RafflesTravels

Another choir tour was looming, off we went to see T and F as they toured the country with their school choir. Full of excitement to escape the cold, and for a change of routine, we boarded our China Eastern flight to Melbourne via Shanghai on Valentine’s Day. The entertainment was limited and the food full of garlic! Very romantic. On landing in Shanghai, we had a full day to play with, so it was straight down to the Bund area. An hour to get out of the maze that is Shanghai airport, but only 10mins to the outskirts of Shanghai via the speedy Maglev train (300km an hour) Shanghai is huge in size and scale. When we arrived at the Nanjing Road, the main shopping area, we were greeted with an area of modern bustling shops of mainly Chinese consumers ready to spend their RNBs. As we tried to join the consumer frenzy we quickly realised the many places do not take western credit cards, but use cash, AliPay and some other methods that we were not familiar with. After grabbing cash from an A...

Welcome readers to my first RafflesTravels experience which I will use to share knowledge and experiences with fellow travellers. On a grey Saturday morning I was tasked with marking my sons attempt at a History GCSE paper. One of the questions was around Elisabethan exploration. This simple question opened up a world of facts about Queen Elisabeth and the so called “Golden Age”. With a healthy mark achieved in the test, a renewed exuberance for English history, and a bit of free time before F’s science tutor, I was determined to use the time wisely. Confidently, I demanded that it would be a good idea to solidify F’s knowledge by a quick trip to the National Portrait Gallery. Reluctantly, F agreed, knowing that it is never quick going to central London on a Saturday afternoon. Gaming was the sacrifice. After a brisk 5km walk from Hyde Park Corner, we reached our destination. We snuck in via the cafe entrance avoiding the queue at the main entrance. Feeling smug, we went straight to th...