Singapore / Hong Kong / Wellington, NZ

[alo]

In September, I am going to New Zealand for 10 days, Wellington to be precise with a bit of travelling around probably chucked in. But on the way I'm stopping off in Hong Kong for ONE day, and on the way back, Singapore for TWO days. What should I definitely make time for in those three places, in those amounts of time!??
Any great music spaces, galleries, shops, sights, sports events I HAVE to visit?

 

[zhao]

not much music/art in Hongkong, but in Singapore there is lots of music... I'll email my friend who lives there and ask him whats up.

but if I were you I'd just... go SHOPPING! both places, especially Singapore, are great for that. (I realise by saying this I might be discredited forever as an activist of any kind)

 

[Melchior]

I've got to go to Hong Kong for work in June so any HK shopping tips would be appreciated.

I'm from Wellington and love the place but it's kind of a strange place to visit. Te Papa, the national museum, is pretty interesting and fun and has some cool stuff but it's also huge and can burn you out a bit. There's some nice art too. The City Gallery usually has some good stuff on as well, depending on the show.

I don't know where you're based now Alo but Wellington has some cool shopping and some fun nights out but so do lots of places and NZ is a pretty expensive place to do that sort of thing. If you walk up Cuba Mall you'll see most of the best shops. My favourite place to drink is calle dthe Matterhorn, but it's become a bit more of a pricey restaurant these days. Still a good crowd later on. Sandwiches is the main club but the best muic in Welly seems to eb te resident bar DJs. My fravorite is Kava who plays at a bunch of places. Radio Active is also a good thing to check out for what's goign on and what people are listening too.

Hope that helps!

 

[alo]

Cheers chaps, always good to get a a first hand opinion, particularly as my own travel experiences are so limited.

Melchoir, I was flicking through an old issue of the Wire a few days ago and came across a piece about The Space: An improv music place or something, have you heard of it? Also it mentioned somone called Birchville Cat Motel, and a guy called Richard Nunns who plays Maori instruments??

 

[Melchior]

The Space I've heard of. Never went however as not really my scene, and I'm not sure if it's still going. I've also not ehard of those other things (although Richard Nunns sounds familiar at least). Perhaps Omaar or Michael will stop by and give soem insight as other expat Wellingtonians.

 

[borderpolice]

But on the way I'm stopping off in Hong Kong for ONE day, and on the way back, Singapore for TWO days. What should I definitely make time for in those three places, in those amounts of time!??
Any great music spaces, galleries, shops, sights, sports events I HAVE to visit?

HK is a bit of a cultural wasteland in my experience, but watching the sun set at the peak, overlooking the city is one of the most beautiful things one can see on this planet.

 

[michael]

Hey, am stopping by. Space closed down and was promptly replaced by a venue called Happy, which I think may just be Happy in a different location. It opened since I left NZ, so haven't been there either. Omaar? bleep?

Birchville Cat Motel is a guy called Campbell Kneale who does sorta noisy drone / shards of cold vibes stuff on a laptop, coming from a background of guitar noise. I think!? Shit, beats me. Friends I know who are more into the rock than the dance think he makes a great racket. He has a CDR label called "Celebrate Psi-Phenomenon".

Happy's owner, Jeff Henderson, has some free music on this Kiwi net label:

http://www.postmoderncore.com/music-jeffhenderson.html

He's a free improv saxophonist.

If a group called The Labcoats happen to be playing I think it'd be well worth checking out. I dunno, probably a few interesting things going on at that place if you like stuff rough and loose, rather than smooth or glam.

I'm trying to think of any music by Wellingtonians you might've heard. I guess Recloose fits the bill now - pretty sure he has a residency at Matterhorn? You know, was on Planet E, Detroit techno guy..? Otherwise in recent times there's a guy called Signer who has releases on New York's Carpark, and Andrew Thomas on Cologne's Kompakt, but I don't know if either of them play out.

What's the rough ballpark of your interests anyway? There's heaps of sorta nu jazz / mellow breaks / reggae / soul / we love Giles Peterson-ness going on most of the time.

 

[michael]

Fat Freddy's Drop seem to have suddenly got noticed outside NZ. I see their records everywhere in Tokyo. They're Wellingtonians. Pretty sure only in NZ can self-released, sprawling nu jazz takes on reggae end up on commercial radio, alongside James Blunt and Black Eyed Peas. "Thank God" many will say.

 

[alo]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

What's the rough ballpark of your interests anyway? There's heaps of sorta nu jazz / mellow breaks / reggae / soul / we love Giles Peterson-ness going on most of the time.

Cheers for the advice Michael. I'm not sure i'm really looking for anything I'm familiar with, but, in the classic tourist sense, to make the most of the experience, soak up the flavour, possibly find something a bit unique to the locale. I'll definitely give that Happy place a look in.
How big is Wellington? The places that I have been to, Amsterdam and New York mainly, I found the best thing to do was just to walk walk walk and keep walking around. All important though: Wheres the best place to eat?!

Also, wheres close to Wellington to travel to thats essential?
I know The Dunedin Sound -of which I know little- is a little far away (in history and in distance) to experience. (I'm a sucker for the ol' musical myths you know! I think TDS was covered on a thread here ages ago?)

 

[Melchior]

How big is Wellington? The places that I have been to, Amsterdam and New York mainly, I found the best thing to do was just to walk walk walk and keep walking around.

You'd only be able to walk for a very short period in Wellington. It's 250,000 people!

All important though: Wheres the best place to eat?!

As a vegetarian, I like Aunty Meena's a whole lot. It's on Cuba St. There's lots of good malay and Indian around as well.

The unique-ness of NZ comes specifically from the bi-cultural interplay. What it means to be a pakeha NZ-er is about the interaction between settler culture of all types and Maori. I think that's sort of hard to experience as a tourist to be honest. It can be a very subtle thing.

Other than that the unique thing about NZ is the lack of population density. Get out of Wellington if you can. Go over to the Wairarapa if possible or perhaps down to Picton/Nelson for a night on the ferry.

As much as I love Wellington as a city, when asked "where should I go in NZ" I always say the South Island.

 

[michael]

Yeah, given how small Wellington is, there's not too much to canvas in a tourist sense. What gets me every time I go back is how easy it is to get out of the place. Which makes it sound like I hate being there, but is really just a comment on how compact it is.

An overnight trip to somewhere close in the Marlborough Sounds would be really worthwhile... if you want to see a bit of nature, anyway. And if the weather's OK. Hmm. Pesky weather!