My travels around the world since the late 70's
We arrived at Cheltenham, checked in at the Queens Hotel and then spent a bit of time wandering about the town into TK Max which we don’t have at home and then down to the High Street. We stopped in at Marks & Spencer for lunch and I ordered an Omelet. The lady said it comes in a bun! Well that was different like an omelet burger. Small, weird but tasty.
When we got to Manchester we had an Avs rental car and drove into CityApartment Hotel which was the easy part. As with the UK not an easy place to park the car. So my wife hopped in and asked how to get to the car park. She was told it was not easy and to put the address and co-ordinates into the SatNav/GPS which I have my own with me. I did that and my GPS went mental trying to get us there, after about 20 minutes we finally found it and we were only about 200 metres from the door of the hotel. The one way system and bus only lanes made it a real excursion just to fid the car park.
After going down to Cheltenham and back again the the same hotel the GPS knew by now where to go, WRONG, it took us to a road under a bridge with a barrier across, A quick turn around corrected the GPS and we were back on track.
Now choosing seats on a plane can be a bit hit and miss. I thought we had chosen ok, but seemingly not. The second leg of the flight we were one seat back from a bulkhead in the centre section. The guy in front decided that the 2 meteres he had in front of him was not enough so pushed his seat back to the max. Looking forward he had his legs stretched out just touching the bulkhead and his TV screen was almost 2 metres away. Me, however had my little screen pushed about the length of my iPad from my face. I was reading a book on it at the time and it was not easy getting the iPad in an appropriate place to read. I felt if I had a big black non removable marker pen on me I could write “selfish bastard” on his big bald head, lucky for him I never had a pen. Well possibly lucky for me also as he was a big angry looking bloke.
Napier to Manchester is a long pair of flights. We had the option of an hour and a half stop, a five and a half hour stop and a 12 hour stop in Singapore, or a complete layover as we booked on the way home. the first part Napier to Auckland is easy, only an hour flight, then Auckland to Singapore was 10 hours 50 minutes and Singapore to Manchester was 13 hours 45 minutes.
We had booked seats in the centre of the plane which was a 3, 3, 3 seating configuration in economy, we often go premium economy. Although the flight is a long boring time spent they had plenty of entertainment on Singapore Airlines of movies, tv, radio, and books. Good enough service on board but it used to be better when we travelled pre-covid. The meals were only average compared to the past flights we have done.
We had a 5 hour 20 min stop over at Changi Airport between flights from Napier, New Zealand, Auckland, Singapore, Manchester. We booked a 6 hour block at the Ambassador Transit Hotel in Terminal 3, but we arrived in Terminal 2. A quick transfer on the little Skytrain made it nice and easy then a long walk to the hotel.
We managed a 2 or 3 hour sleep and a shower and off we go to the departure gate. Loaded up with Iced Water and assuming since we were in the Transit Terminal already that the water would be fine, BUT, that was not to be. Our plane was going to Houston, USA after Manchester so in fact there was a fairly stringent search making sure we had no water in our bags. After standing in the line for some time and getting near the front a security bloke asked if our water bottles were empty, nope, oh well go empty them then. So we did that and then back to the end of the line to start the process again.
Anyway we finally got through and onto the plane and good to go.
Changi is an awesome airport, it has a bit of everything. Along with helpful staff (most of the time) and a well organised agenda it seems to run like clockwork.
Manchester Airport in comparison is well past it’s use bye date, it is very old and tired and it’s low ceilings and complicated way to get where is needed well and truly needs some attention.
The adventures of twelve people, in their own words – drivers, tour leaders and passengers – in the late seventies and early eighties around Europe and Asia in double decker buses. Everyday life. Accidents. Breakdowns. Border hassles. Riots. Being held up at gunpoint.
Crew came from different backgrounds and with varying skills but all showed professionalism, imagination, creativity, improvisation, ingenuity and audacity in getting passengers safely to their destination.
In reading Ian’s book and reading the stories of others that have submitted their stories it brings back a lot of good memories. Ian lot of information of which some is in the book, slightly different in part to how I intended.
I started doing the same many years ago putting together my own stories as they came to memory and so far maybe about 80% of a books worth, some of the stories have jogged my old tired memory a bit so it may help with doing a bit more on it.
Floriade 2023 – Canberra
Well we went to Canberra and it was closed!
Well not entirely closed but hardly anyone on the streets or cafes. Floriade flower show, an annual event was nearing it’s end and even that was very quiet. Some great sisplays from what we saw and after about 2 hours walking around there it was time to go find a cafe.
Not an easy task as a lot seemed to be closed
I think the 2 days in Canberra could have been spent better somewhere other than Canberra.
River Cruise and Breakfast Creek Hotel – Brisbane
During our few days in Brisbane we did a river cruise which included a lunch at the old historic Breakfast Creek Hotel.
A bit of a walk to the river cruise boat, then waiting around for a long time then we were finally under way.
A very informative trip with one of the staff pointing out a lot of things on either side of the river.
We finally got to the last stop and then it was about a 2km walk to the actual Hotel.
The quaint old hotel with great service and it included a demonstration of tapping an old beer barrel which resulted in beer spraying up when the cork was removed and everyone got a taste of the freshly tapped beer barrel. Lunch was quite enjoyable, an old restored part of it was a huge bar with a very high ceiling and almost every choice of drink I could ever want.
Then since we had to be back for the return river cruise trip most of us walked back and waited under the trees on the boat.
A well worthwhile trip.
Beechworth Bakery
During out few weeks we did manage to visit three of the Beechworth Bakeries.
Bendigo, Echuca and Beechworth.
At each we did have one of their specials the “Beesting” as part of our lunch.
The crowd at all of them around lunch time is staggering. A massive selection of baked goods for both eating on the premise or for taking away. It seems a lot of locals just come in for their bread which is only a very small percentage of what they offer.
I did get one of Tom’s bakery books with a heap of recipes in it and a lot of guides for making a lot of their products including the “Beesting’s”
A Vintage Truck: An Amateur Team: An Immovable Deadline
The Comic Memoir of a Crazy Idea
Awarded a Readers’ Favorite 5* Seal!
In this captivating true story, join an intrepid married couple as they take another wild leap into the world of nomadic living.
Four years previously, Jackie and Mark gave up work to embark on a permanent road trip with four dogs. However, one Friday the 13th, forces beyond their control cause them to throw caution to the wind and buy a 30-year-old army truck sight unseen from the internet.
Their goal: to create an expedition truck fit to drive overland to Mongolia.
Follow them as they dive headfirst into the daunting but thrilling task of converting this rugged vehicle into a perfect off-grid tiny house on wheels.
Yet their first ever DIY van conversion proves to be a rollercoaster ride, when they sell their house to fund the build, and Friday the 13th comes back to haunt them.
Is their confidence that, ‘there’s always a solution,’ misplaced?
With their relationship, sanity, and finances on the line, can they navigate the pitfalls of their first-ever build and avoid becoming homeless?
Filled with quirky van life friends and unexpected twists, this is an inspiring tale of perseverance, friendship, and finding the courage to conquer the challenges that face those who dare to chase their dreams.