Leaves and Lobsters (New England USA) - Oct 2009

The aim of this holiday was to look at the changing autumn leaves in North East USA, and to look at the coast of Maine. Finally, there would be a few days in New York.

We used the direct flight of Singapore Airlines from Singapore to New York. This is promoted as the longest non-stop commercial flight in the world - flight time 17 3/4 hours, distance 15700 km (Polar route) or 16700 kms (Europe route). Specially fitted A340 - 500 Airbus 'planes are used, with 30 or so rows of cocoons in a 1-2-1 configuration (around 120 passengers in all). From internet chatter about this flight before we left Singapore, I also learned that the 'planes are fitted with a corpse cupboard, in case a passenger succumbs during the flight, and there is no place to land (this would certainly be the case on the Polar route). Our flight had no need of this facility ! The flight can be recommended for people less than 5'8" in height, wearing shoes with a maximum size of 8, and with a predilection for Asian food. The reasons are (1) the cocoon converts to a completely flat bed, meaning that an inlet is needed in the back of the cocoon in front for feet (rather than placing feet underneath the cocoon in front, which would then mean a sloping bed). This inlet is not deep enough to accommodate stretched out people with long legs and big feet. A case of numb toes soon develops in these people and (2) the food is predominantly Asian, with most mains in each of the two meals both ways being Asian. In all, small Asian people would revel in the facilities provided, for them these facilities would be world class.

Our tour commenced in Boston (we had taken a commuter flight on arrival in New York). Incidentally this SIA flight uses Newark airport in New York, and it has to be said that this airport is barely above third world status (old, not particularly clean, few shops and restaurants). Boston (latitude 42 degrees N) is one of the oldest cities in the USA, having been settled in the early 17th. century. Boston Common, dating from 1634, is the oldest park in the USA. Boston has great meaning for Americans, as the War of Independence started here. This saw the eventual defeat of the British, and the then 13 colonies becoming independent. Many of the sights in the city relate to this period, and the city has developed a "Freedom Trail" (marked with arrows on pavements) which can be followed and various buildings important to the time of the War of Independence viewed. The city has been a centre of learning since 1639 when Harvard University was established, and a cultural centre as well (Henry Wordsworth Longfellow - Hiawatha, The Village Blacksmith - lived for a time near where Harvard University now is). We explored the city extensively - it is very easy to walk around. Boston does have an underground train system with trains clanking and screeching along old, poorly lit tunnels - this is older than the London Tube, and shows it !

We hired a Hertz car in Boston, intending to drive further north in a wide circle clockwise to look at the leaves - the Berkshires (stopover Williamstown), the Green Mountains (stopover Stowe), and the White Mountains (stopover North Conway).

From North Conway we would drive to the Maine Coast (stopover Portland), and then return south to Boston. At no point would we be more than 250 miles from Boston. Although we had not ordered one, a Toyota Prius ,a hybrid car, was offered to us "to help save the environment", said the Hertz lady. In response to my request for a discount if I accepted, I was refused (later I found out that Kim, unbeknown to me, had already arranged a 20% discount from another source, hence nothing more was available). We accepted the car anyway. We found it reasonably comfortable with reasonable power, but it was extremely economical. We drove 1058 miles on 22 gallons of petrol (petrol USD2.50 a gallon), thus giving 48 mpg, at a total cost for petrol of USD55. I had some trepidation about driving out of the middle of Boston CBD in peak hour in a strange car with left hand drive (Kim navigates, I drive)However, in Boston and throughout our journey I found American drivers to be courteous and disciplined, and soon we were rolling along like everyone else. Speed limits are not high - maximum 65mph on the Interstate highways - and are strictly observed by drivers, though police cars are rarely seen.

The drive as far as North Conway would be stunning in full autumn. We were there in early autumn, and the miles of hills, densely forested, were still only mottled with red, orange and yellow, with green predominating. Within two weeks of our departure, the hills would be a blaze of red, yellow, orange and purple, with little green. Even so, there were occasional patches of stunning foliage, particularly the blazing red.

Aside from the foliage, the natural features of the drive to North Conway were disappointing. Americans tend to promote weeds as if they are flowers, and the Quechee Gorge, promoted as "the Grand Canyon of the North East", was only 162 feet deep. The Franconia Flume, an 800 foot long limestone walled chasm less than 50 feet high with a stream flowing through it, was ordinary, and didn't, in my view, merit a huge Visitors' Centre. Nonetheless it was crowded with mostly American tourists, gasping in wonder as they struggled along boardwalks in the chasm. Mount Washington is the highest peak in North Eastern USA at 6288 feet. We ascended it by a Cog Railway, which ground its way noisily up a steep track for an hour to reach the summit. Our sense of adventure was dimmed on arrival at the summit, finding that it was crowded with people who had driven up a well graded road on the opposite side of the mountain from the Cog Railway. The summit of Mount Washington claims one world record - on 12th. April, 1934 the highest wind speed observed by man was recorded here (231 miles per hour). We experienced a strong, chilly wind on the day we were there, with heavy clouds affecting the view. A world beating claim of a different kind came in North Conway, where I bought a pair of "The Softest Socks in the World". Kim did some damage to his credit card, disappearing every afternoon and coming back to the hotel with bags of clothes and ski stuff. North Conway has rows and rows (stretch over three miles) of retail outlet shops. North Conway and Freeport (another town in Maine) are famous for its outlet shops whereby the main attraction is shopping.

Aside from the natural features, there were places to stop at along the way - e.g. sites of famous battles, Norman Rockwell's studio etc.

In the three stopovers ending in North Conway, we stayed at Inns (motels). Cost was about USD150 per night, room only. All the Inns were very good. All three stopovers had restaurants providing good food in generally immense servings. One waitress said that the restaurant owner was not comfortable about what he had provided unless people asked for a doggy bag. The stopovers were real country USA. Quaint wooden houses abound, and hardly a fence in sight. These are essentially towns serving the ski industry (on the mountains surrounding them), and were very quiet when we were there. By December, they will all be swinging along.

I had an experience of the American health industry in this part of the holiday. An infected ear developed and I had to visit a GP for irrigation and drops/pills. It is quite a complex procedure, in that at reception, three or four page "Terms and Conditions" sheets must be signed. These contain indemnities of every sort. An aide then takes details of past medical history, and conducts an interview about the problem at hand, and then briefs the doctor. Then, the doctor is seen. Total cost was USD130, exclusive of pills.

From North Conway we drove to Portland, Maine's largest city but with a population of only 64,000. I said to the lady at the reception desk of the Holiday Inn "nice little town you have here". She replied, stiffly, "Sir, it is a city, gazetted in 1912". So there !Portland is not particularly noteworthy, being a city with a working port. Henry Wordsworth Longfellow lived here as a boy. Its main claim to fame is the Maine lobster, available everywhere in many forms - chowder, rolls, steamed etc. We enjoyed steamed lobster, rather smaller than I thought they would be, but tasty and good value for money at USD15 for one person. Near Portland are various coastal resorts, many of which have huge mansions, used one time by rich families, but now often converted to inns. The coast around Portland doesn't have huge waves rolling in from the Atlantic, but rather calmer seas caused by the many islands off shore.

After returning the car in Boston, we went by train to New York. I had read that the standard of Amtrak was not high, and our experience confirmed this. We left Boston for the 3 hour run to New York. Half an hour after we left, the train came to a halt. It was announced that a catenary further down the track was giving trouble, and we must wait until it was repaired. It took an hour for the repairing team to reach the catenary, and three hours for them to fix it. Meanwhile, we sat and waited. All of the food on the train, except the least favoured items, was eaten. We arrived in New York four hours late.

Before we left Singapore, Kim had registered us as attending the "Auditory Engineering Symposium" being held at the Marriott Hotel (Times Square) when we were in New York. This got us a 40% discount on our room at the Marriott - necessary as they wanted USD450 per night room only ! I was concerned that we might be required to attend some of the sessions of the symposium, where we might have to discuss theatre ceilings or similar in a knowledgeable way. However, to my relief, neither the symposium organisers nor the hotel queried our registration. Our room, on the 26th. Floor, had a spectacular view of Times Square, facing the Times Square building, where the crystal ball was lowered at the midnight on the eve of each new year. At night the view was even more spectacular with all the lights turn on to their full glory.

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New York appeared cleaner and safer than the last time I was there. 42nd. Street, which used to be quite sleazy, has been cleaned up. There were always police or security personnel much in evidence (around Times Square anyway). Broadway and parts of Times Square have been partly closed to traffic, which assists moving around. We ate mostly at Irish pubs around Times Square. During our holiday, I was very surprised at the number of boutique beers, including wheat beers, available everywhere (no need to ask for a "Bud"). Trying these boutique beers was great fun. We used the Hop On Hop Off buses (USD54 for a 48 hour ticket - three routes, one night route). These took us to Ground Zero, Harlem, past Macy's, Madison Garden, Empire State building, Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side etc. The night route was quite impressive especially when the bus took us over to Brooklyn to view the Manhattan office skyline. We also attended an exhibition of artefacts from the "Titanic". Very poignant. The exhibition had lumps of coal from the engine room for sale (USD44 per lump, with certificate of authenticity), and I was tempted to buy one of these, but didn't as Kim highlighted that the coal came from Titanic (which is probably jinxed when it was loaded onto Titanic) and may results on our return airplane journey to Singapore be doom as well (we were flying back via the Atlantic route in opposite direction of Titanic route).

One of the features of the holiday was the extent of tipping required. Tips were asked for by all tour guides. We were hinted by the hotel reception that the cleaning ladies in hotels/inns should be given a tip every day (either left some money on a bedside table or in a printed envelope provided for that purpose), and of course at restaurants tips were mandatory (mostly 15%). Quite different from Singapore and it is a challenge to work out the amount to tip after a few beers during dinner.

In all, an interesting holiday, but, beyond the leaves, not particularly noteworthy.

The rest of the trip pictures can be found here

Skane and beyond: Sweden (Sept 2008)

Our Swedish friend, Bengt, has frequently stayed with us at the apartments in Singapore and Johor Bahru. In return, we have stayed at his apartment in Mexico City when we were there a few years ago. He has been pressing us to visit him in Sweden, offering us use of his apartment in Malmo (we accepted) and in Stockholm (we didn't accept as he is on crutches after a hip operation).

We used Thai Airlines this time. The trip over was very comfortable (a perfectly flat bed), but on the return journey a new A340 'plane was used. The whole journey was spent sliding to the bottom of the bed, or pushing upwards. The food was reasonably good, and the service excellent.

We flew from Bangkok to Copenhagen, and the first sight of Europe was the yellow (rapeseed) and green patchwork of fields. From Copenhagen to Malmo is only 18 kms by train over the well known Oresund bridge. The first 4 kms are by tunnel, the next 4 kms across a man made island (for wildlife, humans prohibited), then 8 kms on high girders (rail tracks plus a road on top), and lastly 2 kms to Malmo. The steady turning of the vanes on wind farm generators actually standing in the sound was a harbinger of things to come. Malmo is known for constant strong winds (not a hill in sight), and at 55 degrees north latitude, the winds are cold !

Malmo, in Skane Region (pron. Sker-neh) is the third largest city in Sweden, with a population of about 300,000. Once a centre of heavy industry, but now priced out of it, the city has become an IT, service, and financial centre. There is a highly regarded University at nearby Lund, almost a suburb of Malmo. Lund has been responsible for the invention of the ink jet printer, and the technology for the Blackberry was also developed here. Malmo is an old city, dating from the 14th century, when this part of Sweden belonged to Denmark. Many of its buildings date from these medieval times, and are in good condition (one houses a chemist shop which opened in 1571, and still trades there). The Church of St. Peter is a noble old pile. On a wall inside it was a list of its pastors - the first was appointed in 1569, and in the 439 years since there have been only 23 more (there were only 2 for the entire 19th. century). These men have done better than the Popes, with 260 or so of them, over 2000 years.

The most famous modern building in Malmo is the eye-catching "Turning Torso", a 54 storey apartment building, 190 metres high. The building comprises a series of panels starting on the ground, curling around and upwards as one imagines a human torso turns. The architect was strongly influenced by Antoni Gaudi, the Barcelona architect (famous for the Sagrada Familia and other buildings), who never used a right angle when a curve would do. Unfortunately the building has been a commercial failure - it has no balconies, the windows can't be opened, and all the internal walls are curved (bookshelves, beds etc,are difficult to position).

There are many squares in the city, and drinking in the open is a favourite pastime of the locals when they finish work. All of these open air drinking places provide heavy blankets on the back of all of their chairs, and also overhead heating. We tried drinking at one of these establishments, but it is incongruous drinking a chilled beer rugged up to the extent that only the face shows. Swedish beer is good, and many imported English beers are available - we noted that the boutique English beers, "Bishop's Finger" and "Old Speckled Hen" were sold, amongst other English beers. The food in the city was good, but not particularly Swedish, except one night when we had Planksteak (steak on a plank of wood - said to be traditionally Swedish). We had one particularly Swedish meal, of fish patties and herring - not especially tasty..

The many beaches at Malmo are picturesque but not very inviting (no waves). The one we visited was particularly uninviting on the day we were there, as the wind was blowing strongly, and it was freezing. There is a heated Bad (Baths) on part of the shore, and this is frequented by (mostly ancient) naturists every day of the year.

In Malmo, we were taken around by a friend of Bengt's in Bengt's car. We drove around the surrounding countryside - it is flat and wooded, with no particularly memorable sights. The surrounding towns all date from medieval times, have a castle, a church, a museum, and not much else. We saw a Stonehenge like structure (the ship-shaped Alas Stenar) dating from very early times.

From Malmo, we hired a car (a Toyota Verso, which had a high roof and was thus most comfortable for me to enter and leave). Our drive took us along the east coast to Stockholm, about 600 kms in all. This drive took three days, and the highlight was the visit to the Glasriket area near the town of Kalmar, halfway to Stockholm. This "Kingdom of Crystal" has 11 glass blowing workshops scattered around it, the most famous being owned by the Orrefors group. We bought some crystal items.These were not cheap, but very innovative in the Swedish way. The hotels we stayed at during this journey were not cheap, bed only being around SGD180 (equivalent) a night, with dinner for two (including beer) costing around SGD100 (eq). Petrol was more expensive than in Singapore, at about SGD2.45 (eq) a litre.

At Stockholm, we returned the car, being henceforth taken around by Bengt (who could drive), or else we went by easily navigable public transport. A beautiful and old city on a series of lakes, Stockholm has no skyscrapers "Swedes don't like skyscrapers" said Bengt. Swedes appear to be fond of museums, and Stockholm has many of them. The outstanding one was the "Vasa" museum. The "Vasa" was a ship which when built in 1628, was planned to be the most advanced warship in existence. Of 1210 tons, It was the first vessel to have two gun decks (with the heaviest cannon on the top deck), and as well it had spectacular external wooden sculpturing. However it was top heavy, and within minutes of launching, overturned and went to the bottom. It lay in relatively shallow water until 1961 when it was raised, and placed in the museum. It is spectacular, being almost perfectly preserved..

In Stockholm we had our first experience of staying at a hostel. Hotel rooms in the city are small and expensive (around SGD400 eq. per night, bed only). So, Kim was able to locate a hostel, which had one suite, which we took at SGD170 eq. bed only. This was a huge room on the top floor of the building the hostel was in , with its own Jacuzzi and sauna, plus a balcony. It was fitted for internet access, but for some reason this could only take place while sitting on the balcony (which was exposed and windy). In the morning we would descend to the breakfast room, always full of high school tour groups, backpackers, family groups etc. Nonetheless a great place to stay, and it can be recommended. We had a number of good, but not distinctively Swedish, meals, with Bengt hosting a couple of them.

Our Swedish holiday then finished, and we left for a weekend in London (and Hertford, where we visited an old friend). Our hotel in London is worth mentioning. This was the "Hoxton" at Hoxton Square. Owned by the man who runs the "Pret a Manger" chain, this hotel works like a budget airline, in that the further ahead one books, the cheaper are the rooms. There are even a few at 1 pound a night withy breakfast. We secured ours at 79 pounds a night with breakfast, but had we delayed a week in making our booking, the cost would have been double this. The rooms are all identical, very modern and well appointed. Breakfast is hung on the door every day (yoghurt tub, a small bottle of orange juice, and a banana). There was a high quality restaurant downstairs for those who wanted to eat more.The area around the hotel (in Great Eastern Road) is not high quality, but is being gentrified. We had a pub dinner one night, which was excellent (The Princess Royal pub). We shopped at Foyles, Selfridges etc.

From London we went to Munich, where Kim had to work. While he worked, I strolled around the town, had hearty lunches of prawn rolls and weak beer at open air markets, and shopped. We had a meal at one of the Hofbrauhauses. We ate good pork and drank weak beer. On the last afternoon, we did a tour of the BMW factory, which turns out 900 cars a day. This tour took nearly three hours and we must have walked three miles. The most interesting feature, I found, was the use of robots.

We returned directly from Munich to Bangkok, and on to Singapore.

The rest of the trip pictures can be view here.

Colcannon and Chewy Pizzas..Ireland/Naples, July 2004

This year we used SIA for the long haul flights. I found the beds were quite easy to sleep on, even though they still tilt 8 degrees at maximum extension. However, at no time did I slide under the seat in front of me. In Europe, we used El Cheapo airlines, and one of them - Virgin Express - charged for food at a high rate - 4 Euros for an indifferent roll, and 2 Euros for a can of cheap beer.

We drove around Ireland and Northern Ireland in a clockwise direction staying close to the coast, starting and finishing at Dublin. In summary, I thought that the natural features, particularly the seascapes, were the highlights of the country. These natural features lacked the stunning and forbidding nature of the Scottish Highlands, being generally green and fertile in nature, with all of the country being closely settled (like the Lowlands of Scotland). The man made structures were not memorable, in my view.

Of the natural features, the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast were, I thought, the best - at around 700 feet sheer, these are the tallest cliffs in Europe, and extend for about 5 kms. The peninsulas extending on the south west corner presented very well, with outstanding seascapes, some very narrow roads along and around cliffs (I found it interesting that along almost all of the way to the cliffs there were new housing estates). A second peninsula in the North ("The Atlantic Drive") was equally picturesque. The Giant's Causeway, a world class sight, ranked high. Two poignant sights were the Old Head of Kinsale (near Cork in the south east), just off which the Lusitania went down with the loss of 1179 lives in 1915, and Mullaghmore Bay (near Sligo on the west coast) where Lord Louis Mountbatten, his grandson, and a local were exploded on a boat by the IRA in 1979.

Man made features included ancient tombs (at least one of which - Newgrange - predates the Pyramids), castles (we saw a number of these, but none was memorable), manor houses, and in Dublin Trinity College was an interesting place (particularly the Old Library, which contains the ancient Book of Kells). We saw one or two modest historical parks, dealing with the development of Ireland over the centuries - these were interesting.

Ireland is quite expensive, with petrol at SGD2 (equivalent ) a litre. Most hotels cost at least SGD200 (eq) a night, and evening meals for two (admittedly with two pints of Guinness/beer) around SGD100 (eq). Lunches were about SGD60 (eq) for two. The quality of the food was good, and the variety wide, with potato featuring, particularly in traditional dishes such as colcannon and champ. House prices much more expensive than Singapore, and new houses are springing up even in the remote parts of the country. It is difficult to see what supports people living in these new houses in remote parts, but we were told that many are holiday homes for Americans and British.. The cities were particularly clean in the south, though once in the Northern Ireland, this standard of cleanliness fell, with Derry (formerly Londonderry) being the worst (parts of this city - mostly in the Catholic Bogside - are still covered with Nationalist graffiti). Belfast was not much better than Derry.

Dublin has become the venue for music loving young people from around Europe, attending music festivals which are virtually always on. Many fly there on El Cheapo airlines for a weekend of listening to music, drinking and generally having fun. Dublin is proud of its literary heritage, and readings of the works of James Joyce and W.B. Yeats are regular. It is not an outstanding city, though it has a large and gracious Georgian section (and 800 or so pubs!). Skyscrapers are forbidden though a 395 foot high needle like Spire was erected in the middle of the city in 2003. The Liffey River is very narrow and ordinary, though it is crossed by a number of unusual wrought iron bridges. The city aspires to be a financial centre, and has a business area devoted to this. It has been very successful for the location of Fund Management companies.

In all, Ireland was worth visiting, but it is not a place that I would return to.

We moved on to Naples, overnighting in London, from where we flew directly to Naples. An evening in the centre of London took us on the tube from Heathrow (where we stayed) - the tube appears to be in a state of decay. Shopping at Fortnums, and dinner in Chinatown with an old friend.

Naples is much the same as it was 10 years ago - maybe gone backwards a bit. We had a magnificent room on the top floor of the Jolly Hotel. The view, over Naples Bay to Capri and Ischia was outstanding. Naples is as expensive as Ireland, though the high quality pizza (chewy, not crunchy, crusts - in the Neapolitan style ) was not expensive (the locals buy pizzas in vast quantities).

We revisited the Archeological Museum, the two well known castles (Nuovo and Dell'ovo), and Sorrento (which had become much more touristy). The rocks along Via Carraciolo were revisited. These serve as a popular swimming place for the locals, and being summer, it was swarming with people - the girls and women are generally buxom to very buxom, and many had their bathing costumes almost on ! The saying "See Naples but watch your wallet" proved true for me. On one mid afternoon I went without Kim to investigate restaurants near the Castel Dell'ovo for a possible dinner the same night. This took me off the elevated main road, down some stairs to the restaurants (which are on a wharf in a marina). I passed a group of youths swimming, and went to each of the restaurants to read their outside menus (being mid afternoon they were closed for siesta). Returning along the wharf, I was suddenly accosted by two of the youths I had passed previously. They immediately tried to pull my carry bag from me but it was looped around my neck, so they had no success, although they tried three times. After that, I was able to stand heavily on the foot of one of them (the other had given up). He shouted (presumably swear words), and hobbled back to his friends, some of whom then took the opportunity to throw handfuls of pebbles at my departing back. Later on, I observed (from a distance) that the group had returned to the main road, and grabbed the bag of an old gentleman, who was shouting and waving his walking stick at them, whilst they ran off. The food in Naples had improved (to my mind), and of course the gelato are fit for a king.

From Naples, we flew on to Amsterdam, virtually in transit to Singapore. Amsterdam remains the same - a good place for food and shopping. The weather turned for the worse in the day or so we were there, so no chance of visiting the beach.