So here is a short photo story of my trip to Manchester back in 2015, instead of the usual recap. Admittedly, I should have done this earlier so that I could tap on my memory. But hey, this means I’m only remembering the important moments!
Manchester has Quiet, Good People
After about a month of traveling to non-English cities, I remember feeling relieved to be able to talk to people with my first/second language. The people there were generally friendly, and nice.
When we reached Manchester, I made the mistake of not asking the officers for clear directions, and ended up taking the train all the way to another town instead of stopping at Piccadilly station. The train conductor on the train who checked our tickets sympathised with us and didn’t charge us a new ticket for our own mix-up. He simply understood and looked at us with that “oh no, poor thing” look. I guess he has seen many like us before.
Anyway, we finally managed to reach our Airbnb, and met the owner of the house. She was a young black Muslim doctor! While I was not related to her at all, I felt proud of her achievements. She was very cool about our #TravellingChums adventures as she listened to our stories and then shared her own life journey. Friendly and nice in a mentor sort of way.
Another kind, quiet soul we met was at a telecom shop. The only reason we went there was because I dropped my phone and cracked my screen (and the screen wasn’t responsive!!). So I had no choice but to purchase a second-hand phone that was a relatively updated model, compatible with the sim card that I was using, and had an app store. We visited the same shop twice (or thrice?) and he was very patient when troubleshooting the phone. He also made some small talk as he recognised our Singaporean accents, and shared about his holiday trip in Singapore. (He said SG is great and clean. Aww nice!)
Things to Do
Old Trafford Stadium
Old Trafford is a must visit as it is the home base of Manchester United. The stadium was huge, beautiful, and well maintained.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the soccer season when we were there, so we kicked it with the museum tour. We were able to bring back the lanyard home, even if you didn’t buy any merchandise from their store!
Even if you don’t follow soccer (like me), I like museums, so this was a good treat.
Address: Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, Manchester M16 0RA, United Kingdom
Chinatown
Aha, the best thing was seeing familiar food and condiments in the asian supermarket! And bubble tea. Definitely bubble tea.
Address: 49 Faulkner St, Manchester M1 4EE, United Kingdom
Primark Manchester
This place just makes you want to shop. As much as I tried to control myself, I bought much items. In the end, some of them were cute but useless, some broke after using it a few times, and some that I still use to this day!
So shop strategically!
Address: 106-122 Market St, Manchester M1 1WA, United Kingdom
National Football Museum
I felt like we visited this place, but I don’t remember paying to enter. It is located near Manchester Arndale shopping mall. The exhibits are easy to digest and interactive. It wasn’t very crowded when we were there, so I had a comfortable time.
Address: Urbis Building Cathedral Gardens, Todd St, Manchester M4 3BG, United Kingdom
KFC
Understand that not all KFCs are halal in the UK, but the one in Manchester is. And besides, I was craving for chicken after always eating seafood in Europe.
Address: Arndale House Arndale Centre, Unit K6 Voyager Food Court, Manchester M4 3AH, England
Takk Cafe
This was a pretty popular cafe, which appeared in the top lists of cafes in Manchester. Everything looked good too.
Address: 6 Tariff St, Manchester M1 2FF, United Kingdom
Wished we could have explored more, but we spent less than 2 days. Hope to get a chance to visit Manchester again!
Uminsummer 