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Published: July 22nd 2007
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Now that we have returned, albeit to an appliance meltdown and a the need for a new switchboard, we have had some time to reflect and give you a few new observations. It is also an opportunity to add a few photos, missing from the earlier missives.
Time of travel
Now, we have been traveling overseas for many years, but have only recently come to grips with the best timing. Now, the problem of living in Brisbane is that one has to fly south to Sydney before going anywhere else in the world, other than NZ. We thought that by travelling via Singapore Airlines straight to Singapore was a good move. Unfortunately the flight left at midnight and the next day in Singapore very tiring. The best time of day to travel is early and the best time of arrival late. For example we left Heathrow at midday and arrived home at 9pm, so could unpack, go to bed tired and wake next morning with no tiredness. So leave early and arrive late!
Singapore/London Transport
The Singapore rapid transit system is everything one expects from such a system. Oh for Queensland Rail and BCC buses to
get together in this way!
I have always been a fan of the London underground, and to find out that the "old' Northern Line carries 600 000 people every day is amazing. The sad thing is that the other trains serving the underground stations are not incorporated into the major system, so separate fare structures, ticketing are a bit confusing for a visitor. Go the Lord Mayor of London in his quest to control all rail lines ending in London!
Scotland
What an amazing group of people! The day after we arrived in the cold and rain, at 8pm, 10, 000 women (and an occasional man) ran a marathon or 1/2 marathon wearing only a bra and running shorts. The event, called the MoonWalk Edinburgh, was to raise awareness and cash for breast cancer! We saw a few tired but happy contestants the next day!
Security
We left London for Canterbury the day after the incidents in the East End of London. We were blissfully unaware of this until we went to Charring Cross Station for our trip. There were Police everywhere and we wondered where the people were! We missed the dramas at Glasgow,
as we flew through Edinburgh. We found that the trip through airport security was harder when there was no security alert than when there was an alert. In fairness, Security firms roster on extra staff on at those times, so the queues actually are shorter, even though they do extra checks.
The Three Bedroom Flat in Slovakia
Now, we stayed with our friend Chris in Kerazmok (an eastern Slovakian town of 20 000 people) for a few nights. There were four of us, Chris, his son Daniel and we two. Chris lives in a one room flat, with a 4 ft wide kitchen and small toilet & bathroom. We had it big, sleeping in a fold down settee in the bedroom/lounge room/dining room/computer room…..Luxury! Daniel slept in the entrance hall in Chris’ bed, which took up the whole space and he had to fold up his bed for any of us the visit any of the other rooms, or exit the apartment! Chris slept (?) on a lilo under the kitchen bench! We feel privileged to have experienced such luxury in an apartment costing $15/week to rent! We feel privileged to have experienced such luxury in an apartment
costing $15/week to rent!
Young Slovakian Women
I don’t know how many of you keep up to date with new supermodels, but I was not surprised to find out that many are Slovakian Citizens. The women there are among the most beautiful women we have seen anywhere! Long legged blondes abound and it’s a joy to see them.
A Missionary Blessing
To all who believe, I would recommend getting one of these before doing such a trip. We had a really smooth incident free set of flights, and despite losing my sim card (in Orange shop in Edinburgh) and passport (at Heathrow, when I dropped it right beside a security guard) we got everything back with no dramas. Thanks Lord.
Weather
As you read earlier we had heaps of rain in Britain, but now we are home, its still dry, the buckets are back in the shower and the baths in Canterbury and Edinburgh just a memory. To add to this Brisbane is having it’s coldest winter for years and due to our power problems we can't even use the heater.
The following photos are to add to the colour of
the trip.
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