Ottawa

This is a long overdue post.  It has been far too long since my last post, but nonetheless, I am back.  It's been a busy year for me, with work placement and all, but I had the chance to go to Ottawa for 2 weeks as an exchange for my work.  The city is quite remarkable, with the Rideau Canal, the parliament building, and all the other beautiful architecture.  Here are some picture I took, walking along the canal.  

The parliament building... the place where they run our country

Chateau Laurier, built between 1909-1912, is probably the nicest hotel in Ottawa

The Ottawa locks are the first set of locks in the Rideau Canal which connects Ottawa to Kingston.  With 8 locks, this is the largest set along the canal, lifting boats a total of 24m.

Singapore Sling

I came back from Singapore just two weeks ago and finally got around to posting the photos.  It was a pretty fun trip with my extended family.  There was much more to see and do in this small country than I expected.  There was beautiful architecture, some modern and innovative, while others, remnants of British colonization.  The food was spectacular, and the beaches were pretty nice too.  The shopping was pretty dull, but that's probably because I was just in Japan and there really isn't a competition of which place is better to shop.  What shocked me though, was that the tin of Earl Grey I bought in Singapore turned out to be the best I've ever tasted.  But it was a pretty fun trip, and a great bonding experience with my family.

Raffles Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Singapore.

The most famous trademark of Singapore is the Merlion, a mythical creature with the head of a lion and a body resembling a mermaid. 

We stayed at a hotel overlooking the Marina Bay, an area enclosed by a dam.  Some of the most interesting and beautiful buildings and infrastructure can be found here.  Marina Bay Sands is a massive complex including hotels, casinos, conventions centers and a mall, and resemble 3 sails and a ship at the top.  The helix bridge is the world's third most expensive bridge in the world and is a pedestrian bridge cutting through the bay.  The singapore flyer, though not as well known as the London Eye has a significant presence overlooking the bay.  And finally, the Esplanade Theater is an opera house shaped like a durian, the funny smelling fruit that so many Singaporeans enjoy.

Clark Quay is a very interesting area with colourful buildings and bars and restaurants everywhere.  We had dinner here, and ate black pepper crab at a restaurant by the river.  It was one of the best crab dishes I've ever had!

Sentosa Island is a really chill place.  This is Palawan Beach which claims to be the southernmost part of continental Asia.  It was a great place to just relax on the beach, read, tan, and play with bubbles.

Little India wasn't the best smelling place in Singapore, but it was definitely the most colourful.

And of course, going to a country outside of China would require a trip to... well... China town!

Cultural Kingston Picture of the Month!

If anyone remembers, this photo was taken last summer and uploaded on one of my earlier posts.  I entered it into the "This is Your Kingston" photo contest for the "Cultural Kingston" category and won!  This is super exciting for me because it's the first time I've got the courage to enter my photos into a contest, and now it's being featured on the town's website and also again when their new website is done.

Hong Kong 360

Until you bring a tourist around, you don't realize how much of your city you actually miss everyday.  Recently, my dad's colleague came to visit and we spent a weekend showing her around to the Peak, Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Aberdeen, and Ngong Ping 360.  I felt like a tourist, visiting all these typical attractions and going trigger happy with my camera.  These pictures make me realize how great of a city I live in.    

 Both sides of Victoria Harbour from the Tsim Sha Tsui harbour front and the Peak.  

The beautiful skyline of Hong Kong is even more vibrant at night with all the lights. 

Small transport boat by Jumbo Floating Restaurant at Aberdeen.

Taking the trams in Hong Kong is a must for any visitor.  There are streetcars in many cities around the world, but none are double deckers like the ones in Hong Kong. 

This weekend happened to be the dragon boat festival, and competitors from all over the world came to participate.  I was able to catch the very last two races of this event.

This giant buddha sits in Lantau, overlooking the airport.  This landmark, once difficult to reach, can now be easily accessed with the 360 cable car.  

Candid: Tokyo

I found the people in Tokyo to be really interesting, so I started to take pictures of them.  Here are some pictures of people at work and at play.  

People working at the Tsukiji Fish Market early in the morning.

Some kids and family enjoying a beautiful day in Yokohama.

Busy people near Shibuya Station crossing the street and waiting around.

A Shiba Inu, native to Japan, lounging on the streets with its owner. 

Trains

The Japanese people take their trains very seriously, so I decided to make a post just on trains.  It's just some pictures of trains and pictures I took from the train.  Sadly, I wasn't able to ride the Shinkansen and didn't get a chance to get pictures of any either.  The Japanese railway system is massive and there are many tracks for many trains to run on simultaneously.  Stations can have around 20 platforms boarding over 10 different lines.  They love trains so much that they even have a mini train for kids in one of the malls!