There's a big wide world out there…..

A heritage hotel, with a modern wing. I have stayed in this hotel before so this was a return visit, and as it falls into the 'heritage' label, it's naturally one I gravitate to when looking at the list of Singapore hotels. The original parts of the hotel were built in 1900 as the Teutonia Club, a club for expat Germans. In 1918, it was sold to Manasseh brothers who renamed it and converted it into a hotel. One of the guests who stayed there in the 1920s was the ballerina Anna Pavlova (the one after whom the dessert was named!) By the 1930s it was one of the best known hotels and another famous guest was the then Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII and later still, Duke of Windsor. So bundles of history for me to read up on! The entrance from the heritage wing, under the tower (which, more research! Is designated a national monument in Singapore) There is a new entrance with the hotel reception in the newer wing. Walkway through the heritage wing, with the re...

Summer Palace, Beijing

Summer Palace, Beijing The Chinese Emperors lived in the Forbidden City which is in the centre of Beijing City. It's an interesting complex but mainly stone buildings and in the summer it becomes stifling hot. In the 12th century the Emperor at the time ordered the construction of what is now known as the Summer Palace. In summer the court would move to this cooler, greener and far more pleasant locality. I like the Summer Palace and visited again during my recent trip to China. Since my last visit a new subway line has opened up and it's now possible to travel by subway to the palace. You do however enter by a different gate from where most of the tourists make their way into the Summer Palace grounds. This ended up being a positive, while it's crowded with visitors, much less so than those who enter through the Eastern Palace Gate. The station you exit the train is the Beigongmon station on Line 4. Once out of the station I couldn't see any signs (in English...

Arches around the world

Triumphal and decorative Wellington Arch, London Going through photos that I take when travelling, I noticed that I seem to curate them into collections. I see one category and then link that to others in the same category. hence this post on arches! Wellington Arch is in London, originally erected to commemorate Britain's victories in the Napoleonic Wars. It can be found at Hyde Park corner on what is basically a traffic island, I think that's how I found it as I was trying to get across some rather busy roads! It was first constructed on a nearby site and then moved to its current site in the mid 1880s, the top originally had a statue of the Duke of Wellington on a horse, now there's a group of horses and an angel. The same traffic island has the Marble Arch, which was moved there from the front of Buckingham Palace. As Queen Victoria's family grew she needed more space so a new wing was built at what is now the front facade that everyone sees. The triumpha...

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