Fremantle

To say that the port city of Fremantle has character is an understatement...it has a charming ambience that distinguishes it from the modern city of Perth. A mix of late Georgian, Victorian, Gothic architecture make the town of Fremantle most interesting to visit, and certainly unforgettable.


Much of the architecture in Fremantle was built by the convicts during the colonial era in the mid 1800s. The Gaol, now renamed the Round House is a well-known landmark. It was a jail until 1886.




Another landmark is the Fremantle Town Hall, representative of Victorian  architecture. It opened in 1887.






Gothic Architecture
St John's Church attracted my attention at first glance. Overlooking King's Square, it is said to be the true heart of Fremantle.






Just look at these ornate facades. Just lovely!









Gold Rush Architecture
Described as a 'rich' style as we can see from the examples below. The Gold Rush brought prosperity to Fremantle in the 1890s, and the architecture of that era reflects that.





I like this pretty shop window.

  

The people  we saw on the streets and park were busy and on the go on that day, though.


  

  





Linking to:
Skywatch Friday
Weekend Reflections
Scenic Sunday
Shadow Shot
SOOC

Flocking Together

I have often lamented my lack of luck where photographing birds are concerned. The only  opportunity I could boast of was the Siberian Seagulls at Green Lake where there were thousands of these seagulls in flight. It would have been impossible not to have captured these birds in flight...they were everywhere!


Going through some holiday photographs recently, I realised that I did have quite a few reasonably good captures of birds...especially of the species that cannot fly or do not fly! Just from my New Zealand holiday itself,  there were these birds I should proudly catalogue under "The ones which did not get away" in my collection entitled "Feathery Friends".  Of course, there are no other categories apart form "The ones which did not get away".

For Poery Potluck on the theme "Nature and Life" :

flocking together

birds of different feathers

nature's pulse of life

These could swim away from me, but I caught them before they dove into the water.

These were enjoying their morning paddle in the pond too much to mind my nosy camera.

This one loved the camera...so it came towards me.

This family is lovely, they allowed me to take this photograph even though Papa Duck wasn't around for a full family portrait. I wonder how Papa Duck looks like.

This is my favourite bird...the one that is in the centre of the town...the pukeko that could not run away from me.

Linking to:

Camera Critters 

Scenic Sunday

SOOC

Weekend Reflections

Shadow Shot

Haiku Heights

Haiku My Heart
Poetic Forms: Haiku

Aberdeen Harbour

Iconic Aberdeen Harbour is recognized  world wide as it is featured in many movies such as a Bruce Lee movie and a James Bond movie. Aberdeen was a fishing village in the past, and the Hong Kong boat people lived here in the 1960s and 70s.  Today it is a different scene altogether. Our tour guide pointed out to us the expensive yachts  belonging to Hong Kong tycoons and celebrities, anchored here. There are still some local fishermen using the bay, and there are two huge floating restaurants where people go to sample fresh seafood. 










This is the sampan that came to pick us from the jetty, to take us on a tour of the bay area. 




Our sampan was overshadowed by the huge black ships that made a striking contrast to the pale grey skyscrapers in the distance.





There were so many types of sea vessels there. Aberdeen is indeed a safe harbour as this bay has a typhoon shelter called  Bei Fung Tong where the boats anchor when a storm is imminent.







Just look at the shiny, swanky yachts...an interesting  juxtaposition viewed from our shabby shuttle.



Our sampan approaches the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.





Lobster, anyone?

This bridge links Aberdeen with Ap Lei Chau over Aberdeen Harbour.

Linking to:

Weekend Reflections

Scenic Sunday

Ports of Call - # 2 - Lovely Langkawi

Langkawi Island is located off the North Western Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. What is special about Langkawi is that it comprises 99 islands. It is well-known as the archipelago of 99 tropical islands, out of which, only four are inhabited!


Langkawi has been given a World Geopark status by UNESCO. The island's oldest mountain, Gunung Matchinchang emerged from the seabed in the Cambrian period. This area is a conservation area today. There is also a karst geopark and a geoforest park.

Of course, not everyone goes to Langkawi to see the geological wonders. You go for the sun, sea and beauty of the beaches.

The port where our ship docked is just lovely...the water so clean, the island so inviting with her verdant greenery. It was like landing on Fantasy Island, just a perfect Scenic Sunday on the shores of a tropical Malaysian island paradise.

Unbelievably peaceful tropical  island scenery. I just love the palm trees swaying in the breeze.
The noon sun cast a 12 o'clock shadow below the trees...a perfect shadow shot.




Linking to Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Weekend Reflections 

Angkor Wat

I had booked the flight for this trip months earlier, and I did not realize that April would be really hot in Siem Reap. And it was hot the first two days we were there. Fortunately it rained a little on the third and fourth day so it was tolerable. Better hot and humid in April and May than wet and muddy during the rainy season from June to October! So here we were, travelling back in time, drenched in sweat! But visiting Angkor Wat is worth the discomfort. There was a pervading sense of tranquility as we worked our way among the huge monuments. It felt to me like I was in the hallowed hallways of a place of learning. And no wonder, as we entered from the West, before we reached the temple, were the libraries on both sides of the path.

Angkor Wat is one of the ancient world's most magnificent work of architecture which has endured the test of time. It is a must-see if you are  in Cambodia. Angkor Wat meaning City Temple, is situated about 5 km from Siem Reap, and is the Cambodian Nation's most precious treasure. It is mind-boggling that it was built so long ago in the early 12th century! King Suryavaram built it to honour the Hindu God, Vishnu. I had expected to see just broken blocks but the buildings  look remarkably intact and inhabitable to me. The architecture is amazingly modern!








From Angkor, the Khmer Kings ruled over territories that covered Vietnam to China. All that remains today are about 100 temples made of stone. The palaces and other buildings had all decayed as they were wooden structures.






The temples are decorated with figures of guardian spirits (devatas or apsaras), bas reliefs as well as narrative scenes of episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata..
















Towers shaped like lotus buds, a moat protecting the temple...Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious building.


UNESCO declared the Angkor Archaeological Park a World Heritage Site in 1992.

Footsteps nigh

Devata eyes spy on mortals

Leaves suspended in the breeze

For Weekend Reflections, Scenic Sunday, Haiku Heights and Haiku My Heart.

The Many Faces of Lake Wakatipu

This is part of my series on lakes renowned for their scenic beauty. Lake Wakatipu is not only renowned for its beauty, it has many attributes that make it worthy, in my humble opinion, of being a lake with many faces.

Firstly, it is New Zealand's longest lake and secondly, it is the third largest lake in the country. This accounts for the many different vistas of this lake that makes it beautiful in many different ways.

On another count, Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand is pristine. This is not just a descriptive adjective an enthusiastic writer would use for all lovely lakes, it is actually pristine in the true sense of the word, having its original purity. The lake water is said to be more than 90% pure. 


It is also a lake with a myth. An old Maori tale is that a giant's heart beats at the bottom of the lake which is below sea level. In fact Wakatipu means 'hollow of the giant'.


If you are a movie buff, you probably already know that Hollywood had used the lake for the location of "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" and "Vertical Limit". And who does not know that certain sequences from "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" were filmed here?


And of course, the lake area is an area that attracts not only extreme sports but also boating, fishing and cruising.

View from Bob's Peak.

View of the lake with the Remarkables in the horizon.

Venture a little closer and you could hear the giant's heartbeat if you listen closely.

From the deck of a cruise boat on the lake.

From my window at the resort at break of day.

View from the Queenstown Botanic Garden.

View from the lake looking at the bank where the homes of the rich and famous are located.

When you have a lake like this, anywhere you turn, the scene is just perfect for a shot. All these photographs are posted here without even cropping. Nature is awfully kind to photographers here. I could go on and on posting more photographs, but that would take all night. 

Please take a trip to Scenic Sunday for more fabulous vistas, and to Weekend Reflections and SOOC for more fantastic shots.