21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy - Part 3

How many days should one spend in Rome, Italy? Belinda and I asked ourselves the same questions when we're planning our trip. Ask this to different people and you'll get very different replies. It all depends on how deep you want to explore this ancient city; how well you could appreciates the history behind the fallen rocks; how much time you like to spend admiring the marble statues and art collections; how good your imagination is to reconstruct the once magnificent buildings and architectures and the very cruel yet realistic question of how deep your pocket is. Italy is not cheap especially when you are coming from the Asian countries (in this case, Malaysia) where the exchange rate is approx. RM5 to €1.

Colosseum

As mentioned previously, we are using the Roma Pass to enter the Colosseum. Coming out of the metro station, the huge Colosseum came into sight. There are quite a huge crowd at the open ground. There are several Italian men dressed in ancient Roman amour where you could take photos with them for a fee; they reminded me of the movie ‘Gladiator’. There are also several guides who approached us and asked if we wanted to join their guided tour. There are two lines of people queuing at the main entrance. Belinda and I decided to first go round the Colosseum to admire the outer structure. Part of the Colosseum is undergoing some maintenance work at the moment. As mentioned previously, we are using the Roma Pass to enter the Colosseum, hence we could skipped the long queue and walk straight to the entrance. First we have to put our bags through an x-ray machine scan and then we need to validate our Roma Pass at the entrance gate to get in.

Inside, it takes a bit of imagination to picture how this ancient arena looks like in its glorious days. What it felt like being a spectator watching the gladiators battling with wild animals or with one another; for glory and for their own lives. The center stage is no longer present, the underground waiting area for the gladiators and the animal captivating area is now visible from the top. However, the authorities have rebuilt a small section of the center stage to help us understand how it would have looked like in the ancient days.

Roman Forum & Palatine Hills

Just next to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum (free admission), set in a valley between the Capitoline and Palatine hills. Throughout the era of the kings, the republic and the empire, the Forum was the political, religious and social centre of the Roman world. Here you need even more imaginations and some knowledge of the Italian history. Otherwise, you will end up like us, seeing rocks after rocks on the vast open ground and not know what we are looking at. With that said, I just walked around and took photos. It’s a good day with clear blue sky making it a perfect background for photo shoot. I would think that this would make a great location for outdoor wedding photos. Legend has it that the Palatine hill was home to the she-wolf who suckled Romulus, mythical founder of Rome, and his brother Remus.

Pantheon

Walking outside of this building we didn’t realized that it was the Pantheon. It’s still a wonder how this 2000 yrs old temple was erected. Its dome is a half-sphere made of poured concrete without the support of vaults, arches and ribs. The oculus in the middle of the dome allows in light and also rain. If you look closely at the pillars outside the entrance, you will notice some slight differences in color and materials used. This interesting fact is pointed out in Bel’s guide book.

Outside the Pantheon is a piazza, where there are several horse cartridges for hire, some Africans touting (fake) branded bags and paintings. Looking out from the front of the Pantheon into the square, the building walls painted in orange, blue sky, black cobbled stones floor, all of these make perfect photo setting.

Piazza Navona

I am quickly attracted to the setting of this piazza as soon as I set foot here. The piazza is rectangular in shape. There are rows of cafes at the side. In the middle of the square are filled with artist and painters drawing and painting while selling their finished art works. At the two ends of the square are 2 fountains where tourists rest their foot and also take memento photos. Here lies the Renaissance architect Bernini’s masterpiece, Fountain dei Quatro Fuimi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), where each of the river god statues represents one of the four continents of the globe: Ganges for Asia, Danube of Europe, Nile for Africa, and Rio de la Plata for the Americas.

Piazza Campo dei Fiori

The once execution place during the Inquisition is now home to a bustling flower and vegetable market Monday thru Saturday mornings. In out first attempt, we came a tad too late hence only seeing the cleaners sweeping the floors and clearing the garbage left from the morning market. But we made it the second morning to see this Italian market, which resembles the ‘pasar pagi’ (morning market) that we have in Malaysia. Flowers, fruits, vegetables, fishes, dry groceries and souvenirs, are up for sale. Belinda bought some Murano glass souvenirs here while I as usual just took photos.

Trevi Fountain

Passing through some narrow alley, following the small signpost, listening to the sound of the gushing fountain water, we arrived at Fontana di Trevi. Be prepared to fight with the other tourists in this forever crowded place in trying to get a good shot of you posing in front of the fountain with minimal interference from other ‘unwanted’ people. Be patience for others to get out of your way and be quick once the coast is clear. The custom is to throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain to ensure your return to Rome; while a second coin grants a wish. We of course did out part to follow the custom. With every tourist tossing at least a coin into the fountain, you can imagine how much money was accumulated at the bottom of the fountain. Every morning, the authorities will come and collect the money, which will be donated to the charity organizations, which is a pretty good idea. However, Belinda told me that she once saw a documentary show on TV where there are a group of people who came before the authorities and collected most of the money from the pool and made themselves rich. When the show was first broadcast, these people stopped their ‘activities’ for a month or so, but they soon continued their act of stealing the money again.

The Spanish Steps

Designed by an Italian, funded by the French, named for the Spaniards, occupied by the British, and now under the sway of the American ambassador; it has long provided a major gathering place for foreigners and locals alike. We came here after dinner and there are quite a number of people sitting at the steps, chatting, resting, people-watching. It’s quite difficult to take photo under the dim light as I did not have tripod and there weren’t any stands or short poles that I could used as my tripod. There’s a church at the top and while on top, you could actually see the dome of the St. Peter’s basilica from afar.

Villa Borghese

This is a huge park, where the Museo e Galleria Borghese is housed in a 17th century villa, with an extensive and impressive art collection for over 300 years. It’s best to call and make reservation beforehand to ensure entry to the galleria. When you call, the officer will give ask your family name and the time that you wished to visit and then give you a reference number which you need to produce when purchasing the admission ticket. We used the Roma Pass for this. The ticket counter is below the house (basement), but half the queue is lined up outside on the ground. After purchasing the ticket, you need to follow another queue where you are required to store all your belongings (bags, camera, water bottles etc). Nothing are not allowed inside the gallery except your guidebook and your wallet. Upstairs, its up to you how you want to explore the art collections in the rooms. In each room, there are information cards explaining the art pieces in the room.

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy - Part 2

Roma Pass

The first thing we did after settling down is to visit the local tourist information counter. There are several types of tourist passes that one could get depending on your personal visiting preferences. From my online research, I’ve come to know about the ‘Roma Pass’. For €20, this pass covers all modes of transport (bus, tram and metro) in Rome for 3 days and also entitles you free entry to the first two museums / galleries and discounts to the following museums, which is a very good deal if you do some proper planning beforehand. The price for a 3-days transport pass costs €11 and then we used the pass for the entrance tickets of Colosseum (€10) and the Borghese Gallery (€8.50). So with that, we already get back the full amount and more. Using the Roma pass for Colosseum is especially good as we can skip the long queue to purchase the entrance ticket and walk straight in.

Public Transport

Rome has an integrated public transport system, so the same Metrebus ticket is valid for all modes of transport. Tickets can be bought from tabacchi, newsstands or from vending machines at main bus stops. Single tickets cost €1 for 75mins, €4 for one day, €11 for 3 days and €16 for a week. You must purchase the tickets before you board and remember to validate the ticket at the orange machine box (on the bus / tram) to avoid hefty fines. The Metropolitana (underground metro train) has 2 lines: A (red) and B (blue), both pass through Roma Termini, with trains running approximately every 5 minutes. However, the transport we used most in Rome is the public bus. The map that we got from the Roma Pass pack does not have the detail bus routes. So we bought a separate bus map (€6) from the tabacchi which later proved to be a worthwhile investment.

There are 2 types of busses running in the city of Rome. One is the normal size bus we see everywhere in the world, the other type is the electric bus, less than half the normal size bus which runs along small narrow alleys in the city. I highly recommend you take a ride in these ‘mini’ busses but make sure you are standing or seated in the front so you could see for yourself the great maneuvering skills by the bus drivers squeezing through the very narrow alleyways fully parked with cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy

Part 1

It's Sunday today and it's London Freewheel day, a major cycling event in London, England, aimed at cyclists of every age and ability.. It means that there'll be no motor-vehicles allowed inside the London city area, it also means that instead of boarding the EasyBus from the Victoria Bus Station, we need to board it at Baker Street. Lucky that we found out about this restriction while chatting with WH the previous night, otherwise we would be going to the wrong place and probably miss our pre-booked bus to Stansted Airport. The return bus ticket costs GBP13 each, much cheaper than taking the Stansted Express train.

We took an earlier bus since there are still 2 empty seats available. We arrived at the airport and grab some something to eat after checking in. Sitting next to us are a group of airport security officers fully armed... it's the first time for me being so close to these firearms, that I couldn't help peeping the guns. Later, we boarded Ryanair FR3006 to Rome Ciampino airport. The aircraft was almost full and the flight went pretty good.

We went through the passport control in Rome Ciampino without trouble. We then took a direct bus to the Termini station. We managed to find our way to the BeeHive hotel's HQ to check in and get our keys to the private apartment (at another place) that we'll be staying. The lady who checked us in is a Philipino, married here for over 10 years now. We chatted a little in B. Malaysia ;) Then we lugged our baggage all the way back to the Termini and across towards the apartment. The area is like a Chinatown with many Chinese shops mostly selling clothes, shoes etc. The lift at the apartment is pretty small and old, we have to manually open and close the door. There's 3 rooms in the apartment and the living hall, kitchen and bathroom are shared among the tenants. The room is pretty spacious and clean.

19th & 20th Sept 2008 London

Day 2

After a night's rest, we head out to the street of London. We went to Harrods after breakfast, it's not so much for shopping (coz both of us ain't rich) but more for the Harrods Market Hall, housing a variety of delicacies. Both of us were instantaneously attracted to all the delicious looking desserts (we both have a sweet tooth). We regretted having our breakfast earlier on as we are now too full to take anything... we could only wipe our drools dry, promised to come back next time. Although its only end of September, but Harrods is already gearing up for the upcoming Christmas with x-mas decorative and x-mas carols. It's never too early for Christmas.

We passed by Russell Square and met a man-size London bear on the way to the British Museum. How could we reject the opportunity to take a photo with the cute bear-bear?We had a short coffee break after that at Carnaby Street Square. As there is free wifi access at the cafe, Bel quickly took out her IPod Touch and started surfing for some information and ideas on where to go next. It's our second cappuccino of the day in London and both times they failed to our expectations. Bel decided that she's giving up coffee until we arrive in Italy. After the break, we had a short walk along Oxford Street before going to the Buckingham Palace. We just lingered around for a while, looking at the Palace guards, and also rest our feet at the forecourt of the palace. Strolling along the St. James Park, we had fun meeting some 2 and 4 legged friends (ducks, swans, squirrels)... Coming out of the park, we saw the famous old London red double-decker bus which is on private hire.

Day 3

In the morning, we head to Borough Market, London's oldest food market, on the south bank of Thames. It's best to come here in the morning to enjoy the noisy, busy and bustling environment. Bring along a big shopping bag and a big appetite as you will be overwhelmed with a large variety of foods from all around the world. If you like desserts, make sure you try out the ultra-sinful yet extremely yummy Chocolate brownies (GBP2 per piece) from the Flourpowercity Bakery stall. It's ultra chocolaty yet not too sweet and leaves you yearning for more after each bite. Another must try when you are here is the great coffee from Monmouth Coffee Company but please be ready to wait in the very long queue. They have a stall in the market and a shop outlet setup next to the Borough Market, both with equally long queues. We packed coffee, brownies and a large beef burger and head over to the Thames river.

After breakfast, we walked along the Thames river and took photos of the Tower Bridge and also the London skyline. We crossed the tower bridge, passed by the Tower of London and then took the tube to St. Paul's Cathedral. I've visited St. Paul's Cathedral on my previous trip with my sister so I wasn't intending to pay the fee again. Bel thought since we are going to Italy next, she too will save GBP10 admission fee. Please note that you could still enter the cathedral but you'll be limited to only the front portion of the cathedral hall. However, if you are only visiting London, I think it's worth paying the money to enter cathedral and climb up the dome for a good panoramic view of London. If you do go up the dome, make sure you stop and had some fun at the 'whispering gallery'. It gets its name because a whisper against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery. This works only for whispered speech - normal voiced speech is not focused in this way.

After St. Paul's we walked over to the Tate Modern but I guess both of us don't really know how to appreciate many of the modern（抽象）arts inside so we left the gallery fairly quickly. There's some kind of street festival as we were walking towards London Eye. Being here for the 3rd time, I wasn't very motivated to take out my camera for photos :p but just snapped some shots with my natural camera from God - my eyes. That night, we went for Bosphorus Kebab at Old Brompton Road as recommended by one of Bel's colleague. Its just a small store and we sat outside the store along the walkway. Felt like the 'mamak' stalls back in Malaysia. The food are delicious yet most importantly it doesn't cost a bomb.

Here are the photos from our London trip...
London with Belinda Sept 2008

18th Sept 2008 - The meet up in London

After several solo travels, this time I will have a fellow travel buddy, my long time friend, Belinda, to join me on my next adventure. Together we will try 'conquer' Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice) for ~2 weeks. She'll be flying into London from KL to meet me and we will be spending 2-3 days before and after our Italy trip. Both of us have been rather busy before the trip. Bel's busy with her project in KL, and me busy running and 'playing' around... so we didn't prepare a whole lot for the trip but that's alright as we are both very flexible and spontaneous people. We had only decided on how many days we'll spend on the 3 places and sort out the accommodation part, the rest we'll just plan on the go.

*****

Day 1

It's been more than a year since we last met, although we often chat over the net, but still felt excited to be meeting her in London. Although she'll be arriving in London Heathrow around 4pm, but I've reached the airport around 11am. My cousin dropped me at the Frimley train station on her way to work, took the train to Woking and then changed to National Express direct bus to Heathrow airport. Bought a sandwich and sat on a bench and read a book. It's pretty busy today and there are plenty of University freshman arriving and there are representatives from the different Unis there to pick them up. I thought this is actually very thoughtful as these students are flying in from various countries so having someone to pick them up make things slightly easier for them and it is a good way for them to bond and make friends.

Finally, Bel's plane landed and we are finally reunited again in this foreign land. It's a shame that another friend of ours is not here in UK. Originally, the plan is that she'll be seconded to UK for a year or 2 for a project by end of July and me and Bel will bunk at her place. Although she won't be joining us for Italy but we'll still spend time in London. Too bad the plan didn't work out that way and she is still stuck in SG.

So we took the tube and head to Glocester Road station , where we'll be meeting Bel's colleague, WH, who kindly let us stay in her house although Bel only knew her through a common friend. This definitely helped us save a fair amount of $$...

Just a note...

While chatting with my sister last night, she mentioned that she totally had no idea the whereabout of the places I've mentioned in my blog and the names too are a mouthful... so she suggested me putting a little map to pin-point the places mentioned so it gives a clearer view to the readers. It's a good idea actually but please allow me some time to search for such tool, or if you know of such a tool, please let me know. Thanks.

Also, just to let you know (if you don't know already) that you can actually click on the photos in my post entry to enlarge it... giving you a better view. I just load a small image to save blog-space and also the free memory space allocated.

Cheers.

Travel photos - Part 2

Here are the photos from my trip down south of UK. Enjoy.

Ilfracombe and Tintagel Castle

South Cornwall

Bournemouth

Brighton and Hove

14th Sept 2008 - Brighton and back to Surrey

Day 13

Today is my last day in Brighton and also the end of my journey down south. After breakfast, I went for a final stroll on the beach and also head back to the food festival to get some cakes for my cousin sister's family. I managed to get some cakes which are nuts, dairy and egg free as my nephews are allergic to them. I saw a huge group of motorcyclists on big bikes riding towards the Brighton pier. Curious, I head towards the pier to find the pier packed with various types of motorbikes... superbikes, scooters, Streams of bikers kept coming in and there were traffic police to make sure everything is in order.

I asked an elder man sitting next to me what is actually happening. He told me that it was the Ace Cafe London's 15th Annual Reunion. Over the years, Ace Cafe London has forged lasting and strong links to the global motorcycling community, which is reflected by the many visitors from overseas, one of the largest contingents being The Continental Run, which starts with a party at Cafe Hubraum in Solingen, Germany, before departing the next morning to cross Holland, Belgium and France, gathering numbers en route to the ferry, arriving at the cafe late afternoon, and culminating in an evening of rock 'n' roll! The Brighton Burn Up & Ride With The Rockers, has been an integral part of Ace Cafe Reunions since 1996, and is a free, grand day out at the seaside on Brighton's famous seafront road, Madeira Drive. With trade and club stands, displays, live music and special guests. The man is a biker himself and he used to participate in the event and rode down to Brighton from London every year. But this year, he couldn't rode down with his pals due to his medical condition.

After thanking him for the information, I went walking down the road admiring all the super-bikes... There is a small exhibition showing antique motorcycles and there's a stage with live band performance and some motorists are dancing away down the stage. After some time, I bid farewell to Brighton and drove to my cousin's house in Surrey, where I'll be staying for a couple of days before going to Italy with my friend, who will be flying over to London from Malaysia.

13th Sept 2008 - Brighton Beach & Hove

Day 12

Maybe it's because I'm feeling a little tired from my road trips thus far, I just felt like lazing around in Brighton & Hove and not go explore other nearby places. In the morning, I walked to a nearby garden where young kids are having tennis lessons and a few adults practicing 'Qi-Gong'. Next, I went past Churchill Square Shopping Center to arrive at North Laine, where there is a Saturday's Street Market going on. The area is turned into pedestrian-only street to cater for the many stalls selling food/pastries, antiques, second hand books / cassettes / CD / DVD, plants and also clothes. Many cafes and restaurants too set their tables and chairs outside so the diners can sit outside and enjoy the good weather. It's a pretty vibrant street market with crowds of tourists jamming the place.

Then I stumbled upon the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival. Here, you will be spoilt with a variety of delicious food... homemade cakes, fresh oysters, fresh mushrooms, delicacies from various countries, wines, ciders... I so regretted that I've bought some food from the town earlier on so I could only take photos of these yummy food instead.

After that, I went to the Brighton pier. The weather is really good today hence the beach and the pier is crammed with tourists. There are free deck chairs on the pier thus many were sun-bathing there. Families with young children are playing at the beach side, groups of friends sat on the beach chatting... Normally, I do not put back my lens cap after taking photographs, but when I was on the deck, I don't know why but I placed my cap back... to my horror, I didn't secured it nicely and my lens cap fell down to the wooden planks... my heart stopped as I saw it bouncing from this plank to the other and stop, I thought I was lucky but just no... the lens cap tipped over and fell through the gaps into the Brighton sea !!! There, my small contribution to the Brighton sea :( Later I found myself a chair on the deck and people-watch. Then a group of ladies arrived and it is obvious that they are having a Hen's party. Here in UK, I've seen quite a number of Hen's party where the bride-to-be went touring the town in costumes, carrying 'balloons', and hanging a 'L' plate on the neck. It's always fun seeing them.

12th Sept 2008 - Brighton

Day 11

Hit the road after my breakfast, didn't have anywhere in between that I specially wanted to stop at so head right to Brighton. After 2hours, I arrived at Brighton around 12.30noon. It's really different from the other seaside resorts from the past few days. Brighton is much more developed and city-like. The buildings and their settings reminded me of those in Notting Hill, London. Car park is a bit of a headache as there weren't any free car park at the hostel and the maximum time one could park in front of the hostel is 2 hours max. So, while checking in, I asked the owner where best to park my car. She told me to go to Holland road (about 3mins drive away) as I could park there for 24hours for ￡3.50. So after I got my stuff to my room, I went to park my car and then walk back. I was checked into a 4-bed female dorm for ￡25pn (that is ￡10 more compared to the weekday rates) at the top floor.

After lunch, I head down to the beach side. The beach is a pebble stone beach and it has a nicely built 4 mile long promenade. The weather today was pretty good, blue sky, sunshine, but of course some occasional light showers. After an hours walk, I turned back and walk towards to town area. From an information board, I found out that the buildings here can be actually be divided into a few generations. I bought some crisps, a can of beer and baked beans and went back towards the promenade. There was a newly-wed couple having a outdoors photo-session and their best man even helped out as a temporary light-man. It's not as sunny as before, I sat on a bench, hook up my MP3, had a sip of the beer and also some crisps. Ahh... nice. Although the wind is not very strong but still its pretty chilly especially when you are sitting still. But it felt too good that I'm willing to endure the bit of cold.

About 6.30pm, I went back to the hostel, took a shower, and had beans on toast with some iceberg lettuce. After dinner, I tried to link up to the WiFi provided by the hostel but just couldn’t. Sigh, gave up after trying many times and content with just writing my trip journal and also read up on Italy.

11th Sept 2008 - Poole, Swanage, Kimmerage Bay, Lulworth Cove & Durdle Door

Day 10

Set off just after 9am. My roommate, the German girl is leaving today for Oxford so that means I'll have the entire room to myself tonight. First stop is Poole, just a few minutes away. I stopped at Sandbanks where there were many yachts parked at the bay. You can also catch a ferry over to Swanage from the Poole ferry terminal. Just a brief stop and I head over to Swanage, the starting point of the Jurassic Coast. Swanage is a small coastal town in the south east of Dorset, England. The town, originally a small port and fishing village flourished in the Victorian era, when it first became a significant quarrying port and later a seaside resort for the rich of the day. Today the town remains a popular tourist resort, this being the town's primary industry, with many thousands of visitors coming to the town during the peak summer season, drawn by the bay's sandy beaches and other attractions.
I walked along the beach and then followed the coastal path towards the point where you can see the 'Old Harry Rocks' from afar. Old Harry Rocks are chalk stacks located directly east of Studland and to the north of Swanage in Dorset. The cliff is chalk, with some bands of flint, which have been gradually reduced over the centuries, some of the earlier stacks having fallen (old Harry's original wife fell in 1896), while new ones have been formed by the breaching of narrow isthmuses. Later, I turned back towards the town and bought a Dorset Apple Cake for 85p.

Then I drove to Kimmerage Bay for some fossil hunting. The rocks at Kimmeridge Bay were once the floor of a deep, tropical sea rich in pre-historic life. They formed in the Jurassic period, 155 million years ago. To access the bay, you need to enter a private land hence paying a toll and car park fee of ￡3.50. I brought my own sandwich today so I had yet another meal with a great ocean view. Here, you can walk up a hill and visit the Clayden Tower or you can choose to descend to the beach. The beach here is a mixture of sand and pebbles. The cliffs and foreshore contain a very thick sequence of Kimmeridge Clay. The cliff walls here are pretty unique where they are in layers like the pages in a book, parts of them are stones, then layers of thin mud (which felt like charcoal) follows and the fossils they contain tell a story on each page.

Next, I head to the stunning Lulworth Cove, a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast. The cove is one of the finest examples of such a landform in the world, and is a tourist location, with over 1 million visitors a year. On the way, I stopped briefly to look at the Corfe Castle from the car park. Arrived at Lulworth where the information centre has an exhibition detailing the rock formation on the Jurassic Coast and also fossils found in the area. Here, I tried the award winning Purbeck Chocolate Orange Ice Cream (￡1.30) which was really nice. The cove beach is actually a pebble stone beach. Unlike the stones at Kimmerage Bay which were mostly black and grey, here the pebbles are majority white or yellow. The rock walls here are also different as they are chalk walls. Nearby, is the Stair Hole, less than half a mile away, is an infant cove which suggests what Lulworth Cove would have looked like a few hundred thousand years ago.

Seeing that Durdle Door is just a mile away and I still have an hour left on my parking, I decided to leave my car and try to push it to and fro within an hour. The hike was not too bad and I manage to reach Durdle Door in 25mins. It was an amazing view. Durdle Door (sometimes spelled Durdle Dor) is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast. The arch has formed on a concordant coastline where bands of rock run parallel to the shoreline. To me, instead of a door, it looks more like a dinosaur. The beach here is shingles beach. Next to the Durdle Door is the Man O' War which is also equivalently beautiful. It's a shame that I didn’t have more time on my car park. I think it would definitely be very nice to be able to have a dip here at the cove of Man O' War. After snapping some photos, I returned back to the car park just in time. It's already close to 5.30pm so I decided to head back as the journey back will take approximately 50 mins.

10th Sept 2008 - Beach of Bournemouth

Day 9


Bournemouth is located 105 miles (169 km) southwest of London. It is a popular tourist destination as it is situated on the south coast of England. The town is a regional centre of education and business, and forms the main part of the South East Dorset conurbation, with the adjoining town of Poole. It is also the largest town on the English south coast between Southampton and Plymouth. Bournemouth is located directly to the east of the Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile (153 km) section of beautiful and largely unspoilt coastline recently designated a World Heritage Site. Apart from the beauty of much of the coastline, the Jurassic Coast provides a complete geological record of the Jurassic period and a rich fossil record.

***

Set off unusually late this morning at 10.30am. I didn't have anything planned for the day so I head towards the beach. Following the road signs, I arrived at the seafront. The beach of Bournemouth is very long and huge, sub-divided into east cliff, Bournemouth pier (the centre) and west cliff. I started somewhere in between the end of east cliff and the pier and walk towards the main pier. It’s pretty dull and gloomy and the wind is really strong and chilly. Lucky I had worn another layer of fleece under my jacket.

There were quite a number of people already active on the beach, playing ball games, flying kites, parents / grandparents with their young toddlers building sand castles. Also you see couples young and old strolling along the beaches holding each others hands. I am always touched when I see elderly couples going places together still holding each others hands tightly. Sometimes one of them may not be as fit hence walking very slowly, their partner will always adjust their speed so they could walk at the same pace and lead the way when ascending or descending the stairs and hills so they could offer their hand or shoulder to their other-halves. Ahh...it's a bliss to have found such a loving and caring companion to spend your lifetime with.

The beach is really long and every 100m or so there will be a groynes with a number mark. I started from groynes number 21 and walked all the way to number 1 and beyond before turning back again to the main pier. Along the beach there were beach huts and deck chairs for rent. The beach huts have evolved over the years as you can observe the changes in the design and built. Back at the pier, I bought some chips and sat by the beach. Then the sun started to come out so I went hiding under the pier bridge only to find it too windy and cold. So I went up to the bridge where there's a wall panel blocking the wind and also a roof sheltering the sun and found myself a seat on a chair. Now warm and shaded, I finish up my chips and then munch on the apple I brought. It's really a good place so I decided to sit there and relax.

The chair is catered for 3 persons with a handle bar separating the seats to 2-1 arrangement. When I first arrived, there was an elderly couple sitting at the twin seats so I took the single seat. After about 30minutes, the couples left. A man came along and asked if he could take the seat so I said 'Please go ahead'. Then the man introduced himself as Mike (a 51yrs old guy who lives in Bournemouth) and started to ask questions i.e. where am I from, am I still single, am I here for holiday, do I have someone back home, how long will I be here etc. Being a little wary, I kept my answers fairly short and blurred, of course I told a few lies for safety reasons. In the middle of the conversation, he asked to sit closer to me. Erm, I didn't say no as I thought that would be rude and if he tries anything funny then I'll just leave. But at all times, I kept my guards up and try not to encourage him to talk to me by looking away after each short answer. Luckily, probably sensing my distance and coldness, he didn't stay too long and left. Phew... I was pretty relieved that soon another couple came to take the seats so I could continue on sitting at the chair without worrying about some other weird strangers sitting next to me. Well, maybe I'm just a little paranoid but better safe than sorry. Sometime after that, the guy appeared again and walks past me and he actually waved at me. I just gave a polite smile and quickly look away and ignore him. Well that was the last time I saw this guy and I'm sure glad about that.

Around 4pm, I left the pier and went to the tourist information centre to inquire about the Jurassic Coast and also got some maps about the area. I was told that it’s not easily accessible as you need to drive to a certain spot and then take a walk towards the viewing points. Also there are no roads along the coast. Later, I went to Asda to get some food and head back to the hostel. I bought a wholegrain peach yogurt which taste pretty good (it's yogurt with peach cubes, barley, rye, rice, wheat, grains).

9th Sept 2008 - Marazion, Falmouth, Bournemouth

Day 8

It's a dull and wet start. Didn't realize that it's almost 8.30am when I woke up. After checking out, I drove past Marazion town, which was quite an ancient town and looks pretty interesting. I didn't stop for the town except to take the photos of St Micheal's Mount. It is united with Marazion by a man-made causeway, passable only at mid to low tide, made of granite setts. After that, I head straight for Falmouth. Falmouth is a pretty big and busy town famous for its harbour. Together with Carrick Roads, it forms the third deepest natural harbour in the world, and the deepest in Western Europe. It is also famous for being the start or finish point of various round-the-world record-breaking voyages. Parked my car and went on a mini exploration around the town for an hour. At a square near the car park, there were some stalls which appear to be some sort of farmer's market. While walking on the streets, I saw this shop 'Morris' which claims to be 'World’s finest handmade pasties', on its window display there was a XXXL size pasties which you can make an order and delivered after 2 hours. The other normal size pasties (even the large size) look like a baby beside this huge pasty. So of course I need to try the finest pasties in the world. I bought a 'Miners' which is actually the medium size. I went back to my car and drove to the Cliff road, over looking the sea and also the Pendennis Castle to enjoy the pasty. Although the pasty is slightly more expansive (￡2.40) than the other pasties in town but I think it’s worth it, and to be honest, this is my favorite pasty that I’ve tried on this trip so far. The Miners is generously filled with lean beef cubes and also mashed potatoes. Unlike the other pasties that I’ve tried, where the beef to potatoes ratio is about 30:70; the Miners ratio is at least 60:40. There’s definitely more beef than potatoes in every bite that I take so I’ll give it to Morris for their claim of being the finest handmade pasties.

After lunch, I head to Bournemouth. Along the route I passed by vast area of farmlands, rich in colours i.e. yellowish brown, brown, light green, dark green depending on the plantations. I also passed by quite a few small villages and one of them is Chideok village where the majority of the houses have thatched roof, making it a pretty unique. The weather is not very good today and I ventured into a stretch of road with very thick fog, reducing the visibility to only approx. 10meters. This is by far the thickest fog I’ve encountered in UK. After about 4hours, I finally arrived at Bournemouth. It is quite a large town and the traffic is definitely much busier. I’m due to check in an hour later so I circled round the town to search for a public toilet. Hmm, why is it that when you need one you can never find one? Finally, I managed to find one in Burger King outlet in town.

At 5.30pm, I checked into the Bournemouth Backpackers for ￡13pn. A nice old lady (the owner’s mom) checked me in as her son is away. We chatted for a while and she told me that they do not take Brits as they found most of the time, they were a bit difficult to handle especially when they got drunk. So only foreigners are allowed here, this is the first time I’ve come across this kind of policy but according to her, many Backpackers overseas too apply this regulation, to only cater for foreigners and not locals. I was placed into Room 2, a 6 bed-dorm, although there is only another German girl staying there at the moment. Mrs. Hellery told me that this is the worst year (summer) ever probably due to the bad economy and also the lousy weather.

After I settled my stuff, I went to a launderette nearby to do my laundry. This is the first time I went into a launderette so it’s quite an experience for me. The washing costs ￡3 while the tumble dryer costs ￡1 for 20mins. While tumble drying my clothes, 2 men and a lady walked in with beers in their hands trying to get warm. I’m not sure but they seemed like they were living on the street or something and they are a little tipsy. Five minutes later, a staff from the launderette came in and asks them to leave the premises. Yes, the launderette is under CCTV surveillance. Apparently 20mins of tumble drying is not enough to dry all my clothes, so I brought them back to my room. Since there’re only 2 of us in the room, I have plenty of space to hang my clothes.

The kitchen was not as equipped as the other hostels I’ve stayed in. and it’s not as clean too as there were some dirty dishes laid in the basin. I cooked myself some tomato noodle soup for dinner. The shower and toilets however are spotlessly clean with good pressured hot water. Nothing beats a hot shower in the cold weather.

8th Sept 2008 - Mullion Cove, Lizard’s Point, Coverack, Helford, Marazion

Day 7

Had a better night sleep with my MP3 plugged in, the earphones blocked out the loud snores from my fellow roommates and my runny nose seemed to have recovered. At breakfast, while chatting with the hostel staff about my plan for the day, he recommended me several places around Lizard and borrowed me the Ordinance map for Lizard too.

My first stop is Mullion Cove, which is a tad more rugged than Mousehole. I just stopped briefly here as it didn't quite capture my eyes. Next, I drove straight to Lizard village. I first walked towards Lizard's Head passing by huge open farm land. Then I followed the path and arrived at Lizard’s Point, England’s most southerly point. Lizard Point is for many ships the starting point of their ocean passage and a notorious shipping hazard. The area is famous for its carved serpentine items, which range from ornaments to the pump handles in the local public house; The Lizard Inn. Also, you'll find the most southerly café and the most southerly house of UK here. The Lizard's point Light House is just another 10mins walk away. The sky is pretty gloomy today but it still feels good to be standing at the cliff side looking down at the clear sea water. It’s started to drizzle as I reached the light house, and since it's not possible to go into the light house I head back to the village.

Feeling a little hungry, I walked around the village in search for food. Then I saw a sign“Ann's famous Pasties”so I thought I'll give it a try. The shop is actually at a residential area. The house is painted in bright yellow and the back part of the house is converted into the baking kitchen with just a small area for customers to place order. Unlike other pasties where you have quite a few types of pasties to choose from, here you can only choose the size of the pasty (large, medium, small) or opt for the vegetarian pasty. I bought a medium size for ￡2.50 and then walk back to my car. So far, I've tasted 3 pasties from 3 different shops and they were all different. Basically the ingredients are pretty similar (beef and potatoes) but the different lies within how mashed the potatoes are and how thin or thick and crunchy the crust is. The Pegenna's pasty had thin cubes of potatoes but they still retain the texture of the potatoes; the Cornish pasty's potatoes were more like cream so you don't really see the potatoes; the potatoes from Ann's pasty are still visible but they were more mashed and soft. Comparing the 3, I think I preferred Ann's the most.

After lunch, I drove to Coverack, another attractive Lizard village that grew up round smuggling and fishing. The Coverack harbour was built in 1724 from local hornblende and serpentine stone. Several of the cottages are said to have secret cellars for the hiding of contraband. I sat by the bay watching 2 granddads playing with their grandchildren (probably about 2-3yrs old). The grandpa dug a small pool on the sand and the grandson was busy walking back and forth with his little bucket trying to fill up the pool. I've always enjoyed seeing little kids playing by the seaside, digging holes to fill with water, building sand castles…

While driving towards Helfords, I saw this sign'Roskilyn (famous cornish ice-crem) ice cream' and I remembered my colleague, Scott telling me about some cornish ice-cream where you can go to the farm where they produce the ice cream fresh from the farm cows' milk. How fresh more can your ice cream be? There, I visited the calves and then went to the café and had a 1.5 scoops of ice-cream for just ￡1.50. Normally you only get 1 scoop for that kind of price outside. I went for 'Ginger Hailing' and the traditional 'Clotted Cream'. It's pretty nice. Then I walked around the farm and met 2 very playful donkeys and had some good fun photographing them.

Later, I went to Helford river. Motor vehicles (unless permitted) were not allowed to drive into the village. So I parked my car at the car park and walked in. The river is dry at the moment as its low tide. There are quite a number of thatched houses here which are lovely. Arrived at the small ferry terminal overlooking the river with quite a number of yachts and boats. It’s really peaceful and tranquil here.

My final stop is at Marazion beach overlooking St. Michael’s Mount. I parked my car beside the sea, wind down my windows, listened to the waves while eating an apple. After that, I head back to the hostel. The kitchen was pretty packed tonight. There were 4 Germans and 2 Italians cooking their dinner. I cooked myself vegetable noodle soup while listening to their conversations.

P/S: Traveling from places to places following instructions on my Tom Tom (GPS) really brought me to many small, narrow windy country lanes. Often the lanes were so narrow that only one car could pass at a time. So, it’s lucky that I didn’t have any oncoming vehicles while traveling on those roads. Boy, what would I do without my Tom Tom?

7th Sept 2008 - Mousehole, Minack Theatre, Land's End,

Day 6

It's my birthday today and according to the weather forecast, it’s going to be a sunny day ;o) After breakfast, I traveled south of Penzance to arrive at Mousehole (pronounced /ˈMowzel/), a lovely small fishing village near Newlyn in Cornwall, United Kingdom, reputed to have one of the most beautiful harbours in the country. The village has a stunning collection of yellow-lichened houses, built from the local finely grained Lamorna granite, huddled together around the inner edge of the harbour - protected from the force of the sea coming across Mounts Bay by two sturdy breakwaters. I parked my car at the side of the road leading towards the village center and walked in. It's probably partly due to the good sunshine that I was instantly attracted to this little village the moment I set eyes on it. It has a harbour with quite some boats parked giving it a nice picturesque element. It's still quite early so there weren’t many tourists yet. I took my time to walk around the harbour and the village. It's a good picture composition from whichever angle / corner you look. It’s quite early and the locals are just starting their day, they greeted each other by the name (so you can imagine how small this place must be) as they met while going to the shops to get the newspapers.

Finally after almost 2 hours, I reluctantly left this charming village and went to Porthcurno. The main reason I came here was for the Minack Theater, an open-air theatre, constructed above a gully with a rocky granite outcrop jutting into the sea (minack in Cornish means a stony or rocky place). The theatre is located near Porthcurno, 4 miles from Land's End in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. I paid to park at the foothill and walk up towards the theater only to find it offers free parking to its customers. I didn’t go straight in but went to the side, looking down to the Porthcurno beach. It’s a beautiful view. As I only paid for 2hrs parking, I thought I would use that for the beach and then later on drive up to the theater so I wouldn’t be limited by the car park’s timing. I descended to the beach along the cliff edge coastal path. There was a cable hut near the life guard house. There were quite a lot of beach-goers today since it’s a beautiful day.

I then drove my car up to the Minack Theater’s car park and went in. The receptionist told me that the lower deck and the stage is not accessible at the moment as the theater performers are doing their rehearsals. The admission ticket is ￡3.50. Upon entering the area, I was amazed by the settings of the theater. The theatre was the brainchild of Miss Rowena Cade, who lived at Minack House overlooking Porthcurno Bay. Miss Cade and her gardener made a terrace and rough seating, hauling materials down from the house or up via the winding path from the beach below. In 1932, The Tempest was performed with the sea as a dramatic backdrop, to great success. Miss Cade resolved to improve the theatre, toiling hard over the course of the winter months each year throughout her life (with the help of Billy Rawlings and Charles Angove) so that others might perform each summer. I sat at the upper deck admiring the view and the unique setting. There were some play music going on and then suddenly, the players started rehearsing the play ‘They came to a city’. So I got to watch the entire play (minus the costumes) for free. Not a bad deal eh. The plays are shown mostly in the evening but there are few days where they also have matinee shows. I think it would be best to come for a play in the evening time as you're fully exposed to the scorching sun on a good day like this because there isn’t any roof on top of you. However, in the evening, you might not have a good view with the big blue ocean as the background.

Following that, I went to Lands End, UK's most south western point and most visited outdoor tourist attraction. Lands End has rugged wave lashed cliffs, stunning views, the Longships Lighthouse and Wolf Rock off shore, the Isles of Scilly in the distance. There is a huge car park and the entrance costs ￡3. It has a theme park with 5 main attractions (man-made). I am not at all interested in those so I just head towards the cliff edge and the coastal paths. It's an awesome view, especially on a good day like this. One of the sign posts indicated that there's a path linking towards Sennen Village and Sennen Cove 1 mile away. So, I decided to follow it. The walk is pretty easy and the scenery along the way was great. Sennen Cove is also a popular spot with surfers. After sometime, I went back to the car park and drove back to Penzance.

Back in Penzance, I celebrated my birthday at The Yatch Inn's restaurant. I ordered a steak special and also a pint of the Tribute (local Cornish brew from St. Austell brewery). Happy 30th Birthday to myself ;)

6th Sept 2008 - St. Ives & Zennor

Day 5

After breakfast, I drove to St. Ives (Cornish: Porth Ia), a beautiful seaside town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England. It's about 15mins drive away from Penzance. The town lies north of Penzance, and west of Camborne. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing as an industry. The decline in fishing, however, has caused a shift in commercial emphasis and the town is now primarily a holiday resort. As soon as I arrived in this town, I regretted not staying here. There are several beaches with clear turquoise blue sea water within walking distance from St. Ives town. I parked my car just above the Porthminster beach. St. Ives town and harbour are situated to the left hand side. The water is very clear and it is here that I finally hear the sound of the lapping waves. Two coast guards are just setting up the flags to indicate the area suitable for swimming or surfing. I kind of regretted for not staying here in St. Ives as I am more of a sea & beach person. Well, I know next time.

After a stroll along the beach, I walked toward the town & the harbour. Part of the town is on a sloppy terrain and the roads within the town are pretty narrow. There were cafes and restaurant along the sea front. The town was packed with tourists who are either staying within the town or day-trippers like me. It's really a lovely place. The roads and pavements along the coast were built using cobble stones, adding some flavors to the scene. Most of the houses along the coasts were painted in white and blue for the frames. There are quite a number of boats docked at the harbour and one of them even has a pirate flag.

As it started to rain, I head towards the shops for shelter while walking pass all the shops. I was surveying and thinking what to have for lunch. Then I passed by an art gallery where there were several artists showcasing their art works (oil paintings, water colour paintings, portraits, landscapes, sceneries), many of the artworks are really good and are to my likings. I've decided just to have a pasty to go since the rain has subsided. This time, I opted for the chicken & leek flavor (￡2) from the Cornish Pasty shop for a change. It's pretty nice to have something hot in this cold rainy weather. The potatoes in the pasties are mashed until thick & creamy. With the pasty in hand, I went exploring the town and residential area crisscrossing residential lanes and then found another beach, the Porthgwidden Beach. I also came across a square where it houses several artists (painters, wood crafters etc) but most of the workspaces were closed.

As my car park timing is almost up, I walked back to my car and bid farewell to the beautiful St. Ives and drove to Zennor, a small rugged village, where many came here for the coastal path walks. I parked my car next to the Old Chapel Hostel, a chapel-turned-hostel. There isn't much to see here so I went on a brief walk along the coastal path. However I didn't venture too far away as the sky is pretty gray and dark. After the walk at around 5+ pm, I went back to my hostel and call it a day.

Travel photos - Part 1

Here are the photos from my trip to Lake District, Glasglow, Isle of Skye and Edinburgh, UK (19 - 28 August 2008). Enjoy...

Lake District

Glasglow and Isle of Skye

Edinburgh

5th Sept 2008 - Ilfracombe - Tintagel – Penzance

Day 4

After breakfast, packed my stuff into the car, bid goodbye to Katie and drove to Tintagel village, about 2 hours away. The main reason stopping at Tintagel is for the Tintagel Castle, set on a dramatic and picturesque headland that is virtually an island, connected to the mainland by a slim finger of land. Over the centuries much of Tintagel castle has fallen into the sea and very little remains today. It is famous for its association with the legend of King Arthur, who was said to be born on Tintagel Island where the remains of the 13th century Castle stand today. It’s raining ever since I woke up this morning so I was a little worried as from what I’ve read on the internet, one have to climb more than 100+ uneven steps to get to the castle. It’s still raining when I reached the village and so there I sat in the car, looking at the sky, thinking if I should do this. After 5 minutes, the rain subsided and the sun shines through the clouds. That definitely put a big smile on my face. So I got down the car and walk towards the castle.

The coastline around Tintagel is significant because it is composed of old Devonian slate; about a mile southwards from Tintagel towards Treknow the coastline was quarried extensively for this hard-wearing roofing surface. The turquoise green water around this coast is caused by the slate/sand around Tintagel which contains elements of copper: strong sunlight turns the water a light turquoise green colour in warm weather. I didn’t take the normal walking route, but the route for wheelchair users towards the castle viewpoint. Well, that leads me to the other hill side looking onwards to the castle hence giving a good view for some photo capturing. Later, I descended the hillside leading towards the castle entrance (it’s actually the foothill where the ticket booth is). However, before I went up the booth, I descended down to the Castle beach, where Merlin’s cave is located. The cave is accessible during low tide.

After that, I went back up to the ticket booth, paid ￡4.70 for the admission ticket and started climbing up the uneven staircases up towards the hill. The staircases are actually pretty well built and is nothing like what I have imagined (rugged rock made stairs). The climb is not difficult at all. I soon reach the main hall. The view from the top is absolutely amazing. For me, it’s not so much of the ruin castle I’m interested in but the bird's eye view from the top of the cliff that has fascinated me more. I spent quite a bit of time exploring the area (which is actually quite big) from end to end. It is definitely best be viewed on a clear sunny day like this. After almost an hour, I went down the steps to go up yet another fleet of the steps to get to the other half of the castle. This portion of the castle is much smaller in size but you can still see clearer the castle's outline.

After that, I walked backed to the town and bought a Traditional Steak Cornish Pasties(￡3) which is so huge, its bigger than my palm. Just as I stepped into my car, it started raining again. Talk about good timing. The pasty is taking me ages to finish. After the pasties, I started my journey to Penzance. Along the way, I heard from the radio news that South Wales is hit by thunder storm and floods. Oh boy, hope Penzance and South Cornwall are not affected. I arrived at Penzance Backpackers Hostel around 4.30pm, but I couldn't check in straight away as they restrict their check in time to either 8am – 2pm or 5pm – 10.30pm. So I waited in my car until it’s time and rang the bell. The staff answered the door and checked me in. This will be my base for the following 4 nights. I'm staying in a 7-bed female dorm for ￡15pn. There's a fully equipped kitchen, tv lounge and also free but unstable Wi-Fi access.

After settling my stuff, I went out exploring Penzance town and also stroll along the promenade. The Promenade is said to be one of the longest in UK. The waves hitting the edge of the promenade is very high and strong. Several teenagers were having fun waiting for the high waves and then tries to outrun it. Feeling slightly tired and cold, I went back to the hostel to surf the internet.