Dubai - city of (architects) dreams...

Late last year (August of 2009) my family and I made a brief stopover in Dubai on our way from Sri Lanka, en route to the US. We spent one night and two days only and planned to make the most of our short visit. Dubai doesn't disappoint! From the perspective of an architect and someone fascinated by the built environment, Dubai is a bit of a paradise. I had my camera clicking almost non-stop.. taking brief breaks, only to shoot short video clips on a camcorder!

After going through the high-tech, ultra modern Dubai International Airport, I was initially stunned by the heat that greets you as you make your way from the cool air-conditioned airport to your vehicle outside! Temps were well over 100 deg F (or 40 deg C). I hadn't experienced such heat ever! But that was the one of the few times we spent outside an air-conditioned environment! (Everything in Dubai is done indoors - even the bus-stops on the side of the streets are air-conditioned!).

We were based at the impressive Emirate (Twin) Towers, a short distance from the famous Burj Dubai, which at the time was not yet officially opened but exciting nonetheless. Places of interest we visited include the Dubai Mall (largest in the world) with it's impressive aquarium and ice rink, the Wild Wadi Water Park, Burj Al Arab Hotel and the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

The city is extremely clean and the streets downtown are lined with impressive glass and steel towers of all shapes and forms. Though we didn't see much of the out-lying suburbs, the parts we did visit were also impressive and well laid out. A modern light rail system was nearing completion at the time of our visit (it has subsequently been commissioned and opened to the public).

Scenes from this impressive city are incorporated in this blog!

The Blizzard of 2010 - Falls Church Virginia

This year, we saw the worst snow fall in the Washington DC area for many years. The blizzard of 2010 made us realize how unprepared we are in this part of the US for anything over a few inches of snow fall. This time around, we measured snow in Feet! Though we did have snow in both December '09 and Jan 2010, February definitely stole the show! At least 2 feet of snow on two occasions. With one storm closely following the first, there was snow piled on snow weeks on end. We dug trenches for the car to reach the street in front of the house. The snow banks on either side of the trench were about 3 to 4 feet high. The blizzard left us with some beautiful scenery and I took quite a few pictures that I want to share on my blog. Normally, I document trips I make on this blog but the snow we had turned home into an entirely different landscape that felt like all together another world. Here are some scenes from Falls Church after the great blizzard of 2010. Enjoy!

Sunset at Galle Face Hotel, Colombo - Sri Lanka

Sunset at Galle Face Hotel, Colombo – Sri Lanka

The Galle Face Hotel is located in the heart of Colombo, right on the beachfront with panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. The facility is a landmark heritage hotel established in 1864 at the height of the colonial British era. Built by British entrepreneurs the hotel boasts fine Victorian architecture and has continued to host royalty and world leaders from the colonial Ceylon period right up to present day, modern Sri Lanka. The hotel’s strategic beachfront location, its famous ‘checkered’ terrace and ‘English High Tea’ service have made viewing the sunset at the hotel a popular tourist attraction. Our experience of a sunset on the checkered terrace was a pleasant one. The setting and views were spectacular and service was reasonably good. Definitely a place I’d like to see again on future trips to Sri Lanka should the opportunity arise.

Bentota Beach Resort, Sri Lanka

Situated on the West coast of Sri Lanka, a couple of hours drive south from Colombo, Bentota Beach resort is a popular tourist destination that sits at the estuary of a river and the Indian Ocean. The proximity of both a river and the beach create lots of breathtaking scenes for relaxation and water-sports. Our visit in August was rather brief (only a day trip) and the drive there was a bit of a 'nail-biter' based on the driving skills (or lack there-of) the Sri Lankan drivers. But all in all, it was pleasant trip and definitely a must-see location for visitors to Colombo.

The launch of Michael's Blog!

This blog is a platform to share ideas on various subjects - architectural design, the environment, energy conservation and the construction industry.
I'll also document projects I've been involved in and discussions on interesting aspects of some of these projects.
With time, the scope of the Blog is likely to broaden and hopefully, the blog shall continue to generate interest and debate on various subject matters.
Another aspect of this Blog shall be to share photographs taken on trips I make - from foreign travel to local visits, places of interest - cities, nature reserves, national parks and bike trails.....

Great Falls Park, McLean, Virginia

Finally got the chance to see Great Falls - a series of impressive rapids / waterfalls on the Potomac River - literally minutes away from Falls Church. I've known about this geographic feature for quite a while, but have lived here almost 6 years and hadn't visited ... until now! Went there late on Sunday (July 19, '09) with my traveling / adventure companions Kobby and Aba (along with our mountain bikes).

I was quite surprised at how many people were visiting Great Falls that afternoon. The weather was perfect - clear, warm and sunny. Quite a few families were out on picnics, and there was a Mexican Group playing live music to one particularly interesting picnic group. Lots of folk walking dogs, biking or just sight seeing and spending time outdoors with the family. There was even one brave soul with his kayak slung over his shoulder! I couldn't imagine anyone actually 'white water rafting' in these rapids!?! Hmm....

The gorge and rapids are impressive - larger than I'd expected, and the viewing decks are beautifully done, with lots of information boards educating visitors about the area. Photographs on the information boards also showed how high the water level has risen in the past.

The bike trails unfortunately are not well marked and a bit difficult to figure out for the first-time visitor. Though a map is handed to you upon arrival, the actual signs on the trail seem to contradict where you may or may not ride. The trails are marked on the map to show different trails for biking, horse riding and walking. Eventually, we did find ourselves on a dirt trail for mountain bikes that took us through beautiful wooded areas near the falls. We actually came across a few deer along the trail which was pretty cool!

I plan to visit again to explore parts of the park we didn't have time to get to on our first visit. Would be nice to climb down the rocks to get down closer to the river this time. All in all, it was a good trip and I'd recommend it to all 'out-door' types that like trekking and exploring amazing nature parks!