Kyoto Garden, Holland Park

London is a stressful place, it is. So on my weekends, I am often looking for somewhere to escape. Japanese "zen" gardens seem like the ultimate place to regain some inner peace and sanity ... so I googled around a little and found the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park.

The reviews sounded very promising:

• "A jewel inside London...I cannot call it anything else other than a secret of London...I can only count a few people that were lucky enough to get lost in Holland Park and find this..."
• "Visit the beautiful Kyoto Gardens in Holland Park. The bridge at the foot of a waterfall is one of the city’s most peaceful spots."
• "One of my favourite spots in London ..."

and so on.

What I found was surely pretty! Look here:


But there was one big problem. The garden was taken over by hordes of inconsiderate people who were having picnics on the grass, smoking(!), chatting, letting their children run around and scream etc. Yet, the signs at the entrance to the garden clearly say, "Please respect this area as one set aside for quiet and contemplation. Please do not sit on the grass. Please do not allow children to play here. Please do not bring your dog into the garden. Please do not feed the fish. Please do not enjoy the peace and tranquility."

Admittedly, it was a sunny weekend and families were out, trying to have fun. But Holland Park itself is big enough for all that, so why take over this little gem as well! The one thing I was definitely not able to do was enjoy the peace and tranquility, because there were none.

I must make sure to come back on a cold, wet day when hopefully this place will be what it's supposed to be, and what I'm looking for, quiet!

Daunt Books: Prettiest Bookshop in London?

This weekend, I stopped by Daunt Books in Marylebone. It's a specialist bookshop of the best kind - travel. Ground floor - Europe. Basement - Asia, Africa, Americas etc. Upstairs - second-hand / vintage travel books. Did I mention the place was also extremely pretty? There are roof windows that bring in some lovely light.

On the ground floor and in the basement, there are ratan chairs and tables ... most welcoming. If I was a bookshop owner who loved books and people who read books, I would provide such comfortable chairs too. The basement was especially quiet andI sat there flipping through books of photos from Indonesia, books about Balinese home decor and so on ... does anyone actually buy these "coffee table books"? If I was a bookshop owner who loved money, I would definitely not provide such comfortable chairs.

P.S. Sorry the photos are not that great, I always feel a little guitly taking pictures in such places because it ruins the atmosphere. So I did it quickly, hoping that no one would notice.

Now, back in my armchair at home, the far shores are still calling me. I keep thinking of tranquil beaches, rice fields, massages and volcanoes ... Bali? Lombok? Gili Islands? Throw a dart on the map and see what happens?

Update: On Monday at lunchtime, I went to a travel agency and booked a flight to Jakarta for June. It was Monday, my work mailbox was overflowing with toxic emails from my boss, and I was feeling pretty down. I laughed and giggled and smiled all the way back to the office. ("The essence of pleasure is spontaneity." - a quote by Germaine Greer)

Daunt Books, 83-84 Marylebone High St, W1 (020 7224 2295/http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk/) Baker St tube. Open Mon-Sat 9am-7.30pm, Sun 11am-6pm.

Cabbages & Frocks Market, Marylebone

Wandering around Marylebone today, I came across the Cabbages & Frocks market. The name sounded so funny that just could not resist. It's a small Saturday market in the St. Marylebone Parish Church Grounds and it lives up to its name by selling all kinds of odd things - a whole stall dedicated to fabric flowers to pin to your jacket, frock, hat ... Apart from this, there were frocks, alright, but no cabbages.


But I wonder ... what was this pink autorickshaw doing there? London, London, you do have a sense of humour. You do.

Funfair comes to Turnham Green

I don't know about you, but I've been feeling a little depressed recently among all the recession gloom, lay-offs, swine flu, bad weather and all the other nonsense. So you can imagine my excitement when I spotted this funfair in Turnham Green. Finally something to cheer us all up!!!

Happiest workers in London?

How cute is that?