You want to go where, when???

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It was about now that I got an email from UL. Our flight from CMB-HKG had been cancelled. It took quite a bit of to and fro to manage a replacement. This was complicated by not having much leeway with regards to timing. The full discussion is here: Bereft in Bangalore

We were rebooked on BLR-CMB-SIN-HKG. The original was BLR-CMB-HKG.

That will leave us with a few hours in SIN, but only 1h20 in HKG. As long as there are no delays, that will be plenty of time. Of course the flight to HKG connects with the last HKG-SYD flight, which subsequently connects with SYD-AKL for the NZ dinner. All on different bookings of course. Oh well, we will cross that ocean when we come to it. :rolleyes:
 
kermatu said:
I'm guilty too, but agree that a single "I'm onboard" post was actually a good community thing and a nice signal to an OP that there are people interested in their TR. Not an issue for established members, but for someone venturing forth on their first TR I reckon it would be quite heartening. Guess we can use the buttons to show this now. (How about a "I'm onboard and sitting on JohnM's lap" button?)
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Valid points.
 
dxwell said:
Hi Jessica, have you hired a car to get around?
Doing some planning for our July trip and it looks the best option - although I am worried about the whisky distillery visits in Scotland
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You could use a mixture of trains and coaches but it will be pricey. If you can work around the drink driving factor then a car is definitely the better option.
 
dxwell said:
Hi Jessica, have you hired a car to get around?
Doing some planning for our July trip and it looks the best option - although I am worried about the whisky distillery visits in Scotland
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The legal blood alcohol limit is very low in Scotland. Put me off hiring a car on my visit last year.
 
dxwell said:
Hi Jessica, have you hired a car to get around?
Doing some planning for our July trip and it looks the best option - although I am worried about the whisky distillery visits in Scotland
Click to expand...
We have been using public transport extensively. We hired a car on Harris/Lewis, though, as the buses are not frequent.
 
We headed back to Paddington Station for our first 'proper' train experience. The HEX doesn't really count, does it?

The statue of Brunel near Paddington Bear was partitioned off, but we did find this one. Brunel was instrumental in the construction of the Great Western Railway, and numerous tunnels and bridges.

Cardiff Brunel statue.jpg

As luck would have it, the train we had for Cardiff bore his name.Cardiff Brunel train.jpg

Cardiff has been the home of the BBC studios for Doctor Who and Torchwood since the Doctor’s revival. Unfortunately an exhibition of all things Doctor closed a little over a year ago, which is a loss for Cardiff.

We were staying at the HH Cardiff for two nights, so that gave us a chance to explore. The 8X bus took us down to the bay where we had a wander. For £8 we took a tour boat up the river and back, followed by lunch at the Norway Church.

Our view from the HH Cardiff
Cardiff view from HH.jpg

The church had been dismantled and put in storage for many years when the land it was on was needed for the redevelopment. A campaign to have it rebuilt was started, and the lobby group was chaired for a time by Roald Dahl, who was born in Cardiff and christened at the Norway Church. Eventually the church was rebuilt within sight of its previous location. It now houses a cafe and function room downstairs and a gallery for local artists upstairs. Edit: nice coffee!

Norway Church (1).jpg

Whilst I had ticked off one Torchwood location that morning, (the tower near the secret entrance) I was keen for a couple more. Ianto’s shrine is just near where the tourist boats dock. Some of the messages were quite poignant.

Torchwood tower 01 (1).jpg

We took the (£1) bus back into the city and I walked along “Diagon Alley” (from Dr Who and the Face the Raven episode). Alas I could not spot the ‘gap in the wall’ where it was entered from in the episode.

I didn’t take a photo but here is one I have taken from DW-Clara-Doctor-Face-the-Raven - Blogtor Who of the alleyway.

Clara-Doctor-Face-the-Raven.jpg

Hopefully Cardiff get their act together and re-establish the Dr Who experience.

Oh, while I think of it, a huge shout out to the HH Cardiff for their breakfast spread. I ordered an omelette, and boy did I get an omelette:
Cardiff HH omelette.jpg
Delicious.
 
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Manchester was an overnight stop for us, so not much tome to look around. We had a walk that evening to find dinner and found the architecture once again quite outstanding. It seems England doesn’t know how to do boring buildings - not that we could see, anyway. A magnificent round building turned out to be the library, so we did a quick lap before finding a spot for dinner.

Manchester dinner.jpg
We had a good feed and a drink for not much money. It was very busy, and only got busier while we were there. Tables were at a premium. Oh, they had Fosters on tap.

The next morning I was first up and in the shower. Have you ever had a moment that is so unexpected it leaves you speechless? Well I did. Turning on he shower produces this:
Manchester Ibis shower green.jpg

Before it warms up and becomes this:
Manchester Ibis shower blue.jpg

And then when the temperature climbs, finally this:
Manchester Ibis shower red.jpg

I have only three words for that experience - I want one!
 
JessicaTam said:
Manchester was an overnight stop for us, so not much tome to look around. We had a walk that evening to find dinner and found the architecture once again quite outstanding. It seems England doesn’t know how to do boring buildings - not that we could see, anyway. A magnificent round building turned out to be the library, so we did a quick lap before finding a spot for dinner.

View attachment 155517
We had a good feed and a drink for not much money. It was very busy, and only got busier while we were there. Tables were at a premium. Oh, they had Fosters on tap.

The next morning I was first up and in the shower. Have you ever had a moment that is so unexpected it leaves you speechless? Well I did. Turning on he shower produces this:
View attachment 155518

Before it warms up and becomes this:
View attachment 155519

And then when the temperature climbs, finally this:
View attachment 155520

I have only three words for that experience - I want one!
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Which Hilton was it? Deansgate?
 
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JessicaTam said:
The church had been dismantled and put in storage for many years when the land it was on was needed for the redevelopment. A campaign to have it rebuilt was started, and the lobby group was chaired for a time by Roald Dahl, who was born in Cardiff and christened at the Norway Church. Eventually the church was rebuilt within sight of it’s previous location. It now houses a cafe and function room downstairs and a gallery for local artists upstairs. Edit: nice coffee!
Click to expand...

Do I dare put something in the grammar thread...?;):eek::D
 
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