North NorfolkCoast

Old Hunstanton Beach

 Sand Dunes, Old Hunstanton

 The Sailing Club, Snettisham Beach

 Old Boat, Snettisham Beach

Groins, Snettisham Beach

Kuala Lumpur Central and the Aquarium

A trip on the monorail  to KLCC where we took in the sights of Central Kuala Lumpur, including the Petronas Towers and the shopping district. In front of the towers is a lake with fountains and  gardens. It is also the conference district and strangely houses the aquarium.

KLCC gardens and Lake 

The Petronas Towers (left) were opened in 1998 and rise to  451 meters, with 88 storeys. The steel-clad structure is the headquarters of the national oil and gas company Petronas as well as the Asian Broadcasting Centre.
The towers were designed by Cesar Pelli an Argentinian Architect who designed the structure with Islamic influences. The floor is based on an eight-sided star, and each tower has five tiers representing the five pillars of Islam.
The sky-bridge on the 41st floor connects the two towers, 1640 free tickets to the sky-bridge viewing area are issued daily with the towers opening at 8.30 am.
(Information: Lonely Planet Guide to Malaysia and Singapore).

The towers can be seen from all over KL and are lit in the evening.

We visited the towers, but have yet to climb up to the sky-bridge to view the sights of the city.

KLCC Gardens

KLCC Gardens and Architecture

The KLCC Aquaria provides an educational platform for the public regarding the conservation of marine life. Over the past 10 years it has successfully launched campaigns to engage and educate the community about the importance of conserving the environment.

 Although we visited this marine world - I am not sure that I was comfortable seeing these creatures in tanks without their freedom to roam where they will.
Education and Conservation is extremely important and the public need to be exposed to these creatures so that they can identify with their plight and engage actively in conservation. For the majority of the public if these places did not exist they would never see marine life up close and would never experience the reality of their plight.

Arapaima

In 2011 a campaign was launched to raise awareness of the survival of sharks - the 'Say No to Shark Fin Soup' campaign raised pledges from over 60,000 members of the public which were handed over to the government Minister of Agriculture and Agro Tourism.
(www.aquariaklcc.com/conservation).
The graphic video of sharks being mutilated and then thrown back into the sea to drown, I found horrifying and really upsetting.

If you are a certified diver, you can take the plunge in the 2.5 million litre oceanarium where you can encounter 5 species of shark amongst other sea creatures. If you don't have a licence you can dive in the custom made underwater cage.

There were several stingray in the tank with the sharks, but trying to photograph them was impossible as they move so fast..

                                                                       Schooling Fish

The Jellyfish in numerous tanks were really beautiful to watch, more difficult to photograph!

Jellyfish

                                                                        Seahorses

Turtles

Asian Adventures

This is the start of the next adventure in Malaysia and Indonesia (Bali), the start of 30 days of exploring, photographing and absorbing new cultures, experiences, sounds and smells..... here is but a brief snapshot of my travels... I hope you will share them with me..
We are staying in Kuala Lumpur, at the 'Back Home' hostel on Jalan Tun HS Lee street which is very close to China Town and Central Market,  The hostel is a great medium budget place to stay with lots of attractions close by. The staff are really friendly and the aircon is a bonus as we get used to the 28 -32 degree heat!!

 Back Home Hostel flora

Back Home flora

 Jalan Petaling

Chine Town Market

China Town, Kuala Lumpur

Enys Gardens Art Festival

 Enys House & Gardens

Enys House and Gardens came alive over the weekend with a contemporary art festival including an artist trail. In 2002 the Enys Trust was set up to preserve and restore the estate. The house has been in the Enys family since the 13th Century, the house at present is in a state of disrepair which is being addressed.

Park Lye is an open meadow which has a mass of bluebells in the spring...

Park Lye

Gateway to Park Lye

I visited Enys Gardens to see the art festival and was not disappointed with this amazing and creative exhibition which emcompassed both the house and gardens with an artist trail through the grounds. My favourite exhibit was the still life found in a secret walled garden.

This glorious ensemble of shape and colour in various stages of decay was magical to see - it was as if you had stumbled upon a secret feast in the middle of a magical garden.

Enys Gardens

Helston to Loe Bar

26th November 2013

Loe Bar consists of 2 parts; The Loe, the largest natural fresh water lake in Cornwall and the Bar, a half-mile shingle bank which separates the Loe from the sea.

Wrapped around Loe Pool is the Penrose Estate, which is owned by the National Trust. Loe Pool is circled by paths and woodland walks, this area attracts wildlife and is a popular spot for bird watching. 

Loe Bar was originally the mouth of the River Cober, which led to a harbour in Helston, but by the 13th century the bar had cut Helston off from the sea and formed the pool. The bar is made up mostly of flint, there is also a reasonable extent of sand between the Pool and the bar. 
Loe Bar has a well-earned reputation for being treacherous, the combination of powerful waves, a steep slippery shingle bank and vicious currents make it a very dangerous stretch of beach. (www.visitorcornwall.com).

Parking in Helston I walked along the River Cober in the autumn sunshine and through an ancient wet willow woodland.

 To prevent flooding the riverbanks of the Cobur have been canalized, this has had a detrimental effect on the ancient Willow Carr, which is drying out and dying. 

A 2-mile walk through the Penrose estate leads you out onto the beach at Loe Bar. Although it was fairly sunny the light was a little flat, and these images have been used to illustrate the area only.  I am hoping to go back again to reshoot with better lighting and the use of filters.

However, the reflections in Loe Pool were really interesting.

Loe bar beach is a barrier beach; the shingle has been pushed up to cut off the River Cobur which used to run out into the sea in an estuary. The lake is controlled to prevent flooding which has had an effect on the eco system. On the bar you can find Sea Urchin and sea holly, neither is in flower at this time of year.