一個月之前的日本東京日光旅行被堆在相簿已久, 現在應該可以趁著復活節把他們挖出來, 好好整理一下. (2/23-3/1 的JP出遊後, 立刻安排3/17-4/1的UK出差明顯擠壓這篇....而臨時排行程甚麼都變貴XD)
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| 冬季的繡球花 @日光東照宮 |
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| 樹的溫度@戰場之原 |
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| 冬末的四葉草 |
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| 東武日光站前廣場 |
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| 東武日光站 |
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| 擦肩而過的羅馬 |
每趟臨時的旅程不意外的話, 就是要出個意外或是來段變奏曲. 然後後來證實, 這次沒有不一樣🤣.
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| (Photo@EDI airport) British Airways 因大罷工結果是後來全大誤點或是取消 |
每次旅行的時候多少都會有些考試, 要讓人解開炸彈才能繼續前進, 像是抵達的旅館問題, 途中的行李狀況, 或是租來的車子開到爆掉這些必須非得在三更半夜立刻處理的鳥事, 總是屢試不爽這次也不例外(旅行險真的是必備 尤其歐洲! 對照其他同事他們也表示這是歐洲的日常, 每次出差都會有班機被取消)
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| (Guardian) British Airways cancels 300 flights during Heathrow staff’s Easter strikes |
由於英國倫敦的機場大罷工, 我的班機在起飛前的10小時才收到取消通知......整個就是傻眼也只能認了, 就算是搭乘調整後的班機還是有抓些緩衝時間(>3小時)讓我可以趕上行程(?), 反正深夜要找英航/華航票務客服要改票也全都下班了(是要找鬼?......)就只能搭乘當日一大早就到抵達機場等地勤問票候機, 也問是不是有早點的班機可以搭乘. 結果當然是沒有, 由於機場大罷工, 整個航班大亂, 就算我改票後最早的班機能搭乘的飛機也大延誤, 轉換航廈時也被因機場大亂而不早已塞滿道路的車子困在路上30幾分鐘(明明才2公里!) 到了我要轉機的時候已經關櫃也沒得掛我的行李了.......
在為期一周的實體會議結束後, 跳上了當地旅行團加入了團客行程, 啟程去蘇格蘭高地來看這遠得不行的蘇格蘭至北之地(開車要開一天才能到達的英國北角). 旅程中我們的司機兼導遊Neil, 他英國腔是容易聽而他講話本身又很好笑. 整趟3天的旅程下來讓同團的大家都很開心給他小費(P.S.英國小費文化並不像美國, 如果真的很滿意再給也是可以的)
After the week-long physical conference ended, I joined a local tour group and embarked on a journey to the Scottish Highlands to see the farthest point of Scotland's north (which takes a day's drive to reach from the rest of the UK). Our driver and tour guide, Neil, spoke with an easy-to-understand British accent and was naturally funny. Throughout the entire 3-day trip, everyone in the group was very happy with him and gave him a tip (Note: Tipping culture in the UK is not like that in the US; it's also acceptable to give a tip if you are very satisfied with the service).
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| Our 3-day Highland guide-Neil |
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| 這是站在上面的我看到的高原 |
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| Edinburgh Castle(wiki) |
還好在出發前一個月先買了 PS5+<霍格華茲的傳承>(誤), 讓我Buff灌滿有勇氣踏上這個傳說中的蘇格蘭腔, 這個連英國人都不見得聽得懂當地英文的地方 😂LOL
Fortunately, I bought a PS5 with "Hogwarts Legacy" a month before the trip, which gave me the courage to embark on this legendary Scottish accent, a place where even British people may not understand the local English 😂LOL.
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| People Make Glasgow! |
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| High Court of Justiciary @Edinburgh |
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| Double Rainbow while on the bus @ Edinburgh |
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| 第一張英國照 不夜城倫敦的深夜空拍 (感謝好鄰居的分享~) |
倫敦是我們行程的第一站, 因為比較近辦公室的TPE-Glasgow(Edinburgh)機票稀缺而高價且班次也少, 我們退而決定從首都倫敦作為起點, 再一路向北前往蘇格蘭. 英國總人口大約6.4千萬, 人口密度約為台灣的一半(42%) 是個溫帶日夜有點寒冷而舒服的國家. 就算一年內的下雨天數可能幾乎是每天, 但是也不致於到不能接受, 每天就算戶外旅遊一直走路, 這樣的天氣反而很舒服
London was our first stop of the trip because flights from Taipei to Glasgow (Edinburgh), where our office is located, were scarce, expensive, and infrequent. We decided to start our journey from the capital city of London and make our way north to Scotland. The total population of the UK is around 64 million, with a population density of approximately half that of Taiwan (42%). It's a temperate country with cool and comfortable nights and days, even though it may rain almost every day of the year. The weather is pleasant for outdoor activities, and even when we were walking all day outdoors, we felt comfortable.
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| Big Ben |
英國在歷史上一直以來都是個向外的國家, 儘管人口不多但在歷史上的重大事件都有出席, 尤其在近代史打開大航海/工業/資訊/網路開創/近代科學/革命/反殖民/民主制/世界大戰....., 都有他的出現. 在這裡隨處可以看到各種文化融合的影子: 電車是世界首條地鐵(1863通車迄今) /有著各種膚色的國民/ 閱讀文化與到處可見的圖書館/還有川流不息的機場 (就算是深夜抵達也是滿滿的排隊通關人潮.....花了2小時才順利出關, 行李都已經被搬下行李帶@#^*&.)
Throughout history, UK has always been an outward-looking country. Despite having a small population, it has participated in major historical events, especially in modern times, such as the Age of Discovery, Industrial Revolution, Information Age, modern science, revolution, anti-colonialism, democracy, and World War I and II. Everywhere you look, you can see the fusion of different cultures: the world's first subway (opened in 1863), people of different skin colors, reading culture, and libraries, and the bustling airports (even if we arrived late at night, we still encountered long queues at immigration, taking 2 hours to clear customs, and our luggage had already been taken off the conveyor belt)."
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| 早上登機門前發現冰淇淋車@FCO airport |
臨時起意的UK, Scotland之旅, 終於在幾經波折後結束與順利回來了. 起因在3月初一次會議中, 提到兩周後會在蘇格蘭集合, 經過一番溝通與相關人等討論預算後, 我也終於有機會在有生之年踏上日不落國(大英國協!!)
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| P.S. 台灣自來水之父是William K. Burton(Photos@自來水博館) |
