder jullie weten, ga ik er vooral om de collectie op te halen en ondertussen ook de productie op te volgen. Maar ja dus vooral voor collectie te begeleiden. MIjn collega kwam echter pas de zondagnacht terug uit het buitenland en zou mijn woensdag -dag voor vertrek- inwijden in te weten zaken over collectie (daar ik zelf enkel productie opvolg, normaal gezien NA parijs). Collega was echter ziek, wat erop neer komt dat ik naar Marokko vlieg zonder te weten wat ik er moet gaan controleren. Dus ja daarom was ik niet zenuwachtig, er was niets dat ik kon vergeten of voor op de vingers getikt, want ik weet helemaal niets.

Zoals gewoonlijk bij het opstijgen een emo huilbui. Wat ben ik toch een gelukzak dat ik dit allemaal mag meemaken en dat ik de vrijheid heb om te gaan en staan (vliegen) waar ik ook maar heen wil.

Landen in Casablanca area was super mooi. Nog nooit zo uitgestrekte groene groene velden gezien. Echt groen! Zelf Granada was dorrer.

Verder valt er over de vlucht weinig te vertellen, buiten het feit dat ik al vanop zaventem geknipoogt werd van een afrocaan en op het vliegtuig lastig gevallen door een fluitocaan.

Op de luchthaven werd ik opgepikt door de chauffeur die me naar het dorpje van de fabriek voerde. Typisch klein marokkaans dorpje, allemaal huizenblokken in vrolijke kleurtje, stoffige wegen... het dagelijks leven... Foto's die later volgen zullen wel verduidelijken (kan ze hier niet uploaden.)

Tenslotte in de grote fabriek toegekomen - veel plaast voor uitbreiding! - en er gewerkt tot 20h. Blijkbaar waren onze collectiestoffen nog maar daags voordien door DHL geleverd (2weken onderweg! - baantransport gaat vlugger). Wat erop neerkomt dat we exact vijf dagen hebben om de collectie ineen te boxen, één dag hebben om in België op te frissen en vervolgens naar Parijs.
Ik heb geen stress. kuch. Nu eerst en vooral op zoek gegaan naar Bram's bestelbonnen en de proto's van onze collectie zodat ik tenminste wist wat doen hier.

Fabriek zelf is volledig uitgerust met Lectra systeem en super goeie stalenmakers. Echt kwaliteit. Daar er zoveel werk is, zelf met de bazin stoffen zitten opleggen om dan automatisch te snijden en ook wat denkwerk voor de cad-operator gedaan, want die is wel goed, maar érg traag. 180 + 90 wordt met rekenmch berekend... hm. En dan nog ben ik vlugger :). kuch 2

's avonds ontdekt dat ik ook in dit dorp logeer en niet in casablanca. Wel mooi nieuwbouw appartement! De buurvrouw bracht ons snel eten, tahine en couscous. Njamie! Nog een flesje lokale wijn gekraakt om vervolgens doodmoe te gaan slapen.

I promised this a while ago, but I just recently took pictures of the house again. So here we come: the new attic / master bedroom.

I went to visit G. and T. She just gave birth to an adorable baby. Look what I got him at Oilily!



He still needs t growa little bit.
I also went to Phantom of the opera, my first broadwayshow.

Pics by S. Vandevelde

We finally finished the attic last weekend. Still have to go to buy my wardrobe. Haha should see a pictures of my shoe wall.... :) ... the attic looks really nice now. We put 'domotica' in it. I'm so proud I was able to do so much myself (and jim ofcourse). I put the 'laminate' all by myself in 4 hours.

Downstairs changed a lot. And the bleu previous bedroom, is restyled as well. Hopefully one day I'll redo the working space... Because now it's a little messy.

If only I had time to enjoy the house.

Yeah, I'm going to New York in november. One day to work and having meeting with stores and a few days for myself... So fucking happy !!!! Really started missing NY !!!

mmm starbucks...

3 weeks till Paris...

Found a really nice studio with super bathroom and new kitchen. In total it has 3 rooms (bath, kitchen + dining, living + bedroom). This one was really like a job interview, because I would be living at the top floor of house owned by a single man (late 20's -early 30's?) with his 3 year old son. Still love my job.

Renovating the house goes a little slow, but I helped putting the tiles in the back. (vloeren + voegen) which is now finally finished. Now the boys are arranging the new master bedroom in the attic, dressing room included :). Can't wait to polish and install my shoes.

It's quite amusing. I changed a lot with my new job. Still traumatised by the past, but I feel like the puzzle is getting toghether. Currently studying Russian Logistics and border Law.

Top of my class and great distinction

Leaving for Spain today. So excited. Was able to reduce my luggage to 5 pair of shoes... :D

Skaten in Central Park



Skaten rond Manhattan ( South Street Seaport on Eastside - via Battery Park and Winter Garden at South to Times Square 42nd Street at the West Side )

Vanuit de metro getrokken, in de verte skyline van Manhattan, rechts: paalwoningen.

It's crazy yesterday it was 20°C and today we had a snowstorm. In one afternoon there was 5cm snow.

" no I don't live in a porn area "

" I know it's kind of pervert to take a picture of it, but I really wanted to share crazy new york with you guys "

We went to Le Singe Vert. There were seven of us, each representing a different country
Kind of a bad picture. From left to right.
So I was from Belgium, Vanessa,from Peru, Jason from New mexico, Kedar from India, Yvonna from Poland, Surelys from Cuba and her husband Bogdan from Romania.

SOoooooooo love my intership: it's not in the garment district but at least it's in Soho, which is even better according to me :p . I only need 15 minutes to get there and nowadays I have to start working at 10 am. Although I do try to design at home as well. I already have two sketches which might go into next seasons collection.

I can step out for lunch and have any food I want at Dean and Deluca's or eat in one of these tiny restaurants. Tomorrow I'm going out with my bosses. Really curious on how that is going to work out. Litlle worried about the outfit.

But it's very funny everybody goes crazy over my blue coat that I have for years and my golden boots. Even people in the subway just come to me and say how good it looks, or how they like the blue with the color of my eyes and dyed hair. Most of the time my coat is just hanging on a doll and people who didn't know me yet thaugt it was part of the collection: to funny.

it's so cold today ! It is -9°C, and because of the wind it feels like -17°C (see online), you could hardly breath without a scarf, and it's so windy I had a hard time walking back after doing groceries... shiver shiver

I went to Chelsea Market yesterday, was so cool, it's one block down form the apartment en it's an old industrial building which was renewed in a loft kind of way. You have all these small shops and in between there are walls of glass. As client/visitor you walk in the isles, and you can see the bakers making bread. The stock fridge of the butcher. A little further down you get the feel you're at a Turkish market and in between all the vegetable, baker and lobster&oyster stands you have tiny little cafés that serve food en the atmosphere is just amazing. Something a regular tourist doesn't get to experience.




Today I went to some tradeshows. Got goodie bags : Yay !!!

I went walking this morning: the neighbourhood is great !!! Window shopping at Mc Queens, and some hot American designers. All major clubs are around here so I love it love it love it!!! My street is just the border of all the best areas It's at the corner of Chelsea, Greenwich, Soho ... :D :D :D

Flight is finally booked, also going to London after the exams ... :D

Tsumori Chisato Runway

Set up of the Showroom


Megyn Florence build a 'giant' nest which we hang upside down. The installation held the main pieces of the collection.






Geoffrey B. small 's part of the exhibit - Megyn's installation and collection

PAINTING FOR A GOOD CAUSE AT FOQUET AT THE CHAMPS ELYSEES




COMME DES GARCONS




GASPARD YURKIEVICH RUNWAY




ME WITH VIKTOR AND ROLF




I think the titles tell plenty of stories, I don't have time to write more... sorry guys!

Arrived in our new appartement!





We were able to see two fashion shows; Dice Kayek and Rick Owens: some pictures! The crawd looked amazing!!!


Ricks show, the models were walking very very fast, we couldn't snap them properly

Paul Carroll and me! The other picture is me with the three directors of the Show, Jean Sweet, her husband and Sue.

I went to Tio's again last night (mexican and spanish restaurant, and took Mel and Jess) The food was amazing like always! I'll miss fresh guacamole and quesedillas in Belgium...
We had fun and they came to visit my place the morning they left, on the subway I noticed another american-us difference. We explain everything with gestures and symbols, we speak with our hands... And ofcourse we're discussing and gossiping in dutch it was hilarious to all americans on the subway. For some reason boobs were symboled a lot, but I forgot the context.



The pictures below were from their youth hostel!!! NY youth hostel, it's 40 $ a night and the place looks awfull, everydoor is a cabin with a bed in it, and there are no real ceilings, so everybody could here everybody snor, having sex and fart !

I went to Macy's, and after wondering around I noticed people were gathering around some chairs and so on, and I went looking... Vivienne Westwood would be helding an interview since she launched designs for Nine West. So I waited with everybody, people complimented on my blouse ( quote: "that's the cutest blouse I've ever seen"- I really have to get those businesscards!. Then I watched and listened to the interview. She was amazing...



- What do you like about america?
- I dont like america anymore with all that bad politics....
... pause ....
don't get me wrong, I don't like England either...
- How does your workday look like?
- Sometimes I work from bed, I don't really go to work a lot, people work for me, my husband designs as much as I do, and he does a lot for me; he really is a good men !
- What do you think about current fashion?
- I don't know what other designers do, I just do my own stuff, I don't follow trends. Most of them are not really interesting anyway. ***
- Did you work for somebody else before?
- No, I was a school teacher and I started a business with my boyfriend. I didn't have fashion education, but I could sew. I just started from scratch.
- How many people do you work with?
- I have no clue, probably a couple of hundred, I don't really care...
- Where were the clothes with Nine West made? (question from public - americans are anti-sweatshops)
- I have no idea I just asked Nine West because they looked pretty good to be made in China...



... afterwards she signed a girls book, anothers boot (westwood collection ofcourse) and a artbox ... all three girls ended up crying... but yeah, I remember how I was after I spoke to Gwen last year...