Down the River

Well, I had a very nice time last evening, cruising down the Thames from about 9pm to 1am. This was a "freshers" event organized by the UCL Singapore Society for students not just in UCL, but from across London. The vast majority were Singapore undergraduates, many dressed to impress, but there were the one or two odd non-Singaporeans, or Singapore graduate students. In fact, I went for the cruise with the Singapore doctor from down the corridor, plus two new Canadian friends we've just met who are also at Goodenough College.

The river looks remarkable at night. Starting from Temple Pier, which is located behind Somerset House, we passed by all the famous bridges - Lambeth, Westminster, Waterloo, Southwark, Millennium and London, among many others - and sailed as far downstream as Canary Wharf, the Greenwich Naval College, and the Millennium Dome. It rekindled memories of The World is Not Enough, Pierce Brosnan's third outing as James Bond, which opens with a pretty spectacular chase sequence along the Thames, and which ends with Bond falling from a helicopter onto the Dome, the lady villain having escaped by blowing herself up

Along many parts of the river front, in the docklands and East End area, beginning eastwards of Hay's Galleria, you could see new office and residential developments - spanking, all-glass complexes that offered a wonderful view of the water. Very very nice. Perfect for rich city gents - probably the only ones who could afford such properties - who could then zip across to the many banks located at Canary Wharf.

The cruise begin late at night, and with hands shivering, I wasn't able to get many good images, except this delightful picture of my two new friends from Canada - a married couple, both of whom are taking a year off work, like I am, and pursuing graduate degrees at the LSE.