Moving to a new Place

Gianni Berengo Gardin is one of Italy's most celebrated living photographers, best known for his pictures of his post-war homeland.

 

An exhibition of the work is to be held at Prahlad Bubbar gallery in London, the first UK exhibition of the project since he was selected by Bill Brandt for the Twentieth Century Landscape Photographs exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1975.

 

Alongside his Italian images, his pictures of rural India offer a glimpse of a country about to undergo massive change at the end of the 1970s.

 

He spent two years, photographing the lives of ordinary people, their rituals, customs and industry.

 

When asked about the work in India Berengo Gardin said, "I have always been a great admirer of Gandhi, and one of his statements is engraved on my mind. He said that Europeans and Westerners come to India and visit the big cities, but they never go to see the villages, even though, in reality, India is made up of small villages."

 

Here's a selection of the work from India. You can also check BBC Link here.

 

 

Moving to a new place

One of my friend is going home with his family for a year. So he asked me whether I would be interested in looking after his apartment until they return. I said yes so this May I moved houses. I am quite stoked because it is a new place and I have to pay half the rent. Since my monthly budget went up since I am now  attending school. It is a bit further away from school but I am happy. it is just for a year and after that I have to find a new place to rent.

South Korea baby

Stature at Seoul Station: Man holding a Grenade



Metro Spa Cabin Capsule with bed

Yes I went to South Korea to attend a conference. There was about 200 participants. I totally had a blast. The most I enjoyed was the weather. The weather was so favourable. I enjoyed it so much. I flew to Incheon via Shanghai Pudong airport from New Delhi. I thank God my luggage weren't lost on the way. The conference was for two weeks but I arrived three days early and left three days later, so I had to look extra  accommodation for those extra days. I wanted cheap accommodation and I found Metro Spa Cabin. Metro Spa Cabin is not a regular style accommodation. It has a capsule with a Korean style bed in it. There is a locker outside your room where you can store your luggage. There is no room in your capsule to store any luggage. There is also a gym and the host will provide you with proper gym clothing at no extra charge. There is also hot sauna rooms at no extra cost and again the host will provide you with special clothing for sauna users.

 

Now the weird thing or rather a culture shock for me were the spa bath where all Korean men bathe naked. Not only they bathe naked, they watch TV naked, they walk around and talk one other naked. I left very uncomfortable. I had my shower like 1 am in the morning when no one is around since the spa is open 24 hour. No way! I will get into a spa bath with any naked Korean men. Metro Spa cabin cost me $20 NZ a day. It was worth it apart from those naked Korean men. Metro Spa Cabin is 200 meters away from the subway train station and it helped me to get around very easily.



Metro Spa Cabin capsules

I loved Seoul Subway train system. All you have to remember is the colours and the number of your connection trains. If your journey is less than 30 minutes - your ride is free. I was amazed at how easy is to get around South Korea using the subway. It is much cheaper than taxi

Secondly, I was amazing at free Wi-Fi internet provided in the city. My few free days I just walked around the city with the help of my google map. I just googled for example where can I buy cheap electronic goods in Seoul. With the free Wi-Fi, I was able to make my way around and find my destination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DMZ [Korean Demilitarized Zone]

 

I went to the boarder between South and North Korea. The armistice that put a halt to the Korean War (1950-1953) divided the Korean Peninsula into South and North Korea. The two sides are separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ. In accordance with the ceasefire, the DMZ serves as a buffer zone between South and North Korea to prevent direct military collisions. 

South Korean Army checking our passports



 

South Korea has discovered tunnels that cross the DMZ. To build these tunnels, explosives were used. This left certain traces, called "blasting lines". The orientation of these blasting lines shows that the tunnels were built from north to south, North Korea built them. In total, four tunnels have been discovered, the first on November 15, 1974. North Korea claimed that the tunnels were used for coal mining. No coal has been found in the tunnels. All tunnels were dug in a rock called granite. Some of the tunnel walls have been painted black to give the appearance of anthracite.

 

It is believed the tunnels were built to allow a North Korean military invasion. Each tunnel is big enough, so an entire infantry division can pass in one hour, but the tunnels are too small for tanks or other vehicles. All the tunnels run in a north-south direction and do not have branches. Engineering within the tunnels, following each discovery, has become progressively more advanced. For example, the third tunnel sloped slightly upwards as it progressed southward, to prevent water stagnation. Today, visitors may visit the second, third and fourth tunnels through guided tours.

 





Door to North Korea



There were four tunnel dug. The third tunnel was discovered on October 17, 1978. Unlike the previous two, the third tunnel was discovered following a tip from a North Korean defector. This tunnel is about 1,600 m (1,700 yd) long and about 150 m (490 ft) below ground. Foreign visitors touring the South Korean DMZ may view inside this tunnel using a sloped access shaft.

3rd Tunnel Dug by North Korea





 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the conference, especially when it came to networking. I met many participants. They were awesome people, awesome people you always want to meet. Sadly we all had to part our ways. I had to fly to Shanghai Hongqiao airport and then find a way to Shanghai Pudong airport. I had 8 hours to do this. When I arrived at Hongqiao airport the lady at the help desk told me the only available mode of transport is by taxi and it will cost me $140 NZ to Pudong airport. However, I am the one who always does my research before hand. There is a subway train 200 meters away from the airport that goes to Pudong airport. So I took the train which cost me only $6 NZ. In two hours I was at Pudong Airport waiting for my outbound flight. I arrived home safely with my luggage.

 

The highlight for this month was going to South Korea. Upon my return to Lucknow, I had a lot of catching up to do with my language study. Despite of the hot weather, mango is now for sale. One of mine favourite fruit.

 

Have an awesome day