Read this blog: The one where we find an unexpected use for toilet paper Friday 6th March 2026 After a relative lie-in, we checked out at 09:00 and Dilanka drove us to see the Aukana Temple which houses a statue of the Buddha, carved directly out of the granite. Created in the fifth century and set in a shallow alcove, the Buddha stands 42 feet [12m] tall on a lotus pedestal, facing east [see feature photo]. The carving of the material in the robe demonstrates particular expertise as it appears transparent with the undergarment [andanakada] visible. The statue would have originally been housed in a pilimage or image house but is now open to the elements with a metal canopy to protect it from the elements. Added later was the siraspatha – the flame-like ornament on the Buddha’s head – which signifies the flame of enlightenment and is similar to a halo in the Christian tradition. Signs at temples forbid selfies as it is disrespectful to turn your back on his image but Dilanka offered to take a photo for us and we were asked to turn sideways slightly [see not quite Selfie of the day]. Dilanka also showed us […]
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Read this blog: The one where we drank egg coffee for the first, and not the last, time Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd February 2025 Surprisingly Luang Prabang International Airport is just 4km out from the centre and so is considerably closer than the train station. It is vast but is currently obviously operating significantly under capacity. There was comparatively little to do once we passed through security and immigration but as we sat having a little liquid refreshment, Robert heard an announcement over the tannoy asking him to report back to check-in. Luckily people are attuned to hearing their own name, even when it is pronounced with an unusual foreign intonation as Matilda was totally oblivious. She allowed herself a little wry smile as he set off. Robert had to go back through security and passport control to the check-in desks and was directed to a back office which effectively opened onto the runway where they were scanning luggage and were holding his case back. It transpired that he had left his emergency telephone which he packs in case of loss or theft [without any SIM or the power on] in his hold luggage but on Vietnam Airlines all phones […]
Read this blog: The one where we find Matilda’s legs are too short Monday 18th March 2024 In 1885, or possibly 1889 depending on the historical source, French archaeologists claimed credit for discovering the Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples and associated buildings. Frenchmen Louis Finot and Launet de Lajongquere began the first excavation in 1898-99, work which was subsequently continued by their compatriot Parmentier between 1903 and 1904. Built between the 4th and the 14th centuries by the Kings of Champa, the site comprises eight main groups of 71 ruined temples and monuments in Quang Nam Province, in central Vietnam. The Cham people drew on Hinduism from India for their spiritual beliefs and the site is thought to have been the Champa religious and political capital for most of the Champa Kingdom’s existence. We arranged to hire a car to take us to the site, wait while we looked round and then drive us back. To the right beyond the entrance there is a museum, including many of the artefacts found at Mỹ Sơn. The entrance itself is some way from the ancient monuments and we were thankful for the free electric shuttle service […]
Read this blog: The one where we slowly begin to remember Monday 2nd to Thursday 5th October 2023 Having decided to postpone our visit to Dijon for another trip, Robert booked an extra night at the campsite in Lyon so that we could relax and have extended time in one place to see some sights and do our laundry. Sad but true. When we arrived we were told that the swimming pool would be closing that night for the season. Since it was sunny and hot, we felt we would stay on site and make use of the pool as it would be our only opportunity to do so. As we chilled in the pool we also planned to spread our culture and sightseeing over two half days. Late the following morning we travelled into the centre to retrace our footsteps and reacquaint ourselves with the old city. Arriving on the metro at Vieux Lyon, we took the FI funicular [which was already waiting in the station] up to Minimes (Théâtres Romains) to see the amphitheatre. Robert said we had taken this route before although Matilda definitely recalls Robert making her walk up the hill in the heat last time […]
![USA ’22 #9: The Empire Builder [Chicago to New Orleans]](https://i0.wp.com/iciel.uk/imagesTH/22-03-USA/Post9/22-03-09-feature.jpeg?resize=570%2C350)
Monday 9th to Wednesday 11th May 2022 The Amtrak service between Chicago and the Pacific northwest coast is called the Empire Builder which seemed a strange choice of name to us having spent several days in Boston learning about the American struggle to escape the shackles and restrictions of the British Empire. Empire Builder was however James J. Hill’s nickname. This gentleman acquired several failing railroads and reorganised them into The Great Northern Railway described as the ‘only successful attempt at a privately funded transcontinental railroad’. The first ever Empire Builder was inaugurated on June 10, 1929 and named after James J. Hill – the company’s founder. We had again booked a roomette. Cody our charming sleeper car attendant greeted us as we boarded. This time, however, there was no personal toilet in the roomette so it was marginally narrower with a little less space for changing and undressing once the beds were made up. One of the dining car attendants went through the train to confirm what time people wanted to have their evening meal. We had a momentary trans-Atlantic mis-communication when Robert asked for the ‘half seven’ sitting. An international incident was avoided when we realised we needed to say seven thirty […]
Saturday 12th to Monday 14th March 2022 The “Dash for Diggle” to make the booking for Standedge Tunnel had a knock on effect for the rest of the schedule. Robert had hoped that the planned works at Hebdon Bridge would be finished by the time we got there. Regular checks on the website continued to show the completion date as Friday 18th March. With time to spare, Day 25 was therefore declared a day of rest in Brighouse. As this was a Saturday with two Six Nations matches on Robert didn’t feel this was too much of a sacrifice. Robert and Henry fortified themselves for the day ahead, this time with a Wetherspoons cooked breakfast at a very reasonable price. Matilda, Sue and Henry took a stroll round the town in the morning. The Ship Inn, was built in 1926 using timbers from the HMS Donegal built in 1868. When we told a friend that we were staying in Brighouse she exclaimed that it was “brass band country and lovely up there”. Matilda was therefore not surprised to see the street art celebrating the mill band. As we are currently on the route known as the Cheshire Ring she also bought […]
Saturday 11th January 2020 9- St Petersburg was founded on 27 May 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great who had a vision, following visits to the Netherlands and Great Britain, of building Russia’s first European city. It is certainly conceived on a grand scale with wide boulevards, extravagant palaces and vast ceremonial squares. Lying on the River Neva delta, St Petersburg includes over 300 km of rivers, tributaries and canals: Peter apparently originally planned to use boats for transport in the summer months. In winter people would be able to cross the frozen river on foot or by horse and carriage. A temporary bridge would be built each summer. St Petersburg was the capital of the Russian Empire between 1712–1728 and again between 1732–1918: in total around 200 years. Peter II, was crowned at the age of 11, and those acting as regents for the young monarch transferred the capital from St Petersburg or Moscow from 1728 to 1732. Peter II tragically died of small pox on the day planned for his wedding and St Petersburg was subsequently reinstated as the capital of Imperial Russia. It ceased being the capital in 1918 after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Having had our training from Marina […]
Friday, 22nd November 2019 Today we travel from Rabat to Tanger and move from predominantly French influences to a previously held Spanish territory. As we left Rabat we said farewell to the performance hall/opera house which was being built on the river bank opposite our hotel. An amazing construction [see feature photo at the top of the blog], this manages to combine elements of Concorde with the organic majesty of a whale. It is streamlined and beautiful. We have been impressed throughout out trip to Morocco with the huge infrastructure developments that are underway. There is building work everywhere and the completed buildings are impressive and modern with a Moroccan style. The most notable developments that we have noticed have been the railway stations: Marrakech, Casa Voyageurs and Rabat. At all of them ONCF, the Moroccan railway company, has left the original French railway building and attached to it a modern, functional and spacious railway station. As in much of the rest of Rabat, there are building works going on at the station at Rabat Ville. It looks as though the tramline will eventually come undercover into the station and the exterior is already taking shape. In 2018, after 10 […]
Tuesday 9th to Wednesday 10th July 2010 From Sassari we travelled south by train almost the length of Sardinia to its capital city, Cagliari. Even though we have had to use buses for some of our trip, Robert was pleased to be greeted at the station by the sight of a stream train. We found our hotel was closer to the airport than the centre and there are many hills and steep gradients in the city, but having taken a taxi to the hotel we found that, happily, they are not outrageously expensive. The hotel provided us with a map which included a walking route past many of the major sights. Despite the cloud cover it was still oppressively hot and we decided to take a taxi to the centre to get our bearings and after a stroll around, we found the Antico Caffe, with a fine view of the Bastione San Remy and tasty snacks to accompany our chilled beer. Whilst there, we experienced a little light rainfall. On Wednesday, having seen the topography of the city and the number of steps and steep streets as well as noting that three lifts had been installed around the Bastione San […]
Saturday 16th March 2019 The Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays and we were originally advised that Sunday would be quieter than Saturday so planned to visit Agra Fort first. However, on the day, Amit, our guide, suggested that it might be better to visit the Taj Mahal and then Agra Fort on the same day as the weather was good and, like England, it can be unpredictable. There are two different entrance fees for tourists and locals as well as different queues for male and female for each type of ticket. Every visitor has to go through a security scanner and then entry to the main complex is via the North Gate, which is made of traditional red sandstone. Taj Mahal means “Crown of the Palaces” and it was commissioned in 1632 by Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite, and third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who had died the previous year while giving birth to their 14th child. It is said that over 1,000 elephants and 20,000 craftsmen were needed to move heavy materials and complete the building work. Widely regarded as being one of the most beautiful and romantic buildings in the world, the majority of […]
Friday, 19th October 2018 We had been undecided about our next stop but when Matilda looked it up, Nancy boasts a UNESCO world heritage square and this swayed the decision. As we were leaving, the pleasant Dutch couple in the motorhome next to us at the aire in Metz recommended only buying fuel from supermarket sites. Unless you are in Luxembourg, of course, where the petrol is cheap. So that is a tip for the future. Ralf seems to have decided that he prefers to be able to see out of the window on the journeys. The aire in Nancy is near the marina again and also just a short walk from the city. These central locations are excellent. We arrived around midday and a slightly disheveled man guided us into a parking place which had disabled markings on the ground so we would certainly not have parked there otherwise. We decided to wait until the capitainerie du port (harbour master) returned at two to pay for our place before heading into the city. He proved to be both pleasant and helpful, had spent time in Potters Bar and Reading and provided a map of the city as well as detailed information […]
Wednesday, 15th August 2018 Today was an unusually late start for us. We normally like to get a train around 08:00 which allows us to get up about 06:00, pack, then breakfast at 07:00 and then leave the hotel at 07:30-ish. This means that if we do a train ride of around two hours we can walk to our new hotel, drop the bags off, grab a free local printed map and then get to a cafe for the day’s planning over a cup of coffee. There is nothing better than circling the spots to visit on a paper map using a real writing implement so that you can visualise, and draw, the day’s route. Our train today is at 14:04, only because it is the only direct service to Brasov that has 1st class accommodation available. The hotel we are staying in has the luxury of a swimming pool. As you know Matilda likes a good swim, but not on a full stomach. So pre breakfast swimming it was. Matilda doing lengths while Robert was doing strange under water exercises to combat his sciatica. After the pool we enjoyed the Romanian’s view of a full English breakfast. After a […]
So, to finish off this brief trip we took a morning walk with Ralf along Southwold harbour. Our aim was to have breakfast at the Harbour Café. Unfortunately when we arrived there were other groups sat outside with their dogs. Although Ralf was on his best behaviour the other dogs did not seem to like him and expressed their views loudly. We decided to make a hasty retreat when we noticed another outside seating area belonging to the Café. Away from other customers and in the sunshine we were able to relax and eat our cooked breakfasts. (Ralf particularly enjoyed the ends of Robert’s sausages). After packing up at the campsite we made a stop at the reception to book another trip as a pre-retirement weekend for Matilda. This time with Ruth, Jaime and Harrison as well as Ralf: two pitches required and canvas will also be involved. And the reason for the blog’s title: Ralf passed his trial trip…he will now be joining us on our two month European trip (in Alan) starting in October. All we now need to do is to get him a passport and plan a more rural route.