Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne, originally uploaded by davedavid86.

I'm now on the road touring around this great country! I set off on the bus from London to Leicester. Wasn't the greatest journey even though the coach was p decent - just so many stops and we got stuck in this football traffic jam approaching the station in Leicester.. As for the city, it felt a bit weird. Didn't really appeal to me - probably the reason why it's not really a tourist place and why it isn't listed in the England section of the Lonely Planet Shoestring Guide of Europe, even though it does have some nice buildings and the biggest open-air market in Britain.. Like every other big city, it has its shops and restaurants, but yeah it was just a bit strange.. maybe it was my first night after quite a few nights in London which is such a global city!

Probably why I seem to like Newcastle more (it's the one on the Tyneside with the big football club). It's definitely my sort of city. Don't know why but i really love it. If I had to pick a city outside London to live in England, Newcastle would be one of them, Leicester probably not. I haven't seen Liverpool, Bath and Southampton so can't say whether Newcastle is the panacea, the "it" but i'd have to say it's definitely a favourite already.. It's got some lovely old buildings and the architecture of the town is simply amazing - I think that was the problem with Leicester which was one of the cities that grew because of the industrial revolution, but suffered when that ended and the results are clear to see in most buildings.. Then there's the Tyne with its many bridges.. in the evening when the sun is setting behind the Tyne Bridge, it's one of the most stunning sights ever. Heard it's beautiful at night too. Will put some photos up eventually.

Accomodation? I stayed with Tung Jin who was temporarily staying in his friend's place. Even he admitted the place wasn't the most comfortable of them all and yeah I hate to admit that I was v glad to be out of that place (sorry Tung Jin but thanks for putting up with me at the last minute!) Currently I'm staying at a backpackers - and quite a nice one too - in Newcastle called the Albatross. Tomorrow will be going up to Edinburgh via train and staying with a friend who's studying there - and yes he also went to high school with me in Malaysia. Will be in Edinburgh for 2 nights before going down to Liverpool for 2 nights (backpackers probably) and then Cardiff (stay at another friend) for 2 nights, just in time to watch the All Blacks play France (ahhhh!) in the quarterfinals.. now those'll be nervous times even if the French aren't playing at home - still their World Cup after all! then from Cardiff may go to Southampton or Bath coz got friends there and then back to London on Oct 9..

Finding trains/buses has so far been great.. When I mean great, I've been able to find fares that have been really cheap (most expensive i've had to pay for is 29.50 quid from Leicester to Newcastle but that's still cheap compared to the usual 55 u may expect to pay). And yeah i do prefer trains actually! anyway will write soon, prob from Edinburgh!