Housing Construction In Zarafshon

Zarafshon, Uzbekistan, supports the nearby mining industry and that sector is booming. More mining means more people and they need to rest their tired bodies somewhere. Zarafshon is busy building apartments.

The future is now, out torwad the horizon.

The playground is in. Local (not so) portable toilet at a construction site.

Minimart, waiting for the surrounding, new metropolis.

It's always sunny in Zarafshon. Too sunny, finished apartments with residents adapting to the searing sun.

Endless building for maximum growth.

Constructing A fantasy In Almaty

Plain, old construction fences in Almaty have sprouted fantastical scenes of verdant nature, epic landscapes, thick forests, anything to disguise the hum drum, dusty, dirty building projects that lie within. One is transported, maybe for a few seconds.

Typical construction project wrapping. While not fooling anybody, at least better than old style "Post No Bills" signage.

Mountain peaks and lush meadows. The pixelation of the people is drifting into the movie, Blow-Up, territory.

Real foreground, fake background. Not quite a seamless segue.

Kazakhstan highlights. Bursting blooms somewhere and endless wheat.

Quick hits. Real green again in the foreground, a sort of View-Master run through of breath-taking Kazakh scenery running along the background.

Details Of Samarkand, Part Three

What other little visual gifts you got, Samarkand?

Building construction in the standard concrete with brick filler design.

Decorative wall behind the Registan and a sea of sprinklers in the morning light. A mighty mural, a type of art commonly featured on many apartment buildings throughout Uzbekistan.

Heavily groomed park with a big, fake, metallic tree.

Throwback medallion. Golden disc commemorating 50 years of atomic accomplishment research at a university. Sweet looking sweets outside a shop.

The everyday next to the timeless. Always good to get a parking space close to a monument. 

Dubai Under Construction

How do you build a mega city in a couple of decades? Endless money, labor and space. Dubai combines the three elements into a giant construction show. Time to gawk.

Building big, the foundation.

Selling the future. Which is sometimes put on hold.

The glitz! The morning sun spritzing up a construction site near the Burj Khalifa.

How big is Dubai going to be? This sandy, wide median will eventually be filled with more lanes for the road that runs between the buildings. Out in the periphery of the city, mundane apartment buildings.

The labor, imported from Asia, mostly India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Moving the labor around. Buses lined up at a construction site. Temporary city of construction office (and living) trailers.

The future is near, right behind the ever-present construction fence.

Taipei Construction Warnings

They mean business when it comes to safety on construction sites in Taipei. Forget boring text telling you what to do, they go all out with hardcore graphics.

Sure, you can find the basic "Men Working" orange diamond around, but the sign has a couple of subtle changes: a more manly silhouette of an actual person working, complete with classic Asian hat and a real pile of dirt to move.

Then the fun starts. It looks like Beevis (or Butt-head?) is now working construction in Taipei. A slightly less scary warning.

Now we're into Mr. Magoo territory, just walking along while someone above empties the contents of their apartment on him. You know the piano is coming. Finally, the confused climber, all marked up with red arrows like a bad term paper.