And I think to myself what a wonderful world

Tag: #lightandcolour

Sweet dreams are made of this!

September 9th, 2024

Travel… beautiful places… people I love- sweet dreams are made of this. It almost doesn’t matter where… I want to go to Norway. But I also want to trek in Patagonia. But I really want to go to Iceland… and then I wanna go to the Faroe Islands. And how could I forget trekking in the rice fields of Sapa… all while on the plane heading to somewhere else. The crazy mind of an obsessed traveller. Me. But this trip is different and it’s been a long time in the making.. from nine years ago when cancer (f**k cancer) reared its ugly head for the first time in our beautiful Johnny… through the surreal Covid years… til today. It’s been a constant reminder that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure… that life is short and the world is wide.

So this trip is particularly special. I’m heading for Turkey with two of my very favourite people in the world… my brother Chris and his partner John. As brother and sister, Chrissy and I obviously share history… memories… deep things. But we also share a passion for photography… for savouring life intensely… and for the beauty of nature… whether that be the micro details of a flower or some weird fungi, the change of seasons, the sound of the ocean, watching the sunset, the smell of rain or starry nights. And Johnny… well Johnny has been a wonderful constant for so many years. He’s just love and warmth and wisdom all wrapped up in one human. They both are. Love in action. And we all share a love for travel.

A lot of people think they’re burnt out because you’re doing too much. I believe it’s because you’re doing too little of the things that make you feel alive. And travelling makes me feel alive. I feel very privileged to be able to share this time with them.

First stop- Singapore… the ultra-clean and ultra-green city where old-meets-new in the most bewildering yet ingenuis ways. Even looking out the window of our hotel room we had the obvious juxtaposition of the old terra cotta roofs with the skyscrapers that are perhaps thought more typical of Singapore these days.

But Singapore does the “new” in the most spectacular fashion, and that’s why I’m here. It’s been years since the last time, and the main reason I wanted to come was to see the futuristic and unique Gardens by the Bay, which did not exist when I was last here. It is amazing what can be created when people have vision and creativity (and I guess, funds)… and I stood in awe at the amazing structures that are super beautiful and now so iconic! Gardens by the bay- Ferngully meets Avatar… with its supertrees measuring 25 and 50m tall resembling a massive garden of the distant future.

Visited the amazing Cloud forest… a stunning climate controlled tropical wonderland enclosed in a massive greenhouse dome. I felt like I had left Earth and stepped into an Avatar world amidst the huge waterfall, lush vegetation, orchids, exotic rare plants, and misty air. It looks as if it was transported from the early ages of Earth… or from the future.. or maybe just from some drug induced creative dream.

Next was the Flower Dome… a cool conservatory full of stunning flowers from all around the world. Currently housing the Impressions of Monet exhibition… which, of course would always appeal to me, despite having seen it in Australia.

Then onto Floral Fantasy… a magical escape among suspended bouquets and creative floral arrangements… including a 4D Path of the Dragonfly experience. Loved it all!

With all the walking, I definitely needed sustenance and so raced to meet Chris and John at the luxurious and grand colonial hotel Raffles for high tea. Superb!

After over-filling our bellies with scrumptious delicacies, we taxied to Mandai Bird Paradise and immersed ourselves in a symphony of colour. Wow- the beauty of Gods creation constantly thrills me.

We then wandered down the road only a few minutes from our hotel to the Maxwell Food Centre where you can taste a Michelin star dish on a budget at Tian Tian Chicken Rice. Yum… although we were still rather full from our Raffles experience.

Our day was not finished yet, although my body was wishing it was (19.6kms today). Headed back to Marina Bay gardens for Garden Rhapsody, when the whole place comes alive with colour and lights and sound… and people!

Beyond magical!

This was immediately followed by Borealis… another outdoor art installation that combines layers of light and cloud particles to recreate the magical splendour of the Northern Lights, illuminating the night skies of Supertree Grove…

accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack. I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights but for now, this will have to do.

So ready for bed but instead headed back to the airport to continue on our journey…
Blossoms

April 8th, 2023

If yesterday was all about chasing blossoms, this morning I finally caught some! Things are looking up.

I couldn’t face getting up at 5 am after my big day yesterday especially to see blossoms that no longer exist. I was definitely feeling that half empty glass. So I started wandering around 7.30 thinking I would get some breakfast somewhere before heading to my morning destination Shinjuku Gyoen. I decide to walk ( as I do) thinking it might loosen up my aching body… and in keeping with my day yesterday… I get lost… (as I do)… which in my own defence, is very easy to do in Tokyo without Wi-Fi and google maps. So… as it turned out, no breakfast, adding several extra kilometres to the morning and late to the garden. As a result, I am on a bit of a tight schedule now, with my sleep-in, needing to check out of my hotel at 11.00 and my booking on the bullet train to Kyoto. But I really think that an hour in the garden will be enough. How wrong I was.

As a former samurai family-owned-garden-turned-imperial-park, Shinjuku Gyoen is a massive space in the inner city where you can take a breather from Tokyo’s hustle and bustle.

I knew this beautiful park featured over a thousand sakura trees, but imagined they would be like the rest I had seen… well passed their best. Happily, I was wrong! As soon as I entered the garden I could see blossoms! Beautiful, fresh blooms.

There are so many varieties of cherry blossom trees and the sakura in Shinjuku bloom at different times for prolonged enjoyment throughout the season- and there were many in full bloom. Big beautiful fresh blossoms and lots of them. Perfect to satisfy my Sakura-longing eyes.

Not an ethereal pink sea of them but certainly more than I was expecting this morning. Be still my beating heart.

The main Shinjuku cherry blossom route winds leisurely through the grounds of this national garden, with sakura trees along the path. It leads up to open areas with plenty of space where you can relax in the sun admiring the cherry blossoms overhead… if only I had time. I didn’t want to leave but had to get back to my hotel…but will be back for the night illumination after my visit to Kyoto.

My trip on the Shinkansen was just what I needed. These trains are amazing- they look and move like a bullet reaching speeds of 320 km and had me in Kyoto within about two smooth and comfortable hours… gave me time to relax and blog and look out the window at the beauty of the mountainous regional landscape and small traditional Japanese villages… and I wished it were longer.

I arrived in Kyoto… and wow… so many tourists (don’t like so many tourists… even if I am one 😂). It reminded me of Santorini walking down the main street shoulder to shoulder with hordes of people… the perils of over-tourism! And the lines for a taxi felt nearly as long as my airport immigration wait. Eventually I arrived at my hotel… a new experience for me as I had decided “when in Rome”, to stay in a capsule hotel. And it’s actually very cosy and comfy.

As always I was keen to explore my local area. Sometimes the best way to explore a city is to just dive in head-first; no plan, no itinerary, just feet on the pavement, eyes wide and propelled by an unquenchable curiosity and wanderlust. I wandered through the atmospheric mazes of old-style Japanese buildings with their myriad of lanterns, whilst the day turned to evening… the lanterns giving it a magical atmosphere.

I had chosen to stay in Gion, with its shrines, temples and beautiful streets… one of those places where you can immerse yourself in the charming historic atmosphere of traditional Kyoto. Sounded amazing and was… and parts of it, once you venture a little outside the main tourist streets, were like stepping back in time… and it’s easy to get a sense of serenity and authenticity. Give me cobbled streets and picturesque machiya in Kyoto over the modern bright lights of Tokyo any day.

The Gion district was once the largest pleasure district in Kyoto and is known for geisha culture, even today… and you can spot a geisha or geiko as they are known in Kyoto, although it can be difficult to get more then a fleeting glance of these icons (I saw three at different times as I wandered the streets here).

I wander through streets that follow small canals, crossed by picturesque bridges…

…and lined by ancient, majestic weeping willow trees sagging under the weight of their own leaves and weeping cherry blossom trees (the first of this type I had seen)…

…and dotted with fancy traditional restaurants.

This is Kyoto at its picturesque best. On both sides of the main canal, the cobbled streets with their traditional wooden houses and tea houses seem to transport me into the past.

Historic and modern stores on sit side by side and sell everything from hankerchiefs decorated with cherry blossom motifs to pink and white coloured rice cakes and sweets, all trying to capture the beauty of the Sakura season.

Even the post office is adorable.

Yasaka Shrine, also known as Gion Shrine is one of the neighbourhood’s most iconic destinations.

Standing proudly in its lantern lined glory, it is a popular cherry blossom location (a couple of weeks ago). I have a wander through it’s grounds filled with street food vendors and realise I am hungry… but also realise I have left my purse on my bed back at the hotel. So I rush back to pick it up before heading to Kyoto’s only castle- Nijo…

…that is holding A digital light art exhibition “Naked Flowers” that lights up the entire castle and garden complex.

There is also amazing display of illuminated Sakura.

Time for bed…exhausted again although only walked 18kms today (compared to 30 yesterday) and another early start planned for tomorrow.
Fantastical Worlds

April 7th, 2023

So I visited these two places yesterday amidst the blossom chasing, but thought they deserved their own blog… because they were both spectacular!

In the afternoon after my walk along the Sumidagawa River, I braved the subway again to see a random exhibition that I had seen on social media… which sounded right down my alley- the Art Aquarium Museum.

This is a modern art space set up on the upper floor of a swanky department store in Ginza that combines light, sound, and fragrance with traditional Japanese culture and artifacts to recall the appreciation of goldfish. Sounds random I know but it was AMAZING!

Here you can find thousands of goldfish (some very rare and unusual breeds that you don’t usually see)…

… swimming in glass vessels of different shapes and sizes and they are illuminated with moving projections and multicolored lights. Each room has a different theme of Japanese culture like origami, lanterns, floral arrangements, bamboo, the red lights district of the Edo period- that plunge visitors into fantastical worlds.

This special spring exhibition of course had the theme of the Sakura including the scent of cherry blossoms. Everything was magical- the goldfish, the sounds, the lights, the atmosphere…living works of art.

Next stop was TeamLab Planets that I have literally wanted to see for years… I had even contemplated flying to Tokyo just to see it. If the thought of going barefooted while climbing waterfalls, being surrounded by floating orchids, chasing Japanese koi carp that turn into flowers when trying to catch them, or even wandering through sparkling crystals in a distant galaxy sound like your sort of thing, then TeamLab is for you. And it certainly is for me!

TeamLab Planets is a museum in Tokyo, full of immersive art installations inviting visitors to explore a world of art through sight, touch, and sound.

Made by teamLab, there are seven sensory-filled artworks that lead you into a sensory- based artistic world accented with lights, water, and sound… closing the gap between art and viewer.

Toshiyuki Inoko created the teamLab project in 2001 in Tokyo. Inoko is a Japanese physicist and mathematician who decided to create a scientists and artists collective to explore the relationship between science, technology, art, and nature. His team comprises more than 500 professionals, including architects, programmers, mathematicians, engineers, physicists, biologists, and artists. Their mission: free the art from its physical realm and transcend borders thanks to digital technology. Go Toshiyuki!

So cool! I loved it so much! It’s all about the experience, getting to walk on water, different textures, and shapes.. and of course colour and light.