LONDON TO AMSTERDAM

We moved from London to Amsterdam via Harwich and Hook of Holland - our first experience using the rail and sail services.

Traffic was heavy on our way to the Liverpool street station in London.

The main entrance of the station.

 Inside the station.

We boarded this train for Harwich International. 

 

The train was almost empty and took an hour + or so to reach Harwich International.

Checking-in at Stena Line counter for the scheduled departure of 23:15.

This Stena Britannica Super-ferry measures 240 metres in length and has a capacity of 230 cars, 300 freight vehicles and 1200 passengers.

Our en-suite cabin - good for 4 people.

On board there are variety of restaurants and bars with menus to suit all - the Taste restaurant, Metropolitan restaurant, the Riva and the Taste wine bar. 

A corner of the Metropolitan restaurant.

The Taste restaurant and bar.

A slot machines room.

Stena line shopping offer a wide range of well known brands at competitive prices including  duty free, souvenirs for family and friends.

 

However, the cigarettes are not cheap!

Before arriving Hook of Holland, we had buffet breakfast at around 07:00. It was a good start for the day before we take the 2 hours train journey to Amsterdam.

The main course -  bacon, sausage, baked beans, hatch brown and scrambles egg.

Hook of Holland in sight. The ferry was preparing to dock.

Waiting for our train to Amsterdam Central.

 

The countryside of Holland - mostly farmland.

Arriving Amsterdam central station at about 10:00.

Amsterdam Central - picture taken from our cab.

Later, we checked in at one of the 2 bed room units on the 3rd floor of this building. 

Overall, It was a convenient, comfortable and hassle-free way to get to Amsterdam - a very good experience for me and my wife. Thanks to my daughter for planning the train and ferry trip.  We would never have thought of travelling this way! 

EATING OUT IN THE UK

Our best dining experience was in the Pheasant restaurant near Heathrow. The service was good and the food was delicious.

 It's just 10 minutes drive from our hotel. 

My choice was this prime 280g fillet steak served with mushrooms and fresh vegetables and potatoes.

My wife had this slow roasted half shoulder lamb served with mashed potato, fresh vegetables and  gravy.

One afternoon, we enjoyed a coffee break in Le Pain Quotidien in Westfield London.

White coffee with an organic rich cheesecake.

  A plate of scones with jam and cream, and a cup of English tea. 

We were told that the UK has excellent Indian food, which is possibly even better than in India.  

 

This Sipson restaurant was highly recommended.

 Papadums served with chutney.

Onion bhaji.

Tandoori mixed grill - chicken tikka, lamb tikka, tandoori chicken and sheek kebab..

Chef's recommendation - Chicken cooked with aromatic spices.

On our last afternoon, we stopped at this typical English pub and beer garden.

Classic English-style pub

To my delight, this pub served Chinese Food !

We ordered Chinese tea instead of beer.

Dry fried rice noodles (Kuay Teow) with beef slices

Indonesia Curry chicken!

There was also Malaysian fried rice!

.....and fish and chips too!

HARTFIELD - East Sussex, England

The English countryside is always peaceful and beautiful. This time we drove to Hartfield, a small countryside town in East Sussex. 

A relaxing drive through the scenic village road.  

A visit to this beautiful "Pooh Corner" house, the home of A.A. Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh books, is a must.

Lots of plush toys were on display in the rooms.   

Visitors can enjoy a cup of English tea with choice of snacks - slices of cake, crumpets or crisps, shortbread, chocolate brownies or quiche with salad in this cozy tea room.

 A typical English house in the country.

We stopped over at this restaurant for our late lunch before returning to London.  

"Fish & chips"

 

 Smoked duck breast

It was a good day - scenic countryside drive, visited the home of "Winnie the Pooh" and a delicious lunch in a small village restaurant.  

A380 - KUALA LUMPUR - HEATHROW LONDON

It's our first A380 experience flying 12 hours and 40 minutes non-stop to Heathrow.

At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, we had to queue for almost 40 minutes before our baggage could be "drop-off" and tagged to Heathrow. A minus point for Malaysia Airlines' customer services. They should go for a hassle-free "bag drop" operations for better services.

This super jumbo has 8 first class and 350 economy class seats on the main deck while 66 business class and 70 economy class seats are on the upper deck.

 

The aircraft has a camera on the tail - we could watch the video from the TV monitor on the movements of the aircraft from taxing to taking off.

It was a first time for me to see such a huge wingspan. A380 is a real giant ! It has a wingspan of 261.8 feet (79.8 meters).

It's 3-4-3 seating arrangement in the lower deck cabin and 2-4-2 in the upper deck.   

The inflight entertainment - a 10.6 inches touch screen providing the latest blockbusters to popular TV shows and multi-player games.

Lunch was served after an hour - not too heavy but was just sufficient. The choice of chicken with fried rice or a beef steak.

 Overflying the European air space.

2 hours before landing, another round of meal was served  - Stewed chicken with potatoes or fish slices with fried noodles 

  Approaching to land.

We landed Heathrow at 16:45 with a temperate of 12C. CIQ clearance was quick we were the only flight arriving at that time.

   Check-in Park Inn, Heathrow.

Overall it was a comfortable flight. I hope our returning flight for from Paris will be good too.