October 29, 2015 by Michael Pung

A little while back, Arthur spent some time living in the Czech Republic. His plan was to spend three years living in Prague after receiving an inheritance. And although he did not have the travel bug, he adored the architecture. Unfortunately, he only spent a year living there after he discovered how difficult it was to learn the language. He made the trip for philosophical reasons.

"Everyone has a philosophy, it's the balance of their mind, body and spirit," he explained after sipping his coffee.

"Are you from New Zealand?" he enquired detecting my accent. When I told him that I was from Australia he said that his old boss was from there. They didn't get along.

"He used to finish almost every sentence with the phrase 'cool bananas."

Arthur comes from north London and was taking a coffee break while he was out shopping for his mother's birthday present. "I don't know what to get her," he exclaimed. "It's always difficult to know what to get for a loved one."

Thank you for taking part in the project and I hope you found the present!

100 Strangers Project - 30/100 / October 22, 2015 by Michael Pung

On a chilly, Sunday afternoon in Hyde Park, I came across a man who performed freestyle football on a footpath. Practicing his skills, he juggled the ball with expert control and balanced it on his head. After all, he used to play football professionally.

Stef was born and raised in south-east London by an Irish mother and a Trinidadian father. His parents endured through a tough time due to the stigma on interracial relationships around the period he was born. He has strong views when it comes to the topic of racism and tolerance, although is optimistic about the future through the younger generation.

"London was built on immigration," he stated.

"The younger generation, they are making a difference and things are changing."

Stef likes to stay fit and in addition to practicing his skills, he rides his bicycle; something he has been doing since he was 4 years old. And although passionate about fitness, he simply does it out of enjoyment.

I enjoyed our chat, but by the time I got to taking the last photo, the sky became very dark. He said that he had to get going, so I gave him my business card. This was when he admitted that he's not one to worry about the internet too much and also doesn't bother with Facebook or iPhones, but despite the fact, he said he may check out my site when he gets the chance.

Hope you enjoy the photos and thank you for taking part in the project Stef!

100 Strangers Project - 29/100 / September 21, 2015 by Michael Pung

I was on my way to a catchup with a couple of my friends, when I met Jayden and Mollie. I was taking photos near Westminster Chapel when I spotted them sitting in front of the blue doors. Jayden waved when I took a photo in their direction (I missed that shot though!) and then I approached them.

They are both college students studying in Kent. Mollie is studying Fashion and Jayden is studying Sports science. When it comes to football, Mollie is a Middlesborough fan and Jayden follows Arsenal. They met through a mutual friend in college.

Jayden is passionate about football and used to play as a defender. He now coaches his own side.

Mollie's passion is in her field of study and she hopes to one day live in either Paris and pursue her dream of working in the fashion industry, but also harbours another dream of moving to California and take up surfing.

I enjoyed our brief encounter and wish you both all the best. Thanks for taking part in my project!

100 Strangers Project - 28/100 / September 11, 2015 by Michael Pung

Autumn is coming.

Captured at Euston Square Gardens.

100 Strangers Project - 27/100 / August 31, 2015 by Michael Pung

Finding a new home. From Left to right: Anas, Oula, Sumaia, Bassam and Rama. — Finding a new home. From Left to right: Anas, Oula, Sumaia, Bassam and Rama.

Traveling brings opportunities to meet new people. From travellers to locals, I'm interested in meeting everyone. Through my time in Turkey, I have been fortunate enough to encounter a variety of amazing individuals. Among those were a few that I met in a humble hostel dorm within the city of Izmir, on the Turkish west coast.

Some weeks ago, I met a family of five who have been traveling since 2013 from their hometown of Damascus, Syria. Sumaia and Bassam were traveling with their two daughters: Rama and Oula and their son in law: Anas. They told me that one day, they arrived home from a trip to Egypt to discover that their house was ransacked and have since been on a journey to find a new home for themselves. That's when they made the painstaking decision to leave their home to find somewhere new to live. Through the last two years, the family have moved around Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. And now they are in the process of making the long journey to Germany.

Making the trip to Germany isn't an easy trip as they would have to take a boat from Bodrum to Greece and then pass through the borders of Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and then finally into the land of their choice, where their two other daughters are living.

The youngest daughter, Rama recalled a time when she was stuck in school during a siege. She witnessed her friend and her friend's father being shot at and had to stay under a desk in the classroom for 6 hours. She thanked her teacher for keeping her safe throughout the ordeal and helping her escape to safety. Though, despite all that has happened to her and her family, she's looking forward to finishing her studies and wants to someday work for the Secret Service.

"My mum said one day I'll wake up and find out that this is a dream." said Rama.

Oula described their homeland as place of beauty and up until the war, everything was safe. They hope to eventually stay in a country for a long time.

From the time I met them, I recognised a warmth and a sense of optimism and recently, I have learned that they have just gotten into Germany to start a new chapter in their lives. Thank you for letting me hear your story and I hope things all go well in your new home.

100 Strangers Project - 26/100 / June 19, 2015 by Michael Pung

"I'm meeting a friend here for professional help."

Those were the words Van uttered to me when I inquired about his style and his hair. Up until last year, Van had enjoyed possessing a copious amount of hair on his scalp when he realised that he was losing it at a rapid rate. As it turns out, the prognosis was that it was damaged from the braids that he had last year. This was why he was outside Shoreditch High Street Station the day that I met him, waiting for a friend to take him to a hair specialist to save his hair and perhaps even reverse the damage that has been done.

Regardless of the situation with his hair though, I thought that Van still had a striking look to him. He exclaimed to that he started growing his beard to balance out his hair loss.

I was on my way to my own hair appointment that day and fortunately for me, it was for less dire reasons. Van's predicament really made me think about how lucky I am with my hair and made me realise how important it is to look after your hair.

Thanks for taking part in the project Van and hope things went well with the appointment!

100 Strangers Project - 25/100 / June 15, 2015 by Michael Pung

I was out on a picnic with friends watching over the London Skyline at Primrose Hill when my friend Emma exclaimed that she's found the next stranger for my project! The individual, who would later become my next stranger, was a man who had just finished running up and down the steep hill not too far from us. He must have done the trek at least 5 times.

Kitted out in his Chelsea Football team gear and despite being exhausted from his run, he agreed to take part in the project. His name was Darius and his companion: Tessa. He indicated that she was a crossbreed between a German shepherd and a collie- he then went on to explain how simple it was to train her (they are among the top 3 smartest dog breeds after all!). He named her after Tess of the d'Urbervilles who is a character from the titular Thomas Hardy novel. Curiously, I asked him about the inspiration for her name and he explained to me that she was a strong, young female lead.

Darius stated that he runs his own IT company which in part was due to inspiration from his father who also works in the industry. He then went on to say:

"I got into the University of London at 18. To do a foundation course and later a BA in art direction, with the idea of getting into the fashion industry. But I sort of weighed up the options and it was during the time that the iPhone was becoming a real success. It was the rise of Apple again after years of Microsoft domination. And I sort of thought I could combine my art experience and my knowledge of programming to take advantage of the market at that point. I started a company then that did mobile app design and 5 years later, it's quite a big success... It was a manner of luck with how early I entered the market and with a couple of lucky deals I did early on, it gave me some sort of footing."

We also spoke about a few other things such as about how he is passions (he listed, among other things: sports, old philosophers, video games and animals), football and about the fact that he sees cats as ornaments.

Thank you Darius for being a part of the project!

Trips around Europe: Belgrade, Budapest, Sarajevo and Mostar / June 13, 2015 by Michael Pung

I like travelling alone. I don't always do it, but whenever I get the opportunity, I look forward to the freedom of doing what I like and enjoy the immersion of exploring a new city. A couple of months back, I embarked on a two week trip around some countries in Eastern Europe. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but what I experienced was sublime. I'll break my trip down into the cities I visited.

Belgrade

I arrived in Belgrade on a Saturday evening and instantly felt that this trip would be an eye opening experience. I ended up catching the bus from Nikola Tesla Airport into the main city centre and made my way to my hostel in Skadarlija which is considered to be the bohemian quarter in the city.

I was told by a local that Belgrade means "White City" and it was the first destination for my trip. It's a fun little city to explore and I stayed around its bohemian quarter meandering around the cafes and listening to performers out in the streets.

Enjoying the view from Belgrade Fortress

Fairy floss during Easter outside St Mark's Church

Belgrade is also known as a party capital in Europe and it's pretty easy to see why. People both locals and travelers revel in the night life here where there are restaurants and clubs galore open to the wee hours. Drinks can be had on the cheap here and Rakia (a fruit brandy which is commonly brewed in homes... it's also high in alcohol!) can be had at full flow here.

Budapest

After spending a few days in Belgrade, I decided to make a brief trip to Budapest. When I got there, I found a pretty city with many breathtaking monuments. Since I was only there for such a short amount of time, I decided to just take to the streets and capture much of the architectural beauty that was around for show.

I started by grabbing a delicious goulash with bread at a cafe near where I was staying, and made my way towards St Stephen's Basilica. The interior of this place was such a sight to behold and a must-visit place! Other highlights include the parliament and the beautiful view of the town via the Citadella.

Overall, I think Budapest is well worth a visit and definitely worth spending more than the two days I ended up staying there for. There is so much to see and do in this town and I think I've only just scratched the surface during my short stay here.

Mostar

During my stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I also paid a short day trip to the city of Mostar. I was traveling with a friend who I met from a hostel in Sarajevo and was greeted with a glorious day. We soaked up the sun and did plenty of sight seeing around the main city centre and in Blagaj.

We took the train from Sarajevo to Mostar and encountered some breathtaking views of the countryside:

When we got to the city centre, we strolled through the cobbled streets, walked across the Old Bridge (Stari Most) and visited the Kajtaz House- Thought to be built sometime between the 16th and 17th centuries.

Old scripts from within the Kajtaz House

Soon after visiting the Kajtaz house, we made the short trip to Blagaj to see the Vrelo Bune spring and later on watched over the valley from Stjepan Grad:

SARAJEVO

Through a recommendation from the owner of the hostel I stayed at in Belgrade, my trip took an unexpected turn as I headed towards Sarajevo. Despite their recent history, the people from both countries share a deep love for each other.

There were a plethora of things to see and do in this town and I started off by heading to the old Olympic Bobsled Track with a couple of friends I made from the hostel. I was amazed with how snowy it was up in the mountains and I even made my first snow angel ever!

I also spent much of my time here learning about the history here which can be described as quite poignant. The free walking tour I participated here gave me a lot of insight about how the locals lived and survived the Bosnian War, but also showed how grateful the Bosnians about being able to rebuild considering their painful history. The evidence of the war is still around for those to see and serves as a reminder of what has happened in recent past. Among these reminders are the Sarajevo Roses, mortar holes filled with red resin. These mark the mortar shells that had caused one or more deaths after exploding. They are found all around the town.

During the time I was here I spent much of my time trying the local food around here. Cevapcici and Borek can be had for very low prices, the former being delicious combination of bread and meat which with only one serving, can keep you full for the entire day.

Climbing up to the Yellow fortress revealed a breathtaking view of the city skyline and I felt that it was a fitting end to my time in Eastern Europe. For anyone who is considering on travelling to these parts, you should definitely make the trip. It's was such a spectacular experience that included meeting some brilliant like-minded travelers, friendly locals and some rich, beautiful locales.