Next Floor: The Philippines

No. It's not the Philippines. But I had to put a picture to make this post a bit less boring

My original plan was to publish my last attempt at a blog post: a post where I confusingly went back and forth trying to decide whether or not I should apply for a masters.

Well... you don't have to suffer through that, as I must have accidentally deleted it! And neither do you have to suffer through endless posts about studying Community Economic Development, because I am just about done the program.

I have spent the last year uncertain of what my future holds and insecure about the decision I made to come back to Montreal.

Next month I head to the Philippines for a 6-month placement. A new country and a new culture. 

As I will be once again working in an office after over a year of absence, expect to read lots of blog posts that I write while at work. Got to look busy, you know.

Back to Vietnam by way of China... Part I

For my way back to Vietnam from Montreal, I found a cheap flight to Beijing. I decided to take a couple days in China, before using Aeroplan points to get to Hanoi. I got a 6-month multiple-entry visa, thinking that maybe I would want to take another trip to Guangzhou for another shopping spree someday.

Somehow I got a reputation at work now, where everyone thinks I love China. I don`t love China. But it's true that not many travellers in Southeast Asia (or Hanoi) choose to visit China, opting instead for the cheaper countries in the region. Despite the fact that China is about 3 hours from Hanoi.

Still a bit jet lagged from the 11-hour time difference and the 23 hour voyage, I spent the first day exploring the Forbidden City. Judging by the amount of people in this Forbidden City (photo above), it's obviously no longer forbidden! I walked around the site with one of those recording devices you can rent, where some lady with a weird British/Chinese account talks about the history in an unadjustably high volume. I still can't believe there is a city of 13 million people with a winter climate similar to Montréal. I always gave the smallish population of Montréal the climate-excuse. But this seems to defy that, so back to the drawing board (is the French language the next best excuse?).

The next day I explored the Great Wall of China with my Couchsurfing companion. It was much more impressive than I had originally thought. Also, much more dangerous. Some parts of the wall had a steep incline and no steps. I had to hold on to a railing and slowly slide my body down. I don't understand how the Chinese would have been able to run up these inclines to attack the invading Mongolians. At that point I couldn't even figure out how I would be able to survive another kilometre... with steeper inclines in the horizon, and being to far in to turn around (this, paired with my fear of heights). I persevered. 

Back to Montreal - Aux Deux Maries

After skating I brought the group of seven people all the way to Aux Deux Maries, a cafe on the corner of Marie-Anne and Saint-Denis. I have always loved going there, if only to watch my non-vegan dairy-drinking friends indulge in amazing-sounding coffee concoctions. I just had black coffee, as they didn't offer soya milk.

Now that I'm no longer vegan (and ironically, they now offer soymilk), I am finally able to indulge.

I had a double espresso that was pulled through with an orange rind. Orange zest was sprinkled on top of the whipped cream and was dusted with cinnamon. Somehow cream or creme fraiche was incorporated into this.

They also roast their own coffee, offering a huge list of coffees from around the world.

Back to Montreal - Skating

For 3 years I lived within a 10 minute walk to Parc Lafontaine, one of Montreal's largest urban parks. I was with someone for quite a while who lived on the other side of the park, and wouldn't miss the opportunity to pass through it on the way to his house. There are trees wide enough to make me believe they were in that very spot in 1642 when Montreal was founded.

Despite walking through the park about 300 times in my lifetime and having about 3 picnics (one particular second date comes to mind), I have never been skating on the pond-cum-skating rink in winter. Something about -20 degree days and "I'll do it next week" mentality.

And so I finally did it.

Me, holding Robbie up. He hadn't skated since 1993.

Didn't notice how cold it was until someone said 'can you believe it's -27 today?' Then I started to feel cold.

Back to Montreal - Harvey's

Veggie burgers in Hanoi lack a lot. I have yet to come across a veggie burger there that isn't some sort of sloppy mishmash of vegetables, batter and usually cheese (yuck!). Oh. And fried.

Even outside Vietnam, no veggie burger comes close to what you can get at Harvey's. Canada's answer to fast-food giants Burger King and McDonald's, Harvey's grills your burger on an open flame right in front of your eyes. And they have stations set up where you can dictate to a worker exactly what you want going into your burger.

My veggie burger was constructed with tomatoes, onions, pickles, hot peppers, lettuce, mustard, and barbecue sauce all stacked between a whole wheat bun. I skipped the fries so I could stuff down two of these. Here's some photos to help you salivate.

Back to Montreal - Quartier des Spectacles

If you heard me talk about Montreal while I was in Hanoi (and believe me, I know you did), I would have told you how there were a couple things I hated missing.

The first would be the launch of the Bixi system, the first large-scale bicycle sharing system in North America, and also the most successful bike-sharing system to date. Unfortunately, the bikes aren't there during the winter, so any evidence of this has been hidden by 1 metre of snow.

The second would be the new Place des festivals. A new public space in downtown Montreal. Also partly hidden by snow, I didn't let the cold weather distract me from experiencing this new public space.

Here I am walking through a new installation in the square, called champs de pixels. As one walks through the snowy paths, little pixel-lights light up, following your steps. I came across it late at night, and thought it looked amazing with the areas new lighting scheme.

One Year Perspective

Ok. It hasn't yet been one year since I left Montreal and came to Vietnam, but being in Japan again visiting Jeannette and soon making my way back home for the holidays has got me thinking.

Interestingly, I found an old document in my Google Documents titled "5-year goals". I hadn't even looked at it in a year and a half, from the day I had an inspirational chat with a friend and ran home to write exactly what I think I should do in the next 5 years.

Out of the 5 I had written down, two of them have been achieved. The last goal, however, is to figure out what my other goals are. Seeing that I can knock two off the list, I have started to think hard about what I want to do next with my life (not an easy feat).

I like Vietnam, and I love living there. I love learning this new language, and discovering new things everyday. I can see myself there for a little while. But I need an escape plan for when the time comes.

I think I want to go back to school. I mean, I know.

I thought about going back to Montreal for school, but I've quickly scratched that out. I think that if I plan on eventually making my way back there, and I do, then having a degree from somewhere abroad is probably a better idea.

I'm thinking France, England, Germany - even Thailand or somewhere in the Pacific.

Now I just need to figure out what field I want to study in... and edit my Google Document.

Clouds over Hanoi

It hasn't been raining too much over here, not as much as a expected. When it does rain, though, it rains like hell.

The other day I decided to leave work early. I'm glad that I had, because as soon as I climbed my up to the 4th floor it startd pouring like crazy.

I waited a couple hours before heading out to the western food market to buy black beans and hamburger buns (8 months is way too long to go without eating a homemade veggie burger!).

As Lélé and I putted away on my electric scooter we spotted a giant rainbow hugging the horizon. In the food store we noticed the strange glow coming from outside. The outside was bathed in a subdued golden colour. When we got out of the store, this was what we saw:


I don't remember the name of these clouds (skimming the Wikipedia article on clouds and googling 'Nipple Clouds' didn't work), but I know I've read about these clouds before.

I remember a couple summers ago in Montreal there was an amazing rain storm and I remember standing on Roz's balcony on Clark Street with Butskies and Roz staring in amazement at the texture of the clouds. That was the first time I had seen these clouds.

Here in Hanoi I was equally amazed. Driving back to the house, Lélé and I noticed how everybody had stopped their motorbikes to take photos of the sky with their mobile phones.

Travels Beyond Hanoi: China

I realised recently that I haven't really posted much about my travels outside Hanoi. So here is my effort at providing a concise but informative post about my recent trip to Southern China.

Here's the number one observation:

Young Chinese men love purses. Or man-purses or murses. Whatever you prefer to call them. Whereas in Montreal only a select few men would dare stroll around will a shiny-white Gucci bag (I'm thinking of one particular friend here), in China they were everywhere. I couldn't walk on the sidewalk in Guangzhou without being whacked by a Prada purse strapped underneath the arm of a tall Chinese 20-something in Capri pants yakking away on his touch-screen mobile phone.

And here's my second observation:

Clothes are cheap, stylish and plentiful. Whereas in Montreal I usually avoid clothes with a 'made in China' tag in favour of something more local... in China, this is local! Guangzhou (also known as Canton) is a huge clothing manufacturing city. Diep led me to the area full of 'fashion cities', buildings with hundreds of sellers wanting you to buy the latest knock-offs of DSquared and D&G for about $5-10 USD a pair. Hell yeah! And a new pair of shoes for under $20?? I'll take three - and I did.

The fashion district in Guangzhou, China

Although my trip didn't go exactly as planned (this will be the subject of another post), I am really happy with this entirely new wardrobe I've come home with. I didn't even spend more than $150!

One Week Left.

It has been quite a while since my last post, and I apologise for it. It's been rather hard dealing with something major that happened. Sorry for the vagueness, but I'll just say I started packing some clothes a lot earlier than I had thought.

I now have less than a week left before I leave and I feel I have not gotten very much done. I have mostly been moping around and stressing about the house, not accomplishing anything because there is just too much to do. Sounds familiar? I feel like I am back in university (Note to self: work on your ability to accomplish things on a tight schedule while you are gone).

The money situation is very good at the moment. I believe I'll be able to survive with the amount that I managed to save and fundraise. I'll have to monitor how much I spend in the first month I'm there to know exactly how much I need, and how much I can afford. With meals on the street often less than a dollar, I don't think I'll have a hard time affording food!

Christmas brought me together with friends and family, who I feel have been very supportive of me, and the impending doom I have put myself into. My aunt asked me if I'm afraid of being lonely. I said no, but the truth is that I am terrified. It part of what I need to work on, not needing the presence of others in order to feel occupied or happy.

Christmas also brought some much needed things. Let's just say I've never been so happy to see the familiar pink colour of anti-diarrhoea medication sticking out of my stalking! But I'm sure I'll be even more happy in a couple months when I'm crossing my legs as if cracking a walnut trying to find that pink box and regretting my decision to eat at that sketchy street stall run by that old wrinkly lady with no teeth.

Last 3 Months in One Day: Journée Éco-Communo'Terre

If anyone is wondering what has been happening with the Chronicles of the 12th Floor blog for the last couple months, you should come to Pierce Street this Saturday, September the 1st. The street facing the Faubourg will be closed off between 11am and 5pm for an event that i have been organising. The Eco-street fair will host music, eco-vendors, and community organisations and a chock full of activities like Kung-Fu and East Coast Swing lessons, as well as a live mural painting by Jeannette Langmead.

This week's (or month's?) Concordia newspaper, The Link, has an article examining the lack of a community centre in the Peter-McGill district of downtown and how this weekend's event is an attempt to create a sense of community despite this lack. This week's Mirror has also gave it a mention.

Waste-free is the new recycle

Recycling has been a major part of the ecological movement for almost as long as there has been an ecological movement. It's popularity began with public awareness of the amount of waste going into landfills, and the popularity of the environmental movement as a whole (Rachel Carson's Silent Spring having much to do with it). Today, recycling programmes are popular not only because i this sense of ecological stewardship, but because of the market. Petroleum and woodpulp prices are high enough that using recycled materials is just as costly or more economical.

In all the efforts ecologists have been pushing (especially where i work, at the Éco-Quartier), i feel there is not enough of a push towards waste-free living. It's very simple for people to simply recycle all their waste and think that they are doing something good for the environment. Because in way recycling is not good for the environment, it is just slightly better than throwing something into a landfill. It still takes energy to transport those recyclable goods (whether they be packaging surrounding a consumer good, or a consumer good in itself) to you, and then to the recycling facility in it's after-life. Though it it less energy than producing from raw-materials, recycled good still require energy to be recycled.

It seems time that recycling should be considered common place, standard, if you will. Too often people feel it to be exceptional, as if it instantly makes them an ecologist, when in fact it is only the lesser of the two evils (evils being waste).

Given all this, it's encouraging to see that there are some steps being taken to reduce waste. The popularity of reusable bags is one thing. Three years ago, a grocery store clerk would give you a look of confusion when you would say you brought your own bag. Now it is not uncommon to see people carrying their groceries in reusable bags that are sold at any given grocery store, big chains and small. Today (as soon as i finish this blog post...), the Éco-Quartier is starting a bag-reduction campaign. This will involve making the cashier more aware of the excessive waste the use of plastic bags is creating, and to simply ask the customer if they need a bag instead of instinctively shoving it into a plastic bag. Hopefully, if this campaign works out, every store in downtown will have a sign urging the consumer to consider the environment in a small way.

Swarm on Sainte-Catherine

I was sitting at my desk yesterday (ok.it's more of a table) and heard something that sounded like a swarm of locusts. Well, i can only assume it sounded like a locust invasion, as i have never experienced one but have watched enough movies to have a vague idea (as if the filmmakers knew anyway). Wondering (and somewhat eager) whether the divine-being (whoever the fuck it is) was finally obliterating the human race, i poked my head out of the office and saw a swarm of skateboarders and a sprinkling of cyclists speed down Sainte-Catherine. I ran down to the corner as the tail end passed, and there were a couple cop cars with their sirens on dodging traffic to chase the group. Does anyone know what that was?

Underground Parks

Montreal's sister city Shanghai has announced the development of an underground park that will be part of the city's large underground network. A fibre-optic network would 'wire' light underground, solving the issue of it being underground.

I am not familiar with the way the underground city in Shanghai is organised, but in Montreal the underground city (except for certain passageways) are private spaces. It would be very interesting to see the insertion of a lavish public space in an area that is normally the domain of private development.

It is no secret that Montreal's downtown is seriously lacking some public space. Save for Dorchester Square and the adjacent Place du Canada, the downtown has no public parks. An underground park, if considered by the city, would not only help create a much needed park but help balance the private-space dominance of Montreal's underground and allow some warmth-deprived Montrealers some greenery in the dead of winter.

Write to your local representatives!

Fourth Citizen Summit of Montreal

Today is the start of the Fourth Citizen Summit of Montreal, the theme being 'Planning the City, economic development and participatory democracy: The Right to the City'. The Urban Ecology Centre is hosting the 40 or so workshops that will be simultaneously translated in English and French. Most of the programming is in French, but they have 12 roundtables and workshops that will be in English. One that sounds particularly interesting is titled 'the role of citizens' actions and economic development: Milton-Parc, Benny Farm, Point St-Charles,' starting tomorrow at 10:30. Check out the programme for all the details.

Why Tramways over More Buses?

So this is the debate. Montreal has decided that its priority is to develop a tram network, starting with about 20 km that will eventually expand. I took a course a couple of years ago in Urban Transportation and one main focus was on the differences between bus service and tramways in the way they shape a transit system and travel behaviour (as well as the city landscape). I have to first point out that i am not a tram enthusiast. I just truly believe that the a tram system is needed in Montreal.

Because there is a large initial capital cost in a tram system, it's more relevant to compare costs of the two services over a long period of time. With any sort of transit service the level of service (the type of service as well as frequency and quality of service) needs to be relevant in it's context. The bottom line all depends on ridership. Luckily, the proposed lines along Park and Côte-des-Neiges would replace the bus lines with the highest ridership. Apparently the Park bus line actually carries more people than the blue line (according to some big hotshot McGill researcher who gave a lecture in the course). So here is why, in Montreal's case, a tram network is advantageous :

-Fast. A tramway with a Dedicated Right of Way (that is, separated from normal traffic), is faster because it does not get stuck in traffic like buses do. Even the dedicated bus lanes have snarls when cars are turning. And a tram would have its own right of way even outside peak hours.

-Permanent. Tram stops have a more permanent place in the minds of transit users, like a metro station does. Same thing with tram lines. This is important in attracting investment and users. Bus routes and stops are not very prominent in the streetscape and (in the minds of transit users) can be moved or removed at whim. This also means trams routes aren't as flexible as bus routes.

-Clean and Quiet. Trams have no emissions and are quiet. Air and noise pollution is almost non-existent when compared with buses. This has a tremendous effect on quality of life of an area.

-Comfort. Trams don't change lanes or swoop into stops like buses do, so it is a much more comfortable ride.

-Ridership. Other cities have experienced an increase in ridership when tramlines are introduced.

-Maintenance. Tram cars have an average operating life of 25 years versus 17 years for buses. They also cost less in ordinary maintenance.

This is not to say that a tram system in the order of Projet Montreal's proposal is needed. Tram lines could only really be efficient on those lines with demand. As a intermediate mode between bus and metro, the capacity needs to be there. A line along Park is especially necessary to help alleviate the congestion on the orange line between Henri-Bourassa (or Montmorency) and Berri. That line is already fully saturated and can't handle any growth.

Update: i re-enabled comments, i must have accidentally clicked on 'don't allow'. Sorry about that!

Montreal Tramway

A new tram system in Montreal has been the talk of the town for the last month if not the last year. I somehow fell upon this document [pdf 240 kb] put out by Projet Montreal, complete with maps of every borough, and their proposed tram lines. If you haven't forgotten the last municipal election, Projet Montreal is the very new municipal party that surprising won a seat. They are the ones who have been putting the pressure to introduce a tram system.

Their proposal is a very bold one at that, seemingly drawn up by randomly connecting lines using a blue felt pen. This is the type of ambitious project, however, needed to stop the automobile's pervasiveness. Implementing the key routes like Park Ave, Old Port, Henri-Bourassa and Notre-Dame would be a great beginning.

Update: (Thanks to the Montreal City Weblog) The city will unveil a transit plan today that will apparently address the need for sustainable transit on the island. Bridge tolls and streetcars are in order. It seems a lot of people (including Kate from the Mtl city weblog) do not think there are advantages of trams over buses... maybe an upcoming post?
Update #2: For those with a lot of free time (like myself) the 155 page pdf document released by the city is available here.

Bois Franc Development

My parents have decided to move back to Montreal from Suburban American Hell. I had taken the responsibility of real-estate agent in showing them several properties as 'ideas'. Of course it has been incredibly stressful for me, and i have now resigned. It's clear they have acquired a taste for suburban living that can hardly be changed. Even in light of global warming ( i mean it's even on the American news that my mother watches so religiously!), and the fact that her son has chosen the environmental challenge as a career path, they cannot see the reality.

I am already disturbed and upset just writing this bit about it, so i will move on to the point of this post: the Bois Franc Development in Ville Saint-Laurent, Montreal. If they are going to pick the suburban lifestyle, i figured they may as well pick the 'better' option. Bois-Franc has been developed on the principles of New Urbanism. In a nutshell, here is a short summary of (what i believe are) the most important principles of New Urbanism:

-The pedestrian is encouraged.
-The density is higher than traditional suburbs.
-High-quality of the architecture and design.
-A mixed-use centre is within walking distance.
-A mixture of housing types


I have visited Bois-Franc twice now, and i am actually pretty impressed with the development. The first most-striking thing upon arriving is that people are actually present. Like a scene from their promotional video, there are people, couples and families walking and biking around. This is something i have almost never seen in traditional suburbs. While i am impressed with the development, there are some things i am still concerned about:

1. The housing is quite expensive, and there are no affordable housing projects or low to medium-income rentals.
2. This is still a suburb, and most residents still depend on their cars to reach areas outside the development.
3. The central commercial square has a lot of parking around it, and are single-use buildings without any residential development on top (i.e. no vertical mixed use).

They had an observatory at the centre, where i took most of the pictures:

The centre has a lot of different services: movie rentals, café, restaurant, bakery, depanneur, etc.
The housing development around the centre
Notice the bus that runs through the development. Both times i was here, the bus had mostly young people riding them.
High density development
Many of the more prestigious developments are placed around these squares (notice the playground)
These townhouses are facing each other with a common landscaped walkway in the Garden City style.
Mixed housing types: retirement condos in the large building with lower rise duplex-style condos behind.
The higher density is achieved through small land parcels and narrow buildings with 4 floors of liveable space (finished basement to loft-attic)
Phase 3 of the project will start soon, which will cover all of the adjacent golf-course.

Montreal Restaurants

I've been visiting a new bar every two weeks with a group of friends in order to acquaint myself not only with new places but also new friends (we each invite new people to come out with us). I bought the book Montréal Resto À Go-Go by Sarah Musgrave a while ago, and have used it as a guide for our new bars. The core members of the group have decided that we should visit a new restaurant once a month as well. I realised that it is not very often that i try a new restaurant. It's very rare that i do eat out, so when i do i tend not to want to take my chances with a new restaurant.

This new group will definitely help expand the repertoire of restaurants. Using Sarah Musgrave's book and some suggestions by friends, here are some that i have chosen so far (please comment on the one's you may have been to):

La Maison Hantée (The Haunted House), 1037 Bleury: How could you not want to eat at a dinner theatre, a haunted one at that! They have some burlesque shows going on, the next one being on June 29th. Eat and watch burlesque? I'll take seconds! The menu is fixed per show, but they say that if you notify them of an approaching vegetarian within 10 days they can accommodate them.

La Couscoussière d'Ali Baba, 1460 Amherst: A Tunisian restaurant that not only has tonnes of couscous, but belly dancers on the weekends and shisha. The food is apparently not that great, but again - belly dancers and shisha.

Abiata, 3435 St. Denis: I've only heard good things about Ethiopian food, and this is apparently the place to go. The food is eaten with a sort of spongy bread called injera, no utensils.

Chez Gatsé, 317 Ontario East: This was the first Tibetan restaurant in Montreal. There is a limited choice of vegetarian fare ( a couple of dishes or so), which is strange because i always though Tibetan food was largely vegetarian.


If anyone has any other suggestions... by all means, let me know. And if you'd like to join us, we're always up for meeting new people.

A New Green City

The Inhabitat blog has posted an interesting piece on a new city in Abu Dhabi to be completely green. Designed by firm Foster + Partners, this 6 million square metre walled city (called Masdar) will be completely car-free, waste-free and self-sustaining. I wonder if it will consider the other 2 pillars of sustainability, social and economic. Hopefully this city will be a centre of innovation in Eco-City design, especially with the planned university within its walls.

When reading about this city, many other failed projects come to mind. We shouldn't forget that there was not one successful city that had been founded will the goal of Utopia that is still functioning on those principles. New Harmony, Indiana and even Radburn New Jersey come to mind. Radburn had gone bankrupt before the city could be completed (a very watered-down version of a Garden City), and New Harmony erupted in chaos.

Apparently the creators of this new green city have not down any research into the (un)success of creating new towns that are structured on completely new ideas. I just say why not focus on improving the cities and towns that exist today, before creating entirely new ones?