I visited the Netherlands between 2023-12-14 and 2023-12-17, which was my first overseas trip from the UK without flying. I personally don’t like flying on airlines compared to other forms of public transport, mainly because it is a hassle to go to airports which are usually far away from the city centre, the strict airline security, the limited ability to carry luggage, and the need to book early as there is a strict limit on how many people a plane…
On the last weekend I had my second long-distance train trip this year in order to do races in the North West and Midlands. Although the trip ended up nice, the preparation was a mess and I had to written off a few tickets due to changes of circumstances. Trip planning I was going for a race in Windermere, from the south to the north. The race registration was 07:15 – 08:00 at Fell Foot Park which was also where…
I completed my longest swim to date – 21.5 km! My longest swim distance has now exceeded my longest run distance (half marathon). I participated in the 11th edition of Vidösternsimmet, held on 2022-08-13. I completed the full distance race, 21.5 km from Osudden to Sundet, in 10:07:22. This was my 5th long distance swim (at least 10 km, or a Scandinavian mile) I have done in my life since 2019. Preface I signed up for this race early February…
From 5 May to 9 May, I went on my second overseas trip after I moved to the UK. I only visited a single city on this trip, Vilnius. This trip, which is my 4th time visiting Lithuania, marks the completion of my travel list to all Baltic capitals, i.e. Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, and also completes my visit to the 3 biggest Lithuanian cities: Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda. This was also my first trip after Europe returned to normality….
I went to Scotland last week for the second time this year, but this time I travelled overland instead of flying from England. I went there to do Sprint Scotland, which consisted of 3 sprint orienteering races, with the second race in knock-out sprint format. The race was held in Dundee. Although there is an airport just next to the race venue, the only airline serving it is Loganair for London City. The next nearest airport is Edinburgh which has…
The final day of my journey had come. I wanted to explore the remaining modes of transport inside London, including London Overground and Docklands Light Railway, and visit some museums in the city. London Transport Museum was my top wish, then the Greenwich Observatory.I first travelled back to Leicester Square to find some good food but unfortunately none of the restaurants there opened in the morning, and I ended up having fast food instead. I then went to London Transport…
I travelled to Dover by high speed train and met Kate and her dad at the marina. She was very enthusiastic and looking forward to getting across. The boat was Viking Princess II with Reg Brickell as the pilot. We boarded it and got near the Samphire Hoe where she started her Channel swim. I chased her for her feeding plan and I could finally read it. It was very complicated, listing different stuff every hour until 20 hours and…
The hostel I booked was near Victoria train station, thinking that it would offer fast travel to Tooting Bec Lido which is right beside the railway line between London Victoria and Brighton. However it turned out that the fastest way to travel there was to take the tube on the Victoria Line then Northern Line to Tooting Bec, and then transfer to a bus there rather than using a National Rail train. As off-peak travel starts at 09:30, I waited…
I went to London and Dover on a 4-day trip 10 August to 13 August this year, which was my first extended trip after I moved to the UK. I originally hoped to have a few international trips including to Poland, Germany and Sweden, but the border situation did not allow me to do that. As the United Kingdom is not an interesting country for me I didn’t travel domestically until this trip. (I’m mainly interested in countries with recent…
Now it has been 3 months since I landed the UK, and most of the necessary things to do have already been done, including renting a house, opening a bank account, registering for GP, etc. I have joined a masters swim club and a triathlon club and started training. Also, I am ramping up my swimming to prepare for my Channel attempt in September. I have also started venturing out of the town I live. In these two months, I…