Tour of Ireland

This is my first time visiting Ireland, and I planned my tour to include touring the three main tourist attractions in the country: the Cliff of Moher, Ring of Kerry and the Giant's Causeway. I also used the opportunity to visit the cities of Dublin, the capital and Belfast, in Northern Ireland.

While in Ireland, I used coaches to get around the country. Though not exactly cheap, they are still the most affordable transport option over there. And they are able to get me to the places that I want to visit. 

In this trip, despite my flight disruptions, I managed to visit all three places, but not without giving up visiting Morocco. Still, I thought it was well worth it.

I wanted to begin my tour in Shannon, a city close to the Cliff of Moher. To get around Ireland, I depended on the network of coaches. I checked out their schedules online and created my itinerary prior to my trip.

From Shannon airport, there is a bus transfer required in this small Irish town. So I wandered around the town in the early morning hours.

The reliable Irish coaches that I used to get around. The bus fare is not cheap.

The Cliff of Moher, by the Atlantic Ocean

After the cliff, my second stop is the Ring of Kerry. This involves staying two nights in the small Irish town of Killarney. For both nights, I stayed at the black sheep hostel which I shall review in my next post. The receptionist is able to arrange for my next day's group tour to the Ring of Kerry.

Since there is no viable public transport option on this road, I joined a tour group to visit the Ring of Kerry

The tour group stopped by this restaurant for lunch. The food is alright but the window seat offers a clear view of the sea across the road.

Ladies View, Kerry

After touring the Ring of Kerry, I wanted to visit the Giant's Causeway. On the way, I visited the capital, Dublin.

The Guinness Storehouse, a tourist attraction in Dublin

After that, I wandered around the capital city, taking in the night scenery. I walked by temple bar, with its lively nightlife.

After visiting Dublin, I took a public bus to Dublin airport where I stayed for the night. In the airport landside area, there are many people throughout the night so its relatively safe. Also, the comfortable couches make for a very pleasant stay.

Next morning, I took the earliest coach from the airport direct to Belfast city, the trip taking ~1 hour. In Belfast city, it is another train and a bus ride before I arrived at the Giant's Causeway.

There are hardly any tourists around in the early morning, making for a pleasant visit. There is a museum with paid entrance fees, but it is possible to visit just the Giant's Causeway, which is free. The road downhill can become very windy since it is facing the open sea. I attempted to stroll down the well paved road but it became increasingly difficult with the windy condition. So I took the bus when it comes along. The ride took about a minute and cost 1eur each way.

Despite the windy conditions, it was well worth the effort to get there. The view was simply incredible!

After visiting the Giant's Causeway, I took the public bus back to Belfast city. Since there is some time before my flight out of Ireland, based on prior online research, I decided to take a scenic train ride between Coleraine and Londonderry. Certainly worth the time!

Interesting bridge structure on approaching Londonderry station

Back in Belfast city, I visited the impressive Titanic museum located within the city. It looked really cool from the outside. 😀 As it was near closing time and the museum entrance ticket was quite expensive, I merely wandered around the lobby area with a souvenir shop.

This wraps up my fascinating visit to Ireland. The Cliff of Moher, Ring of Kerry and the Giant's Causeway are definitely the must-visit tourist attractions. The cities of Dublin and Belfast are worth exploring too!

My eventful Norwegian Airlines' transatlantic flight to Ireland

After an enjoyable time in New York City, I was scheduled to fly on Norwegian Airlines  to Shannon, Ireland to begin my tour of Ireland.

Norwegian Airlines aircraft sometimes features someone on its tail.

By this point, I was already one day behind my tour schedule due to my missed connection on Asiana Airlines. Turns out, this isn't my only flight disruption on this trip.

From Manhattan, I made my way to the coach terminal to board the coach to Stewart Airport. In New York City, Norwegian Airlines operates from the main JFK airport and the lesser known Stewart Airport.

Stewart Airport is further away from the city. There is no train connection at the airport. The only public transport option is on a coach, which is timed to Norwegian's flight arrivals and departures. I bought the coach tickets online and join the queue at the coach terminal. 

The advantages of flying out of this airport? Being a smaller airport, it has way less crowd and hardly any queue. Also, the flight tickets are cheaper when departing from here.

I booked an overnight flight, leaving late at night and arriving in Ireland in the morning. So that I can begin sightseeing after I land and I can save on my accommodation costs.

Originally, the flight, operated by a B737 aircraft with 3-3 seating arrangement, was quite empty, and all passengers had three seats each to themselves. This of course makes for a very pleasant flying experience. However, after seated on the aircraft, the captain informed all passengers of a technical issue and will be delayed.

Meanwhile, the flight attendants gave out free packaged snacks. Twice, in fact. Kudos to the flight attendants for working hard during the delay and ensuring the few passengers were well taken care of !

Free water and snacks after the delay was announced

After some time, it was announced that the flight could not operate, so all passengers had to disembark and proceed back to the terminal. Over there, a Norwegian representative gave out hotel voucher for a one night stay at the Sheraton Hotel near the airport, together with a meal voucher for a free breakfast the following morning.

In the Christmas spirit !

A comfortable hotel room to spend the night

He also arranged for us to fly on next day's flights. We were given options to either fly on the daytime flight to Dublin, or the overnight flight to Shannon, both in Ireland. I opted to fly to Dublin, since my intention was to get to Ireland soon and shorten my Ireland trip to make up for my second flight delay.

Taxis were arranged to fetch us to the hotel, free of charge. Once at the hotel, the check-in process was relatively fast. I was then given a key to my room. By this time, it was already in the wee hours of the morning, so I just had a few hours of rest.

The next morning, I exchanged the meal voucher for a free breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. And this is what I could order with the voucher. 

Quite a delicious, filling meal

After breakfast, I took the hotel's free shuttle to the airport for my new flight to Dublin.

The flight itself is uneventful but pleasant. Despite being a budget carrier, I actually enjoyed flying on Norwegian Airlines. On its widebody B787 aircrafts, there are PTV to enjoy some entertainment options. On its narrowbody aircrafts, there is free wifi and free streaming of its entertainment portal. Sadly, it is no longer flying to Singapore.

After landing in Dublin, I was surprised that Norwegian Airlines announced in flight that it had arranged for a free transport to ferry the affected passengers from Dublin airport to Shannon airport.

At this point, I had to make a quick decision. Should I head to Shannon airport to begin my whole of Ireland tour, and thereby giving up visiting Morocco? This means that I will forfeit my flight tickets to Morocco and will have to visit that country another time. Or should I begin my shortened Ireland tour in Dublin, then move on to Morocco. This means that I will have to visit Ireland again on another trip.

In the end, I opted to proceed to Shannon airport. I thought of visiting Ireland just this once, so I need not make a repeat visit in future.

For a budget carrier, Norwegian airlines handled almost all aspects of this delay very well, from the transport to the hotel, and the alternative flight arrangements.

The only issue, if it is even considered one, is the free transport from Dublin airport to Shannon airport. We were left waiting at the Dublin airport coach parking area for quite a while before the driver of the coach showed up. It was winter and Dublin was really cold at night.

Soon, I was on my way on the coach towards Shannon. The coach ride lasted only a couple of hours and I reached Shannon in the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, Shannon airport is open 24 hours despite no flights operating, so I can wait till daylight in the airport terminal.

As day breaks, I begin my tour of Ireland, a country with amazing scenery. In the end, I did not regret having to cancel my Morocco trip. It is absolutely worthwhile to spend more days in Ireland. In my next post, I shall review my stay in Ireland with the incredibly scenic sights of this country.

Visiting the Big Apple

I have returned from my trip to Australia! It has been a great trip. 😀 Other than having a fun time in Gold Coast, Brisbane and Melbourne for the second time, I have the chance to visit Tasmania for the first time. 

While in Tasmania, I managed to visit the cities of Hobart and Launceston, with plenty of awesome sightseeing opportunities. I shall leave my Australia trip review to a subsequent post.

New York City is my favourite city in the United States. I've visited it thrice previously, during both summer and winter, so I had quite different experiences. The Big Apple is also one of the most visited cities in the world, so it is always crowded with tourists from many different countries at all times of the year. Yet this didn't stop me from returning to the city every time.

Impressive advertisement for the Harry Potter show. I will probably watch it one day!

The times square is my favourite spot within the New York City. Not much has changed since my previous trip here.

While walking past this billboard advertisement on the Spiderman movie, I saw a camera-toting crowd waiting around and looking right at the board. Being curious, I decided to join the crowd and waited for a surprise.

Soon, the display began to turn live and everyone within that spot could see our images on the big screen.

On this trip, I have decided to visit Central Park, one place I have yet to visit before. It is towards the end of the Manhattan shopping street. A pleasant respite from the hectic city life.

View of the New York City skyline

Horse carriages. Reminiscent of the olden days..

After spending some time in Central Park, it's time to head to the coach terminal to board the coach to Stewart Airport for my Norwegian Air flight to Shannon, Ireland. I shall review this eventful flight in my next post.

Asiana Airlines A330, A350 and B777 business class review

After spending two great days in Almaty, Kazakhstan, it is time to move on to the next segment of my trip. I will be taking Asiana Airlines business class from Almaty, transiting through Seoul, South Korea and across the pacific ocean to New York City in the United States. This is the main reason why I visited Kazakhstan in the first place.

Other than taking Asiana Airlines for the first time, I got the opportunity to try out their business class on the A330 regional business class seat from Almaty to Seoul, A350 long haul business class seat from Seoul to New York City, and B777 from Chicago to Seoul.

I reached Almaty airport way ahead of departure time, but ended up waiting for some time as the incoming flight was delayed by several hours due to heavy snow in Almaty. This delay ultimately caused me to miss my connecting flight on the same airline to New York City. More on that later.

Traveling in business class has the advantage of visiting the lounge prior to the flight. There are two lounges in Almaty airport, one for Air Astana passengers and the other for all other airlines. The lounge in Almaty is very underwhelming, in my opinion, with limited snacks and not much in terms of amenities. Seating is very limited as well.

This picture more or less sums up the main food and beverage offerings in the lounge.

Upon boarding, every business class seat has a small pillow and blanket.

Business class on the Asiana Airline A330 aircraft is in a 2-2-2 configuration. Very similar to SQ A330 aircraft.

Pre-departure drink

A window seat for me. On this flight, under 10 out of 30 business class seats are taken. So I have the neighbouring seat to myself as well.

Almaty to Seoul is a short, overnight flight. Once the plane is airborne, lights are switched off. I ordered the ramen since I hadn't eaten much in the lounge earlier. It was good and filling.

Soon, lights are turned on and breakfast is served. I had the delicious abalone porridge.

Flying across Asia towards South Korea

Arriving at Incheon airport

For a short, 5 hour flight, the business class 2-2-2 regional seating configuration is sufficiently comfortable. Just like SQ A330, the seat does not become totally flat and window seat passengers do not have direct aisle access.

Saw this Asiana Airlines A380 aircraft. It previously flew from Seoul to New York City but the route was since flown by the A350 aircraft.

After deplaning, I first went to the Asiana Airlines transit desk, conveniently located on the second floor close to its lounge. After confirming that I had indeed missed my connecting flight, I had to take the next day's flight. Asiana Airlines only operates a once daily flight from Seoul to New York City and I wan't able to travel on other other airlines. With that, I was granted access to the lounge for the day and the next. 

Initially, my boarding pass wasn't able to access the lounge automated gate as the lounge is only accessible for passengers for that day. So the transit desk staff had to come over and liaise with the lounge staff. As he came over, I was given four food vouchers each with a fixed value, that could be used in any eatery within the airport.

The Asiana Airline lounge in Incheon airport is very impressive. It is very big with sufficient seating for many people. There is a buffet table towards the end of the lounge. Toilets and shower rooms are near the entrance and kept clean at all times.

I had wanted to try the Asiana crafted beer but unfortunately missed the time. It was only served within a certain time of the day.

The lounge had different kinds of seating, open and private. The open seats faced the tarmac and view of the airplanes. The private seat, meanwhile, had no view at all. 

I manage to get one of the limited numbers of private seat. The private seat felt more like a lounge chair, was so comfortable, equipped with power sockets and had sufficient personal space, that I ended up spending the day in the lounge to make changes to my subsequent itinerary caused by this one-day delay.

Surprisingly, for a lounge this size, the food is limited in variety. This is basically all that is offered. At all times of the day.

Incheon airport offers free day tours of Seoul for connecting passengers. However, as I had already intended to visit Seoul later on in my trip, I did not join the tours.

The next morning, after spending some quality time in the same lounge, I was ready to take my next Asiana Airlines A350 flight.

Business class on the A350 aircraft is configured on a 1-2-1 seating arrangement.

The seat is convertible to a flat bed during the flight.

Amenity kit containing the essentials such as comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.

Pre-departure drink in the comfortable seat

Opted for a delicious Korean meal

IFE tv and handset

I purchased an open-jaw ticket with Asiana Airlines. Flying into New York City and departing from Chicago in the United States. This gave me a chance to visit Chicago, try out the B777 aircraft as well and not having to New York City again (Not that I mind😀)

In Chicago airport, Asiana Airlines business class passengers access the SAS lounge before the flight. This lounge, though well-designed in Scandinavian style, is very small in size and with limited seating. There is no washroom or shower amenity within the lounge.

The food and beverage offering is underwhelming. Only snacks are available at this late night hour. Not sure if there are more food options in the daytime. 

Due to long queues at immigration in the airport, I didn't get to spend too much time in this lounge. Soon, it's time to board my flight to Seoul!

The B777 aircraft business class set-up is in 1-2-1 arrangement, similar to its A350 aircraft.

A delicious meal of Bibimbap. I usually choose the local cuisine of the airline rather than the Western option on a flight.

A long trek across the vast pacific ocean

A porridge breakfast before deplaning

That's all for my Asiana Airlines flights. Great hard product on the long haul A350 and B777 aircraft. Average hard product on the A330 aircraft. Service by the cabin crew is excellent, comparable to SQ. Catering of Korean dishes and the icewine is excellent on all flights.