British Rail

Before leaving, I'd seen that British Rail do "Advance Bookings" that make rail travel really affordable. (They also do cheap fares for the disabled and the person accompanying them, but those are only seem to be available to British residents. ) So.... we hired a car and went to Brighton (INSERT slideshow), The New Forest, Bath (INSERT slideshow), and Bristol, thus popping in on most of our friends and having a couple of nights independently in hotels. The plan was to leave the car in Bristol and then get a train back to London in time for a fancy dress party.

From Brighton onwards, I tried to book 'advance' tickets on the internet - an extremely frustrating experience!! At first I tried from a friend's computer and ended up feeling VERY rude since it took for ever but got nowhere and every time I looked the fare had risen. Then at Lyndhurst in the New Forest, I wandered as directed over into the library which was tiny but had a couple of computers where I was allowed to fail to book an advance seat yet again. (I'm not sure if this is the local library but it looked like this.

Eventually, on the road to Bath, I used my new mobile and phoned:

08457484950

It worked!!! Somebody answered before TOO long! I really recommend using the telephone when trying to book seats on British Rail!

Also recommend (from a broad database of two occasions) using the libraries to access the internet as the librarians were VERY friendly and helpful. The internet cafes can be quite hard to find now that so many people have laptops or internet access from home.

Home again

So much for holiday blogging! Didn't have time for that! Think it's quite a good sign in a way. Did get to upload lots of pix to facebook as lots of the English rellies (and NZ ones too now) use it regularly.

So here goes with some retrospective blogging!

Singapore

Hotel Number 1:

Turned out the hotel I booked online tested my assertions that "I'm not fussy" and that "the people who complain in the reviews are probably more used to your corporate-style hotel". A windowless room with inefficient/non-existent air-conditioning reached via a corridor with walls and ceiling secreting mould and a tattered and torn carpet was not quite what I'd expected for NZD 146 per night. Turns out I've got a bit fussier since I first headed off in the early 70's, when I found windowless rooms in need of decoration perfectly acceptable... but then in those days they were far far cheaper!

Click the photo to the left to see pix accompanying the following:
Who'd have believed what a difference a floor could make even if it is in an absolutely magic lift!!! We got an upgrade and lo and behold, moving one floor down from a 'standard' to 'superior' room (next floor down) vastly improved matters and we were happy once solved all our problems once 'maintenance' had stopped the water exuding from the light and dripping onto the bed. It felt positively sumptuous in comparison and the view of Hotel 1929 out the window was easy on the eye.

We went to a small coffee house across the street where a very friendly Singaporean woman saw us eyeing her plate and explained what she was eating so we could order the same - very delicious it was too though of course I can't remember what it was called! Gawd but it was hot!!

Clicking on this picture of a game of draughts should show more shots from our walk.

The journey

Unless you're taking months over the journey and seeing the world in the process, getting from New Zealand to Europe and the UK is always gruelling no matter what one does to try to alleviate it. Having MS presents its own challenges although getting a wheelchair at airports is one of those occasions where for once there are advantages to being a bit decrepit. Sailing through in the 'privileged' aisle while the fit and healthy queue at borders provides a rare opportunity for one to feel lucky. (I'm not the one with MS - that's my partner.)

A stop-over is essential under those conditions. On the way over we stopped for a night in Singapore. We've been there before so we supposedly know the ropes. It's not a bad place for a rest. The plane arrived at 7.30 am so booked a not-too-expensive hotel for two nights so that we wouldn't have to hang about.

Turned out the hotel I booked online tested my assertions that "We're not fussy" and that "the people who complain in the reviews are probably more used to your corporate-style hotel". A windowless room with inefficient/non-existent air-conditioning reached via a corridor with walls and ceiling secreting mould and a tattered and torn carpet was not quite what I'd expected for NZD 146 per night. Turns out I've got a bit fussier since I first headed off in the early 70's, when I found windowless rooms in need of decoration perfectly acceptable... but then in those days they were far far cheaper!

Click the photo to the left to see pix accompanying the following:
Who'd have believed what a difference a floor could make even if it is in an absolutely magic lift!!! We got an upgrade and lo and behold, moving one floor down from a 'standard' to 'superior' room (next floor down) vastly improved matters and we were happy once solved all our problems once 'maintenance' had stopped the water exuding from the light and dripping onto the bed. It felt positively sumptuous in comparison and the view of Hotel 1929 out the window was easy on the eye.

We went to a small coffee house across the street where a very friendly Singaporean woman saw us eyeing her plate and explained what she was eating so we could order the same - very delicious it was too though of course I can't remember what it was called! Gawd but it was hot!!

Clicking on this picture of a game of draughts should show more shots from our walk.