Europe Trip.. Day one and Day Two. Edinburgh

Flying from Australia to Europe is such a short flight. Just kidding its long and boring and did I mention long? Especially when you are flying by yourself. I had never flown with qantas or emirates overseas before but I had heard that they were fantastic. The day before I checked in online to try and pick my seats. When flying alone having the window seat for when you want to sleep is what you want.

Getting to the airport is so exciting. But then you walk on the plan and realise Ahhh I have 32 hours until I get there.

 My first flight was 7.5 hours into Singapore with a 6 hour wait. The flight went pretty quickly. I sat next to this girl from Singapore who is living and studying in Australia. And told me that she was going to she her family. When I landed in Singapore I got off the plane and found these couches that u can lay down on. Which was exactly what I needed plus they had computers which you can access the internet for free. After I flicked a few Facebook messages to the family I settled on the couch for a few hours.

Singapore airport is quite small. I landed late in the afternoon so I didn't have a chance to go out and explore. The only thing is if you ever do go out of the airport you will have to come back through customs and some airports will make you pay a tax. I ended up having some dinner at a little cafe before I boarded my next 8 hour flight at 10pm Singapore time and 12am home time. 

The 2nd flight was pretty uneventful. I popped a travel sickness pill and off we went. They feed us twice on the flight. I'm gluten intolerant so I made sure I told the airline in advance. When your on such a big airline they will take awhile to get to your seat with your food. The one thing I can suggest to get  around the wait is let the airline know in advance that you have a dietary requirements as they always serve these first. Because it was really late back in my home town I was so tired on this second flight. The flight was quite full and I was lucky enough to get the window seat. So I grabbed my neck pillow and leaned it against the window, popped my ear plugs in and my sleeping mask on and had a nap. I landed in Dubai 8.5 hours later at 12am

their time and 6am back at home. Dubai airport is pretty big and has a hotel in it. They even hire the rooms out for a minim of 3 hours. I was curious how much it would be to hire the room out for a nap. I found the entrance and asked and for 3 hours it was $400 euro. I was under no impression that it was going to be cheap. I was about 22 hours into my journey at this point. I did some research before I went and Dubai has free showers straight across from some lounges that you can lay down on. These showers you do have to provide your own towel and soap. But it's a great way to fell fresh before your next flight. I made sure before I left that I had  small towel in my hand luggage with some soap. 

Dubai airport also has a gym which you can pay 10 euro and use their facilities which includes showers, towels and a swimming pool. If you didn't want to bring a towel in your hand luggage. The free showers are very clean a modern. The only thing I would suggest is to bring some thongs as the floor of the showers were very wet. I then settled down for my 7.5 hour wait between flights on the couches. Since again it was 12am and my flight left at 7:30am I didnt go out of the airport. Dubai airport has heaps of shops and restaurants
And gives you 30mins free wifi. 

Back on the plane I went for the last leg of the trip. I ended up watching 3 movies which are all included in the flight cost before I landed in Dublin! Finally! After 32 hours I was finally there. 

Before I left for my trip I had organised my transfer, hotels and flights through a travel agency. They were fantastic and gave me all the information that I needed apart from the transfer companies phone number. Before I left I sent them an Emil requesting those phone numbers. Because it can be very daunting travelling alone and turning up to the airport in a strange country and your transfer driver doesn't show up. The travel agency said since they use a 3rd party that they couldn't give it to me.  Low and behold what happens I land in Dublin and can't find my transfer driver. This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid. I ended up going to the information centre and they went and found my driver for me. From the airport the drive took 30 or so minutes to get to the hotel.

The Harding Hotel Single Room 

I stayed at the Harding Hotel. Which is about a 10 minutes walk into the city. The room I stayed was a small room that looked over a cathedral.

Really cute room but the hotel doesn't have air conditioning. But both window's open and lets face it with all the great things to do in Dublin you will hardly be in the room for long enough to notice. They also supply a little fan for your room.

Feeling pretty jet lagged and having landed at midday and not wanting to make the jet lag worse I went for a walk. I walked 2 minutes down the road and had a look at the Edinburgh Castle. It was beautiful. I went for a quick walk down Grafton Street which is a famous street of shop and walked along and sat in the sun in Stephens Green (Which is a stunning park).

Random things happen to me alot when I travel. I was sitting in the park enjoying the sun and reading a map
when I decided to go look at the swans. I was looking over the water when a guy approached me letting me know he saw me looking at my map and his a traveler as well and ask to spend the rest of the day with me. Travelling by your self or with others you also have to be wary. I'm sure happens all the time and but its all about going with your gut feeling. The feeling I got from this guy is that I needed to lie. I told him that my boyfriend was back in the hotel room waiting for me and then I left. Being late afternoon I decided to get an early dinner and head back to my hotel. Being from Australia I'm definitely not use to the sun setting at 11pm. Even in summer in Australia the sun sets at 6pm-7pm.

On the way back up to my hotel room I grabbed a map from the hotel reception with a few other information leaflets about Edinburgh. This is great for idea's on what to do on your holidays.