They say that good things come to those who wait so I wondered, as I was waking up at 7am this morning to get to the British Museum to line up for the walk-in tickets to The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army exhibition, whether it was going to be worth it. I arrived at about 7.45 to find a line easily 200-300 people long and stretching all the way along the front of the BM gates and around the corner to about halfway around the block. As one of the ladies behind me commented it was almost like being in the line for Wimbledon tickets. Once the BM gates opened at 8 we trotted into the museum proper to buy our tickets. The end of the line for me ended up on the other side of the museum and into the Africa room. It moved fairly steadily but I did start to wonder whether I would get a ticket. By the time I was part of the established line it was fairly entertaining to watch the faces of the people only just joining the queue – hopeful that once they turned the corner the end of the line would be there but disappointed to find that the line stretched, and stretched, and stretched.

It only took an hour to finally get my tickets.

Amazingly, I managed to get tickets to enter the exhibition straight away which was the best result for me as I didn’t really want to have to traipse back and forth between home and the BM or, worse, have to fill in time on a Sunday morning when nothing was open until lunch!

So, what about the exhibition proper. I have to comment on the fact that it was absolutely heaving. I guess with only a few weeks to go until the exhibition closes and on a weekend I had to expect that. Like all exhibitions the first part of the exhibition was packed – all the spaces around the glassed exhibitions were at least 2-3 people deep so trying to read the little information squares (most of them in ridiculously tiny writing) was darn near impossible. However, once you moved through this section the crowd got a little more sparse and you could actually get closer to the displays.

I honestly didn’t know much at all about this terracotta army, let alone about the history of the Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, who created it which is such a shame considering just how much he contributed to the world – he founded the country that we now know as China, he built this amazing tomb complex (his eternal empire underground), established a uniform currency and script, and also created the Great Wall of China. That he was also cruel, ruthless, .. well, you’ll just have to make up your own mind about him.

Qin Shihuangdi was obsessed with the eternal life and did all he could to prolong his life. He spent more than 30 years building the 56 square kilometre tomb which houses what is essentially an undground kingdom filled with entertainers, civil officials, musicians, birds, horses, an apparently flowing river of mercury – all guarded by the Terracotta Army, of which 7,000 have been discovered to date.

Although there are bits and pieces displayed all around the exhibition the centrepiece is certainly the 12 complete warriors. Although seeing the display couldn’t quite demonstrate the vastness of the real thing in China instead you get to appreciate the intricate detail in the statues and the wonder of the uniqueness of each statue – clothing, hairpieces, facial features etc. are different on each statue. Pretty amazing skill considering it was two millenia ago when they were created.

Overall it took me about 40 minutes to work through the exhibition – most people average about an hour. It was frustrating trying to get through the crowds all of whom are of course entitled to have their time in the exhibition but just served to get in my way – ha ha. I’m not sure this is for everyone – at £12 I guess its quite hefty for an hour’s entertainment but if I never make it to China at least I can say I’ve witnessed something a bit special today. And all by 9.30am …. 🙂

If you want to experience a whole day of absolutely decadence and are willing to pay for it then The Sanctuary is the place for you. Imagine spending your whole day in a bathrobe as you are pampered and fed!

Rehana and I had done a little research finding the perfect day spa to spend our day and, as we were limited to finding something within central London, The Sanctuary with their offer of day entry plus 50 minute massage for £109 (which was about a 20% saving) was the winner. The Sanctuary is quite well hidden away within the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden and I probably would never have even realised it was there if I hadn’t gone today! Its an all women spa so sorry boys this recap won’t be for you.

The Sanctuary provides most things you will need at a day spa – toiletries, bathrobes, water and sometimes juice, and an endless supply of towels but you’re advised to bring your hair products (hairspray etc.), flip flops and bikini if going naked is not for you (and most women inside the Sanctuary actually maintained that bit of modesty.)

We planned to get to the Sanctuary for about 10.30 so that gave us about seven hours to make use of the facilities. I thought this was more than enough time but when you factor in at least one treatment, lunch and use of the “Sleep Retreat” (a 20-minute relaxation on a vibrating lounge bed and tranquil music – apparently the first spa in the world to have these beds) the day just literally flew by and I was left wanting more! 🙂

When you first arrive you’re giving a robe to change into, a locker to store your outside gear, a bag to put whatever you want carry around with you on the day and directed to the main restaurant to peruse the menu and make a booking for lunch if you want. There are two lounges where you don’t have to book in lunch and can get a selection of sandwiches etc. but at the prices of the sandwiches and salads (about £10) you could have sat in the restaraunt and picked up a hot main meal (about £12.50). From the restaurant, whether you book or not, you’re then supposed to be picked up by a hostess to take you through the facilities. Unfortunately for us for whatever reason (maybe because it was so busy) we didn’t end up with a hostess. Didn’t really need one though as The Sanctuary is fairly easy to navigate around.

So, on to the facilities. The Sanctuary has two swimming pools (one that is host to the infamous swing which everyone MUST try and the other a 13.5m exercise pool), a Hamman Steam Room (very nice but not too hot), a Sauna, a Sanarium, a couple of spa pools, and most importantly a couple of relaxation areas. The Koi Carp Lounge is the a largest one and has all manner of cushioned benches, large sofas or sun bed type beds to relax on. The only drawback was that The Sanctuary can get pretty busy and if you’re in a group of three or more finding space for your group to sit/lie/sleep near each other can be difficult.

Rehana and I started the day making use of the facilities – a bit of time in the exercise pool for Rehana, a bit of time in the Hamman Steam Room (divine!) and the sauna for me before trying out the swing in the atrium pool near the Koi Carp Lounge. Pretty nice way to spend a couple of hours. We then grabbed a bit of lunch from the Restaurant (filled with healthy offerings and, if not generous servings, are just enough) before making our way to our respective treatments – mine a 50-minute hot stone massage and Rehana’s a 50-minute aromatherapy massage. My massage was amazing – my therapist was very good and explained everything she was going, she used nice oils and the stones were hot hot hot. It felt soooo good that when I got up I nearly fell over I was so relaxed! After our treatments it was a bit of afternoon tea (two giant scones!) and then a relax in the lounge. Before we knew it the end of the day had arrived and it was off for our Sleep Retreat. An interesting experience and I actually think I went into some meditative state which I thought I would neer achieve.

By this time the facilities had closed and as you can imagine it was a madhouse finding a spare shower and space to get ready. At least Rehana and I had checked out early so we didn’t need to line up with the rest of them to finalise our bill!

Overall I had a fabulous time at The Sanctuary. Time simply flew by and I think that was because of the company, thanks Rehana, and the whole mentality that you’ve got a whole day just to relax and lay around. Nice! There were only a couple of negatives mainly that it was quite busy and, aside from the upfront payment for use of the facilities and the treatment, you can expect to have some additionaly costs (at least another £20-30 for food and drinks.) Otherwise it was pretty perfect!

After dim-sum today we thought it would be a good opportunity to take advantage of Oyster’s current 2-4-1 offers on a number of tourist attractions in London. According to the brochure London Aquarium is apparently one of the largest displays in Europe with over 50 living displays, 350 different species and over 2 million litres of water. I know it best for one of the scenes in Closer – hated the movie but loved playing “I know where that was filmed” during the movie (including spotting filming at my local Whiteley’s Shopping Centre!)

The Aquarium is split over there levels and 14 zones. Moving from start to finish is relatively straight-forward with no need to double-back or get confused about which zones you’ve been to or have missed out. The actual Aquarium takes probably just over an hour to explore but there are plenty of free talks on during the day starting at 11.30 am with the last talk at 4.00 pm. I would try and structure a visit around a particular talk that you want to see (such as the Shark feed at 2.30 pm) as you might get a bit bored filling in times between the talks.

We didn’t hang around for any talks but satisfied ourselves with the live displays. The fish tanks themselves are gorgeous from the small to the giant (floor to ceiling beauties!) I could have probably spent all day just gazing at these gentle creatures swimming about. If only the crowds were a bit more civilised and cool. I don’t know what it is about aquariums but for some reason it really brings out the worst in people – jostling and pushing and just being plain inconsiderate about those around. I could understand the kids being excited but when the adults started pushing me around I wasn’t impressed! The thing is that this behaviour is not even unique to this aquarium – in all countries I’ve been to its been the same from Hong Kong to the US and now to England! I was also offended on behalf of the fish from the visitors who constantly used flash photography despite signs asking them to refrain from doing so.

The aquarium isn’t all watching behind the glass, you can interact as well in the touching pool where you can touch, amongst other things, the rays. These rays felt a little different from the bat rays at Sea World San Diego – a bit more sand paper rough in the middle of their bodies and jelly like on the wings.

Overall I think entry into the aquariums is quite pricey (£13.25 for one adult) considering it doesn’t take very long to work through so if you want to go its worth checking if there are any discounts on offer and at worst buying admission online which gets you at least a 25% discount. The Aquarium was absolutely heaving today (as would be expected on a weekend) so its worth trying to go during the week when there is a chance of smaller crowds so you can at least have the chance to get closer to the fish.

Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland is supposed to have this year’s largest open air ice rink. Only open for a short five weeks I was keen to check it out. It also featured a german christmas market, a giant observation wheel (which turned out to be a mini-London Eye), a carousel, amusement rides and a bungee tent. I managed to get Mirela and Caroline along for the ride whilst Enrique, Antonio, Elvira and Andrew spectated.

The German Christmas Market

The German Christmas Market was pretty small but functional. Amongst the 25 or so wooden chalets you had your mulled wine, your hot sausages stand, your roast (pork etc.) stand and then the usual smattering of arts/craft where you could pick up some Christmas goodies.

The Rest of the Attractions

As I stated above the observation wheel (stretching 50 metres into the sky) was like a mini-London Eye. I wasn’t expecting such a technologically advanced wheel. Each pod could apparently fit up to six people and the journey takes nearly 15 minutes. Upon seeing it I could understand the £7.00 price tag. £4.50 if you buy it at the same time you buy your skating tickets. The bungy dome was enthralling but I wasn’t quite game enough (or warm enough!) to get in it to show my stuff.

The Skating

The ice skating rink definitely feels a lot bigger than the couple I’ve been on so far as laps felt a lot bigger. Though despite the size the rink was amazingly crowded at the beginning of our session. It had noticeably thinned by the end. Disappointingly our boots weren’t the greatest I’ve worn – I think they were ice hockey style boots and therefore were quite uncomfortable – and bright orange! Considering this was the first time that Mirela had gone ice skating she was doing really well and Caroline was a wizz. I managed to take someone down, ooops!, but also redeemed myself by stopping someone going down.

… the ice rinks start to open in London!

Since I declared two years ago that I would basically never go skating again the year turns 2007 and now I’m actively seeking out ice rinks to get on to. Not that I’m any good mind you but I’ve almost got the hang of, if not skating smoothly around the ring, not falling over. Famous last words! I think I’ve gone skating at least twice since – I know, how dedicated of me – once at Disneyland Paris and then again at the Tower of London.

The ice rink at Somerset House must by one of the prettiest, and definitely one of the most popular, ice rinks in London. That it has opened relatively early in the season is also good news for those departing the country .. namely Pauline! Although I’ve admired this ice rink in the past I never thought that it would be a fun ice rink to be on just because of how crowded it gets but when Pauline offered me a ticket who was I to refuse. So, dangerously only after about 4 hours sleep after our Paper outing, today it was on to the ice rink for us.

Somerset House caters for all level of skaters especially the beginners who are penned off in a little section of their own and the cutest little penguin helpers. I had to practically nab my penguin from one of the little ones when they lost hold of it as they had “fallen over”. No I didn’t push the kid over! Heh heh.

Although my feet were aching as I went around the rink (which required lots of of rest breaks just for my sanity) the rink was less crowded than I was expecting and I felt reasonably comfortable skating around. So much so that I was able to take the photo to the right on the move and somehow falling over!

Great fun and a very nice work out.

We were supposed to go to The Church today but instead Pauline and I went to Brighton and our livers are probably very thankful! It wasn’t a particularly hot summery day but we did have moments of sun which we were grateful for. It was just nice to get out of London even though I’ve already been to Brighton a couple of times.

Mainly Pauline and I walked up and down the “beach” and I also introduced her to the 2p machines. I’m surprised she’s never seen them before – very addictive. It was all I could do to tear her away. Ha ha. We even had to fight off this man who was trying to take over our machine though I think he was trying to give us tips on where to put the coins at the same time. Strange!

On this trip I also finally managed to get to the Royal Pavilion. Its actually a funky palace though a little over-priced to get into. There is a fairly detailed audio-tour that you can take but it was very historically based rather than about the Palace itself. I was disappointed I couldn’t take photos of the inside – very amazing interiors especially the large opulent dining room which was “guarded” so to speak by these intricate and rather big dragons and had a most amazing chandelier.

One of the things I miss about Oz it the accessibility of a driving range. A competent golfer I am not but the satisfaction of whacking a hundred golf balls to kingdom come is not to be overlooked lightly. Its definitely a great way to release some frustration. Today Akhlaq and I went to Watfod’s Top Golf. An interesting concept that takes an ordinary driving range and adds the complexity of having targets to aim at. The balls have electronic sensors which let you know how far you’ve hit the ball and also how close you’ve come to hitting the hole you were aiming for. Generally the sensors work quite well but you have to be careful to make sure you register the ball before you whack it. I can see that this type of thing would be quite addictive!