Back in Amsterdam! Happenings from day 23 - 30

Hi everyone, its been exactly one week since I set off for Manchester, and what a terrific week it has been! It will go down as the week I really backpacked and spent some really special days, including my 23rd birthday, watching Man Utd at Old Trafford and visiting the biggest places of interest in London. The journey back, however was not a good one as I caught a cold, now that I am feeling better, I will try to give a recount of what has happened over the past week!

Day 23 - 24

Last thursday saw us packing our things and getting ready for the Manchester/London trip. We had to catch the cheap Ryanair flight from Brussels, but that was before we actually took the train from Amsterdam to Brussels.







The Amsterdam Central train station at night.



In one of the Brussels train stations, moments before we reached the Brussels Central station.

Upon reaching the Brussels Central station, which was around 1am already, horror struck as the station was outdoors. yes OUTDOORS. The temperature was at least 0 or lower, and the wind that was blowing did not help the cause. What was worse, there was no room or shelter we could seek except the benches (which are in open air). I swear it was the longest 2 hours ever. The initial plan of spending the night at the Central station till 5am quickly disappeared as we started walking around to see if we could hitch a ride out of that chilly place. Despite the fact that our plane was at 630am, it was no joke trying to stay at that horrific place till 530am to catch the first shuttle bus to the airport.





Trying to beat the cold by walking about and trying to take some pictures by the railroad. It proved futile.

Eventually, we found a cab at the cost of 20 euros to drive us to the airport. It was indeed better at the airport since it was indoors and there were seats. Brussels Charleroi airport is really more like a budget terminal than airport, since it was only one level, with both departures and arrival gates which are side-by-side!

Fast forward 2 hours, and we were soon on our way to checking in!



The plane ride was about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I was still pondering why on the flight details it was stated that the time of departure was 630am, but time of arrival was 655am. Haha then I realised London is one hour behind Central Europe, so all times are shifted one hour earlier.

Upon arrival at the Manchester airport, we did the first incredible thing of the trip - embarking on a 2 hour walk from the airport to the hotel. Even though as we found out when we returned from the hotel to the airport the next day that it took less than 10 minutes by cab, walking unfamiliar routes was tough indeed. Armed with 12kg of luggage, and taking turns to carry a heavy laptop bag was no fun. 2 hours later we finally found the hotel.

Some sights along the way..



Singapore avenue right in front of the Manchester Airport!





The surrounding environment where we stayed.

Immediately after checking in, I spotted the Man Utd Museum and Tour brochure at the counter. Needless to say, I decided to embark on my own adventure to find out how to go to Old Trafford first, while the other 3 of them went to Picadilly Circus, which is the Orchard equivalent of Manchester.

In Manchester, like many other European countries and cities, there are trains and trams/metros. Trains are those that go further and come at longer intervals. We realised this a little late, and ended up waiting for almost 1 hour for the next train to arrive! Horrific I tell you, too much time wasted on waiting for transport. Metros are faster, and there is a very easy way of not paying and riding around! Of course, being the good citizen I was (before the influence of Seb and friends told me that I should not pay), I paid 3.20 pounds for a return ticket from Altrincham to Old Trafford.



It was less than 20 minutes later I arrived at the home of the greatest club in the world!













Having seen so much of Old Trafford on television, comparing it to seeing it for the first time right before my very eyes, there was this great emotion of 'Wow, this is it. Old Trafford right in front of me.' The feeling was just too magical, too surreal!

I wasted no time and started walking around the compound. It was majestic for sure!
Visited the museum as well!









The official ManU crest from last time till now.



The Champions of Champions League 2008. Too bad the trophy was somewhere else. Or probably returned already.



This was funny, grow your own OT grass! They must have had too many people plucking their grass that they have since decided that people should buy their own OT grass instead of plucking! haha



I felt 1000 goosepimples when I saw this. The very reason why Manchester United are so successful. I shall adopt this as a personal motto henceforth. Only the very best will do.

Spent around 2-3 hours touring the place, too bad the matchday tour was fully booked, couldn't get the chance to visit the players' changing room or stepping on the OT field. Bought some stuff, including the jersey, a scarf and a beanie at the megastore. The megastore was really mega!



Left OT feeling terribly excited about the match the next day. The evening was spent in the hotel room resting from the tiring journey from Amsterdam to Manchester. Yea come to think about it, it took a total of about 15 hours from the Amsterdam train station to reach the hotel in Manchester. Just some of the crazy things people do to catch something like a football club/match.

Okay will update again about the match day itself, as well as the second part of the trip in London!