Here’s wishing Christians from all over the world a Blessed X’mas!
May peace be with you and your loved ones Always.
In the photo is one of many charming cottages we admired in our tour of the Cotswolds in the UK this winter.
25 Sunday Dec 2022
Here’s wishing Christians from all over the world a Blessed X’mas!
May peace be with you and your loved ones Always.
In the photo is one of many charming cottages we admired in our tour of the Cotswolds in the UK this winter.
30 Friday Dec 2016
Posted Architecture, Asia, Buildings, Destinations, Night views, Scenery, Snapshots, Taipei, Taiwan, ttm
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Taipei2016Dec: Night view from the top of Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world.
I used the Night mode in the Huawei Mate 9 camera for this, pressing the smartphone against the metal grills at the rooftop of the skyscraper, because of the long exposure (20sec, f2.2, ISO100) and strong winds, plus I didn’t have a tripod with me.
The phablet took multiple shots and merged them into the final JPEG output, which is posted here without any postedits (except for cropping and resizing).
The horizon looks crooked, but the photo is straight because the buildings are all vertical and the phone was aligned against the vertical metal grills it was pressed against.
20 Tuesday Dec 2016
Posted Asia, Destinations, Eateries, Food, Night views, People, Snapshots, Street Photography, Taipei, Taiwan, ttm
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Taipei2016Dec: Food is abundant and good and inexpensive all over Taiwan.
Every few steps we took in Taipei, we would come across some food stall or shop, cafe or restaurant.
It’s indeed a paradise on earth for the foodie!
Photo taken with a #Huawei Mate 9 smartphone.
19 Monday Dec 2016
Posted Architecture, Asia, Buildings, Destinations, Night views, People, Scenery, Snapshots, Street Photography, Taipei, Taiwan, ttm
inTaipei2016Dec: View of Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building from 2004 to 2011 when it was overtaken by Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The elevator goes from the 5th storey to the 89th in 37 seconds!!!
The building is a landmark in Taipei where you can see it from almost anywhere in the capital.
Photo credit: @kkmakesandbakes (my wife). Taken with Apple iPhone 6s smartphone.
18 Sunday Dec 2016
Posted Asia, Destinations, Eateries, Food, Jiufen, Night views, Scenery, Snapshots, Taiwan, ttm
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Jiufen2016Dec: Night view of the bay from Jiufen, as we sipped chinese tea from the balcony of the tea house off the Old Streets of 九份. #喝茶 #喫茶
Photo taken with Canon EOS 5DsR with Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens.
17 Saturday Dec 2016
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Jiufen2016Dec: Respite from the hullabaloo in the Old Streets of 九份.
This is the balcony with a view on the veranda of a tea house. #喝茶 #喫茶
Photo taken with Canon EOS 5DsR with Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens.
15 Thursday Dec 2016
Posted Asia, Culture, Destinations, Eateries, Jiufen, Night views, People, Shopping, Snapshots, Street Photography, Taiwan, Tradition, ttm
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Jiufen2016Dec: Super crowded on the 九份 Old Street.
Lots of jostling and nudging, but everyone remained really civil.
Photo taken with Canon EOS 5DsR with Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens.
09 Friday Dec 2016
Posted Asia, Destinations, Eateries, Entrances, Food, Night views, People, Snapshots, Street Photography, Taipei, Taiwan, Tradition, ttm
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desserts, Food, restaurants, Taipei2016Dec, Taiwan2016Dec, ttm
Taipei2016Dec: Little dessert “cafe” tucked away in one corner of bustling 西门町, otherwise known as the Harajuku of Taipei.
This one sells rice flour balls (汤圆), fruits and drinks.
It looks like an authentic little shop catering to locals rather than tourists.
Photo taken with Canon EOS 5DsR with Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens.
06 Tuesday Dec 2016
Posted Architecture, Asia, Buildings, Buses, Destinations, Night views, Scenery, Snapshots, Stations, Street Photography, t4t, Taipei, Taiwan, Trains, Transport
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bus station, metro station, mrt, mrt station, t4t, Taipei2016Dec, Taiwan2016Dec, train station, transportation
Taipei2016Dec: The grand Taipei Main Station in the centre of Taipei.
Houses a bus station, intra-city MRT station, intercity train and the high-speed train station.
Beneath it are a few underground shopping streets that extend all the way to a few adjacent MRT stations!
Photo credit: @kkmakesandbakes (my wife)
Photo taken handheld (auto mode) with Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 lens.
05 Monday Dec 2016
Posted Asia, Destinations, Eateries, Entrances, Food, Night views, People, Snapshots, Street Photography, Taipei, Taiwan, ttm
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Taipei2016Dec: First stop after checking into hotel – Ah Zhong noodles.
The taxi driver had recommended it, the tourist map recommends it, and it’s a stone’s throw from where we stay in 西门町.
So we took a stroll there in the drizzle, and despite the drizzle, the queue snaked down the street!
Originally a roadside cart in 1975, 阿宗面线 is now a chain with branches in China as well.
We patronised the original shop in the bustling 西门町.
The shop does not provide seating, so either you stand around in the streets eating the noodles (which adds to the crowd), or you take away back to your hotel or home to eat.
The shop front is simple – it’s like a factory production line. One guy takes the order and the cash while the scooper scoops ladles of the noodle cum thick gravy into a paper cup.
The noodles were rather tasty but unremarkable.
What impressed me was that the noodles didn’t clump together and become pasty.
But that steaming bowl of mianxian was certainly a godsend in a cold rainy night in a Taipei winter – for the ravished traveller that’s just arrived in the city.
Photo taken with Canon EOS 5DsR with Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens.