At 9.30am, I boarded the Goldline Enterprise's Belfast Express bus, route 212, to Belfast via Dungiven. It is a double–deck bus and I took a seat on the upper deck so I could have a better view. Along the way, we went past some vast farmlands and several little towns. Seeing the lambs and baby lambs on the farms reminded me back to the time when I was touring in Cornwall. Along the way the bus picked up quite a number of passengers to the extend of requiring some passengers to stand as all seats were taken up. After close to 2 hours, we finally arrived at the Belfast Europa Bus Station. I went to the station's toilet and it surely wasn't easy as it is rather small and very crowded. My huge backpack is kind of blocking the way but what needs to be done, needs to be done. One of the inconveniences about traveling alone is when you needed the toilet, you have to carry all your stuff with you. Afterward, I went over to the information counter to check the price and timetable for the bus to Dublin before making my way to my hostel, the Belfast International Youth Hostel.
Arriving at the Youth hostel, I was told I couldn't check in until 1.30pm. So I left my backpack in the luggage room and went out for a walk. Without any information in hand, I just went up the road and soon I come to the Queen's University Belfast. The origins of the University dated back to 1845 when Queen's College Belfast was established as one of three colleges of the Queen's University in Ireland. The centerpiece building (Lanyon Building) is in solid red brick color. The Belfast College became an independent university in 1908. One interesting fact about Queen's University is that the world's first digital soundtrack, used to create the soundtrack for the films "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List" was produced through technology developed at Queen's. 
I walked into the university building, first to the visitor information centre, to get some brochures. Next, I went round the area and visited The Great Hall. The original plan of the Great Hall was taken after the medieval Great Halls of England and the Oxbridge Colleges fell short due to budget cuts. Hence the planned gallery was never built and the paneling remained modest. However, the hall now has a warm, powerful and theatrical space feeling thanks to the restoration work done in 2000. There is a selection of portraits from the University's art collection hung in the Great Hall. Coming out from the university, I went to the botanical garden to visit the Palm House. The botanic garden is an absolute pleasure to wander through. The Palm House is one of the earliest examples of a curvilinear and cast iron glasshouse. Once you open the door, you would be immediately overwhelmed by the fragrance of the flowers. Besides the lovely flowers there are also other plants and greens. As it is already 1.30pm, I went back to the hostel to check-in. I got a ￡1 discount off my initial booking price when I presented my HI membership card. I was assigned to room 221, a 4 bed mixed dorm, en suite. The room is pretty spacious and spotlessly clean. There are toilet and shower room on the right and left side as you walk in the door. I picked the lower bunk bed near the window and made my bed. Then, I went downstairs to inquire about the Giants Causeway day tour by Mini-Couch Tour I saw downstairs. The brochure's photos and itinerary looks pretty good. Since I was a hostel's guest, I can get ￡5 off the ￡25 package price. Although my original plan was to join and watch the St. Patrick's Day parade and celebration in Belfast tomorrow, but I guess the day tour looks more tempting.
With that sorted, I went to the City Hall but unfortunately, it was closed for renovation works. The Belfast Wheel is located next to the City Hall building. It makes me wonder, it seems like wherever you go nowadays, the place would have a "xx-wheel", must be attracting a very good income from the tourism. After some photo snaps, I went to the HSBC bank to withdraw some money and then went to M&S bureau de exchange to buy some Euros. It's rather unfortunate for me to travel to Europe at this time as the exchange rate is very poor. I only managed to get ￡1 = €1.053 now as opposed to the better times of close to €1.50. Anyway, this is the better rates I've seen so far and I don't have to pay any commission fees. After having the money sorted, I wandered around Belfast town without any specific destination. Belfast is quite a modern city, a little like London, but with a more compact city centre. Following tips from my LP guide book, I went to the famed Crown Liquor Saloon, and viewed it from the outside. The Crown was built in 1885 and displays Victorian architecture at its most extravagant. It has survived a 1993 bomb that devastated the Grand Opera House, just across the road. The weather this afternoon is very nice. Although it is only 11 degrees but without the presence of gushing winds, I felt comfortable walking around even without zipping up my fleece jacket. Feeling a little hungry, I walked back to the hostel, thinking what to have for dinner. Then I saw Tesco Express and went in to get some food. For dinner tonight, I bought a Chicken and Lemon risotto and also a pot of yogurt. Since no breakfast is provided, I bought some muffins. After dinner, I went back to my room for shower. While writing my diary, my dorm mates came back...and to my surprise they are guys. When I came back to the room earlier on, judging by the type and color of the luggage, I thought my dorm mates are girls. Hahaha, I guess nowadays you can't really tell by type and colors anymore. Well, never mind. They seemed to be nice. The guys went out again after showering, leaving me to my own quiet little spot. Later on, to my surprise again, the guys came back before 11pm. I thought they would be out partying late to the night. That's when we all quiet down and slept.
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