Inverness

Inverness is located in northern Scotland proclaimed the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. Our bus journey from Edinburgh was a slide show of forests, streams and snow caped mountains. Green moss covers much of the ground and epiphytes cling to every nook and cranny. Inverness has a small town feel. It reminds me of Dingle in Ireland, only slightly larger.

Our hostel here is top notch and upon our arrival we meet Jamie, a Hawaiian working at the hostel. She tells us that there will be a group dinner tonight and the sound of a home cooked meal sounded delicious. We walked around the town during the day and finally found spare fuses for my power adapter. That night several people from the hostel gathered for a chilli and nachos.

The next day we take a boat ride on Jacobite's Reflections Tour. The journey crosses the Caledonian Canal into Loch Ness and to Urquhart Castle. The main reason for this tour was Loch Ness. With our cameras ready we stayed on top of the tour boat ready to shoot. Unfortunately, Nessie did not make an appearance and to my disappointment it was not the promised ultimate magical Loch Ness experience. I have yet to examine all my photos. Perhaps a glimpse of the beast will be found in my many photos that I took.



That night we went on a pub crawl with the people at the hostel. Jamie the Hawaiian, Jamie number 2 the Aussie, John, and Tim, two Canadians, and a Brazilian whose name I forgot all went out. We started a pub where a live band played. It seems that there are more live bands in bar here in Europe than in the states. The bands kind of reminds me of the bar atmosphere in Austin, the live music capital of the US. We ended up going to a club where they had mechanical bull riding. We each took turns trying to set a record. I was only able to get 27sec before being thrown off. It was a good time.

Exploring Edinburgh

The proper way to say Edinburgh is Edin-bra. Just below Glasgow in size she is the second largest city in Scotland, but its character is far more interesting than her bigger sister. As I have mentioned before the views are so amazing and dramatic that it is difficult to imagine that all this could all be located in the same city.

Today we decided to explore some of the farther attractions that the city had to offer. The weather was again flaky. The sun dictated the climate hiding behind clouds, followed by a short appearance and then hiding behind clouds again. Rain trickled down every once and a while, but it never lasted very long. Edinburgh has a much smaller town feeling then Glasgow. The traffic is not as thick and the building are quite a bit shorter.

Our first destination is the Royal Botanical Gardens. It is about a 20 minute walk from our hostel and initially the weather is sunny. Gene and Nate rejoice in the good weather.



The season here in Scotland is still early spring. Most of the plant life were in the early budding stages. If our visited would have been a little bit later I am sure our views would have much more spectacular. Nonetheless the gardens were well groomed and purposefully crafted. The land acreage is huge and we are only able to explore a small portions of the landscape. Waterfalls and ponds hide around every corner.


On our way back from the gardens, we stop at various shops to see if there are any affordable meals. The dollar is worth half a pound and everything seems expensive. I spot Desi Sandwiches, a small shop on the corner of the street we were stopped at. Upon entering we speak to an extremely talkative Pakistani. After learning I was from China, the smile on his face grew even wider. "Pakistan and China are very close friends. If you go to Pakistan everyone will like you". He even offered us a discount on our lunch and threw in extra sides for us to try.

I decided to get the Chicken Kebabs with free sides of Chick Peas and Lentos. He explained that Lentos were probably one of his favorite sides. This was probably the first time I had lentos. We continued to talk about the international relations between China and Pakistan. He says that China is probably Pakistan's best friend. I had no idea that their relationship was so great but apparently China has had a guiding hand in the economic growth of Pakistan and much of the investments are coming from China. We continue to talk politics and slowly conveys his idea that the past decade it was all about America while this coming decade will all be all about China. It still amazes me how politically involved people outside the US are. It makes me feel like I need to read up on more issues.

We are offered tea and end up staying longer. More "regulars" of the store come in and it is obvious that this guy has a outstanding rapport with the locals. His father walks into the shop and he quickly jumps into the conversations. We continue to talk about politics and then more on to religion. Once again Osama Bin Laden's name is mentioned. He tells us how Islamic views are now generalized by American media. He tells us that every group has extremists and that the Islamic faith is no different. The people that commit the terrorist acts are part of a small extremists group and that their views in no way depicts Islamic views. He continues to tell us about the Qur'an and how similar it is to the traditional Christianity views. It was probably one of the most enlightening conversations I've had.

The next attraction on our agenda was to visit the Palace of Holyrood House. This palace is the Queen's official residence in Scotland. The tour price was kind of steep, but with nothing else in that area we decided to take it. A lot of history is given, but again photography is not allowed inside the house. There is much history in the house and a lot of the original furniture and household items are still intact. One tidbit of information I thought was pretty interesting is that the Queen's bodyguards were a group of skilled archers and that they were the oldest form of bodyguards ever used. They still use the gardens to practice their archery skills. It was an interesting exhibit, but if I had to do it again I probably would have skipped it.

Edinburgh Castle

The city of Edinburgh lies just east of Glasgow. Buses leave from Glasgow to Edinburgh roughly every 15 to 20 minutes. Leaving by foot from the etap hotel from across the river, we caught the 9:15am bus in the city center. The ride was quick and upon entering the outskirts of the Edinburgh the views became intriguing as old structures from the past come into sight. These enduring relics litter our journey into the city center. I am teased with glimpses of all the history that Edinburgh has to offer. We arrived to Edinburgh just before lunch.

I asked a couple of smokers on break outside a nearby store. "Excuse me, do you know of any hostels near by?". The routine is by now second nature. Luckily one them knew of hostel of that sort. Europe has a ban on indoor smoking and because of that it has been extremely easy to find people to ask questions.

A short walk later we found Edinburgh Tourist City Hostel. For a 10 pounds a person we were able to have a 4 bed room to ourselves. Luckily enough there was a nearby wifi source which was open. This was incredibly good news as the internet has been difficult to come by recently. After dropping off our main bags we left to grab food and explore the city.

The hostel is located pretty much in the center of the city. Upon exiting the hostel, I was immediately able to see several historic buildings. Every direction I turned another uniquely distinct building towers up over the the other structures. The main attraction, Edinburgh Castle, is massive and sits atop of a mossy green cliff over the city center.

Gene and Nate stopped for lunch. And upon exiting the grocery store some how we lost Gene. Nate and I returned to the store to wait for him, but he never showed up. The park is directly across Princess Street, a main road in Edinburgh. The park dips below street level where skillfully groomed landscape flows along the rectangular shaped park. Instead the park there is a water fountain, church and even an amphitheater. I eventually met up with Gene inside the park while Nate ate his lunch on the bench. Reunited once again we walked towards the Castle.

Once we reach the Castle gates it became pretty obvious that this was a huge tourist attractions. Buses are parked all along the road leading up to the front gates. Eleven pounds later we entered the front door and explored the wide views of Edinburgh city below.

Below is an HDR image of one of the view points.

The Castle itself is composed of many different museums. Most of the exhibits are about the history of the Scottish Army. All the little entryways lead to another themed museum including weapons, history, medals, etc.


The cobble stone streets spiral upwards to flat terraces of the castle. Canons line the edges of the walls. Each circle brought us higher to the peak and rewards us with a much wider view of the city below. At the very top of the Castle is a square. A church surrounded by more plainly looking structures. The church housed much of the Castle's history and the building along side it were more museums capturing various roles of the castle; from housing prisoner's of war to sheltering wounded Scottish soldiers.


The main attraction in the Castle itself was the crown jewels. A brief walk through several rooms gives the history of the jewels, how they were smuggled, hidden and once again found. The last display houses the actual jewels. To our disappointment most of these museums did not allow photography, so most of our shots came from outside the Castle.

Lazy Sunday in Glasgow

It is Sunday. I'm feeling lazy. There is no plan. We got up and just started wandering around the city. It seems like everything is shut down. All the attractions are unavailable. Here are some pictures of what we found.


This is called the Armadillo. It kind of reminds me of the Sydney Opera House. Mama Mia was playing there at the time.


The structure below rotates with the wind. I was actually able to step onto the base of it as it swayed slowly with the winds.

Glasgow, the Most American City in Scotland

A plane ride from Belfast to Glasgow is less than an hour. We did not plan ahead and got stuck paying full price for a RyanAir fare, never again!

Upon arrival to the Prestwick Airport we took a coach to Glasgow which was actually a descent ride away. It began to sleet during the ride over. The city rose into view slowly as skyscrapers emerged in the distance. The building of Glasgow are the tallest yet on this trip. We are dropped off at the bus station in the center of the city amidst a unfamiliar but typical urban environment.

Immediately we do what comes natural, we find the first affordable place to eat. We ask the owners if they know of a hostel near by. He points us on a heading towards the river. "There is a cheap one right down by the river, 10 pounds a night I believe" he explained.

With the weight of all my belongings and a freshly eaten meal I drag my feet towards the general direction of the hostel. The entire time I think to myself that I've packed too much. Never do I think this while I'm sitting in a cozy internet cafe or a hostel surfing the web, updating my blog, or chatting with friends. But right in that instance with each step I vowed that I will send home some unnecessary items as soon as I reach a large city.

On our journey towards the hostel we hopped over to a pedestrian street. This street is free of automobile traffic and is full of stores and people. Glasgow officially became Scottish in my mind when I saw some kilt wearing street performers.

We arrive at the hostel only to find that it is once again full booked. If we are having this much luck finding a place to stay during the off season I wonder how difficult it will be once the weather warms up. Thankfully the receptionist was able to call around and find a reasonable hotel.

Across and south of the river is the Etap Hotel. At 32pounds for a room, we found a bunk bed and a twin bed. The rooms come furnished with plain white walls, blue steel railings that weld together for form the frames of the beds and a brightly colored yellow door. A single 12 inch LCD TV sits at one corner of the room and a small single glass panel window sits opposite that corner. A piece of wood is secured to wall adjacent to the bed forming a small table and night stand and a single plastic chair placed next to it. Besides that there is no other furniture. The bare minimalism of the room instantly reminded me of a prison cell.

That night we ventured out to the pub and club district of the Glasgow. The hostel receptionist had given me a map of the city, with a large pen drawn rectangle box in the middle. "That's where all the pubs and clubs are, you'll want to go there tonight" she replied while pointing to that general area.

Nathan picked out a pub. Two elderly ushers opened the brass double doors letting us in. Immediately after making our way to the bar I noticed that the average age of the clientel was probably the combined age of me Gene and Nate. I suggested another venue which we all quickly agreed upon.

We arrived at the Revolution Vodka Club which was more our style. On the left was the bar and on the right up 3 steps was the dance floor where the DJ was spinning, as Nate called it, "good techno music". I would consider this venue as more a pub than a club as no one was really dancing.

I noticed a group of girls all wearing pink cowboy hats and started talking to one of them who was standing next to us. It turns out she had just moved to Glasgow from South Africa. Her last name is of Scottish descent and by that merit alone she is able to claim a status equal to our equivalent of a green card; Able to work and stay in Scotland without the limitation on time. I think to myself that its too bad China doesn't share the same policies, as I will undoubtedly have to apply for a visa down the road.

The pub was getting ready to shutdown and the girls told us that they were all going to a club called ABC's. "Its located on Sucky Hole Street" she yelled into my ear over the DJ's "good techno beats". "You can just ask anyone. Everyone knows that street" she continued.

The girls left and we stayed to finish our beers. I knew that Nate might have a hard time getting into the club with "trainers", what they call athletic shoes, but the idea of a street with that name was good enough for us to at least check it out.

After asking several pedestrians where Sucky Hole Street was, we arrived at Sauchie Hall Street. We were vastly disappointed with this discovery, but we continued to explore all that Sauchie Hall Street had to offer.


At first glance, it reminded me of Mass Street in Lawrence, KS. However I was quickly redirected to that fact that it was not; Cars were driving on the wrong side of the road, the street stretches farther than Mass St, and there were exponentially more people out walking around than Mass.

This street is littered with late night food venues, clubs and pubs. Lines, or as people here call it queues, of people distinctly identify where the clubs were. ABC club was easily found as the queue was so long that it looped back around to where the end of the queue was at the same position as the start of the queue. We decided to walk the length of the street before committing, but eventually we came back and waited.

Five pounds later I walked into the first floor of the club, where I was met with queue for coat check. ABC club was huge. It has two dance floors. The larger one on the top floor is connected to a bar area. Techno spins on the first floor's smaller dance area and what I could only describe as a cheezy mix of rock and oldies, filled the top floor. It was a good night!

Nothern Ireland Tour

Today we awoke early to catch the tour bus at 9am. The bus picked us up at the Linen Hostel and we met at another hostel where the we all moved to another bigger bus. While digging through my wallet to find my ticket voucher, I must have flashed my Kansas Drivers License. The girl in front asked if I was from Kansas and we quickly met two new friends.

Kathleen and John are coworkers both from London. Kathleen is working aboard, originally from California, and John is from London. They are doing a short tour of Ireland starting in Belfast, exactly the opposite of our travels.

It was around 9:30am when the tour started. A combination of the dark drizzling weather, the tour guide's monotone voice, my lack of sleep and my newfound skill to sleeping while sitting quickly knocked me out. I didn't mind catching some zzz's as my main reason for being on that bus wasn't till the afternoon. I picked up a few facts here and there, but it wasn't until after our first stop that I actually woke up.

Our first stop was a Castle by a shore. We were able to get out and stretch our legs. We were only limited to the outskirts of the castle as going in actually costs additional money. Most of tour was on the bus, driving by places and a short narrative about the importance of that location. The scenery was quite good, but the rainy weather was hindering our enjoyment.

As we drove through some wooded areas, the bus driver disclosed that there was a lot of de-froestation going on. However there is a new law that says every single tree cut down two new trees must be planted. As a result the road divides the forest between tall old trees and small new trees.

The sun peaked out from behind the clouds as the bus made another stop. We had arrived a Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. It cost a few pounds just to walk across the bridge, but we thought what the hell? When's the next time we'll be in Northern Ireland right? The view leading up the ridge was spectacular. Cliffs that turn into rolling hills. Again the fields are littered with sheep. I've never been to New Zealand, but I've heard it is the land of the sheep. Right now I am willing to bet Ireland could probably give it a good run for its money.


We reached Bushmill's Whiskey distillery and was again able to take a break. The guide suggested that we try the 12year old malt as it was difficult to find anywhere else. Nathan, Gene and I ended up sharing one just for kicks. It was smooth but I couldn't really tell that much of a difference. I personally have never heard of Bushmills. I've always liked Maker's Mark or Jack Daniels. We bordered the bus just in time to miss the incoming showers.



The bus guide drove through several other points of interest. It seemed that most of the people we kind of tired as I saw several people sleeping, including Gene. I don't blame them the monotone voice of the bus driver reminded me of my highschool biology class and gloomy weather made each site all that less interesting.

We stopped on the side of the road to have a view of another Castle by the sea. This one in fact has been slowly falling into the sea one section at a time. The weather, as it has been for most of Ireland, changed yet again. The clouds opened and sunshine broke through the clouds. It instantly felt warmer.

Our last stop was the main attraction, Giant's Causeway. Giant's Causeway consists of roughly 40,000 interlocking hexagonal columns. Legend explains that an Irish giant built the causeway in order to fight another giant in Scotland. There are similar rock formation on the other side of Scotland. Science explains that intense volcanic activity during the Paleogene period caused these distinct formations.



There are two paths to the causeway. The longer one is to walk along the top of the cliff above the causeway and then back down to the formation. The more direct path goes directly down towards the causeway. There are buses that run up and down the shorter path which costs 1 pound for the ride. With two and a half hours to spare we decided to take to the long way.


Below is a picture of a rock formation called the Gaint's foot.




Each of the hexagonal stones are interlocked together in various heights. They form steps going up and down along the coast before dipping down below sea level. The tops of the columns are sometimes concave and other times convex. The lower columns hold circular pools of sea water where various mosses grow. The columns are a golden brown at top and steadily change to a dark brown towards the bottoms. It is a truly unique site to see.




The guide that sold us the tour tickets had recommended that we try salmon and champ. Champ is mashed potatoes mixed with scallions and if you haven't had salmon yet I feel sorry for you. I've never ever heard of champ until now. Apparently the salmon here is suppose to be one of the best in all of Ireland. The guide explained that the city of Belfast releases 40,000 salmon fry each year into Northern Ireland's streams and rivers in hopes that the adult salmon will return to their birth city to once again spawn; all so I can get the freshest and best salmon available. Good job Northern Ireland!

Welcome to Belfast

I woke up to Belfast as the bus entered the city center. The ride from Dublin to Belfast was 3 hours, but it seemed like minutes to me. I think I have started to get use to this sleeping while sitting thing.

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland which is its own country, which means I am on country number two of my trip. Located on the north eastern edge of the island, Belfast serves as a hub for us to fly over to Glasgow, Scotland. Crossing into this new country did not require any border checkpoints or customs.

Besides being a hub for our travels, Belfast is also full of history. Home to one of the bloodiest feuds ever, Belfast has many historical places such as the second most bombed hotel in the world. Besides grabbing a claim from violence, Belfast is also home to the world's second and third largest crane (#1 is Dubai), the shipyard that built that world's largest ship (the Titanic), and the oldest News Paper.



After changing our Euros to Pounds, we found the Linen Hostel. Dropping off our bags we headed to the town center to explore the city. The main capital building seems like a central location of the town. There are various historical buildings surrounding it. There was also a Ferris Wheel right next to the capital building which seemed very out of place. That day we explored Belfast and found some tickets for a Northern Ireland tour the following day; the tour included Giant's Causeway which was one of my top destinations on this trip and also to my surprise the tour was ranked #2 in Europe.

We met some French fine arts students at the hostel that night. They could speak limited English and it was extremely difficult at times to establish a clear channel of communication. At some point Nathan was speaking French, I was speaking Spanish (not because I was confused, but one of the girls knew some Spanish), and they were speaking English. This is one situation that I have yet to run into. Thus far, we have been blessed with the fact that everyone was on the same language channel. I guess this serves as a reminder to the difficult times ahead when we venture into a country with a foreign language.