Ben's $2 Shop on Swan St. © Erin Lau 2009
Tags: melbourne, swan st. australia
Yarra River, Melbourne
23 Dec
Yarra River, Melbourne © Erin Lau 2009
I like to sit by the Yarra River, its only a 5 min bike ride or 10 min walk from my house. Its banks are flanked by shady grass knolls and mature Gum Trees (eucalyptus) and another full grown species that provides excellent shade. I like that the river has this natural bank, at least until it enters the downtown area, its banks are devoid of concrete, and theres nothing stopping you from jumping in. Throughout the day, rowing teams glide past, egged on by a coach on a bicycle who rides alongside them on the trail, yelling through a bullhorn. I must have chosen a day to draw when they were doing other things, because most of the time you cant help but see them. I also ride my bike along the river, its a place where all the city’s runners go as well. And through my riding experience, I’ve gotten to the point where I automatically go to the left-hand side of the road, like drivers here, to avoid head-on collisions. It took my mom about a year before she felt comfortable driving a car here on the left side of the road. I don’t blame her.
Melbourne, Australia (OZ)
23 Dec
Dimmey's on Swan St. Melbourne, © Erin Lau 2009
Its taken me a while to get back to sketching while I’ve been in Melbourne, but now that I’m leaving for India in 2-1/2 weeks, I feel like I should share a little of this place through my sketchbook. Right around the corner from my mom’s place is the Dimmey’s store, on Swan St. It’s a Melbourne institution. Its like a low cost department store, more comparable to Kmart back in the day. The mannequins in the storefront windows are often poorly/ half dressed and the sales clerks look weary, but they have some great finds and overall Melbourne character. In addition, the building is a gem, and thats why there is currently a petition going around to try to save Dimmey’s from becoming part of a 8-11 storey apartment building. To be fair, the development would be setback from the street, presumably saving the historical facade. But the highest building on this street is only 4 storeys, 8 storeys would utterly dwarf the surrounding buildings. We hope the unique urban fabric of this part of Melbourne will be respected. More to come!
Halong Bay, Vietnam Oct 28 2009
5 Nov
Lost in Halong Bay, watercolor and ink. Erin Lau © 2009
Aboard a Chinese Junk, the four of us plied the emerald waters of Halong Bay, skirting the Karst outcroppings, stopping to kayak, swim to secluded beaches, feast on fresh seafood, and sleep under the stars on the deck (by our request). In the middle of the night I crept downstairs to splash and oar through the magical phosphorescent water, and though tempted to swim, decided to let my half-asleep body go back to star gazing.
Cat Ba, Vietnam Oct 29 2009
5 Nov
View from Hotel on Cat Ba Island Erin Lau © 2009
Cat Ba Island was our launching point into Halong Bay, as I watched the sunset from the balcony of my hotel room (an $8 room) fishing boats were returning for the night, and fishermen began their nightly consumption of “happy water”.
Halong Bay, Vietnam Oct 28 2009
5 Nov
Fishing Shack and Junk, Halong Bay Erin Lau © 2009
This is where we docked to eat dinner on our boat. Later we joined the crewmembers of two other boats to dine from a Hot Pot dinner (“Lau” in vietnamese) All day we had heard them saying “hot pot, hot pot” (in vietnamese) to other people on boats, and finally we realized that they had been inviting their friends to a monthly dinner. They also passed around the Vietnamese “Happy Water”, which tasted oddly like rice wine.
Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam Oct 24 2009
5 Nov
Bungalows and Garden and Puppies at Lien Hiep Thanh Erin Lau © 2009
Phu Quoq Island is a bit off the normal tourist trek, and we got there at the perfect time- low season, clear skies, warm water, and over- zealous wait staff who made you want to order yet another mango shake, just for the hell of it. After five days of lounging around on beach chairs, getting $4 massages, and swimming in crystal clear teal bath water, I felt ready to do a month of hard labor, just to balance out the utter gluttony I had been wallowing in. But there were some hardships, for instance most mornings I had to wake up to sound of 3-week-old puppies yelping outside my door, demanding to be cuddled, and struggle with them as they yanked at my sarong. In that light, I don’t recommend visiting Phu Quoc around late October, its too affordable, too relaxing and way too easy to miss your flight back to Saigon. (Actually there are some non sarcastic reasons to not go then, we did have torrential thunderstorms that caused cars to get stuck in the mud, and we did almost miss our flight because of this) But I almost forgot about that.
District 3, Saigon, Vietnam Oct 18 2009
5 Nov
View from Duyen's Roof Patio, watercolor and ink Erin Lau © 2009
In Vietnam, houses are skinny, to avoid taxes based on the width of buildings. (You can see that brick one in the distance is only about 10′ wide, maybe less) On the flip side, they are also very deep, creating some dark, cavernous spaces. My friend Duyen’s house, which she rents, is off a 3 foot wide side alley, and has 5 interior levels. Open perforations in the walls let fresh air in, as well as any itinerant urban bugs, giving a sense of permeability that can’t be acheived in colder climates, like where I live. Or, for that matter, in a country with strict building codes. I felt compelled to draw a cross section of her house, because it made me think about how minor variations in section can create that necessary boundary between room functions, and private/ public space. The bottom level, for instance, is like the muck room, or garage, thats where the motorbikes and wet shoes go. Above that you enter into the more sacred realm of the house. Thats all for my architecty tangent.
Section looking South East
Ink version of rooftop view
Saigon, Vietnam Oct 16 2009
5 Nov
Plants and Powerlines Erin Lau © 2009
VIETNAM! Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), its alive, its buzzing, its raining like crazy and this insane jumble of powerlines is situated just three feet away from where I sit on this balcony. I dont even want to know. I will wait out the rain, for an hour, while little boys splash in the growing pool of dirty water below. Theres something a little more raw here, than in China, the adolescence of motorbikes that wont let you cross. Here in the backpacker district, Pham Ngu Lao, its a little too much. Tomorrow I will stay with my friend, Duyen, in a less touristy neighborhood.
Yangshou, China Oct 10 2009
5 Nov
View from Hotel in Yangshou, colored pencil and ink Erin Lau © 2009
Yangshou was the destination of our cruise down the Li River. It is a touristy town, but for good reason, it is in the heart of these picturesque rock formations. We rode bikes through the country side, stopping to talk to farmers along the way. There are free- range chickens everwhere! The day was overcast, foggy, I didn’t see the sun much at all in China.
West Street, Yangshou
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