Day 1 - Edinburgh
 |
| View from Edinburgh Castle |
To travel from Singapore to Edinburgh, you will need to transit at the main city such as London or Paris.
The whole flight from SG to London will take about 13 hours. As my boy has fever before the trip, I caught the bug and struggling with fever on the plane and manage to recover soon after arriving with Panadol Extra that I have kept in my medicine pouch and bring up the plane. Luckily I booked the 2 seater seat near the toilet and I sit with my boy so there is the convenience of going to toilet whenever we like. Look out for the special 2-seater seat (only at certain sections of the plane).
The whole flight from SG to London will take about 13 hours. As my boy has fever before the trip, I caught the bug and struggling with fever on the plane and manage to recover soon after arriving with Panadol Extra that I have kept in my medicine pouch and bring up the plane. Luckily I booked the 2 seater seat near the toilet and I sit with my boy so there is the convenience of going to toilet whenever we like. Look out for the special 2-seater seat (only at certain sections of the plane).
Our first day when we arrived at London airport was horrible, due to BA flight issue. The flight was delayed 40 minutes and we missed our transit. As we arrived early morning (about 6am), there are still seats available on next flight and they book us on a transit departing in 45 minutes at 7.25am. However we have to rush out of the customs and queue all over again in order to get in.
We rushed to the transit and run in the airport with the kids, clear customs in all over again. Thankfully we reach there very early in the morning and the morning rush hour just started. The customs are rather tough due to the tight security and took longer time to clear.
We managed to get on the transit which delay for a 20 minutes due to 20 passengers were not able to board. 2 out of our 3 luggage arrived in Edinburgh on the same transit with us, but one luggage was delayed. We were told not to wait at the airport and BA will send the delayed luggage to our hotel.
Gyle Shopping Centre
Gyle Avenue
South Gyle Broadway
Edinburgh
EH12 9JY
We went to the nearby Gyle Shopping Centre (5mins drive) after picking up our rental car at the airport. All rental cars booth are in a separate building from the terminal and is a short walk over. Edinburgh airport is a simple airport with few shops, so do not expect to pick up the standard phone cards or travel stuff. Instead, it is recommended to buy phone cards in the city or Gyle Shopping centre.
At Gyle, we went to Carphone Warehouse, one of the biggest chain of phone shops in Scotland. We also have lunch at their foodcourt and stock up at pharmacy and Morrison Supermarket.
 |
| Foodcourt |
 |
| Lunch |
 |
| I didn't take photo of Morrison. This is photo from the web. The supermarket is huge! |
Despite the delay in flight, we managed to go on with our original plan and check in our Hotel in Edinburgh city. Our hotel is a short walk to Edinburgh castle and old town.
Apex Grassmarket Hotel
This hotel is convenient as it is walking distance to many places and is fairy affordable. However, the hotel is near the main streets which can be quite noisy at night due to pubs nearby. The beds are simple and room is small.
There is a small heated pool which can probably only accommodate one family or so. The breakfast is a simple English breakfast and nothing special.
It is good for a short stay but nothing more than 2 nights.
Apex Grassmarket Hotel
31 to 35 Grassmarket, Edinburgh
(walking
distance to Castle)
This hotel is convenient as it is walking distance to many places and is fairy affordable. However, the hotel is near the main streets which can be quite noisy at night due to pubs nearby. The beds are simple and room is small.
There is a small heated pool which can probably only accommodate one family or so. The breakfast is a simple English breakfast and nothing special.
It is good for a short stay but nothing more than 2 nights.
Edinburgh Castle
We set off to Edinburgh Castle. It is a slope uphill walk. The castle is very crowded. We "jump" the queue by buying the tickets online in advance.
This is the number one visitor attraction in Scotland and the
most iconic building in the city. Perched on top of an extinct volcano, the Castle
and its Esplanade offers unparalleled views of Edinburgh. You can explore some
of the oldest and most important buildings of the city, including St Margaret's
Chapel, The National War Memorial and the Half Moon Battery. The regal Crown
Square is a real highlight, where you will find the magnificent Grand Hall and
Scotland's Crown Jewels - and the famous Stone of Destiny.
If you are early, you can watch and hear the 13:00 O'clock Cannon,
go to Princess Gardens underneath the Castle and have a seat in one of the
public benches. However as we are delayed by BA, we are not able to witness the cannon.
 |
| View from Castle |
 |
| My girl bright Yellow Jacket from Aristine Little Closet |
 |
| Old Town |
In the evening, we went to the famous Elephant House restaurant
The restaurant is made famous as the place of inspiration to writers such as J.K. Rowling. Food is delicious and coffee is their specialty.
We end our first day by shopping around old town. There are many shops selling cheap and beautiful scarf. A good souvenir to buy back! Scarf in UK can be purchased from 5 or 10 pounds, definitely cheaper than back in SG.
If you have the time and enjoy trekking, you can trek up to Arthur Seat. More tips on Arthur Seat at Earth Trekkers' blog . With limited time caused by the plane delay, we decided to give it a miss and save our energy for more trekking in our coming weeks in Scotland.
If you have the time and enjoy trekking, you can trek up to Arthur Seat. More tips on Arthur Seat at Earth Trekkers' blog . With limited time caused by the plane delay, we decided to give it a miss and save our energy for more trekking in our coming weeks in Scotland.
 |
| Photo from Visit Scotland |
Comments