In the 7 1/2 years I have been in Bangalore, I’ve never seen the annual flower show held at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens leading up to August 15th (India’s Independence Day). So this time, I told myself I wasn’t going to miss it.
Also, I haven’t clicked in a while.
So on a bright Sunday morning, I actually forced myself to get up at 7:30am and made my way to Lal Bagh with my Canon 7D and Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens in tow.
Lal Bagh had it’s usual early morning joggers but I wanted to make it here early before it got too crowded.
Lal Bagh on a rather calm Sunday morning
I paid the entrance fee of Rs. 40 (it’s Rs. 30 on weekdays and I didn’t qualify for the Rs. 10 ticket for children either). As I made my way in, first up was a vegetables.
Boring. Then I realized the main flower show was inside the glasshouse.
The Lal Bagh glasshouse
Every year, the organizers put up one big show piece all done up using flowers. Last year’s big attraction was a dinosaur but this year, the organizers paid tribute to our soldiers.
India Gate
And with that, I began clicking…
There were a lot of 1st prize signs, so I'm not sure who the clear winner was
From a distance, these looked like sushi rolls to meIndia Gate was sprinkled with water internally from time to time
This is a panorama comprised of 7 shots
With the dripping paint, more like 'Saliva'
I don't think this was real
If only sharpening pencils produced such beauty
Not to be confused with Bangalore Muncipality's 'malaria'
This was the most interesting looking flower they had at the show -- called the CockscombEverybody wanted to touch it
From a distance, this looked like cauliflower flower(?)*
The good old fashioned rose
Spent a long time shooting this bee
There were a LOT of photographers...... and I wasn't the only one enjoying macro photography 🙂If I had my Canon 10-22, I could have got this photo in just one frame -- but this is comprised of 8 shots
All in all, I was very happy with the photos I took. I don’t usually shoot macro, simply because before I bought the Tamron 28-75mm, I couldn’t have been bothered. But now, I’m hooked!
Man's best friend couldn't be bothered. Sunday after all...
*if you are wondering whether I often have food on my mind, the answer is ‘yes’
After a tiring previous day (and only hitting the bed at 4am), I got up early to receive my parents from Bur Dubai bus stand as they were visiting from Abu Dhabi. Since today and tomorrow were all going to be ‘family time,’ we were going to be staying with my father’s friend, in his nice, posh little flat in Karama.
Once we all landed at my father’s friend’s place post-lunch, we rested for some time before heading out.
It was back to Dubai Mall for me — but for my parents, despite having lived in Abu Dhabi for nearly an year, it was going to be their first time experiencing Dubai Aquarium and At The Top of Burj Khalifa.
First up, the aquarium:
My father really enjoyed being this close to sea creatures
That’s what a stingray’s face looks like
Well, hello there!
For more photos and videos from inside Dubai Aquarium, check out my first post. Next up, we waited for our turn to go up the Burj Khalifa.
My parents at the At The Top gift shop
200+ storeys; 95kms – from where one can see the top of the spire; 12,000 slaves… sorry, labourers; 57 elevators; 500,000 tonnes – weight of the empty building
I had booked for an evening slot for the At The Top visit, hoping I could see Dubai all lit up. But as we got up, the sun was still very much above the horizon.
Regardless, my parents loved the viewDubai financial centerThat’s how many floors there still are above the observation deckThe sun setting over the yet to be completed The World islandsWatching the sun set from atop the world’s tallest building is a great idea
For more photos and videos from At The Top, check out my first post.
We finished our tour of Burj Khalifa, made our way out and to the Dubai Fountain site. The $200 million-plus Dubai Fountain is an attraction built on the artificial (duh) lake just outside Dubai Mall.
Built by the same people behind the famous Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, Dubai obviously had to up the ante. So these fountains shoot water up higher, 500 feet high (150 metres)!
Shows are every half an hour between 6pm to 10pm. Here’s the show I saw: Since it’s free, and since I can’t afford to go to Las Vegas just yet, this was great!
Me and my folks in front of a massive concrete & steel Christmas tree
After the show, we made our way to the buses that drop visitors to the metro station.
Why, why would someone do that to a Porsche?Architectural beauty
The next day with my parents…
The next morning, I took my parents to Bur Dubai for some shopping and to show them around.
My father considering ‘post-retirement’ work
My father bothering some random Chinese dude for a photo
After showing them the souk station, I took them to the Hindu temple (photos of both can be seen in my first post).
Taking a break from all the walking
Pigeons by the creek
And with that, we were done. Took a taxi and headed back to my father’s colleague’s place. He offered to drop us off near Jebel Ali power station, where we had been invited for lunch by our relatives.
Inside Mr. Nandakumar’s Peugot
Once again, it was a drive on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Emirates Towers
Those guitars used to be where Dubai’s Hard Rock Cafe was
The view from my uncle’s flat near Jebel Ali power station, where he works
After lunch, we decided to check out Ibn Battuta Mall, which was nearby. This was the last major mall I had yet to see and the one my friends highly recommended, just because it was different.
The mall business in Dubai is, let’s just say, quite cut throat. For such a small state, Dubai has some of the largest malls in the world. And since just about every mall offers the same set of stores, mall operators come up with differentiators to draw the crowds in.
What’s the differentiator for Ibn Battuta Mall? For one (if you haven’t figured out already), it’s named after the great Muslim explorer Ibn Battuta. The entire mall is themed after his travels across China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Andalusia with a section dedicated to each zone.
We parked near the China entrance. Each of the sections have a lobby with a major attraction specific to that zone. This is what the China court looks like.
Panorama comprised of 6 shots
The main attraction here being a replica of a Chinese sailing ship supposedly used by Ibn Battuta in his travels.
Ibn Battuta Mall houses the only IMAX screen in Dubai
From China, we then moved on to India.
India Court’s big attraction
From India into Persia. Persia Court’s big attraction is a replica of a Starbucks Coffee outlet*.
*just kidding
From Persia, you have two paths to Egypt.
Both paths eventually meetThe Egypt Court houses a lot of history, facts and trivia about Ibn Battuta
And finally Andalusia.
Andalusia Court’s main attraction
With that, we had conquered all five regions of Ibn Battuta’s mall. So we made our journey back, passing by more displays.
Back in China Court
Ibn Battuta Mall truly is a must-see in my opinion. It was a good move on Nakheel Properties’ part to use a theme like this to set the mall apart from Dubai’s other shopping centers.
Once out of Ibn Battuta Mall, we wished our relatives goodbye and took the metro to Bur Dubai bus stand. I was heading back to Abu Dhabi.
As we came out of the tunnel, to our right was our next stop.
Once we took a left and got on to “The Walk,” I pretty much knew why people throng to this place. It’s essentially Dubai’s ‘Exhibition Road’ (a once very popular stretch in Bahrain where traffic moves slowly and people, well, come to show off — among other things).
The Walk is part of Jumeirah Group’s massive property by Jumeirah beach. Lined along the stretch are shops, restaurants, hotels and the Jumeirah residences.
We finally managed to get a parking spot and while there were the usual luxury brands, given this is Dubai, one really needs something too rare to really stand out from the crowd.
And whoever was the owner of this Batmobile-esque Mercedes McLaren SLR, surely had it!
Freakin’ sweet. A supercar indeed!
Jumeirah Beach ResidencesThe (not so great) beach
After watching the sun set, we went back to the parking lot.
Before you ask… yes, petrol is cheap out here
Since it was time sunset prayer, Azhad and Jassim made their way to the prayer hall like good muslims, while I waited out looking at the slow moving traffic.
After prayers, we moved on.
Passing through Jumeirah Residences
Big elevators for big people and their big cars (not Azhad)
Jassim told me that we needed to crossed over to the other side as he wanted to show me something. I didn’t really know what or why but I figured it would be more buildings.
It was buildings alright…. but I never expected this!
Panorama consisting of 7 shots
Beautiful.
I really wasn’t expecting a sight like this in, of all the places, Dubai. I was looking forward to seeing all this when I go to Singapore in September and in Hong Kong next year, but in the middle of a freaking desert? Wow.
Now I get what Dubai Marina is all about. It’s like the guys at Emaar Properties (the same folks behind Burj Khalifa) visited Marina Bay in Singapore and Hong Kong’s Kowloon Bay and went: “Hmmm, very bretty… very nice… we like… we want also.* ”
And then came back, spent a few billion, dug out a lot of sand and half a decade later — voila!
The steps we came down from (Jumeirah residences in the background)Azhad talking away
Private yachts can be rented for cruise partiesWe went up to take a walk across the bridge
We crossed the bridge road over to the other side
After being mighty impressed with the world’s largest man-made marina, we headed back to ‘show-off boulevard’.
Back at the The Walk
We set off into town and made our way to the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, the venue for tonight’s David Guetta’s concert.
Kinda looks like New York’s Chrysler building — but of course Dubai had to out-do NY, so they made two!The Rotana Tower Hotel
Upon reaching the venue, we figured we still had some time to enter so we decided to do dinner. Jassim parked his car near Emirates Towers and we made our way to Nando’s.
They have these ‘space stations’ (a.k.a Metro stations) all over the place
Trying to take photos while on the travelator
The trains have no driver by the way — it’s all automaticWhat I ate at Nando’s
Me and Jassim had a good meal, Azhad didn’t 🙂 … and wanted to get home quick!
So after seeing our friend off at the metro, me and Jassim went back to the car to get ready for ‘the party’.
Emirates Towers in the distanceAnd there she is in the distance
After finding a parking spot, we walked towards to the concert hall where there were a lot of guys with heavily waxed hair and girls with heavily waxed skins.
And boy were we glad we bought our tickets well in advance! The show was sold out and many were around seeking extra tickets. We got in around 11pm where an opening DJ was was warming up the crowd.
The man himself didn’t hit the stage until 1am. And just when he was about to… disappointment. My Nokia E72 with the 5 mega-pixel camera dies out on me. All I’m left with is my mom’s basic 2mpx Nokia and even that was low on battery.
Sorry, but these grainy photos are all I have. (Some are from my friend Jassim’s iPhone)
This is when he hit the stage
Grainy photos won’t do the concert justice, so just watch this if you want to know what the atmosphere was like:
To sum in up in one word: AWESOME! This was one of the best concerts I have been to. The crowd was insane! Over 10,000 people packed into one massive hall. And I would so pay to see David Guetta live again!
David Guetta left the stage exactly at 3am, the time when all of Dubai has to shut off it’s loud music and stop the sale of liqour.
The tired crowd making their way out of the exhibition centerThe (very) long queue for taxis
By the time we reached the car, our legs were tired as hell! This was one packed-evening/night/dawn. I saw a lot, ate a lot and danced a lot.
Lal Bagh had it’s usual early morning joggers but I wanted to make it here early before it got too crowded.
Boring. Then I realized the main flower show was inside the glasshouse.
