Day 1 23/2/08 - England

London -> York -> London

Highlight

• Long train ride, only made easier by learning French.
• Arrived at 9am, was disappointed that it was overcast the whole day and very cold.
• Started hunting around for Betty’s as we had very little for breakfast. We found lots of interesting architecture on the way, but no Betty’s.
• Made do with a sausage roll from Thomas The Baker instead. It was nice but would’ve been better if it was not cold.
• Marvelled at York Minster, climbed the tower, and had to pay £4 for the privilege. I would say the best thing about it was the climb up a long flight of narrow winding stairs. The view from the top was ok, but not spectacular. Plus, you were really wired in, and there were only tiny gaps for you to look out of, so the view was quite restricted.
• By the time we got back down, after waiting for ages at the top, as there were only 1 set of stairs, so you have to go in a group, York has really come alive. The footpaths and the roads were over spilling with people.
• Browsed around the shops, tasted some wonderful fudge at the Fudge Kitchen, and picked up the seasonal Autumn special. Tried on hats at a cool hat shop, and peered into windows of butcheries with their pork pies.
• Had the best lunch ever at J Bakers. It was cool, stylish, innovative, delicious and not even that expensive. I love this place. We wanted to go back for dinner, but they were totally booked out.
• Walk around the old wall, but after a while, it wasn’t that interesting, and parts of it was so crowded, so went down after a while.
• Had a look at Clifford Tower, but it was a real disappointment. Nothing spectacular to see and not even that high to get a view of the city. Plus, it was £3 to enter!! Needless to say, we didn’t bother, after all, we didn’t see much we liked from the much high Minster Tower
• People recommended the National Railway Museum to me, but as it was the only museum that was free in York, I didn’t expect it to be such an excellent museum. There were loads of trains to peer into, blasts from the grand old days to the modern day shinkensen, all housed in a former train depot.
• Unfortunately, there was a Thomas the Tank Engine event on, so the place was full of kids and their parents. We ventured to some of the less visited exhibits, including the flying Dutchman (and I still can’t figure out why it was so famous).
• Tried to find Betty’s again. We knew where it was after we asked at the Tourist Info, but there was a huge line, so decided to come back later.
• Had to waste some time before evensong, so walked around the shops. Mostly high street stuff but a few interesting gems.
• Evensong at York Minster, quite boring and long, but the cathedral was magnificent, and you can look around for as long as you like afterwards, saving you the £5.50 entry fee.
• Took some night pics of the church and various lit up places.
• Ventured back but there was still a huge line at Betty’s, so had to end up getting takeaway. Btw – the stuff was not that nice, it’s the experience you’re after.
• Dinner at Cross Keys pub for very cheap, filling but not very spectacular food.
• Caught an earlier train home because the one we were booked on was 45 minutes delayed. There was a bunch of really loud, drunk people on. Sang songs at the top of their lungs and spilled beers everywhere. One lady told them to stop the swearing because there were lots of children there but got ridiculed for having to put up with it on a Saturday night.

Food

• Thomas The Baker chicken and stuffing roll (£.49)
• Lunch at JB:
  • Smoked almonds
  • Little boiled potatoes
  • artichoke and split pea whip
  • Grazing Plate (£10.00)
  • Tasty Lancashire Cheese Pudding ~ Curly Kale, shallot jam (£10.00)
  • Baked beans, goose fat and parsley (£2.00)
  • Yorkshire Triangle Rhubarb Fool (£4.50)Summer Fruits, Pistachio and Chocolate Sundae (£4.50)
• Cross Keys dinner:
• Betty’s chocolate éclair (£1.20)
• Betty’s Engadine Torte (£2.35)

Day 3 14/1/08 - France

Lille -> London

Highlight

• Another early morning start to make it to work. Woke up at 6:20am to pack. Luckily the station is so close that we only needed 5 minutes to get there.
• It was still very dark outside so didn’t really see the tulips very well. Saw them during the day too but didn’t bother to take a pic of them.
• Slokky did his normal rushing thing, walking really fast and panicking at everything, even though we were early and there were absolutely no lines, so we got through all the security checks in 10 minutes.
• Train not coming out from Disneyland this time so no kids, but lots of business people instead.
• Saw numerous French people looking at an abandoned food bag on a seat, opening it up and smelling it, until one of them actually opened it to eat!!
• Got stuck for more than 1 hour because there was a problem in the Euro tunnel. I don’t know what it was but at least 2 trains went past in the time. I actually watched the sunrise from the train.

Food

• apple
• pineapple tart (€3.50)

Day 2 13/1/08 - France

Lille

Highlight

• Was going to start our usual early day, but we were just too tired to wake up and since the sun wasn’t up, we didn’t go out until after 9:30am.
• Caught the metro to Wazemme Market, where on Sunday there’s a huge flee market. It was starting to buzz when we got there, and was choked full of people when we left two hours later.
• The clothes, nik naks and such wasn’t of much interest, as they are nothing compared to the markets of Asia and Africa. What we wanted to see was the food of course, but that part of the market was pretty disappointing. The usual stores that you could find outside, and not even that much to choose from.
• It was more interesting wandering around the streets. Stopped off at some bakeries for some goodies (slightly cheaper than Paris) and admired the terrains, cheese, ready to heat meal (much better than the stuff you get in London) in the shop windows.
• All the shops are meant to be closed on Sundays, but because it’s sales time, they have "exceptional openings", which was lucky for us.
• For some reason, even though we were wandering around the streets of this little square, Slokky managed to get lost. He stopped to look at the map every minute or so.
• Slokky stepped on dog poo, right after I told him to watch out for it.
• There was a whole row of the market occupied entirely by roast chicken shop (all in all I think there are at least 10 around the market), and we couldn’t resist getting one, especially accompanied by that potato soaked in the roasting fat. Grabbed a still warm baguette and headed back to our apartment to make use of the facilities for lunch.
• As we had finished seeing all the site yesterday, we only had the Citadelle left. Half the stores around had exceptional opening today, but not much people were in them.
• Stopped off to have a brief look at the Vielle Bourse, which was a building(s) with a little square inside filled with some booksellers. However, only half the stores were opened and there were no people there today.
• We wandered around the near empty streets, and found out where all the people went when we reached the Citadelle.
• Everyone was decked out in their designer sportswear and jogging around the outside of the Citadelle. After our indulgence for the past weeks, we thought we’d better have a walk around as well, so we did a very pleasant loop around.
• It was only past 2pm when we finished, and as we had run out of things to see, I could finally go back to the shops to browse to my heart’s content.
• There were lots of lovely stuff. Why is it the French shops have better stuff than everyone else even though it’s the same company? The stuff in Kookai, H&M and the like were actually better quality and better design than in Aust and London! I saw some great flats that I wanted but didn’t buy because of the lack of space. There were also these beautiful wool scarves in the best colour which I also didn’t indulge myself in. The designer stuff are also cheaper here too. There were a few pairs of Marc Jacobs flats and Chloe heels that were fabulous, and the cookware is great. We nearly got a set of Tefal ingenio pans (the ones with the removable handles), but decided to stick it out with our old ones for a bit longer, and when it finally dies we’ll invest in some top quality ones.
• We wanted to go to Carrefour but it was closed, so we didn’t end up trying that Galette de Frangipane, the one with the crown in every single shop after all. We did manage to find another supermarket, Monoprix, where we bought some discounted goods and regional goodies.
• Finished our shopping before it was acceptable dining hours, but since there was nothing to do, we decided to dine anyway. Walked around a bit before settling on a corner pub not far from the station. It was cheap and cheerful, and the waiter spoke pretty great English. The food was simple and cheap, but the servings were so huge we absolutely couldn’t move when we finished. The taste certainly didn’t compare to yesterday, but it was what we expected in the setting.

Food

• giant palmier
• flan (€1.30)
• baguette
• roast chicken (€5)
• potato soaked in roasted chicken fat (€1.60)
• waffle with sugar and butter filling
• set dinner at Le Napoleon (€13.90):
  • ham and brie salad with mustard dressing
  • 2 types of terrains
  • white bread
  • beer
  • androulette with mustard sauce, chips and salad
  • mussels a la crème with chips
  • chocolate cake with loads of cream
  • lemon sorbet and strawberry ice-cream

Day 1 12/1/08 - France

London -> Lille

Highlight

• It was a relatively late start. We had a smooth ride on the Eurostar. Managed to arrive at our hotel and get out by about 12pm
• Checked out Euralille for a bit. Got myself some North Face winter shoes (60) for Iceland.
• Checked out a few games store before catching the confusing Metro to the <> Market.
• Forgot about needing coins for the ticket machine so had to go to ticket office to get Metro ticket. Luckily here there are no lines and the tickets are cheap.
• Did a bit of shopping at Galeries Lafayette while waiting for the tourist office to open. (yup the 2 hour lunch break).
• Unfortunately Slokky was doing the “I am anxious we’re going to be late, so let’s rush everything” thing so I couldn’t stop to look at anything I want, and we had to go to the tourist office, which is situated in the Palais Rihour. The Palais is kinda unremarkable, especially after all the huge sites we’ve seen before.
• Looked at the various other buildings on our audio guide and general wandering around - Opera, Hotel de Ville, Eglise St Maurice,Musee de l’Hospice Comtesse. The most interesting part is theCathedrale Notre Dame de la Treille, a mix of ancient and modern, which was very interesting. The abstract paintings of the ascension to the cross make a change from the usual drawings and sculptures you see. The front of the church has been newly decked out with thin marble that lets the light through and is quite cool.
• A stop to the huge Carrefour hypermart completed the day, we stocked up on our usual cheese, terrain and waffles.
• Dinner at Le Sebastopol, a 1 Michelin star restaurant. The staff was not too good at English, but we did manage to find out what we were ordering. The food was excellent, especially the exquisite desserts. Thing weren’t too fussed over, the presentation very simple, the only letdown was probably the boring meat plates.
• It was good value considering I actually got 2 glasses of wine with my dinner as well. We were truly stuffed by the end of it, so a stroll back to the hotel was much needed.
• Lille is definitely a walkable city, you can see all the major sites on foot. What was unremarkable was that there was much less to see and do than I anticipated.

Food

• huge pain au chocolate, palmier and chocolate chip bread (3)
• tarte tartin
• Dinner at Le Sebastopol:
  • little bread rolls
  • tasting plate with foie gras dumpling, cauliflower soup, steamed egg with foie gras
  • dessert plate with chestnut crème, raspberry tartlet, sugar tuile, hazelnut chocolate

Day 4 20/1/08 - Iceland

Reykjavik -> London

Highlight

• Had breakfast while waiting to be picked up for The Blue Lagoon (3,500 ISK), a unique geothermal spa situated in the youngest lava field in west Iceland.
• It was so surreal when we arrived. You have to follow this trail, covered on both sides with ice, before you get to the main entrance. The whole structure was very modern. We bathrooms were cool. You get changed, shower, then brave the cold before jumping into the milky blue water. There’s not much to do, you can put some silica mud mask on your face, go under the waterfall…but that’s the point, isn’t it?
• You can also get massage and spa treatments, but we hardly had time to eat or take pictures or browse the products in the shop, so next time I want to spend at least a day there. And I am DEFINITELY going back.
• After the relaxation, got dropped off at the airport. It’s excellent. We took some photos with the statues outside.
• Bought Askja light jacket (7,550 ISK) for Slokky, and Kjolu suede jacket (4,250 ISK) from 66 o North since they were 50% off.
• Got on the plane no problems. Read a food mag while everyone else entertained themselves watching Stardusk. They were still having their problem at Heathrow, so we had to circle in the air for more than 40 minutes while we wait for a chance to land.

Food

• Hotel Cabin buffet:
  • ham
  • cheese
  • cucumber
  • tomato
  • bread with jam
  • oranges
  • cereal
  • yoghurt with mixers
• Blue Lagoon hot dog (230 ISK)
• Kaffitar Cappuccino (320 ISK)
• kaffitar green tea mints
• Icelandic air meal:
  • bread roll with butter
  • chicken
  • potato salad
  • chocolate bar
  • apple juice

Day 3 19/1/08 - Iceland

Reykjavik

Highlight

• Today was taken up by the Golden Circle Tour run by Reykjavik Excursions. Another early start, we piled on another bus, for another patriotic Icelandic guide, and were on our way. The weather was much worst today, snow falling constantly. We got to our first stop, Nesjavellir power plant, before the sun came up.
• We got forced to watch a video about the high temperature geothermal area, and how it gets its energy from Lake ingvallavatn. Then we got to look outside at the steam and smell the sulphur.
• Back on the bus, to look at the Keri crater. Maybe it’s more interesting in the summer, but it was just a snow covered field with a big hole.
• Travelled through what was supposed to be fertile agricultural areas, but in essence you can just see snow. Arrived at Hverageri, which is supposed to contain greenhouses where Iceland grows their fruit and vegetable, but we couldn’t go and see it, so that was really boring.
• Sun beginning to come up now, so the bus ride was spectacular, with the sky changing colour and white everywhere.
• Sklholt church, which is supposed to be the ancient seat of the Icelandic bishops. The church itself is very boring, just a rectangular building, nothing like all the churches we’ve seen around Europe. The most interesting thing is the lovely mosaic on the altar.
• Next we were supposed to be heading to the highlight of the tour, the Gullfoss waterfall. Well, there was certainly a lot of water, and it is quite spectacular. It’s smaller than Victoria Falls, but much more powerful. In fact, we spent so much time there we were really rushed for lunch, as we only had ½ hour to spend there. The café just sells your basic provisions, but they have soup and hot bread rolls, so I was very happy. I was even happier that they give you free refills, so we had 3 bowls of it.
• Then off to the geyser called Geysir that originally gave these things a name, so I expected it to be spectacular, after seeing them in NZ and Japan, the whole geothermal area around the spouting hot springs weren’t that impressive, and you had to wait ages for it to blow. Because it took so long and the weather was deteriorating further, we didn’t spend too much time here.
• Last stop was also where we went last night, Ingvellir. It’s not so cool in the day, especially since it was covered with inches of snow, we did manage to get some shots of the cracks today though.
• The tour was a bit less than I expected, but we had dinner to look forward to. We got dropped off in town, and rested in a hotel lobby before making our way to Vidt Jornina for dinner. It’s very cute, like going to someone’s house for dinner, with separate little rooms as a dining area. Again, we were under dressed and loud, whereas everyone else was having a civilised evening. Everything was Icelandic prices, but the produce and the cooking was excellent, and made a good night out.
• We passed up on the opportunity to go clubbing as we were absolutely knackered from all those late nights, so just relaxed at the hotel with some poker and a lot of alcohol.

Food

• Hotel Cabin buffet:
  • ham
  • cheese
  • cucumber
  • tomato
  • bread with jam
  • oranges
  • cereal
  • yoghurt with mixers
• Gullfosskaffi lamb soup (1090 ISK) with hot bread rolls and refills
• rye bread
• salami
• lamb head jelly
• Scottish shortbread
• dinner at Vidt Jornina:
  • Hot smoked lamb's heart w/applesalad and horseradishcream (1600 ISK)
  • 2 kinds of mousse with langoustine’s tail (1750 ISK)
  • Herb-coated lambfillet w/dijon and redwinesauce (3860 ISK)
  • Grilled starry ray
  • bread
• Southern Comfort & Coke
• Vodka tonic
• chips and biscuits

Day 2 18/1/08 - Iceland

Reykjavik

Highlight

• After all the drama, arrived at Keflavik Airport at 2am. Caught a maxi-cab to our hotel. By the time we checked in and got ourselves ready for bed, it was past 4am. What a start to the day.
• Breakfast at 9:30, just before they closed the buffet. The food was limited in choice and unexciting, but at least they had nice yoghurt.
• We were all super excited to see the roads were piled high with snow. We marvelled at how thick the snow was and all jumped around in it until the novelty wore off and we realized all our clothes were wet.
• Walked along the coast into the city, with beautiful mountain view and water, and little Puffins swimming around.
• The city itself is quite small, the main shopping strip, Skolavordustigur St and Laugavegur St, is lined with cool shops of things I can’t afford. I did look longingly at some beautiful clothes and shoes. We spent ages in the 66o North store.
• Saw a restaurant that was selling reindeer meat wrapped in pastry…resisted the urge to try…
• Loaded up on tourist brochures at the tourist centre for the next time we want to visit, in summer of course.
• By this time we were desperately in need of a coffee and to get away from the snow. When we found out that Kaffitar has won 2nd place in the World Barista Champions, we were besides ourselves. It didn’t disappoint. The cappuccino was the best I’ve tasted since Australia…The place was packed, and I can understand why.
• The hallgrimskirkja (Hallgrims Church) is probably the best tourist attraction in town. It’s perched on a hill with a statue of Leif Eriksson out the front. The architecture is pretty cool, like harmonica pipes. Inside is ok, but the highlight was definitely the tower (400 ISK), if you can brave the wind. You get to see Reykjavik from all sides. Unfortunately the weather was too overcast to get any decent pics.
• time to look for some sustenance, wondered the streets to the famous hot dog cart, Baejarins Bestu. It’s a little cart, a bit like Harry’s Café de Wheel, it’s an institution in Iceland. There’s really nothing more satisfying than having a hot dog with crunchy onions on a cold winters day.
• Time to visit the pond. More time was spent photographing the ducks and swans, stepping on the ice to see if there were any weak spots.
• We had done everything by about 3:30pm, and as the sun was about to set, it was good timing. Since the weather has cleared, we decided to go to Hallgrims again.
• We missed out on the Einar Jonsson Sculpture Garden last time, so we ventured in this time. All the sculptures were covered in deep snow so you couldn’t really see them, although one really intrigued me…we brushed off the snow to reveal it was of a man and a cow…in a very awkward position. Apart from that, it was like a snow playground. We slid down slopes and sloshed around in the snow.
• We left everyone with their SLRs to capture the fading nights of the church, and walked back to the hotel. Stopped off at Bonus to stock up on our Icelandic products. I was very happy to find Kaffitar coffee beans for sale (and figured that it must be the Starbucks of Iceland). If only we had coffee like that…
• Slokky managed to get us lost on the way back, so had to take a huge detour and track through thick snow before getting back.
• Ate our dinner in the common area. The salmon and bread were quite nice, but the skyr wasn’t to my taste.
• We were already really tired by this time, but we still had the Northern Light tour to go.
• The tours were packed, there were heaps of buses going out. Our guide was this cute old lady who managed to get us quite excited about the Northern Lights. We found out that all Icelanders are very passionate about their country, and she shared her enthusiasm with us.
• Did we see the lights? Maybe…we saw faint hints of the light, a grey band that grew and moved, and then disappeared. It was nothing like what they showed you in the photos. Apparently we caught the end of the lights, a few days earlier they were really active. Better than nothing I suppose. We looked at the photos taken with the SLRs later, and found that the grey bands turned green in the photos…
• The best part though, was walking between the tectonic plates at Ingvellir, where the Icelandic parliament Alingi was founded in 930, which makes it the oldest known functioning parliament in the world. We were between the plates were we saw the first glimpse of the light, which were actually slightly greenish.
• I think what was more exciting was being out in the countryside at night, thick blanket of snow stretched before you, and glazing into the night sky and the stars.
• Got back just after midnight for another exhausting sleep.

Food

• Hotel Cabin buffet:
  • ham
  • cheese
  • cucumber
  • tomato
  • bread with jam
  • oranges
  • cereal
  • yoghurt with mixers
• Kaffitar Cappuccino (300 ISK)
• Baejarins Bestu hot dog with everything
• fried catfish in spelt and barley batter with potatoes and mango skyronaise
• rye bread
• smoked salmon
• salami
• chocolate and banana skyr
• banana

Day 1 17/1/08 - England

London -> Reykjavik

Highlight

• Trust our luck. First, there was going to be a strike on the day we fly out, then when the strike got cancelled we thought we were in the clear.
• Found out a few hours before that there was an accident and they closed a runway at Heathrow, so all planes were delayed. I tried to call the airline to find out more information, but they just said the flight was scheduled and to come to the airport.
• Everyone got there around the same time, got told there was a 1 hour delay, so went off to have dinner.
• We were at Terminal 1 and there were not many shops, so spent a couple of hours in Giraffe discussing anything and everything.
• 2 hours later, managed to board the flight, another hour of delay on the plane, then finally took off.
• So tired by that time, I only managed to eat my meal, I couldn’t sleep but couldn’t quite pay attention to Rush Hour 3 anyway.

Food

• Dinner at Giraffe:
  • Cajun chicken melt (£6.95)
  • Chilli beef lasagne (£7.95) - Deep layered tortilla, smokey angus beef & mixed been chilli with jack cheese, sour cream, fresh tomato salsa & pumpkin seeds
  • Hippy hippy shake (£3.25) - Mango, Pineapple, Passion fruit, Banana & pomegranate juice
• Icelandic air meal:
  • bread roll with butter
  • chicken
  • potato salad
  • chocolate bar
  • apple juice

Trips 2008

1. English Countryside

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

2. Lille

Summary

• Summary

France

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

3. Iceland

Summary

• Summary

Iceland

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

4. Prague

Summary

• Summary

Netherlands

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

5. York

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

6. Leeds

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

7. Stockholm

Summary

• Summary

Sweden

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

8. Easter Weekend

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Food Photos
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos
• Scenic Photos
• Scenic Photos
• Scenic Photos
• Scenic Photos

Netherlands

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

9. Manchester + Chester

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos
• Scenic Photos

10. Copenhagen

Summary

• Summary

Denmark

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere

Sweden

• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere

11. Eindhoven

Summary

• Summary

Netherlands

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

12. Peak District

Summary

• Summary

Sweden

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

13. Oslo

Summary

• Summary

Norway

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

14. Amsterdam

Summary

• Summary

Netherlands

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

15. Wales

Summary

• Summary

Wales

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

16. Paris

Summary

• Summary

France

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

17. Belgium

Summary

• Summary

Belgium

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

18. France

Summary

• Summary

Sweden

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

19. Antwerp

Summary

• Summary

Belgium

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

20. Brighton and Hove

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

21. Paris

Summary

• Summary

France

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

22. Isle of Wight

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

23. Bergen

Summary

• Summary

Norway

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

24. Cardiff

Summary

• Summary

Wales

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

25. Cheltenham

Summary

• Summary

England

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

26. Basel

Summary

• Summary

Switzerland

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

27. MSC Cruise

Summary

• Summary

Sweden

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

28. Belfast

Summary

• Summary

Northern Ireland

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

29. Wales 2

Summary

• Summary

Wales

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

30. Shannon

Summary

• Summary

Ireland

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

31. Lyon

Summary

• Summary

France

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

32. Egypt Cruise

Summary

• Summary

Sweden

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

33. Lake District

Summary

• Summary

Sweden

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Trips 2007

1. Tasmania

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

2. Thailand

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1

Thailand

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos
• Underwater Photos

3. Victoria

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

4. Tasmania

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1

5. Hunter Valley

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

6. Vietnam & Cambodia

Summary

• Summary

Cambodia

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Vietnam

• Day 1
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

7. Hayman Island

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

8. Hong Kong & China

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1

China

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Hong Kong

• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

9. Africa

Summary

• Summary

Africa

• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

10. Amsterdam

Summary

• Summary

Netherlands

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

11. Valencia

Summary

• Summary

Spain

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

12. Gdansk

Summary

• Summary

Poland

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

13. Dublin

Summary

• Summary

Ireland

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

14. San Francisco

Summary

• Summary

USA

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

15. Paris

Summary

• Summary

France

• Day 2
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 1

Trips 2006

1. Round the World

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1

Canada

• Day 54
• Day 55
• Day 56
• Day 57
• Day 58
• Day 59
• Day 60
• Day 61
• Day 62
• Day 63
• Day 64
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

England

• Day 44
• Day 45
• Day 46
• Day 47
• Day 48
• Day 49
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Germany

• Day 15
• Day 16
• Day 50
• Day 51
• Day 52
• Day 53
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Italy

• Day 17
• Day 18
• Day 19
• Day 20
• Day 21
• Day 22
• Day 23
• Day 24
• Day 25
• Day 26
• Day 27
• Day 28
• Day 29
• Day 30
• Day 31
• Day 32
• Day 33
• Day 34
• Day 35
• Day 36
• Day 37
• Day 38
• Day 39
• Day 40
• Day 41
• Day 42
• Day 43
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Japan

• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7
• Day 8
• Day 9
• Day 10
• Day 11
• Day 12
• Day 13
• Day 14
• Regional Specialties
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

2. Gold Coast

Summary

• Summary

Australia

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Things you see Everywhere
• Food Photos
• Scenic Photos

Day 4 30/9/07 - Africa

Victoria Falls

Highlight

• Woke up early, had a leisurely breakfast, then sat around waiting for the tour to start. Since the agreed time was 9:30 it wasn't long enough to do anything, so I was feeling bored already.
• Our pickup was 20 mins late, I tried some dried fruit that tastes like Chinese sour prunes.
• Finally met most, but not all, the people on the tour. Most had been on a tour before and already know people, except me. I already felt like the odd one out.
• Weather has been quite hot, especially in the sun.
• Our truck was smaller than I expected, and not very comfy, all the people who knew each other all sat together.
• Got to campsite, which was quite nice. Then I found out about the upgrade, which they didn't tell us about before. At most campsites, you can pay a little extra to stay in rooms instead of camping. Since I was bunking with Lynne, and she wanted to upgrade, I spent my first day in a room.
• Had some general chit-chat with the girls while they went about doing their laundry. We had to hang around the campsite until after lunch to venture out. I can feel it's going to be a very slow tour.
• Since there was no time to do any activities, went to walk around Vic Falls with the girls. The USD 20 entry fee was worth it. The Falls was supposed to be in dry season, so there were only patches of water, but they still put out this spectacular spray and a thunderous roar. We walked from one end to the other, but didn't go down the 76 steps. I wanted to, but no one else did, so I didn't go by myself. we walked all the way to the bridge, where I just missed seeing someone bungy off it.
• took heaps of shots, I guess partly to justify the entry cost.
• Watched another a Capella group, and had to give away more money.
• The tourist police took us via a "short cut", by walking through teh trees to this "really good" market. The sellers aren't as pushy as the Asian ones I'm used to, but they always talk to you, but the other girls were fully into it, buying lots of stuff.
• We tried going to the "supermarket", but it was closed, we went to 7/11 instead. As I was soon to find out, going to a shop doesn't actually mean there will be anything on sale.
• Came back for more chilling. We have to do chores every night, consisting of either cooking, washing, or truck cleaning.
• Dinner was pretty bland, but the other people were really into it...
• Argued our way out of paying for an expensive room 'cos of some misunderstanding.
• Our tour guide finally arranged to change some Zim dollars for us, so we didn't have to pay some extortionist prices for stuff. The currency actually had expiry dates, and we found out that they were changing it again at the end of October.
• A pretty uneventful day really, where I didn't get to do what I wanted. I hope it gets better when the tour proper starts.

Food

• Sprayview breakfast:
  • sausage
  • baked beans
  • fried egg
  • tomato
  • grapefruit and tamarillo
• wholegrain bread with salad and salami
• dried fruit
• spaghetti bolognese
• squash with cheese and corn
• tea

Day 3 29/9/07 - Africa

Johannesburg -> Victoria Falls

Highlight

• Checked out without a problem, the airport ride was smooth.
• The VAT was such a joke. They only half looked at your goods, I actually managed to get the VAT back for all the food I'd already eaten, but then the guy refused to refund it on my credit card, and made me cash a cheque at the bureau de change next door, which I had to pay R20 fee, on top of the R11.22R processing fees. So I ended up getting R60.40 back from my R807 worth of spending. I reckon they must have some arrangement going on. if I didn't have so much time I wouldn't have bothered. What a riot!
• I looked through the whole of Jburg airport. At least there weren't much people so I didn't have to wait.
• Read about my horrible BA experience here
• The flight itself was quick. Victoria Falls airport had no air-conditioning, and we had to wait in the heat for the very long visa process, but the non-visa line was even worst.
• Then had to wait in the heat for the airport transfer. Pickup was no problem this time.
• Met a NZ girl, Fiona, who was a travel agent, lived in London for 2 years, and on another Kumuka tour, so we hung out for the day.
• We booked a "cruise" on the Zambesi river, but because we had to be back by 6pm for the pre departure meeting, we missed out on the booze cruise.
• I had a dip in the pool, which was kinda cold and had lots of bugs, and read a bit.
• We had a driver and a "guide", who of course, turned out to be the salesperson of course. She was ok though. The whole thing was very basic, but at least it was only the 2 of us on the boat, and beer and "snacks" were included. 55 USD is not too bad for Vic Falls.
• We sailed along, looking for animals, and saw some hippos and baboons. We also got out the fishing rods and did some pretend fishing.
• Managed to see some monkeys and warthogs on the road back.
• Met my group, which turned out to be mostly Aussies. They had all been on previous trips before, so I befriended an English lady, Lynne, from Manchester.
• Since it was so late and dangerous to go out, ate an expensive dinner at the hotel, where there was a choice of curry, steak or fish only. They had also run out of soft drinks AND beers by the end of the night.
• Some a Capella group came to perform for us, and instead of tipping, I bought their CD. I didn't really want it, but I didn't really have the change for tipping.
• I didn't like having to tip for everything.
• Already spent most of my cash today, at least I don't need to carry it around.

Food

• banana
• coffee
• apple juice
• sparkling grape juice
• chicken sandwich
• breath mint
• mixed plate: beef, sausage/wrust, meatball, cheese pastry, samosa, spring roll
• Pilsner from Harare x2
• bream with chips and vegetables (USD 20)

Day 2 28/9/07 - Africa

Abu Dhabi -> Johannesburg

Highlight

• Landed on time again, but the entertainment system was broken so I didn't get to watch much.
• Took ages to get my bags.
• I didn't see my airport pick-up, so loads of taxi drivers were trying to pick me up.
• Finally got transferred to the airport, all their drivers are very nice, although they like to speed and drive while talking on their mobiles.
• After I sorted out the confusion with stupid expedia at the Mercure, had a quick rest, then took another transfer to Sandton City Shopping Centre.
• I was really disappointed as everything was exactly the same as Oz and UK or some equivalent of them.
• People dress exactly the same too, with the exception of their hairs I suppose.
• They certainly hire a lot more people per shop but all the shop keepers were friendly and helpful.
• There were no food that you couldn't get elsewhere too, probably the only exception was biltong, so that's what I got to eat.
• I got bored of Sandton really quickly as the products and the prices were the same, but to waste time, I spent from 12pm to 6pm there and walked almost every single shop. It's really kinda like Westfields Parramatta. I couldn't even buy any clothes as most shops only get 1 or 2 things in small sizes so there usually isn't anything. My shopping consisted of a hat, insect repellent stick, a water filter. I had a hell of a time trying to claim the VAT back. The information was so confusing, but hopefully it will work out, as the girl put the prices of all my food on the receipt.
• Nelson Mandela Square was also not that interesting. There was that big statue, but the restaurants were not interesting and there was nothing else to see. There wasn't even any seats at the square.
• I went to the library there just to waste more time. It was interestingly designed, but they had no internet.
• Called up Slokky and found out he was going to Turin.
• Watched Friends and a Van Damme movie to pass the time.
• Went to bed pretty early before Slokky decided to ring me up in the middle of the night.

Food

• Etihad snack:
  • chicken roll
  • Mars bar
• Etihad breakfast:
  • orange juice
  • fresh seasonal fruits
  • egg shashouka, baharat potatoes, feta cheese, foul medames
  • fruit bun
• savory biscuits
• sesame seed bagel (R2.39)
• mango atchar (R6.13)
• banana (R5.99/kg)
• smoked Jagwurst (R79.99/kg)

Day 1 27/9/07 - England

London -> Abu Dhabi

Highlight

• Well, everything went very smoothly, for London that is. There was a short way for the tube and crowds. Heathrow was doing its usual slow crawl. The weirdest thing is probably that they make you take off your shoes for a security check. Two hours is just the right time to get through all that security. I'm also happy that you can fill up on water at the airport.
• The flight was great. The service was excellent and I got to sit next to a pretty Romanian girl. There was plenty of food and drink, loads of GOOD magazines and the in-flight system was excellent. So the 7 hour flight passed in no time.
• Got to Abu Dhabi international. The airport is smaller than I thought and quite crowded for 12 in the morning...at least they have some free internet for you to pass your time here.

Food

• Etihad snack:
  • pineapple juice
  • apple juice
  • savory biscuits
• Etihad lunch:
  • soft bakery roll
  • "raw living" green salad with smoked salmon and Phily cheese roulade, fresh lemon
  • Lamb Balti - mildly spiced balti jus, yellow and white rice, vegetable korma
  • chocolate and pistachio mousse cake with passionfruit coulis
  • cheese and crackers
• Hagan-Daaz Belgium chocolate

Africa 2007

Simple Plan:
England -> South Africa -> Zimbabwe -> Mozambique -> South Africa -> England

Expanded Plan:
London -> Johannesburg -> Victoria Falls -> Bulawayo -> Matobo National Park -> Antelope Park -> Vilanculos -> Bazaruto Archipelago -> Inhambane -> Ponta da Barra - Maputo -> Kruger National Park -> Johannesburg -> London

Date:
27/9/07 - 15/10/07

Flying:
Etihad + Comair

Cost:
$$$

Things you see everywhere in Africa

Johannesburg

• cars
• different nationalities
• Australian stuff
• new housing developments
• new suburbs

South Africa

• green farmland and rolling hills

Zimbabwe

• animals
• dry arid land
• roadside markets
• people carrying babies on back and loads on their heads
• empty shops and supermarkets
• bars with no beers
• beer ads
• black market money exchange
• lines for bread, ATM...etc

Mozambique

• rural huts
• streetside markets
• land mines
• beaches
• water
• houses with no roof
• palm trees
• M Cel advertisements
• garbage on the streets

Etihad Airways Flight EY11

Time

The airport was much less crowded on this transit, and I managed to grab a free Internet straight away, so the time passed quickly. We took off 30 minutes late because we were waiting for some passenger for some baggage? Anyhow, it all worked out well, we arrived back to London on time.

Rating - 4

Comfort

This Airbus A346 was the most crowded I've been on. Granted, it still wasn't full and I sat next to this lovely (but old) gentleman who got my bags and graciously moved for me anytime I needed to go to the loo! I didn't do too much, just finished watching Invisible (strange but compelling), and The Wendell Baker Story (I still don't know what that was about).

Rating - 4

Service

Well, they weren't very good at delivering the drinks, so I actually had to press the call button twice to get some sort of juice. Besides that, the usual friendly Etihad service I have now come to expect.

Rating - 3

Allowance/Gifts

The usual.

Rating - 3

Food

Well, it's the same menu as the Abu Dhabi to Jburg flight, so I got to try another item on the menu. If I were trying with them all the time, you could get bored with the menu. Fortunately, my breakfast was pretty nice. I still don't like the dry bread they serve, but apart from that, all good and plenty of it too.

Rating - 3

Value

Part of my 439 Pound flight deal.

Rating - 3

Jumbo Points - 20

Info

Abu Dhabi -> London
15 Oct 07, 02:55 - 07:40
Website

Etihad Airways Flight EY601

Time

There was a short wait at check-in, but otherwise the fligth was very on time. In fact, the captain informed us that there was absolutely no wind and the weather was great, so we would arrive right on time. Great! More time for me to go on the Internet on my stopover!

Rating - 5

Comfort

This Airbus A332 was like the others. I was originally seated next to this woman, but she wanted to sit next to her lover, so she wanted me to swap seats with her. I happily obliged as it was another relatively empty flight, so I was able to move to an aisle seat. Well, this out that didn't do much good as the selfish guy on the row of four decided that he would take up 3 seats to sleep on, leaving me squashed on one anyway. Plus, he kept farting the whole way!

I was disappointed they didn't have the v-cam on, but I watched Mr Brooks (excellent), License to Wed (lame), He was a Quiet Guy (weird but compelling).

Rating - 4

Service

I couldn't understand the guy at the check-in counter at all. I had to ask him all sorts of information about my flight and transfer. I asked if I had to pick up my own luggage and he didn't answer properly, so I just hope things are like last time, and my stuff will get to London. Good thing it's the end of my trip so I don't really care that much. The staff on board were great as usual, but they didn't bring around as much drinks as I liked, plus there were no ice-creams. The captain was informative and clear as usual.

Rating - 3.5

Allowance/Gifts

I checked in again with only 15kg of luggage, and got the same eye patch things. The only difference was they had the blankets all wrapped up - I wonder if I can take one of those?

Rating - 3

Food

Well, the hot meal was better than the other flight, so maybe I just chose correctly this time. No ice cream so I was disappointed. The snack of sandwiches were very un-exciting.

Rating - 3

Value

Part of my 439 Pound flight deal.

Rating - 3

Jumbo Points - 21.5

Info

Johannesburg -> Abu Dhabi
14 Oct 07, 10:30 - 20:15
Website

British Airways Flight BA6281

Time

I checked in nice and early, Jburg airport was very efficient, so I spent a lot of time at the airport. Luckily the airport is quite nice. The staff warned you at check-in that they don't have boarding calls so you just have to be at the gate. So, they got us on the bus, transferred the 10 or so of us out to the plane, only to be fold by the captain that the flight would be delayed because of a missing part, but that we could have a free coffee on the airline. I was fine with it since I had nothing to do at Vic Falls anyway, so they decided to take us to the BA lounge. I got a drink and started using the Internet, I wasn't interested in eating anything. Anyway, I was typing away, and next thing I know, I was the only one in the lounge. It seemed that the ground crew knew the plane was ready and didn't bother to inform me. If I had not looked around, I would have missed my flight. I was told when I asked the staff at the BA Lounge that I had to run to the gate (which was very far away) as quickly as possible or I would miss the flight.

Rating - 0

Comfort

Well, the BA Lounge was nice enough. It's quite small but then again there weren't any people there anyway. Everything seems to be serve yourself as it was minimally staffed. I was there for such a short time I didn't even get the chance to use the toilets.

There were so little people on the flight that we were spread out all throughout the plane, there were heaps and heaps of legroom for some reason too. In fact, there was so much space between the seats that I actually had to lean forward off my seat to use the tray table. The flight was pretty comfy for a small plane. The coat hook was very useful, but there was no footrest (not that I could've reached it anyway!).

Rating - 4

Service

Well, you can definitely see the difference. The captain was very nice, apologetic and informative. The cabin crew were ok, below the SA standard I was getting at the hotels and shopping malls, but they were pretty rude to me when I asked for a drink. Gees, there were 3 of them serving like 10 people! And don't get me started about those idiotic ground crew...hmmm, maybe I should file a complaint...people always seem to get free stuff out of them.

Rating - 1

Allowance/Gifts

Well, as usual, I had nothing to check in anyway. You don't get any comforts for such a short flight.

Rating - 3

Food

The food was terrible! A very bland and dry pita bread that had a whole in it and wasn't cut properly, so the filling was already falling out before you started eating it.

Rating - 1

Value

This was ZAR 1288. About 210 AUD.

Rating - 1

Jumbo Points - 10

Info

Johannesburg -> Victoria Falls
29 Sep 07, 09:15 - 10:50
Website

Etihad Airways Flight EY600

Time

I didn't have to check in or get my luggage again, so it was a very easy transit from the airport. They didn't really provide any information though, so I had to find it all out by myself. We had to line up for ages for the X-ray machine, and all these other people pushed in because their flight was leaving.

Once I got to Jburg, our bags took AGES to arrive, and there was this confusion with the luggage belt, so we were running around everywhere.

Rating - 3

Comfort

Airbus A332. I had to sit next to some really fat guy, just my luck, especially when more than half the flight was empty. I moved the first change i got and nabbed a 2 seater, so I was able to have a semi lie down.

The In-flight entertainment system was not working properly, it keeps not working after seeing 1 movie, on both of the seats I was on, but luckily this flight was at sleeping down so it wasn't too bad, but I still can't sleep on the plane. I only managed to fit in The Ex (much better than I thought).

Rating - 3.5

Service

Well, maybe because it was a night flight? But the staff definitely didn't deliver as much water. Other than that, they were great. The captain wasn't as informative than the other flights, but better than all the other airlines anyway.

Rating - 4

Allowance/Gifts

The same eye-patch thing.

Rating - 2.5

Food

Food was not that great again, but there were lots. We got a small meal before we took off and an ok breakfast, but no ice-cream.

Rating - 2.5

Value

Part of my 439 Pound flight deal.

Rating - 3

Jumbo Points - 18.5

Info

Abu Dhabi -> Johannesburg
28 Sep 07, 02:25 - 08:20
Website

Etihad Airways Flight EY12

Time

The check in didn't take as long as expected. I got on with no problems at all. Well, my luggage was only a bit over 10kg, so it looks like I can buy much more stuff on the way back, hahaha! All the delays is because of BAA, so I can't fault Etihad at all.

We took off 30 minutes late, but arrived only 10 minutes late. Since I had to wait 3 hours for my next flight anyway, what time we landed actually didn't matter with me. In fact, the flight was so comfy I wished we'd spent more time in the air.

Rating - 3

Comfort

We flew in an Airbus A346. The seat configuration was 2,4,2. It was a pretty empty flight, so people were pretty spread out and there was no queues for the toilets! The seats - has the bend back head rest which I like, had a footrest which I like, but the length is quite short - which I don't care about at all!

There are many things to occupy your time. They provided an excellent range of newspaper and mags at the waiting area. Their inflight magazine is not bad at all. The best thing though is definitely their in flight entertainment. I managed to finish off all the movies I started on the Cathay flight. Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer (crap), Paris, Je T'aime (very French), Fracture (very gripping), Chaos (an EXCELLENT movie). The screen was big, has all the usual controls, and it even operates as a touch screen. There are loads of videos on demand and the remote is really good. The headphones they provide are excellent. Well padded and comfortable, and most importantly, not too big.

The time flew by in a flash. I didn't sleep so I'll report on that the next flight. And if that's not enough to keep you occupied, you can watch the takeoff and landing on the screen as they have a vi-cam attached.

Rating - 3

Service

The check in desk was quite good. They checked that I had the right visa, assured me about my luggage for my transfer, and adviced me that it took awhile to get to the gate.

Once on board, the staff were very polite. I didn't need them much as my in-flight entertainment was very good. They constantly brought us drinks, took away rubbish and stuff. They cater to all the people who are fasting for ramadan, and served their meals when they could eat too.

The best thing though, is actually the information they provide you. The co-pilot was so informative about EXACTLY what was happening, and spoke in very clear English.

Rating - 4.5

Allowance/Gifts

Well, the magazines at the boarding gates were great. You also get socks, earplugs and a mask, so that's all the stuff you need and none of the stuff you don't. I don't know how lax they are with extra allowance, but I don't think I will try to find out.

Rating - 4

Food

Well, since they won the Skytrax award this year for best in-flight catering, I was expecting big things. My meal was pretty good, don't get me wrong, but I didn't think it was better than other meals I've had. I think they were pretty generous with their food though, and I love their constant supply of drinks, so I never felt I was thirsty or anything.

Rating - 3.5

Value

My London to Jburg return costs me 439 booked online. As I booked at pretty much the last minute, I think it was an ok deal. However, considering the plane was half empty and I am sure I received much better service and a lot more miles, it was great. I've also decided 7 hours is probably the ideal time for a flight, so having a break instead of going direct is probably not a bad idea!

Rating - 3

Jumbo Points - 21

Info

London-> Abu Dhabi
27 Sep 07, 13:05 - 23:15
Website

Day 1 31/8/07 - Australia

Sydney -> Hong Kong

Highlight

• With nothing to do, we arrived at the airport a little too early. The check in wasn't actually open so we had to wait in line. It seemed thought that everyone else had the same idea, so there was a huge line at check in by the time they opened.
• We ate our weight's worth at the Qantas lounge - which was quite boring btw, then ate some more on the plane.
• Business class - it's definitely better, and the service on Cathay is ten times better than Qantas.
• Arrived at the airport, with our boxes of apple, and had no problems getting out. The airport was so busy and the crowds were so huge, but we only had a short wait.
• Got to uncle's house, observing the night views and all the new buildings that have been built in the last couple of years.
• No more food for us, off to bed.

Food

• Qantas lounge:
  • roast beef sandwich
  • turkey cranberry roll
  • tomato roll
  • apple juice
  • champagne orange juice strawberry
  • peas and potato curry salad
  • caesar salad
  • asparagus soup with croutons
  • pea and ham soup
  • chicken nuggets
  • falafel
  • cappuccino
  • chocolate biscuit
  • cheesecake
  • chocolate tart
  • blue, brie and cheddar cheese
• Cathay dinner:
  • Starter
    • seasonal mixed salad served with palm sugar dressing
    • mustard marinated prawns with roasted zucchini and salsa Verde
  • Main course
    • Grilled beef fillet iwth green and yellow beans potato and leek gratin and red wine thyme jus
    • lamb tagine with mixed fruit cous cous
  • Cheese and Dessert
  • Fresh seasonal fruit
  • chocolate cake with King Island cream
  • cappuccino
  • praline
• Cathay refreshment:
  • Starter
    • fresh seasonal fruit
  • Noodle Soup and Savouries
    • Wontons in noodle soup served with chilli sauce
    • chicken and lamb satay on fried rice with satay sauce
  • Dessert
  • lemon tart
  • chocolate brownie
  • cappuccino
  • praline