Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Singapore!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Singapore to all of you who come to visit my blog.

If you don't celebrate Christmas and the 1 January New Year then I hope you will have a good break at this festive time where you might get time off work.

The pictures of this Christmas posting come from Orchard Road, the Oxford Street of Singapore. I hope you enjoy the Christmas lights on a tropical island with no snow!


This first picture is a new shopping centre called the ION.
It is a temple to the most famous western brands






















Cartier and Armani being two
fine examples






















A piece of Christmas cake for
those who know the name of
this instrument :)






















Shoppers abound. It is one of
the national pastimes of
Singaporeans, which stimulates
the economy














This group of carol singers made up for their
lack of tonality with their smiles and
enthusiasm!
















A Christian department store called Tangs has
a message, and particularly beautiful decorations






















The lights on Orchard Road















Wisma Atria shopping mall which has
"Food Republic". A paradise of local
hawker food centre delights in a comfortable,
air-conditioned and hygienic environment






















Admire the the lights and the car!






















Christmas trees and a mime artist






















Another shopping mall called
Ngee Ann City always has a
HUGE Christmas tree






















Rather enchanting close-up
of the tree















This tree in Takashimaya, a Japanese
department store, is a teddy bear tree






















These lovely characters are the mascots
of Takashimaya
















Now, I won't be shopping for Christmas
presents at Gucci....
















Finally I hope that you will have a Christmas
and a 2011 which is simply 'Two Good To Be True"

Come back in 2011 to see photos of Cambodia.

Islands, Krabi, Thailand

Great to see you. Thanks for visiting my blog.

My previous posting was of Railay Beach, Krabi in Thailand. This is the second and last posting from that holiday. The photos are from a boat trip we took to go snorkelling and see a couple of the very beautiful islands nearby.

I hope you enjoy the shots. The places we saw were pretty amazing.

Come back for Christmas greetings in a couple of weeks!


This first shot is me all kitted up with essential
beach kit; hat, shades, camera and beer
















On our way to the first island















Amazing lumps of rock dotted around the sea






















Arriving at our first stop















Pretty photogenic place, don't you think
(emphasis on pretty!)
















Talking of photogenic, my lovely wife, Daniela
















Have you noticed the water!!!!!
















No surfing here






















The long shot
















A selection of sea craft
















Gorgeous
















Pretty as a postcard
















It must be Monday, laundry day
















Planning your next holiday yet?

















Just to prove we were there!
















Perhaps I'll buy one of those when I retire....
















This island is called Chicken Island.
I wonder why.....






















I was going to straighten this up.
but I think it adds to the interest






















OK that's enough of all this beauty........

















....time to go home to Singapore. See you again
one more time before Christmas

Railay Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Thanks for coming. 1 hour and 40 minutes by plane from Singapore takes you to Krabi in South Thailand. Daniela and I went for a long weekend last week.

We chose to stay at Railay Beach away from the shops and the traffic. You can't get there by car. From the airport there is a half hour car ride followed by a 30 minute longboat trip. Which of course would be lovely, if it wasn't pouring with rain. By the time we got to the resort we were soaked. Luckily it did get better, although it was definitely unsettled. As you will see in this and the next blog we managed to enjoy the sun too.

The first morning it had stopped raining and initially was very cloudy. Then things began to brighten up. Here is Daniela wearing layers. Compared to Singapore it was definitely cool, barely 25 C!


I hope you enjoy the photos of this beautiful place

Alan















We stayed at Railay Beach West. This area of
Thailand is famous for its limestone cliffs and
they help create some of the most beautiful
beaches in the world






















The cloud is still very low
















Early morning reflections. We then went to
have breakfast. The cloud started breaking
up.......
















....so I went back on the beach to take some
more shots
















The cliffs rise on either side of the beach
















The place we stayed is lovely, quite enchanting.
It is beautifully choreographed with plants,
trees and flowers. At night there was a concert of
sweet sounds from the various (non-human)
inhabitants. It is the Railay Village Resort
















You can walk from the west beach to the east
beach very easily. On the east side there is a
mangrove swamp area. The fisherman
casts his net wide
















The monkeys were very benign and quite
happy to pose for photographers
















The pace of life is quite different to that of
Singapore!






















Reaching for the top. You can
have rock climbing lessons.
Needless to say I kept my feet
firmly on the ground






















But I really admired those who
were doing it. This lady took a
break to wave to us
















A stalagmite that has taken a certain shape.
Phallic symbols appear to be important in
Thailand
















On the way there were beautiful rock formations

















Beach Altar with lots of phallic reference






















Magic spot

















Don't you just wish you were there? I do
and I have just come back! This is Phra
Nang Beach, back on the West side, just
south of where we were staying























The boat is a refreshment bar






















Imposing and impressive
















These guys also impressed with their footwork,
Spot the ball!






















This guy is a very good climber.
His body is crafted by his sport






















But of course compared to a monkey....
Though not much climbing going on here.
More like lunch!
















High tide






















The entrance to Phra Nang Cave






















Coming in to the cave
















Stunning limestone rock formations






















Just dripping!
















A couple of photos of the local fauna
















Basking in the early morning sun

















I leave you with these sunny postcard shots
















Next time a I'll show you photos of what we saw
when we went on a boat trip. Hope to see you then