Loitering in London

Bye!

2007-02-06T09:19:00.000Z

On the 19th of January 2007, i boarded a plane at Gatwick Airport and left London. For good.

So i guess that also means that there will not be any more pics posted on this blog.

Last nite in London

2007-02-05T16:29:00.000Z

Walked all over. Ended up at Canary Wharf area. It was really windy that nite. Oh, i oso took a pic at Westminster Tube station - they have safety glass panels along the platform (sumthing like in S'pore). All stations shud have those to prevent the "accidents" from happenning.

Musicals

2007-02-05T16:22:00.000Z

Due to the time factor and the money factor, i only managed to catch 2 musicals before returning - Spamalot and We Will Rock You. Enjoyed both tremendously! :-)

Carnival at Leicester Square

2007-02-05T16:07:00.000Z

On Boxing, the carnival atmosphere at Leicester Square was wonderful I took loads of pics - while waiting for some people *ahem* to turn up for dinner! But the wait was worth it! :-)

Is this winter???

2007-02-05T15:59:00.000Z

Last November and December some some really mild days in London. Believe you me when i tell u that the following pics were taken during winter! Seems lik summer, doesn't it?

Carnaby Street by nite

2007-02-05T15:57:00.000Z

From dusk til... dusk-er!

2007-02-05T15:32:00.000Z

Pics taken in November 2006.

Camden on a weekday nite

2007-02-03T15:56:00.000Z

Bubbles

2007-02-03T15:37:00.000Z

While waiting to meet KC in November last year, i was fascinated (and not the only one) by this couple who were making huge bubbles just outside the National Gallery, near Trafalgar Square.

The Postman's Park

2006-10-04T20:03:00.000+01:00

A pigeon who wants to be a flamingo

2006-09-09T16:57:00.000+01:00

Saw this fella at Trafalgar Square. A lame pigeon - but would you mind being being lame if you could fly? I don't!

Kids at Trafalgar Square

2006-09-05T01:46:00.000+01:00

Natural History Museum

2006-08-30T03:31:00.000+01:00

Tom's office

2006-08-23T05:13:00.000+01:00

Tom works just outside Liverpool St Station. At night, there are some interesting flourescent lights on the grounds, changing colours! Nice ambience.

St Martin in the Fields

2006-08-23T05:12:00.000+01:00

Ill have to blog another time of how i ended up being in here - but it was worth it. Walked past this place prolly hundreds of times in me life-time! But it ws me first time in it and even caught a free lunch-time recital there! Nice.

Changing of the Horse Guards

2006-08-23T05:07:00.000+01:00

The Tree of Life

2006-08-07T10:51:00.000+01:00

On display now in the British Museum

View from the Jubilee Bridge

2006-08-04T00:23:00.000+01:00

Victoria & Albert Museum

2006-07-15T21:34:00.000+01:00

I dun know why i was never interested to go to the V&A Museum. But the other, as i walking pass it on me way to Harrods, i noticed that it was opened late that nite. So i decided to jus pop in for a while.

It was longer than a while. It's really nice! Check out some of me pics. I'll be back for more!

Around St. Paul's

2006-07-10T17:11:00.000+01:00

7/7 - One year later

2006-07-08T12:12:00.000+01:00

The day started with the placing of flowers at the resepctive tube stations. Later at noon, a nationwide silence of 2 minutes was held.

A floral mosaic was created with members of the public placing purple carnations

The commemorative service commenced at 6 pm. It was a simple and lovely service. 3 songs were performed, 4 poems were read by the victims' family members, all 52 names were read out, many came from all over to show their support - and to show that we are not afraid.

Sunset - Tower Bridge & surrounding area

2006-07-08T01:39:00.000+01:00

I missed me train by 1 minute last nite!!!!!! The good thing bout it was that while waiting for the next one, i decided to pop over to the Tower of London and was rewarded wif a beautiful sunset.

Regent's Park - flowers

2006-07-08T01:30:00.000+01:00

British Museum

2006-07-04T20:02:00.000+01:00

Pics taken from the Great Court in the British Museum which houses inter alia the large Reading Room and eating places, as well as some other miscellaneous pics (sori but me camera ran out of battery so shots are quite random):-

Painters by the Thames

2006-07-02T15:46:00.000+01:00

The weather was brilliant last Wed and i was distracted as i walked to the LSE Library - i was drawn to the riverside and saw quite a number of people soaking up the sunshine and putting their artistic skills to practice!

Wimbledon 2006

2006-06-30T13:27:00.000+01:00

Finally, i was there! :-)

The famous queuing-up for tickets started at a field nearby, under the wonderful blazing sun!

Thank God the line actually moved quickly and i din even get to do any of me planned studying. It was slightly more than an hour before i walked into the grounds!

Left: This greets us when we enter. Right: The famous Henman Hill, or Murray Mound. It is actually Aorangi Terrance. It was crowded as people like me wif only the grounds ticket sat there to watch the games in Centre Court and Court 1. Seen on the screen is Maria Sharapova!

It was super-packed wif people and the weather was brilliant! There were some welcomed cloudy spells but it was mainly sunny all day! On the right pic, Bracialli is serving. Behind him is the Centre Court where we'd always turn to to check the scores.

This is the view of Court 18 - from prolly the highest point of the Wimbledon Grounds. On the left, you can see the other smaller courts in the background. On the right, the building in the background is Court 1

Left: Anastacia Myskina on Court 3. She won her game so quickly and easily! Right: Elena Dementieva did not have such an easy ride on Court 18, tho.

Altho i must sat that her service has improved! An injury to her hand caused her to lose the 2nd set.

Digging deep - and doing it the hard way as she always does - she came up wif some incredible ground shots and won the 3rd set and the game at 7-5!!! (See the speed of her serve? A mere 98 km!!!)

I then moved over to watch some of the doubles' matches. I was seated behind a row of teenage guys who were only watching the game for one obvious reason - Nicole Vaidisova. I can see why, can't you? ;-)

I then moved over to watch a Chinese pair - Na Li and Shuai Peng. I enjoyed watching them play cuz they were so relaxed and so giggly!!!! In between points, they'd walk to each other and giggle to each other in Mandarin - yes, i could hear them!!! I guess the fact that they were having such an easy game against the Czech pair helped their mood!

Shuai Peng serving and returning - got the pic at the point of impact! Not bad-eh?

Na Li serving on the left. They were really serious during the rallies, tho.

I then moved over to Court 11 for the big game of the day for me - Ai Sugiyama and Daniela Huntuchova playing doubles together. But the Japanese pair of Morigami and Nakamura had other ideas. They were playing a Russian pair at Court 11 before Ai and Daniela's game. The Japanese pair lost their first game 7-6 but won the 2nd set 7-6!!!! The 3rd set finally ended at 8-6. The Jap girls lost. :-(

I din realise it but it was past 8 pm then. We were told that Ai and Daniela's game will not be played, much to the dismay of all of us there. I rushed over to get a t-shirt before reluctantly leaving as there were still games going on.

Right: As i walk away, i saw people camping out outside for the next day's tickets!

RAF Museum, London

2006-06-21T13:47:00.000+01:00

So i din get to see the Typhoons in action last Saturday. But at least i got a close up view of it at the RAF London Museum!!!

The many angles of the Typhoon

Not only that, there were other jets like the the Tornado and the Lightning. But to me, the highlight must surely be the F-4 Phamtom!!!! It was almost like a dream come true to stand up close to it and even touch it! (Still waiting to see a F-14!!!!)

There was the Harrier, of course!

And bombers like the B-25 Mitchell, the Flying Fortress and others

There was this anti-submarine flying boat, the Sunderland where one could walk inside it. Quite cool, actually, seeing life on board the plane.

Misc pics

More spring flowers!

2006-05-06T02:19:00.000+01:00

Imperial War Museum

2006-04-28T02:51:00.000+01:00

The front and the roof:-

Anti-aircraft gun used by the Argentine forces during the Falkland Wars (and another pic of the roof!)

The planes that hang around at the IWM - including the interior of a Jap Zero

The P-51D Mustang - from all angles!

Kensington Palace Garden

2006-04-28T02:39:00.000+01:00

The Kensington Palace was the birthplace of Queen Victoria. It is also the last home of Princess Diana. You have to pay to go in but the lovely garden outside is free!

Right: You can see the palace in the background, Left: I just love the brilliant green of "newborn" leaves. Lovely!

Spring time at Kensington Gardens

2006-04-28T02:34:00.000+01:00

Brilliant colours of spring at Kensington Gardens. The pics are self-explanatory. click on them for a larger view (and you can see the nut in the squirrel's mouth!!!! I was just about to snap the pic when it turned away - but you can still a bit of the nut! Reminded me of Ice Age - Scrat!)

Science Museum (Part 2)

2006-03-31T20:37:00.000+01:00

This time round, i checked out the Marine section. Also seem below is the modern locomotive - the "Rocket" by Stephenson.

The Clockmakers' Museum

2006-03-31T20:15:00.000+01:00

I stumbled across this little gem of a place. It's not very big, tho, but nevertheless, it was worth me 15 or 20 mins there! It's at the Guildhall.

The heart of London

2006-03-31T18:26:00.000+01:00

This is the heart of the City of London - well, that's wat the panel in the pic below (left) says! It states that this is the location of "some of the most important financial and civil buildings in the capital." It goes on to report that over 150,000 people work here (i've not been surrounding by so many people in black coats since i was in Court back home! It would have made a wonderful pic, tho - me in green, lost in a sea of black coats!).

The pics above are interesting details of the ceiling at the Leadenhall Market nearby

The pic on the left is the view of one of the impressive columns at the Royal Exchange Building.
The pic on the left is the London Magistrate's Courts - i like the angle!

The front of the Royal Exchange.

Other buildings in the area - the Bank of England (which looks like a prison - just walls, no windows on the side), Mansion House (the official home of the Mayor), teh London Stock Exchange, Llyods and the Gherkin (for the last 2, see the the pics in the posts below).

Llyods!

2006-03-31T18:05:00.000+01:00

Llyods used to be the novelty of London - built in a "see-thru" way (not unlike those Swatch watches in the past), it was a sight to behold! But it has been around for some time and these days, no one really gives it a second look.

I had the opportunity to enter in and walk around back during me undergradute days cuz one of the deacons from the church i was attending was some big-shot there.

Welcome! The front entrance!

Small cucumber!

2006-03-31T02:10:00.000+01:00

The first time i entered London this time round last year, i noticed a new building in its skyline. I even took a pic of it - well, actually, i took a pic of the Tower of London but it was in the background.

After much procrastinating, i finally did some checks online - and found it's called "The Gherkin" (Oxford Concise Dictionary: a small variety of cucumber, or a young green cucumber, used for pickling). The official name is actually "30 St Mary Axe" - which is its address!

It is the2nd tallest building in the City Centre, after the Natwest Building nearby (tho the honours for London still belongs to the Canary Wharf Tower - see pics here) and is the home to the Swiss Re. Check out its website wif more interesting info and wonderful pics here.

Anyways, i decided to hunt for it and i found it yesterday. It was weird initially cuz when i got there, herds of people in coats were streaming out of the building. I realised later that the fire alarm was on. I never did find out if it was just a drill - altho it prolly was. Here are me pics!

Kingston-upon-Thames

2006-02-21T01:27:00.000Z

OK. Kingston-upon-Thames is technically not in London. It's in Surrey, south of London. But hey, it's still under Zone 6 of London Transport!!!!

And for the uninformed (of which I was one once), when u see a name which has "upon" in it, it is usually followed by the name of a river. This is partly cuz they prolly ran out of names and had to re-use names for towns :-P!!!! So there's a Stratford in London - and there's another Stratford which is the birthplace of Shakespeare. The latter is more commonly known as Stratford-upon-Avon cuz it is located at River Avon.

Therefore, Kingston-upon-Thames is named thus cuz the Thames run thru it. And I would prolly would not go there save for the fact that it was the closest stop to the Nikon office (30 mins walk away).

On the way back, me decided to walk along the Thames and took some pics long the way.

View along the Thames - it's nice to walk along the river. Peaceful and quiet. In the middle pic above, if you click on it to enlarge it, you can see rowing practice taking place.
Oh, there were no cows around...

Bird-flu is approaching!!!! Look at how fat the goose is. Imagine it roasted... ;-P~
I was pretty intrigued by the orange coloured tag on the goose's feet. On the right is a pic of a duck "couple". yeah, the brown one is female while the nice green-headed one is male.

Kingston Bridge - a little further down and you'll find yrself at Hampton Court Park and Palace - wif an excellent (so i read) maze and gardens. Me din have the time to go there - had to pay and me din have sufficient time. But it'll prolly be lovely during spring!
Middle and right pics - pigeons trying to keep warm on the cold winter evening.

Train stations - The rail thing!!!! (Part 1)

2006-02-09T14:27:00.000Z

I just love the train services in London! You can get to almost anywhere by rail! There are the British Rail services, the London Underground (or the Tube), and recently the Docklands Light Rail.

And each station will have it's own characteristic! In fact, for some stations wif multiple platforms, each platform has it's own "identity" (see Charing Cross and Baker which are excellent examples).

Here are some pics of these stations:-

King's Cross Station. Yup, the place to go to get your trains to Hogwarts - just head to Platform 9 3/4 - and mind the trolley that is halfway thru the door!

Baker Street - the oldest Underground station. take a closer look at Sherlock's head and u'll see it's amde of many tiny little heads! (The pic on the left above was taken by a Canon digicam)

Left: Yup, watch yer step, ok?
Middle: Euston has one of the widest underground platforms that i've seen
Right: Elevated station for Docklands Light Rail - elevated most of the time (except when it goes under the Thames) - very much like our LRT back home.

Greenwich - Journey to the middle(?) of the earth!!

2006-02-05T14:57:00.000Z

Yup, Greenwich (pronounced "Gra-nich" - a silent "w")! The zero degrees longitude place! Actually, Greenwich is a beautiful place which boasts of more than just the Royal Observatary (which is the main draw, of course). Unfortunately, we jus din have the luxury of time (and daylight hours) to see more.

From left to right:- The National Maritime Museum (had an interesting collection of anchors on its grounds outside); the view of the Royal Observatory from the bottom of the hill; autumn leaves lined the path to the RO

Pics taken at the RO, Greenwich

The views from the RO were quite nice too. You can see the Canary Wharf business area and the Millenium Dome (not in the pics cuz not clear).

If you are there, dun forget to check out the many quaint and interesting shops (there was one which sold all kinds of clocks) and the Greenwich Market too. And if you walk around, you might find sum nice place to eat too!

This pic was taken using a Canon Digicam (see the difference ;-P). We stopped by this Turkish diner place which served pretty good British roast meals. It was nice and warm - both the place and the service!

Canary Wharf

2006-02-05T02:24:00.000Z

The Canary Wharf area is the new business district. It looks pretty modern and cool - and it's linked by the Tube as well as the brand new Docklands Light Rail (like the LRT back home).

Science Museum

2006-02-02T17:31:00.000Z

These pics were taken at the "Flight" gallery at the Science Museum. These pics really mean a lot to me. The last time I was there was in 1993 and all the photos I took were lost when I misplaced the roll of film. So one of the "things-i-must-do-cuz-i-din-do-it" was to take a pic with the spitfire and the Harrier at Science Museum. Done! :-)

It all started wif the Wright brothers' plane on the left. Then it slowly evolved.

The Spitfire - one of the best (if not the best) planes in WWII! And the Harrier - the most succesful VTOL jet plane til today!

Soho Spice

2006-02-02T17:12:00.000Z

This was prolly the most expensive meal I had which I had to pay (well, only half - "Dutch" style, of course) - so the expensive shark-fin lunches I had wif Datuk Tony Tiah is excluded! Perks of practising in me previous firm! :-)

This was at Soho Spice - and the bill came to slightly less than 46 quid (for 2)!

I had the prawns (of course - the first I had since I got here!!!!) while Michele had the lamb.

Oh, see the bottle of water near my left elbow? Well, that too is the most expensive WATER (yes, pure, normal, plain water - not even sparkling!) I've ever had - 3.25!!!! I was so tempted to ask if I could keep the bottle...

Still, it was an excellent meal! The place was nice and comfy too. Oh, the meal oso came wif naan bread which was brilliant!!! The prawns were fresh and sufficiently marinated - still juicy despite being barbequed! Yum! No regrets. :-)~

Closed for repairs

2006-01-09T23:37:00.000Z

When I was in Brunei last year, I walked in the blazing hot sun during lunch time to the nearby lake gardens - almost an hour (no, I'm not using this as a guise to boast of my walking achievements) - and I was greeted by this sign:-

Loosely translated, it reads "Notice. Apologies. Some of the facilities and equipments in the Lake Gardens are not safe to be used and works are being carried out to repair the same." (haha - a guise to show off my abilities as a translator!!!!)

Anyways, I finally sent me Nokin Coolpix 2100 to the Nikon place today - at Surrey!!!!!! They'll look at it and then revert abck to me on the estimated cost of repair. That would take 7 working days. Thereafter, I have the option to get it fixed... or buy a new camera. I hope it'll be the former as I have grown pretty attached to me camera. However, if it is gonna cost like 50 or 60 quid, then I might as "move on"!!!!!

For those who still dun know yet, the mechanism to turn on my camera broke and finally refused to cooperate when I was in Sheffield.

As such, this place will be "closed for repairs" - repairs made on the camera. No new pics will be posted for the time being. :-(

Addendum

After rereading me post, i must say sori bout all the references to "guises" - i'm still amused and tickled bout a comment made on me by a mate recently! :-)

Christmas Wishes

2005-12-22T11:15:00.000Z

Christmas in London - crowds, traffic jams and tacky decorations (Ice Age theme????).
Hope your Christmas is more meaningful. Have a blessed one! God bless.

Dinosaurs live! (In the National History Museum)

2005-12-21T16:24:00.002Z

The NHM has an impressive section on dinosaurs. Heck, all sectins in the NHM are impressive!!!!

Here are some interesting T-Rex facts - click on the pics to read them!

How did the dinosaurs become extinct?

2005-12-21T16:16:00.004Z

Here are some comical takes on some ridiculous theories on how the dinos all disappeared!!!! Click on each pic to read - and laugh! (Displayed in the National History Museum)

A day out wif me mates

2005-12-21T13:17:00.000Z

Just hanging around in London wif some of me mates - Julia, Morgan, Hugh, John, Sam, Mel, Dwayne, Sarah, Robin, Harrison, Arnie, Eric, Pierce, Diana and Ayrton!

Later, I went to a fancy dress party and guess who I saw? Brad, Jen and Angelina - together!!!! It was weird, tho - Jen was dressed as Snow White, Brad as the prince Charming and Angelina as... the evil step-mother!!!!! Oh, there was a horse oso - wif George as the head and Tony as the tail end!!!! After that, I went to a recording of X-Factor and met up wif the judges including me mate, Simon! What a day! :-)

note: save for the pics without me in it, all pics in this post were taken using Canon IXY Digital L camera.

Inside the Natural History Museum

2005-12-20T20:23:00.000Z

Beth's house!

2005-12-19T19:08:00.003Z

Look again!

2005-12-19T18:43:00.000Z

Take a look at this pic of St. Paul's. See anything amiss?

Well, take a look from another angle by clicking on this pic:-

Royal Albert Hall

2005-12-18T15:06:00.000Z

Save for the last one, all pics were taken at the South Porch of RAH. It was quite nice - even had some kids and an adult playing some ball game in the courtyard!

Greenland Docks

2005-12-18T14:48:00.000Z

As I left B's place, she told me that there was supposed to be a shortcut the other way. Feeling adventurous, I decided to explore it - and was pleasantly surprised by the Greenland Docks. Loads of "reflection pics" - but some reflections were not that good - when i inspected it closely, I realised that the water had in fact turned to ice, thus causing a blur reflection. Yeah, it was that cold!!!!

Autumn in London during winter!

2005-12-17T17:45:00.000Z

Interesting stuffs!

2005-12-17T16:43:00.002Z

Above left:- Took me a while to figure this out - keep your eyes to the left as cars are coming from left to right!; Above right:- Lincoln - what is he doing here???

Above left: - Nice prayer outside Westminster Abbey; Above right:- Michael horsing around near the London Eye

Above left:- Really? Seen outside the London Aquarium; above right:- Wordsworth's poem composed and now reproduced on the Westminster Bridge (click on it to read)

Above left:- Stop!; Above right:- Go! Have horse and bike - will travel!

Above left:- Different kinds of clocks on each side of St Margaret's chapel next to Westminster Abbey; Above right:- Part of an exhibition along the Thames

Above right:- Baket Street tube station - the Sherlock is actually made up of many smaller Sherlock (click on it to view enlarged version!); Above right:- Was tempted to but (wisely) refrained. So I have no idea how it works!

Souvenirs!

2005-12-17T13:15:00.000Z

Above left:- T-shirt on sale at Oxford Street; above right:- Socks? On sale at Wesminster Abbey's shop

Above left:- Going classical; above right:- T-shirts at the national History Museum

Also seen at Camden Market (no more batteries in camera) - a bib with the words "Mother Sucker" written on it!!!

Bridges (2) - London Bridge

2005-12-17T11:40:00.001Z

From left to right - Proof that London Bridge is NOT the nice looking bridge in London - that's Tower Bridge (which can be seen in the background); Road sign

Left to right:- London is basically an ordinary bridge; Chair salesmen fooling around on the bridge

Bridges (1) - The Millenium Bridge

2005-12-17T11:26:00.000Z

This bridge is a foot bridge across the Thames which connects to the Tate Modern from St. Paul's. yes, you can fel it shaking in the strong winds!!!

Looking down in London

2005-12-17T00:54:00.001Z

From left to right, clockwise:- manhole cover at Tower Hill; graffiti on the Tower Bridge; leaves by the embankment; London Eye in the puddle (plus a glimspe of me Timberland shoes); Houses of Parliament in a puddle (hey, it's London - rain, rain, rain); tube platform reminder; leaves in the frontyard of a house at Surrey Quays; Greenwich; road sign near Surry Quays; leaves outside Wesminster Abbey.

Oh, click on the pics to view the enlarged versions!

Looking up in London

2005-12-17T00:54:00.000Z

These are pics taken from ground level looking up at Tower Bridge, the London Eye, St Paul's, Monument, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Natural History Museum. Can u identify all of em?

As usual, click on any pic to see the enlarged version.

London - along the Thames

2005-12-17T00:53:00.000Z

These are the pics taken at the sights along the Thames - Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Butler's Wharf, HMS Belfast, London Bridge, Monument, St. Paul's, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Jubilee Bridge, London Eye, London Aquarium, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament.

Click on the pics to see the "big picture"!

Sunsets in London

2005-12-17T00:52:00.000Z

These 2 pics were taken at Greenwich on the 9th of December

The 4 pics above were taken at Kensington Park on the 10th of December

19/11/2005

2005-12-17T00:50:00.000Z

From top to bottom, left to right - rocking chair shop in Camden Town, Camden Town market, Camden Town market, Leicester Sq, Leicester Sq, Odeon Leicester Sq (wif the Goblet of Fire! They had a dragon here during the premier), ice skating outside the Natural History Museum

Some things never change!

2005-12-17T00:49:00.000Z

Here's a pic taken from London Chinatown last weekend. Me name is still hanging there after all these years! :-)

Trafalgar Square - 17/11/05

2005-12-17T00:00:00.000Z

Unfortunately, my batterries for me camera died at Trafalgar Square. So you guys are spared from millions of other potential photos. But you can still enjoy the Square photos I took!

It was a wonderful day - brilliant weather! Nelson has the best place on the Square to get the sun, tho!

National Gallery on a bright sunny day!

On the south east plinth stands Henry Havelock

On the north-east plinth - George IV. His horse has all 4 feet on the ground so that means that he died of natural causes (source of info - Jester)

The newest and perhaps arguably the most contrversial statute, filling the previously empty fourth plinth - Alison Napper Pregnant (and very naked!!!). She'll be there til 2007. A comedian suggested they should put a statute of Moby Dick there - and call it "the Plinth of Whales"!!!

The national Gallery at the back

You can see Big Ben down the road. I remember having a pic here wif Stephan and Chris in 1993!

The pigeons were there, too!

Pigeons everywhere

Oh, there were school kids there too!