DESTINATION: Barcelona (Spain)

Introduction

British Airways London Heathrow to Barcelona

Expo Hotel to Olympic Stadium

La Ramblas to Barcelona Cathedral

Barceloneta to Maremagnum & L'Aquarium

Sargada Familia to Parc Guell via Camp Nou

British Airways Barcelona to London Heathrow

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Once leaving terminal one, we had to board a transfer bus to take us to terminal two. The bus was free to travel on and it was packed by the time we started moving - not a single space was left empty! It took roughly ten minutes and we parked in front of T2. Just before we pulled up at the terminal I spotted a PIA Boeing 777-200ER parked right up next to the fence (gate 54 I believe). This was the newly inaugurated Chicago - Barcelona - Lahore service PIA had recently introduced.

Official Pakistan International Airlines poster with the airline's latest livery I saw parked at T2B.

The bus came to a stop at one of the main doors of the terminal T2B where we followed the signs for the RENFE train. We walked up a flight of stairs, along a bridge that lead to the airport train station. As a matter of fact every passenger that left the bus was walking towards the train station too. It seemed this was the main way into the city centre.

The free shuttle bus running constantly between T1 and T2

DESTINATION: Barcelona (Spain)

Introduction

British Airways London Heathrow to Barcelona

Expo Hotel to Olympic Stadium

La Ramblas to Barcelona Cathedral

Barceloneta to Maremagnum & L'Aquarium

Sargada Familia to Parc Guell via Camp Nou

British Airways Barcelona to London Heathrow

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Trip Report: 017

SDT/SAT/Delay: 07:10/07:20/+00h10min

Flight: British Airways – BA, BA-478, 713 miles

Routing: London LHR – Barcelona BCN

Aircraft: Airbus A320-232 (G-EUUY)

Seat: Euro Traveller Class

Living so close to one of the world's busiest airports sure does have its advantages. The number of international airlines are endless with more and more destinations opening up every year. As Heathrow has grown so has London and its surrounding boroughs making the UK one of the most cosmopolitans cities in the world.

It was in October when me and a friend decided to pay a little visit to Spain's second largest city, Barcelona. The weather had become very bitter in the UK and with depression setting in we decided to head to warmer climates. Looking around, we finally bought an inclusive package from the online travel company lastminute.com including flights with British Airways. In this article you will find a review of my first British Airways flight to Barcelona.

The Ford Galaxy 2008 Model (Photo Courtsey of Ford TDI Sport)

DESTINATION: Barcelona (Spain)

Introduction
British Airways London Heathrow to Barcelona
Expo Hotel to Olympic Stadium
La Ramblas to Barcelona Cathedral
Barceloneta to Maremagnum & L'Aquarium
Sargada Familia to Parc Guell via Camp Nou
British Airways Barcelona to London Heathrow
___________________________________________________________________________________

BARCA BARCA BARCA! It's been on the cards for as long as I can remember. My colleagues would not stop taking about it and I knew this was the year I would make it to the second largest city in Spain. A popular city among the Brits, me and a friend decided that over the course of November we would try and get away from the cold and wet weather.

Having a look at a number of online travel websites including Expedia, Last Minute, Thomas Cook, Thompson and British Airways deals we finally found an option that seemed quite good. Lastminute.com offered us an inclusive package of flights and hotel from London Heathrow which excellent timings.

The issue was we found it quite difficult to find the right hotel to go with our flights. There were so many options and lastminute.com had a very comprehensive list of hotels to choose from. We eventually found one that was in the perfect location. It was a few minutes walk from the Barcelona Sants train station and it was in one of the more modernistic parts of the city.

The payment process was very efficient and we were able to print out our flight details and hotel confirmation within the hour of coming a decision. As we used a credit card to make the booking, we had to pay an extra £10 each for administration costs - abit cheeky but it still worked out as a pretty good deal.

We were booked on one of the morning flights out of London Heathrow surprisingly Terminal Three and we arriving back at about half nine in the evening. The hotel we had chosen was a four star restaurant called Expo Hotel and looking at Goggle Maps we were in the perfect spot to start our break. The snapshot below is the main lobby and the newly built swimming pool on the roof top.

As you can tell we were in for a treat!

Stay tuned for the upcoming trip and beginning of a fabulous adventure!

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @Raisinganchor

DESTINATION: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

Locally known as the Las Vegas of the Middle East, Dubai, has become a financial, cultural and moderate city of the Arab peninsula. I have visited Dubai on a number of occasions and in this article you will find a selection of my favourite photographs from the city.

Everytime I visit this city more and more it grows and the more I love it. The transport system has become alot easier with the opening of the Dubai Metro. The weather is just so beautiful during April and the lovely sandy beaches at Jumeriah will make you want to spend the entire day there.

The central city is full of the old lifestyle, the souks and bazaars are still as lively as ever. Head to Meena Bazaar to see the large amounts of gold on display in every window shop. If you get the chance book yourself a night cruise along the Dubai Creek where you can experience a journey along the city with a live band and a complimentary meal. The Dubai Museum is another great day out where you will find a vast collection of artifacts and educational lectures on the history of the city.

If your looking for an adventure, then make sure you book yourself on a desert safari where you will be able to quad bike on the large sand dunes, sit in a 4x4 Jeep and taken on an adventure along the empty quarter where there will be a Bedouin themed evening with belly dancers, a buffet and plenty of camel rides.

Whatever your reason to visit the city, make sure you do plenty of research and know where your going. Be cautious and be aware of your surroundings.

Pimp My Truck! Pakistani Style!

The 'Original' Kohistan Bus, now only found in rural Pakistan

If you ever get the chance to travel to Pakistan, one thing you will most likely notice is the cultural diversity and it’s spectacular landscape. In the south, the land is more desert where temperatures sore and the air is particularly humid. Travelling north through Punjab the land becomes more green eventually becoming more mountainous as you head passed the capital toward the infamous Himalayas. Keeping this in mind, one should not fail to realise the vast magnitude of people that call Pakistan home.  

On my most recent trip to the country, one thing that really caught my attention was the amazing artwork seen on each and every road in Pakistan. What I am talking about is the indigenous artwork  on trucks and buses which gained wide popularity during the reign of the British Raj. The skill and effort on these monstrous scary looking trucks was absolutely amazing! You can tell by the amount of work that has been done when you are right up close and personal with one of these machines. The detail is perfect, the inscription is beautifully written and the paintings and drawings really capture one’s attention.

So where did this art originate from? Well one account states that the tradition dates far before the reign of the British Empire. It was thought, artisans decorated and painted their horse drawn carriages as a sign of pride and achievement. It was in the early 1920s when this form of art really became mainstream. A bus company by the name of Kohistan had commissioned a widely regarded artist, Ustad Elahi Buksh, to use his skills to paint a number of their buses to attract customers. Buksh hailed from a very strong line of architects that built temples and palaces all over what is now India and Pakistan. He taught many of his apprentices, who were recruited from his native town of Chinot (now in Pakistan) the art of designing and painting buses. The buses proved to be so successful that the tradition moved to trucks.

Today, there are a number of garages and workshops all over Pakistan that are specifically designed to paint and create these fabulous works of art. It is believed that Karachi has the most workshops, which produce some of the distinct Sindhi creations. However, there are major hubs in Punjab, Kyber, Balochistan and the Northern Areas that all develop idiosyncratic works of art.

Even today's modern trucks get the authentic treatment

How do they create these works of art? Just like an artist paints a beautiful picture, the artists in the workshops are not all that different. Each truck is different, that’s because each driver is different! Usually truck drivers glorify their trucks with anything that they hold deer to their heart – A quote from their favourite writer/poet, a few words from the Holy Quran, floral patters, animals, their favourite actor/actress, national symbols or anything that they feel passionate about. The driver tells the artist what they want and the work begins. It is estimated this form of art costs the driver almost $3,000 to $5,000 dollars, but I guess it is worth it if your going to spend the next year travelling the country in it?

For a foreigner, something like this is unique. Back home you only get to see multi-national branded lorries and coaches so seeing something like as beautiful as this is definitely special and deserves our appreciation. This form of art lead to trucks being the biggest form of representative art in Pakistan. Internationally, these magnificent looking forms of transportation have become symbols of Pakistan all throughout the world. Infact, there were a number of Karachi-built "Sindhi-stylised" buses exported to the United Kingdom for use in weddings and festivals to promote Pakistani culture and awareness.