i finally made it to the 2008 Chicago Auto Show today to see the GT-R and saw the GT-R i did.

so i went to visit my old place yesterday for the first time since moving out in mid May. i had always kept an eye on the contents of the parking garage when i lived there; a few nice Mercs, done up BMWs, an immaculate 350z in Monterrey Blue, and a lot of rather ho-hum cars. but yesterday, as i pulled the car into my old roommate’s vacant space, something caught my eye from across the aisle.

for those of you who aren’t into cars, this is a Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R a.k.a. ‘Godzilla,’ a pretty rare find in North America because they were never sold here. many consider the Skyline GT-R overrated because of its legendary status and tendency to be over-idolized by ‘riceboys’ worldwide but truthfully, it doesn’t make it any less of a car.

it may not be as fast as a Koenigsegg CCX, as agile as a Lotus Exige, or as beautiful as a Lamborghini Reventón but it’ll still put a smile on my face. even when i’m just staring at it.

the new Mugen Fit is absolutely staggering.

ABSOLUTELY. staggering.

staggering.

i caught a fleeting glance of the Morgan Aero 8 GT3 while watching a FIA GT3 race (round 4 at Brno, Czech Republic) and fell instantly in love. the drab grey/olive green color scheme and the somewhat imperial Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza S.A. logo makes the Morgan look like some sort of Eastern Bloc military vehicle on a strict crack and steroid diet.

Dan: ?????????

ivan: isn’t that awesome?!

Dan: it looks like something hitler drove as a kid!

i took a trip to Jalalabad today to shoot a school for the deaf. like Jegladek the day before, Jalalabad is about three hours away from Kabul except almost all of that time is spent on pretty nice roads.

everything was going fine until we hit traffic in the Kabul Gorge on the way back. one of the many trucks on the road had been ultimately too weak for its cargo and had left it on the side of the road, effectively blocking traffic in one direction. then everyone proceeded to jam through the remaining lane to pass and eventually turned into a miles-long snake of trucks and cars.

the great thing about Afghan traffic jams is that, instead of yelling, swearing, and fighting each other, everyone gets out and relaxes. cigarettes are lit, everyone tries to help direct traffic, hands are shaken, and smiles are passed out with reckless abandon. it was an awesome sight to behold.

i had just gotten off the Star Ferry on the Kowloon side when i noticed an all-terrain motorbike plastered with stickers near the pier. having been a big fan of the Long Way Round series, i immediately suspected its owner to be a world-trekking adventurer. and right i was.

his name is Vladimir Alekseevich Yarets, a deaf and mute 66 year old from Minsk who’s traveling around the world on his (donated) BMW F 650 GS. i shook his hand and gave him 40HKD for petrol.

good luck!

i just finished watching the miniseries Long Way Round in which Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman, and cameraman Claudio von Planta traveled eastward from London all the way to New York City by way of all-terrain motorbike.

being somewhat of a wannabe adventurer myself, i found the whole concept unbelievably appealing and just became more and more excited about my own upcoming trip. i’ll be traveling by plane and not motorbike but i will quite literally be going from gate XX to gate YY at O’Hare the long way ’round.

cheers :)

because i can.

two Bugatti Veyrons in the same room.

Top Gear resumes filming today!!! YYYYYESSSSSSSS!!!