Road trip (West) 2008: The Roman Baths, Bath

I am a real water baby and I absolutely love all forms of water including oceans, waterfalls, lakes, ponds and rivers. I prefer naturally occurring water over, say, swimming pools and fountains but as long as I can hear the soft gurgling or tinkling of running water then I am happy. It is no surprise then that I found something so appealing and romantic in the Roman Baths in Bath. The source of the water is from natural, hot springs emerging from underground but it is the Roman buildings erected at the site in the first century that add up to make this the most unforgettable place to visit.

 
The Great Bath viewed from the upper level

They estimate that only a fraction of the the original baths have been excavated but they are able to reconstruct portions of the structure to give you an idea of how it might have looked two thousand years ago.

 
The Temple Pediment and reconstruction of a section of mosaic flooring

The Romans could not explain the source of the hot, rapidly flowing water emerging from underground and so they deemed it to be of divine origin and they built a temple and shrine around the springs.

In these photos, you can see the original water level of the Roman era. The copper-coloured ring around the Sacred Spring shows the water level in the 18th century. The baths (and the whole city of Bath) became a much sought-after location in the 18th century as wealthy patrons sought healing in the baths and Bath developed as a prestigious spa town.

The Romans built the stone reservoir around the Sacred Spring and thus used the water to feed the baths.

 
The Spring Overflow and the Drain

This is the original Roman drain which still takes the hot water from the spring to the river Avon a few hundred metres away. The flow is a constant 13 litres per second which amounts to 1,170,000 litres a day.

I could have taken a score of photos by the side of the Great Bath, I thought it was that beautiful. Oh wait, I did!

The Great Bath

The facade of the Upper Level from the Great Bath

  
  

It's really hard to appreciate the baths from these photos because it looks like a couple of piles of stones and holes in the ground! But those piles of stones used to support the floors and allow heated air to flow through, thus heating the rooms in the first instances of central heating. There were various pools and the first instances of steam baths and resting rooms. These were absolutely decadent times and you can almost imagine the shenanigans the ancient Romans got up to in the various nooks and crannies in the compound.

 

Original roof tiles; an original lead drain; an original Roman occupant*; part of the original roof facade.

* Okay, not really. Just checking if you're concentrating. That is a wonderfully authentic tour guide.

The Sacred Spring

The rings on the walls were left by grateful 18th century patrons who claimed to have been healed from all sorts of ailments.

The Circular Plunge Pool

We threw some coins into the pool and I made a wish that I'd get over the flu!

4 years after the Tsunami

I don't really know what to write, but want to write something. What happened on December 26th 2004 was something quite unimaginable, off the scale, almost impossible to believe (unless you were right there). I did not see the tsunami, my family was safe at home, all we saw were the after effects, and most of what we saw was on the TV... even though you might think we were right here in the middle of it all.



The photo above shows Kamala temple, at Kamala Beach Phuket as the tsunami hit. Kamala was one of the worst hit areas of Phuket. We'd been there on the 25th with friends, having a drink at the beach, kids playing around. My wife was 9 months pregnant... our son was born 11th January. A lot of "what if's" were in my head for a long while after the tsunami. When I see this photo it reminds me that we are very lucky. 4 years later I don't dwell on the "what might have happened", but am very happy to have my family. As I write this, my boy (nearly 4 now) and my girl, now age 7, are racing round the living room on their Christmas presents - a couple of scooters. It's well past their bed time, but for today, I don't want to tell them "Go to Bed!" - I am happy to watch them having fun.

4 years seems like a long time, but also but a blink of the eye. Hard to believe my boy is nearly 4 years old. He doesn't know anything about the tsunami. My daughter has some idea.. I tried to explain a bit today about what happened and she was very relieved to be alive. This year, 4 years on, the tsunami seems like a surreal dream. In Phuket you certainly can't see any physical effects. Khao Lak (last time I went there) looked very neat and tidy. I want to take another visit soon. Phi Phi also is all cleaned up and new.. in fact some of the clean up was very very quick...

I was (and am) working at Karon Beach, Phuket. On December 26th 2004.. things looked like this...





And a few days later...



Actually, Karon Beach was not hit hard in comparison to other places. And since it was what I saw first, I kind of thought, or hoped that things were not too bad. We got news from Phi Phi and Khao Lak later, and news from Aceh, Sri Lanka... many places. I took a walk along Patong beach next day...



More photos of Karon and other beaches after the tsunami.. and you can get some idea of the rapid clean up here : Phuket after the tsunami.

4 years. A lot happens in 4 years. On December 31st 2004 we had no party, we lit some candles in the garden. I have to say it was a very very sad time. Replaced by happiness on January 11th 2005 when our son was born. At this time the future's so bright I gotta wear shades. Kids are still riding around the living room on scooters. Bless 'em.

There have been some interesting stories in the news about the tsunami recently. One talks about coral regrowth in damaged areas.. another hints at tsunami recurrence times of about 600 years based on studies of soil layers in affected areas.

I think this will be the last time I try to write anything about the tsunami. People keep asking about it. Today I have told the same story to customers several times. I don't want to be rude, but OK, it was 4 years ago now. Yes I was here. No I was not directly affected. We saw nothing really nasty. I did for a while feel guilty about being so close to it all, and yet not losing anything or anyone myself. Time now to get on with life.

Previous ramblings about the tsunami:

• Living through the tsunami I
• Living through the tsunami II
• Life after the tsunami

Just 2 weeks until my son's 4th birthday. And just a few days until New Year.. and we will party this year!

Oh, a final note.. I saw just a few days ago, just before the 4th anniversary, that Oxfam had announced the end of it's tsunami relief program. There is a locally based charity still involved with long term relief, though they also have nothing now to do with "tsunami relief". I somehow feel attached to it, as the 4Kali charity was set up by the family of a girl called Kali who died on December 26th 2004. She and her family were originally booked by me on a dive trip, but had to cancel due to their son suffering a bad accident where he broke his neck. The family came to Thailand anyway for their holiday. The local director of the charity was a neighbour of ours too.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and I hope to see you in Phuket soon

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past. Bring on 2009.

Jamie's Phuket 2008

Road trip (West) 2008: The City of Bath

We arrived in Bath at about 11am and after searching for some time for a parking bay, made our way down to Bath Abbey.

Bath is an extremely picturesque town and it must be an amazing sight to see in the summer months.

We approached Bath Abbey from behind and I was so unimpressed with this tourist coach as it remained parked there and ruined my shot!

These are taken from the side of the abbey - click on the photos for bigger pictures.  I love old churches.  I never tire of looking at them and admiring their intricacies.

At the front of the abbey you can see Jacob's Ladder running up on the two pillars.  The town Christmas tree was planted right on the ideal photo-taking spot! 

The reason for us coming to visit the town of Bath was to see the famous Roman Baths.  Of course, they were so absolutely amazing that they deserve their own post!

Road trip (West) 2008: Bristol

After Stonehenge, we took a brief drive of one or two hours and arrived at our accommodation just before 5pm.  Unfortunately, I was burning up with a fever by then and I got straight into bed while Stephen and his parents had some coffee in the downstairs bar area.  I wish I could say that I slept through to the morning but I was feverish and hallucinating an confused through the night!

Despite not feeling too good, I certainly noticed how lovely our choice of accommodation was.  We stayed in two gorgeous rooms above the pub which were decorated in a very homely, welcoming manner.  The rooms were absolutely spotlessly clean and I would certainly recommend the place to travellers.  It is located on the outskirts of Bristol on the airport but it only about 10 minutes outside of Bristol town centre.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of Bristol as we slipped into town for some breakfast and then continued on our way to Bath, but I did notice how all the the houses seem to be made of stone and they certainly do look very West of England.

Road trip (West) 2008: Stonehenge

You might have picked up on Twitter or Facebook that the day before we embarked on our first road trip, I came down with the flu.  I didn't sleep at all on Saturday night as I had a high fever and I was physically sore.  Okay, I am an absolute drama queen and I hate being ill and at about 4am on Sunday morning I was holding my head in my hands and chanting "oh my gosh" over and over again.  Sunday morning started off with a bit of friction between Ste and I as he assumed that I would not be making it on the road trip.  I explained that were that the truth, I would have been extremely upset as I had been planning the trip for months and it would not be a decision I would have made easily.  We decided to delay our departure by 90 minutes and I have to be more of a drama queen honest and say that I have never struggled that much to get out of bed before.  But we eventually made it!

The first stop on our trip was Stonehenge.  My first impression was that I could not believe how small it is.  Yes, you read right.  It is small.  As in, it is a really neat little circle of stones and is only about 30 metres in diameter.  Bizarrely enough though, they seem much bigger in my mind's eye now as I remember them.  Unfortunately, you're not allowed to touch the stones which Robyn (Ste's mum) and I both agreed was disappointing as we're both interested in fantasy novels and the magical side of life.

We took a counter-clockwise walk around the stones, starting from their northern-most point.  (By the way, I barely know my left and right so correct me if I get the compass points wrong!).

So yes.  That was Stonehenge.  You'd be forgiven for thinking it is just a bunch on plain stones, especially as you aren't able to touch the stones themselves.  Maybe I'll go back one day during the Summer Solstice. 

Day Out: Baker Street and Madame Tussauds

On Friday 19 December, Stephen and I took his parents off to Baker Street to visit Madame Tussauds. Now Baker Street is, of course, Sherlock Holmes country and I am mad about Sherlock Holmes! (As a complete aside, my favourite author Michael Dibdin wrote a book called The Last Sherlock Holmes Story which is a great crossover between the Sherlock Holmes legend and the Jack the Ripper case).

How awesome is that? Baker Street station is made of awesome.

One day I'll come back to do the Sherlock Holmes trail. That is Madame Tussauds you can see in the background.

By the way, just in case there is anyone that doesn't know - Madame Tussauds is a museum of wax figures and dates back over 200 years. It has been in the Baker Street region since 1835. At £24.50 per person, it is not cheap to get in so try to get a 2-for-1 special using your rail tickets or a similar deal. A friend had given me a some vouchers that they had found in their cereal boxes so that was a great saving for us.

The first floor is where you find all of the Hollywood stars.

I first spotted Johnny Depp and immediately thought of you, Vanessa!

I adore Audrey Hepburn and she reminds me of my love for all things New York-related. I do hope I finally make it to New York in 2009!

Julia Roberts, Daniel Radcliffe and Colin Farrell. All favourites of my mine at one time or another but they looked very waxy, so nothing to report there really. Click on the photos for full size shots.

Next was the sporting heroes, cultural figures, musicians and world leaders sections. Oh wait, I think the royal family was in there somewhere as well. >:/ To be honest, I am convinced we only viewed a watered down version of the display because I seem to remember it being so much bigger in the past. I was getting sick though so that could have distorted my perception. Maybe I was just sad that they've taken Lenin away. There is also a really scary section which I of course loved and at the end there was a ride you take which was called something like "The Spirit of London". That was cool, albeit a bit cheesy.

You have to wonder at my choice of subjects to photograph - there is Shane Warne, the legendary Australian cricket player, JFK and Martin Luther King Jnr. Well, I have always been a fan of Shane Warne and even more so since we visited Australia. I think the man is awesome and he is not as arrogant as people like to make out. JFK is a bit obvious but I do think he was amazing and I used to read everything I could lay my hands on regarding the investigation into his assassination. And then there is Martin Luther King Jnr - another obvious choice but "I Have a Dream" remains my top speech ever made by a public figure. I would have been much happier if the figure of Lenin was still in the collection and I was sad that there wasn't one of Che Guevara but I guess not everyone shares my interest in that type of thing!

On the way out we passed through the Quantum of Solace exhibit. My, how nice it would be to get that close to Dame Judi Dench and Daniel Craig in real life. Swoon.

On our way back to the station, we stopped off at the local branch of JD Wetherpoons for lunch. I just had to post some pictures of their ladies toilets because they have the best decor I have ever seen in a toilet in my life before!!

Finally, we took a detour to Oxford Street and took a walk down regent Street to buy a Christmas present for my god daughter K. The whole area was in a general state of mayhem so our cameras were safe stowed away for the most part but I did get a stunning shot of the Christmas decorations in Carnaby Street.