There won't be many photos on this post. The camera battery went flat at the start of the day.
There was a payment issue booking the ferry from Rotterdam to Hull. Everything went smoothly until I clicked the 'pay' button. Then the bank decided it needed to send a confirmatory code to our Australian phone number. The phone is with Jan in Perth. So I tried using Paypal and they also wanted to send a confirmatory code to Jan's phone. Eventually we sorted the problem otherwise I'd be cycling back to Calais and catching a rubber boat to Dover.
Jan thought this was a good idea as I'd receive 4 star hotel accommodation at no cost. A weekly allowance and free driving lessons.
Today I rode north and then west eventually reaching The Hague. The card issue was nagging at me and I then decided to head closer to Rotterdam and the ferry terminal. I've slept under a hedge before today. But if the card doesn't work then I won't have a room in which I can recharge the bike battery.
The cycling was a mix of rural and city with the latter half of the ride being commercial and light industry.
I found a cheap (but good) hotel in the outer NE of Rotterdam. It's a coffee shop with a few rooms. It's probably the best room I've had to date.
The coffee shop is on the right in the above photo across the road from the canal. My room is in the basement!
After a shower I went for a local walk to stretch my butt muscles which have been grinding away on the 'Brooks' leather bike saddle. I was 'sold a pup' when buying the expensive leather saddle. The manufacturers claim was after 3-4 weeks the saddle would make me feel like I was riding in a hammock. Lying ba$t@rds!
The nearest shopping precinct was a block away from the coffee shop. Turned the corner into the shopping area and thought I was back in Small Heath, Birmingham. Almost all the shops were selling Islamic items. Ninety percent of the females were wearing a niqab and the males had beards. The food outlets were halal.
Retracing my steps I noticed the fountain at the entrance to the street.
Very Islamic looking with the patterned small tiles. If I had noticed it before turning into the street I would have been more aware of the clientele.
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5 comments :
So pleased you sorted the problem with your card, that must have been a bit of a worry for you. Any more cycling once you head back to Dover?
Hi Tom, I've followed your blog for several years and have on the whole enjoyed your take on life. I have however been surprised on the few occasions when you make throw away racist comments (the last being the remark about Adul not washing his hands). To day however the ignorant remarks about the treatment of asylum seekers was the last straw. (This from an Australian who enjoyed a free pensioners bus pass whilst enjoying an extended holiday on a narrow boat in the UK). This will make no difference to you, but I cannot just stop following you without making my feelings clear that such comments, from an obviously educated person such as yourself, are demeaning and unwarranted. By the way the free driving lessons story is a myth and most of the hotels, when they were operating, were only two or three stars.
Jenny, I'm not going back to Calais and crossing to Dover. That was a joke. I'm catching the ferry from Rotterdam to Hull.
John,
I readily admit I have a dry sarcastic wit and at my age that’s unlikely to change.
If Abdul had been French I’d probably have called him Pierre. If English, Tommy and if Australian, Dirty Bastard!
We’re all different with varying opinions. Some people identify those arriving by boat as refugees fleeing persecution, others as illegal arrivals or economic migrants. My opinion is these are not refugees fleeing persecution. That status ended when they first arrived in a European country. As they moved through Europe they became economic migrants and then illegal arrivals.
Yes, it is an exaggeration to state these people are housed in 4 star hotels. It’s not an exaggeration to state the daily hotel cost for each individual is £170. As at today there are 32,509 accommodated in hotels. That is a daily cost to the British taxpayer of £5,526,530. I’ll leave you to consider whether that money could be better spent on the welfare of the UK’s own citizens.
Yes, I had a free bus pass when living in the UK. The bus continued to operate whether I was on it or not. No one was deprived of a seat. In the same period I contributed £170,000 to the UK economy.
I primarily write my blog for me. I also acknowledge sometimes I might upset of offend readers. I don’t do that deliberately but I’m not going to change.
Well said Sir. There are many here who are not racist, nor stupid and who support your views. Enjoy the rest of your trip and thanks for the effort you have made in recording it and entertaining us.
Take care
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