Hoover Dam

Whilst i had been to Las Vegas a couple of times before, and had been on the fairly standard trip to Grand Canyon, I had not ventured to Hoover Dam.

Therefore decided to drive out and was slightly surprised how close it was to Las Vegas, as despite the traffic being quite busy it only took me about 45 mins. Took the extended one hour tour, which includes the power plant and some less known areas (such as the 750 off stairway to heaven - look at rather than go up!). Weather, as it has been for my time in Vegas, was bright sunshine with temperature in high 50s.

Photos here

Las Vegas

The drive to Las Vegas was about 3 1/2 hours through mountain/desert on Interstate 15. Slight problem when i arrived when receptionist at my accomodation (Signature suites which are part of MGM complex) could not find my reservation and when she rang through was told it had been cancelled by Get A Room (the website i booked through). This was a bit of a surprise to me (and Get A Room when i spoke to them) but eventually they resolved between themselves.

So managed to see the big NBA match of the day on TV (Miami v LA) and also spend some time in MGM Casino (mixed results). I have booked to see both Jerry Seinfeld and Penn/Teller which will keep me out of the casinos for some of the evenings.

Took some photos of Vegas at night - here.

ps good to see normal service resumed in cricket.

Rancho Cucamonga

Flight left an hour late but managed to pick up most of this during flight, so landed around 15-20 mins late. Immigration was the normal fun US event and then took bus to pick up hire car (which was probably around 15-20 mins away, a bit of a surprise but given the size of LAX perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise).

Slight misunderstanding at the car hire place, you book in and you then choose a car from the class you have selected and it gets registered against you when you drive out. Rental of GPS soon showed itself to be a sensible approach, as whilst i had fairly good directions to the hotel i am not sure they would have helped a great deal in a dark evening in LA. Eventually arrived at around 7pm local time, 5am London time.

Tomorrow i do sightseeing here (which is prob 5 mins) and then drive to Las Vegas.

ps sightseeing photos here.

The final trip of my sabattical

Returning to general travel chaos, the likelihood of being able to get to the US for Xmas appeared quite thin. But the weather has generally been ok and Heathrow is now back to around 90% service.

So I have booked in on-line for flight to Los Angeles (which encouragingly was on time today) and checked in to a hotel near Heathrow to avoid the hassle of going around M25 for mid-morning flight. I would normally just make an early start, but the fear of a burst of snow either making roads near home tricky, or affecting M25 seem to make an overnight stay seem sensible.

Fingers crossed for the morning.........

ps of course just to add to the excitement, California has been hit by floods so it might be an interesting drive when i get there!

The return journey (the end)

So plane took off 24 hours late and flight was uneventful.

Landed about 20 mins late (7-15pm) but then took a while to taxi and baggage reclaim was not surprisingly chaotic (lots of bags without passengers, passengers without bags, full flights and no luggage being checked through so everyone collected). So got into car just before 9 and arrived home about an hour later.

Temperature in house is currently 7 degrees, so heating is now on overdrive and just checking where all my jumpers are...................

The return journey (part 4)

The earlier (11-05) London flight has now been postponed until 14-00, so i am currently booked on the earliest flight to London.....................
Gate has opened for my flight so they obviously think it might take off....................
Whether its boards, how far it gets, and what airport it lands at, are of course questions that no-one can answer...........

The return journey (part 3)

11-00 flight canceled
Now seem to be booked on 11-05 flight................
Of course whether/what time it takes off......................
10 mins later i am told that this flight is full, and i have been moved to the same flight time as yesterday (12.55)......................

The return journey (part 2)

8-00 arrived at Airport and checked in for 11-00 flight................
9-00 now showing as canceled......................

Finally the title of this blog has some meaning.............

Arrived Singapore airport.........
Checked in on time...........
"No problems, earlier flight got away ok".............
Departed on time....................
2 hours into flight, Captain announced that we had started journey back to Singapore because Heathrow (and most of Europe) closed ........................
Starts again tomorrow (Monday) with flight provisionally booked for 11am. In meantime to be fair i am locked up in a decent 5 star hotel with meals paid for, so things could be worse.

And of course England lost the cricket!!!

LangKawi

So after a day and a half in Melbourne, i started my journey back via Langkawi. Flight from Melbourne to Singapore was followed by an hour or so flight to Langkawi, arriving around 8pm. A 40 odd minute taxi journey took me to my resort (home until Saturday).

Langkawi seems to be one of those places that forces you to slow down. Warm weather, blue skies, a host of islands in the distance........... However knowing that this was the start of my re-acclimatisation to the work environment (back Jan) i decided that i needed to get back into the swing of things, so the days have been spent broadly following the same pattern:

Breakfast
Read paper including business pages
Check internet for articles about RBS and banking in general
Lunch
Gym
Writing draft strategy paper for presentation when back at work
Dinner
Check FT on-line, read book on management theory

And if you believe that you are more of a fool than i think you are................

So my days have actually been spent:

Breakfast
Pool - swim, listen to ipod, read (just finishing Ian Rankin novel)
Lunch
More pool, massage
Dinner
Relax (you need to be able to unwind after a hard day you know)

Some photos here.

Great Ocean Road (part 2)

Leaving Apollo Bay, i took the Great Ocean Road again on my way to Melbourne. This part of the road is slightly different, you are driving closer to the sea and the road runs past a number of smaller bays/creeks with a number of beaches that attract surfers. There are a few small towns (such a Lorne) which i imagine attract the Melbourne crowd at the weekend.

Photos here.

I now have a day and a half in Melbourne, before leaving Australia and returning home via Singapore/Malaysia. I can only hope that Heathrow will have warmed up by the time i return in a weeks time.

Great Otway National Park

Ever since arriving in Australia, i have listened to news reports about the terrible weather being experienced. There has been significant flooding, people being forced out of homes and some fatalities. It was therefore certain that at some stage i would run into some poor weather and the last 48 hours have seen heavy intermittent rain.

Staying in Apollo Bay for two nights, i spent some time travelling around the Great Otway National Park. As well as having a number of interesting stops, the drive is scenic and the winding roads force you to slow down and enjoy the views. Main highlights being the Otway Fly which enables you to get great views from tree level and Triplet Falls.

Photos here.

Great Ocean Road

Stunning.

The pictures tell the story.........

Port Fairy

Left Robe fairly early and started the drive to Port Fairy (around 300km). Once again it was a combination of rural farmland, forestry and coastal routes. Mainly along the A1, with occasional detours to see a variety of sights. These included Tantanoola caves and the Blue Lake at Mount Gambier. The lake changes colour in November to a pure blue which it keeps throughout the summer, apparently this is due to Limestone crystals that come to the water surface during the winter months and therefore create a darker colour. The lake is in a volcanic crater. The short 45 min tour was an interesting way to understand the history of the site (which includes a former land world speed holder driving into Lake - managing to jump out along the way, and an intrepid horseman (and poet*) jumping the permiter fence and was lucky that a ledge broke his fall).


Arrived Port Fairy late afternoon. Similar to Robe its a fairly small town but seems to have a bit more too it and appears slightly more prosperous. The best way to spend an hour or so (as recommended by hotel receptionist) is a walk around Griffiths Island which is a few minutes from the town centre. As well as a range of bird life, there are a number of wallabies on the island.


Photos of journey and Port Fairy - here.


*Adam Lindsay Gordon, who not surprisingly lived a short and eventful life, committing suicide at the age of 37. He is the only Australian poet buried in Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Robe

Picked up car in Adelaide and commenced drive to Melbourne including Great Ocean Road. First stop Robe which is about a 4 hour drive across scenic South Australia farm land, along and then across (by Ferry at Wellington) the Murray river and then alongside lakes until getting to the coast. Photos of the journey here.

Robe itself is a small but historical seaside location which is apparently a summer retreat for Adelaide town folk. A one road town its not the liveliest of places but has a relaxed feel. Photos here.

Adelaide

With the early finish in test match, i thought i might get an afternoon to look around Adelaide but the poor weather (which has been prevalent in east of Australia for some time) came in and storms appear to have settled in for the rest of the day.

So i have been in Adelaide for 5 days and only really got an overview of the city. That view has been favourable (other than a rather ungenerous Casino!) with the centre quite compact but with a fair amount of open space. People quite friendly (despite result!)

Couple of photos here.

Adelaide Test - Day Five

Well, a third of day five actually!

As soon as Hussey got out (poor shot) then it all seemed very inevitable but the speed of Australia's collapse was a surprise. To be honest they played like an England team of old, little confidence and too many players apparently in poor form. Given rain set in from around 1pm, it would only have required Australia to survive until lunchtime and they would have got away with a draw.

So England deservedly go one up in the series. A real change from day two in Brisbane where Hussey/Haddin seemed to put that match in Australia's hands. Since then......

Cook has looked like he could bat forever............
He has found a good partner in Trott................
Pietersen has come to the fore...............
Swann has bowled like the number two bowler in the world (his current rating) and Australia have been unable to dominate him the way they looked to early in Brisbane..........
Anderson (apart from start of second innings) has looked more likely to take wickets than the Australian quicks............
Finn, despite looking ordinary at times, has taken a number of wickets.

According to Australian radio commentators, North, Bollinger, Doherty are all in danger of being dropped and Katich is out for the rest of the season.

Momentum all with England

Adelaide Test - Day Four

Day four finished and still all to play for.

After some early hitting by England and then a declaration, Australia survived with all of the main batsmen (excluding Ponting who left the field to the slightly unfair chant of "Your getting sacked in the morning*") played sensibly, had a bit of luck and got some support from the weather (although not as much as feared at one stage).

A final over wicket from KP, leaves a new ball and new batsmen in the morning. And more rain expected............


* a slight variation on the My Fair Lady song!

Adelaide Test - Day Three

After a while its gets a bit boring!! Having to endlessly stand up and applaud another Englishman can become a bit tiring.

150 partnership.......
Cook's innings (has he really been dismissed after all that time?!?).......
Pietersen's hundred............
100 partnership...........
200 ahead...........
Pietersen's 150...............
Another majestic four from Bell................
Pietersen's 200
300 ahead..............


Not necessarily in that order and some other's missing.

And then the rain came. Can that save Australia?

Adelaide Test - Day Two

Day one was a good day for England, day two would confirm how good a day.

With Strauss going after three balls, the normal English conservatism (ok well pessimism) kicked in again amongst English supporters, would we repeat Australia's performance? Then Cook and Trott just continued where they left off at Brisbane and just batted, batted some more and continued batting. Trott gave a couple of chances but overall it was very easy with both batsmen dealing with a fairly ordinary attack. The biggest surprise was Trott getting himself out and apart from a not unusual chaotic start from Pietersen it was all England.

Already ahead, its now a question of how many England score and ..................the weather. Showers are forecast from Sunday/Monday, with potential for heavier rain on Tuesday.

Adelaide Test - Day one

Good seat, right by the boundary in East Stand. Thankfully in shade until early afternoon and then the sun screen comes into full use as temperature gets to about 32 degrees.

Weird start to the day. Australia started in self destruct mode which Anderson took full advantage off (well not quite i guess as he dropped a hard return catch from Hussey which would have made it 12-4) but 2-3 (or 3 for 2 as the Australians say) was their worse start ever in test cricket.

On what everyone was saying was a perfect wicket (we will see tomorrow) Australia then got some momentum at various stages but continued to lose wickets - England bowled well but to be honest the batting was quite ordinary from Australia.

Advantage very much with England day one.

Indian Pacific

Back from Broome for a night in Perth and then the train journey to Adelaide. Over 2500km, this departs Perth Wednesday lunchtime and arrives (having made a couple of stops), first thing Friday in Adelaide. For those intrepid enough, you can continue on to Sydney arriving Saturday AM (making the whole journey 4,352km and 65 hours!).

The route has looked to move upmarket following competition from low price airlines that now provide an easy and cheap alternative for getting to/from Western Australia. As such it plays on the train experience rather than pure travel, with different classes (Red, Gold, Platinum) catering for different pockets. Food is surprisingly good and whilst its not the Orient Express (not that I have actually travelled on that) its a relaxed and comfortable journey.

Stops include:
Kalgoorlie which was the centre on the gold rush in the 1890's and is now the largest single open cut mining operation, including the Superpit Gold Mine which is more than 400m deep and over 3.3km long. Took a quick coach tour of this small but prosperous community, which still retains its mining charm (bar room brawls, brothels etc...).

Cook, once a thriving railway settlement, it now only has a handful of residents and is one of the most isolated outposts. Situated in the middle of the vast Nullarbor Plain, which is much of the backdrop for the journey during Thursday (including over 470kms of straight track).

Overall a very leisurely and enjoyable way to spend a couple of days. Photos here.

Broome

A couple of hours flight north from Perth, takes you to Broome. You notice the change in temperature and humidity getting up to mid/high 30s. To the west of Darwin, it has a similar feel although appears a lot smaller. It almost has a “wild west” feel to it and apparently the evening pub entertainment has got a lot more civilised over years, now advancing to a Wet T Shirt competition and vicars/tarts disco.

End November is around the beginning of the wet season and the town has a bit of a deserted feel to it. I knew before I came that I might be lucky to get on some of the day trips as the roads could be effected by bad weather and many of the tour companies close down around now. I managed to get on one trip to Cape Leveque – which was a full day (around three hours drive both ways - 50:50 on sealed rounds/tracks) and time to discover a few aboriginal setllements, Pearl Farm and Hatchery. The tour operator had given up banking around 6 years ago and gone for a complete change of pace/lifestyle – albeit was returning to his country roots.
(note to self : investigate North Kent tourist opportunities when I get back). Photos here.

Broome sees a mixed community of Aboriginal people and white european population. Most of the land around Broome is subject to various Native Rights claims which sees land being transferred back to Aboriginal ownership (although structure seems quite complicated). Relationship between the two ethnic groups seems fairly relaxed (albeit the fairly racist taxi driver that took me back to the airport had different views) which given the history of abuse of aboriginal people is quite an accomplishment. There are however still a number of issues. Around 80-90% of aboriginal working age population lives off welfare payments from the state and there appears limited employment opportunities (tourism but mainly in Summer, some mining activity but this involves significant travel) or much incentive to work. There also seems to be a signficant amount of general support services that look to combat some of the integration issues (alchohol having been a major problem for aboriginal communities). Overall the area appears to be making quite a bit of progress but until some more balance can be achieved in working population then the imbalance will continue.

Other photos of Broome here.

Ps managed to catch some of the first test which saw England recover from a first innings deficit and end the test with the greater momentum. On to Adelaide and its clear that the series is going to be a challenging and interesting one.

Perth

Arrived in Perth, via Singapore, around 1am. Thankfully, a quick trip through immigration, bag quickly provided and a short taxi ride to the hotel, meant that i was there around 45mins later.

Perth is famous for being the most remote city in the world and has a fairly relaxed but impressive feel to it. The centre appears quite busy but most of the activity seems to take place on/around the waterfront (apparently one in three families own a boat here).

Based on advice before i came out, i left Perth and took an hour boat ride down to Freemantle. Freemantle is smaller than Perth and a good place to slowly spend a day/half day. Took some time to go around the Western Australia Maritime Museum which was fairly low key but included a fair amount on Australia 2, the boat that won the Americas Cup in the 1980's.

Photos here

Hanoi

My final location in Vietnam was Hanoi. The furthest north of my three stops, its the capital and has a different feel to both Hue and Ho Chi Minh. Hue is quite small and relaxed, HCM is like most bustling far eastern capitals (but is not capitol), Hanoi is somewhere in between. Obviously its busy and the streets demonstrate the same chaos seen in HCM, but it seems to have more history, more space (probably down to a number of parks and lakes) and a bit more to it.

I spent my first afternoon just getting a general feel for the place, and then took a full day tour on the second day. Whilst i had been slightly surprised with how modern some of the historical Hue sights had been, this was different - the oldest unversity formed in 1076 and other sites that went back further. Tour also combined the modern side, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which was built in the 1970's. Now i have seen a few tombs on this trip, which have all had the body enclosed and not open to anyone immediately after completed. So slightly surpised to see the old man lying there, body preserved in a cool room and appearing just to be in a deep sleep. Given you are ushered around quite quickly (there are no shortage of national guard in the place) did not get a great look but seemed slightly unusual.

Pictures are here and here

East v West ........different cultures

One of the things that surprised me when i was travelling around Europe, was the obdience that pedestrians showed to traffic lights. There seemed to be an amercian approach to "jaywalking", ie you only cross the road when the green man says you can. I was often amazed when all age groups would stand at the lights waiting to cross, when you had a clear view for miles of the lack of oncoming traffic. Maybe there is a new EU directive which has yet to reach the UK, but i adopted my usual approach - ie dont walk on red when there are old people or kids about, but at other times just be sensible.

Now i recognise that i actually have more in common with far eastern culture. To be fair its the motorbikes which take the view that green/red lights are purely advisory (and therefore discretionary), and if there is a gap, or a half gap, or a quarter gap, or there might be a gap...... they just move forward. As a pedestrian i have decided that waiting for the green man in the far east is probably a fairly sensible approach, but when he turns up you just walk........dont look,,,,,,,,try to ignore the hooting...........remember you have right of way............... and just walk (ideally at an even pace) and remarkably they will MISS YOU.

Of course when i get to Australia then i will probably need to be a bit more careful. Now i am not saying that Australian drivers are dangerous (although some states do have strange rules about being able to turn right even if its a red light) but they can spot a Pom a mile off and if they are not going to win the cricket then they might get their retaliation in early.

The Ashes are coming - can you make out what they are singing (part 2)

Expect the Barmy Army to start off fairly early with this one:

Convict Colony

(To the tune of Yellow Submarine)

In the town where I was born, there lived a man who was a thief
And he told me of his life, stealing bread and shagging sheep.
So they put him in the nick, and then a magistrate he went to see
He said "put him on a ship, to the convict colony"
You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony
You all live in a convict colony, a convict colony, a convict colony

Hue

Hue is in the central belt of Vietnam, and was for a period in the 19th /20th century the capital. A lot smaller than Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, it has a relaxed and cultured feel to it. Badly effected by war, it is going through a significant and long term ("50 year") restoration process for many of the historical areas. This was boosted by Unesco "World Heritage Site" listing in 1993 and much of the renovation is being sponsored by overseas support.

The city is dominated by the Perfume River and the Citadel that sits on its banks. This is one of the areas that is receiving greatest attention and as i walked round there were a number of workman in action. It seems to be undertaken in a unrushed and considered way. The Citadel is a vast area and consisted of living , religious and administrative areas for the Emperor- started at the beginning of 19th century. Pictures are here.

Outside of Hue are a number of historical sites - pagodas, temples and mausoleums. I spent a day on a guided tour which covered the four most popular sites. All are impressive in their individual way and certainly a peaceful change to the noise of Ho Chi Minh City. What slightly surprised me was the age of some of the buildings, i had not expected to be walking around sites constructed in the early 20th century - they all had a much more historical feel to them. If you think that the war with America was 40 years or so later, it just seems slightly strange. Pictures here.

Sometimes there is a downside in staying in nice hotels......

The Intercontinental Ashiana in Ho Chi Minh City was very impressive. Good size room, decent wireless connection, spa/pool/gym, pleasant and attentive staff, varied TV channels (as demonstrated by previous post), good restaurant and of course...........bar.

The bar was called Purple Jade and was announcing the "musical talents of famous Canadian singer Karen Manion. Now I have nothing personally against Karen. Her style is cabaret/lounge/X Factor which appeals to some people (but i am in Simon Cowell's camp on this one) and she stuck to that style regardless of song.

Her rendition of James Blunt "Beautiful" was "interesting" (you are right it was the radio 2 version excluding the one F word)....................

her rendition of Wonderwall was a bit bizarre (although there are not many who could get anywhere close to the British Lions live 1997 version)..............

but when she went onto Amy Winehouse "Rehab" not only was i the one saying "no, no, no" but i had to check 1) whether i was the only one laughing and 2) whether she could see me (thankfully the bar had lots of dark cubicles).

And then at the end i heard the applause!!

Ho Chi Minh City

A long flight to Singapore, scheduled 5 hour wait for connecting flight and 1 1/2 hour flight to HCM left me feeling slightly tired on arrival. That said large Asian towns dont do quiet/relaxed so the drive from the airport did the job of waking me up.

Motorbikes are the vehicle of choice and the driving technique common for Asia (go forward, hoot, go forward hoot, hopefully miss, go forward). But it somehow seems to work as whilst there is a lot of traffic it seems to move (eventually).

I only had one full day here, so decided on the standard half day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and then to walk around the centre (given hotel is right in heart) PM. The tunnels are interesting and whilst the Vietnamese frame is smaller than its European equivalent, it must still have been a claustrophobic environment. That said they only stayed there when the French and then the US were searching in the area so this was probably days rather than weeks at a time. Still, will not have been the most pleasant area to spend much time in.

Slightly effected by torrential rain in the afternoon but managed to get round the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. The Museum is the sort of place that you have to visit and whilst shocking and painful in some areas, very worthwhile.


Pictures here.

p.s. - writing this whilst watching recording of Ebbsfleet Town v Wimbledon on Star Sports. Must make a note to add this to my Sky Sports and ESPN subscriptions.

Updated tour dates announced...................

24th Dec - Fly to Los Angeles then drive to Las Vegas

Staying at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay for 5 nights

Arrive back in UK 30th Dec.

Back to work..............................getting too close when i get back.

Slight change (19/11):

Decided a full drive to Vegas after the flight was probably not a good idea, so staying in Rancho Cucamonga (now don't tell me its not on your list of must visit towns) on the 24th and then driving to Las Vegas.

Final day Paris

Happened to be armistice day

Pictures here.

The Ashes are coming - can you make out what they are singing (part 1)

Ok, so to start off with an easy one:

Singer : Everywhere we go
Crowd : Everywhere we go
The people want to know
The people want to know
Who we are
Who we are
Where we come from
Where we come from
Shall we tell them
Shall we tell them
Who we are
Who we are
Where we come from
Where we come from
We are the England
We are the England
The Mighty Mighty England
The Mighty Mighty England
We are the Army
We are the Army
The Barmy Barmy Army
The Barmy Barmy Army
Andrew Strauss's Barmy Army
Etc Etc

Paris

Paris is the one city that i was visiting that i know fairly well. Given its so easy to get to and the regular rugby opportunities (RWC 2007 - how did we get to the final with such a poor team?!?* and Six Nation thrashings) i have been there quite a bit. As such these couple of days have been more about:

- seeing some familiar sites (Lourve, Jardin du Luxembourg - my favourite park in Paris);
- just walking around taking in the Parisien way of life;
- and seeing some new sites - i had not been for example to the Jardin des Plantes which is part of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle.

Pictures here.

*That tournament cost me a packet. I had been lucky enough to get to the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Given England's form going into that event, i was confident enough just to book the quarter finals onwards - with some confidence that i would see England in more than one match (ok half time against the Welsh in the quarter final was a bit touch and go but we got through didn't we!) Going into the 2007 event, i had managed to book a "Follow England" package which got me tickets basicaly for as long as England played in the event. But to be honest i thought they would struggle and only booked travel and hotel options for the pool games. As things progressed i ended up trying to book trains/hotel at the last minute (the day after each time England won to get through to the next stage ) which was a bit expensive. It ended up costing me more than my three week trip to Australia in 2003. And we ended up losing the final in 2007!

It had to happen eventually............

2-46pm on train sitting somewhere between Brussels and Paris......

Should have arrived in Paris at 1-56pm......

To be fair this is the first serious delay on my travels, apparently a TGV hit something ahead of us.

At least the train has decent Wi-fi.

Now just need to hope they sort out the problems with the A380's before my flight next week with Singapore Airlines. A few hours delay on a train on a wet afternoon on my way to Paris is fine, delay on flight to Vietnam via Singapore would be less fun.

Cologne

Assuming that nobody from the Cologne Tourist Board is tracking my blog, i am fairly safe in admitting that Cologne was not on my original list of places to visit. I had my journey to Prague planned and then was looking to return via Vienna and Paris. However i could not see a way to do this comfortably within the two week period, hence the need to find an alternative route back (yes i guess i could have changed the early part of my trip and perhaps reversed the trip but it was getting too confusing!). So eventually the overnight train from Prague to Cologne seemed like a fairly efficient way back.

So its probably unfair to compare Cologne to the other (all capital) cities that i have visited. It was however a good way to spend a lazy Sunday (and indeed Monday as a lot of places were closed) despite the weather turning cold and wet for the early part of the stay.

Highlights included a visit to the Sculpture Park and also Cologne Zoo. I always have mixed thoughts about Zoos, taking animals out of there natural habitat etc.. but this one seemed well laid out and animal friendly. Strange however to be right in the centre of town (you can see some of the apartment blocks in the photos).


Pictures here.

Why Train?

I am not a railway buff or a trainspotter, although i was excited to see three S450 locomotives on my trip from Berlin to Prague. So why travel around by train rather than plane or car?


Well to be honest i am not sure, other than it seemed like a good idea - and generally speaking it has been. The journeys have actually gone quite quickly - i was slightly worried that i would get bored on a 3-4 hour train journey but a combination of book,laptop,ipod and interesting scenery has meant that has not happened. It has been remarkably easy, everywhere has instructions in English including details of which carriage is at each end of the train (and the fact that on most journeys you need seat reservations actually makes things easier). Its certainly been a lot easier and probably quicker than flying which would have been an option on each of the journeys.

Thoroughly recommended.





*Only joking about the S450 locomotives by the way, could not find anything on wikipedia to make out i knew about trains so just made it up.

Prague

This was my first time in Prague and i was not sure what to expect. Many have said that its one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but it has become stag party capital of Europe - how does that comfortably sit side by side?

To be honest i am not sure it does. Yes the old town is quite stunning and the views from the castle are very impressive. There is character all around the place and generally speaking the architecture has been well matched over the years. But in other places it struggles to combine old and new and has characteristics that reflect it is still trying to catch up with the rest if Western Europe economically. Wherever you go in the world there are people trying to entice you into one restaurant rather than another but here it seemed less charming than other places. And the variety of people encouraging you from early evening into the local "cabaret" don't add to the atmosphere.

Most European cities are now trying to encourage the upper end traveller and Prague will need to decide whether it wants to remain a party city or takes steps such as those adopted by Dublin to try and move up market. I enjoyed my couple of days here but i suspect in a few years time it will either be a lot better or lot worse place to go.

Picture here

Stats:

Books read - one yes i have finished The Millennium Trilogy. I have now decided to attempt a much more challenging and controversial read - Peter Kay : "Saturday Night Peter"

Weather - good, dry and warm for most of the time. It did rain from around midday on Saturday, but i somehow managed to cope by finding a sports bar that showed both the Bolton v Spurs match and then the England v New Zealand rugby. Shame about the result.

I guess i am actually travelling quite a distance.........

View Train around Europe in a larger map



(ok, so i have only now worked out how to play with Google Maps - and you have to open larger map to see all locations. Be warned, more may follow)

Berlin

Berlin is the only city where i am spending three nights. Thats partly because its quite a distance from Amsterdam so i spend more time travelling and arrive late PM, and secondly because its a city i have not been to before. Staying at Novotel and whilst when i arrived i thought it was at bit out of the way, once i had undertaken the standard city bus tour i realised that actually Berlin is quite compact and i was close to a lot of the main areas.

Its probably a city that would have been fascinating before the fall of the Wall (or shortly thereafter) but the city has a more historic feel that means that actually the period between WW2 and fall of Wall is but a small part of its heritage. Much of the city was of course devastated during WW2 but the historical buildings that have survived are quite stunning and give a glimpse to what must have been one of the most impressive European Cities in the 18th and 19th century. Work post unification has been significant (scary to think thats 20 years ago).

Overall quite impressed. Pictures here.

Amsterdam

I guess Amsterdam never changes.......

Canals...

Strange smells coming out of Strabucks....

Friendly young (and old) ladies waving from their front room...

More canals.....

Pictures here

Brussels

One and a half days spent in Brussels, following arrival by Eurostar Thursday lunchtime. I had not been to Brussels since i was a child, but to be honest i dont think it will have changed a great deal. Fairly compact it was easy to walk around helped by bright but chilly autumn weather.

Photos can be seen at picasa site. Now i am off to Amsterdam, another place that i have not visited since childhood. Last time i remember at some stage being told by my parents to "just look forward or look at the ground - don't look at the windows!" i wonder what the view will be like now.

Stats:
Hotel - NH du Grand Sablon, comfortable but lacked a bit of character. Well located in Sablon area which seemed to be the antiques area.

Food - found a good french restuarant "L'Estrille"and a Thai "Lotus Bar"

Books - finished "The girl who played with fire" on train to Amsterdam, so that leaves me with one part of the trilogy to go.

Not long until the Ashes

Just wondering whether Marston's are going to launch a new set of adverts for the Ashes or whether Fosters are going to try and hit back. When Australia toured in 2009 they were greeted with the images above.

Europe Tour Dates

Perhaps not as widely anticipated as U2's latest world tours but the final rail journey plans are:

28th Oct - London to Brussels
30th Oct - Brussels to Amsterdam
1st Nov - Amsterdam to Berlin
4th Nov - Berlin to Prague
6th Nov - Prague to Cologne
9th Nov - Cologne to Paris
11th Nov - Paris to London

Final thoughts on Philidelphia

So arrived back in London 6am Monday morning.

The bridge finished for us on Saturday evening. After the main event we played a long Imp Pairs competition (two days qualifier/two and a half day final) ending up 30th in 72 pair final. But for one poor session in final we would have ended up a more reasonable top ten finish and with more momentum might have had a chance. We then endured the closing ceremony that was not the greatest advert for a game looking to widen its appeal to the young and the poker fraternity

Brief thoughts on Phili:

Good vibe helped by the fact that the home team was in the baseball play-offs which created exciting atmosphere.

Well laid out. Traditional numbers by names (mostly trees) road layout. The city had been influenced by planners that had spent time in Paris and so the large museum/cultural area had large boulevards and lots of open space.

Friendly people. Most of the time in the states that you hear "you guys have such a great accent" you smile politely and walk away but for some reason it did not seem so cheesy there.

Good weather - mids 70's in October seems a lot more acceptable than the cold that greeted me at Heathrow

Stats :
Books read : 1 "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"(ok i know its been out for a long time but i only really get to read novels on holiday)
I Pod Tunes of Choice : mainly on shuffle
Quality of Flights: BA might be the "World's favourite airline" but it would not be in my top ten. Nothing in particular to complain about but the general atmosphere is wrong and they still seem to struggle with the concept that the customer is more important than the crew.
Blackberry: still untouched

Philadelphia

So Saturday brings the first day off from Bridge since arrival last weekend.

Paul's blog provides details of our performance to date but in summary:

- Random stuff warming up in the Regional;

- Did well to qualify from tough group in the main qualifying for Rosenblum. No mega stars but a solid group which was close from the outset. I think most of the team did travel with hope rather than expectation that we would qualify but i only found out later that my 33% chance of qualifying was possibly at the upper end of expectations!

- Drawn against Irish in round of 64. Certainly had chances, leading after first quarter, close going into last set but lost a few more on the way out.

- The rest of the team now move to the Open Pairs, with Paul and I having a few days off before the start of the Imp Pairs.

To try and get my bearings i took one of those city centre tourist bus trips. These can vary from extremely poor to being a great way of seeing the city. This was certainly at the better end and had the advantage of being able to jump off/on at different places, with another bus coming 20 mins later. As well as being able to spend some time at different places of interest (trip was more of a chance to decide where to visit later in the week) it enabled you to change your tour host when their "wit" / "enthusiasm" became too much to bear. To see the photos of the tour go to my Picasa site . Main point of interest was the Eastern State Penitentiary which was the first of its kind in the world and was replicated in many places.

Day one

So finished work Thursday for three months. With flight to Phili tomorrow lunchtime day one consisted of last part of packing - ok so that means moving from the planning (" i know the suitcase is somewhere") to action/panic stage.

Blackberry has gone into the drawer to hibernate for three months and so far i have not really felt the desire to just double check whats going on in the real world of work.

With Ryder Cup badly effected by rain, day one has also consisted of stopping myself from sampling the delights of daytime TV. Jeremy Kyle, Loose Women etc... are likely to prompt me to come back to work early.

ps the dna test proved the baby was his, and she has agreed to have him back. Oh what a wonderful world we live in

pps if i make another reference to Jeremy Kyle on this blog over the next three months, then everyone has the official excuse to shoot me on sight.

Itinerary down under

WED 17 NOV LONDON (HEATHROW) to SINGAPORE

THU 18 NOV SINGAPORE to HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON)

SAT 20 NOV HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON) to HUE

MON 22 NOV HUE to HANOI

WED 24 NOV HANOI to SINGAPORE

WED 24 NOV SINGAPORE to PERTH

FRI 26 NOV PERTH to BROOME,W.A

TUE 30 NOV BROOME,W.A. to PERTH

WED 01 DEC RAIL from Perth arriving in Adelaide at 07:20 2 days later

WED 08 DEC ROBE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

THU 09 DEC PORT FAIRY, VICTORIA

FRI 10 DEC APOLLO BAY, VICTORIA

SUN 12 DEC MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

TUE 14 DEC MELBOURNE to SINGAPORE

TUE 14 DEC SINGAPORE to LANGKAWI

SAT 18 DEC LANGKAWI to SINGAPORE

SUN 19 DEC SINGAPORE to LONDON (HEATHROW)

Time off

I know this is supposed to be about sporting adventures abroad, but indulge me by letting me expand things a bit. From 1st October i am taking 3 months off work and intend to travel including getting to Adelaide for the Ashes test (so it is about sport really). Will post itinerary as it gets finalised but basically it breaks downs into:

• Philadelphia for 2 weeks for the World Bridge Series;
• Week up to Scotland and back;
• Two weeks travelling around Europe by train;
• A month travelling to Vietnam/Australia and Malaysia.

A few days at home in between to catch up with normal life, washing, ironing (well supervising ironing) etc...