The Venitian Mayhem

Zul and Rob at one of the many cafes not far from the grand canal.


On my way home, taking random shots of this surreal city...


San Marco, the mecca of tourists.


View from Giudecca, the residential area where we are staying.


Venice, Italy
Tuesday, 5th June 2007
06:30hrs

Many have mentioned about the beauty of Venice, so here am I, looking at the city in awe, from the architecture to the culture and the food. The flight was about 18 hours, thank god KLM has improved tremendously, from the entertainment to the food, but well, they still serve ice cream at 4 in the morning.

Watched 3 films straight and a documentary. The films were Zodiac, Little Children and the lamest of all lamest film ‘Black Dahlia’. But I topped all of these with a documentary on Nirvana’s Nevermind album on how it was made and the interview with Butch Vig was a gem. A very detail song by song presentation…very nice!

I didn’t really have a good sleep, in fact I couldn’t sleep at all. Partly because I was down with a mad fever the last 2 days and my tummy has been giving me problems but well the journey was pretty alright surprisingly.

Together with Robert and Anita, the 3 of us looked like united colours of Benetton in some ways due to our ethnic difference. But let’s skip all the Amsterdam transit joke and Masonry dilemma.

I will try to avoid writing like a travel writer for I know I am not. It is my duty to write based on my experience. Though the facts about the city may be true or may be not, it does not really matter.

We met Zul at the airport who has been there for a week setting up his work at the Singapore pavilion. As I have been invited as an independent artist by an independent curator, of course my treatment will be as independent as it gets, as what I have realised in Europe, technically people want to push your limit of independence to the fullest.

The instruction given to me was to find the apartment Giudecca No. 97, well, as you know in Venice City, people walk or take the boat, basically, we have to feel the vibes and let our soul free.

After an Italian lunch owned by a Chinese family, and a call to Biljana, we finally reached the apartment, a nice quaint space with a lot of furnitures and artists. Lodging in Venice is costly, the best and cheapest way is to share.

We did not waste any more time, so we set sail, curious about the cityscape like young men in search of new heights. The taxi boat is a helluva manic transportation, bringing people around the city. Though we are staying opposite the main city, like Sentosa and mainland, if you take the wrong boat, it may take you 2 hrs to reach the city.

My first impression of the city was such an anti climax, the city was filled with summer vacationers from all over the world, mostly Americans which include sailors, senior citizens and students, random Korean and Japanese kawai-des photo opps, Spanish diva dozens, rich middle eastern dwellers with their harems, it’s a circus.

We tried to find our way through the ruckus to the Singapore pavilion, Jason, Vincent, Da Wu and Zul are all setting up in the space. All looked ready,except for Da Wu who is waiting for his banana stems… and of course I met the legendary Chandrasekaran (my former lecturer) who will be doing a performance in Venice as well.

The Singapore Pavillion looked rather subdued from my angle, maybe I am having a jetlag or perhaps Vincent’s dog looked glossy and juicy. But yah, my body is still adjusting to the manic onslaught of the vicious city.

The city is beautiful nevertheless, if you are a big fan of gondola rides and willing to splurge 70 – 100 Euros (SGD$200), why not… if not then stick to your guns, look for cheap coffees, greasy pizzas or kebabs.

Being a Singaporean I can’t help but to say Boat Quay and Clarke Quay and is a bad imitation of Venice, or I am not sure if they are trying to imitate Venice. Wherever you walk or turn, you might get in a way of someone posing in front of the Rialto Bridge.