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Autumn in London 2007-10-03 07:18:00 Landmark Fatigue?Today I took a walk I've done many times from Victoria Station to Trafalgar Square via Westminster Abbey and the Houses of parliament and down Whitehall.I realised afterwards that I didn't give a second look at Westminster Abbey or bat an eyelid at the Houses of parliament, two of the most magnificent buildings you'll find in London. I used to work in this area so I would see these buildings every day, so when I see these buildings now they feel very familiar to me.Brompton CemeteryThis thought occured to me as I was wandering around the Brompton Cemetery in West London. When in London I usually stay around this area, and I always make a visit. It is one of my favourite places in London.Brompton CemeteryBrompton Cemetery Crosses and AngelThe Brompton Cemetery is one of the Magnificent Seven, a group of cemeteries that were opened in London in the 1800's to cater for London's population explosion and subsequent overcrowding of burial grounds at the traditional Pari Read more:Autumn
Have you smiled at anyone today? 2007-10-03 05:55:00 Doing the rounds on the Tube in London at the moment is a Nokia advertisement asking this question. This reminded me of an interesting article I read recently about the decline in manners.Have you smiled at anyone today?Too many people these days grunt and ignore their way through life.We used to be a nation that would happily talk for lengthy periods to perfect strangers about the weather.We used to know our butchers, bakers, though probably not any candlestick makers, but we did know the old woman at the post office. When did we slip out of the habit?However it isn't too late for us.We could, with a little effort, be a lot nicer to each other.So: betwen the hours of 12am and noon say "good morning" or "morning", noon to 5pm a simple "helllo" will do and 5pm to 12am "evening".Good luck.
Dubai Airport 2007-10-01 20:56:00 Dubai Airport (DXB) was recently named the best airport in the Middle East according to Skytrax. The airport is home to Emirates, which accounts for 50 per cent of all flight movements in and out of the airport.Dubai Airport Duty Free ShoppingIt is a spacious airport and easy to get around, despite all the building work going on outside. There is a metro line being constructed out the front and a terminal expansion (which is out of the way of the current operating area).Dubai Airport ExtensionDubai Airport Arabian LandscapingAs if it wasn't enough to have one great airport, Dubai is currently building a second airport, the Jebel Ali Airport - Dubai International Airport City. Keeping with Dubai's current construction theme, this will be big! 6 parallel runways, 4.5 km in length, each separated by a distance of 800 metres, and of the 6 runways, 4 can be used simultaneously. The Airport City will cover 140 square kilometres. Read more:Dubai
A guide to budget accommodation in Dubai 2007-10-01 07:19:00 There is not much in the way of budget
accommodation in Dubai
. Cheap guest house style accommodation that is common in Asian destinations does not fit in with Dubai's grand master plan of being a luxury holiday and shopping stop-over destination.HostelsThere is one hostel in Dubai, the UAE YHA, though it is not the most convenient location.Guest HousesThere are budget accommodation options available, but booking online is generally not possible. Most of these places don't even have a website, let alone booking facilities, and their contact details are via a yahoo address. If you are looking for a guest house in Dubai they can be found in the Deira and Bur Dubai area (the Dubai Creek area). I found a number of places that had single room accommodation for 150 UAE Dirham (about $40 US) . As a comparison, the cheapest room I could find on any hotel booking site was 300 UAE Dirham (about $80 US).These guest houses are spread out all over the city as well, so it is not like you can just t
Betel Nut Stains 2007-10-01 07:14:00 Just as in western countries most pavements have chewing gum dots all over the pavement, across Africa and Asia is the Betel Nut stain. Betel Nut StainBetel Nut Stains
Air Conditioned Bus Stops - Dubai 2007-10-01 07:01:00 It sounds crazy, but then this is Dubai
. The Dubai bus shelter project is billed as the first ever air conditioned bus shelters in the world on such a large scale. The will be 500 of these built eventually.Dubai Air Conditioned Bus StopDubai Air Conditioned Bus Stop Seats Read more:Stops
The New Dubai - Projects completed or under construction 2007-10-01 06:03:00 Here is a list of notable projects that are completed or currently under construction in Dubai
. It is not an exhaustive list but it gives you a general idea of the scope of construction going on at the moment. Most of these projects contain the words "world's" and "largest".Dubai MarinaThis area is known as the New Dubai. Upon completion it will be the world's largest man-made marinaDubai MarinaJumeirah Beach ResidenceThe world's largest single phase project. Jumeirah Beach Residence consists of more than 40 towers, mostly for residential purposes.Jumeirah Beach ResidenceJumeirah Beach Residence and BeachSki DubaiWhat to do on a 45 degrees summers day? Snow skiing of course. Dubai has the largest indoor ski resort in the world.Ski DubaiDubailandAn entertainment complex consisting of six zones. Some of the projects are complete but much of it is still under construction.- Attractions and Experience World:A theme park area that will be bigger than Disneyland/DisneyWorld combined. Will Read more:Projects
Dubai - old and new 2007-10-01 05:35:00 The old part of Dubai
is centred around Dubai Creek, an inlet of water from the Gulf which served as Dubai's original port, and still handles small cargo vessels today. Old Dubai consists of Deira on the north side of the creek and Bur-Dubai to the south. Dubai CreekThe area around the creek is where the older and more interesting streets of Dubai lay. Here you will find old and reconstructed market laneways (souqs) on either side of the creek.Bur Dubai Souq LanewayIf you are staying in the creek area of Dubai you could be forgiven for wondering what all the noise is about regarding Dubai. The old part of town is an interesting if architecturally unremarkable place, and there are not many high rise buildings in the area. Old Dubai looks like what an Indian city would look like if it had no rubbish and livestock on the streets and if the roads were all sealed. That Dubai is 60% populated by Indians probably contributed to my illusion.Dubai Marina Construction WorkersIt is not until you
Arrow to Mecca 2007-09-30 06:47:00 In my hotel room there is a black arrow on the ceiling pointing in the direction to Mecca
, a common site in Islamic countries.Mecca Arrow
Greenery makes great cities 2007-09-30 06:20:00 What a difference a tree makes
in a baking hot city of concrete. With all the money that is pouring into Dubai to make it one of the premier global cities of the world, they should start planting shady trees everywhere to make a more pleasant place. A shady tree in Deira - DubaiA good example of a green city in a hot and dry climate is Madrid. The Spanish capital in the middle of the Iberian Peninsula is one of the greenest cities in Europe. The shady elm trees make the summer days bearable.Los Angeles has realised the benefit of urban trees and have embarked on a campaign to green the city by launching the Million Trees LA project.Trees For Cities is another site about beautifying our cities through tree planting.Having greenery is one thing, but it needs to be usable as well. I found this park near the creek only to find that you can't use it!
Arabian Fashion 2007-09-29 07:23:00 Fashion that never goes out of fashion.Arabian
Fashion - Dubai Read more:Fashion
Dubai Weather 2007-09-29 07:05:00 ...it's hot, damn hot! At the end of September the forcast maximum is 40 deg C and a minium of 29 deg C. Step out of the air conditioned comfort of the airport and it hits you in the face and fills your lungs. And this is at 6 in the morning!For 4 months of the year Dubai
gets to over 40 degrees Celsius every day. The rest of the year is in the more managable 30's and in the "winter" months down to the very comfortable 20's.Rain is so rare here that there is not need for street drains. In the south of Spain they boast of 300 days of sunshine a year. Here in Dubai the boast is of 360 days of sunshine a year. You would be unlucky to get those 5/6 days of no sunshine. No wonder they are building beach resorts and theme parks everywhere here.
Dubai as a stopover 2007-09-29 06:42:00 I have been wanting to visit Dubai
for some time but I've only considered it as a stopover destination rather than a destination unto itself. While it makes more sense as a destination from Europe, travelling from Australia or North America is too far for a city that is a work in progress.Most airlines flying between Europe and Australia stop in one of the Asian hub cities, so getting a decent priced flight via Dubai can be hard. If you fly with Emirates though you can get a Dubai stopover and quite often they offer the best price going on the kangaroo route. One advantage of flying with Emirates is that you can fly from Australia to 22 destinations in Europe (including 6 UK airports) with only one stop. A direct flight to Dubai, then connecting to the city you require.
Big Foot Massage - Singapore Airport 2007-09-28 23:36:00 Long haul travel from Australia often means a short stop at the award winning Singapore
Changi Airport. I'm here for an hour flying from Melbourne to Dubai with Emirates.Changi Airport now have free mechanical foot massages from Big Foot Massage
. Big Foot Massage - Singapore Airport
The Amazing Human Body Exhibition 2007-08-31 19:27:00 I visited The Amazing
Human Body Exhibition
this week. Using the word amazing in a show is usually reserved for circus acts that aren't that amazing, but this was really amazing. The show is a display of real human bodies that have undergone plastination. Basically water is replaced with plastic at death, with willing donors of course, preserving the body forever.The Amazing Human Body Exhibition is on at Melbourne Docklands from 30 June to 1 October 2007. I have seen similar show advertised around the world ( a similar exhibition featured in the latest Bond movie Casino Royale), so highly recommended if this circus comes to your town.amazinghumanbody.com.au
Sea Shepherd 2007-08-30 19:18:00 Visiting Melbourne this week is the Sea Shepherd
, the ship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.seashepherd.org
Tall Ship Enterprize 2007-08-30 07:58:00 Apparently Melbourne has an official day, Melbourne Day. Who knew? I didn't anyway. I think Melbourne Cup day is our unofficial day. We get a day off for that one at least.I just found out about Melbourne Day as they have been advertising the fact that the replica tall ship Enterprize will be at the Melbourne Docklands and open to the public.The Enterprize was the original schooner that brought the first European settlers to Melbourne in 1835. This Enterprize is a replica and was launched in 1997.
Gates of Hell - Laneways of Melbourne 2007-08-23 04:31:00 The City of Melbourne
are sponsoring art installations in the laneways of Melbourne. The Laneway Commissions 2007.Gates
of HellHeather B. SwannDegraves Place (off Degraves Street between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane)20 July - 9 March 2008Gates of HellGates of Hell - Degraves Place Melbourne
"I'm from Batman" - What might have been. 2007-07-28 07:56:00 Melbourne in Australia was named after the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who resided in the village of Melbourne in Derbyshire. Sometimes I wonder though what might have been if Melbourne was named after one of the first European exploroers to land on the Yarra river, John Batman
. Us Melburnians could have been be saying that "I'm from Batman". We might have been known as "Batmaniacs". As it stands I'm happy with the name Melbourne, and I'm grateful that we were founded in his time. Melbourne just as easily could have been called Peel or Disraeli. "I'm from Peel" or "I'm from Disraeli" just doesn't roll off the tongue as eloquently as Melbourne.John Batman - Melbourne
Blood in the Water 2007-10-26 09:19:00 This week was the 61st anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, which began on October 23rd, 1956. This day is now a public holiday in Hungary, and as it fell on a Tuesday this year it made for an extra long weekend as many people took the Monday off as well.Reading up on the events of that time I stumbled upon the event known as the Blood
in the Water match. This was the meeting of Hungary and the USSR in the Pool at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics (it is known in Hungarian as the "Blood Bath of Melbourne").A documentary was made about it in 2006 called Freedoms Fury, which was produced by Lucy Liu and Quentin Tarantino.
No to inflight mobile phones petition 2007-10-24 13:43:00 There is talk of introducing technology that will allow mobile phones to operate inflight. Britain's Telegraph have been running a petition
to Say "no" to in-flight mobile phones. To add your name to the petition, follow this link:Say "no" to in-flight mobile phones
The lure of European Trains 2007-10-28 03:45:00 Whenever I pass a grand European
train station I can't help but have a look inside and see what possibilities are on offer. Even though I am in one of the great cities of Europe and not in any hurry to leave, the lure of European train travel is always strong.Budapest has three main train stations, of which Keleti palyaudvar receives most of the international arrivals and departures.Keleti PalyaudvarOne afternoon when I wandered past there were trains waiting on the platform for Moscow, Zurich and Venice, with a train for Bucharest listed on the departure board.Budapest Keleti Departure BoardMoszkva TrainVenezia TrainZurich Train Read more:Trains
Pat Sir John Betjeman on the back 2007-11-15 04:35:00 At the St Pancras International station is a statue of English Poet Sir John Betjeman. The sculpture was commissioned to recognise the huge role John Betjeman played in the saving of St Pancras from demolition in the 1960s.Sir John Betjeman statue by Martin JenningsIt's hard to believe that this station was threatened with demolition, but during the 1960's it was. During this time Victorian elegance was out and concrete brutalism was in. Down the road from St Pancras the grand Euston station was demolished, only to be replaced by the abomination that stands today. Betjeman tried to save Euston, but did not succeed. Fortunately his efforts saved St Pancras from the wrecking ball.If you are at St Pancras to travel or just there to marvel at the roof as Betjeman is apparently doing, go over to Betjeman's statue and give him a pat on the back.Then over the years as appreciative travellers pat him on the back, may a shiny smooth spot appear on his back as a visible token of thanks from a
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