Off to the Maldives, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Montreal Kinetik Festival! United Arab Emirates & South Asia travels.
All right, here’s the big news. In May, I’ll be traveling to four international destinations: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the Maldives Islands, and Montreal for Kinetik Festival! What will I be doing, how, and why? Keep reading.
(Hair in the above photo by Kukukachoo, shot by Said Karlsson. More from this series here)
You know I’m all about being a Pirate, and I’ve daydreamed of visiting the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Eco-friendly luxury resort Gili Lankanfushi is making this a reality… my filmmaking crew and I will be staying with them and sharing our “Treasure Island” adventure with you!
Can’t wait to explore this five star eco-resort, accessible only by speedboat. I’ll be staying in my own tropical villa, surrounded entirely by water, with a Mr Friday to assist me. Be sure to add my social networks (on the right sidebar) for a glimpse of the pirate life.
After the Maldives, my crew and I are jetting to Dubai, a destination that’s been on my bucket list for some time. We’ll be guests of The Fairmont Palm Jumeirah, located on the swank, man-made Palm Islands. This video and article coverage will be published on Huffington Post / AOL.
I’m fascinated by Dubai, a city of lavish imagination — home to the world’s largest mall and artificial island, 7-star hotel Burj Al Arab, and outrageous developments like a World-shaped archipelago. I hope I don’t fall off a camel when I ride it for the first time. (Above image from Wikipedia)
And then, we’ll be filming travel videos at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi, a classical Middle Eastern city home to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Funny enough, I first heard of the United Arab Emirates though Garfield’s Abu Dhabi song (where he threatens to mail Nermal away). Now, I’ll be seeing the UAE with my own eyes.
And that’s not the end. In late May, Montreal Tourism Board is sending me to Kinetik Festival, a four-day celebration of Electro-Industrial-Noise. I’m certain you’ll enjoy my video coverage, since performance artist Lauren (from Death Cookbook days) and Daniel Graves of Aesthetic Perfection will be my co-hosts!
Super grateful to all of you for supporting my writing and presenting work, which makes these trips possible. My film team and I are going to work hard, and bring you the best possible coverage of these international destinations.
Do you have UAE, Maldives, and Montreal travel tips for us? Is there anything you’d like us to feature? Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best. (I’ve never been to any of these places, except Montreal as a kid.)
PS: Thank you to Atlas Obscura for interviewing me about my “subculture nomad” life. You can also read my Adone street style and South China Morning Post features online (photo above from their Encounters travel magazine).
PPS: My June and July plans are already in motion… where do you think I’ll be? Hint, the continent is Asia…
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Tags: South Asia Travel 54 Comments
Final Fantasy Square Enix cafe, Shinjuku Robot restaurant, Kagaya Shinbashi: Tokyo’s weirdest theme restaurants.
Bizarre theme restaurants are maintaining their stronghold on the Japanese imagination. While in Tokyo, I visited two new themed cafes — robots and Final Fantasy — and an old favorite, Kagaya. Read on for scantily-clad fem-bots!
The Shinjuku Robot Restaurant has been raising eyebrows, for obvious reasons. I haven’t been to it yet, but apparently, 5000 yen buys you dinner inside a disco-neon space where women in bikinis para-para dance and battle each other on giant robots.
To promote the recently-opened theme restaurant, a truck drives around blasting loud music, with these two fembot killer machines attached. (Address: B2F Shinjuku Robot Building, 1-7-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku)
I did make it to the Square Enix Artnia cafe and gift shop, dedicated to all things Final Fantasy. (Address: Shinjuku Eastside Square, 6-27-30 Shinjuku)
Artnia is a giant egg next to the towering Square Enix headquarters, where video game magic happens.
Inside, you can buy stuffed toys and memorabilia of your favorite characters, and posters of FF’s Cloud. (Doesn’t he remind you of Sebastiano?)
The Slimes (who are possibly the cutest villains ever) are popular Dragon Quest characters.
We had lunch at Artnia cafe, which serves themed food. (Photography by First Mate Naomi)
I ate every last bit of these chocolate-banana pancakes, fittingly stamped with a Chocobo bird.
I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with Square Enix characters. Do you recognize the figures that adorn these sweets?
How about these cute blue creatures?
In the back, there is a Final Fantasy VIII concept art gallery that runs until April 28th.
The character models are surrounded by dramatic lighting and mirrors. A fountain sits in the center.
For us Pirates, no Tokyo TV mission is complete without a visit to Kagaya izakaya in Shinbashi. (Address: Hanasada Building B1F, 2-15-12 Shinbashi)
I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, but Mark (the owner) has endless tricks and delights up his sleeve, including prank drinks and costume-crazy performances. You can glimpse the fun in this video of my 2010 visit.
Hungry to learn more about Japan’s weird theme restaurants? I hope you’ll check out my book, which covers Ninja, vampire, Lock-Up, Christon, Alice in Wonderland, Princess, Butler and more.
Are you a Final Fantasy fan? Would you like me to visit and report on the robot restaurant? Tell me in the comments and on my Facebook.
PS: Tons of international travels coming up… can’t wait to announce where I’m heading next!