Wow, That's Been a While!

So much has happened since I last posted on this blog I thought it would be wise to do a quick update. 

The most significan personal development for me is that I am now married.  Actually, last Sunday saw my wife and I celebrate our first anniversary.  The wedding was an amazing experience, one that far exceeded my expectations.  We were married at Pinewood Studios on the only sunny day in a rainy week.  It is funny how focussed on things like the weather you become in the build up to a wedding.  Wedding and flowers if I recall correctly.

The wedding was followed by our honeymoon in St Lucia.  It was a beautiful place, but probably less luxurious than the Maldives in my opinion.  We had helicopter transfers though which was a brilliant experience.

Post wedding was settling down to a life of no wedding-planning.  We just enjoyed being married really.  We booked flights to Australia as my new father-in-law was unable to make it to our wedding for health reasons.

The end of the summer saw The Fat Disciples do our first gig - a set of covers at a friend's wedding.  I think The Bear described it best when he said that we were one-nil down at half time, but it finished a stunning two-one victory to the FDs.  We invited the groom up on stage to sing Live Forever (a favourite of his), this got the crowd on side.  Finishing with Killing In The Name seemed to go down better than expected as well.

The Australian trip saw me spend my first Christmas away from home.  My mum decided to have Christmas a week early at home, so we flew over for that before flying to Oz.  Our trip was amazing.  We experienced record temperatures in Sydney and had an amazingh New Year in Melbourne.  The trip made me realise that I really want to live in Australia, at least for a little while.

Since that trip we have been planning for our move.  It is proving easier said than done.  We want to keep our flat in London, so we need to save up to allow us to have money behind us in Oz.  That is alongside the fact that we are planning to take up to a year to get there.  More saving....

But plans are afoot.

Decisions

I often reflect on how lucky I am.  I have an amazing fiancée, a loving family, great friends, a good job – by all standards I am doing very well for myself.  I manage to stay happy by having few (if any) regrets.  I am happy with the choices I have made and with how my life has panned out to now.  Part of the secret to this however is that I have not been afraid to make decisions or take plunges when the opportunities have arisen.  I’ve moved all around the UK with work for example, and have experienced nothing but good things as a result. But...

I’ve been with my current employer for 10 years.  10 good years.  The job is fulfilling, I help people and I get paid well to do it.  I interview people who want to work for us and they always say they want a job that allows them to make a difference – that makes this a good place to work.  I have this feeling in my gut.  It niggles and plays at me.  It is telling me that I am fast approaching a point where a decision will need to be made, and I am beginning to realise what that decision is going to look like. 

I June I will get married.  I’ve been saving like mad for this wedding.  Before that I was saving like mad for the deposit on our flat and before that I was using every spare penny to pay off my debt.  Come July I will not be saving for anything in particular.  That will give me a sense of freedom I’ve not had before.  I’ll still be saving, but it is likely that I will be saving for what will ultimately be a move to Australia.  That, I am very much looking forward to and it is the catalyst for the decision I can feel edging my way.

I am growing incredibly tempted to take a career break and go travelling.  The idea of Rina and I slowly working our way around the globe really excites me.  It is not something I could do tomorrow or the next day (it will take a fair bit of saving) but if it is what we decide to do it will be an intoxicating goal to work towards.

That is where my head is at the moment – sitting on a beach in Thailand!

Ginger Globetrotting - Egypt

I like the idea of this blog recording my travels, but last night, as I sat on the bus heading home from work, I realised that there was a weakness to this plan.  Recording trips I have gone on after starting the blog is well and good, but what about the awesome trips I’ve already had?  Therefore I have decided to start a new series – Trips Wot I Have Had in the Past Wot Were Ace, or Ginger Globetrotting.

Rina has a talent for picking exceptional birthday gifts.  Recent efforts have included a trip to New York and an ipad.  A few years ago she decided to act on a conversation we had about things we have always wanted to do.  For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to see the Pyramids.  I had heard the stories – that the photo we have all seen of the Sphinx and pyramids is taken from MacDonalds’ car park (untrue, it’s KFC), and that it is crowded and polluted – but it remained a major ambition of mine.

We travelled through Egypt in late November.  My birthday is on the 25^th. We landed in Cairo and went to our hotel on the 24^th.  The hotel was nice – clean, modern and large.  It was on a busy road (although from what I seen, all the roads were busy).  Rina had arranged for a couple of tours for our stay.  The first was a day trip that included the pyramids and the Egyptian museum. The other would see us take a sleeper train to Aswan to catch a Nile cruise to Luxor.  All in all an awesome trip.

Cairo

What can I say about Cairo that hasn’t been said a million times before…?  It’s massive, and FULL of people.  I have never seen as many people anywhere, ever.  The traffic is insane.  There are traffic lights, but they are totally pointless and ignored. Crossing the street is like running an insane gauntlet and requires a “Last Crusade” type leap of faith.  The Khan el Khalili souk is a shopper’s paradise, but the worst place on earth if you are that shopper’s reluctant other half, but….

Forget what you have heard, know or think about the Pyramids.  They are bigger, more awesome (literally) and breathtaking than you can imagine.  It doesn’t matter how many Discovery Channel shows you have watched or National Geographic article you have read – NOTHING will prepare you for seeing them in the flesh.  I am getting goosebumps just thinking about this experience and it was 3 years ago.

The Windsor Hotel (where Michael Palin stayed on his attempt at 80 day circumnavigation, and more recently Pilkington slimmed in An Idiot Abroad) is really fun.  We didn’t stay here, but should I return I definitely will. We were here pretty much daily for the bar.  It is an old colonial officers’ club and walking into the bar you could be forgiven for thinking you might bump into Carter and Carnarvon or even Quatermain himself.  I have very fond memories of this place.

The Egyptian Museum was an interesting place.  It felt a bit like we were on a conveyor belt being shuffled past the artifacts the British Museum didn’t want.  The Egyptians are touchy about that, I can tell you.  It was OK.  There was some cool stuff there, but Tutankhamen himself is on display in the Valley of the Kings.

Nile Cruise

The Nile Cruise was amazing.  Like the Pyramids, nothing prepares you for the scale of the temples dotted along the river. Luxor was a particular highlight.  The cruise itself was little more than a means of getting between the sites. Clean and comfortable, but the stars of the trip were the outings.

So that’s the Egypt trip.  Would I go back…?  If you asked me on the day I returned to London I would almost certainly have said no. Today…..

The No-Fly List

I like to travel.  I count myself very lucky that I can travel a lot.  I have a decent job that lets me pay for trips abroad, a travel-mad fiancee and living in London means the most interesting locations in Europe are a short hop away.

Over the last few years, as the frequency of my trips abroad has increased, I have found it necessary to put together a No-Fly list.  This is basically the list of air carriers that I have decided I will never fly with again.  Each has earned its place on the list, but all for different reasons.  This is my list, and these are my reasons, so they don't have to make sense to anyone else...

The first name on the list is Ryanair.  This needs no explanation.  My Ryanair experiences have all been, to some extent, horrific.  The flights never cost what they claim.  The carry-on allocation allows you to take on board little more than a lunchbox.  The staff are jaded.  Just unpleasant.

The second is Air France.  They bumped me.  Once. It was enough to earn a place on the list.

Thai Airways.  A long Haul flight with no entertainment? Really??  Welcome to the list.

Finally - Continental Airways (and by association United Airways and probably all other American carriers).  The reason for this is fourfold. 

Firstly, I was recently in NYC when Hurricaine Irene hit.  My flight was cancelled (understandably), but from the moment it looked even remotely likely that this would be the case Continental Airways put an automated message on their phoneline saying that they wouldn't be answering any calls.  The message directed you to their website.  Not. Good. Enough.

Secondly, their website is rubbish. No information and no way to contact them other than their dreadful "Ask Alex" automated service.

Thirdly, when the hurricane had passed and the phonelines remained closed we made our way to Penn Station to queue at the Continental ticket desk to get new flights.  Unsurprisingly there were quite a few people there (we arrived at 9am when the desk opened).  It appeared that Continental hadn't considered this though and had 2 people manning the 5 available desks (and to be fair, doing an admirable job under what was undoubtedly emmense pressure).  I queued for three and a half hours to be offered a seat on a flight almost a week later.  Poor.

Finally, and if you live in Europe one worth noting - US airlines are not as thoroughly regulated as those in Europe.  What this meant is that if we had been flying with a European carrier such as BA or Virgin Atlantic, out extended stay in the US would have been paid for by them.  Because we flew Continental it was not.  This is not a mistake I will make again.

.....

It was great to get home yesterday and awesome to sleep in our own bed.  I now have to look forward to a very full-on week at work...

Things to do in New York when you're stuck

So I have been toying with writing a blog for a while. Not anything that anyone will read, you understand, but rather somewhere to post any bits and bobs I find interesting. If you have found this by accident, please feel free to look around.

This first blog post finds me sitting on a bed in a hotel room in New York a full five days after we were due to fly out. New York is ace, but there comes a point where you just want to be on your way home. That makes me sound like an old git, but once you have done all the standard tourist things killing time in New York, much like killing time in London, is either dull or very expensive.

That aside, this trip has been a lot of fun. It started with an 8am trip up the Empire State Building, included soul food at Sylvia's in Harlem and Double Dipped sandwiches in Brennan and Carr's in Brooklyn.

On a side note - should you find yourself coming to NYC definitely get your hands on a copy of NFT (Not For Tourists) for NYC. It is definitely the best guidebook I have ever used. It is small and straight to the point. We have followed its advice in regards to places to eat and it has been 100% on the ball with its suggestions.

We have been staying in the Wingate by Wyndham on W 35th St. This is the second time I have visited NYC, and in terms of hotel this one has been really good. The room is huge and we got it cheap through booking.com. This is a massive bonus, considering we've been stuck here for the extra week. Anyway - there is no way to complain about staying for a few extra days in New York without sounding like a prick.

So, this blog, should it continue, will cover the trips I make with my other half, the progress the Fat Disciples make towards their first gig and any drawings I do. Let's see if that happens....

RS