Lumiere London : Interesting idea, we want more

Introduction

The Lumiere London was a really interesting evening over this weekend. For a family like most from london suburbia, only draw to the center of town as needs call, this was a great opportunity to get everyone into town and around the the west end. People will often wonder the meaning behind these events. But apart from looking up and at the illuminations, some of which left you bewildered at the artists mind, the wider social effect to admire the number of people in town and the impact of business from high end restaurants to the pizza slice seller were amazing. It would have provided a welcome boost from the London economy.

Walking around the frozen capital suffering from the recent chill with temperatures failing to get above level and the tail end of the evening dampened slightly with rain. Here are some of my pictures from the event.

As a final word well done London - good event, well organised and despite the freezing temperatures Londoners all supported it well. We need something like this every 3 months. Keep it going.

Photo's of the illuminations

Illumination at Westminister Abbey

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Have a break, have a Sig

Introduction

No, not a cigarette, have a break in Singapore. After two years away from Asia the withdrawal symptoms for the family were too much so a visit back there was warranted. We did a 10 day stint across Singapore and Hong Kong. For us all, both visits were home away from home.

Singapore has a bunch of obvious things to do that you can get from trip advisor. Given we had done the sights before we stuck to a few of our favourites. So here are our pictures from Singapore. The new attraction was Gardens by the Bay which were very nice but would be a complete orgasm for the avid gardeners. You will definitely have your " When Harry met Sally" moment. While an avid gardener it did not hit such a high note but definitely worth a visit.

Gardens By the Bay

Night View of Gardens by the Bay

Chrysanthemum Close up

More Chrises

Display

Gardens by the bay Sky Walk

Chris - unfolding

Orchid Gardens

No trip to Singapore would be complete without a visit to the Orchid Gardens nestled in the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Each time we've visited Singapore we've always been to the Orchid gardens and this is probably our third or fourth visit to the Orchid Gardens. Some of the marvels you'll see are shown below.

Get up early and bike

If you're in Singapore for a longer period of time try and do the ECP cycleway that stretches along the bottom cost of Singapore from the Gardens by the Bay past Changi. We did the cycleway during the weekdays and early in the morning so the path was quiet. There are a number of eating and coffee places located along the coast so easy to stop for something to eat or drink.

The Singaporean are obsessed with the pollution levels and there are period of the year where it is a serious problem. So bad you cant see your nostrils! Learn to check the pollution levels when you're there.

McRitchie Walk

We also did the McRitchie walk in the middle of Singapore island, the walk is a time pass and should probably near the middle to the bottom of your list. But if you're a regular visitor to Singapore this is a good detour of an attraction. The walk has a lovely rope bridge and monkeys that are the key sights to see along the way.

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30 Kilometers of the South Downs Way

Introduction

You have to guard against sore toe nails. I should have remember this after my last long hike across Hong Kong island when I did 50km. After a couple of years back in the UK I thought I would challenge myself to a longer walk then my normal 10km stroll on Sunday. The perfect nexus of events threw up the opportunity over the Christmas break 2015. In life these come about rarely so grab them with both hands. So I set off early and drive to Birling Gap on the south coast of England.

Birling Gap is an impressive place locked close to sea level between Beachy head to the east and the Seven Sisters hike to the west. Its the perfect place for the indecisive hiker to park and choose a direction. From my experience the most scenic routes are along the coast so you'll be back tracking on yourself. The circular routes on the various websites did not appeal to me.

My walk took my over Beachy Head down into Eastbourne and then along the coastal path to Pevensey Bay where I turned around and walked back. As with all long walks your mind wants to give up much earlier than your body so I had to put up significant resistance to getting the bus back along the coast from Eastbourne to Birling Gap car park. But apparently one does run along the coast should you get weak at the knees or the though of a hot cup of tea is more appealing than the leg stiffening ascent over Beachy head

Birling Gap

I went on a grey miserable day but you can imagine how beautiful this would be on a clear, blue sky day. This view is looking south across the sea out from Birling Gap

Looking east from Birling Gap

Looking down toward Birling Gap and over the Sisters

The hike up from Birling Gap

The South Downs Way is a well marked route

Beachy Head Light house

Beachy Head light house

Looking down into Eastbourne

Beaches of Eastbourne

Pevensey Bay Shingle beach

Wild Ponies on Beachy Head

Pony on Beachy Head - busy grazing

The route and my timings

I took a fairly easy walk and took my time to stop to eat, admire and drink tea. My route and timings are below.

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