After quite a good sleep I woke just before 5:00. I could just start to see blue on the horizon so I decided to sit in bed and sip coffee while the sun came up. I'm still tired but I want to get up and out. I might try and sleep in tomorrow.
The grey wet from last night has passed.
I popped down to the restaurant for breakfast this morning. Lovely food again. Sitting there I realised that the hotel is right next to Kensington Gardens. It's located at the purple circle on this map.
Last night, after some dinner in the lounge, I went to the transit hotel to sleep. You can book rooms for 6 hour slots. When I arrived the receptionist advised that they are doing maintenance work hotel and that the power might go off between 2:00 and 5:00. And that, if it did, the emergency light would come on in my room - but not to panic! He gave me an extra hour for free for the inconvenience.
Well, at 2:00 the power did go off and the emergency light did come on. Not bright enough to keep me awake but bright enough to be annoying. I managed to avoid the light and get back to sleep before the power eventually came back on and the light went off (back to front, I know). The room was fine though, perfect for my needs with a nice bathroom.
I checked out at 5:00 and made it to the lounge which was quiet but not empty. I got myself some breakfast.
On the way to the buffet I saw the headlines about Prince's untimely death. Couldn't believe it. What's going on this year?
After some downloading my photos it was time to head to the gate to board my chariot. I've been on an A380 a few times already but always economy.
Business class is upstairs. I spent a bit of time getting to know my home for the next 14 hours. So many little compartments. The seats are HUGE - more like a 2 seater.
By the time we departed it was 9:00, so once we were up in the air it was time for breakfast number 2.
Nicely full, I settled in to some movies. First was Bridge of Spies followed by Star Wars VII - finally got around to seeing it.
Most of the people in the cabin appeared to want to sleep all the way to London so I felt obliged to keep my shade down for a lot of the trip. But I still managed to get glimpses of the journey from time to time and a long stretch at meals. The terrain began with islands and meandering rivers.
When I looked down after watching Star Wars in noticed a vast expanse of wilderness. It reminded me very much of the terrain in the movie except someone had changed the colour palette from sandy brown to dusty grey.
Slowly I noticed the natural curves of erosion make way to the angular lines of civilisation. Then, when we reached Afghanistan it changed again and I began to see snow capped mountains that got more populous as we reached Georgia. They looked as if they had been dusted with icing sugar.
I gazed for ages as we crossed into the Black Sea and tracked along the northern coast of Turkey.
Somewhere in that time was lunch. I had the chicken. The dessert was particularly delicious.
There was thick cloud as we reached Europe, so nothing to see for the last couple of hours. Hoping to see some English countryside I watched eagerly when we crossed the English Channel but it was just thick white cloud until just before the airport. After being in a holding pattern for a couple of loops we landed only a little after schedule.
The weather in London was cold, grey and wet. But I didn't mind at all. It was just great to be back here.
It would have been rush hour and my original plan was to catch the tube to the hotel. I was anxious that would be difficult/stressful so I decided to catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington then a taxi to the hotel. A much better option. The taxi driver was SO talkative.
The hotel room is lovely with a view of Kensington High Street.
In an effort to reset my body clock I resisted the temptation to fall straight into bed. Instead, I was brave (for me) and ventured down to the restaurant alone. The food and service were excellent. I had Asparagus Gnocchi and Seared Tuna followed by a small Lemon Soufflé.
It might be grey and wet but I don't mind. I'm back in London!
I'll write about the flight once I've had a chance to freshen up and relax.
This will only be a short post. We're currently flying over Afghanistan. The plane has Wi-Fi and I couldn't resist the temptation to post something in flight.
The lounge at Changi airport has 1 piano song. On continuous loop. Over and over again. Time to put my headphones on.
I'm sitting in the KrisFlyer lounge at Changi airport after the first leg of my flight to London. It's been an ultra smooth journey so far. You see, when I booked the flights there was a sale and I decided to treat myself to business class. And what a difference it makes. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I was up early after a restless sleep last night. Em and Ash stayed at my place last night so I had my breakfast on the balcony as the light started to come up so I didn't disturb them too much. The taxi was early but it meant I got to the airport and through customs quickly.
We boarded on time. I'm not sure about the rest of the plane but business class was only about 1/4 full. I had no one else in my row at all. I promised Anna I would provide all the details of the flight, so here goes.
We got a pack with slippers, socks and an eye mask but I didn't bother taking a picture (sorry Anna).
After a glass or two of champagne I started by watching The Lady in the Van. Great movie. Then it was time for lunch.
As lovely as the meal and service was, I little part of me almost missed the fun of discovering the usual tray of compartmentalised, and sometimes ambiguous, items. Not complaining though.
Shortly after lunch we crossed the WA coast and left Australia.
Shortly after passing over the coast I noticed at least 22 tankers of some type anchored off shore. They looked odd all grouped together but then I noticed many more around Indonesia and Singapore.
I was feeling tired (from doing nothing) so I reclined and listed to music for most of the rest of the trip. The flying conditions were perfect with a very smooth flight.
An hour before landing it was time for more food. I didn't need it but how could I refuse.
After landing, I spent a little time wandering around the terminal getting my bearings. While I was syncing photos from my phone a couple wandered near. The lady had a selfie stick and was taking photos/video of herself in every imaginable direction and pose, including while sitting on an unattended buggy. It was hilarious to watch.
I'm going to hang around the lounge for a while and grab something to eat. It's 5:30pm now and my next flight isn't until 9:00am tomorrow. I've booked a room in the airport hotel to grab a bit of sleep then I'll come back to the lounge before my flight.
For the past few months I've subscribed to some London visitor sites on Facebook. The posts have been both tantalising and frustrating as I've been teased with activities I can't yet attend. Until today! I saw an advertisement for an open day at the London Transport Museum this coming weekend. And I will be there. All booked. Yay!
I was born in Dartford, England. We lived in Wilmington, 25 km south east of London. My family moved to Australia just before I turned 7. And as soon as I arrived here I felt like an outsider. In time I would realise that my place of birth was only part of the reason. But at the time I reacted by discarding my English-ness. I did my best to lose my accent. I happily subscribed to the local view of an irrelevant mother England.
I had a casual interest to go back but it never materialised until 2010. And as soon as we arrived, as soon as I opened the curtains of the hotel on that first morning it felt like coming home. The intensity of that feeling and the sadness when we left took me by surprise. Since then I have been slowly reacquainting myself with my homeland. Wondering what it means to be English.
This trip will be my fourth time back to the UK. So far I've spent the most time in London, my favourite place in the world. But this time I've decided to venture further afield. To discover other parts of my homeland and hopefully connect with a broader dimension of the land that is in my blood. To explore my heritage.
Today is exactly the same number of days until my adventure begins as the number of days I'll be away - 38. Everything important is booked. I just have to wait it out now. Feeling excited!
After a year of not travelling I have decided to go overseas again. I'm heading back to Europe; specifically, to visit some Scandinavian cities and then to explore more of my native England.
I bought the long haul flight tickets 6 months ago when there was a sale on. But also, it meant I would commit to the trip too, which is always a good idea with me. Just recently I've been booking accommodation which has started to raise my excitement levels again. Now only 95 days to go.
Expectations can be a killer. I should know; I think I might just have a black belt. But strangely enough I started this adventure with surprisingly few expectations. Sure I expected to travel to these destinations and stay in these places, but apart from that I had unusually few plans (for me at least). And of course, at the beginning of the year, as I was planning the North American trip, I had absolutely no expectation of also heading to London to see Kate Bush.
If anything, as the trips got closer, my expectations became more and more centred around what might go wrong; Icelandic volcanoes, conflict in Europe over the Ukraine, terrorists, Hong Kong unrest, Ebola … I know it's very narcissistic of me to focus these potential tragedies on my little life, but at more than one stage I was close to convinced that the bottom was about to drop out of one or the other of the trips. I don't think I let go of the last of these fears until I boarded the train from Washington DC to New York. The fact that I made it through is a lesson I must hold on to.
So, in that light, how do I feel now that I'm back home? I feel utterly satisfied and hugely fortunate. Of the entire experience I can only think of one thing I would definitely do differently: I would have spent an extra day in Washington DC rather than Toronto. There are other things I had considered, like fitting in some night life or making more effort to be social, but I'm comfortable acknowledging my limitations and accepting that I always did what I wanted or felt capable of doing at the time.
I did have some doubt midway through though. In Toronto I briefly wondered if taking this trip on my own had been a mistake. All practicalities aside, once or twice I could even have happily just come home. Luckily those thoughts disappeared when I reached DC and they never surfaced again.
It was weird waiting in Hong Kong airport to come home. As I ate my ramen and sipped my frozen beer (yes, the head was actually intentionally partly frozen), I reflected on how differently I felt between the trip out and the trip back. I remember feeling a lot more anxious before; I was scared of the unknown and, to be completely honest, not even 100% sure the trip was still such a good idea. I feel much more relaxed, certain and fulfilled now. And sitting in the same spot 4 weeks later it would be easy to dismiss the intervening time as a dream. But what I learnt from going to Europe back in 2010 is that travel leaves a lasting impression and a lasting legacy. Now the last 2 months have become part of those impressions and that legacy. One thing's for sure, after spending most of 2014 either planning or looking forward to these adventures, it's going to be strange not having them on my horizon anymore.
And now it's over what have been the highlights of the last 2 months? Without doubt New York was the standout of the North American trip and easily justified making the journey all on its own. And then of course there's Kate Bush … well anyone should know how I feel about that one.
But just to be specific I've compiled my top 10 for my travel adventures this year, in no particular order:
- Seeing Kate Bush live, from the 2nd row
- The Empire State Building by day
- The Empire State Building by night
- Stanley Park, Vancouver
- The Canadian, Vancouver to Toronto and all the amazing landscape in between
- The Guggenheim, New York
- Circumnavigating Manhattan by boat
- The 9/11 Memorial
- Waking up to the New York skyline 12 mornings in a row
- Being able to spend some more time in London, STILL my favourite city
I know some people have been following this blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it, but at the end of the day this blog has been for me. My way of sharing these moments with the Ian of the future, when recollection of the smaller details gets harder and how I actually felt at the time begins to fade.
This will be the final post for this blog. But I do have another ongoing blog on the futurismgrey website; I had plenty of time to reflect while away and have a mountain of material that's bound to inspire something sooner or later. And when it does, that's where I'll post it.
Last night sleeping in a different bed. Last hotel check-out. Last airport check-in. Last flight. Almost, the last blog post.
My flight isn't until 7:15 pm so I'm going to hang around the hotel until the latest possible time. I'll still have a few hours to kill at the airport but that's OK.
It's funny, but after the flights to or from London, Vancouver and New York, an 8 hour flight home doesn't seem that long at all.
Just landed in Hong Kong after flying for 16 hours from New York. Here was my checklist for good sleeping:
Great seat on theaisle with no-one needing to pass me? - tick
Bulkhead in front of me and plenty of leg room? - tick
The first travel pillow I have ever found that works? - tick
Noise cancelling headphones? - tick
Eye mask? - tick
2 x diazepam? - tick
So did I sleep? Nup, apart from half dozing off 2 hours before landing. Glad I have a hotel room for the night before the final leg home.
One cool thing about the flight (literally) was that we more or less flew over the North Pole to get to Hong Kong.
I guess from childhood I was expecting New York to be a city of endless skyscrapers where the only sunlight has been reflected or refracted off buildings down to the street. And yes, NYC is a bit like that, but only in a couple of places. Generally it's much more open, expansive and light than I had expected.
I also expected a cold, unfriendly, smelly, fast, impersonal metropolis. Again, only partly correct. There was an unexpected warmth and a surprising politeness.
So in a way, NYC was everything I expected and nothing like I expected all wrapped into one.
Choosing to stay for a decent length of time was a really good call. I feel I've had sufficient time to do what I wanted without getting frantic and now I'm ready to come home. I've loved this trip and my time in this city. It's been enough to satisfy both my appetite and curiosity. And yet I know I've still only scratched the surface; sampling the parts of New York life that I have felt willing and able to explore.
I doubt I would come back here again solo, but with someone else it would always be a possibility.
In no particular order ...
It's odd using paper money, especially when each denomination is pretty much the same size and colour. It's even odder using $1 bills.
Toilet bowls fill very high. It's the same in Canada. Much higher than in Australia. I assume there is less need to conserve water?
Prescription medications are advertised on TV all the time. That in itself seems odd, but what I found most amusing was that, invariably, most of the ads' running times are taken up listing all the side effects or "don't take if you..." disclaimers.
There was a constant buzz of black helicopters taking off and circling Washington DC. Felt a little unsettling.
The realisation that I have an accent and that I have to sometimes make an extra effort to speak more clearly for Americans. The other day I had trouble just asking for postcards.
I knew there would be lots of yellow taxis in NYC, but I didn't realise how many. Each time I stopped to take note I would say at least half of the traffic would be taxis.
The street and avenue numbers in Manhattan make it so easy to work out where you are and how to get somewhere. For a city this large it would be painful to have conventional street names.
There was a preview for DocNYC, a documentary festival, prior to the French film I saw. So many documentaries! I think the program said over 100. Looked really great too.
Generally, I felt quite safe walking around Manhattan. No more unsafe than any other city I've visited. Mind you, I was always careful to be conscious of my surroundings. There were a couple of times I stumbled into areas where I felt a little uncomfortable but quickly regained my bearings and was fine.
My regard for American people in general has greatly increased. The trip has blown a few stereotypes and I've found people to be generally very courteous and polite. The rude ones have generally been the tourists!
If you're a walker like me you can get a long way around Manhattan on foot plus a few subway trips.
I came across a chocolate store that had "potato chips covered in cheese flavoured white chocolate". I kid you not.
In the day or two following the New York Marathon I've seen many people wandering around with their participation medals on proud display.
And these last two aren't anything to do with the US but I just remembered them ...
I met a chap on The Canadian train who is a business analyst for an energy company who are also implementing SAP, just like Origin. It was interesting comparing notes.
There was an interesting line in the French film that basically said it's wrong to describe animals (other than humans) as naked, because the word "naked" suggests or implies you are without something. I'd never thought of the word like that.
My feet hate me. Particularly my heels. But at least it's been good cardio and generally great weather for it.
I've been keeping track of my travels on a map. The thick black lines are the main routes I've followed over the last 11 days, plus or minus a few streets and blocks. The yellow circle is the hotel.
It's Monday and mylast full day in NYC and the USA. I'd decided there were still parts of Manhattan I hadn't explored so picked a direction and started walking. The direction was South-East.
I walked a long way down Broadway, south of Houston Street. Suddenly I got a tiny glimmer of London. I think it was probably the mid height buildings, the street width, shop fronts and maybe the light.
Of course, pause and look closely for a moment and there were many things to remind me I was in New York. Most noticeably the fire escapes on the fronts on the buildings.
There were some beautiful and ornate buildings. I noticed the feature around this window.
My journey took me a little way back to the financial district because I'd read of an elevated garden I wanted to see. A bit like the high line, it's up above the street and planted with grasses and shrubs. An oasis amongst the concrete and glass.
I could see the Staten Island Ferry arriving.
From there I discovered I could walk along the East River again and I got my closest views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in good light.
Eventually the neighbourhoods began looking the same as those I'd visited Sunday morning, so I made my way inland again, through Chinatown and back to Houston.
The front of this building really stood out because it had a horizontal concrete finish unlike any of those around it and some beautiful ivy growing up. Unfortunately my snap doesn't do it justice.
I browsed some shops on my way back. Bought a couple more pictures and looked for maybe one more special book to cram into my suitcase. Sadly, I didn't find a book that wowed me enough. But I have a few books already, so can't complain.
Tonight I'll pack and work out how to bring everything home. I've already checked-in for my flight so that's all sorted. My flight is at 1:55 pm but I'm planning to check out of the hotel around 9:00 in order to get to the airport and through security in plenty of time.
I was about to write that I can't believe it's the end of the trip already. But actually, I can. It feels like forever since I left Australia. I reckon that's a sign of a good holiday.
I learnt the other day that all buildings in NYC over 6 stories high have a water tank. Many are exposed and often look out of character with the building.
But I've noticed a couple that have been used as a canvas for art.
While I've been overseas I've been editing some of my pictures for posting on Instagram. For anyone not on Facebook or Instagram, here are the ones I'm the most pleased with. I have a fondness for patterns in architecture, so there are quite a few along those lines. These and others are on my Instagram account.
My Sunday started slow. I mean really slow. I went to bed quite early and woke around 1:00 to the usual dull doof doof. I decided to read a little to get back to sleep but got sidetracked watching Kate Bush interviews. Eventually went back to sleep around 3:00 which meant I didn't wake up until it was light. That's a first for my stay in NYC. Not only that but after checking FB and other sites for a little while I turned over and partly dozed off again until 10:30. Unheard of! I guess it may be an indicator that I'm feeling relaxed?
I have a couple of vague things I'd like to achieve in my last couple of days here. I've been updating a map of Manhattan with places I've walked and it occurred to me that I hadn't yet walked all the way to the East River, so that was my first task today. It was mainly clear but blowing a strong icy wind that cut right through. I had to get rugged up.
On the way I passed more Halloween decorated houses. This was one of the more elaborate ones.
I noticed this facade of an old church that has been retained in front of a more modern building.
The neighbourhoods I walked through were almost more suburban than city like.
This was the gate and fence to a community garden.
I made it to the East River before long.
Being Sunday morning there was a steady stream of joggers along the river.
After winding my way back to the hotel I decided to go back to some of the streets I had walked the other day without my camera. There were a few things I wanted to photograph. I got a little mixed up at one stage, thinking that the buildings were on a street that they weren't. But eventually I got it worked out.
This building is The Maritime Hotel. Who would have guessed? Unfortunately the light was on the wrong side so it's not clear from this pic how shiny and silver it is.
The most impressive was this incredible detail high on the top of a building in Lexington Street.
I'm having a quiet night and getting to bed early. Tomorrow I want to walk some of the last remaining areas I've not ventured to; the East Village, Lower East Side and Chinatown. On the way there or back I hope to check out the streets I found last week that had some cool looking shops.