Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Melbourne & Sydney!! I LIKE!!

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the late update. I was waiting for the pics to be put up and sent over to me. its year end...so everyone's a little slack on the workfront! =P

Well I headed off to Melbourne on the 17th of Nov for a week and a half to work and then to Sydney for a holiday to catch up with old friends!! I only got back to Singapore on the 7th Dec. Was quite along trip but a trip well worth it!! =)

Once again the trip was organized by my Scottish friend Keith and the guys at Dominance MMA gym. I was working and running the classes at Dominance over the week and then heading outside of Melbourne to do some seminars for the gyms out there.

Arriving in Melb, Im not sure if it just happens to me but....they ALWAYS have such loonnnnggg queues through the immigration, there were only 2 counters open for like god knows how many flights.....and it feels like forever before you get out of the airport coz of the checks and all. After a flight with not much sleep....all that is never pleasant!!

Stepping out of the airport into blue skies and sunny nice weather was much nicer than the last trip where it was about 9 degrees and freeezing!!! Hard to believe that it has been 6 months since the last time I was in Melb!?! once again trusty, Keith was there to pick me up from the airport. Once again all smiles and laughs from there on. Keith is definitely one of the funniest guys I know!! Hours of entertainment with him!!

I was staying with once again Dave who is Co-owner of Dominance along with, Cam that I had the pleasure of hanging out with abit more this time. Living smack on Bridge Road and basically a 10min walk from the gym was pretty awesome!! Didnt have to get too confused with public transport and all.

Bridge Rd was a pretty cool area with nice cafes all around and lotsa factory outlet shops too. So during my time off I was never bored.....always walking around window shopping or eating!! God I'm so Singaporean when it comes to these two things!! haha Maybe Keith is also Singaporean!! Coz we did ALOT of shopping and eating!! Every cafe you went you were pretty much guranteed good food, good coffee and pretty damn good service!!!


Can't tell you how many cups of coffee I had in Melb!!! And just a random cake shop on Bridge Rd that made a GUCCI bag cake!?! haha

This was actually my first time working in a gym in Australia, so I actually wasn't sure what to expect. Running seminars are different. Seminars,I come,I teach and I go! I gotta admit that teaching in Dominance was alot easier!
1) Majority of people are in shape or train or do outdoor stuff!!
2) The students hold pads for each other. Which is in a way ALOT better and efficient. Coz that way I get to walk around and give everyone attention!! Correcting and giving tips, making sure everyone is doing it right.


Early morning 630am class.. yes 630am!!


Another thing that really impessed me about working there was the dedication, determination some of these guys had!!! 2 guys I knew would drive down almost an hour every other day for the 630am class and then drive back another hour to go to work coz they didn't work in the city!! Then they'd do it again later for the evening class sometimes!! And they weren't even fighers!!!!! They just loved the sport so much...and they just loved the gym alot...I mean what was not to like about it, it was a really nice and friendly gym with good trainers and facilities!


Students class, the future warriors! Fighters training as I show them a few moves to practice.

Over the weekend I went to do seminars in 3 diferent gyms outside of city central. Headed out to Nothern MMA in Greensborough, SMAC in Frankston & Top Tier in Geelong. I really enjoying doing seminars, I get to meet various gym owners and also get to see the different gyms and their trainees and the way they teach muaythai. It was really cool to see the changes or people really moving,kicking,punching or whatever differently...and that they did take away something after the seminars! Hopefully they don't forget what I taught them...well if they do I'll just have to come up again and teach em I guess =)


Seminar at SMAC and Top Tier MT.

Top Tier MT group photo.

Sorry for the lack of photos from the seminars. I left my camera at home and Keith and I were busy with teaching so didn't really had much time to take lotsa pictures.

After all the work and seminars, it was time for abit of Rest & Relax down in Sydney!! I never been to Sydney and have been meaning to go there for a looonggg time! I had some Personal Training clients of mine who moved back to Sydney, they were really close friends I'd say... I even attended their wedding in Noosa, which is in Brisbane,Australia. I haven't seen them in 5 years!! So it was good to finally catch up again rather than doing it over sms and facebook! =P

My mates lived on Manly which is the more posh/family and has alot of hot brazillian babysitters! That's what everyone tells me!!! haha The moment I say,"I wanna check out Bondi." People all go,"You're in Manly...it's where all the hot brazillians are!!" So guys...you read the inside news here on zigzach.com...if you like brazillian girls (and waxes!) you should try Manly in Sydney!! =)


Manly Beach! It really was a nice place! Very very chilled and not as busy as Bondi. Didn't see any brazillians (girls or waxes!)

From Manly, I had to take the ferry to the city. It is a REALLY amazing view!! Abit of a pain in the ass to travel back and forth on it ...BUT...seriously VERY VERY cool!! You literally go past the Sydney Opera house and the Sydney bridge. The first time I was on it I was like....DAMN IT IM ON THE FUCKING WRONG SIDE!! and people were infront of me...and couldn't get a good shot....but on the 2nd trip........I wised up and managed to get in some pretty nice shots! =)



Right,so I can now say.."been there,done that!"

Sydney is is TOTALLY different from Melbourne. Melbourne is reallly laid back... people are chill.... it feels like a giant sub-urb. Everything looks old and just feels sooooo relaxed!! but Sydney is like....hustle and bustle... you really feel the difference!! I guess coming from Singapore where it's hustle and bustle all the time for me...Melbourne's laid back, chillaxing attitude was really more my thing...I mean for a change!!!

I hit up Bondi Beach with another mate from Sydney, we walked around shopping and eating .....again!! The weather was pretty grey and it drizzled abit so there weren't that many people out on the beach. But loads of people at the cafes and all. What I really liked at Bondi was this place called Icebergs. They had this swimming pool carved or made into the rocks. The tide would come in and it would cleanse/change the water....It was so fucking cool and the water just looked sooooo amzing!!!


How beautiful is that??

What I did like about both places is the vibrancy....the people.....the energy......liveliness!! Another thing that always impressed me was the service at most places were really good! People were usually happy or smiley....they knew what they were doing. They actually kinda almost make you think that they really enjoy working!! (even tho we know no one really does!!!!) I mean, sadly its not something you see very often here in Singapore. I mean, sometimes you can't blame the staff, when you find out what the fucking hourly rate they get paid to work at restaurants, hotels and whatever is....you'd be like,"fuck....no wonder he's moody!!!"..

Apart from just the usual sight seeing, I didn't really get to do much partying and all while in Sydney. My mates there were all couples...married with kids....boooooorring! =P heheh but it was still cool I hadn't seen them in ages and I really wanted to just have some quiet time. We went up to Palm Beach which was supposed to be the posh place of Sydney, we went to my mate's in-laws place for an early Xmas dinner.

I had met the in-laws in Singapore when they visited my mates, and again at the wedding in Noosa. It was really lovely to see them again after soooo long!! The father in-law was an American, and he was a Vietnam war veteran. He had done not one but TWO tours in Vietnam!! I remember talking to him many years ago and he would tell me stories and stuff about the war. I mean that is something pretty amazing yet pretty scary to be apart of. He made a very big impact on me when we met and chatted on both occasions. He struck me as just a very very genuine person. Something I think the world really lacks nowadays.... just simple, honest, sincere and genuine people. I think it's a virtue that one learns, maybe from having gone through hardships in life. So for him to retire and be happy in beautiful Palm Beach makes you realize that every cloud has a silver lining! =)


The view from his amazing house in Palm Beach =)

So I'm writing this two days before the end of 2010!! It has been a crazy fun year and also some not so fun stuff.....but Im looking forward to doing the re-cap in the next blog entry!! Also sharing my 2011 goals and resolution!! Its time for Zig Zach to re-evaluate and re-plan conquering the world!!

I wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! May your dreams and wishes come true!! 2011....BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LaterZ

Zig Zach


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

IBIZA 2010!!

Hey guys,

I can't believe I've already been back to Singapore a month since my trip to Ibiza!! I dont know where the hell this year has gone. It's gone by sooo soooo quickly. I was actually writing the Hanover writeup from my mom's place in Holland a few days before my trip out to the lovely spanish island...and now a month later I'm back here.......damn...!!

I was up to visit my mom and spend some time with the family before I made my way down to the legendary Ibiza!! =) I've always wanted to go to Ibiza. I remember listening to that annoying song by "The Vengaboys - We're going to Ibiza". I actually fucking thought they were singing..."Oh we're going to Eat Pizza." ...Then my sis said...it's "IBIZA!!!!! Not Eat Pizza!!".... DUUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!



Then the famous english movie about Ibiza hit the stores. "Kevin & Perry Go Large!!" A real classic movie!! And it showed some scenes of Ibiza's party scene and some of the superclubs! It was all just CRAZY. Nothing like what I've ever seen and I was just blown away! I remember thinking..."Now THAT is a party!"



All my friends from Europe would rave about how amazing it was....and beautiful the island was....beautiful beaches...people....amazing clubs...and how the music was fantasitc.... I mean really it just sounded like HEAVEN to me! =) They also mentioned it was expensive....and I mean I was thinking how expensive can it get....READ ON!!!...

So on Sat 25th Sept, I flew on my own from Dusseldorf,Germany which was the next town an hour away from my mom's place in Holland. When I was sitting at my gate at the airport waiting for my flight, I kinda started to notice that the majority of people boarding my flight was uhmmmmmmm about 60 or 70years old?!?!? I was actually begining to think to myself..."Am I on the right flight??????" I thought Ibiza was supposed to be PARTY ISLAND!! I was expecting people already drunk and singing and being CRAZY even before getting on the plane!! haha


Sun was setting over Ibiza airport, the sun goes in and the party begins!!!

When I arrived at the airport. Another flight landed too. And then came the reaaaaaaaallll party people!! I think majority were italians on that flight....how did I know...Big sunglasses,tanned,hair all oiled up like they swam to ibiza?!....and the ultimate give-a-way! They were talking with their hands!!! hahahah

So I checked into my hotel up in Talamanca. A more quiet area with a nice beach away from the busy Ibiza town and all. Not even sure WHY I had one??? Half the time in the day you were out on the beach. And at night you were partying til the early or late hours of the morning!! I freshened up and went straight out to meet one of the very few YOUNG ppl on my flight. He knew a couple of ppl who worked in Ibiza so he said he'll show me around for the night since I was alone and all my other mates were only arriving the next day.

So me and Sascha and his mate Nikki walked around Ibiza town and went to check out some bars and stuff. The VIBE and the ATMOSPHERE was just so amazing! Think everyone there is just on holiday and knows that it's all about partying thats why it's got such a cool vibe. I mean it was exactly what every one tells me...."how amazing it was....and beautiful the island was....beautiful beaches...people....amazing clubs...and how the music was fantasitc....and EXPENSIVE!"........ One drink say a Vodka cranberry was 15 - 20EUROS!!!!!! A beer was 12 - 15euros......and water was 10 - 12euros!!??!? MENTAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!


Chiringito on Es Cavellet. Food looked REALLY good there!

Had a fairly quiet night as I knew the next few nights ahead when my mates arrive would be a LONG few days and nights! haha Early that morning, my friend Stefan from Hannover arrived early that morning and we met up with a whole bunch of other people from the Cocoon label and we ended up at Es Cavellet (pronounced "S CA-VA-EY!")

By the way this was a GAY and NUDIST beach!?! No Im not GAY...nor am I a NUDIST!?! It's somthing very strange when you come from Asia...topless I can still deal with but nude...hmmmmm......It's not always a pretty picture lets just say!! I mean there were some pretty hot women topless/nude and also some fit guys letting it all hang loose. But then again majority are some really big fat older couples. No offense we'll prolly be like that when we get alot older but...yeah I wouldn't wanna be parading around nude like that.

After a whole day of sitting at the beach around naked people, we decided to go home get changed and head out for dinner and see where the night takes us. We hit the famous Pacha after dinner at about midnight as there was a Cadenza party going on that night and all the guys were like,"No no...we won't have a late one...coz Monday is gonna be a big night with Cocoon Party closing and all that".......Uhmmm well lets just say we all rocked home about 4 or 5 in the morning...thats early for Ibiza...but LATE considering everyone was planning to have just ONE drink! hahah! Pacha reminded me alot like Zouk in Singapore. I remember reading once that the owner of Zouk was a huge Pacha fan and modelled Zouk on Pacha infrastructure.


Michel Cleis warming the night up at Candenza night at Pacha,Ibiza!

After a late night, its Monday 8am and I recieve a call from my friend, Harbi from Germany, he had just arrived to party and was wondering where my hotel was and all. He heard I was there with the gang and didn't wanna miss out on the fun!! haha How cool is that, "Im going to Ibiza over the weekend to catch up with a friend!" haha.... For me was more like I flew half way around the world!!....Some of the guys from Hannover were there too and they were like," WHAT THE HELL YOU DOING IN IBIZA!??!" haha

I spent most of the day with Harbi just walking around and chilling on the beautiful beaches, didn't really do that much as we knew it was gonna be a LOOONGGGG night and needed to conserve our energy! All our other mates were at the Gay & Nudist beach again and I had enough images of old naked people to last me the trip...so didn't need anymore!! =) haha Come night we went for dinner nearby our hotel and had some amazing Spanish Tapas!! Lambchops...Mussels in a tomato based sauce....fried calamari....and my all time favourite, PAEELLLLAAA!! After stuffing our faces with amazing food we set off on our amazing clubbing experience!!!!


Seafood Paelllaaa!! Yummm yummmmm!!!

First up on the checklist was to hit the notorious DC10 for the Circo Loco party!!! I've heard soooo many stories about this legendary club!! All my DJ friends or friends in Europe always tell me soooo much about this place. And true to their words....DC10 was just MENTAAAAAAALL!!! It was 10pm on a Monday when we got there and it was RAMMMMED with people and the music was just mindblowing!!! Prolly one of the BEST sets or music I've heard in a LOOOOOONNGGGG time!! Definetly one of my FAVOURITE clubs in the world without a doubt!!!


Flyer for DC10's Circo Loco!! Entrance to prolly one of the BEST clubs in the world I have to say!



DC10 has a reaaaallly coool vibe to it. It has had a VERY notorious history on Ibiza!! I remember walking into the club and the ENTRANCE was soooooo tiny and it was really hard to get in!! After squeezing through the entrance, you are in the mainroom and the music was just soooo deep yet...pumping....the sound going through your body. Every bleep and beep and drum you can really feel it going through you. Heading out into the terrace of DC10 it was just as crazy....rammed with people!! You had to be there EARLY to get a good spot right upfront!! The music was light,funky and bouncy....and it just made people wanna dance!!!

(L - R) Mainroom music was just UNREAL one of the best minimal sets I've heard in a LOONGGGG time!!! DC10 Terrace was RAMMED with people and the music was just really uplifting.

We left DC10 close to 1am and headed to the main event of Ibiza that night. I think it was prolly the party that EVERYONE was talking about. Monday night at Amnesia, Cocoon's Closing Party!! All my german mates were at the dinner with the organizers of the party so we met up outside Amnesia and went in together.


From outside, Amnesia just looks like any other big club...but when I got in I was like...WOAH!!...I mean it was just frikkin HUGE!!!!!!


(L- R) Sven Vath owner of the Cocoon label rocking the mainroom dancefloor!!
The terrace of Amnesia which was just HUGE!! Wait til you see it in the day!!!


When you got in to Amnesia it was like.....HOLY SHIT THIS PLACE IS HUGE!!! I mean really it's just clubbing on a MASSSIVE scale!! The place was slowly starting to fill up and by 2am the place was RAMMED and pumping!! I mean it was just amazing!! The vibe and atmosphere in the club was just unlike no other I've ever experienced!!!! I mean just look at the pictures it was just packed with people dancing,sweating,grooving and just having a good time!!! And then when you think it couldn't get more AMAZING then this. Daylight slowly starts to break into the Terrace over the clear rooftop and as it gets brighter and brighter.....you see THIS!!!


This is 11am on a Tuesday morning!!! MADNESSS!!!

People dripping with sweat, dancing away....everyone there just loving it and enjoying the moment!!!!! I suddenly think to myself......"THIS is what it's all about!! I'm in IBIZA!! HELLLL F@#$KING YEAH!!"...I get the goosebumps and I start dancing again like crazy even tho I was soooooo tired from the long night!! Ahhhh man it was just something soooo sooooo special!!!!

Taken from next to the DJ console, Sven Vath the founder of Cocoon , ends the night and season of Cocoon's Party Animals in Ibiza!! SPECTACULAR!!!


It's Tuesday afternoon 12pm Me, Stefan and Harbi stand in the carpark waiting for all the guys from Cocoon to decide what they are doing before we head to the Cocoon After Party at Ushuaia (Ushu-aya) which was happening pretty much in an hour or so!! Note that we have been partying since Monday night 10pm!!! We were EXHAUSTED!! But that didn't stop the party animals!!

We went back to the hotel....got freshened up....a change of clothes and out we went to Ushuaia!! it was 3pm and the warm up DJ was playing some AMAZING deeep deeeeeeeeeep minimal techno tech house.....Just warm beats with bleeps and tingles....nothing too crazy!!! I think that WARM UP DJs often have such a hard job and people don't realize it but are there only to see the GUEST DJ. Warm up DJs are what keeps people at the party or makes them leave....they can't play too boring...or too hard...it has to be JUST PERFECT!!.... They kinda set the way the night is going!! And the way this guy was building it up....it was gonna be a hell of an afternoon/night on the beach!!!!!


Ushuaia Beach Club! Another amazing ibiza moment as you sit on the beach and watch people dance to some amazing music!

It was just realllly such an incredible day. Just sitting on the sofa beds at Ushuaia as the deep minimal and tech house music just gets you grooving and you're chatting to random people and telling them, "I'm from SINGAPORE." It never fails to amaze people!! haha =) Then the legendary Sven Vath comes takes over from the warm up DJ and right away you can sense that people know it's gonna get crazy now!! Sven play's some tracks that even I was so surprised he would play....but it really just shows how versatile he is as a DJ and not just sticking to one genre or sound.



Time flies sooooo fast in Ibiza and before you know it, 8 hours past and Sven is still going on and I was DONE!!! I was WRECKEDDDDD!!!.. After all the partying and dancing the body needed to have a rest!! I staggered home.....My body feeling like I've just done a whole 5 rounds with the current muaythai champ Yodsaenklai?!!? Sheesh!! I was HURTING!!!

Woke up around 9am on Weds morning. You would have thought I would be asleep the whole week??! But I got about 8 - 10hours and I felt pretty good actually. Got up and on my way to breakfast at the hotel...and another day of just hanging out and lazzzzzing around by the beach!! =) Seriously....this was HEAVEN for me. Amazing dance music......some seriously crazy parties..... amazing people/friends.... really I wish I didn't have to leave the next morning =(

After dinner with the guys from Cocoon, I got in the car with the boys and one of my friends points out to me,"Do you know Butch? Maybe you can bring him to Singapore to play next time." I was like,"Yeah of course I've heard of Butch...I have a few tracks from him. Great producer!" So we started to chat and all that. Butch told me he was in Ibiza to pick up an Award for Track of the year in Ibiza 2010!! A pretty biiiiig award if you ask me!!


This is the track that won him the award. It's sooo soooo funky and a totally differen side to the usual Butch productions and tracks. Again....a great DJ/producer showing versatility....not sticking to one genre/sound.

We all arrived at Space and it was Kehakuma nights on a Weds in Space. This was also a closing party for Kehakuma and the line up for the night was nothing short of SPECTACULAR!!! I was sooooo sooooo glad I got to go to this party!! It's almost like every favourite DJ in one night!! But like what my buddy Stefan said,"Every night and every where is an amazing line up!!!" Which is true....you end up wanting to go to EVERY PARTY!! which means....NO SLEEP....and spending a TRUCK load of money!! hahah



When we got in, it was still fairly early, and it was slowly beginning to get busy. We walked into the mainroom and M.A.N.D.Y were already banging out some big room tracks. Space was cool...but it was missing something?.......I was expecting something reaaaaallly amazing...coz they used to do these club night here in Singapore associated with Space....and you had this great expectation of the place...and to be honest....it was.......OK.. haha sorry!!


Booka Shade later on in the evening playing some realllly pumping music!!! Look forward to seeing them at Zoukout 2010

Maybe I was tired..or just not in the mood yet...???...But I think after Amnesia and seeing how amazing it was that night...really that was hard to top! Like one of my friends Frank who was with me said,"There's nothing SPECIAL about it anymore...it just feels like a club and it could be anywhere in the world...doesn't have that Ibiza feel to it!!"..But he did say, before they put the roof over the terrace area in Space...the Sundays at Space parties were legendary!


We went back into the Terrace area of Space and Nick Curly was opening the night and doing the warm up and wow he serioulsy did an amaaazzzing job warming up the night. Like I said, warm up DJs are soo under appreciated. While standing around chatting and dancing....Nick Curly suddenly drops Butch's track, "No Worries". I was like...."HOW FRIKKING COOL IS THAT!" standing next to the guy who produced this track!!!! And to see the crowd absolutely going crazy at the track was just soooooo cool!!! Congrats on winning the track of the year Butch you deserve it!!! A very special and memorable moment for me!


The terrace room filled up preeetttty quickly!! And Nick Curly really building the night up soooo perfectly!!

Next up was Radio Slave another talented producer/remixer/DJ that I really like. He took it up a notch and realllly rocked the dancefloor leaving everyone begging for more!! And more they got!!! Next up was Guy Gerber & Seth Troxler who were doing a back 2 back set. Usually back 2 back means one DJ plays 1 or 2 tracks...and then the other DJ plays another 1 or 2...... it sounds simple...but the DJs really gotta compliment each others style...sound..vibe. When done right, it is really amazing!!!! We were all actually kinda curious how the two of them would sound back 2 back....but I gotta admit......... it was pretty fucking spectacular!!!!!

Seth Troxler & Guy Gerber back 2 back .....MAGICAL!!!

I seriously think this was the most amazing set I've seen or heard in a LONG LONGGGGG time!! Guy Gerber playing some of his tracks.....adding sounds....loops....beats...vocals over certain tracks when Seth plays....Seth doing the same and the two of them just keeping the night and the flow soooooo perfect. It just got higher and higher....and people were just screaming for more!! From a DJ point of view...it was really reallly just amazing what they were doing. It was only me and Harbi left from our group and we both were just dancing and dancing and dancing. Guy Gerber without a doubt is one of my favourite DJs. And together with Seth Troxler..........the night was just MAGICAL!!!! I was blown away!!!

As I mentioned......time flies in Ibiza! 5 days have passed and next thing I know it is 6am!!! Me and Harbi both had a flight to catch at 9am!!!! We had to exit the club quickly before everyone left and there were no taxis left!!... We rushed back to the hotel........a quick shower....packed our bags..... met up in the lobby and we were OFF to the airport feeling very very rougggghhhhhh and also very sad we had to leave the amazing island.=(

All I can say is....Ibiza is an AMAZING AMAZING place. Memories of the place are gonna last FOREVER!!! I dont think there is anything else like Ibiza! I really hope to make it back there again next year....or every year!!! =)

What I really miss about Ibiza is, the people who go there know their music, know their djs and know the scene!!!... They know what night which DJ is playing..they know what kinda sound the DJ plays. They don't go out to a club and go..."Ohhh I thought it was gonna be hip hop/retro or trance!"..... They don't go up to the console to the DJ playing techno and REQUEST for fucking HIP HOP?!?!?

It really is an island for the hardcore clubbers and electronic dance music lovers!!! Everyone there is on the same page....same frequency...... they are there to appreciate the electronic dance music scene!!


Ibiza 2011. See you there!!!



Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Hannover & Hamburg!!

Hey everyone,

so I was supposed to do the update on my trip to Germany "a few days" after posting the previous one. Uhmmm how did you guys guess that it wasn't gonna happen!?!?! haha oops!

Im actually up in Netherlands with my family now writing this blog. I know I know you must be thining..."Wooowww jetsetter travels so much blah blah blah"....Uhmmmm I work my ass off half the time and am always doing so many things trying to start new businesses and to be honest I really don't do a lot for myself. So this trip is totally just to spoil myself and to chill (catch up on my blogs/emails!!) and do something for me...just coz I can...and just coz I want to. =)

So last month I was up in Germany, it was officially my first time in Germany!! I really didn't know what to expect??? Its never been a place on my list of places I've wanted to visit?? I mean all I could think of was that there was gonna be a big blonde woman with pigtailed hair called Olga holding big jugs of beer!! (Not the kinda jugs I like on a woman by the way!!!) And I thought people would be very...hmmm regimental...as in they were very strict and stick to themselves and not very sociable? Boy, was I WRONG!!! And what a pleasant surprise!!



The bullet train I had to take from Frankfurt to Hannover after a painful 11hour flight.
3hrs is still 3hrs Doesnt matter if you are in a Ferrari or a bloody bullet train!! haha


The whole reason I was there was actually to catch up with one of my good friends Stefan (No not Stephen Fox of WMC) and to attend his outdoor dance party that he does every year! Stefan and his lovely gf, Katrin do alot of events in Hannover and have one big outdoor party a year called Apollon's Park! When he told me that for Apollon's Park 2010 he was booking Karotte, Guy Gerber and Sven Vath for his party I thought to myself...." I Get to see Stefan and Katrin again. And on top of that, 3 of my fav DJS in one night!!!!!!!! I AM SOOOOO THERE!!!!"


What a COOL poster!!!

So I arrived in Germany and Stefan was really busy so he had his mate Kian pick me up from the train station. Kian's a cool kid....half german half Iranian and was my designated tour guide! =) Kian and me headed off to the hotel, I just dropped off all my stuff, had a quick fresh up and was out the door to meet Stefan for a quick bite and chat.

Stefan had some bad news from the government as they wanted to stop his outdoor party. Reason for them wanting to stop the event was because of the recent deaths at this years Love Parade. If you guys don't know, Love Parade is a huge dance music festival that has usualy about 1.4million people from all over the world attending!?!? 21 people died at this year's Love Parade and it had a huge impact on any party/outdoor event being held in Germany. You can watch and understand what went wrong at Love Parade here. They have now said they will NEVER do another Love Parade in respect of those who lost their lives at what was meant to be a fun day out.

http://www.loveparade.net/english/?lang=en


With 24hours til the event happening, Stefan had ALOT to do....a backup plan incase it was really gonna get canceled.......some meetings with government officals to try and fix it all and assure them that all safety precautions and regulations were met. I left Stefan to do his thing and me and Kian went around walking in Hannover. Some of the things that caught my eye or just made me laugh in Hannover.


Hannover Hauptbanhof which is the train station. That cool thing on your bottom left corner (first pic on your left) is a bicycle kinda taxi, eco friendly and cool looking =) We also have that in Singapore...butttttt....not as FANCY looking....!!


Voiiiillllaaaa behold, the Rickshaw from Singapore!!
(NOTE: Do not pick your date up in one of these!!)



This is the old church in the old town in Hannover. When I say OLD I mean OLD!!! Built in 1333!!
(Note Singapore was only FOUNDED IN 1819!!!!!)
Even if we had a building made in 1333, it would prolly just be torn down and re-built into some oversized shopping mall containing the same crap as the mall 30metres down the road!!

Hannover was nice, I mean it was just a small and simple town! We prolly walked the whole place in an hour or more? haha I left Kian and headed back to my hotel in the evening where I crashed til the next morning and we met up again the next morning to go to Hamburg!!

Hamburg was a cool city!! It really reminded me alot of Stockholm for some reason. I think it's all the water, ships, the boats, the port, the river and buildings! As we were driving in to Hamburg the sun was shining and the light reflected off the water....and whenever I see that shiny glittery light that comes off water....I always remember my trip to Stockholm as I came in to the city and the sun shined on the water....it was just AMAZING. Still on of my fav cities I've visited.


Hamburg - It was a really cool city!!! Had a very nice vibe about it.

Hamburg however also had a very notorious side to it.....Reeperbahn!!! Reeperbahn is a world known redlight district. Everyone said to me,"If you go to Hamburg you gotta check this place out!!" Sadly I was there in the day...so it wasn't really exciting!! Apparently at night it's just total MADNESS!! We walked around and I mean it really felt like I was in Patpong in Bangkok, Thailand!!!! There was something else about the Reeperbahn that made it special....The Beatles!!! The Beatles played alot around here at the bars before they became world famous!!


Coke is so 80s!! Thats what it says on the bench!


The main re-light district with all the signs above. Im sure when night falls, it's just a totally different place!!! I'd say it would look alot like Patpong in Bangkok.
(By the way the people standing there are about to attend a wedding at a church!!!)
Heaven and Hell in one street....you decide which is which!!! ;)


While we were out doing touristy stuff in Hamburg, Stefan and Katrin, had a final meeting with government officials for the final say.........and they did not get the green light from them to have the outdoor party ..... It was pretty harsh...leaving them with about a day and a half to re-direct couple of thousand people to the new venue!! =( I felt so bad...and I really wish I could have helped them out.

They worked really had all through the night and woke up early in the morning to settle whatever was left to be settled. Even with only a few hours to go til the event happening they were still pretty....well I wouldn't say CALM....but if it was me I would prolly have had my foot through the door!!

Train stations from other states and even those arriving in Hannover had the electronic signboards displaying the message saying "Apollon Park has now been moved to a new location, Fun Park"...Shuttle buses transporting ppl who were already at Apollon Park to the new location. Website forums were edited....emails sent out...facebook was updated....letter from the headline DJs saying they will still come and rock the party even tho it's been moved indoors..... I mean I was very impressed. I have to admit Stefan,Katrin and all their helpers were VERY VERY organized and VERY VERY efficient!! It was like operation Blitzkrieg...!!! hahah

The party started at the new location as scheduled at Fun Park at midday. Fun Park was supposed to be the after party venue. Meaning once the Apollon's Park ended people would make their way to party again......But since Apollon's Park wasn't happening. It just got moved into Fun Park saving everyone from running around!!!

The party was well on it's way but Stefan, Katrin, Me and some others only got there at about 3pm. A few hiccups here and there still to be ironed out but everything major had already been settled. When I got there, I was really impressed, Fun Park was a pretty huge place!!! LED Lights 360 degrees around on the wall....amazing lights/lazers....and a super PHAT BASS!!! I never been to Ibiza (thats about to change this wkend!) but I really felt like I was in Ibiza and not Germany!!!

Karotte was rocking the dancefloor when I got in. He's always been one of my fav DJs and have heard alot of his radio shows. Never ever seen him LIVE tho. So to see him live this time was just amazing. He played an AMAZING set....Just reaaally pumping...uplifting......and just made you wanna dance!! And he was very lively behind the decks...which I think is great!! Some DJs are soooo boring to watch..I mean yes we dont need to watch em ...we need to listen to em...but still I just think it adds abit more VIBE to the crowd when they see a DJ enjoying himself so much!!


Karotte doing the warm up set!!

Next up on on the headline DJs is definetly one of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE!! =) I first saw him at Zouk in Singapore 2007 and he wasn't that famous yet. He played to a half empty room and I remember it was an AMAZING set and no one understood or got what he was playing!! After his set he came down and had a chat with me as he saw me going nuts to a few of his tracks (well to his whole set in general!!) We chatted and had a laugh and the following few days I took him around shopping and sightseeing in Singapore. I remember he was telling me he was setting up a new label for his music and was planning to move to Berlin as music scene there was much more ahead of everyone else.

Fast Forward 3 years later....Seeing Mr Guy Gerber in Hannover was great and totally different!! I haven't seen him in 3 years, we had a quick little chat and I left him to put the crowd under his spell!!! (He no longer plays to half empty rooms!!!!!!) 3 years and alot has changed for the better for Guy, Im so glad everything is going well for him, he is a MEGA superstar DJ, his label Supplemental Facts is one of the biggest labels to date. He has had numerous number 1 tracks and remixes played by almost every DJ in the scene. He is booked every weekend flying all over the world...Brazil one day,Ibiza the other, New York another...Now,THIS IS THE LIFE!!! =)


Guy Gerber working his magic on his Ableton! Cheers for an AMAZING night!
His set was just MAGICAL, it made you smile til you could smile no more!!!



Amazing lazer and light display at Fun Park

As they always say, save the best for last.... Last DJ of the night was Sven Vath. Papa Sven as some germans call him. Sven is just something else!! He has such amazing local support...the germans are sooo proud and love his music so much!! He is definetly the Godfather or techno!! He is I think 50ish and still partying and DJing all over the world!! He runs an amazing record label, Cocoon. He also owns a club in Frankfurt called Cocoon, and he has his infamous Monday nights at Amnesia in Ibiza called Cocoon!!! Stefan told Sven that I had come al the way from Singapore for the party and weve met before in Singapore very briefly but he was really happy still and gave a big hug...and said,"Oh I already know my dates for Singapore and looking forward to coming back to Singapore!!" A legendary DJ/Raver who has done everything there is to do in the world of DJing!!! Amazing that all I can say!!


Just look at the pictures and just see how much the crowd has grown since Karotte,Guy and then finally Sven!!
Madness!! 2500ppl in a club!!



Sven still using ONLY Vinyls and a couple of Cds when ever he plays his live sets.
Vinyls will always sound better no doubt about it.




Ignore the Hannover city cucks at the fron of the videos!!
They say a picture paints more than a thousand words....a video......well it just wasted my time writing this blog bascically!! =P Enjoy!!!


The trip to Germany was really just spectacular and totally not what I expected!! =) People were really nice there....forward thinking dance music....a crowd that actually UNDERSTAND dance music....amazing friends new and old ones that I've made aroud me....3 of my fav DJs in one night....I really couldn't have asked for more!

I can't thank Stefan and the lovely Katrin enough for such an amazing time and for being such amazing hosts!! Even though it wasn't outdoors like it was supposed to be, the Apollon's Park/ Fun Park party is still pretty much one of the BEST I've ever been to. My initial thoughts of Germany was totally wrong!! I'm really looking forward to my next trip back to Germany again and next time I wanna hit BERLIN!!! I've heard even more about Berlin being an amazing city and party town!!!


Ze german blondes were not what I thought they would be...phew!!! =)

Once again to Stefan & Katrin. THANK YOU SO SO SO SOOOO MUCH!! I miss Germany already and I really really hope to be back there every year for Apollon's Park from now on!! =) I am looking forward to returning the favour and taking you guys out in Singapore when you come and visit. =)

Much love!!

LaterZ