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Brisbane City River Cruise

August 26, 2016 by David Herd

South Bank Wharf

Brisbane City River Cruise

Brisbane City River Cruise

 Brisbane City River Cruise started for me at the South Bank Wharf and took me on a 45 minute cruise almost to the Gateway Bridge and back. This post will highlight many of the wonderful Brisbane buildings along the river.

 Treasury Casino

Brisbane City River Cruise

Overlooking the river is the Treasury Casino where they will be very happy to relieve you of your hard earned cash. 🙂

What a monster

Brisbane City River Cruise

I believe this huge skyscraper will house most government offices when completed. That’s the Victoria Bridge in the foreground.

South Bank Ferris wheel

Brisbane City River Cruise

 Not as large as London or Tokyo but it does look nice at night. 🙂

Another look at the Monster

Brisbane City River Cruise

A very impressive building.

Executive Building

Brisbane City Cat River Cruise Called the Government’s new Executive Building it towers over Brisbane river.

Riverside buildings

Brisbane City River Cruise

This is the heart of the Brisbane business centre.

Huge towers dominate the skyline

Brisbane City River Cruise

The city cat stops right here for the workers to commute from home.

City Cat arriving

Brisbane City River Cruise

What a great way to get around Brisbane, my 1.5 hour trip only cost me around $3.

The famous Story Bridge

Brisbane City River Cruise

 The Story Bridge first opened in 1940, & is named after prominent public servant, John Douglas Story.

Beautiful old paddle steamer

Brisbane City River Cruise

 Kookaburra Queen paddle wheelers are famous for their dinner cruises.

 Luxury living

Brisbane City River Cruise

What more could you want than a waterfront penthouse and this fabulous ship tied up in front?

Beautiful old ferry wharf

Brisbane City River Cruise

So nice to see these beautiful old structures preserved.

Bretts Wharf

Brisbane City River Cruise

Hundreds of modern (and expensive) condos are sprouting adjacent to the ferry stops, what a great way to commute to the city rather than fighting the road traffic.

Bretts Wharf up close

Brisbane City River Cruise

The city cats are smooth, comfortable and fast.

City Cat

Brisbane City River Cruise

A great way to see the sights of Brisbane.

Brisbane City River Cruise

Brisbane City Cat River Cruise You can also sit outside at the bow and the stern.

Enjoy the fresh air and the wind in your face

Brisbane City River Cruise

The perfect spot to take photos of this wonderful city.

The Gateway Bridge

Brisbane City River Cruise

Construction on the Gateway Bridge commenced on 5 June 1980. It was officially opened on 11 January 1986.

Brisbane River

Brisbane City River Cruise

As you can see the river meanders through the suburbs and almost circles the city.

CityHopper is free

Brisbane City River Cruise

The CityHopper lets you travel the Brisbane river for free, the ferries run every 30 minutes between 6am and midnight, seven days a week. The ferry travels along the Brisbane River, to North Quay, South Bank 3, Maritime Museum, Thornton Street, Eagle Street Pier, Holman Street, Dockside and Sydney Street terminals.

Simply hop on and hop off and enjoy all the Brisbane River and city sights.

 I leave the City Cat after a terrific 90 minute cruise.

Brisbane City River Cruise

You can take the City Cat in both directions from the city, a nice idea would be to head in the direction of Toowong and disembark at the fabulous Regatta Hotel, a great place for lunch, dinner or a few drinks. Follow THIS LINK to see this iconic hotel.

Brisbane City River Cruise

Brisbane City River Cruise

This city is just getting better & better, it’s now August 2016 and the number of cranes on the skyline indicate a building boom.

Thanks for visiting my Brisbane City River Cruise photo blog.  For a discounted hotel rate at the Park Regis Hotel which is in a terrific location just book through THIS LINK.

                             Here are some more posts to check out
 

           

   Istanbul                                 Budapest                        London

Fascinating Istanbul Asia Meets EuropeHungarian Parliament Building (2)The Walkie Talkie (5)   

          Mostar                           Dubrobnik                            Split

                     43638e36-5da5-4162-98e3-635e2c149837IMG_7425Split Ancient Croatian Coastal city                    

                 Saigon                            Zagreb                          Vung tau

Ho Chi Minh City South VietnamMain Square (3)Vung Tau statue (6)

Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
 
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That’s all folks

1g Duck

Holiday Inn

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Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Check out these great photo blogs.

Counter only started June 16 2020.

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Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

February 28, 2015 by David Herd

Istanbul is a super city

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul is a must for your bucket list, I took the long cruise to Anadolu Kavağı, departing 10.30 from Galata Bridge with a 3 hour break for lunch and returning at 4.30.

Bosphorus bridge connecting Europe and Asia was completed in 1973,  it is the 22nd longest suspension bridge span in the world.

The trip starts here

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

The ferry leaves from the Galata bridge for the 1.5 hour cruise to Anadolu Kavağı.

Rumeli Hisarı Fortress

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

At the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror ordered the great fortress of Rumeli Hisarı to be built on the European shore in order to control commercial and military traffic in preparation for the siege of Constantinople.


 

Homes on the Bosphorus

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

You really get an appreciation of the sheer size of the city when you take the Bosphorus Cruise Istanbul. Anadolu Kavağı is about 25 kms towards the Black sea and on both sides of the river there are thousands and thousands of homes.

Luxury home on the Bosphorus

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

Looking back I realise I should have allocated at least a few more days to explore this interesting part of the world.

Up market Istanbul

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

There are many upmarket areas in Istanbul.

We have arrived at Anadolu Kavağı.

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

Time to leave the Bosphorus river Cruise and have some lunch.

 The restaurants wait for customers

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

It must be the off season as there are not many people in the restaurants.

Many restaurants to choose from

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

They all compete aggressively for customers, each guy seems to use the same spiel, they say the price of this fish is 20, but for you 16, and so on.

Street cooking

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

  This is a good way to sample the food which is very reasonably priced.  

Two very friendly guys

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

These happy fellows really made you welcome.

 The seafood here was reasonably priced

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

  Except the large king prawns were very expensive.  

Decision has been made

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

The fish was quite good, the salad average, with a small bottle of sparkling water & a basket of nice fresh bread the cost was only $12 AUD.

Waterfront homes

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

  Right beside the wharf with the waves splashing on their doorsteps.


 

Bosphorus river Cruise, now will this rust bucket get us home?

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

Thanks for visiting my Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul photo blog, please add this city to your bucket list.

Fabulous photo

Bosphorus river Cruise Istanbul

 I found this on the internet & decided to add it to my blog.

That’s all folks

1aaa Duck 2

                            Here are some more posts to check out     
Pattaya Hilton

Pattaya hotels, Hilton & Holiday Inn

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate. 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 
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Rio de Janeiro                  Singapore                    Eastern Europe
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    Bangkok Bars                         Tokyo                      Cape Town Safari
d0c59ff5-7f2b-41b5-9312-4556d4a62037          f5e9441a-4154-44e0-a362-18b662d40b48          2a2b79ea-bc5f-46e3-8448-2e71658eff14 
               Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book
                  through these links below.  Book now & pay later.
Free Cancellation. 
Bangkok Hotels                    Pattaya Hotels
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 That’s all folks

1g Duck

 

 

                        Here is a short video of the riverside

Istanbul river cruise Part 1
 

Here is my post on Istanbul city.

 

Head west for a while and you will arrive in Budapest.

 

Budapest was united from three cities in 1873 and seven years later the Diet resolved to establish a new, representative…

Posted by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com” on Monday, March 23, 2015

Take a look at the entire trip.

 

A stand out feature of this trip was my selection of hotels and apartments, everyone of them was in a perfect location…

Posted by Travel blogger Fivestarvagabond.com” on Thursday, March 26, 2015

Dubrovnik was fascinating,

 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 2 photos

Bangkok canal cruise longtail boat

January 7, 2015 by David Herd

Bangkok canal cruise

Bangkok canal cruise

Bangkok canal cruise in a long-tail boat, which is known as Ruea Hang Yao, a type of watercraft native to Southeast Asia, which uses a common automotive engine as a readily available and maintainable power-plant.

As you can see many of the waterfront homes resemble shanty towns, unlike other parts of the world including the Gold Coast in Australia and Fort Lauderdale north of Miami,where any home on the waterfront is usually an expensive mansion.

No luxury here

Bangkok canal cruise

In real estate terms this is what we call the poverty pack.

The daily catch

Bangkok canal cruise

Lunch is ready. 🙂

Bangkok canal cruise in a longtail boat

Bangkok canal cruise

The craft is designed to carry passengers on a river & may include a lightweight long canoe hull, up to 30 meters long, and a canopy. There is a great variation among these boats, some have evolved from traditional craft types, while others have a more improvised look, the sole defining characteristic is a second-hand car or truck engine.


What a huge engine

Bangkok canal cruise

And bloody noisy as you can imagine.

Waiting in the lock for the water to rise.

Bangkok canal cruise

Until recently, the canals of Bangkok accommodated many social, cultural, and commercial activities, functioning as important public places for residents of Thailand’s capital city. Dating from the founding of the city in 1782, the canals in Bangkok are of cultural importance to the Thai people, having originated as a means of providing security against attack, as a source of sustenance (food and water), as the focus of religious ceremonies and celebrations such as the Loy Kratong Festival, and as a site for recreational activities such as swimming and boating activities and competitions.  

Luxury waterfront home, I don’t think so.

Bangkok canal cruise

Faced with the combined threats of land subsidence and rising temperatures and sea levels, the World Bank has predicted that Bangkok’s flood risk will increase four-fold from now by 2050. Bangkok is among the top 10 cities in the world facing the biggest potential impact from coastal flooding by 2070. The Thai capital, built on swampland, is slowly sinking and the floods currently besieging Bangkok could be merely a foretaste of a grim future as climate change makes its impact felt, experts say.

She does not instill confidence

Bangkok canal cruise

The river and canals are very busy with water craft buzzing past at a rapid rate, on this day out driver was not at all concerned, but I can assure you we were. 🙂   Not everything goes to plan when you take a Bangkok canal cruise, here is a story from a Thai lady who works for the Bangkok Post.  So my advice is if an operator seems angry of unfriendly simply try another one until you are comfortable with your choice.  

Bangkok canal cruise Wat Khun Chan

Bangkok canal cruise

    From the Phasricharoen canal  

Wat Khun Chan Buddha

Bangkok canal cruise

Lots to see on a Bangkok canal cruise.

Genuine Louis Vuitton copies?

Bangkok canal cruise

A little river shopping for a bargain.

Waiting for a customer

Bangkok river buildingsIn the distance is Iconsiam shopping mall.

That’s all folks.

Bangkok canal cruise

Many thanks for joining me on  my Bangkok canal cruise photo blog.                             

Not everybody is happy on the river  

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A Vietnamese cargo ship ploughed into riverside houses along the Chao Phraya River in Phra Pradaeng district yesterday April 5t 2017, damaging three homes.

Residents fled to the streets in panic as the cargo ship loomed over them. Three houses were damaged, one badly, but nobody was injured.

iCheck Inn Soi 11

Bangkok Budget Sukhumvit Hotels

When I’m in Bangkok I like to stay in Sukhumvit Soi 11, here is an excellent budget hotel, if you USE THIS LINK you will get a great rate of around B1100 per night, or $30 USD.

 
  Here are some more posts to check out          
Holiday Inn

bbc35e6d-80db-4e1c-8f51-83dd84f16520

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

Sabai Wing North Pattaya

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The best Pattaya budget hotel, 3 pools & opposite Central Marina shopping mall. For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Sutus Court is a great budget hotel right i the heart of one of Pattaya’s main bar areas, just use THIS LINK for a terrific room rate. 420/100 Moo 9 Soi Buakhao.

Pattaya Hilton

Pattaya hotels, Hilton & Holiday Inn

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate. 

 Soi Cowboy                  Nana Plaza                    Patpong

 Soi Cowboy (5)           e1274c0c-cf4d-4406-b5dc-d9e8071e382e            8993ef02-ccf3-46a7-8b6d-fc11af9d93ad

 

 

 

Here is an excellent upmarket Bangkok shopping mall

 

Walk on the wild side in Soi Cowboy

 

Check out my Pattaya web cam here

 
 

Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 3 photos