Tag: Travel
Modern Singapore
We might say to a friend: “See the modern-looking building.” But our observation is far from neutral. Modern is not a stylistic quirk or a design decision. It’s an expression of an ideology. It’s a way of being in the world. It assumes the primacy of science, the certainty of progress, the promise of a bright and shining future, the value of democracy, the inevitability of capitalism, the cachet of consumption.
Singapore’s Chinatown
While in Singapore, we had an invitation to the Tanglin Club. Our host, who is ethnically Chinese, showed us the plaques spanning the club’s 150 year history. The plaques listed presidents of the club, almost all with British names – names like mine. In fact, it was a Barker who officially opened the latest wing. Our host pointed out that, until the 1960’s, he couldn’t have been a member of the club – whites only.
Singapore’s Little India
Unlike other ethnic areas, Singapore’s Little India seems less interested in tourist kitsch and more interested in catering to the needs of the people who actually live there. That includes a large population of migrant workers employed in construction, road maintenance, gardening, etc., all brutal jobs in Singapore’s humidity.
Singapore’s Arab Town
I’ve already noted the disneyfied feel to much of Singapore. Arab Town is no exception. When I first saw the Sultan Mosque, I expected Iago, the parrot from Aladdin, to swoop down from the roof.
The Travel Paradox
I recently attended a talk by the maritime photographer, Kas Stone, during which she mentioned in passing the so-called travel paradox. Most photographers share the experience of traveling to outstanding or exotic locations only to return home with images that are meh at best. There may be a number of reasons for this but one, she speculates, is that we travel with (typically) non-photographer companions who cramp our style.
Impressions of Thunder Bay
I’ve never spent much time in Thunder Bay. For me, it’s always been a stopover to somewhere else. But, this year, our daughter moved there to live and now we have reason to visit and explore.
Highway 17 Around Superior
Photographically speaking, stunning scenery doesn’t do it for me anymore. In the modern world of HDR images, landscapes have taken on a plastic quality. They’ve stopped being interesting. In my view, what redeems landscapes are the other points of interest happening within them.
Bullet Proof Vest at an Art Show
So Saturday we’re driving down Highway 27 from Haines City towards the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at the corner of Thompson Nursery Rd. It’s 32 degrees Celsius which is a far cry from the sub-freezing temperatures we left behind in Toronto. We pass a sign advertising a gun show this weekend.
Victoria – Animals
The 7th in a series of 10 posts featuring photos of Victoria, B.C. This time: animals. (It was too wet for whale watching. Maybe next time.)
Victoria’s Shoreline
Photos taken while walking alone the shore below Dallas Road between Cook Street and the Ogden Point breakwater.
Victoria – Architecture, Style, Design
Victoria is unique to Canada in that it enjoys a cool-summer Mediterranean climate. That fact is reflected in the materials, colours, and design of many homes and other buildings.
Shopping in Victoria
My favourite place to shop in Victoria is Renaissance Books in Bastion Square, a used and antiquarian bookstore by the inner harbour. However, in deference to my wife, who has more “normal” shopping habits, I thought I’d share photos of destinations other than book stores.
Victoria At Night
Victoria is worth exploring at night, and not just because the legislature is lit up like a Christmas tree. February is off season, so the streets are really quiet. The winter emptiness underscores how much Victoria is dependent upon tourism.
Victoria – The Inner Harbour
While the rest of Canada descends into a deep freeze, things stay balmy in Victoria. There’s a calm that settles over the waters of the inner harbour, broken from time to time by the sea planes, then still at night.