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  • Heathrow – Ibis Heathrow

    Since I have a flight from Heathrow which leaves relatively early in the day (well, afternoon, but I need to sit in the lounge for six hours) I thought I’d get a nearby hotel for the night before. It transpired that the rail fares were expensive to do that, and Accor had a “buy two nights get one free” offer, so I went for three nights at this Ibis Hotel on the Bath Road which also worked with my £10 rail fare.

    One thing I hadn’t realised until reading the reviews of this hotel is that Heathrow Airport offer a free bus service to the hotels on Bath Road. It was introduced to limit traffic between the airport and the limited surrounding area, but that meant I could get to the Ibis for free. Very handy, as I really don’t like the National Express Hoppa bus, it’s unnecessarily expensive and price gouges, a dreadful image for the company in my view.

    There’s a large dining area, all was clean and organised.

    One of the more generous vouchers that I’ve seen, and actually one of the clearest in what customers could order.

    I went for a free pint of London Pride, very lovely.

    And there is the London Pride. I very much liked the big chairs, gave a feeling of privacy for those customers wanting a private chat. I was on my own though, so didn’t need the privacy, but I liked the chairs anyway as they looked exciting. I don’t get out much…..

    The room was clean and had everything that I realistically needed for the stay. Well, other than a Greggs chicken bake, that would have been nice.

    The plug for the kettle was about two inches long as it had been cut back. However, there was no nearby socket to plug it into, so the set-up wasn’t entirely practical.

    I’ve heard about this, but never seen it. The hotel will probably claim it’s to do with tracking their towels during the cleaning process, but realistically, it’s to stop customers pinching them. I’ve never stolen a towel from a hotel (bar once at a hostel in the US where I left with it by mistake), namely because it’s theft, but I approve of efforts to stop people doing it.

    Anyway, the stay was all fine, no noise problems either internally or externally and the staff were all friendly. The member of staff at the bar was particularly engaging, and for an airport hotel it met all my expectations.

  • Hounslow – Moon Under the Water

    Another day, another pub from the Good Beer Guide and today I visited the urban delight that is Hounslow. The only entry that I could find in the guide was for the Moon under Water, another Wetherspoons outlet. However, if it’s good enough for the Good Beer Guide, it’s good enough for me to try.

    Clean, well maintained and there was a reasonable choice of real ales, although I didn’t notice anything on the darker end of the scale which looked particularly exciting. However, it was still an acceptable range given the size of the pub, which was relatively small for Wetherspoons.

    Pleasant little area towards the back of the pub, it felt more like a country pub.

    For someone who doesn’t eat full English breakfasts very often, I do appear to be doing quite well this week with them. This traditional breakfast and unlimited coffee came to around £4.50, decent value anywhere and especially so for London.

    And onto the service offered in this pub. It was excellent and much better than that at the Botwell Inn yesterday. There was a friendly welcome when I arrived, when I approached the bar and when I ordered. The team member was friendly, they engaged and they checked if I had everything I needed when they brought the food. There was a timely check back and I was asked if I had enjoyed the meal when the plate was collected. Staff were being pro-active in serving customers who were struggling slightly to get around and the pub had a real community feel to it. For a Wetherspoons it was exceptional, and even on the higher expectations of the Good Beer Guide it was an excellent effort.

    Given the low prices being charged, this was a really pleasant experience, and it was a spotlessly clean environment despite being busy. All very lovely.

  • Kiev – Pivna Duma

    This looked a tempting location, situated on the city’s main street near to Maidan Square. It was a slightly overwhelming situation when I entered as three people seated near to the door all welcomed me and one asked why I was visiting. It transpired that they were just staff members and one was simply asking so they knew whether to take me to the restaurant or bar area.

    I was walked down to a cellar area with a contemporary designed bar and seating, with a staff member who spoke perfect English being welcoming and engaging. I decided to just stay sitting at the bar since it was quite empty, but there were plenty of tables for those customers who preferred that.

    There were four beers that were being sold from the taps during my visit, with one dark beer option amongst them. I later discovered that you could get a sample of each of the beers for a low price, which would have probably been a good idea.

    When I asked if there was a dark beer, the staff member pro-actively offered me a sample of it and I really liked the glass that it was served in. As the quality met my expectations, it had a smooth taste and had a pleasant aftertaste, I had a larger glass of it.

    It seemed sensible to have a little snack with the beer, so I went for the chicken wings. Lots of flavour with the coating on the wings and surprisingly nice celery, which isn’t a phrase that I thought that I’d type.

    Total price for the chicken wings and the beer came to around £5, slightly expensive for Kiev, but the quality of the surroundings and the central location accounted for this. It’s really an ideal choice for a professional business meeting as it’s quite a classy set-up, but they seemed welcoming to everyone who entered.

  • Kiev – Great Patriotic War Museum

    Although the name of this museum refers to the Great Patriotic War, or what we would know as the Second World War, it also covers the wider military history of Ukraine. It’s also located under the dominating figure of the Motherland Statue, which I’ll write about elsewhere.

    A display of bullets near to the entrance of the museum which is a slightly sobering introduction to any location. The policy on taking photos in the museum seemed rather unclear to me, so there’s an absence of photos here of the main displays as I didn’t want to get shouted at. However, photography seemed to be tolerated in some areas and some people seemed to ignore the rules anyway. I generally obeyed the rules though….

    This was one of the most powerful exhibits to me, which is some old airport signage from Donetsk International Airport. This airport had been restored and renovated in advance of the Euro 2012 football competition, with 1.1 million people travelling from the airport in 2013. Unfortunately the conflict with troops loyal to Russia has seen the airport destroyed, an appalling act of destruction.

    A mask used by a Russian military fighter.

    Some damaged binoculars from the Second World War. Unfortunately the majority of the exhibits were in Ukrainian only, although a summary in English was placed at the entrance to each room. Given the number of English speaking visitors, I’m sure that the museum will work towards providing better translations, as much of the collection does feel a little inaccessible at the moment.

    A look down at some of the military vehicles on the ground floor.

    This was a well put together display, a long room which had thousands of photos of soldiers who have died in conflicts. I think it was included in the museum’s no photo zone, so I took a photo of just one edge of it, although it was a stunning sight.

    Near to the entrance of the museum is a room which contains figures in wax wearing uniforms from various times in the country’s history. The waxworks were of a really good quality, indeed they actually looked quite realistic and I did take care to check that I wasn’t part of some elaborate prank which was being filmed.

    Overall, the museum cost under £1 to enter and so was certainly worth the money for the ninety minutes or so it took to look around. English translations would have made the museum much more interesting for me, but it appears to have been greatly modernised since it was opened by the Soviets.

  • Kiev – Metro Tokens

    I took a photo of these as it’s likely the last time that I’ll see this type of token in use, as they’re currently being phased out from the Kiev Metro system. At the moment entrance to the metro system is primarily gained by using these tokens, although modern systems are also being introduced and promoted. It’s a bit of a throwback for such a large public transport system, so it’s no surprise that they’re going.

    At the moment the tokens can be purchased at some clunky machines at the entrance to metro stations, although I bought mine from staff at counters. It was confusing as some staff only sold one token at a time, which I later discovered is the actual rule across the Metro system. I’m guessing that this is to try and push locals towards using the more modern card system, although the queues to buy tokens were still long. However, some staff are more pragmatic and sell them in larger numbers to tourists, probably to avoid them coming back and clogging up the queueing system.

    The tokens cost 8 hryvnia, around 20p, and can be used for any journey on the Metro system (more on which in another post), including those journeys which require a transfer. I was going to keep one as a souvenir, but I don’t really need any more little souvenirs from travels, so I thought that a photo would have to suffice me.

  • Harlington – White Hart

    After the disappointing service at the nearby Botwell Inn, this was the other option in the Good Beer Guide. It’s a large venue which is over 200 years old (although no doubt much expanded over that time), retaining an almost country pub feel to it, despite its now urban surroundings.

    The pub sign at the restaurant end of the building, although I hadn’t initially distinguished that there were two entrances. The whole set-up is actually marginally confusing, as despite the large size there weren’t very many tables for drinkers, being a bit dominated by tables for diners. I assume that when it’s quiet the pub doesn’t mind drinkers using their restaurant tables, but I didn’t find it immediately obvious.

    The beer selection wasn’t particularly exciting, but the staff member was talking about the options that were going on later that day. The options that he spoke of sounded excellent and included a porter. However, given what was present at the time of my visit, I settled for half a pint of London Pride.

    The London Pride was well presented in a branded Fuller’s glass and it tasted well-kept and was at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature. It cost £2.10 which seemed a reasonable price given that the pub is nearby to Heathrow Airport.

    The customer service in this pub was excellent, perhaps the local Wetherspoons could try and pinch some of the White Hart’s staff. There was a warm welcome when I entered the pub, immediate acknowledgement at the bar, prompt service, engaging service and a feel of professionalism.

    I was tempted by the food menu, but decided to refrain on this occasion, but the reviews of the pub’s food are routinely positive. Specifically I decided to refrain as my phone battery was low and the pub has installed power points which can’t be used by the public. It’s their choice, but they’re probably pushing against the tide if they wish to continue that policy.

    The pub was clean and organised throughout, so it felt a comfortable environment. The strongest element here was though the customer service, it was friendly, personable and immediate, so I’d return here again.

  • Hayes – Botwell Inn

    There are two pubs in the Good Beer Guide in the area, so I decided to visit both today. This pub, the Botwell Inn, has been in the guide for the last ten years and is operated by JD Wetherspoon, so it certainly seems like a credit to them. The pub is large and was converted into one of the chain’s pubs in 2000 from its previous use as a furnishing store. The pub takes its name from the old village of Botwell which has now been rather subsumed by Hayes.

    An interesting little selection of real ales including the Chris Moose ale from Butcombe Beer, a brewery in Bristol who own a few pubs I’ve visited. There was also the standard JD Wetherspoon selection of Ruddles, Doom Bar and so on, with the prices being almost ridiculously cheap. I went for the Titanic Plum Porter using one of my CAMRA 50p vouchers, making it an almost unbeatable £1.65.

    One thing that initially bemused me was just how quiet the pub was, although I discovered a potential reason later on. The pub was though clean, organised and well presented throughout, it was one of the cleanest Wetherspoon outlets that I’ve visited (and since that’s nearly 400, that’s not a bad achievement).

    I ordered the traditional breakfast, just because I felt hungry and as usual it was reasonably priced. It was served promptly, was well presented and tasted of a good quality. Taking the price into account it was very acceptable.

    The service from what I suspect was the pub manager, or at least the team leader if he wasn’t, was excellent. He acknowledged waiting customers, made conversation and did make an effort to engage. The rest of the service was though all over the place and verged on rudeness, let alone basic customer service.

    The lack of check back wasn’t ideal, but isn’t particularly unusual, but the staff member who just ignored me when I thanked her for collecting the plate was unnecessarily rude. She did the same to other tables and I noticed customers didn’t react well to her. Customers were being served out of turn at the bar when I watched, but I’m not sure that the manager noticed this and it was clearly grating on some customers. Given that there were often more staff serving than customers, it did seem avoidable. And when I patiently waited for service and a staff member ignored me and walked by me to another customer she knew to serve them out of turn, I just gave up.

    Judging the visit in Wetherspoon terms, it’s just another chain pub and my custom isn’t particularly important to them. As a pub in the Good Beer Guide though, the service was rather disappointing given the range of beers and the competitive prices. The value offered by the pub was though excellent and it’s worth a visit to see just what real ales they have, as they change regularly.

  • Kiev – People’s Friendship Arch

    This isn’t the best set of photos, primarily because there’s only one photo and it’s not that close-up. Anyway, that aside, this is the People’s Friendship Arch which I didn’t manage to get time to walk to.

    It was opened to mark the 60th anniversary of the USSR and also the 1,500th anniversary of Kiev, although the emphasis appears to have been on the former at the time. It was designed by Oleksandr Skoblikov and took four years to complete. Even from afar it does look quite impressive.

  • Kiev – Chicken Kyiv

    Not the best exterior photo, but we thought that to mark our final night in Kiev we should go to a restaurant which specialises in Chicken Kiev. I actually didn’t even realise that this was a real dish, I thought it was something that had been created in the UK, showing my distinct lack of culinary knowledge….

    I have to say that this is the best looking menu that I’ve seen in any restaurant. It’s styled in the form of a pop-up book and some real attention has been given to its creation. Although I’m not entirely sure that they’ve done their flagship dish of chicken kiev much justice….

    This does appear to be a meal served at Wetherspoons because of the plate used, but it is genuinely from Kiev…. The restaurant claim that they were developing this dish for four years and judging by the number of them being served to other customers, it appears to be their most popular dish. Which would make sense since they named the restaurant after it…..

    The chicken kiev was served on a bed of truffle mashed potato and there was  a sauce with tomatoes. The chicken was excellent, succulent and tender with plenty of flavour. The mashed potato was smooth and the tomatoes added a little texture to the dish. I wasn’t quite sure if the sauce inside was meant to have garlic in, which I imagine it was, but I couldn’t detect it and that would be quite an omission if I managed to miss it. The meal was well presented and of a reasonable portion size, although not excellent.

    This dessert was exceptional and is a Kiev cake, which I’ve never previously heard of. Before ordering it I did a quick check on-line of what was in it, discovering that there was meringue, buttercream and cashew nuts. It sounded acceptable, but the dessert that arrived exceeded those expectations. The meringue was light and fluffy, there was a pleasant nut flavour running through it, it was moist and not overly sweet. Beautifully presented and it had a real depth of taste.

    There were lots of fun design elements inside the restaurant, including this chicken thing. The service in the restaurant was attentive, polite and engaging, although the waiter certainly did his best to upsell, although it didn’t feel too forced. The staff in the restaurant seemed professional and keen to help, although it wasn’t as busy as I thought it might be.

    I discovered later that the restaurant has a secret bar which I would have visited, although since it was a secret, I didn’t. Maybe next time.

    Honey vodka, which was surprisingly drinkable without a harsh after-taste. Although, this was the only negative about the restaurant, that it was served as 100ml, but priced on the menu as 50ml. The staff member said that was how the restaurant did it and it was impossible to order a 50ml. But since the menu was priced as 50ml, that didn’t entirely make sense to me. But as we had already worked out the total price and left a tip, that extra cost just came out of that, so it was really a lose-lose for everyone.

    Anyway, that minor issue apart, I feared that this would be a little bit of a tourist trap, but it was a professionally run and pleasant environment. The food quality was high and that dessert was one of the best that I’ve ever had. The meal, including a main, dessert, beer and vodka came to under £6, pretty reasonable for a decent restaurant in the capital of a country.

  • Kiev – Bravo Airways Plane

    Bravo Airways, a Ukrainian airline, have placed an aircraft outside their hub airport of Zhuliany. They’ve been running a campaign recently to get people to take selfies in front of it and then to share them on social media. I didn’t take a selfie, but I thought I’d take a photo of the aircraft anyway given how colourful they’ve made it.

    I hadn’t heard of Bravo Airways before noticing this aircraft, so it’s a valuable lesson for marketers, shove a plane somewhere and people will notice it. Perhaps Greggs might have a go. Incidentally, Bravo Airways also sponsor the arm wrestling competition in Lebanon, so they have numerous marketing ideas up their sleeves….