Taken on February 19, 2014 in Bangalore.
This was taken under the Bala Gangadhara Swamy Flyover–near the K.R. Market. It’s typical Bangalore.
DAILY PHOTO: Under the Flyover
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Category Archives: City
DAILY PHOTO: Brigade Road
Taken February 18, 2014 in Bangalore
This is a section of Brigade Road in Bangalore–one of the city’s retail districts.
Fun fact: in India–for reasons I don’t know–franchisors don’t exercise control over or coordinate the locations of their stores. For this reason, one may have two Reebok stores in a given block and five within walking distance. It’s actually not unlike Waffle House is (or, perhaps, used to be) in the Atlanta metro area where one might have Waffle Houses catty-corner from each other. Usually, a company or franchisor wants to control the density of stores so that they don’t cannibalize each other out of business and leave their more disciplined competitors to snatch up market share.
If I had to guess why this seems to work here, I would say it has to do with high density of wealth and low labor cost for retailers. There are–in absolute terms–a lot of people in the city with disposable income but they are concentrated in certain areas so it doesn’t make as much sense to spread out your stores. Plus, with low labor costs, the price of keeping a store up is relatively low. Of course, it may have nothing to do with either of those issues, but rather be rooted in India’s bizarre regulatory environment.
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DAILY PHOTO: Kompleks Dayabumi
Taken in December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
This tower, built in a Modernist Islamic style, is one of the most famous landmarks of Kuala Lumpur. It’s also one of the earliest high-rise towers in the city (circa 1984, to give on an idea how rapid KL’s growth has been.) Below, one can see some graffiti along the river walk.
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DAILY PHOTO: Townhall in the Setting Sun
Taken February 12, 2014 in Bangalore.
Less gold (and tuk-tuks) in this shot.
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DAILY PHOTO: KL in Miniature
Taken in December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur
In Kuala Lumpur’s City Gallery there’s a model of the city that is part of a video presentation on the city. They darken the hall, play a film, and there are lights to highlight certain buildings or roadways as mentioned in the video.
It’s nifty and it’s free. The City Gallery is adjacent the famous “I♥KL” sign, near Independence Square and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Offices of the Ministry of Information, Communications, and Culture.)
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DAILY PHOTO: Modern Art For The Sitting
Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
In Kuala Lumpur we came across this little wooded area to the side of an office tower. Planted among the trees were these curvy, ornately painted benches.
As I’ve mentioned before, being a weary traveler on occasion, I’m frequently dismayed by artists who take up valuable and precious bench space with their bronze creations. This on the other hand, was a magnificent find, art that one could sit down on and rest one’s feet. As you can see, the benches were quite popular.
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DAILY PHOTO: Phuket Town Architecture
Taken in January of 2014 in Phuket Town.
While it may sound like sacrilege to some, if you’re like me you reach the point when it’s enough already with the beach. That raises the question of what there is to do on Phuket if you need a day away from having sand in every bodily crevice and feeling punished by the sun. One should definitely assign a day to Phuket Town. A lot of your Phuket Town day will rightly be spent admiring the many Chinese shrines in the area (there are about five big ones.) [This, too, can be a break if your Thai travels have left you burnt out on the gleaming, golden Theravadan Buddhist temples.] However, Phuket Town also has interesting secular architecture–some of it run down, but much of it nicely restored.
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DAILY PHOTO: Central Market in Kuala Lumpur
Taken December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1888 this wasn’t a tourist market, but a run-of-the-mill city market. Now it’s a crafts market selling gee-gaws, tchotchkes, knick-knacks, as well as expensive artworks to foreign visitors.
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DAILY PHOTO: Confluence of Gombak and Klang
Taken in December of 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
The Gombak and Klang rivers join together right in the middle of Malaysia’s capital city. The Jamek Mosque is located just North of where they meet.
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DAILY PHOTO: Petronas Towers by Night
Taken December 2013 in Kuala Lumpur
Back from my travels to Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, I’m ready to resume blogging. I’ve got a ton of new pics to sift through. Here’s a first installment.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 