Walking Along the South Bank of River Thames

I started my evening walk along the River Thames from Tower Bridge at the eastern side of the waterfront. The first interesting entity is the City Hall which looks like an egg just a stone-throw away from the Tower Bridge.

The next thing that caught my eye was a stationary vessel park in the middle of the river. It's the HMS Belfast which had served in World War II and the Korean War.

Further west is the rebuilt London Bridge, of which the name is always mistakenly crowned on Tower Bridge. It is a just a very ordinary concrete bridge.

There are many pubs and cafes along the South Bank. Londoners indulging themselves with a pint of beer or a cuppa is a common scene after working hours.

As I walked further west, I could see the Millennium Bridge connecting the south and north banks of River Thames. It has been rumoured that the bridge was designed for synchronised walking. Any other walking pattern will put the bridge into vibration mode. I did not go on the bridge to testify that.

The abutment of one of the bridges across River Thames has become the playground of skateboarders. I stopped and watched them playing for a little moment.

After a 3.5-km walk, I finally arrived at the British Airways London Eye. Across the river are the Houses of Parliament with the eminent Big Ben. At this point of time, I took a bus back to the Tower Bridge again to photograph this magnificent bridge after dark.

After I had done with Tower Bridge, I started to take some cityscape shots. The view of London City from the South Bank is quite awesome after dark.

I started to walk westward again and came across Millennium Bridge the second time, but this time with the illumination from the artificial lighting.

The dome of St. Peter's Cathedral is clearly visible at night. Most of the bridges get illuminated at night too.

Even the National Theatre gets multi-colour illumination. The building looks more like a sculpture at night.

When I returned to the viewpoint of the Houses of Parliament again, it was already past 11 p.m., so I quickly got myself to the bus stop to catch a bus back to the hotel.

Changing Colours

Location: Clarke Quay, Singapore
Date taken: 3^rd November 2009
Camera equipment: Nikon D300 + Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D

From Paris to London

It was 11^th June 2009 that I made my way back to London from Paris. I was on the Eurostar again but this time on a Standard ticket without the meal on board, unlike the leg from London to Paris when I upgraded to Leisure Select.

I arrived at Gare du Nord more than an hour earlier to my train departure at 12:13 p.m., so I walked around shooting pictures again.

All the Eurostar trains were parked at the ground level, but the passengers had to check in through the upper level. What an inconvenient arrangement, unlike the other ordinary trains where passengers could just board from the platforms.

Knowing that I was not gonna be served any meal on board, I went to the cafe to have a big piece of chocolate-nut cookie and a cappuccino.

When the departure time was near, I checked in, boarded the train and waited for the departure. I was looking forward to my arrival at London and all set to roam around it.

I was lucky enough to fill my stomach at Gare du Nord with that big piece of cookie, because I couldn't get any food on board. It was sold out!

About two and a half hours after departure, the train arrived at St. Pancras International.

It was about 1:30 p.m. in London. London time is one hour behind Paris time.

I was all ready to hit the streets of London but unfortunately there was a Tube Strike. Therefore, I needed to look for alternative transport. It wasn't too much of a hassle to get to the Tower Bridge by bus anyway.