PANORAMAS from LONDON

A classical view of the City of London,
from the south bank of the Thames.

Its the June vacations, a good break from school and homework for my son, and so we took a week-long holiday to London, once the greatest city in the world. Its still great in many respects, especially its rich history and concert life, but this holiday was about sightseeing. On our last trip here in 2005, my son was too young to remember anything except the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, so this time we were determined to see much more. 

The view of St Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge
from the upper gallery of Tate Modern.

A great view of London from the top gallery
of St Paul's Cathedral, looking southwest.

A view of the Barbican and financial district of London,
looking northeast from St Paul's.

A view of the Thames, looking southeast.

Tower Bridge and the Shard, from the Tower of London.

The formidable Tower of London.

Peaceful Tower Green, where most of the
private executions took place.

Trafalgar Square, with the church of St Martin
in the Fields (extreme left) and Nelson's Column (right).

Street buskers doing their thing in Covent Garden,
just in front of St Paul's (Actors') Church.

At the Tate Modern: Cy Twombly's twirls.

Vietnam, an indictment of war at Tate Modern.

The Cast Court at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

MORE PANORAMAS from LONDON and ENGLAND

The Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum.
Greece wants them back, but the Brits are not budging.
Given the Greek economy, tis probably better to stay put.

Here are more panoramas from our short holiday to London. Besides the usual sightseeing, there was enough time to see a little bit of the country and visit old friends in Essex.

More marbles at the British Museum.

Not everything is there, but one gets the idea.

The Great Hall in the Tudor wing of
Hampton Court Palace.

Beautiful gardens outside the Georgian wing
of Hampton Court Palace.

The "Secret Garden".

Rapeseed fields in Essex.

Little country town of Hatfield Heath, Essex.

A most British of institutions,
a vintage car show at Hatfield Heath.

The green of Matching Green.
This little hamlet was home to painter Augustus John
and oilman/athlete/pianist Neil Franks Esq. 

The lovely 15th century home Lascelles, Matching Green,
now on sale at around GBP 2.5 million.
That's cheap by Singapore standards.

Panoramas of Bali, Indonesia

Believe it or not, this is my third trip to the islands of Indonesia within the last third of this year. Having visited Java and Sumatra previously, it was time again to visit Bali. Although this trip was about music, that did not deter me from doing a spot of sightseeing as well. The coastal Hindu temple of Pura Tanah Lot has to be the most hyped up and photographed sight in the whole of the Bali. That is not surprising given its highly picturesque location, situated on a headland which was previously joined to the main island. The rocky bridge has already be eroded by the constant bashing by the sea, and all is left is the island and a few stony steps. It is still possible to wade to the island when the tide is low.

Tourists arrive by their busloads, and it is most crowded in the evening when people come to view the temple at sunset. Morning is not a such as bad time to come, but the sun is blazing hot. However, one is able to take some nice and dramatic shots of the temple at this time when the sun is eastward rather than directly overhead. Is Tanah Lot much ado about nothing? Maybe, but it remains one of Bali's most beautiful and romantic spots.

The view of the promontary opposite
of Tanah Lot and lots of tourists!

The mountain that dominates
much of the West Bali coastline is Batukaru.

A view of another temple, Pura Gede Luhu Batungaus,
located south of Tanah Lot,
as seen from the lush gardens of
Villa Ombak Laut at Cemangi.

The idyllic swimming pool of Villa Ombak Laut.

Every villa has its own temple.

The sea-front view of Villa Ombak Laut and Tanju Bali.

The villa of Tanju Bali.

A great view of Pura Gede Luhu Batungaus at low tide.

The glory of the sea, carving fissures
through the rocks on the sea off Cemagi.

Another view of the sea off Cemagi.

Panoramas of Suzhou

The most famous gardens in Suzhou is Zhuozhen Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), known for its vast expanse, ponds and hillocks with their pavilions.

The Chinese city Suzhou (or Soochow) is famous for its ancient gardens, lovingly crafted by men of high position in their years of wealth and retirement. Their concept of fengshui, juxtaposition of nature and construction, incorporating the sky, greenery, water and rocks within their not-so-humble abodes, have become quintessentially Chinese characteristics. Yin and yang fit perfectly in their world, and these gardens are an oasis of peace and tranquillity within the bustling Chinese city. Travelling from Shanghai (via high speed railway, it takes just 20 minutes), I spent an enjoyable eight hours in Suzhou, wandering in its fabled gardens and enjoying their beauty.     

Another view of the Humble Administrator's Garden, with the exquisite Xiang Zhou (Fragrant Isle), a boat shaped pavilion on the left.

Corridors hugging the side of lakes are a feature in the Humble Administrator's Garden.

A short distance away is the Shizhi Lin (Lion Grove Garden), famous for its labyrinthine rockery which take on fantastic and grotesque shapes.  

The most elegant and exquisite of gardens is the Wangshi Yuan (Master of the Nets  Garden), so named because its builder had dreams of becoming a fisherman in his later years. Its central lake is the most beautiful feature of this little hideaway.

The moat the runs along the north-eastern edge of Canglang Ting (Blue Wave Pavilion) is a most picturesque sight.

Canglang Ting is the oldest surviving of all Suzhou gardens. This courtyard fronts the Ming Dao Tang (Hall of Enlightenment), which takes on a special interest for yours truly as it incorporates the generational names of my family (Ming for my father's generation, and Dao for my own generation). 

Panoramas of Shanghai

Shanghai's Bund is always a major tourist attraction, with stunning views of the modernistic Pudong skyline juxtaposed with the older buildings on the Puxi side. 

So I visited Shanghai, China in November 2012 to attend a piano competition, but that also gave me ample time to do some sightseeing away from the keyboard pyrotechnics. Here are some panoramic views of Shanghai at its environs, taken with my trusty cheap Fujifilm camera.

The view of Pudong's skyscrapers from the Bund at night is a true spectacle. The lights come on at 7 pm  and  promptly go off at 10 pm.

The neoclassical buildings on the Bund itself are also quite a sight.

The Yuyuan Bazaar in the heart of old Shanghai is more than just a tourist trap. The Huxinting  Teahouse  built over a pond  and reached by the Nine-sectioned zigzag bridge is one of Shanghai's most photographed sites.

The Stalinist splendour of the Shanghai Exhibition Centre, previously known as the Sino-Soviet Friendship Centre. Socialist realism at its most hysterical.

 

The humongous scale model of Shanghai's urban landscape on the third floor of the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre.

 

A view of the suburbs that
seem to go on forever.
From the Longzimeng Plaza
near Zhongshan Park.

A short rail trip takes one to the
ancient water town of Qibao.
Its small, extremely crowded and touristy.

A better bet if one ventures
further afield to Zhujiajiao,
another Ming dynasty ancient river town.
Here is the view from the Fangshen Bridge,
the longest stone bridge
south of the Yangtze River. 

Intersected by canals and bridges,
Zhujiajiao is one of a number of ancient 
Chinese river towns which have been dubbed
the "Venice of the East".