Séoul, Korea

The city is really gearing up for the G20. Skyscrapers become giant billboards with the G20 logo. This is the biggest international event in South Korea since the Olympic Games in 1988. People are very proud about hosting the big event and television ads tell people that each and every Korean is an ambassador for the country when meeting foreign visitors.


Some 50.000 police and army are to be deployed in the city to guarantee the safety of VIP visitors and to ease the inconvenience of the event on local people.

Officials talk about the G20 as a chance for South Korea to be on the world stage and to be better known. They say there is much more to Korea than cars, televisions and technology. One big problem is when people outside of Korea hear "Korea" they think of the brutal dictatorship in the north. It seems that South Korea is doing all it can to give a positive image to the world for Korea while the north does everything it can to give Korea a bad name.

With all the security measures, we haven't been bothered by police or soldiers and they don't seem to mind at all that I film them. We have been bothered by commercial security men near the G20 site, but, Sunglim, our minder was able to explain to them what we were doing and we were able to film in the end.

Seoul, Korea

Just over those mountains lies North Korea.

A beautiful day in Seoul! And a great day to shoot GVs (General Views). Our purpose today was to get some shots of G20 preparations, police, G20 banners, etc. It wasn't too hard, because they are all over the place. Everyone here is so polite, even the police. Sometimes it is not easy to film police because it can be illegal in some countries. Here, they excuse themselves for stepping into your shot! When they know they are being filmed, they just go about their business and don't bother me at all. In fact, everyone is like that. It makes my job very easy.

If only all police were so nice!

In the evening, we had an interview with a senior inspector of the G20 Security Planning Team. We were expecting an older man and a rather dry interview. We were waiting in a big room for the senior inspector to arrive and in comes a young, attractive woman, all smiles. She was everything we didn't expect. Friendly, funny and Joo-Young Kim spoke English very well. She opted to do the interview in Korean because she was worried about making any mistakes. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but she came across as very confident and competent.

View from the roof of my hotel.

Séoul, Korea

Arrived this morning at five local time in the South Korean capital. The flight was good and the transfer in Munich went smoothly. Munich was quite different from Frankfort airport. People actually smile and everything is modern and well organised. You don't have to walk kilometers to change gates and I didn't encounter any lines.

View from my "apartment".

Munich was so nice, my suitcase decided to stay an extra day. I arrived 30 minutes early in Seoul and went to the baggage conveyor belt to see a sign slide by with my name on it asking me to contact Lufthansa staff. They were at a small mobile stand next to the belt. Very efficient, they explained that for some reason my suitcase was still in Munich and would arrive tomorrow. They gave me 100,000 Won (about 65 euros or 90 dollars) to buy things I might need! But what I need is mostly the tripod in my suitcase for shooting tomorrow morning. They said they would try to get my bag to the hotel by 9 in the morning tomorrow.

The hotel is great! It is a resident hotel with kitchenette, separate bedroom and living room with big widescreen TV. A pretty cool pad for the next 3 weeks!!

Just wanted to add a pic of the toilet. That's because if you never experienced toilets in Japan or Korea, you're in for a treat. I am no expert (who do you ask for toilet advice?), so don't know what all it can do! But here is a pic of the bar that is alongside the toilet which makes noises when you sit down and is even heated!

Education in far away places

What is school like when you live in the mountains of Columbia or on an isolated island or in the desert? This is Learning World from Euronews. I filmed the part in Indonesia!

http://www.euronews.net/2010/10/11/education-in-far-away-places/

Los Angeles, California

Cultural melting pot in LA.

Today we are trying to pick up some more shots of the city. LA is dead on the weekend, but it might also be the weather that keeps people inside. We filmed the tourist sites with the stars embedded in the sidewalk and Hollywood.

What are all the pillows for? 7 of them!!

Los Angeles, California

The LA Philharmonic, a full house.

The story is a portrait of Gustavo Dudamel an orchestre conductor. He is from Venezuela and is now a very famous conductor at the LA Philharmonica. He first conducted an orchestre at the age of 16 and is now only 29. He is the product of and now a benefactor of a program to help poorer city children to get interested in school through music and the arts. He is known for his energy and enthusiasm both in life and conducting. I always enjoy talking with people who are pasionate about what they do and Gustavo certainly is that.

West Hollywood

Filming musical artists is not easy. We are limited in what we can film and how much of the music we can use in the report. And all that is strictly controlled. But here in LA it borders on the insane. Apparently unions control everything and don’t allow us to film in the lobby and even exteriors of the building are difficult. On the streets of LA and some other big cities, you can't film using a tripod. This comes from maybe a misinterpretation of a law that calls for film crews to get authorisation to film because they have many people, trucks and equipment and block traffic. Somehow we fall into that catagory even though we are just one or two people. Even setting up a small tripod on an empty sidewalk becomes illegal and a big hassle when you try to get a few steady pictures of the city.

View outside my hotel room.. a wet, empty downtown.

The weather hasn’t cooperated with us. Not typical LA weather, it is cool and rainy with low clouds hiding the tops of the skyscrapers. Ah, worked with another cameraman, Andrew Mungai who is Kenyan and who has been here in LA for a little over a year. We even have a couple of common acquaintances. Our sound engineer is Olivier Virmont, a French guy living in San Diego, born and raised in Senegal. Another very international crew.

Los Angeles, California

A very talkative departure. In the business lounge (not flying business, just have a frequent flyer card that lets me use the lounges), for the first time, I meet people I know. A friend working for the association of banks in Luxembourg is flying to Zurich for a meeting and then to Santiago, Chile for a conference. Another friend, a doctor and cancer researcher is going to a biotech meeting in Shanghai, China. The world is moving ! Both fly almost as much as I do. The researcher said he would be in Seoul, Korea the same time as I will. He even has some interesting projects that might be good for a report. Have to talk to him about that in Korea!

It’s amazing how many people are in the air at any given moment.

Now I’m in the business lounge at Frankfort and the flight leaving just before mine is going to Narita airport in Tokyo… the same flight I took just a few weeks ago. Out the window I see the Airbus A380, probably the same I took. Today, I think it will be a normal 777 or A340.

Video de Khan Shatir à Astana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQbZSvhH2Bg

Astana and back to Luxembourg

The Mosque in Astana.

Got some sleep and at the airport on time. Because we had changed the date on our tickets and they had some computer problems at check-in, we had to wait almost an hour and a half. But they were nice about it and we finally got our boarding cards. The customs and passport control asked how we liked Kazakhstan and I told them how much I love Kazakhstan. They were very happy and laughed.

That was the end of smiles since we arrived in Frankfort airport where smiles are forbidden. The flight was fine because for the first time in a long time, there were many empty seats. I was able to stretch out along 3 seats and got some good sleep.

A big commercial center near our first hotel.

I have never figured out why they make a special police control of passports when you exit the plane, since everyone is going to passport control anyway. It just wastes everyone’s time. Anyone know why they do that? I have only seen it at Paris and Frankfort airports.

Security was very slow with tons of people. I wonder if there has been a change in the searches since the security alert has gone up in Europe.

When you thought I couldn’t say anything more negative about Frankfort’s airport,… I have another gripe. There is no business lounge in the domestic/Schengen area. The only business lounge is in the international area. At both Paris and Amsterdam, there are many lounges.

It’s a beautiful day and I am at terminal B in Frankfort… one good thing is that they have a coffee machine for everyone which is free. One lonely point for Frankfort.

Astana, Kazakhstan

A relaxing morning at the hotel, doing some translation and gym of course. Then we took a bus to the center. It was about 25 eurocents and very comfortable. When you board, a young girl comes up to sell you a ticket. We tell her where we want to go and when we decide to get off early because we want to walk, she even makes sure we know that we haven’t arrived at the stop we requested. The people are all very nice. When I got on the bus, a young man offered to give me his seat. I must be getting old or maybe, as I like to think, the big bandage on my head from stitches made him pity me. But, when I refused and said thank you, he got up anyway for a women who boarded on the next stop.

Spent the day again at Rafé’s coffee shop talking with Constanino and Ainash. There was even a big TV screen there and Euronews was on. When our report came on the air, I made big waving signs with my hands so people would watch and then pointed at Constantino when he came on with his stand-up. People laughed and pointed. It was fun.

Back to the hotel to sleep or try to sleep until 2 when we have to get up to go to the airport.

Astana, Kazakhstan

Khan Shatir Commercial center.

A free day in Astana! It is very rare to have a free day to walk around, sit in a café and observe people. Also, I get a chance to take advantage of the gym at the hotel. All cameramen, if not everyone, have back problems. I should have started a long time ago, but for 2 years now, I go regularly to the gym for back exercises and haven’t had any problem since.

Taxi’s are pretty cheap in Astana and the drivers have always been very nice. This morning we waved down a car. Any car can be a taxi and you just agree on a price when they stop. When the driver found out we worked for Euronews, he said he watched the channel every day. We told him about the report we did and he said he would go home and watch it. When he dropped us off, he thanked us for the nice conversation and said he was happy to meet us. I told him the same!

He dropped us off at Rafé Coffee House near the President’s palace. It’s Ainash’s, our journalist friend’s, favorite place. It is very modern, has internet and if you don’t have a computer, they will lend you one. And not just any computer, it is an Apple Mac Air!

The President's Alley at night.

Then we walk down President’s Alley, the beautiful walkway from the Palace to a big modern shopping center called Khan Shatir. Inside Khan Shatir there are small trains to  see the place, different rides for kids, restaurants and all the namebrand stores. One journalist collegue said he had never seen anything like it, even in Dubai

Astana, Kazakhstan

Tea and cookies with Customs.

Today we are doing a commercial for Kazakhstan’s Standard’s office, filming laboratories. We also filmed the Custom’s laboratory. The Custom’s agents were very nice and very proud of all their very modern equipment to test products. Euronews is very popular here in Kazakhstan and the Customs agents even asked for our autographs! After the shoot, they offered us tea and cookies!

Astana, Kazakhstan

Baiterek in the Fall.

Since we are in Astana, we will do a small story (2:30) for a new programme on Euronews, Learning World. The subject is Bolashak. Bolashak is a State programme to finance studies. Any student can apply and they pay for full university studies anywhere in the world. You have to speak the language of the country where you study as well as Kazak. Most everyone in Kazakhstan is bi-lingual, speaking Kazak, a Turkish language, as well as Russian. I have heard that the best Russian is spoken in Kazakhstan because the intelligensia fled Russia during the Revolution and as the Bolsheviks killed academics in Moscow, those who fled were able to survive here. The Kazaks live between two big powers, China and Russia and have been able to survive with diplomacy.

The main walkway in Astana.

Anyway, back to the study programme. The country is rich with ressources and the goal of Bolashak is to create a highly educated population. After completing their studies, graduates have to come back to Kazakhstan (or work abroad for Kazakhstan) for five years.

We also filmed in Nazerbaev University which is ultra-modern. I didn’t think to take any pictures because I was so involed in filming it. There is a huge open area with palm trees and water. Students can rest, study, sing under the palm trees while it is -40 degrees outside with snow up to the roof!

Astana, Kazakhstan

The musical entertainment at lunch.

This morning I finish the edit and have to show it to the people here before sending it to France by internet. While waiting, we are invited for lunch in the VIP lounge. Oil exectutives mingle with ambassadors and politicians. A group of Kazak musicians play Kazak tunes and another group plays classical European music. I wonder how much power and money is represented in this room.

Astana, Kazakhstan

Editing in the Press room.

There are lot’s of former Prime Ministers here. Oil is very sticky and attracts  many people. We interview former Prime Ministers from the Tchec Republic, Austria, Australia and others from different organisations. The only people who don’t want to talk to the press are those from the oil companies. Wonder what they have to hide?

In the evening, we have all our interviews and we do a rough cut edit to save time tomorrow.

Astana, Kazakhstan

Sunset from Luxembourg to Vienna

Central Asia isn’t far away in the sense that the flight is only 5 hours. That means you don’t really have time to sleep after eating the meal. So the night is very short. We arrive just before six in the morning.

Astana is still dark at six in the morning. The airport works well and we are outside quickly. Outside it is cold, probably almost freezing with a wind blowing off the steppes that will stop your breath.

The first day was supposed to be a day of rest, but the Prime Minister wants us to do his interview this morning. So we go to the hotel, take a shower and have less than an hour to rest a bit before heading out again. Prime Minister Karim Massimov speaks good English and we do the interview in English. We should have done the interview in Russian since it is one of Euronews’s official languages, But the journalist doesn’t understand Russian and that makes it difficult for him to do the interview. Going through an interpreter takes a lot of time… time that the Prime Minister doesn’t have.

Since we’re up, we continue with a second big interview with Timur Koulibaev, Chairman of Kazenergy.  He can also speak good English, but prefers to do the interview in Russian. So I record the translation and then we work with a translator to get a precise wording of what he said.

Finally, when it is dark again, we are able to head back to the hotel. By 10 at night we are in bed for an intense sleep before the next busy day.

Luxembourg

A day of getting papers ready and sending out bills. Have to do that sort of thing too...if not, you don't get paid! But it is a rainy cool day in Luxembourg, so not so bad to have to do paperwork.


Have to print out tickets for the next trip to Astana, Kazakhstan. Don't really have to pack much because I just got back home yesterday night. Just have to change clothes and bring some warm things because it is cold in Astana... expecting snow maybe by the end of the week.


The flight is via Vienna on Sunday and should be fairly easy. It isn't as long as the one to Seoul. I rarely go through Vienna so don't know it so well. I already have a visa for Kazakhstan because I have a year-long visa. We are still working out the shoot. The Prime Minister wants us to interview him on Monday morning. We only arrive at six in the morning having travelled all night. But that is ok. But it is harder for my colleague who has to ask the questions because he won't be so fresh.


But, looking forward to going back to Astana. It is a great city and having been there a few times already, I have a few friends there!