*tangent* – recently (past three months or so) I’ve noticed that I’m becoming more ambivalent (than usual)  toward planning research.  As identified in a class last night, planning research is not linear often leads to yet another “$50,000 dollar study to explore the causality between walking and the number of movie rental stores in the neighborhood”.  Can research be  an excuse not to do anything?  That is where science, tech and engineering deep-sixes the pseudo-sciences…they seem to go places with their knowledge.  

The point is, while I should be diligently scribbling away on my Master’s report,  I finding wandering around Portsmouth Village far more fulfilling and useful.  Taking crappy photos, thinking about the space and then forcing my thoughts onto the internet feels like a better and more tangible use of time and energy than reading yet another article (complete with Chi2, R2 and other advanced numbers) about why walking, affordable housing and growing food etc.  is good for us.

So, this is Portsmouth Village (est. 1784).  It’s got everything one needs in a complete, mixed-use village.  Pub, pharmacy, secondary suites, sidewalks, places of worship,  sushi, sandwiches, hardware store, giant anchors, sailors, the 1976 Olympic summer games, ample green-space, some brown-space, museums, water, houses, mini-vans, trucks-on-blocks,  traffic, trees, shrubberies, convicts, boats, small dogs, trash,  home businesses, bikes, a general stores, movie rentals, a laundromat,  an insane asylum, modernist buildings, new urbanist stuff, old limestone homes, old wood homes, underground parking,  graffiti, government hacks, empty park benches, ducks and other small woodland creatures and most importantly, a Yonge Street.

Unlike Kingston’s other attempt at New Urbanism , the Portsmouth development actually seems to work…kind of.  At best, it jives well with the older architecture, at worst it adds another layer of diversity to an already patchwork of buildings and styles.

One of the nicest parts of Portsmouth Village is the waterfront trail which bypasses the old (and very creepy) psychiatric hospital and links into Lake Ontario Park.

If one is not down with limestone architecture, there are a couple of lakeshore condos.  Not much too look at, but they offer a killer location.

   …and so does Kingston Pen.

Had a bad day?  Or maybe you just want to ask your girlfriend to marry you.  There is plenty of old concrete wall space @ the abandoned crazy house for all of your public message needs.

This inukshuk is guarding against American invasion.

Lake Ontario Park shoreline.  There is a small graffittied cavern near the boulder on the horizon. 

Delicious and nutritious Lake Ontario water.

A message to God, enshrined on stone.

Back in the day the old psychiatric hospital obviously wasn’t big enough.

Did you take your meds today? 

It’s even creepier at night.

Heavily modified limestone home, next to a post-war house, next too a duplex.  All kinds of homes here.

Presently, Tim Horton’s is the heart and soul of Portsmouth Village, providing nourishment to thousands of downtown commuters, local residents, St Lawrence College students and prison staff each week. Unfortunately, it is also the ugliest addition to the community and has brilliantly succeeded in destroying the historic value within the center of the Village. 

The main drag.  Must like traffic to live here.  

It’s just a good , interesting and nice place to live which embodies pretty simple and basic planning principles.  Building diversity, mix uses, functional green spaces, tight and multi-modal transport friendly, good connections to the greater community.   Nothing fancy here…no over-designed, over-planned, over-researched, over-budged approaches.   Sure it has it’s bad eggs, the Tim’s, the traffic down the centre, some inefficient land uses and strange parcel designs, some gentrification,  but it is fairly obvious that the community works.  I’m sure that most people would agree.  Keep it  simple.  Planning doesn’t need to be rocket science.  90% is just observation. Good spaces have been around for centuries…Portsmouth is testament to that.

Technorati Tags: Kingston, kingston penitentiary, lake ontario park, photography, photos, portsmouth village, urban planning

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1. 2010 Olympic Torch Relay – Portsmouth Harbour
2. Prison Land
3. Weekend Update

The five establishments in question do a very thorough job of covering all the major geographic places of interest in Cambodia, leaving a thin name margin for any entrepreneurs hoping to bust into Kingston apparently booming Khmer cuisine scene.

We’ve got…

Cambodian Village – representing the rural  
Cambodiana Restaurant – covers all things Cambodian
Phnom-Phenh Restaurant – I have yet to see a “Ottawa Restaurant” in my travels…but it is important that the largest restaurant receive the national capital name.
Royal Angkor Restaurant – One cannot fully cover Khmer cuisine without at least one restaurant referencing Angkor Wat .  
Siem Reap Restaurant – The obvious late-comer to the scene, having to go with Angkor Wat’s tourist city as inspiration in lieu of the great landmark itself.   
 
A real Phnom-Phenh Restaurant.  
Kingston could use a Sihanoukville Restaurant…right on Lake Ontario.

Tasty Cambodian dishes…

Technorati Tags: cambodia, census, dining, food, khmer food, photography, photos, restaurants

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1. Cambodia Photos I
2. The Most Dangerous Coffee in Kingston
3. Portsmouth Village

Russian officials opened a terror investigation Saturday, saying that a homemade bomb planted on the tracks of the high-speed Moscow-to-St. Petersburg route caused a derailment that killed at least 26 people and injured dozens more.

I never rode that particular line to St. Petersburg.  I exited Russia via the Moscow-Riga (Lativa) line.

However, somewhere near the Mongolian border I was rustled out of my compartment in the wee morning hours and outside on to a non-descript platform.  Russian border police with dogs were pouring over the train searching for something.  I never received a clear answer to what exactly was going on, although one of the car attendants mumbled the word “bomb” and that this was either a training exercise (at the expense of passengers) or a legitimate search.  Either way, none of the Russian passengers appeared to surprised by the search.  About 30 minutes later, we were allowed back on to the train.

Some random Trans-Siberian shots from 2008.

Technorati Tags: bomb, bombing, photography, photos, russia, train, trans-siberian railway, travel, traveling

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Looking down into the Indian plains.  The urban area directly below is Dharamsala and the reservoir on the hazy horizon is NOT the Sardar Sarovar Project, but I’m sure it has all of the same problems (inside joke for my SURP 811 peeps).

Not a Swiss girl in sight.

 
Triund pasture has a few tea houses selling typical trekking staples, renting out tents and selling beer (which is apparently illegal as they are not licensed).  Most people will hike up for the day, with some venturing a bit further into the hills and then returning to Triund for the night before heading down to Mcleod Ganj.  I liked it so much, I just stayed in my tent and ate at the Tea Houses…I don’t think I’ve ever lived that cheaply before.  New groups of people would come up each night which made for a variety of interesting campfire conversations.

I broke my camera just before Triund and because being up there without some sort of camera was not an option, I dropped my stuff and blasted back down to Mcleod Ganj and picked up my old point-and-shoot Olympus (which these photos are a product of) and went back up to Triund the next morning.  Unfortunately, the SD card on the Olympus became corrupted and 75% of the photos I took are unreadable…these were the only ones that I managed to salvage.
Triund Teahouse. From Triund there are great day hikes further into the hills.  The most common is up to the ‘snow-line’ which is about an hour above Triund.  From there one may continue further toward Indrahar Pass or explore one of the other surrounding valleys or hills. Snowline pasture below. he remnants of an old guesthouse.  Apparently 10 years ago this area was at the snout of a now deceased glacier.
Trail marker for Indrahar Pass.
Moving up toward the Indrahar Pass cave.  It’s not really a cave, but rather a massive sloping rock one can take shelter under.

Last day at Triund.  Amazing sunsets, nightscapes, full moons and the occasional full rainbow at 3000m.  This wasn’t the last photo of India that I took (I have some crappy mobile phone shots from Chandigarh) but I like to think it is.

Northern India – 2009 :-)

Technorati Tags: camping, climbing, dharmasala, india, indrahar pass, mcleod ganj, photography, photos, tents, trekking, triund

Related posts:

1. Mcleod Ganj – India – August 2009
2. Manali to Leh, India – August 2009
3. Stok Kangri I – August 2009

While hardly the best map, Bing does give the viewer an impression of the differences between the southern greenery and the rain shadowed Himalayans. MG is about seven or eight kilometres above Dharmasala.

I spent quite a bit of time in MG, largely because was trapped by the perpetual rains of the monsoon and I had told myself I wasn’t going to leave until I got up to the pastures of Triund.  Thus, I became one of the many travellers endlessly wandering the two main streets of Mcleod Ganj and drinking endless cups of coffee waiting for the rains to subside.

Luckily, the rains did subside – if only for a few days.  But enough for me to get some decent photos of the area and make a run to heights of Triund to get above the weather.

Mcleod Ganj is typical of mountain Indian villages with a very dense organic layout built directly into the hills, tiny lanes, too many vehicles taxing the existing infrastructure…and the ubiquitous urban cows. Incredibly lush and green, MG has amazing forests populated by the mighty deodar cedar . Looking down on Mcleod Ganj.   To the far right of the above image is the very humble residence of the Dalai Lama.  Given his popularity and unpopularity (among some), I was expecting more of a isolated and secure ‘compound’, yet his residence is incorporated directly into the town.

The still functioning and absolutely gorgeous St.  John in the Wilderness Church.  Built in 1856, the Church has a Canadian connection as its cemetery is the resting place of Lord Elgin, who was the former Governor General of the Province of  Canada from 1847 to 1854 before becoming Viceroy of India.

He’s in there somewhere. 

The Dhauladhar range beyond the hills. Triund occupies the saddle of the foreground hills.  From Triund I was planning to make an attempt to go over Indrahar Pass (4375m) should the weather hold. Monkeys everywhere in MG. Moving up into the hills above MG toward Triund.  The village below is not MG but a neighbouring village called Bhagsu – yet another “Little Tel-Aviv” in India. 

Moving up toward Triund Weather moving in

Triund on the saddle – this was one of the last photos I took before falling on my camera.

Technorati Tags: bhagsu, dalai lama, dharmasala, himalayas, india, indrahar pass, mcleod ganj, photography, photos, tibet, travel, traveling, triund

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1. Triund – India – August 2009
2. Manali to Leh, India – August 2009
3. Leh – August 2009

I was hesitant about entering at first given that it is Ramadan, but this one fellow saw me looking at the door and asked me and my friends if I wanted to enter. He also said it was ok to take photos if I wished.  I took off my shoes and in I went.  I’m sure that while inside I probably engaged in some taboos, but hopefully nothing too extreme.

Around 4pm…just before afternoon or evening prayer…I’m not too sure…really, I probably had no business being inside if I didn’t even know that.

Individual prayer mats.

There are 324 wood pillars in this mosque…each made from one tree.

Huge – one easily feels the spirituality while inside something this magnificent.  I quite like Mosque architecture of this Kashmiri wooden variety.  It is very simple, yet elegant and spares no heed to the grandiose.  Aside from the pronounced gender segregation, everyone appeared equal while inside the Mosque.

There are separate places for men and women to pray.

Inside the open-air courtyard.  My friends and I were the only visible westerners around at the time and created somewhat of a stir with the kids.

East entrance to the Mosque, looking from inside the courtyard.

Washing before praying.  I didn’t stay around for the prayer.

Probably the highlight of the Kashmir.

I don’t have any photos of the journey from Srinigar to Dharmasala.  There was a big heavily fortified 2.5km long tunnel.  A 6 hour stop-over in a filthy bus-station in Jammu in which I discussed money for several hour with the ticket agent and a 3am solo deposit along the highway near Dharmasala.

It rains a lot in Dharmasala. 

Technorati Tags: asia, drinking, india, islam, Jamia Masjid, kashmir, mosque, photography, photos, religion, travel, traveling

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1. Srinagar – Houseboats – August 2009
2. Leh to Srinagar – August 2009
3. Mcleod Ganj – India – August 2009

Srinagar is known primarily for it’s Raj-era houseboats which were built as summer retreats for the British (who were not able to own land in India).  Apparently there are over 1500 such boats in the lakes of Srinagar, many of which are close to a hundred years old.  Many are used as guesthouses, many as family house and some are probably abandoned.  Most on Lake Dal , with some on several adjacent lakes and connecting canals.  They don’t move…they sit there…apparently they use a special kind of wood that strengthens with age.

I had arranged accommodation prior to leaving Leh because I didn’t want to have to face hundreds of touts early in the morning as I got out of a cramped 22 hour jeep ride.  It’s always risky doing something like this as one may end up locking themselves into something that may be substandard or not too their liking.  I was prepared to take that risk because I was getting rather tired of the constant price-battle one has to wage with everyone while in India.

True enough, the jeep dropped us off in the middle of a bunch of touts, but my guy was there waiting and took myself and several of my jeep companions to his waiting houseboat.  His boat was particularly gorgeous, being about 70 years old and very colonial.  Issue would appear later…one being that the lake we were on was about 7 km from the actual city which I soon discovered made ‘diversifying’ my money difficult and my traveling options limited.  On the plus side, the lake was much quieter and had fantastic sunsets.   

It was Ramadan when I was there and one of the coolest things was sitting back on the houseboat and listening to the loud prayer rumble emulating from the surrounding city as thousands paid their respects to Allah.

One the ‘shikaras’ used to ferry people from shore to the houseboats.

Early morning floating market.

Chatting away after a successful sale.

Inside on of the several Mugual-era gardens.  Giant trees, colourful flowers

Srinagar urban fabric from above.  Typically organic, unplanned orientations surrounded by bizarre odours.

Houseboat alley on Dal Lake (the main houseboat lake)

Houseboats…hundreds.  How each makes a profit is beyond me.

Srinigar old town with wooden mosques and plenty of burqua clad women.

  This is where your old cameras go to die.

My feelings on Srinagar are mixed.  The scenery is nice, the boat quiet, the sunsets fantastic and I have never experienced anything so encompassing as the prayer rumbles (like the whole city was speaking).  However, for all intents and purposes I was trapped on the houseboat.  I could come and go to the shore as a liked via the Shikara but there wasn’t much around the lake I was staying at. The owner was well-experienced with foreign travelers and had the guilt-speak down perfectly.  The meals were not that good and by the end of the three days myself and my jeep companions felt like we had been taken for quite a ride on the prices.  We were not ‘ripped-off’ but we were paying substantially more than what we should have for what we were getting. 

To make up for the somewhat boring nights trapped on the boat, my companions and I went hunting for beer one night in this very Muslim city…during Ramadan…yeah…say all you want…one can only play so many rounds of UNO without something to extend the fun.  While it is Muslim, Srinagar is still in India and there is still, theoretically, booze to be found…just got to ask.  Because of Ramadan, the one hotel that does supply alcohol had closed their shop, but word on the street was that a hotel called the “Dal-Top Hotel” or something like that, was open for business.  We wandered around the main boardwalk along Dal Lake till about 8:30pm looking for this place (Srinagar closes very early, around 8pm).  Finally, we found it…Dal-Top is actually an abandoned hotel sandwiched between two hotels taken over by the military.  Black-marketers set up shop outside.  They operate off their shikara boats and do brisk business with like minded travelers and locals.  We ended up buying a bottle of “Green Label” whisky for about 1200 rupees (the retail price is 200 rupees) (strangely enough, this “green label” whisky is only for sale in Kashmir as indicated on the label.   

I have never walked that far or that long for a taste.  But it was a good UNO game.     

Technorati Tags: boat, dal lake, houseboats, india, islam, jammu-kashmir, photography, photos, srinagar, travel

Related posts:

1. Leh to Srinagar – August 2009
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3. Leh – August 2009

Either way, the first few hours were quite scenic, albeit heavily militarized.  This road probably has to be the most fortified public road in the world.  Every second kilometre for about 100km outside of Leh found some kind of military installation, mostly logistic and infantry, but I noticed a few light mechanized units thrown into the mix  

The road skirts the Indus for quite awhile.  When I arrived in Srinagar, I found out that three Malaysian travelers had been killed that day when their SUV plunged into the Indus…two others were still missing.  Drunk driving was suspected.

Traffic was mostly a mixture of heavy transport (fuel, goods) and assorted military vehicles.  Tata attack.

Road conditions were mixed.

Dinner was a typical truck stop.  Driver making sure everything is ship-shape.  Indian jeeps, despite the passenger densities are quite comfortable from a suspension point of view…but this guys tires were balder than Patrick Stewart.

Pardon the light, as it was getting dark, but this is probably the best example of Indian single lane driving in the Himalayas.

Unlike the the Manali-Leh route, the military check points along this section were substantially different.  Where that road the checks were simple and unobtrusive, this route the check points were actually stop-points where sections of the highway were closed.  Security being the reason, possibly because they didn’t want anyone doing anything suspicious in the dark along this stretch of road. We spent several hours as two of these check points.  One, called Drass (not much more than a tent) is apparently the coldest place on the planet after Antarctica and some place in Siberia.

When it got light again, I was officially in the Kashmir, which bears a striking resemblance to the Rockies.  Trees, green rivers and pasture.

Truck stop for breakfast.

That was about the last image I shot of this stretch of the highway.  The altitude dropped significantly after this picture as the military presence increase substantially.  Unlike the Ladakh side, which was mostly installations, the Kashmir side saw full battle-rattle section-sized foot patrols along the road with heavily armed infantry posted almost every second kilometre.  Despite being somewhat ‘safe’ for travelers, one glance at any local newspaper will confirm that there is still quite a bit of violence in the area.  Trekking would is apparently awesome here, but I didn’t have the cash for another supported trek, especially something in the 7-10 day ranges…and solo might not have been the best option.  I might have chanced it if I had a partner…one of the curses of traveling solo.

Technorati Tags: crazy roads, india, kargil, kashmir, ladakh, leh, line of control, pakistan, photography, photos, travel

Related posts:

1. Jamia Masjid Mosque, Srinagar – August 2009
2. Srinagar – Houseboats – August 2009
3. Leh – August 2009

Heading back down with the help of gravity.

Looking back.

Back to Stok.

6121m – a new altitude record for me.

Technorati Tags: ladakh, leh, mountaineering, photography, photos, stok kangri, tired, travel, trekking

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1. Stok Kangri I – August 2009
2. Stok Kangri II
3. Stok Kangri III

Nearing the summit and looking back along the ridge.

Ladakh Valley below.  The weather wasn’t perfect, but the clouds and mist provided an eerie atmosphere.  While I wouldn’t get to see K2, I was lucky to have summited given that every group the previous day had been turned back by high winds.

From the summit.  K2 would be in the background on a clear day.

Made the summit at around 7:30am

It is a 90 degree drop down about 1500m just over that edge…

Heading back down.

Glacier crossing.

About 11am looking back toward the cloud encrusted summit.

Base camp in the morning.

Too tired to stand.

A quick lunch and then a long sleep.

Technorati Tags: himalayas, india, kashmir, ladakh, leh, mountaineering, photography, photos, stok kangri, travel, traveling

Related posts:

1. Stok Kangri II
2. Stok Kangri IV
3. Stok Kangri I – August 2009