When we have stayed in Salisbury in the past it's usually only been for a weekend and we latterly stayed in the Old Mill in Harnham, across Constable's meadows from the cathedral. I didn't really want to stay in hotel for what is more or less a week and remembered walking or driving past this place many times. We were very lucky because on one of the many hugely discounted days/weekends that come up from time to time, I found an apartment for half price. So here we are. And very nice it is too.
I also, last June, found heavily discounted business class flights to and from Abu Dhabi from Melbourne at the beginning of March. These connected with discounted economy flights from Abu Dhabi London. I bought them, while they were available The Melbourne to Abu Dhabi leg is the long leg so it made sense to travel that leg business class - if you could get tickets at a sensible price.
As is the way with things, the trip that had been booked last June and was For Ever in the future, suddenly was Right Now. So we packed, got organised and took ourselves to the airport on the airport shuttle bus from Ballarat.
The plane to Abu Dhabi was fairly new and very comfortable. The bed space was more than big enough for me and I slept quite well overnight (the flight left at 10:30 pm). It wasn't quite big enough for Jim but he says he slept reasonably well. I had bought extra leg space on the onward flight. The plane was older but we had ample space and it was still quite comfortable.
I don't usually go via the Middle East. Usually I go to Japan or Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and then take flights from there. No stop overs on this trip. But it was very interesting flying into Abu Dhabi and then flying on up through the Persian Gulf, looking at Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait on the way. I hadn't realised how flat (and sandy/dusty) they are. A tsunami in the Gulf would be a catastrophe.
We took a coach from Heathrow to Woking and then a train from Woking to Salisbury.
In the three and a half years since I was last in the UK I had forgotten about random, inexplicable delays on the M25 (fortunately on the other side of the motorway to us - a police car had stopped the traffic near the M3 for some reason and the tailback went on for miles).
I had forgotten about the unexpected delays at stations trying to buy tickets. One poor woman trying to cope with a lengthy queue of people, not all of whom actually wanted to buy train tickets.
I had forgotten about the random, inexplicable announcements at railway stations informing people with 90 seconds notice that the train they were waiting for on Platform 1 would now depart from Platform 4, leaving people to dash up and down stairs and run across bridges to get to the new platform. Mercifully we were already on Platform 4 waiting for another train so we didn't have to do any dashing. Just as well. We would have had no chance of making another platform on the far side of the station at no notice. Nor would the woman who had also been on the coach and who had two large bags and an enormous cardboard box. As it was, we just waited for the interloper train and its passengers to sort itself out and go away, and then got onto our very slightly delayed train.
I had forgotten about the lack of power points in bathrooms.
I had forgotten about "proper" queuing.
I have now remembered!
We slept very well in our humungous and very comfortable bed last night. We are showered and dressed and ready for adventure. But first I need to go and collect our hire car.
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| Mood lighting by my chair on the first leg of the flight |
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| View of snow covered mountains half way through the second leg of the flight |
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