Harrod @ London

Harrod's, London's most famous department store, celebrated its 150th birthday in 1999. The store began in the mid-19th century when Henry Charles Harrod opened a grocery shop nearby on Brompton Road. By concentrating on high quality goods and excellent service, rather than cheap prices, the shop was popular enough to begin expanding over the surrounding area. Today the food halls alone fill seven rooms covering 35,000 sq feet, 3,250 sq m. If you can cope with the vast crowds, there is nothing to match Harrod's food halls at Christmas time.

The huge store also has 60 fashion departments and a great range of toys. At one time it was claimed that Harrod's could supply anything from a packet of pins to an elephant but today, although this is not true, the store still has a amazing range of stock. Harrod's has tight security and a strict dress code, they have been known to turn away customers whose clothes they consider too skimpy. At night you can admire the building spectacularly lit up by 11,500 lights.

Start shopping @ http://www.harrods.com/harrodsstore/

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Grandmum Place @ Tallinn

Read about this restaurant on Lonely Planet. So decided to try it out. We followed the map, and reached there, but we can't find the restaurant. Do you know why? Because it is at the basement and the restaurant name is written in their language, so of course we can't find it.


Anyway, as you can see, it is a very nice restaurant with the right environment. Can you feel the "grandmom home" feeling?

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An escalator that is full of ads

I like to stay in big cities, because there will be many people, and the life will be very happening. Due to the economic scaling, you can see many advertisement everywhere in a big cities. In the train, on the street, along the escalator, everywhere, there will be advertisement.

This is an escalator from a subway in London Zone 1. Take a count, along this 200 meter escalator, it can be easily over 20 advertisements. This happens in Hong Kong as well.


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Golden Gate

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. As part of both US Highway 101 and California Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. The Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. Since its completion, the span length has been surpassed by eight other bridges.

In fact, there is one spot, you may not know, it is also a good place to watch sunset! Amazing isn't it. I will post the sunset photo in the upcoming post.

The Golden Gate is often shrouded in fog. During the summer, the heat in the California Central Valley causes the air there to rise. This can create strong winds which pull cool moist air in from over the ocean through the break in the hills caused by the Golden Gate, commonly causing a stream of dense fog to enter the bay. The strait was surprisingly elusive for early European explorers, presumably due to this persistent summer fog. The strait is not recorded in the voyages of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo nor Francis Drake, both of whom may have explored the nearby coast in the sixteenth century in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. The strait is also unrecorded in observation by Spanish galleons returning from the Philippines that laid up in nearby Drakes Bay. These galleons rarely passed east of the Farallon Islands (27 miles west of the Golden Gate), fearing the possibility of rocks between the Islands and the mainland.

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Mummy... dry corpse exposed

A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs. For this mummy, you can see his/her face very clear... It was preserved in the British Museusm.
The earliest known Egyptian "mummified" individual dates back to approximately 3300 BC. This individual, nicknamed 'Ginger' because of the color of his hair, is not internationally renowned despite being older than other famous mummies, such as Rameses II or Seti I. Currently on display in the British Museum, Ginger was discovered buried in hot desert sand. Desert conditions can naturally preserve bodies so it is uncertain whether the mummification was intentional or not. However, since Ginger was buried with some pottery vessels it is likely that the mummification was a result of preservation techniques of those burying him. Stones might have been piled on top to prevent the corpse from being eaten by jackals and other scavengers and the pottery might have held food and drink which was later believed to sustain the deceased during the journey to the other world. While there are no written records of religion from that time, the beliefs of those who buried Ginger could have resembled the later religion to some extent.

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Tall Stick

If you ask me what I like most of the western building, I should say those long tall sticks..... you can't find them easily in Asia. But in Europe or US, you can find them easily, nearly all those buildings left behind, have these kind of HUGE FAT stick.

They give you a kind of secure, high-class feeling. All of sudden your mind seems opened.


This photo was taken at the British Museum. I like museums, big museum, like British Museum, Metropolitan Museum @ New York, The Art Institute of Chicago Museum @ Chicago. All these are great museums, they are not as boring as you think. I do know that many museums in Asia, the standards are not good enough, so give you a kind of boring feeling. Try yourself in one of these great museums, you will love it.


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GREAT HUGE DAM - Hoover Dam

I passed by Hoover Dam when I was on my way to Grand Cannon from Las Vegas.

Hoover Dam, also known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. When completed in 1935, it was both the world's largest electric power producing facility and the world's largest concrete structure. It was surpassed in both respects by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1945. It is currently the world's 34th largest hydroelectric generating station.


The dam, located 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as Secretary of Commerce and then later as President of the United States. Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1935, more than two years ahead of schedule. The dam and the power plant are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, Hoover Dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

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Top 10: Beach Destinations & Long Beach @ California

According to Tripadvisor, below are the top 10 beach destinations:

1. St-Tropez, France
2. Sydney, Australia
3. Fiji
4. Corfu, Greece
5. St. Vincent, Caribbean
6. Seychelles
7. Boracay, Philippines
8. Canary Islands, Spain
9. Maldives
10. Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand


Sadly, I never been any of them. One beach that I have a strong impression is long beach @ California

Long Beach is a city located in southern California, USA, on the Pacific coast. It is situated in Los Angeles County, about 20 miles (30 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach borders Orange County on its southeast edge.

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Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the Queen, was initially built for the Duke of Buckingham in1703. It was in 1762 when George II bought this house and turned it in to a royal family's London home. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to use Buckingham Palace as the royal family's residence in 1837.


It evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Today it is The Queen's official residence, with 775 rooms.

Although in use for the many official events and receptions held by The Queen, areas of Buckingham Palace are opened to visitors on a regular basis.

The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the Annual Summer Opening in August and September. They are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto and Claude; sculpture by Canova and Chantrey; exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain; and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

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London Eye

I know that now Singapore also have an eye, they called it Singapore Flyer.

The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is the tallest (135 metres (443 ft)) Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the UK, visited by over 3 million people a year.


At the time it was erected it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang (160m) in May 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165m) on February 11, 2008. However, it is still described as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel" (because the entire structure is supported by an A-frame on one side only) by its operators.

More more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Eye

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Shopping @ Tallinn

The best places to find quality fashion, shoes, perfume and the like are the elegant boutiques along Old Town’s Viru and Müürivahe streets, and the large, full-service department stores and malls that have recently been appearing all over Tallinn. Most shops in the Old Town and department stores throughout the city are open seven days a week, and major credit cards are widely accepted. So you can see the streets are full of tourism from all over the Europe during weekend or even weekday.


A required stop on any shopping tour of Tallinn is the outdoor knit market on Müürivahe street, where craftswomen sell their knitted products in the shadow of the town wall. Even more intriguing for the adventurous shopper is the Katariina Passage. Here in medieval-style workshops run by the Katariina Guild’s artists, onlookers watch as glasswork, ceramics, leather goods, quilts and other items are created right before their eyes.

Favourite souvenirs from Estonia include:
• Handicraft items such as hand-knitted woollen sweaters with traditional Estonian folk patterns, carved wooden beer mugs, fun felt hats, juniper coasters and limestone candle holders.
• Original art such as graphic prints, handmade jewellery, colourful glassware or fine ceramics.
• CDs of Estonian composers of international acclaim (Tormis, Pärt, Tubin, Tüür).
• Soviet-era trinkets, sold in antique shops.
• Dark, bittersweet Estonian chocolate and other local sweets produced by the Kalev confectionery.
• Hand-painted marzipan.

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A mixture of modern and ancient

Tallinn got a very nice old town, in this photo, you can see the gate of old town, outside the gate is the modern world. While inside the gate, is a beautiful and romantic old town, which I will try to show you a video of the old town at night. Very romantic.

The old town is walkable, maybe one full day is enough for all the shopping and visiting. Outside old town, I am not strongly recommend. It is kind of terrible. I remember we took two cabs from the airport to the same hotel, both run on meters. But guess what, one meter run faster than another, so one group is paying for a higher taxi fare. Not sure how they mange to do that.

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Traditional Tallinn Wedding

I was so lucky that met a couple having their wedding... I was at a shop that time, and all of sudden hear a lot of noise, and then some very nice traditional music...

I rushed out and managed to catch this moment, the couple passing by the shop....

I took my camera and caputured this video...

Very sad... my camera run out of battery that time... maybe it was too cold... maybe I forget to charge... but still not bad, manage to capture a portion of the music and the couple...

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Oldest and yet prettiest toilet

How many toilets have you been visited? Any of them is so special such that you remember them? Of course not the one you hanky panky inside.. I mean the toilet is so nice design such that you remember it, or even take a photo of it. This is one... an old and yet pretty toilet. It belongs to a famous restaurant at Tallinn, a place where every tourist should go and try once.


Olde Hansa is the home of a rich merchant. His house is built in so to increase the enjoyment of the happy moments in the life of a Hanseatic merchant. Not just for eating delicious food and savoring good drinks, but also for the enjoyment of good music and the homely warmth of the Hanseatic times.

The website of the restaurant is http://www.oldehansa.ee/


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If you like leather, Tallinn is for you

There are many wonderful shops in Tallin, and prices are quite low if you compare other Europe countries. You can find nice products especially those made of leather. Many local people, specially men, wears lot of leather, so there are many leather shops. But check out also small handicraftsshops. You can find amazing beautiful things, such as the one below.

Those are handmade, and they are not cheap. One note book like this can be about 20 Euro. Tallinn is a haven for those of you who like linen. Stylish clothes shops sell linen suits and craft shops sell gorgeous table cloths.


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The road that never end

Just talk about the "cow girl" feeling and "route 66". I quickly find a photo, wow, this photos describe the feeling very well.

Frankly speaking, I can't remember where is it, is it "route 66"? I don't know, but I know it is somewhere in the west of USA. You can see the road is sooooooooooooooo straight, and like never ending. You are surrounded by dust. Can you imagine you are riding a horse and shoting gun to one another?

I simply love this kind of feeling.

Since already talk about "route 66", let me introduce it. U.S. Route 66 (also known as Route 66, U.S. Highway 66, The Main Street of America, The Mother Road and the Will Rogers Highway) was a highway in the U.S. Highway system. One of the original federal routes, US 66 was established on November 11, 1926. US 66 was officially decommissioned (that is, officially removed from the United States Highway System) on June 27, 1985 after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, New Mexico, and Arizona have been designated a National Scenic Byway of the name "Historic Route 66". It has begun to return to maps in this form. Some portions of the road in southern California have been redesignated State Route 66, and others bear "Historic Route 66" signs.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66

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Great lake - Lake Tahoe

Basically, I love the national park of USA. You can't find other places in the world with such a great scenery and easy access at the same time. They have very nice accommodations, nice program, nice staffs that explain everything to you. Personally I have been an intern in the Grand Canyon, which I will talk more later on.

I also like the feeling of driving around in the USA, surronded by the desert, got the "cow girl" feeling. Basically you got no destination, just drive around, stop at the side when you wish to do so. Simply relax! If you have watched the movie "Cars" and know the "Route 66" you will know what I mean.


Ok, back to Lake Tahoe. It is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. The lake is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides.


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Sloten Windmill the only windmill in Amsterdam that is accessible to the public

There are two famous things with Amsterdam:
1. Red light district
2. Windmill

They need the windmill to pump the water to the sea, as they are under the sea level. However, nowsaday they already use electronic pump, no longer with windmill. And windmill, of course become their symbol and tourist attraction.


The Sloten Windmill is a tower mill, with an octagon from 1847. It is the only mill in Amsterdam that is accessible to the public. The mill lies on the outskirts of Amsterdam, at the ring canal and sees to it that the water level in the lower lying surroundings remains below a specific level.

And it is still functioning today. Take a look at this video:

And you may notice how fast is the weather is changing, one is sunny (during video taking) and one is cloudy (during photo taking).

More info for the windmil can be found at: http://www.molenvansloten.nl/index_eng.htm

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The most beautiful woman in the world

Being overseas for quite some time and been visiting a few places, I think is time for me to organize my photos, and write down some of my thought. For memory, for sharing, or for record purposes. I will not write one place after one place. Maybe I will simply pick a photo randomly and talk about it.

Maybe I start from this "most beautiful woman in the word". Who is she? She is Nefertiti. She was the mother-in-law and probable stepmother of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun (a great King of ancient Eygpt).

Found in 1912 in the studio of the sculptor Tuthmosis at Amarna, and now in Berlin, this painted bust of Queen Nefertiti shows her with unusually shaped eyes, probably an actual physical trait.

It is said that even in the ancient world, her beauty was famous, and her famous statue, found in a sculptor's workshop, is not only one of the most recognizable icons of ancient Egypt, but also the topic of some modern controversy.

Now she is in Berlin's Altes Museum. More info can also be found at Tour Eygpt.

I am studying in advertisement, hence I more concern on the intellectual property and copyright, if you wish to use any images from my site, do let me know. As I will try to embed watermark on those photos taken by me.

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