Canals From Around The World

Canals have been a form of transport since ancient times. 

The Aztecs built the canals of Xochimilco located in what is now the far south of Mexico City. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, today Xochimilco is a popular place to rent a colorful trajinera.

The completion of the Panama Canal about 100 years ago connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and saved ships the long and often dangerous journey of traveling around South America.

Built with their namesake in Italy in mind, the Venice Canals of Venice Beach in Los Angeles are a beautiful place to take a stroll.

Artists are among those who inhabit the houseboats floating on Regents Canal in Little Venice, London. I lived a block or two away from Regents Canal when I lived and worked in London back in the day.

Do you have canals where you live and are there any you would love to see?

Venice’s From Around The World

There are certain cities in the world that set the benchmark for others to claim as their namesake. Venice is one of them.

Tai O is known as the Venice of Hong Kong. Stilt houses line the waterways of the small fishing village located on Lantau Island.

Artists are among those who inhabit the houseboats floating on Regents Canal in Little Venice, London. I had the good fortune to live here for a year, although not in a houseboat, when I worked in London.

It may come as no surprise that Los Angeles’ version of Venice is man made. A tobacco magnate founded it at the turn of the last century. Homes were built along canals modeled after the original city.

Palaces From Around The World

How many times when traveling have you wandered the grounds of one of the world’s palaces and wondered what it must have been line to live there? Built for nobility they have little in common with the much more modest and practical dwellings most of us call home.

You could easily spend hours wandering the large complex of Gyeongbokgung, the Palace of Shining Happiness, in Seoul. Pictured here is Geunjeongjeon, the main palace pavilion.

Located on a busy street in Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan in India, the Palace of the Winds, or Hawa Mahal, allowed for its inhabitants to see out of its windows without outsiders peering in.

Close to Beijing China’s royals spent the hot months at the Summer Palace, the size of which is a small city.

The Presidential Palace in Warsaw Poland is located on Royal Way, of course. In 1955 the Warsaw Pact was signed in this 17th century building where the president lives today.

Kensington Palace is set in Kensington Gardens and still inhabited by royals. Its staterooms are open to the public for tours.

Taxis From Around The World

Taxis in some of the world’s cities can be as iconic as famous landmarks.

London’s cab drivers are perhaps the best in the world. They undertake a rigorous test and must know the massive city’s roads and ancient alleys well. But this comes at a price. A ride in a London taxis is among the most expensive in the world.

More eco friendly vehicles are slowly replacing Mexico City’s green Volkswagen Beatle taxis.

New York City’s yellow cabs are always in abundance except when it rains, during rush hour and on New Year’s Eve.

I love the red color of Hong Kong’s taxis and how the driver presses a lever to automatically open the doors before you step in.

Where have you taken a ride in a taxi that could be considered iconic?

Underground Metros From Around The World

Taking the metro when travelling in cities is often the easiest and most cost effective way to get around. Unlike taxis there is no haggling or fear of being ripped off and trains are much easier to figure out than buses where it can be difficult to know where to get off at the right stop. But it’s probably safe to say that most metros should be avoided during rush hour.

If you ride Tokyo’ s metro early enough on a Saturday morning you’ll see hung over businessmen still in their suits who didn’t quite make it home after a good night out. Many are chugging soft drinks purchased from Tokyo’s ubiquitous vending machines.

Mexico City’s metro is one of the cheapest and cleanest in the world and a subterranean market of sorts.

London’s aptly named tube is amongst the most expensive public transportation in the world. It was the world’s first underground metro.

New York City’s subway system will take you from the Bronx to Brooklyn for a few bucks. Despite rising fares it’s still the best deal in town.

The Demise Of Camden Stables Market

At the far end of Camden Market near the Chalk Farm Tube Station in London you could once find an Aladdin’s cave of treasure. The majority of it has been demolished in the last year to make way for new development.

Camden Stables Market housed hundreds of dealers. Back in the day the area was a major railway depot the arches of which you can see in the photograph above. It was inside those arches that vendors set up their stalls. It was a treasure trove where you could find giant skeleton keys from manor houses, vintage Vivienne Westwood, antique furniture and home decor items from all over the world. While wandering through a cavernous tunnel connecting some of the stalls it wasn’t unusual to hear the beat of an African drumming class echoing in the distance.

Some of the Stables Market still survives although the Horse Hospital building has been refashioned into a bar and gallery. It was here I used to return and visit one particular vendor. Over the years he helped me put together a set of unused Walker and Hall cutlery from the 1930s. He would often scold me, in a kind way, for admiring something in his stall that didn’t fit with the program. I’d walk away empty handed only to come back weeks later to find he’d set aside a pristine set of knives for me. Even long after I moved away from London and sometimes didn’t make it back for a year at a time he’d always greet me warmly as if no time had passed.

I also used to haunt the place in search of vintage (Mid Century) tableware designed by Terence Conran. If you are a fan of Mid Century Modern and can’t afford the original furniture this is a great way to bring the design of the era into your home without breaking the bank.

Selling at the Horse Stables Market was a labor of love for the vendors. They were knowledgeable about their merchandise and happy to chat and share. I learned a lot from them.

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London You’ve Changed

London You’ve Changed

It had been more than three years since I last stepped foot in London, a city I once knew well. In that relatively short time there has been major changes. I don’t find the changes surprising so much as how quickly they took place.

--London has never been cheap, but the cost of living or traveling there is now astronomical. Sure the value of the dollar has gone the way of Monopoly money in recent years but I’m talking about inflation. As an example the cheapest single ride tube fare in 2006 would have cost you two pounds sterling. Today that same ride will cost you four pounds ($8.00). London’s public transport is now the most expensive in the world. This photo of an HSBC ad campaign taken in the bowels of Heathrow Airport sums up the cost of living.

--The iconic Routemaster double decker buses have been replaced with a redesigned modern version. The Routemasters, produced in the 1950s and 1960s, were phased out on all but two routes in central London, which are frequented by tourists.

--Many Mom and Pop shops have closed and been replaced by chain stores and coffee franchises. I’ve seen this happen in New York City in recent years. Real estate values have risen to record levels and so have rents pushing independent merchants out of business. I only had a little time to wander in London but noticed this distinctly in Notting Hill. Some of the vintage home furnishing shops I loved checking out on regular basis, for example, have bit the dust.

--A large Eastern European community has emerged following the expansion of the European Union. What’s unique about this group is that many won’t necessarily immigrate to the U.K. They will work in the U.K. for a few years, where there are far better wages and employment opportunities, before returning home. In some respects they are the new migrant workers, skilled and international.

--The best part of Camden Market, The Horse Stables, has been demolished (more on this later).

--There is construction everywhere due to the real estate boom. The global credit debacle has already started to slow this down.

Some things were exactly as I left them:

--The local lives. Pub culture is still alive and well (but smoking is no longer allowed).

--The extraordinary amount of languages you hear when walking down the street.

--The tube stop closest to where you need to go on the weekend will no doubt be closed due to track work. A bus replacing the route will turn a 15-minute journey into an hour-long odyssey.

--London cabbies are the best in the world but at a price (see above).

--My old neighborhood Little Venice hasn’t changed a bit (more on this later).

London Bound

I’m taking a red eye to London tonight for a short-ish business trip. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve transited through Heathrow in the last few years without leaving the airport.

London was a big part of my life for about a decade. In addition to living and working in London for a year I would travel there frequently for business and thanks to a long distance romance (I never had a knack for falling in love with men in my own backyard) to see my beau at the time.

While 90% of this trip is for business--I’ll be wearing my journalist hat--there will be a little time to visit my old neighborhood and other places I used to haunt. Can’t wait to see how it has changed and to spend a little time in this city that I love. London I’ve missed you.

As always I have posts lined up for next week.