[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 18 September 2016]

 

4 December 2015, Friday

After three days in the capital, it was time to head north to Manchester. From London Euston train station, we took a Virgin Train to Manchester Piccadilly station. We departed London at 10:20am and arrived in Manchester at about 12:30pm. We paid £26.00 (S$56.30) each for the train ticket. The ticket price varies according to when you book the ticket, and in general, the earlier you book, the cheaper it is.

I initially wanted to walk from Manchester Piccadilly station to our Airbnb apartment, but with our heavy luggages in tow, we decided to take the free city shuttle bus instead. Called the Metroshuttle, it is a free bus service linking the main rail stations, car parks and shopping areas in the city centre. There are three routes – Metroshuttle 1 (orange), Metroshuttle 2 (green) and Metroshuttle 3 (purple) and they run at 10-12 minute intervals. For more information, you may check the Transport for Greater Manchester website here.

As our apartment is located in Chinatown, we took Metroshuttle 1 and alighted at Portland Street. We crossed the road into the Chinatown area and began to locate our apartment at 43 George Street. Our friendly host Jennifer had provided detailed information about the location but it still took us some time to find the door to the building because it was nondescript and blended in well with the surroundings. Jennifer was not around so we let ourselves in, using the passcode she had provided us.

Airbnb Apartment: Flat in the heart of Manchester
Address: 43 George Street, Manchester, England M1 4AB, United Kingdom
Price: S$698 for 2 nights (i.e. S$116 per person per night)

It’s quite pricey but we chose this apartment because of its fantastic location in the heart of Chinatown. It is also within walking distance to the main shopping area and city centre.

The apartment was exactly as how it looked in the photos and we loved it immediately. It had an open concept kitchen and living room and the large windows allowed plenty of natural light to come through. I especially loved the wooden floorboards and the exposed red bricks on the walls. As Jennifer actually lived in the apartment, there were plenty of personal effects scattered throughout the apartment, like family photographs, books, magazines, a huge assortment of tea and kitchen utensils, making it very homely and authentic. There was only one bedroom so I slept on the sofa bed in the living room.

After dropping our bags, we had lunch at a Vietnamese Pho restaurant located along the same street as our apartment. The pho was yummy and it was nice having some hot soup in our tummies as it was cold outside.

After that, we took the tram to Old Trafford for our stadium tour. The nearest Metrolink tram station from our apartment is at Piccadilly Gardens, which is in the City Zone. We bought our Off Peak Return tickets for £3.20 (S$6.90) for the Altrincham – Piccadilly line. The tram ride takes less than 20 minutes and we alighted at Old Trafford station, just five stops away. From there, it is a short 10-minute walk to Old Trafford stadium.

I had pre-booked our slot for the Museum and Stadium Tour at 4pm. When we arrived, it was only about 3pm so we had sufficient time to take photos outside the stadium before going for the Museum tour. For any tour booked after 3pm, you will need to visit the Museum first because otherwise, it will be closed by the time you finish the Stadium tour. There are no guides for the Museum so you will visit it at your own pace. The ticket for the Museum and Stadium Tour costs £18.00 (S$39.00) per adult, with an additional £1.00 booking fee (per booking). You will need to book your slot in advance as they are very popular and are often sold out.

The Museum has an impressive cabinet housing the glittering trophies and medals that the club has amassed over the years. It is a good showcase of the rich heritage and tradition of Manchester United Football Club. Looking at the exhibits and posters of the legends who have graced the Old Trafford stage in the past, it really makes you feel proud to be a Red Devil fan.

At the time of our visit, there was a special exhibit on Ryan Giggs. Sis couldn’t be more delighted because he is her favourite player. As video highlights of his superb solo goal against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final in 1999 played on the screen on repeat mode and his list of never ending achievements and statistics were splashed all over the walls, it was a reminder of how there can never be another Giggs. Quite simply, he is a legend who can never be replaced – not just for Manchester United, but for the English Premier League as well.

We spent about half an hour in the Museum before going for the guided Stadium tour at 4pm. The 80-minute tour took us through the stands, the press conference room, dressing room, tunnel and the grounds. It was all carefully guided and timed because everything is run on a tight schedule, with the tours being conducted at 10-minute intervals. So at any one point, there are a few different groups at different locations of the stadium. If one group exceeds its allotted time, it will hold back the other groups behind. So while we were being whisked through the stadium at a brisk pace, there was still sufficient time for photo taking in general, except maybe for the dressing room, where everyone scrambled to take photos with the jersey of their favourite player.

During our visit, it was a sign of the times as I struggled to find a player whom I really liked. All my favourite players had either retired or had left the club. The ones being named in the squad were not as inspiring as those of the past years. Even my favourite current player at the time (Michael Carrick) was not in the starting eleven and his jersey was relegated to a corner of the room.

By the time we reached the end of the tour, the skies were already dark, making it quite challenging to take good photos as we stepped onto the pitch and sat at the players’ bench (not so much a bench as expensive leather seats). After the sun had set, it became chilly once again. The tour ended with a visit to the Megastore and we were quite grateful to seek shelter inside.

We spent a long time at the Megastore, being tempted at every corner by all the nice apparel and merchandise on offer, ranging from windbreakers to polo tees to scarfs to fridge magnets and much more. Everything you could think of, they had it. I can only imagine how much money they are making from the sale of merchandise, stadium tours and match day tickets. It’s quite ridiculous, really. I ended up buying a fridge magnet, a jacket, a blue training jersey and the black away jersey. Somehow, it just feels different buying the jersey from the Megastore at Old Trafford, like it makes it feel more authentic as it is bought from the source itself.

We were the last customers to leave the Megastore at 6pm as they were closing for the day. By this time, it was really cold and we hurriedly made our way back to the tram station to return to the city. We spent our time shopping at Manchester Arndale shopping mall and Market Street before heading to Marks & Spencer (M&S) for some cheap sandwiches.

I always love going to the food hall at M&S because it is stocked with a huge range of fresh products. Maybe it is the packaging design and copywriting, but everything just looks so healthy and irresistible. For sandwiches alone, you will be spoilt for choice as they easily have a few dozen different varieties, ranging from standard fare like free range egg mayonnaise to favourites like prawn mayonnaise to the more exotic ones like Aberdeen Angus Beef, Red Onion Chutney & Mustard sandwich. My favourite is the Cheese & Onion sandwich. I also bought chocolate eclairs and it was super yummy.

The best thing is, prices for many items are reduced after 7:00pm because they want to maintain the freshness of their products and try to reduce wastage by disposing unsold food items at the end of the day. Indeed, there was a small crowd gathered around the staff member who was busy printing the reduced price labels to be affixed to the respective food items. As soon as she pasted the label on the packaging, the hopeful customers swooped on the item to snatch it up. It was quite competitive haha. The reduced prices applied to items like sandwiches, scones, croissants and more. Some of the sandwiches are as cheap as 60 pence (S$1.30). So it’s really quite worth waiting for 7pm to get them at reduced prices.

End of Day 7, getting hyped up for the match between Manchester United and West Ham United tomorrow!