Thursday, July 26, 2007

IN THE KINGDOM OF SIAM

BANGKOK - FEBRUARY 1997

After New Year in New York, I spent one week in Paris (in early February), and flew to Bangkok by the end of the month. It was the second time I was in Thailand, after the 1983 visit. This time I stayed at the Siam Intercontinental Hotel, a landmark that was closed on June 30, 2002, and destroyed afterwards. This post is dedicated to the late Siam Intercontinental Hotel, a remarkable hotel torn down to give rise to an incredible shopping centre named Paragon... A disaster!


"GARDENS - The Siam Intercontinental Hotel Gardens won an award for its environmental protection work in 1999. However, when the hotel's lease expired, it was torn down to make way for a shopping centre, reducing the 26-acre gardens to a few acres"


"SIAM INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL - Opened in June 1966, the design seemed to resemble a hat worn by an early King of Ratansakosin. The view of its destruction is disgusting"


"RECEPTION, with flowers"



"VIEWS from my room: gardens and pool"


"ROOM"


"PEACOCK near the jogging trail"


"RIVER CHANNEL"

Saturday, July 14, 2007

NEW YEAR IN NYC - PART II

STROLLING AROUND THE BIG APPLE - JANUARY 1997




"THE CLOISTERS house the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of art and architecture from medieval Europe religious and secular art. With approximately five thousand works of art from about 800 through the fifteenth century, the Cloisters are located on Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan, showing some of the most dramatic scenery in New York. The building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters and from other monastic sites in southern France. The highlights, of course, are the five medieval Cloisters, and the Unicorn Tapestries, a series of 7 wool and silk tapestries depicting The Hunt of the Unicorn. In the Spanish Room the 3-paneled Altarpiece of the Annunciation, a 15th century work by Robert Campin, is shown. Three of the cloisters have gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and works of art, such as tapestries and stained-glass windows. The first time we were at the Cloisters was in 1979, and we fell in love with the building"


"JAZZ AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD, one of my favourite jazz clubs"


"FERRY - On the way to the Statue of Liberty"




"THE STATUE OF LIBERTY Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. Thus, it makes sense to post on her on July 14th... The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986"



"DOWNTOWN AND THE HUDSON boat tour"


"ELLIS ISLAND is a symbol of America’s immigrant heritage. From 1892 to 1954, this immigrant depot was the main entry facility for immigrants entering the United States. Nearly twelve million landed here in their search of an economic opportunity. The Ellis Island Immigrant Station was designed by architects Edward Lippincott Tilton and William Boring, who received a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition for the building's design"


"WTC - Love this picture!"


"WALL STREET, Trinity Church and the Portuguese flag. The flag is no longer there, as the Bank that used to display it moved away"


"NYSE - The NYSE originated on May 17, 1792, when the Buttonwood Agreement was signed by twenty-four stockbrokers outside of 68 Wall Street in New York under a buttonwood tree. On March 8, 1817, the organization drafted a constitution and renamed itself the "New York Stock and Exchange Board". This name was shortened to its current form in 1863. The New York Stock Exchange building at 18 Broad Street opened on April 22, 1903!"


"CHELSEA PIER - Not to be confused with Chelsea F.C. of the Special One - José Mourinho! Lovely sunset"



"UNION SQUARE BIO MARKET, just in front of the Blue Water Grill, a restaurant I like."


"DRAKE SWISSOTEL - Preparing to check out!"

***

FOR THE RECORD - NOV/DEC 1996!

***

On the last post I forgot to mention that still in 1996, and after Madrid and Toledo, I flew once again to New York early November, to Paris mid-November, to Brussels and London by the end of November, to Cape Verde - Sal and Praia - in early December, and finally back to NYC. From all these trips, there is only this conference picture in Praia, Cape Verde, that I post here as a memory of a nice time...



"CAPE VERDE CONFERENCE"