2 February 2010

When the long London nights start drawing in and the winter weather is pretty miserable, it’s just hard to seize the daylight moments to capture presentable shots. With the limited time frame due to the hectic schedule, I just have to grab every opportunity I have. It’s tempting to stay indoors and hibernate in the nippy winter months but I’ve traveled 10,000km to London, I refuse to keep warm in the hotel only.

Princes Square to Porchester Gardens, London

The wintry chill in London is completely different as compared to the winter I experienced in Amsterdam or Madrid. I could survive on a pair of jeans without thermal wear as long as I’m covered with 2 layers of jackets and I naively assumed it would be similar in London. I was totally wrong. It is even more miserably chilly when it rains. Not to even mention that temperate drops dramatically when the sun sets by 4:45pm during winter months.

Family outing at Queen’s Walk, along the Thames River

I’ve to wrap myself up like a dumpling, layers after layers, warm coats and woolly scarves, hats and gloves to ensure I won’t stay vulnerable to the icy winds. Oh, I definitely have to keep my hood up to prevent loss of heat from my head.

The black cab of London

I believe one of the best ways to beat the winter blues is to get outside and get the blood pumping. Londoners walk a lot and I mean, A LOT! I am serious, they walk more than anyone else in the country. With such efficient transport system of the tubes and buses in London, who needs the black cab? Unless you have 2 or more suitcases which could be quite tedious to carry them by yourself.

Queensway Road, heading towards Bayswater underground station

I actually have to be grateful for I did not have to come a week earlier. Most places in Britain were buried with inches of snow due to the cold snap of Arctic wind. In fact, my friend said I was fortunate enough to get a warmer week whereby the rain washed the snow away. If not, I will be definitely sticking my bottom lip out, trying to balance myself on the icy and slippery roads. Thank you, God!

Walking along the riverbank of Thames

Thank you God for the sunshine! For the very first time, I appreciate sunshine (as you know how hot and sunny Malaysia will be).

In front of Buckingham Palace

And darn, just as I thanked God for the beautiful weather, I had to run off after this shot due to drizzling. LOL!

So much for the wintry moments in London, stay tuned for more entries.