Manchester. Our weekend trip to Manchester

 Manchester

A weekend in Manchester 

 After the Scotland trip ,I was busy settling down my life. In between I travelled to India for a two-week vacation. Two weeks was nothing but being an expat, I cannot wish for more. It has been a while since I have not been anywhere. I was really busy with my job change and had trouble following it. But I am glad that the choices I made were right. Now am happy and enjoy my work. lately, I had quite a few days off in a row and my dearest friend is graduating this summer in Newcastle. So gathered all the information on the destination and booked the ticket. We planned three days in Manchester and four days in Newcastle. I have been to Newcastle last winter for my Graduation but it was just a day. I could not explore much. So, I recon this time I have plenty of time. 

One of the largest city in the UK and the unofficial capital of North England is Manchester. There are plenty of fun things to do in Manchester. Its residents have every right to be proud of their city's industrial past and how it shaped the music industry. Oasis, The Chemical Brothers, The Smiths, and Stone Roses all got their start in Manchester, a city with a storied musical history. 

As the day started, a usual thing in England at the moment is rail strikes and walkaways on pay increases. Our booked train was cancelled. But with the same ticket, we can travel next available train to the destination. The alternative train for the cancelled one took more time than the booked one. So things delayed and we didn’t get reserved seats. We have to wait for a while to get seats. 

We reached Manchester Piccadilly by noon. My friend Sahad was living in Manchester. Just because of him, we saw Manchester as a local . We didn’t spend time planning and fixing places. We stayed at the IBIS budget Hotel on Pollard Street. It is a 15-minute walk to Manchester Piccadilly. But the check-in time was at 15.00, so we kept our luggage in the hotel  and started touring Manchester.  Manchester city center is like a mini London. With high-raised buildings and people rushing. As it was the weekend the  City was at its best. It's not a challenging task to find accommodation in Manchester. I booked through booking.com. You will have plenty of options with different budgets. Try to take accommodation in or walkable distance from the city center

 

First things first. We set out to have Yemeni Mandi . On Welmer Street East, Hadramout Restaurant served genuine Yemeni Mandi. I looked into what to eat before starting our Trip. My friend in Manchester joining was an added benefit. And this street does resemble North India more so than Eastham, London. There are plenty of restaurants nearby . I wondered how fortunate my friend is to enjoy delectable Indian food. There aren't many options for Indian food in Eastbourne, the place where i live. Post lunch we took a day bus pass for £5 per adult. With that ticket we can travel unlimited in bus for 24hrs.The best way to see the city is by doing a free guided Walking Tours which covers most famous landmarks in Manchester. The walking tour starts at 10.30 am from Central Library and continue covering St Peter Square ,Free Trade Hall, The Peterloo massacre and many  more ,ending at 12.45 pm at the Cathedral.

Our first stop was to visit John Ryland Library. As it is closed on Sunday and Monday. This afternoon was the only chance for us to visit. We took a day pass for 5£ so it can be used for unlimited bus travel for 24 hrs. John Ryland Library is free to enter. No time slot entrance required. At first ,from outside this building look odd. Hats off to the organization maintaining it. The inside feels like in Harry Potter movie. John Ryland, Manchester's first multimillionaire, amassed his textile industry wealth. The library was established in his honor after his death in 1888 by his widow.  This library, one of the city's most attractive structures, features tall windows and a stunning vaulted roof that give it the appearance of a cathedral rather than a library.

 

From the library we took a bus and had a quick stop over at Salford University. Manchester is also famous for its universities. It had the most divested student population in five universities. Manchester to international students is a low cost of living and its accommodation than London. Manchester University is one among that. It had a vast area and lots of buildings for various department. My friend the one giving us the Manchester tour is studying at Salford University. Salford University emerge its connections to MediaCityUK for its students with access to TV studio, filming equipment, its news stations, and rooms. It is a privilege to study in such Universities. It is a life time experience.

 

So from Salford University  we wend to Trafford Mall. This mall doesn’t look like something in England. It looks and smells like UAE.I had visited Dubai back in 2015 and this mall reminds me of Dubai Mall. A huge mall with plenty of retail shops. It has variety  of brands and plenty of restaurants. It is massive and we need an entire day to roam around. There was sale going on in some of the clothing store. The Trafford Centre is one of the biggest shopping destination west to Manchester. Reaching here is quite easy even if you are bus ,car , tram  ,bike or foot. This place has parking space for more than 11,000 plus vehicle. The Trafford Centre has almost all famous brands. It also had a legoland, Sea world , Island golf. A complete package for a fun day out. I really wanted to shop there but there was no space in my luggage for more dress. We took the bus back to the city center. It started pouring and we were stranded in the street for a good ten minutes in the rain. We shop for some snacks and cup noodles for the next day's breakfast. We came back to the hotel and had a good sleep. 

The next day morning we started late. Started from the canal and walked through Northern Quarters to Manchester Piccadilly. We took pictures throughout the way. Our first stop was Chinatown. Manchester’s Chinatown is the second largest in UK. We roam around Chinatown in search of Noodles. There are plenty of restaurants and they good thing is that they display their menu card outside which is good to decide . And after a good ten minute walk we fixed Oriental Dragon Chinese Restaurant. But our food was a disaster. Disaster in fact the is not what we expect. The food tasted yummy and the ambience was good. But we expected something else by chow mein and the staff doesn’t speak English.

After lunch we headed to Old Trafford to visit Manchester United Stadium. Old  Trafford Stadium is the world-famous home of Manchester United. Manchester is known for its contributions to football, as every sports enthusiast knows. The world's first professional football league was founded there in 1888 and is home to two top-notch stadiums and some of the best football teams in Europe. If you visit on a non-matchday you have plenty of to do.  Everything depend upon your interest. But i will recommend doing at least one stadium tour. It is a shame  visiting Manchester without visiting Stadium. I am joking .It is upon your interest and time. 

So after the stadium visit we walked to the Quayside and we crossed bridge to Salford. It is when again it started poring . We still walk around the Mediacity and took the tram back to Manchester Piccadilly .This is the first time i am traveling in a Tram, had seen one in Croydon  but never had a ride. We came back to city center and started roaming around for dinner .We visited Arundel Manchester Mall but its shopping store was closed by then. We still walk around and take pictures .We also had a drink from Tim Hortons. Took a take away from KFC and went back to our Hotel. Next day post lunch we are leaving Manchester to Newcastle.

Next day by 12 am we check -out from the hotel and started strolling through Northern Quarters and Piccadilly Street .We had some shopping at JD Sports in Arundel Mall then had our lunch  from KoKoro and had my favorite bubble tea from Sipcha and we left to Railway station. Everything was in a walking distance. It started pouring so our friend Sahad said goodbye and he left. Our booked train was on time .We had a refreshment and started our journey to the City of Seven Bridges . 

To continue reading Newcastle blog click here.