Archives for: November 2007
2007-11-19
And while I'm at it...
How could I have forgotten this one? Shanghai, 2007. Most of the city is a mix of decrepit buildings from the 1920s or 1930s on the one hand, and huge skyscrapers on the other. The CBD glistens with tall, ultra-modern buildings: business headquarters and luxury flats for the ludicrously rich. Old quarters built during the era of European incursion are being torn down in a drive to modernise the city and house its expanding population. In this photo, an old quarter from before even the European period has been preserved and renovated, while you can see tall blocks of flats in the background.
This may correspond to what most people imagine Shanghai looks like. In fact, most of it is clogged up with cars pumping pollution into the air. Similarly, in Beijing, there are a great many cars, and very few bikes.
About this photo: We were herded into the shopping district, which makes a poor attempt at replicating pre-colonial China, but basically is just a crowded, modern area packed with tourists and stinking of consumerism. So I slipped out and wandered into the city itself. That photo is what I found just outside the "tourist quarter". While in the tourist quarter, I actually ran into a former student of mine from Sydney! If anyone wants to calculate the odds on that, they must be absolutely staggering...
As Aqua used to sing, "I've been around the world..."
Well, not quite. But here a few pictures of my trips. There are a few more in my photo albums on Facebook.
Viñales, 2005: a snapshot of rural Cuba
Me in Viñales. The reason for the grey clouds and rain is because Hurricane Katrina was busy smashing into New Orleans, not all that far away. We caught the very edge of the hurricane.
Suva, Fiji, 2003. The guard in front of the presidential palace. I also saw the changing of the guard. I've now seen changing of the guard in four countries: the UK, Fiji, Sweden, and South Korea. The latter was a historical ceremonial re-enactment, since the monarchy was abolished by Japanese invaders almost a hundred years ago.
Seoul, 2007. The view from Namsan.
The street where I was staying in Seoul. You can see my hotel (Hotel Lees) on the left.
The main Buddhist temple in Seoul. Inside the temple, you can just catch a vague glimpse of the three giant golden statues of Buddha.
Seoul: gardens on former imperial palace grounds.
Me on Plaza de la Revolucion, Havana, 2005. That place behind me is where Fidel Castro used to make long speeches to huge crowds.
My friend Kévin on Plaza de la Revolucion, opposite angle.
