Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Images of London - Part 1

London's Black Cabs, fashionable, reliable but relatively pricey.

The Big Ben at a distance. What is London without it?

Took a shot of this footbridge just outside the National Theater and the British Film Institute at the Bank. Nearest tube: embankment

The Tube. The last time I visited London, I don't remember these glass platforms that would open before you can get on the train. Now, some stations have them. Bangkok too.

A tube station by the London Bridge. Imagine Anne Boleyn getting beheaded in this area 1,000 days after her marriage to King Henry VIII... Hmmm.

The escalators leading to or coming from the trains. Make sure you stand on the right if you don't want to be run over by irate commuters. The left side is for people rushing to get to their next destination.

People milling around, just across the theatre showing Kander and Ebb's "Chicago." Also nearby are specialty shops, "Dress Circle" (a theater store) and "Show Biz Face" (a makeup store for show biz people).
A street corner near Leicester Square.

If you are a fruit junkie, London will be heaven for you. Red and yellow plums, grapes. Kiwi and Sharon fruit (40 pence a piece), nectarines, pineapples, Cavendish bananas... but hardly any mangoes! On Portobello road every Saturday, a pound (money) will get you a plastic bag full of plums, but a piece costs 30 to 40 pence during weekdays elsewhere.

Evening at Notting Hill. This tree will always haunt me, an image of London just before spring.


The London sidewalks. Clean, gloomy... and wet.

Tourists taking a break right outside convenience stores run mostly by Pakistanis or Indians.

Two indelible images of London: The public phone (which will be phased out soon, thanks to the emergence of cell phones) and the public bus.

The public bus - those red double-decker vehicles. Reliable and comfy, but you have to know the designated number and designated area where these buses will stopover to pickup passengers. You can, however, get off anytime you want. And if you're lost, don't hesitate to ask. The English are not a very friendly people BUT they are a very polite lot--and that's just the way I like it. Straightforward and upfront.

Outside the theatre showing Chicago and just a few meters from "Dress Circle" theatre shop.


The busy Leicester Square area. A hodgepodge of races. Name it, they have it.

Gastronomic delights from London's many convenience stores and small food kiosks.

London just before dawn. As seen from a "romanticized" view of London, beautiful and lonely-looking.

A tunnel leading to the BFI's IMAX theatre. With a coat-clad beggar and passers-by.



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