梦。游。迹

31 March, 2009 – Brussels, Belgium – Day 3

2011-11-07T18:19:00.012+08:00

Today I just decided to wander around Brussels without any planned agenda. We all know that the famous Manneken Pis is one of the main highlight and a major landmark in the City of Brussels. A bronze statue of a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. However, looking at the town map, I noticed that there were actually 3 different Manneken Pis statues in the town of Brussels. Despite the little boy, there were actually another statue of a little girl (Jeanneke Pis) and also one of a dog. Intrigue, I made up my mind to find and "collect" all the 3 mannekken pis while I wander around the city (mission accomplished by EOD). See them in my album (album link below)

Rue des Bouchers, a street near the Grote Markt is basically lined up with various seafood restaurants, where you can have a seafood meal for 13euros, mainly targeting tourists. However the reviews from the internet are not favourable towards the food quality / service standards. At the Grote markt, there were a group of school children playing games. Each group will have a game board with Brussels' main tourist attractions on the board. The children will throw a dice, and then depending on where they landed, they need to go to the places of interest, get some information or photos and maybe answer some questions before coming back to the Markt and continue on. It's such an interesting way for the children to learn about this historic place :)

Wandering on, I got attracted by the sweet aroma of chocolates. OMG, it was heavenly :D Just standing outside the store itself admiring the macarons, handmade chocolates etc with the sweet scents probing out from the store is such a treat to my senses. Some of the chocolates stores have some very beautifully and creatively decorated / arranged artwork using chocolates. Of course all these comes with a hefty price tag for a backpacker like me... so just pure admiration and sniffing will satisfy me.

Another tip for those of you visiting Brussels, go to the carpark named 'Parking 58' @ Rue de l'Évêque, to enjoy an aerial view of Brussels city without having to pay a single cent. take the lift to its 10th floor, and a big parking terrace will open in front of your eyes. From here you can get a beautiful 360 degrees view of Brussels. Open daily from 7am until 1am (or 2am Friday and Saturday).

Photos of Brussels
Photos of Antwerp

30 March, 2009 – Antwerpen, Belgium – Day 2

2011-11-07T11:28:00.008+08:00

It’s a beautiful day today, again sunny with clear blue skies. I made myself a cup of tea and had an apple and the ginger biscuits. I logged on the internet for a while and chatted with my sis over breakfast. After that, I went to the Brussels Noord station, bought a return ticket (€13.20) to Antwerpen. The officer told me the train will be leaving in 10mins from platform 11. So I board the train at platform 11 and I double check with one of the passengers on board. She told me the train is going to Antwerpen but there are some technical issues now hence she wasn’t sure when the train will depart. Also she told me that the train has stopped there for over 20mins so it is better for me to board another train. I got off the train and asked the train conductor at the platform where he told me to go to the opposite platform. Soon, a city rail train arrived and I checked with one of the passenger and he confirms the destination. The interior of this train is different from the train I boarded just now. The city rail train has PVC seats while the Intercity trail has a more comfortable seats. We had to change at Mechelen station, and I only knew this because I saw the girl whom I know was also going to Antwerpen alight the train. After 45mins, we arrived at the Antwerpen Central station. I got a map from the tourist info counter and went out to explore.

*Note: A year later after I came back from this EU trip, I came to know about the flash mob dance which happened at this very station. More than 200 dancers were performing their version of "Do Re Mi", in the Central Station of Antwerp. with just 2 rehearsals they created this amazing stunt! Those 4 fantastic minutes started the 23 of march 2009, 08:00 AM. It is a promotion stunt for a Belgian television program, where they are looking for someone to play the leading role, in the musical of "The Sound of Music".Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

Antwerpen is known as the fashion city of Belgium. The streets were lined with all the famous brand names you can think of. I had no problem maneuvering around this town as the map is clear and the streets clearly marked and organized. First, I arrived at the Rubenshuis (Ruben’s house), which is the former house and studio for Peter Paul Rubens, now also a museum. There were a café next to it with visitors sipping a cuppa under the warm sun. I passed by a shopping mall so I went in to search for food. As I went in, there was this ‘Antwerp Chocolate Store’ and one of their chocolate is the ‘Antwerpse Handsje’, chocolates in the shape of a hand. Maybe when people eat it, they can "Hi-5" with the person beside him? :p At the centre court, there were a ‘garden’ with lots of doll rabbits in conjunction with the upcoming Easter Holiday. The rabbits are really cute and adorable. I bought an apple waffle from a brasserie for only €0.95. Although this is not the original Belgian waffle (square in shape and only have sugar on top), but it tasted really good. Yummy yum... Walking on I came to a square with a statue of Petro Paulo Rubens, located at the Groenplaats (Green square), which was originally the Antwerp's central cemetery until Emperor Joseph II banned cemetery inside the city and converted it into a square. Hilton Hotel Antwerp is here.

After that I visited ‘De Kathedraal’, cathedral of our lady. This is the largest Gothic cathedral in the Benelux countries. The Cathedral of Our Lady houses a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. Following the map, I walked through the Grote markt (the market square), with Guilds richly decorated with golden statues; ruihuis (Antwerp canal), ethnographic museum, silver museum, The Steen (next to the canal), Museum Platin-Moretus, beguinage & beguinage church, Saint Andrew’s Church, Theaterplein. In the middle of the market square, stands a statue of Brabo, the legendary giant slayer, who controlled the river traffic and demanded exorbitant tolls from those using it, or else he will cut off one of your hands in replacement. Brabo killed and cut off the giant's hand and threw it into the river, hence the name Antwerp ('hand thrown' in Dutch). The statue of the giant can be seen at the Steen.

That evening, I bought a Faro beer from the supermarket only to realized it needed a wine /cork-screw opener which I couldn’t find in the hostel... bummer

29 March, 2009 – Brussels, Belgium – Day 1

2011-11-07T10:32:00.006+08:00

This morning, I woke up at 6.45am, pack up my stuff and checked out around 7.30am. I walked to the Amsterdam Centraal Station and took a metro to Amstel Station (5 stops away). The trip only requires 2 volume of the strippenkaart. I noticed the time board showing the time an hour later (meaning instead of 7.40am as shown on my watch, it is already 8.40am). I panicked, has the time changed? Oh dear, I sure hope not. Otherwise, it would mean I’m surely missing my 9am bus to Brussels. I am praying this is the same mistake that happened as in Wales. Arriving at Amstel station, I saw a clock, showing 8am. I am slightly relieved. I head over to the Eurolines office and on my way there I saw a bus leaving the station. I entered the office and there were 2 officers there, a man and a woman. I approached the lady officer:

Me: Hello
Lady: Hello, where to?
Me: Brussels.
Lady: What time is your bus?
Me: 9 o’clock.
Lady: What is the time now?
Me: Err… eight.
Lady: No, it is already 9.05. The time has changed. The bus has left.
Me: Oh shit... (panicked)
Lady: (paused for few seconds) The next bus to Brussels is at 11am. I will check you in later. Please take a seat first.
Me: Oh, err ok. Thank you. (pheewww…. relieved….)

I waited for about 15mins before the lady called me again to check me in. But while waiting, the 2 of them were chatting and I guess they were kind of amused by the error people made when the time changes. Well, they were speaking in Dutch so I can just pretend that I don’t understand (although I can guess what they are talking about)I was so very embarrassed and you can almost see my head down on the floor. Well, lucky for me I didn’t have to pay any extra money / penalty fee for the change, only time wasted. So I waited in the lounge and ate my croissant. Apparently I am not the only one making this mistake. Another girl (which was actually one of my dorm mates) came in at 8.22am for the 9am bus to Paris. Well, she wasn’t as lucky as I am as the lady officer told her that the bus seems to be full so she will be put on the waiting list. After a long and boring wait, I finally boarded the bus which apparently stops at Brussels before going to Paris. There are still a few seats left but the girl wasn’t allowed to board, until the very last minute.

So off we went to Brussels, but first we stopped at Den Haag to pick up another few passengers making the bus fully seated. I was quite tired from the early wake and also from my sickness. So I slept most of my way to Brussels, only waking up off and on to look at the views outside. Around 2.30pm, we arrived at Brussels Noord Station. I went into the Eurolines bus office to enquire about the bus to Paris but couldn’t purchase the ticket yet as I need to find out how and when I will arrive back in Brussels from Brugge. So I decide to first go to my hostel. With the direction from a guy and also from the hostel, I found the hostel without any difficulties. But the reception is closed until 4pm. Luckily a guy opened the door to let me leave my luggage in the luggage room. Without the load on my back, I went back to the Brussels Noord Station to check the train to and from Brugges. I first checked it on the automated ticket machine for the pricing of several day trips that I’m planning to make while in Belgium. Then I went to the counter to purchase the return ticket for Brussels – Brugge. The lady officer was very kind and friendly. She asked if I will be going to other places like Antwerpen, Gent etc. because I could buy a combination ticket for 10 trips for €73. Those 2 places were indeed in my plan but I would only need 6 trips in total. Unsure if that would be a better option, I told her I will come back to her later. I went back to the automated ticket machine again to double check on the prices between the places I wanted to go to. Some simple maths confirmed my suspicion as I would only cost me around €50 odd, so I am better off without the combination ticket. I went back to the lady officer and told her I just wanted to get the return ticket which cost me €25.80. After settling the logistic, I walked back to the hostel.

The weather is very good today, with clear blue skies and it’s sunny. There were stretches of modern high office buildings between the Noord station and my hostel. As it is Sunday, there weren’t much traffic on the road. I walked back to the hostel and the reception is now open. I checked in and was assigned to room 201. Luckily they have a lift so I do not have to walk up the stairs like I did in Jacobs Inn, Amsterdam. Again I was the first in the room with 3 double-deck beds. I chose the lower bunk next to the window and heater. The toilet and shower is in the room and they also have a locker in the room. There is even a small balcony next to my bed looking out to the main streets. Cool. There is a huge lounge next to the reception where there are 4 computer terminals for free internet surfing, a TV area and a self-catering kitchen. The whole hostel is spotless clean.

After settling down my stuff, I went out for a quick tour around. I arrived at the St. Katelijne Church. One interesting fact about this church is that the Belgians installed a public urinal (on the left side when facing the main church entrance) here to ‘drain the potatoes’. In Italy or Poland, you might end up in jail if you pee against the church. I had to be careful when I wanted to take a second photo, a guy just walked right in to take a leak. Next to the church there is a square where there are fountains with animal leaning backwards spitting out water. One thing I noticed here is that the animals at the fountains are all designed to be arching backwards. I’m not sure why. Wandering around, I came by a supermarket, I wanted to go in to get some groceries but the security guard stopped me saying it is closed. Luckily I had bought my water earlier on. So I went to get a donor kebab (€3.50) and went back to my hostel as I really need to plan and make bookings for my second leg of my travel.

After showering, I brought my laptop downstairs to the lounge to surf while I eat. I had some problems connecting to the internet and while trying, a guy came up to me and asked if I could connect to the internet. He told me that the reception gave him a password but since the hostel network was unsecured, there was no place he could key in the password. I went to the reception to get the password and tried some options but failed. The guy wished me good luck and left. I went back to the reception and asked for help. The reception guy told me that the WIFI signal is a little weak hence sometimes it is difficult to connect. Apparently the browser would bring you to a secure website where you then key in the password given to gain internet access. He gave me a direct link to the portal and asked me to try again. I tried and this time it works. The guy came back and saw me surfing so I told him the little trick I just found out and he happily went away. Surfing the whole night, I came up with no conclusions on my forward travels. All seemed to be a little too expansive. I wonder if there is a cheaper way to travel if I asked at the local stations? However, should I wait until the last minutes? With so many question marks hanging on top of my head, I went to bed. My cough worsens at night for some reason and my throat felt tight and hurts a lot especially at night. All these symptoms sort of disappeared during the day time, except for a few occasional coughs.

P/S: Did you notice that traveling from Amsterdam to Belgium, I didn’t mention about passport checking? That is because there weren’t any. Strange… does that mean that once I entered the EU countries, I can travel freely from one country to the other? Then how would they keep track on my length of stay in a certain country, or maybe it doesn't matter?

28 March, 2009 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Day 3

2011-11-06T12:26:00.009+08:00

The day started off with rain and overcast sky. It gave me perfect excuse to not get out of the bed early. Although on the other hand, I was praying for the rain to stop as I’m going to Keukenhof today to see the tulips. Last night was a pretty bad night as I coughed continuously during my sleep and my eyes teared non-stop due to the cough, and I have a very bad sore throat. I lingered in the bed until around 10am after most of the girls have gone out. Took my time to get ready and had an apple for breakfast. Then, armed with my waterproof jacket and umbrella, I went into the streets heading to Leidseplein to catch a bus to Schipol airport. It is still drizzling but there were quite many people around, mostly having breakfast at café and restaurants. I passed by the McDonalds and went in to have a Quarter Pounder burger (€1.95). After my meal, the rain has now stopped. I proceed on to Leidseplein bus stop. I waited for about 10mins before the bus no. 197 came. The journey took about 30mins to Schipol airport. From there, I changed to bus no. 58 to Keukenhof, which took another 30mins.

Arriving at Keukenhof, the sun is out and blue skies on the horizon. Great!!! I walked into the huge garden. Soon, I see tulip bulbs all around. There are various types of tulips, in many different colors. I wandered around the big garden, taking loads of photos. There are several main buildings (green house) around the garden where the flowers are located. I went into the first one and was overwhelmed by the gorgeous tulips inside. There are a lot of visitors inside; all armed with cameras, compact, slr, dslr. Professional, semi professional, amateurs, everybody is enjoying themselves, taking photos of the beautiful flowers, or their loved ones with the flowers. I just kept shooting the various types of tulips in different colors and shapes. This is the first time I’m surrounded with so many tulips and I am absolutely loving it. In this building also, there was a live orchestra band playing wonderful music. Hence you can see a lot of people (including me) dancing or tapping to the music. The music just lifts up the spirits and enlightens the atmosphere.

After that I went back out to the garden and continue on exploring. The next building I went into was filled with orchids. My mum loved orchids. Some of the orchids on display here she planted before. At another building were some flowers like lily and sunflowers and also they were sort of associated with fashion. There were also lots of sculptures around the garden. I really enjoyed walking in the big garden, breathing in fresh air and admiring all the lovely flowers.

Outside in the garden, there were various types of "chairs" made of straw bales with a big fork acting as the back support. Met a very cheerful mum who offered to take a photo of me sitting on the special chair and even asked her little boy to join me on one of the big straw chair. After visiting all the buildings and the gardens, I went back out to take bus no. 58 to Schipol airport and transferred to bus no. 197 to Leidseplein. On my way back to my hostel I stopped by a supermarket to get some water and croissants for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Back at the hostel, I showered and had yogurt and croissant and then started packing up as I’ll head to Belgium tomorrow.

Here's the link to all my photos Amsterdam, 2009

27 March, 2009 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Day 2

2011-11-06T12:01:00.008+08:00

I woke up at around 7.30am, peeped out the window, beautiful blue skies awaits. But I was kind of reluctant to get out of bed just yet so I slept in for another hour before pulling myself out of bed. All the other dorm mates are still fast asleep. After freshening up, I ate the remaining 2 chocolate croissants before setting out. It is pretty cold outside even with the sun. I walked to the GVB Tickets & Info office next to the tourist information counter to enquire about the bus ticket to Zaanse Schans. Again, I need to get a queue ticket but luckily I needn’t wait long. The lady officer told me that I could get a return bus ticket for €7. Next question I asked was that if I could use the strippenkaart for the trip instead. She wasn't sure so she asked another senior lady and the answer is yes I could but she didn't know how many columns of the strippenkaart I would need for my trip to Zaanse Schans. So I bought a strippenkaart with 15 volumes for €7.30.

I walked out to the bus platform and waited for bus no. 91 which will take me directly to Zaanse Schans. The trip took about 40mins and it cost me 5 volumes on the strippenkaart. The bus system here is pretty interesting. You get on the bus, tell the driver where your destination is and lay your strippenkaart on the counter, then the driver will stamp on one of your strippenkaart’s columns (depending on how many zones you are traveling) using a stamp. Going outside of Amsterdam, I passed by some residential area. Most of the residential here are on low rise flats of 3, 4 or 5 storey high. One thing that stood out is that they all have big windows. And unlike the windows in the Amsterdam buildings, these windows are just a big piece of glass without any patterns or sections. Most of the windows had their curtains opened hence you can peek into the décor inside. I must say most of the decors are really nice.

The bus no. 91 stops next to the Zaanse Museum in Zaanse Schans (the last stop). I can already see the windmills from here. As soon as I step off the bus, a scent hit my nostrils, it’s familiar, sniffing hard, I recognized the smell as the cocoa smell similar to those in the Bukit Batok area (some years back when I visited my friend staying there). I walked into the Zaanse Museum as the tourist info counter is there. The lady officer provided me with the area map, explained to me the 2 types of Zaanse Schans Pass that I could buy. The full pass covers all the fee paying museums (Zaanse Museum, another smaller museum, clock museum), free entry to the first mill and then discounts on the subsequent mills. The second pass just covers the Zaanse Museum, free entry to the first mill and discount on the subsequent mills. After some thinking, I decided I will not purchase any pass and just pay for the mills that I wanted to go to. Each mill charges €3 per entry. There are some workshops like the cheese factory, clog making factory etc which are free to enter.

Armed with the map, I set off to explore the area. There are several mills along the River Zaan. The people who lived along its banks and who had grown rich through trade and fishing, built their first windmills around 1600. Initially they used the wind to keep their feet dry, but later on they used it to develop an entire industrial area. Barley, paper, wood, cooking oil, mustard, tobacco, hemp and many other products were processed in 1000 windmills in the Zaan area. From 1850on the work of the windmills was taken over by soot-spewing steam engines. Now, only 13 windmills survived, as monuments of industrial and technology.

First, I entered the cheese farm, where they show how cheese are made (too bad the demo is not on while I was there) and then you can get your cheese in whatever size you like at the shop behind. Next I visited ‘De Kat’ (The Cat), a dye mill operating since 1782. A brochure was given to me and it says ‘Welcome to De Kat. Your visit to the mill is at your own risk.’ Okay, point noted. Inside at the ground floor you see 2 huge wheels spinning and crushing on the chalk stone, turning them into chalk powder. Then you can climb up steep and narrow staircases up to see the upper part of the gears which spins the wheels. You can climb 4 storeys high and on the second storey, you can climb a short stairs which leads you out to a platform so you can gain a better view of the mill from the outside. The sail of the mill is also located here at the platform. The miller turns the sails, mounted on the 15-ton cap, into the face of winds. He also regulates the speed of the windmill by means of the sails and boards. While inside the mill, you can definitely feel the power of the wind as the wooden platforms would shake and rattle as the speed increases.

After coming down from the mill, I bought a cup of hot chocolate with free cookies for €1.50. It’s nice and thick and warmed me up a little. Down the route, there are also saw mill, oil mill which are opened for visit. However, I didn’t go into the rest of the mills but just took photos from the outside. I followed the route to the last mills before turning back. Then I went to the other side where the clock museum and the smaller museum are located. The views are just lovely. The buildings here are all constructed in wood and painted in green. Turning back towards Zaanse Museum, I visited the clog making factory. In here, they have a display of various types of clogs, some with very sophisticated carving and some in peculiar shapes and sizes. There is a demonstration of how clog shoes are made. Traditionally a hand-made clog would take around 3-4hours, but now with the machines, it only takes around 5-10mins. The clog-making machines operated like imprinting the keys, where you have a master sample and then the machines just mold the new clogs out. Simple. I bought some postcards and also a stamp collection from the souvenir shop. I had to go to another souvenir shop to get some stamps so I could post them off. After that I took the bus back to Amsterdam Centraal Station.

I got back to my hostel around 5.21pm, showered, and had an apple. Then about 6.25pm, I went out again to join the Red Light District walking tour. The tour costs €10 and there are about 20 of us. It was quite cold, so our tour guide, Alex started of the tour by asking us do some stretching and jumping exercise, haha. Then, we were off to explore the Red Light District. Alex told us that there is a World Cup qualifying match between Scotland and Holland hence the many Scotts in town, showing their patriotism and support. We were taken around the area, showing us some quirky shops, passes by many window girls, seen the door of the hardcore gay pub. Alex told us the history of the Red Light District, how it began and told us that the government is currently planning to close down this area. So many of these windows has been closed down and turned into a display window for local artists. At one point, the group were split into boys and girls group as the boys were sent up the street where the ‘ladies’ can come out of the windows and 'touch' the customers, luring them into their place. Since the girls are not so welcomed there, Alex took us down through the town’s narrowest lane and waited for the boys to return.

During the tour, we stopped at a place and there was a pink scooter parked there saying ‘ex-porn star’. Some of the tour mates took photos of the scooter. I noticed that the window girls nearby saw the cameras and was quite sensitive / annoyed by it as she quickly drew up the curtain until they were done with the shooting. Yes, here at the red light district, you cannot photograph the window girls or else you are just asking for trouble. Some of the more aggressive ladies will come out, grab your camera and throw it to the canal; or they will flick you with a shot of urine... In this area, whatever sexual fantasies you had in mind, there will be a place to satisfy whatever you want. Live sex show, peep shows, sexual theme bars, sex shops, pornographic video booth, fetish parlours, lap dancing clubs, and a sex museum. Then there are all sorts of window girls, tall, short, fat, skinny, young and old, different nationalities and also transvestites.

One of the most famous venues in the Red Light District is the world-renowned Casa Rosso live sex theatre, presenting a series of shows and erotic acts. Another similar venue is the Banana Bar, where the drinks are poured by a group of topless barmaids. And for an extra €50, the same waitress will perform a series of sexual favours including the consumption of banana from the private area. Other than these, there are also private clubs, escort agencies and massage parlours. The entire tour lasted about 1hr 45mins and the group head down to the Belushi bar. However, me and several others who weren’t interested in having a drink head back to Central Station and back to my hostel. This tour was quite an eye opener to me. It’s absolutely safe to wander around by yourself as there are police paroling around the district. However, I wasn’t that brave to wander around by myself hence taking up this tour is well worth it.

26 March, 2009 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Day 1

2011-11-06T10:13:00.009+08:00

Before the ferry’s wake up call at 6.45am (for the 7.45am arrival at Hoek of Holland at 7.45am), I was woken up by the sound of someone trying to open the door. I wasn’t sure if it’s at my cabin door, so I got out of the bed, walked to the door and listen (no peeping hole on the door). I listened for awhile but no movements outside, so guess not. Not fully recovered from yesterday's long journey, I went back to bed until the wake up call. It was such a struggle to get myself out of the cozy bed and be back on the road.

After freshening up & had the chocolate croissant as my breakfast, I went out briefly to take a sneak peak of Amsterdam before returning to get my luggage as the ferry approaches the dock. Stepping off the ferry, there are 2 immigration and passport control counters. EU and EER passport holders can queue at either side while other passport holders like me need to queue at the counter on the left. The officer asked me a series of questions: why are you here, are you here alone, how many days you’ll be here, where are you going next? Pretty standard Q&A. Just outside the ferry terminal is the train station where I boarded the 8.21am train to Rotterdam Centraal at platform 2. I'll be arriving at 8.53am, just in time (with a bit of running) to catch the 8.58am train to Amsterdam Centraal. This Intercity train is a double-deck train where the upper decks are categorized as quiet zone. I only knew this after I went up exploring to the upper deck. The journey to Amsterdam Centraal takes about 1 hour 10mins. As we were approaching Schipol Airport station, the ticket conductor came to check the tickets. He told me that I am sitting at the wrong compartment, my ticket is for standard class (meaning 2nd class) but I am now sitting in the 1st class compartment. Oooppsy… luckily he wasn’t strict or fierce. I apologized, grabbed my stuff and went to the 2nd class compartment but there were no seats available so I went to the lower deck and sat down. Phew. Along the way, I noticed that the landscape here is absolutely flat. There were no hills or mountains, just pure flat lands and rivers / canals.

I arrived at the Amsterdam Centraal at 10.03am and its slightly drizzling & it's very cold too. I followed the direction as instructed from my hostel but wasn’t sure if I was in the correct direction. Maybe I’m looking a little lost at the junction, a Turkish man passing by kindly stopped and asked if I needed help. I showed him the hostel address and he pointed me the direction. After that I had no problem locating the hostel. I checked-in but the room wasn’t quite ready yet as their check out time is at 10am. So I waited at the lobby area and used the pc there to surf the internet. Met my sis online so I chatted with her for a while. Half an hour later, I was given the key to the main door, room door and also for the locker. My room is on the 5th floor and we enter from the door next to the hostel reception. It was quite a climb up the narrow staircases with my heavy baggage. The whole of 5th floor has been changed into a 10 bed female dorm so it is pretty spacious. There are 10 single beds, 5 on each side, with the center being divided by wooden beam. I am at bed E, next to the window. There is a small kitchen located at the corner.

Then I went back to the Amsterdam Centraal station to check on the train ticket to Brussels. The ticket would cost about €44 and after checking with the officers, there is some maintenance work going on Sunday (my traveling date) so I need to change quite a few times, making the whole journey long. With that info, I thought it would be a better idea to take bus instead. Next, I went to the tourist information centre opposite the central station. Here, the system works as if you are in a hospital / clinic / bank, where you need to get a queue number and wait for your queue no. to be called before proceeding to the counter. At my turn, I asked about the Keukenhof combination ticket (to see tulips), Zaanse Schans (for windmills) and also the location of Eurolines bus ticket office. I felt that the lady officer wasn’t very friendly and a little snobbish though I still managed to gather the info I wanted from her. Coming out of the centre, it is still drizzling. I made my way to the dam square because the Euroline office should be behind the dam square at Rokin street. Feeling a little hungry, I bought a cone of fries. Here, the locals normally have their fries with mayonnaise sauce and you actually have to pay extra €0.35 for the sauce. I took the chance to ask for the direction to Rokin street. She directed me the way and I quickly found the place. Walking in town, I noticed there were many ‘men in skirts’, the Scotts are plentiful around. All of them in their traditional kilts attire. Many of them singing and chanting away in groups.

I walked into the office, and enquire about the bus to Brussels. It will take about 3hrs 15mins and cost €17. Not a bad deal considering if I take the train, it would also take about 3hrs and the price is more than doubled. I bought the ticket and was told I need to take a metro to Amstel station to board the bus. After settling all the transportations, I walked around Dam Square. This is my second time here. The first time was about 4 years ago, on a business trip. I flew in with 3 bosses but I was ‘lucky’ to not get a flight back together with the bosses as the flight was full. So I got a day off and I wandered around Amsterdam city. It was around end June then, where there were blue skies and sun shine. The square is busy and crowded. I sat at the square together with many others. Now four years after, I am at the same place but the atmosphere was totally different. Cold and wet, the few tourists just quickly took a photo of the area and left. I then went to a pharmacy to get some medication as I am developing a cough. Later, I passed by a supermarket and went in to get some food. Inside, I saw this ready meal with Malay wordings: Sate Babi, Babi panggang... funny :p

After shopping, I had a very long walk back to the hostel as I kept going the wrong way and couldn’t find my way back. My bearings are totally off today. A couple of times, I thought I’ve found the way but only to find it was wrong. Was it due to the lack of sleep or was it due to the oncoming sickness? (Shrug) Finally, I got myself back to the hostel after so many wrong turns. I rested for a while at the hostel before going out again. The rain has now subsided; it is not so cold now. Armed with my camera, I went to the canals, just behind my hostel. Walked along the canals for a while, the same trail I’ve walked 4 years ago. Reminiscing. Took some photos and went back to the hostel as it is getting dark. Back in the hostel, to my surprise, the other 4 beds at my side were occupied and they were all sleeping. So early? Its only about 7pm. Anyway, I went to shower and then microwave my ‘babi panggang’ + fried rice as dinner. Feeling tired, I think I’ll join in the rest of the crowd and sleep early tonight.

Bali 'Feb 2011

2011-07-23T22:21:00.001+08:00

25th March, 2009 – Traveling from North Wales to Amsterdam via London Euston (Day 14)

2010-05-15T21:05:00.008+08:00

This morning, after packing my luggage, I had a long breakfast while listening to the radio. Then I went for a leisure walk to the other side of town. It was just too cold out there I can't stand it. So I went back to hostel to watch TV (one tree hill and Gilmore girls) and had hot tea. The hostel owner was doing his cleaning and maintenance so we had a lovely chat.

Around 12.45pm, I grabbed my luggage, went to get a subway sandwich and head to Bangor. Took the 1.10pm bus arriving at the Bangor train station at 1.45. Waited at platform 1 for my virgin train from Bangor to London Euston. My pre-booked seat is backwards facing... bummer. While having my sandwich, I noticed there are small LCD displays on top of the seats stating if the seats are available or had been reserved. I found 2 forward facing seats nearby which were not reserved and move over. Much better now. Use the traveling time to read up on my LP guide, jotting down some places of interest in Amsterdam and Belgium.

Arrived in London Euston at 1745pm and walked to the Euston Square station and took the tube to Liverpool Street station. Then I went to pick up my pre-booked 'rail and sail' ticket. The 'rail and sail' from Stena Line's dutchflyer service provides city-to-city travel for passengers wishing to travel from Britain to Holland, where you pay just one price for your travel from London to the Harwich International by train, then board the ferry for an overnight sail (in private en-suite cabin) to Holland, and then again take a train to any of the dutch train station. A paper is given to me as proof of my rail ticket from Liverpool Street station to Harwich International station. There are 2 trains I could take, first one at 2018pm (final station at Harwich town) but I decided to take 2038pm train which terminates at Harwich International station. While having my dinner at Burger King, there's a group of Asians there, listening to their voices and conversation, I know they should be Malaysian. (hehe just entertaining myself)

I board the East Anglia train to Harwich International at platform 9, arriving around 2200pm. The train station is just next to the ferry terminal. Went up the escalator to the ticket counter to pick up my second half of ticket, my boarding pass for the ferry and also the rail ticket from Hoek of Holland to any dutch train station. All passengers waited at the waiting lounge for 5 mins before we were allowed to board the ferry. It was a very huge ferry with a total of 10 decks. I am in deck 8, room 8213, a single cabin inside (meaning no window). It's a great cabin all to myself, there are 2 bunk beds, a sofa, a toilet, a table, and one huge mirror. All these for just ￡57, well worth the money. The boarding pass also acts as the door key which has a bar code on it. After putting down my stuff, I went down to deck 7 for a little exploration tour. There are café, restaurant, game area, casino, cinema, duty-free shopping to keep you entertained if you are not sleepy. Went back to my cabin, showered and laid down to sleep after this very long traveling day.

Photos of Wales,UK

24th March, 2009 – Caernarfon, North Wales (Day 13)

2010-05-15T20:16:00.007+08:00

I woke up at 7.45am today; Sarah told me that they are leaving the hostel this morning to Chester for another game. At breakfast table, I was joined by the team's coach and also some of the Rugby boys. The boys are ever so lively and loud. After breakfast, I walked to the tourist info center to get some inspiration on what to do today. The counter is not opened until 10am so I just took some brochures and walked to the bus station. I originally wanted to head down to Porthmadog and Portmeirion as I was attracted by the great photos of Portmeirion on the brochures. Portmeirion is a village on the Snowdonia coast which was built by Clough William-Ellis between 1925 to 1972 and was the location for The Prisoners in the 1960s. From Porthmadog, there is the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, a small friendly railway where you can ride on the vintage train, climb up the steam and diesel locomotives during the stop at the Engine Shed. It sounds pretty interesting but sadly it is not open until 28th March. Looking at the bus time-table, the bus to Porthmadog doesn't leave until an hour later. So I changed my plan to first go north to Conwy since the bus no. 5 to Conwy had just arrived. Again, I bought the Red Rover ticket to cover my transportation for the day. From Caernarfon, the bus first goes to Bangor where the bus driver change shift before continuing to Conwy. The entire journey takes a little more than an hour, passing by several small villages. The weather is really good this morning, blue skies with the sun shining brightly.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Conwy can truly lay claim to being one of the finest remaining medieval walled towns. Upon reaching the town, the first glimpse of the town reveals the majestic ramparts of Edward I's imposing castle, built between 1283 and 1287. Alighting at the bus stop, I make my way to the tourist info center at the castle entrance. The kind lady there gave me a map of Conwy and also showed me how to go up the walls and also the location of the Britain's smallest house. I bought 4 very beautiful postcards of Snowdonia and North Wales for ￡1 and post one of them before walking the walls. The walls retained three of the original gateways and make an exciting walk with spectacular views to the quay and the pretty yacht-filled harbour beneath. A verdant mountainous backdrop complements the scene. From the highest point at the wall, the whole Conwy town comes into sight. I went round the walls that are opened to public (some parts are not accessible) taking lots of photos.

After I'm done with the walls, I went down to visit Britain's smallest house, which faces the harbour. Unfortunately the house is not open at the moment so I could only take photos from outside. Then, I bought myself a Chicken Salad sandwich from the 'Spar' shop and had it by the harbour. A few seagulls and pigeons loitered near my bench, hoping to share my sandwich. Well, I know I shouldn't feed the birds but then one of the seagulls 'calls out' to me... I'm not kidding you, the seagull looked straight at me with its small innocent eyes and squawked! I gave in and shared a little bit of the bread with him. After that, I went through the bus timetable to find that the last bus that runs between Porthmadog to Portmeirion is at 3.50pm. I doubt I could make it there in time and back. Hence I alter my plan, intending to go for this walk near Ryu Du, in search for fairies in the woodland. However, the tourist info lady told me that it is a little difficult to get me there and I would have very little time there before dark. Changing my plan again, I decided to go to Llanduno, a seaside resort town nearby. I took bus no. 19 and the journey only took about 15-20mins. The wind has picked up quite a bit now and the sky turned grey again. The town is pretty crowded with tourists. After alighting at the bus stop, I head straight to the Great Orme Tramway leading to the Great Orme Summit for views in North Wales.

To my delightful surprise, the tram up the summit is operational (coz the lady at the tourist info told me the tram is not running). So I bought a single way ticket (￡4, return ￡5.40) and board the tram. The Great Orme Tram is Britain's only cable-hauled street tramway, comprising of four of the original Victorian Tramcars. There are 3 trams running every hour and mine started just 8mins later. The ride up is pretty smooth. as compared to the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Going up, Llanduno's sweeping bays is in view. There are residential houses along the tramway. Soon we arrived at the Halfway Station, where we changed to another tram to continue on our journey up to the Summit Station. The higher we climbed the windier and colder it got. Next to the summit tram station is The Great Orme Summit Complex and also there is a garden beside the station. Then there is nothing else but vast green lands and the open sea. I braved the very strong wind towards the fields near the summit complex. Tears filled my eyes as they were pierced by the cold winds. Behind the complex is the Cable car center which is closed at the moment. Then I fought my way opposing the wind towards the other side of the field. Going up a slope, it was so hard to walk in a straight line as the wind is pushing me aside and I tried my best to fight back. So strong is the wind I sometimes had to just stand still to steady myself. Good thing this is not at the cliff edge else I might just be blown down the cliff into the sea. It's just too cold and windy up here and the view is very blurry and misty I could not see much except for the sea hence I quickly came back down and started descending towards the town. I purposely bought the single way ticket as I wanted to walk back down hoping to have more photography opportunities.

I followed the trail next to the main road. Soon, I come to a farmland where there were sheep with long pointy horns grazing at the grass. It is the first time I see this species of sheep. There were 2 shepherd dogs noticing my arrival hence watching me closely and even barked at me warning me not to try something funny (what would I do... steal the sheep? hahaha). Next to the farm is the Great Orme Bronze Age Copper Mines. This is the oldest metal mine in the world which is opened to the public. I just looked from the outside and continued on descending. After the Halfway Station, the descend became very steep road. I carefully walked down afraid of injuring my knees. Finally I made it down to the main station and walked to the promenade and around the town. The wind has turned down a notch down here but it is starting to drizzle. I quickly make my way to the city centre to get a bus back to Caernarfon. It's another 1.5 hours back to Caernarfon via Bangor. While munching the ginger biscuit I bought the other day, I noticed the time displayed on the bus is an hour later than my watch. Has the time changed (due to the day light saving)? Oh dear, I must clarify this either tonight or tomorrow morning else I would miss my train back to London tomorrow.

Back at the hostel, it is back to quiet and relax mode since the rowdy rugby team has left the venue. I cooked myself the remaining beef and salad I had left last night. Over dinner, I switched on the cd player with some light & easy music while reading a magazine. Loving this moment of relaxation. Tonight I have the room all to myself. Yippie!!! I paid the hostel owner ￡30 for 2 nights so instead of the original ￡45 for 3 nights, I am just paying ￡34.50 (￡4.50 paid for deposit), a savings of ￡10 !! Double yippie !!!

23 March, 2009 (Mon) – Caernarfon, North Wales – Day 12

2010-04-18T12:25:00.007+08:00

Well, it turns out the only noise affecting my sleep was from the lady herself as she was snoring away in her sleep. Lucky I had my earplugs ready. I slept until 7.45am and went down for breakfast were there are toast, bread spreads, cornflakes, oats, coffee and tea. I had a big breakfast before heading out to the Snowdonia National Park. I took bus no. 88 from the bus station and bought a Red Rover Day Pass (￡4.95) to Llanberis. Llanberis borders on to the Snowdonia National Park, attracts up to 12million visitors a year and Snowdon is internationally renowned as being an icon to the nation. At 1,085 meters (3560 feet) it is also the highest peak in both England and Wales. The Snowdon Mountain Railway runs to the summit of Snowdon in fine weather, since its completion in Victorian times in 1896.

The bus ride took about 25-30mins and I alighted at the bus stop where the Snowdonia Mountain Railway (SMR) station and the Llanberis Lake Railway station are located. The lake railway is not running today but the mountain railway is operating. The next train is leaving at 11am and the return ticket costs ￡16 (if you called one day ahead to book the earliest train at 9am, you only pay half price). As the weather is not very good today and there are strong winds, the train will only go up to the Rocky Valley station, which is 5/8 of the distance from the summit and we are not allowed to leave the train during our 10mins stop up there. I was hoping that the misty and cloudy weather will get better later on.

With an hour and a half to spare, I walked to the tourist information at the city center. Llanberis is a lovely little town and it is rather quiet at the moment. People here are very friendly, broad smiles and greetings as you meet. I took some brochures from the tourist info center and bought postcards. The post office is just across the road so I went in to mail my postcards before making my way back to the SMR. The air here is so fresh and clean, the environment so tranquil and serene.

Entering the train station, I see the steam-engine train that would take us up the mountain. The train officer punched my ticket and waved me onto the train coach. It is just a one-cabin coach with the engine at the rear side. At 11am sharp, we started our slow ascend to the mountain. The railway track is lined just next to the valley or cliffs. The first sight that comes to view is the beautiful waterfall on the left while the rest of the main sights were on the right side of the coach. There was an audio commentary pointing out the sights as we pass by them. Sheep runs freely at the hills and one of them was even resting just beside the railway track. The weather is still very misty hence it is difficult to see the sights clearly. Along the way, we saw some hikers walking the trail to the summit although it was not advisable to do it. Soon, it started to drizzle and as we climbed higher, the rain started pouring really hard. We arrived at the Rocky Valley about 30mins later where we stopped for 10mins. There were 3 guys who tried to go down the train and were immediately stopped by the train officer. During the stop, I changed my seat to the right side on the way down so I could see clearer the sights I missed just now.

By the time we arrived back to the station, the rain has subsided a little. I went to the cafe next to the station and had a peppered steak slice as lunch while waiting for the rain to stop. After lunch, I visited the Welsh National Slate Museum. There, I learn that Llanberis is a new village which grew due to the slate quarrying industry. The industry, which started with a number of small workings in the 18th century, was organized into larger operation and by 1870 it had reached its peak employing 3000 men. The slate industry is still alive today but modern machinery used contrast with the simple hand tools used previously. In the museum, you could see a demonstration of slate splitting and examples of tools and quarryman's living accommodation. The present LLanberis Slate Railway runs on the track that was built in 1842 to transport slate to Port Dinorwic. After the closure of the quarry, the equipment and manpower were available to rebuild it and the Lake Railway reopened in 1971 providing a scenic ride along the shores of Lake Padarn.

After the slate museum, I followed the trail along Lake Padarn. Llyn Padarn or Padarn Lake is the result of millions of years of earth movement and volcanic eruptions, and over two million years ago the Ice Age began to form what is seen today. The weather has changed for better now, with a hint of blue skies and sunshine. However, the strong and cold wind blowing is still freezing me to the bones. As the skies cleared up, the Snowdon Mountain and the rolling hills nearby are all clearly visible. I told myself that I must return to this place again one day during the Summer time to admire and to fully appreciate the magnificent Welsh beauty. The stroll along the lakeside is absolutely wonderful with lots of photography opportunities.

Later, I was undecided if I should return to Caernarfon town or to continue exploring other areas here at the park. Finally, I decided to hike up the hills to the waterfall I've seen on my trip up the Snowdon mountain. The hike was quite easy and I am really glad I did it. The trail is through some residential and as I walked in a boy on his small red bike waved and said 'Hi' to me. I stopped and waved back with a broad smile. I asked him where is he going and he pointed down the road. So I said bye bye and continue on my way. There is a viewing point across the railway track, giving me an opportunity to take some photos of the railway track. Cool... There was a group of visitors at the cliffs of the waterfall so I too went down the path. It's quite a sight to see the beutiful waterfall up close. As it soon approaches 5pm, I went back down to the road and waited for my bus back to Caernarfon.

Back at Caernarfon town, I bought some diced beef and salads for dinner. At the hostel, the hostel owner came up to the room and apologized for all the noise from the Rugby boys. Also, he told me he would only charge me for 2 nights instead of 3 as compensation. I told him I didn't mind at all but thanked him for his nice gesture. I showered and then cooked myself a nice bowl of beef stew using the chicken soup pack I had left. While taking the bowl out to the dining table, I accidentally spilled the hot soup and burnt my hand a bit. The hot soup is really good after a day in the cold wind but the beef is very chewy. With the boys out until 8pm, it's good to have a quiet place to wind down after a long day out. Again I felt like I am actually staying at a friend's place rather than a hostel.

22 March, 2009 (Sun) – Caernarfon, North Wales – Day 11

2009-08-10T16:01:00.011+08:00

The night before, the hostel reception told me that there was no bus going to the Dublin port although I find that a little hard to believe. So while googling for the price of the taxi to the Dublin port ferry terminal, I discovered that there is actually a ferry connection bus from the Busaras to the Dublin port at 7.30am, and it only cost €2.50. Woohoo, if this is true, then I could save about €12 as it would costs me around €15 to take a taxi there. So I woke up early this morning, checked out and walked to the Busaras so I would have ample timing to check out if the ferry connection bus is still running, else I'll just hop on a cab. Inquiring at the ticket counter gave me a positive answer, there is a bus going at 7.30am to the port and I was the only passenger in the bus. The bus ride took about 15- 20mins and I am surely glad I didn't try to walk to the port as it is still quite a long way in after the junction entrance which I need to turn in to as pointed out by the O2 guys. The whole compound was very huge with lots of trucks and freight containers and also a row of the Guinness trucks. I walked into the terminal centre and checked in. Similar to taking a flight, you can also check-in your luggage so I checked-in the big backpack and took the elevator up to the waiting lounge.

We couldn't board the ferry yet so I had bananas as breakfast while waiting. About 8.30am, we were called upon to board the ferry. Following the instructions, walking down some flights of stairs, we were led out of the building where a bus is waiting to shuttle us to the ferry docked around the corner. I am boarding the Irish Ferries's Jonathan Swift today from Dublin city to Holyhead, Wales. The ferry carries both cars and foot passengers. The lower 2 decks are for the cars while the upper 2 decks are for standard class and club class passengers. The ferry is much bigger than the one I've been on previously from Isle of Skye back to Scotland. On the main passengers' deck, there are 2 brasseries where you can buy some snacks or have a drink. There is also a Bureau de exchange, a shop and a game arcade area. The whole journey took about 2 hours. After alighting the ferry, I went through the immigration counters and collected my backpack. Next, I am supposed to take the train to Bangor. However, the rail was not in operation today, so all the foot passengers board a rail replacement bus to either Bangor or Chester train station. I alighted at Bangor and then took a local bus to Caernarfon. I waited for 40mins at the bus stop (in cold winds) before the bus no. 5 to Caernarfon came. I had plenty of time whilst waiting so I checked out the bus timetable and discovered that the bus frequency was reduced to once every hour in Sunday hence the long wait.

Arriving at Caernarfon bus station, I didn't know where to find my hostel as there wasn't any clear instructions. I saw an Argos store across the street so I went in to ask the girls at the cashiers for help. They weren't very sure about the location but they were very determined to help. Initially there were 2 girls at the counters and both of them didn't know so they asked another colleague whom also hadn't any clue. Then one of them suggested calling another staff of theirs over the phone to ask for the direction. It is quite cool to listen to them speaking Welsh while discussing and then turn and speak and explain to me in English. After thanking them, I followed their direction into the city centre. The town was very quiet and calm today. As soon as I step into the square, the Caernarfon Castle stood majestically in front of me. The mighty Caernarfon castle is possibly the most famous of Wales' many castles. It is built by Edward I, not only as a military stronghold but also as a seat of government and a royal palace, its majestic wall and battlement tower above the walled town. Further down is the promenade and the sea. Again, I asked another local lady at a store for directions and this time the lady instantly pointed me to the location of my hostel, just down the road.

The lady owner checked me in and showed me around the house. Immediately I liked the place as it has a homey feeling. The entire house was nicely decorated and very clean. The ground floor is the living room while the kitchen and dining hall is at the basement. All dorm rooms are located upstairs. She told me that the hostel is full tonight as there's a big group coming in later. The owner actually stays at the house behind so it's pretty convenient. I was checked in to a 4 bed female dorm with a double deck bed and 2 single beds. I took the lower bunk of the double deck. After settling my stuff, I went out for a walk in this lovely little town. Many of the stores are closed today and only the cafés, restaurants, pubs and some souvenir shops are open for business. I bought a spicy Italian sandwich from Subway as lunch. I couldn't find a seat in the small store hence I ate it outside at the square in the chilling winds overlooking the castle.

After that, I walked down the street to the promenade where there is a bridge linking the mainland to the small island opposite. In the freezing cold winds, I strolled along the pathway for quite a bit before turning back. It is such a lovely place to be after the cosmopolitan city of Dublin. Everything here is so peaceful, quiet and relaxing. I was walking back towards the city when a 'grandpa' stopped me for a chit chat. He used to be a radio technician on boats sailing to the Asean countries including Malaysia. He is rather chatty and told me quite a bit of himself. From his stories, I learned that he was divorced and his children are living in Australia. Well, I guess he is just a lonely old man. He even invited me for a cup of tea when we met up at the square again but I politely rejected his offer as I wanted to continue on exploring the town.

I saw this 'Farmfoods, the frozen food specialists' store so I went in to check it out. Boy, their food is relatively cheaper than what I've seen outside. So I bought a steak & chips for dinner, a pack of biscuits and also a bottle of water. I wanted to get some 100plus for my sore throat but there wasn't any. So I end up getting a lime and lemon still water. I went back to my hostel to drop off the stuff and there was a girl, Sarah, who just checked-in. She has a very cheerful and bubbly character and she is in the Rugby team with another 24 boys. They are all high school students from Canada, currently on a rugby match tour around UK. They just came from Manchester today and they have a match tomorrow. I guess it's not easy to be the only girl in the team of boys but then from their interactions I guess they are quite close together. Quite a few of her team mates sort of purposely came in to say 'hi' when they found out there is another person in the hostel, making me felt a little awkward like I am a zoo-animal ;p

Soon,they are off to a running exercise and the whole house immediately quiets down. I took a shower before heading out again. The weather is not as cold now. I walked to the Victoria Docks and then turned back into the castle area. The town is actually quite small. Most of the people gathered at the pubs, leaving the rest of the town deserted. After a 40mins walk, I head back to the hostel for my dinner. The steak and chips meal I bought earlier on is not exactly steak but more like the burger meat and chips. I also had a nice hot cup of tea to warm myself up. After my meal, I went up to my room to meet another dorm mate, whom is from Bristol. She was on the computer examining the photos she'd taken earlier on. I got a quick peek and my, her work is brilliant. We joked about how noisy tonight could be with the rugby boys in hence we better get our earplugs ready... hehe

21 March, 2009 (Sat) - Dublin, Ireland - Day 10

2009-07-22T15:49:00.007+08:00

After breakfast this morning, I went scouting for the route from my hostel to the Dublin Port, where I'll take a ferry over to Holyhead, Wales. It was quite a long walk and the route is sort of deserted. With reference to the simple map I had, the port is located towards the far end. When I reached the far end, there is a wide road leading towards the motorway and there was a road leading somewhere on the opposite side but there was no sign board whatsoever indicating where it leads to. After some time, I still couldn't find it so I gave up and head back. On my way back, I met 2 security officers at the O2 building who kindly gave me the direction. I am supposed to make a turn and walk all the way into a road I've passed by just now. I didn't went on to confirm the route to the terminal for 2 reasons: first, I'm not sure I'll be able to walk so far with my backpacks and second, I needed to use the toilet really bad. So off I went rushing back towards the city centre but it was so far away!!! I don't think I could wait until I reach my hostel so I just walked right into the first hotel I saw, acting as if I am one of their hotel customer and use their toilet. Hehe...

After relieving myself, I walked along the Liffey River's Millennium boardwalk and then cross the Ha'Penny Bridge to Temple Bar. The Ha'Penny bridge is a pedestrian bridge built in 1816 over the River Liffey, made of iron cast. Originally called the Wellington Bridge (after the Duke of Wellington), the name of the bridge changed to Liffey Bridge. The Liffey Bridge remains the bridge's official name to this day - though it is still commonly known as the Ha'penny Bridge. Before the Ha'penny Bridge was built there were seven ferries, operated by a William Walsh, across the Liffey.[1] The ferries were in a bad condition and Walsh was informed that he had to either fix them or build a bridge. Walsh chose the latter option and was granted the right to extract a ha'penny toll from anyone crossing it for 100 years.[citation needed] Initially the toll charge was based, not on the cost of construction, but to match the charges levied by the ferries it replaced.

Temple Bar in the day is relatively quieter than the night. Tourists wandered around taking photos, there is some street performer singing away in the alley, some sat at the café enjoying their breakfast. There are 3 markets going on today at Temple Bar area. The first is the book market (Saturday and Sunday) at the Temple Bar Square, which only has around 5 stores. Then I head to the food market (every Saturday) at the Meeting House Square which was not as big as I thought it would be. There were only around 20 odd stores selling various types of food i.e. cakes, muffins, breads, cheese, fruits and vegetables, olives, oysters etc. I bought a huge blueberry scone for €2. The National Photographic Archive is just next to the food market. There is an exhibition showing the works of D James Galbraith's Ireland 1970 - 1997, with quite a good photo collection showing the life in various Ireland towns between the years. After the viewing, I went to the fashion and design market at Cow's Lane (every Saturday). It is the largest designer market in Dublin offering handmade, one-off original designs. The market sells everything from silk custom made underwear to art prints to funky clothing.

Besides the markets, you can also find the Dublin Wall of Fame (Temple Lane South), a monumental tribute to some of Ireland's favorite musical heroes being acknowledged and celebrated in a permanent outdoor photographic exhibition.The artists featured on the Wall of Fame were judged by several criteria - not record sales alone, but also for their genuine pioneering work in contributing to modern popular music and for showcasing the quality and range of Irish musical talent on the World stage. It is by no means a definitive list of the Irish top 12, but each act has been highly influential in the Irish music scene past and present.

After that I visited the Chester Beatty Library, established in Dublin in 1950, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present library, on the grounds of Dublin Castle, opened on February 7, 2000, the 125th anniversary of Sir Alfred's birth and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002. The Library's collections are displayed in two collections: "Sacred Traditions" and "Artistic Traditions". Both displays exhibit sacred texts, manuscripts, miniature paintings and art on paper from the world's great oriental and western religions as well as secular items. It is such an impressive collection with lots of information and details. Outside the library, is a beautiful garden where I rest and ate my scone. There are also some cheery blossom trees around adding the beauty of the garden.

My last destination of the day is the Guinness Storehouse. It was quite a long walk there and I passed by the St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Augustus Church and also a street market just opposite of the St. Augustus church before finally arriving at the Guinness Storehouse. There was quite a queue inside but the Guinness TV advertisements on show were very entertaining. The admission fee is €15 which includes a pint of Guinness at the end of the tour. I was given a floor map as it is a self guided tour and off I went with the crowd entering the exhibition hall. The exhibition inside is very interesting and informative. Coincidentally, the year 2009 marks the 250 years anniversary for Guinness brewery. The first room I entered showed the 4 main ingredients used to make the Guinness; malt, barley, hops and water. There are malts and barley on display where you can touch and smell them. There are also short films explaining each process of brewing the stout. Some of the machines used were also shown. The air was filled with the sweet scent of malt, barley and hops. Suddenly the bell rang and apparently they are just preparing to launch the next half a million bottles of Guinness. A lucky visitor was chosen to push the button to start the launch. There are a total of 5 floors in the building where you can gain much insight into the whole brewing process, the machinery used, the process of producing the big wooden barrels to hold the stout, the history, the marketing strategy, the advertisements, the Guinness cartoons, etc. There is also a tasting lab where you get to taste the different types of stout produced. Here, I learned that Guinness Stout is first exported to Malaysia from Liverpool in the late 1880s.

Towards the end of my tour, I'm ready to redeem my pint of Guinness. There are several bars that you can go to; one of them allows you to pull your own pint into the glass. I originally intended to try that out but the queue was just too long hence I decided to just to get my pint elsewhere. I went up to the Gravity Bar which was a glass-paneled window bar providing a 360 degrees view of Dublin city. It was quite a clear weather day hence a good view round Dublin city. However the bar is so crowded that it is hard to find a spot to sit down. After enjoying the view, I went off to another bar, ordered my pint of Guinness and sat down to savor the fine brew. Slainte! (Cheers in Irish)

After my pint, I walked back to my hostel, down along the Liffey River again. I stopped at the souvenir store to get myself an embroidered Irish Badge. Tonight, I bought a sweet & sour chicken rice to go with my broccoli. Quite a tiring day with all the walking but a very eventful one.

Photos of Dublin, Ireland

20 March, 2009 (Fri) - Dublin, Ireland - Day 9

2009-07-21T16:45:00.011+08:00

Today, I will be joining a day tour to the Wicklow and Glendalough. I met the 2 SG girls at the breakfast hall where they were joined with 3 other guy friends also from SG and studying in Cambridge. A brief conversation, we discovered that we were both doing the same tour by the same tour operator. Well, let's see if we will be on the same bus. (again, remember in my dream I did the same tour with the girls?) End up we were on different mini buses (there were 2 mini buses by the same agent today). Our transport for the day is a 24-seater Mercedez Benz midi coach and it is fully-seated today. Martin is our driver cum tour guide for the day and he is a very informative and fun guy. The weather was brilliant today, blue skies and lovely sunshine.

We left the Dublin city, headed for the east coast, traveling along Dublin Bay to Dun Laoghaire, and passing through Dalkey, home to Bono, U2, Enya, Van Morrison, Dalkey is also a heritage town complete with its very own historical castles. We were given a 10mins photo break at the harbour. After that, we stop at the Avoca Handweavers, established since 1723 (Ireland's oldest) for morning coffee/craft shopping/toilet for another half an hour. I wasn't interested in the shopping / the coffee, so after using the bathroom and a quick round inside the shop, I went out to sit in the garden, enjoying the morning sun, waiting for the rest. After that break, we went inland, heading west to the wilds of Wicklow Mountains.

Wicklow Mountains National Park covers part of a mountain range that extends over most of County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. The upper slopes and rounded peaks are blanketed with heath and bog. The open vistas are interrupted only by forestry plantations and the winding mountain roads. Fast-flowing streams descend into the deep lakes of the wooded valleys and continue their course into the surrounding lowlands.

Our first photo stop is at Loch Tay, also known as the Guinness Lake. It is a small but scenic lake set in the Wicklow Mountains in County Wicklow. It lies between the mountains of Djouce and Luggala, and is best viewed from the above, which is what we did! We stopped at the roadside, looking down the steep valley onto the lake. It is simply amazing. The reason why some called it the Guinness Lake is due to the black lake water (viewed from above) edged with a beach of startlingly white sand, imported by the landowners. This combination definitely resembles a pint of the Guinness, hence the name. Quite a number of movies i.e. Braveheart, Excalibur, Michael Collins, Reign of fire, Ballykissangel, King Arthur (2003) and the most reason film, P.S. I Love You was filmed here in the Wicklow Mountains. We also made a photo stop at the bridge where Hillary Swank walked past while she's lost (P.S. I love you), which excites several girls on the bus upon learning this information.

We then passed by Sally Gap, which is 759m above sea level and on to the Military Road. The Military road is quite a narrow and winding road where it is impossible for normal large coaches to navigate through. The views along the tour so far were just simply breathtaking. There were quite a lot of sheep farms that we have passed through and according to Martin, there are 2.5million baby lambs due in the coming months. Already I could see some baby lambs on the farms which were extremely cute. Before breaking for lunch, we stop at a place (forgot the name) and had this amazing view. Looking down we see a stream flowing alongside the woods. Absolutely gorgeous. We then went for lunch at Laragh, meaning "Site (or ruins) of a Building", a small picturesque village in County Wicklow. There is a pub and 2 cafe here and I had a chicken sandwich (€3.40) at Anne's Coffee Shop. After the meal, I still have some time left before the gathering time, so I went walking around the area. I think this is quite a nice place to live in, very peaceful and quiet (except of course for the tour buses that comes in every day at noon).

After the lunch break, we drove another 5mins to arrive at Glendalough, (Irish: Gleann Dá Loch, meaning 'Glen of Two Lakes') is a glacial valley, renowned for its early medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and destroyed in 1398 by English troops. The two lakes, which gave the valley its name, came into existence thousands of years ago, after the Ice Age, when great deposits of earth and stone were strewn across the valley in the area where the Round Tower now exists. The mountain streams eventually formed a large lake. The Pollanass river spread alluvial deposits across the centre of the lake and created a divide to form the Upper and Lower Lakes. The Glenealo river flows in from the West into the Upper lake which is the larger and deepest of the two lakes.

We were set down at the lower valley and Martin came with us to brief us on some of the important monuments here before leaving us to go explore the area ourselves and then pick us up later at the upper valley carpark. The most famous of all the landmarks in Glendlough is the Round Tower which is built of mica-slate interspersed with granite stands 33 meters above the ground, with an entrance 3.5 meters from the base. It was built almost 1000 years ago by the monks of St. Kevin's monastery. The conical roof had to be replaced in 1876 when it was struck by lightning. The tower originally had six timber floors, connected by ladders. The four stories above entrance level are each lit by a small window; while the top storey has four windows facing the cardinal compass points. The Glendalough round tower was originally built as a bell tower but also served on occasion as store-houses and a place of refuge when the monastery was under attack.

There were several other monuments to see here besides the round tower i.e. the Gateway. The Gateway to the monastic city of Glendalough is one of the most important monuments, now totally unique in Ireland. It was originally two-storied with two fine, granite arches. The antae or projecting walls at each end suggest that it had a timber roof. Inside the gateway, in the west wall, is a cross-inscribed stone. This denoted the sanctuary, the boundary of the area of refuge. The paving of the causeway in the monastic city is still preserved in part but very little remains of the enclosure wall.

Following the path after the gateway, I came to The cathedral, the largest ruin at Glendalough. It is built of stone and is now missing much of the walls and all of the ceiling, but is still a fascinating structure. The nave and antae were built in the 10th century, and a chancel and sacristy were added on in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The chancel arch and east window were finely decorated through many of the stone are now missing. The north doorway to the nave also dates from this period. Under the southern window of the chancel is an aumbry or wall cupboard and a piscina, a basin used for washing the scared vessels.

Next is the Saint Kevin's Church / Kitchen. This stone-roofed building originally had a nave only, with entrance at the west end and a small round-headed window in the east gable. The upper part of the window can be seen above what became the chancel arch, when the chancel (now missing) and the sacristy were added later. The steep roof, formed of overlapping stones, is supported internally by a semi-circular vault. Access to the croft or roof chamber was through a rectangular opening towards the western end of the vault. The church also had a timber first floor. The belfry with its conical cap and four small windows rises from the west end of the stone roof in the form of a miniature round tower.

The monastery is also actually a cemetery and this cemetery only allows burial by relation. This means that you can only be buried here if your family is buried here. A research showed that there are only 7 valid burials left before the cemetery is closed. From the St. Kevin's church, there is a pathway through the woods towards the lower lake. This pathway also links to the upper lake. The view along the pathway is great and the weather today makes it a very nice stroll. As I didn't have much time left, I hurried over to the upper lakes, which has an even more amazing lake scenery. I wished I had more time to spend here at the lakes as it is so gorgeous. Unfortunately it is time to go back to Dublin. On the way back, I was thinking about my little Micra, who had accompanied me in my adventures in UK, giving me absolute freedom to spend as much or as little time at the places visited.

We arrived back in Dublin around 5pm. I went to the Temple Bar area, thinking of taking some night scenes of the famous Dublin bar area. Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. It is promoted as "Dublin's cultural quarter" and has a lively nightlife that is popular with tourists. However I think it'll still take quite some time until the sky turns dark and honestly I'm not 100% comfortable loitering at this bar area after dark. So I dropped the idea and head back to hostel. While resting in the room after dinner and shower, the 2 SG girls came back. So I chatted with them for a while about their life in Cambridge, where I've been to and where I'm going next. It seems that life in Cambridge is pretty tough (at least for their course, in Natural Science). They had lessons and tutorials Mon-Sat and only have Sun left for some relaxation. Wow, can't imagine going through that kind of life again. One of them is on MOE scholarship so she'll become a teacher after she graduated. It's quite nice to have someone to talk to after a while especially when you have something in common.

19 March, 2009 (Thu) - Dublin, Ireland - Day 8

2009-07-21T15:37:00.008+08:00

I had 2 interesting dreams last night, the first relating to my job; while the second dream was about meeting 3 girls from Singapore and we sort of end up doing some traveling together. I slept a little longer today since my main itinerary today is to join the free Dublin walking tour, at 10.20am. The hostel breakfast is rather simple; toast, butter and jam spread, coffee / tea / hot chocolate and some kind of cake. After that, I went out for a quick walkabout before the tour begins. It is really misty and cold today with very poor visibility. I walked towards the river where there were some sculptures of some Irish families with very rugged clothing with sad faces. I do not really understand what the sculptures are about as the plates on the ground beside the sculptures just list the family names etc. As I was walking along the O' Connell's street, I looked up and found the tip of the spire disappearing into the mist. As the time nears, I went back to the hostel to meet the pick up guide. There were 6 of us from the hostel and we picked up another 6 from the nearby Isaac's hostel before moving on to the main meeting point at City Hall. We were separated into English and Spanish group, the English group has around 30 odd people. The area was quite noisy with passing vehicles and since I was standing at the back row, I couldn't hear clearly when the guide gave us introduction and some brief history about Ireland. Luckily things got better as we moved to other places and I try to stand closer to the guide.

During the 3 hours tour, we were brought to a number of places around Dublin, many of which I've been to on my little exploration yesterday. However, having a guide explaining about the backgrounds definitely adds more color to the place. Our tour guide, Connor, was pretty funny and lively as he told us story after story of the Dublin's past. It was extremely cold today, 6 deg C. I had my hood up and I thought I looked absolutely funny compared to the rest on the tour because I looked as if I'm all geared up for winter sports :p But I don't care as long as I am getting myself warm (although I still felt a little cold under 2-layer my jacket). We break for a quick snack at 12.30pm at the Temple Bar area. Normally on these kind of tour, the guide will bring us to some specific cafe for lunch cum toilet break, and in exchange the guides get to eat free. I've packed 2 bananas and a pack of crisps as lunch today. After the break, we continued on our tour for slightly an hour more before finally ending it at St Stephens Green park. These free walking tour guides survived solely on tip basis. I gave the guide €2 as tip and went into the park. I sat on a bench to rest my feet and had a bar of Snickers. The sun has finally shown his face for the day and the temperature warms up a little. After the break, I had a nice little stroll in the beautiful park, with river, stone bridge, gazebos, and the colors of the trees and flowers, all these creates a surreal scene as if a scene in a fairy tale story. I then visited Grafton street, a busy shopping street in Dublin.

After that, I went in to the National Gallery of Ireland, which houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. Entrance is free but you need to deposit your bags at the cloakroom (free). There were lots of portraits and art pieces on exhibit inside. I wasn't that interested in these art works, so I left after a quick tour of 15mins. When I went to retrieve my backpack from the cloakroom, the elderly man at the counter told me that I couldn't get my backpack until half an hour later. That answer really caught me off-guard so I showed a blank face and blurted 'huh'? Then as his serious face turned into a big smiley face, I realized that he was just joking with me. This became like an ice-breaker between us and we chatted a little he asked me where I was from and how I liked Dublin. I then asked him if the National Museum nearby is open. He says 'Well, yes! Today the National Museum is especially opened for people from Malaysia'. We both burst into laughter. What a funny guy. He then told me the direction to get there. I thanked him and wanted to walked out the door I came in from earlier and he called out to me, 'No, no, no... not that way, sigh do I have to do everything?' He then came out from the cloakroom and escorted me out to the correct exit and again told me the direction. :p However, I did not go directly to the National Museum as I had to hurry to the tourist information center before they close to book for my day tour tomorrow. I signed up for the Wicklow and Glendalough tour from 'Day Tour's Unplugged'. The tour costs €25 and will start at 9am tomorrow morning.

After that, seeing it is near to the museum's closing time, I decided not to go back to the museum. Instead, I went to the nearby post office to mail my postcards back home. The postage here is a little more expansive compared to posting in UK. Then, I decided to call it a day and walked back to my hostel. Tonight, there were 2 young ladies in my room who were from Singapore and they are currently studying in Cambridge University. If you could remember earlier in the post about my dream? What a coincidence (although in my dream there were 3 girls)! Also, there were some incidents in the hostel where there were some girls being kicked out from the hostel because she hasn't paid her dorm money and also she was involved with the loud party the other night. One of my dorm mate was a friend to one of the girls so she let her come in to our room while she try to call some other friends asking if she could crash at their place for the night. Well, all sorts of things and people you see in hostels ;)

18 March, 2009 (Wed) - Dublin, Ireland - Day 7

2009-07-16T14:52:00.006+08:00

Woke up to a misty view outside the window and I told myself, geez it's gonna be cold. After freshen up, I sneaked out from the room and went down to the dining hall. The hall is empty and the Causeway Café is just getting ready to open up for business. I made myself a mug of tea and had 2 chocolate muffins. Then, I checked out from the hostel and walked to the Europa Bus Station. The street is very busy with cars, buses, and pedestrians all rushing to work or school after last night's big celebration. It is still very misty but behind all the mist, I could just see a tint of blue sky. I bought the Goldline Enterprise Bus ticket, route 200 to Dublin city centre, departing at 9am for €11.55. The whole journey takes about 2hrs and 40mins. There weren't many passengers today on the bus. It was only about 7 deg C when I board the bus and the temperature maintained at about 11 deg throughout the whole journey. After we have pulled out of Belfast city onto the motorway, the sun started to shine and the clear blue sky comes into view.

I kept myself busy reading up my guidebook on the destinations ahead, trying to justify where to go and how many days to be spent at each location. From time to time, I would look out the window, especially when we pass by some lovely farmlands and also some gorgeous little towns. An hour into the journey, the bus pulled into a bus station. I was wondering if this could be the Dublin Busaras? But it couldn't be as it is far too soon to be arriving in Dublin. So I waited. Most of the passengers on board remained seated, a few passengers boarded the bus, while only one guy alighted. After that the bus continued on the journey. I guess this is definitely not Dublin, although it seems to be quite a nice town. The bus went back onto the motorway and I went back to my reading. Later, the bus pulled over to the side of the motorway and a guy came up the bus. He is actually the immigration officer for Ireland checking passengers' ID, so I showed him my passport. After all are cleared, we continued on the journey until we arrived at a toll station. This is the first time I've seen a toll station in Europe as there weren't any in UK. After the toll, we first arrived at the Dublin City Airport. Half of the passengers alighted here while the remaining continued on until Dublin Busaras, arriving there around 11.40am.

I had some tough luck looking for my hostel although from the hostel description, it is located just across the Busaras. I've walked round and round and asked 4 times before finally locating my hostel, the Jacob's Inn, just in time before my shoulder gave in on the weight. I checked into a 10 bed female dorm, en suite. The room is quite spacious and clean. After settling my stuff, I went out to look for food and also to get some info from the tourist info centre. The sun is shining brilliantly as I come out of the hostel. I ended up having a double cheeseburger from McD, just across the giant spires. The Spire of Dublin, officially titled 'the Monument of Light' is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument 120 metres (390 ft) in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street. Then, I went into the tourist info centre to get some Dublin day tour brochures. The lady at the counter suggested the Wicklow & Glendalough as it would be more of scenic tour. I think I'll definitely do the tour but the problem is which tour operator should I take up? There are a handful of them and all boosting they were the best. Never mind, I'll decide later on.

After that, I crossed the river towards the Trinity College. The main attraction here is the 'Book of Kells' (€9 for the entrance fee), an illuminated manuscript in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was transcribed by Celtic monks ca. 800. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination and is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure. I decided not to do it now but just stroll along the university compound as it would be a total waste to be indoors on such lovely day. Everybody is out to enjoy the sun. Many university students as well as tourists just sat on the benches and the grass, chatting among them or just purely soaking in the precious Vitamin D & K. Coming out of the college, I walked towards this cathedral-looking building down the Suffolk street. Turns out this 'cathedral' has now been transformed into a tourist information centre. I went in for a quick round before walking towards the Dublin Castle. This castle was the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland until 1922, and is now a major Irish government complex. Next to the castle, is the Dublin City Hall where you can enter only by guided tour. The Christ Church Cathedral is just nearby. It is the elder of the city's two medieval cathedrals, the other being St. Patrick's Cathedral. I only stood by the door and had a quick peek into the church and left as I am unwilling to part with €6 for the entrance fee. The cathedral is linked to the Dublina & the Viking World Museum by a stone bridge.

After all these 'viewing' I walked along the Liffey River down the Merchant Quay. I don't actually have any idea where I was and where I am going and was just too lazy to pull out my map to find my orientation. Crossing the bridge to the other side, I let myself get lost amongst the streets and alleyway before reaching this big cobblestone courtyard. There stood a tall chimney with round glass platform at the top; I'm guessing it is the Smithfield Chimney Viewing Tower. Looking upwards, I didn't see anybody at the viewing tower and the chimney's lift looks a little run-down. A google on the internet later at night confirmed my suspicion that the chimney is currently closed undergoing renovation works. Otherwise, it provides a 360 degrees view of Dublin city. Behind the chimney viewing tower is the Old Jameson Distillery, one of the largest and finest Distilleries in the world once upon a time, originally built in 1780. A guided tour is available for €12.50. The Smithfield Chimney viewing tower was originally used to distill Ireland's famous Jameson Whiskey. Built back in 1895 it's used today as an observation tower and it's one of Dublin's tallest landmarks reaching a height of 60 meters. The viewing tower consists of a two-tier glass enclosed observation platform located at the very top of The Chimney of The Old Jameson Distillery with a glass elevator that will take you to the platform.

Feeling a little tired, I decided to head back to the hostel. I followed the tram line route until I reach the Spires. I chance upon a fresh food market on the way back and bought 5 bananas for €1. I stopped at Tesco to get some broccolis, noodles, chicken cajuns, crisps and water. Here you actually need to pay €0.22 to get a plastic bag from the cashier. Luckily on my way out, I checked my receipt and found the cashier has over-charged me on the chicken caujuns, which was on a special sale. So I went back in and got my overcharged €1.39 back. I know it's not a lot but then again, when you are budget backpacking, every single cent counts. Arriving back to the hostel, I went to the kitchen to cook myself a hot meal. The kitchen is kind of in a mess. The basins were filled with dirty dishes and it took me a while to find the utensils I needed. After my meal, I went back into my dorm to shower and surfed on the internet. I downloaded a couple of songs to keep myself entertained while surfing. The self-catering kitchen just opposite of my dorm room is very noisy tonight. It sounded like there were a bunch of people singing and yelling and having a party in there. It kept going for hours before they finally quieting down at around 11.30pm.

17 March, 2009 (Tue) - Belfast, Northern Ireland - Day 6

2009-07-15T10:47:00.008+08:00

It's St. Patrick's Day today but instead of watching the parade, I'll be going on a day tour to the Giant's Causeway. The dining hall downstairs was quiet crowded with people when I walked in. The Causeway cafeteria is open for business. I went into the self-catering kitchen to grab my muffin, an apple and some hot water for breakfast. Since there are no lockers available in my room, I pass my laptop to the hostel reception for safe keeping. After checking in at the Mini-Couch Tour office, I proceed to board the tour bus. The bus departed around 9.45am, went to the Belfast city centre to pick up some other tourists. Our driver cum tour guide for the day is Alan. Luckily his Irish accent wasn't too strong so I could understand his explanations well. There were about close to 30 of us joining the tour today, mostly with friends or family except me and another guy who are independent travelers. The weather this morning is rather cloudy, misty and cold. Forecast said there might be some light showers later on but hopefully it won't affect our journey.

As we went through the Belfast city, Alan pointed out some buildings and features famous in Belfast. On the bus, I manage to see the other side of the city which I didn’t cover yesterday. Then we finally set out to the North Antrim Coast Road with the sea to my right. After around 15mins out of town, we arrived at our first stop, the Carrickfergus Castle, a castle with Norman architecture. Besieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best preserved medieval structures in the whole of Ireland. This is just a 10mins stop for some photo shots and also the restroom. Continuing on our journey, we are now fully on the countryside with farms, the rolling hills, shorelines and all the wonderful nature sceneries. We then passed by Larne, where you can take a ferry to Scotland. Before arriving at our first main stop of the day, we passes by some lovely little town. According to Alan, if you get lost in these places and asked for directions, the locals will most likely take you to your destination, invite you back to their home where their old granny will stuff you up with so much Irish food, you will leave 3 stones heavier.

Our first main stop is the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, a rope suspension bridge near, Ballintoy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The bridge links the mainland to the tiny Carrick Island, spanning twenty meters and is thirty meters above the rocks below. We need to pay an entrance fee for this, ￡4 (with gift aid) or ￡3.63 (standard ticket). After the ticket booth, I then have to walk about 1 mile before reaching the rope bridge. Only 8 person max can be on the bridge at one time. There is an officer at the bridge controlling the passing traffic and also checks your ticket. First, I descend a steep fleet of staircases to reach the bridge. There is a plank of wood tied onto the rope bridge for easier bridge crossing. It is very windy down at the bridge since its between 2 big rocks but I managed to walked through without holding onto the rope bridge as a challenge ;) It's actually not difficult and not very shaky if you are ok with heights. Over onto the Carrick Island, I just walked around for a bit before returning to the bridge again. This time, I had to wait a little while for the oncoming tourist traffic before I was allowed to cross back to the main island and walked back to the bus. As we pulled out from the car park, we saw a funeral proceeding. In Ireland, men in the villages will walk behind the undertaker's car, forming quite a long line, to the church. This would definitely cause a jam if you were caught behind the line since the road here are normally very narrow. However, we were quite lucky as we just managed to go off before they arrives.

Next up, we arrived at the Old Bushmills Distillery at Bushmills. We have half an hour here so we can go whiskey / souvenir shopping and also maybe have some whiskey tasting at its kitchen. There is a distillery tour (￡6) here if you have the time. The Old Bushimills Distillery is celebrating its 400 years anniversary this year and their 400 years old whiskey can be bought as cheap as ￡14.50 only. Of course there are some higher class range whiskey which costs a lot more. Next to the shop is the Old Bushmills Distillery Kitchen. There is a bar where you can have a whiskey tasting for just ￡2. I didn't go for the tasting since I'm on empty stomach. When I went back to the carpark, our tour bus is no where in sight. So the few of us who came out earlier had to wait in the cold wind for almost 10mins before the bus came back to pick us up.

Finally at around 3pm, we arrived at the Causeway Hotel next to the Giant's Causeway for lunch (self-paid) before walking to see the Giants Causeway. We will be here for 2 hours. Prior to our arrival, Alan has passed round a menu card so we could pre-order our lunch at the hotel and I ordered a traditional Irish stew for ￡6.95. We were led into a room and to my slight disappointment, the food weren't served until about 15mins later. I thought the whole idea of pre-booking the lunch is so that we could immediately dig in when we arrived and hence have more time at the Giant's Causeway. Aside from the time wasted waiting, my Irish stew was just what I needed; something hot to warm me up before I brave the cold wind again at the Causeway. The beef are very tender in a bowl of broth of potatoes and carrot. With no time to loose, I quickly had my lunch and went off to see the Giants Causeway.

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located on the northeast coast of Ireland, about two miles (3 km) north of the town of Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giant's Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the UK. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (36 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places.

In order to reach the rocks, you could either walk down the hill's pathway (10-15mins walk) or you could also pay ￡1 and hop on the causeway coastal bus taking you directly to the rocks. I, of course opted to walk down. The view here is absolutely stunning. Strong currents hitting on the rocks near the shores, the sea water was so clear, its turquoise blue. The rocks have various different colors; some are black, some off-white, some are brown and some red in color. It is quite amazing to see how the rocks stacked against each other so nice and neat, its hard to believe they are all works of the mother nature. You have to be careful though as some of the rocks might be slippery and also you are advised not to go too near to the sea in case you got washed away by the strong currents. Some of the basalt rocks were very tall hence forming higher ground, much like a small hill. Sitting on the rocks, listening to the waves, breathing in the cool fresh air, ahhh... I'm loving every single moment of it.

As the time approaches, I hiked back up the hill toward the hotel's carpark to board the bus. Everybody is back to the bus at the arranged time except a young couple who came back 15mins late and they don't seem to be apologetic at all for their lateness. We then eembarked on an hour and 15mins journey back to Belfast on the motorway, arriving back at the hostel at approx. 6.45pm. Dinner tonight for me is the half pot of yogurt left since I had a very late lunch. Then I went back to my room to pack up, ready to move to Dublin tomorrow.

Photos of Belfast

16 March, 2009 (Mon) - Belfast, Northern Ireland - Day 5

2009-07-15T10:06:00.005+08:00

Woke up to a drizzling Monday morning, today I will be going to Belfast. I had my breakfast at the common lounge room today. I had never really come into this room since I checked in 2 days ago. The room's decor are pretty warm and nice. In the drizzling rain, I walked to the bus station. Since today is a working / school day, the town is quite crowded with people. I came out from the ticket counter, just in time to see my bus pulling out of the platform. Two elderly ladies sited at the bench told me to make a run for the bus as the bus will stop to let me get in. So I heeded their advice and ran up. The bus stopped, but the traffic control officer (the man responsible to help signal the bus to pull out from the platforms) wouldn't let me on. He asked me to wait for the next bus in 30mins. Well, no hurry. The ladies were a little surprised that I wasn't allowed to get on the bus. But my guess is that its probably due to my big backpack, which is needed to be stored at the luggage compartment hence I wasn't allowed to board the bus.

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.

15 March, 2009 (Sun) - Derry, Northern Ireland - Day 4

2009-07-11T00:58:00.001+08:00

Ahh... finally I had the best sleep ever since the start of my journey. Refreshed, I went down to get some breakfast provided by the hostel. It's just something simple i.e. cereals, bread, butter / fruit jam and coffee. After having a quick meal, I ventured out to the city. It's already about 8.30am but the city was still very empty with only a few cars occasionally speeding past, and there are almost no pedestrians in the town. It almost felt like having the town to all to myself. I walked towards the heart of the town, where 'The Diamond War Memorial' stood. The Diamond War Memorial was commissioned on Friday 7th February 1919 and paid for by public subscriptions. It was designed and built by the renowned architect and sculptor, Vernon March and was unveiled on 23rd June 1927 when ownership was handed over to the Londonderry Corporation. The purpose of the erection of the Memorial was to honour those who died as a result of The Great War (1914-1918).

I then make my way to the Museum of Free Derry to join the 'Free Derry Walking Tour' at 10am. I just made it on time to the museum but there wasn't anybody around. The museum is closed on weekends during the winter months so I wasn't sure if there is a tour on Sunday. After waiting for 5mins, I decided to go off on my own, to check out the murals nearby and also the Bloody Sunday Memorial. There were a total of 12 murals, called the People's Gallery, painted by the Bogside Artists (Tom Kelly, Kevin Hasson and Tom's brother William Kelly) representing the Bogside and its people's troubled history. The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry. The area has been a focus point for many of the events of the Troubles, from the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s. The large gable-wall murals by The Bogside Artists and the Free Derry Corner have now become popular tourist attractions. On Sunday January 30, 1972, 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights march in the Bogside area. Another 13 were wounded and one further man later died of his wounds. This event came to be known as Bloody Sunday. Free Derry was a self-declared autonomous nationalist area of Derry, between 1969 and 1972. Its name was taken from a sign painted on a gable wall in the Bogside in January 1969 which read, “You are now entering Free Derry". Although the building is now torn down, the wall still remains standing.

Afterward, I went back up to the walls for another quick round around the walls before deciding to return to my hostel since there isn't anything going on. Back to the comfort of my hostel bed, I started planning for my entire Europe tour. So far I've only planned until early April to Brugge, Belgium. Now that I have bought my flight ticket to return from Istanbul on the 10th June and then going back to Malaysia on the 13th June, I need to work out the whole itinerary. I ended up spending the whole afternoon and night doing it. It wasn't easy as I haven't done much research on all the places. I just have a rough idea of the places I wanted to go and trying to squeeze in as many places possible, but at the same time not to wear myself out by keep changing places every other night. Initially I thought of visiting the lavender fields in Provence France, but after some research, I realized that the lavenders are best viewed in July. Well, that gives me a good reason to come back next time ;p

Around 5+pm, I went out for dinner. Since I haven't spent a single cent today, I decided to eat at the Ice wharf (equivalent to the JD Weatherspoon in UK), a pub cum restaurant. They are having Sunday Roast today, so for ￡5.59, I get roast beef, mashed potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, 2 sage & onion balls, vegetables and a pint of beer. That's a pretty good deal I think. I waited for about 15mins before my food was served and it tasted pretty good. The whole pint of beer was making me just a little tipsy but nice and relaxed. With a full stomach, I went back to the hostel, pack up my luggage and continued on my research.

Photos of Derry

14 March, 2009 (Sat) - Derry, Northern Ireland - Day 3

2009-07-10T16:14:00.003+08:00

Again, I didn't have a good sleep last night due to several reasons. My dorm mates came in one after another, one arriving pretty late at night while the other lady was snoring so loudly and it's a little hot in the room with the windows shut. I finally gave up at 1.40am and climbed out of my bed to get my mp3 player. With the help of the earphone and music masking the loud snores, I managed to sleep for 3 hours before waking up at 4.45am as I needed to catch the 5.55am bus to London. (You can actually get a direct bus from Cambridge to the airport, but I only found out about this after I had purchased my ticket) I gathered my stuff and sneaked out of the room as quietly possible. Walking towards the bus stop, the streets were quite empty with only occasional car passing by. I reached the bus stop at 5.34am with one other guy who had just arrived seconds before me. Very soon, we were joined by a few more passengers. The bus was quite on-time and we reached London Victoria Coach Station at 7.50am and I proceed on to the Victoria BHP Rd stop 6 to board the bus to Luton airport.

I arrived at the Luton airport about 9.40am. My Ryanair check-in counter was empty so I gladly off-loaded my backpack and went to search for my brunch. I bought the meal deal from Marks & Spencer, where you get a sandwich, a pack of crisps and a bottle of water for just ￡2. Pretty good deal. After my meal, I went to the departure gate, went through the security checks and proceed to the boarding gate. I thought there won't be many people on this flight but I was wrong. The queue waiting to board the flight was actually pretty long.On board the aircraft, the family sited next to me, a father and son, provided me some 'entertainment' before we took off. The son is around 2yrs old and was a little cranky, so the father had to try ways and means to keep humoring him. Just as we are finally ready to take off, the dad told the son, 'come on son, tell the driver to hurry up'. The kid follow suit and said in his cute little voice, 'come on driver, hurry up'. He is just so cute.

After an hour and ten minutes, we arrived at Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland around 1+pm. At the airport information counter, I found out that there is no public bus going into the city until 5pm. Hence my best bet is to take a taxi to my hostel to avoid the long wait. The taxi fare is standard flat fee of ￡14 and my taxi driver is a nice Irishman and we had a little chat about Derry along the way. It is a little difficult to understand everything he said as he has quite a strong accent. Since it's my first visit to Derry, instead of sending me straight to my hostel, he showed me some o the popular sights around town. He also introduced me to an authentic Irish pub in town, although I don't think I'll do it tonight. I checked-in to the Paddy's Palace Derry hostel for 2 nights stay in a 4 bed mixed dorm. I was the first to arrive again, so I picked the bed next to the window. There are 2 double-deck beds in the room with a bathroom attached. However, there is no way to secure the bathroom door. Guess I won't be using this bathroom for shower ;p I sorted out my stuff and surfed on the net for a while. I managed to have a brief chat with my sis over MSN before I venture out to the town centre. First, I went to the bus station to find out how to get to Belfast from here. Apparently there's a bus every half an hour, the whole journey takes an hour and 40 mins and costs ￡10.

Derry / Londonderry, the Walled City. The city is the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland and is one of the finest examples in the Europe of Walled cities. These famous walls which dated back to the early part of the 17th century have withstood several sieges, the most celebrated lasting 105 days. The walls encircles the old city, a circuit of one mile. The wall has several gates (7 in total) around allowing the outer world to enter the old city. Each gate has a specific name and each has their own little story illustrated on board. There are fine views from the top of the walls, you could see the city beneath the walls and also residential faraway. You can also see the Bogside area and its defiant murals. It was really windy and cold standing on top of the walls, I could feel my fingers and face freezing. There are still a number of canons exhibited on the walls. On the walls, there are black iron-grill gates after a certain distances; I think these gates will be locked at night.

After a circle around the walls, I went back down to the streets and walked alongside the River Foyle. Then I popped into Tesco to buy dinner (Chicken Tikki Masala rice), some apples, snicker bars and water before heading back to the hostel. After meal, I did some reading up and planning on my Europe trip. Shortly after, I was feeling sleepy due to the lack of sleep for the past 2 nights. I think I'll turn in early tonight and hopefully I can gain a good night's rest on this firm mattress here.

13 March, 2009 (Fri) – Cambridge, UK - Day 2

2009-07-07T16:22:00.019+08:00

First night on my trip and I didn't slept well and woke up at 4.30am in the middle of the night. I managed to go back to sleep and woke up at 7.09am. After freshening up, I stored my laptop and some valuables at the locker downstairs (cost me ￡1) before going to the restaurant for breakfast which was really great. There are cereals, fruits, yogurts, juices, toast, croissants, fried egg, bacon, baked beans, potatoes, coffee, tea and hot chocolate. This is by far the best breakfast spread from the hostels I had stayed before. I sat down and had a really big breakfast so I could skip lunch later on (another tip to save money) ;p

Full and energized, I ventured out in the cold. Lots of people are either rushing to work or to classes. From what I understand, today is the last day of term for the University students. It took me about 10-15mins to walk to the town centre but half way through I had to stop to put on my knee guard as my knee is starting to hurt. Gosh, I wonder how I am going to survive my 3 months traveling if this knee pain doesn't go away. I stopped at the post office to mail my postcards before I heading to the market square behind the Guildhall. All the stall owners are putting up their produce and stocks ready for the day's sale. I was taking the photos of the market with the St. Mary's Church as my background when a few kids saw me and voluntarily posed for my photo. Seeing the sky is not as cloudy this morning, I thought of going to the King's College again to shoot some photos but unfortunately the college is closed to public today. Phew, lucky that I've already visited the college yesterday.

Walking down the King's Parade, I first arrived at the Gonville & Caius College and wandered into the college courtyard. This is the fourth-oldest college at the University of Cambridge and the third-wealthiest. The College has been attended by many students who have gone on to significant accomplishment, including twelve Nobel Prize winners. It is also one of the most traditional colleges of Cambridge and one of the few remaining colleges which enforces attendance of its students at communal dinners, known as 'Hall'. I was very attracted to the architectural and landscape layout of the college, a sense of sophistication, old yet elegant, with rows of trees at the middle passageway. I could almost imagine myself walking around the college in the college gowns with stacks of books in the hand discussing and debating with my fellow classmates. The back courtyard are where the professors' room are located. Each doors was labeled with alphabets and below it is a plate with several professor's name. Hence I think the few doors we see from the outside are just the communal entrances to the separate professors' room inside.

Next down the road is Trinity College. To enter, you need to pay an entrance fee of ￡3. Since the Wren library, the chapel and the Halls are not open until noon, I decided to come back later. Right next to the Trinity College is the St John's College where again you need to pay ￡3 to enter. I saw the Round Church right at the end of the road hence I decided to go over to take some photos. The Round Church / the Holy Sepulchre, is a beautiful Norman architecture and the second oldest building in Cambridge. It was built around 1130, inspired by the original church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. There are only 3 other round churches in the UK. I didn't enter the church but just admire it from the garden bench outside.

After a short rest, I went back to the St John's College. The ticket booth at the main entrance is manned by an elderly guy. I stood in front of the booth ready with money in my hand to pay the admission fee. However he was so focused in his newspaper reading that he didn't noticed me standing in front of him, until I decided to greet him. He was a little startled with my presence and jumps right up on to his feet. I almost felt guilty to have 'scared' him that way although I was very sure that I greeted him with a very gentle and soft voice. He handed me a brochure introducing the college and also the proposed college's walking map after I paid the money. From the map, it is obvious that the whole college area is very huge. Unfortunately visitors are only allowed to a small portion of the college and there are route signs marking the trail. In the brochure, detail information regarding each section of the college marked in the visitor's route is given, highlighting the important features and also some background stories. Following the trail, I am supposed to enter the college chapel via a closed big wooden door. I pushed but the door didn't budge a tiny bit. I tried a second time, no movement. I stood there and studied the door's mechanism and was very sure that it opens pushing in. Then I saw the ring knob on the door, I lifted it up, gave it a turn, and with a slight push forward, the door opens. Laughing at my own stupidity of complicating simple things, I entered the chapel which was constructed between 1866-9 in order to replace the smaller, medieval chapel which dated back to the 13th-century.

After the chapel, I wandered through another few courtyards before finally coming out to the River Cam. From here there is a very good view of the Bridge of Sighs to the north. To the west and south, is the New Court and the St. John's and Trinity College's 'Backs', the name traditionally given to the lawns and gardens of the Colleges to the west of the river. It is really a beautiful place, green fields with a sand trail alongside the river. Slowly strolling along the trail, bit by bit, I fell in love with this place. I ventured to the backs of Trinity College and had a little rest while looking on to the punters along River Cam. From there I made my way out to the city centre again, and visited some artsy independent stores along Green lane and Cresent lane.

The Trinity College was founded by King Henry VIII in 1546, out of 2 earlier colleges (the King’s Hall and Michaelhouse) and some smaller hostels. I entered Trinity College around 1.45pm, the elderly guy at the ticket booth told me to go to the Wren library first before it is closed at 2pm. Taking his advice, I hurried over the huge courtyard to the back where the library is situated with only 10mins to spare. I went into the library and the elderly lady in charge told me to switch off my handphone and hurry up as I do not have much time left. The library is located on the first floor instead of the ground floor as a precaution method. Should there be flood, then those valuable books will not be damaged. Upon entering the library, I immediately understood why this is necessary. Manuscripts and early printed books are kept here in the Wren library. All these ancient books are too valuable and needed the extra care. Sir Isaac Newton’s manuscripts are kept here too. The library is lavishly decorated by limewood carving by Grinling Gibbons and furnished with a notble series of marble busts by Roubiliac of members of the college. The library is not very big but there is separated into several smaller compartments. Each section has a table at the centre so the scholars can do their researches there, so basically it is like a small office.

After the library, I traced back my footsteps to the Great Court of Trinity College. Among the former occupants of the Great Court is Sir Isaac Newton (1643 – 1727), who lived in rooms in the first floor between the Great Gate and the Chapel. In what was once his garden, between the cobbles and the Chapel, is an apple tree descended from one at his home at Woolsthorpe in Linconshire, and planted in 1954. Next to the chapel is the King Edward’s Tower (a clock tower). The clock on the tower chimes the hours twice over. Entering the chapel, I noticed there is an orchestra band in practice. Hence I only took a quick peek inside and left although I must say the music played by the band and the sound effect coming out from the chapel is superb. Near the centre of the Great Court is the fountain. Until recently, its water is supplied by a spring a mile and a half to the west of the College. Taking the stones steps up to the Screens, I came upon the kitchen at the left and also the Hall to the right. The Halls is used daily for meals and also contains the portraits of several notable members of the college. Inside the Halls are 3 very long tables and the students sits side by side to have their meals. It is very much like what we’ve seen the dining experience in the Harry Potter movie. The tour again only showed a small portion of the college to the tourist.

I left the College and walked along the 'Backs' again until I reached the Silver Street, the starting and ending point of the Scudomore's punt tours. There are quite a lot of tourists waiting in line to hire the punts. Some opted to try punting themselves while others opted for the easier way to have a leisure boat tour down River Cam and hire someone else to do it. There are quite many tourists opting to try their own hands on punting hence creating a mess with the traffic. The punts collided with each other and were stuck for a while before they struggled and freed their punts. No doubt it is quite a hard work but I guess its all part of the fun.

Walking towards town, I passed by the Queens College but unfortunately it is closed to visitor. At the other back alley, I saw the bicycle shop where you can have the huge rattan basket attached to your bicycle. Further down is the Pembroke College which is open for visitor. I went in for a look to find what I believed is the student hostels at the back court. After that I went to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum where lots of art collections from around the world are exhibited. Then I walked backed to my hostel and heated up my ready meal I bought from the Co-op store. Back in the room, I packed up my stuff ready for early travel tomorrow morning.

Here are the photos for Cambridge

12 March, 2009 (Thu) – Cambridge, UK - Day 1

2009-07-06T10:31:00.009+08:00

Today marks the start of my 3 months-long tour around Europe. My first stop is Cambridge, the famous university town in England beside Oxford. In the morning, I followed Mike, my cousin-brother-in-law, to Farnborough (Main) train station to catch a train to London Waterloo station. Unfortunately, the train was delayed by 14 mins, this delay doesn't affect me but it affects Mike as he would be unable to catch his connecting train later on. We parted at Woking train station and I continued on my journey to London Waterloo. From there, I took the tube to Victoria train station and walked to the Victoria Coach station to board the National Express bus to Cambridge. As I was 40mins early, I sat down and read my Lonely Planet guidebook. The bus departed at 10.30am and there are only around 10 passengers on it. On the way, I can't help but think how I'd wish I had a travel companion (my sis or my buddies) beside me. It's rather unusual, as I was always OK to solo traveling. I concluded later that maybe it's because I've been with family and friends for the past 4 months hence this feeling of loneliness. Around 12.40pm, we arrived at Cambridge Park Side bus stop. Coming off the bus, I see a huge open field, the Parkers Piece Recreation Ground, where teenagers kicking football at one corner, while some others just sat at the benches / grass to chit-chat.

It's spring time, yet it was still quite cloudy and cold. With my heavy backpacks on my shoulders, I make my way to the Cambridge YHA hostel. After making some wrong minor detours, I finally arrived at the hostel. While checking in, the friendly reception told me that I could either join the YHA membership for ￡10 or pay an extra ￡3 per night (for non-member). Since I'll be staying here for 2 nights and later on staying at Belfast's International Youth Hostel for another 2 nights, hence it make more sense to just sign up for the membership. I was assigned to Room 2, bed 8, a 4 bed female dorm. There are 2 double-deck beds, a chair and a wash basin in the room. Toilets and shower rooms are outside in the hallway. A set of fresh sheets, pillow cases and duvet cover was given so I can make my own bed. There wasn't anyone in the room yet. After sorting out my stuff, I went out to explore the town. Based on the simple map given by the hostel, I tried out another route to go to the bus stop (as I'll be leaving very early Saturday morning). I stopped at Subway to get an Italian B.M.T as my lunch. Yes, I think this is a slightly shorter route than the one I took this morning. With this mission done, I make my way to the tourist information centre where I picked up some main attraction brochures and also 2 postcards.

Cambridge city, is where the world famous university is located. It is built out of the various colleges in town and is filled with undergrads and scholars from all over the world. Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles... everywhere you go, you'll see people on their bicycles whizzing past you, you see bicycles being chained at the side walks / railings. I guess this is one unique feature in a university town, in any university town. Many of the bicycles here have a huge rattan basket tied in front of their bike to store their bags or stuff. Hmmm, makes me yearn studying here and cycle around town on that bicycle too. Crazy huh, my motivation to study is due to the love for the rattan basket on the bike. Hahaha...

I came across the St. Botolph's church, a small but very old church, dating way back to the 14th century. Next to the church is the Corpus Christi College. From the outside, you can only see high walls with an arch door at the middle and a short dark passageway. However, upon entering, it suddenly opens up to a bright big square, surrounded by the buildings at the four sides, and in the middle, there's nothing but a lush green grass field. At each corner of the field, there were signs asking tourists not to step on grass. The right hand side building was marked as 'Private' hence not permitted to visit. I followed the left hand side lane towards the end where there is a beautiful passageway leading to the nice little courtyard at the back. The chapel was closed for the day so I only managed to peek through the glass doors.

Next is the famous King's College housing one of the most impressive buildings in Cambridge, the King's College Chapel. Again, the landscape is similar with buildings at the four sides and grass field in the center. (I wonder if it's the same in all the colleges here?) Since King's College is a working college, hence only the chapel is open to the public. However, the chapel was undergoing some renovation work so part of the building was covered under the scaffolding. The chapel was closed when I got there in preparation for the choir service later at 5.30pm. Going beyond the chapel is another big field before coming to the Cam riverside. Here, you'd see punts going up and down the stream. If you are up for the challenge, you can just rent a punt and try to navigate it along the river Cam; or if you prefer, just pay a small fee of ￡10 per person to hire a punter (mostly the Cambridge students making some pocket money) to do all the hard work while you just relax and admire the scenery. It's really easy to differentiate the professional punters from the amateurs (tourists). The pros just stood confidently at the back of the boat, pushing and drawing the long bamboo sticks to navigate the punt effortlessly. While doing that, they will also introduce the history of the colleges as they passed by. On the other hand, you would see most of the amateurs struggling to get the punt going smoothly and towards the correct direction. Many times, their punts will either head towards the banks or just circle round the same location and you will hear all sorts of suggestions / commands given by their friends on the punt 'trying' to help the poor punter.

Across the bridge to the other side of the river, there's a white stone with some Chinese character carvings. I went over to have a closer look and realized that was the extract of the famous poem '再别康桥' (Goodbye Cambridge) by 徐志摩 (Xu ZhiMo), written on the way back to China after revisiting Cambridge in 6th Nov, 1928. Xu was here between Oct, 1920 - Aug 1922, and viewed Cambridge as the very important place inspiring his poetry life.

'轻轻的我走了，正如我轻轻的来，我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩。'
Quietly I take my leave, just as quietly I came here; Gently I flick my sleeves,
Not taking even a wisp of cloud.

The view of King's College from here is simply amazing. It's only about 4.30pm hence I left the college and went to the Guildhall. There are 2 models in front of the Guildhall illustrating the neighboring buildings and colleges, courtesy of the Rotary club. Behind the Guildhall is a market square and the Great St. Mary's Church, the University Church for the University of Cambridge. At 5.15pm, I went back to the King's College Chapel to attend the King's College Choir choral service, an evening prayer services. The choir consists of choral scholars (male students from the college) and choristers (boys educated at the nearby King's College School). There is already a small queue when I got there. The public was first let into the chapel, followed by the choir boys and finally the clergy and his fellow assistant. The choir boys were dressed in black suit with a white overcoats. Everyone was given a booklet so we could follow the proceedings. The choir singing is absolutely amazing. The whole service lasted about 45mins. If you are in town, I strongly recommend you to attend this service even if you are not a Christian.

The chapel is one of the finest examples of late Gothic (Perpendicular) English architecture. It features the breathtaking fan vault, the largest in the word and perhaps the most beautiful ever devised; the 26 great windows containing what is possibly the finest surviving range of pre-reformation stained glass in the country; exquisite heraldic stone sculptures, representing various symbols of the Tudor dynasty; the wooded organ screen (a gift from Henry VIII), dates from 1533 – 1536; and the Rubens masterpiece, The adoration of the Magi, painted in 1634 for the Convent of the White Nuns at Louvain. So if you are like me, want to save a few pounds on the chapel's admission ticket, just attend the evening choral service. You can admire the fantastic architectural designs while listening to the heavenly songs. One stone, three birds.

Coming out from the choral service, the sky is getting dark. Hence I quickly make my way back to the hostel, but of course I got a little lost in the beginning before finally finding my way back. On the way back, I stopped at Sainsbury to get my dinner. Since I wasn't feeling very hungry, I just bought a Quarter Pounder Chicken burger and a pint of Organic milk. It's quite a long way back and my legs are really tired by the time I reached the hostel. I heated up my burger at the self-catering kitchen alongside other hostelers preparing their dinner too. Luckily mine just took a minute in the microwave to heat up. Later, I went back to my room to find another dorm mate checked in. The hostel shower sometimes gives out lukewarm water but the good thing is you don't have to keep pushing the knob to keep the water flowing unlike some other hostels I've been to before.

Back to reality...

2009-06-26T11:07:00.003+08:00

After 3 months wandering around Europe, I arrived back to KLIA on 14th June. With the spreading of the H1N1 virus, I was quite surprised that there weren't any monitoring at the airport except for us just handing in the health declaration form. I did see the temperature monitoring stations but nobody was there 'monitoring' it. We just walked right pass it. Quite disappointed with the way they handle the situation considering this is not the first time we are facing this kind of virus.

The first week back was my own self-quarantine at home. A narrow escape as there was a confirmed case on the flight from London of the same flight number arriving back to KL on the following day. Phew... Then I went back to my hometown for 4days with a day-trip up to Penang where I met up with some of my Uni mates for lunch. It's so good to meet up with them (most of them after 8 years, since we grad).

Now I am back in KL again and beginning my search for a job. It's still quite a tough market out there so wish me luck. And I will start posting my travelogue soon... and also sort out the photos taken during my trip.

It's the end of the holiday and back to the 'working' mode...

Greetings... Bonjour... Hola...

2009-04-22T22:35:00.002+08:00

Just some updates from my travel...

This is my 6th week of travel, meaning I am almost half way through my 3 month tour around Europe, with another 7 weeks to go. I am currently in Seville, south of Spain where Tapas, Flamenco dance and Bull Fights are famous here. I'll be going for a bull fight later on today, think it would be interesting.

So a run down of the places I've been to so far:

- Cambridge, UK
- Londonderry, Northern Ireland
- Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Dublin, Ireland
- Caernarfon, Northern Wales
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Brussels, Belgium
- Brugge, Belgium
- Paris, France
- Nice, France
- Barcelona, Spain
- Madrid, Spain
- Seville, Spain

Next destination is to Lisbon, Portugal.

The trip has been great so far, and I'm experiencing different culture, food, atmosphere, languages... it's difficult to compare and say which place I like most because they are all different ;)

So, will update more later on... Adios amigos !

UAE trip 16th - 26th Oct 2009 (preview)

2009-03-10T23:37:00.003+08:00

After my Italy trip, I had a 10 days stopover in Abu Dhabi on my way back to Malaysia, visiting friends and exploring the UAE. Had some great fun over there. Well, you have guessed it, I won't be able to update my UAE trip for now... for quite some time... think maybe after my Europe trip... I hope... So I'll just post my photo links here, as a down payment. Hehe.

UAE 'Oct 08

Overnight Safari Trip 'Oct 08

Starting my Europe trip...

2009-03-10T23:31:00.003+08:00

On 7th March, I board the Etihad plane and flew back to UK, gearing up for my Europe trip. I'm currently back to my cousin's place for a couple of days before starting on the 12th March to Cambridge. I'll try to update whenever possible. I hope my lazy bugs don't visit often :p

3rd - 5th Oct Back to London

2009-03-06T09:59:00.007+08:00

UK has turned rather cold after our 2 weeks in Italy. We followed Bel's friend, SM back to her place at Greenwich. She is renting a one bedroom apartment and it's quite a lovely area. We set down our stuff and went out for dinner at a Hong Kong style restaurant for Chinese food. It's still quite packed with customers although it's already past dinner time. We ordered 3-4 dishes and soon dinner is served. After all the pasta and pizza in Italy, we very much enjoyed the feast. Back to her house, she is very kind to let us have her bedroom while she slept in the living room, making us a little 'pai seh'.

Next morning, we stroll along the riverside to the O2 Millenium where we then take the train to Canary Wharf for a short while before going to the Greenwich Royal Observatory. SM told us that before the fall of Lehman Brothers, Canary Wharf is always very crowded with people enjoying Saturday brunch or having coffee. Last week when the news break, the area was quite chaotic seeing employees grabbing whatever they can from the stores with their vouchers. Now all the cafe and restaurants do not have a single customers. It's such a huge difference. Later we took a train to the Greenwich Royal Observatory. I had always wanted to come here but somehow I had this wrong impression that it is very far away from London, hence I didn't try to visit until now. From the station, we went past a market square before arriving at the Greenwich Park. It's quite a lovely day, some teenagers were playing football on the field. It is a huge park and we followed a trail up to the Royal Observatory. The Greenwich Royal Observatory was founded by order of King Charles II to study astronomy and to fix longitude. Here, you can see the Prime Meridien line and also you can tune/set your clock to the GMT clock. The view from up the hill is pretty good. The tree leaves has changed colors signifying autumn. Later, SM went off to join her friend's gathering while me and Bel went to London for a walk.

Sunday, it was rainy and cold with strong winds. Bel and I decided to just stay at home instead and relax. We watched some TV and cook lunch. Later in the afternoon, Bel and I bid farewell to SM and took a train back to London, where I changed to another train going back to my cousins, while Bel head on to the airport, putting an end of our Italy trip.

1st - 3rd Oct - Venice, Italy Part 4

2009-03-04T15:02:00.002+08:00

On 3rd Oct, we board an airport shuttle from Venice to the Treviso airport for our afternoon flight back to London Stanstead airport. We arrived in Treviso airport and proceeded to check in our luggage. Two check-in counter for our flight is opened and attended by 2 lady officers. When it’s our turn, the officer kept flipping through Bel’s passport and started asking questions. She asked where did Bel first landed in Europe, where is she going next, and the destination afterwards. Bel answered her questions and after some moments of silence, the officer consulted the officer at the next counter and then asked if Bel has a credit card. Bel passed her the credit card and they swipe it to verify something. Back to silence and more flipping of the passport with quite a serious face. We were very puzzled and asked if there is any problem. Only then the officer said with a little smile, nothing, just routine check. This is rather unusual as only they are only focused on Bel’s passport only and not mine, and we could not understand why they need the credit card, or why would a check-in counter be so detailed in checking the travel destinations of the passenger? We thought all this issue if there is any should be at the immigration custom control later on and normally it is not an issue flying out of a country.

Anyway, the officer is finally satisfied and returned us our passport. Still, lots of question marks floating on our head but no way to find out. After a short round tour, we proceed to our departure gate. Already there were quite many passengers waiting there, half of them in queue while the other half just scattered around sitting at the chairs or the floor. It’s quite a long wait, the boarding gate did not open until about 10mins to departure. Then suddenly the originally organized line were now overflowed with those sitting down suddenly pushing forward, trying to get in front. We were quite taken aback by this situation. Another interesting thing we observed is that there are 4 security officers standing guard at the boarding gate, randomly picking out the passengers for full body search and also a thorough check with their luggage. Then there is a shuttle bus taking the passengers to the airplane, which is only about 200m away. After about 30 passengers, the bus will go off to the plane and the officers ceased checking in the passengers. This act has really costs the whole boarding process significant amount of time. Bel and I were among the last batch boarding the plane.

As soon as we were on board, we heard the captain speaking asking us to quickly take our seats as we need to catch the arrival time in London to avoid long delays. The head stewardess paged for the passengers to quickly take any available seats and if there is no more space at the overhead storage, they should immediately pass their bags to the stewardess to be placed with the check in luggage. There was one male passenger got into arguments with the stewardess as he insisted he do not want his luggage to be thrown down the check-in luggage. It’s quite a chaotic mess if you asked me. Anyway, we managed to take off and arrived safely in Stansted at the estimated time. From there, its easybus back to London Victoria where Bel’s colleague is waiting for us.

Here are our last batch of photos:

Florence Sept'08

Venice Oct'08

1st - 3rd Oct - Venice, Italy Part 3

2009-03-04T09:46:00.006+08:00

Piazza San Marco

St Mark’s Square, the principal square of Venice, Italy. Napolean called it ‘the finest drawing room in Europe’. We took the ferry boat to the San Marco’s stop. The square is filled with tourists, pigeons and vendors. The Piazza is dominated by the Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the Basilica's campanile, which stands apart from it. There’s a line of tourist queuing to enter the Basilica di San Marco. There is some flooding at the main entrance since St Mark’s Square is the lowest point in Venice, hence a temporary wooden plank bridge were put up to bypass the water pool. Bel and I decided to just view this Basilica from the outside. The craftsmanship of the Basilica (exteriorly) is pretty impressive, there are bronze horses’ statues above the entrance (replicas of statues ‘liberated’ from Constantinople in the 4th Crusade) and mosaic murals. While we were there, we saw the bronze mori (Moors) striking the bell of the 15th-century clock tower. It’s a little man statue with a hammer striking on the bell.

The centre of the square is crowded with pigeons. Many tourists tried posing with the pigeons or as this man did, had bird feeds in his palms attracting pigeons who came standing all over him. Ooo… I just hope the pigeons didn’t leave anything behind for him.  Several high class, expansive looking cafes surrounded the square. Each café has their own live band. However, they had some sort of agreement that only one band is performing at a time. This is very wise as the singing of one band can be heard in all corners of the square.

Gondola

Gondola, a traditional Venetian rowing boat. For centuries the chief means of transportation within Venice and still have a role in public transport, serving as traghetti (ferries) over the Grand Canal. Their primary role nowadays, however, is to carry tourists on rides at established prices. Besides hiring a gondolier, you can also get another guy to sing for you should you have the spare cash. Whilst there, I only came across 2 gondolas hiring singers. Otherwise, you can also follow the footsteps of this group of ladies in their 50s who sang cheerfully and quite loudly, entertaining themselves and attracts the attention of everyone on land. I think that if you are visiting Venice with a few friends, then it may be worth it trying the gondola ride just for the sake of experiencing it. But it would definitely be wise to avoid the main canal and focus on the narrow back alley canals.

Murano Island

We took a boat out to the Murano island, approximately 20mis away. On the way there, you will see there is another island with some white buildings, which is actually the cemetery land. There is a man with his elderly mother on board our boat, with a bouquet of flowers, which apparently wanted to go to the cemetery land. However, the boat just went past it and headed straight to Murano island. The guy panicked and started shouting at the captain, after some conversation (which of course I could not understand), he had no choice but to accept the fact and sat down again. However, he started complaining and grumbles away with the other passengers. One thing we noticed is that once the Italians didn’t get what they wanted, they will start grumbling and complains to the next person beside them, even though they do not know each other.

Arriving at Murano island, we find it so much quieter and peaceful as compared to the Venice island. To be honest, the Murano island better fits my own imagination / perception about Venice, as I find the main island too busy, too crowded and a tad more commercialized. We had a peaceful stroll along the quiet canal, enjoying the tranquility. Here, its all about Murano glass and the products here are different from those found in the main island. They are much more sophisticated and creative in their design.

After Murano, I had to go back to the hotel to rest as I really wasn't feeling well again. Bel went out for souvenir shopping while I was down. So, of our 3 days here, about half of my time here was spent in the hotel. Bummer.

1st - 3rd Oct - Venice, Italy Part 2

2009-02-27T18:11:00.007+08:00

Venetian Mask & Murano Glass

Rise and shine, feeling much better, we went downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. Croissants, muffins, cereals, yogurts and coffee are available. The dining area is quite small but we were lucky to get a table quickly. Fully charged, we started our exploration (more like mine since Bel already started hers yesterday).

It is fun walking amongst the alleys of Venice. It is as if walking in a huge maze but then there are plenty to see around. The famous Venetian masks were plentiful here in Venice. Of course, those smaller ones sold on the stalls are relatively cheap if compared to those sophisticated handmade, real-size mask in specialty stores. The Bauta mask covers the whole face, with a stubborn chin line, no mouth, and lots of gliding. A half-mask with gold and silver stripes and jeweled eyes is called a Columbino that you hold up to your face with an attached stick. Other popular shapes include large, hooked noses, black and white checkered diamonds called a Harlequin pattern, and bright red, pursed lips. The masks are painted / designed in gold, silver, royal purple, sunny yellow, and other bright colors. Further decorations include sequins, silk ribbons, exotic bird feathers, faux fur, rhinestones, leather, gold charms, glitter, and any other outlandish gems.

Murano glass, a famous product from the Venetian island of Murano is also another popular souvenir to get from Venice. Many shops on the Venice island are selling rather similar products made of Murano glass; paper-weights, pendants, jewelries, small décors, etc. I was especially attracted to the murano glass concerto band which is rather expansive. They were just so cute. We came across a shop specializing in Murano glass products and there was a glass-maker crafting at a small workbench. The glass-maker motioned us to enter the shop and we got to see how quickly and beautifully he crafted a butterfly out of several glass sticks. I was too engrossed with his craftsmanship that I totally forgot to take a photo of the process. A short boat trip over to Murano Island, you’ll be spoilt with various Murano glass products that are so much more unique and creative. You can find larger art pieces for home décor here too. Some of historical factory of glass in Murano are today the most important brand of glass in the world.

1st - 3rd Oct - Venice, Italy Part 1

2009-02-27T16:30:00.004+08:00

Train ride to Venice

We chosen the inter-city train since it is so much cheaper than EuroRail, although taking this cheaper alternative meant that we need to change at 2 train stations (Prato Centrale and Bologna Centrale). The lady ticketing officer was kind enough to gave us a printout of the estimated departure and arrival time at each station making it much easier for us to keep track of our journey. At each change, we have less than 15mins to get to the connecting train. I had been unwell for the past few days so the task of changing trains falls onto Bel. During the 2 changes, we managed to make it on time to locate and board the connecting train at the correct platform. I guess Bel is much more relaxed after the Bologna change as after that the final destination is Venice. Venice is linked to the main land via a bridge linkway, which very much resembles the linkway between Johor and Singapore.

Coming out from the train station, we didn’t have any problem locating our hotel, Alloggi Agli Artisti, which is just around the corner from the station. By far, this is the nearest we had to lug our luggage compared to Rome and Florence. Our room is very huge and clean, with a small balcony attached. The toilet/bathroom is shared among the guests but they are plentiful on each floor. I went out the balcony, there’s this lady staying next door, taking a smoke at her balcony, greeted me and we started chatting. She was extremely chatty although her English is not very fluent. She told us she just got off the cruise and was so sick of the cruise, making her seasick etc. Then she told us where we should visit in Venice. Since she has been staying here for 2 days, we asked her if she knows where the supermarket is so we can go get some water and supplies. She volunteered to bring us there and also show us around venice although we insisted that it wasn’t necessary. She insisted that she wanted to get out of the room and go for a walk. We agreed to meet 10 mins later at the hallway.

Well, during the course of conversation, both Bel and I had a weird feeling regarding that lady as we couldn’t understand why she is so anxious to tag along us. It really made us rather uneasy, but then maybe we just thinking too much. So 10 mins later, we were waiting but the lady didn’t show. We knocked on her door and she asked us to wait a little while. Finally the lady came out with her boy friend. Off we went and the lady kept talking, anxious to show us around, her husband following quietly. We kept our smiles and nods as she speaks. Every so often, she’ll ask her bf to take photos of her and also me to take photos of the places there. I wasn’t interested in taking any photos as the sky was really gloomy and its pretty windy. We got to the supermarket and bought the things we needed. Coming out, the bf suddenly say he need to go to the post office, so Bel and I gladly took the chance to part with them. The lady doesn’t seem happy about the detour her bf wanted to take hence were kind of quarreling with him. It felt so strange and we kept on insisting that we do not mind at all and said we needed to go back to our hotel anyway. Fortunately the lady agreed and we thanked them and parted with them. Phew… what a relief both of us felt.

We went to the tourist information counter at the train station to enquire about the transport day passes. In Venice, the mode of transportation is boat. Lots of gondolas are for hire at quite an expansive rate. Hence we opted for the bigger public boat equivalent to the buses on land. Bel was able to get a Youth pass which covers 3 days ride and also 2 complimentary entrances to the toilet, since she is still under 30. Yes, mind you, Venice charges €1 per entry to the toilet. I had just turned 30 so can only get the normal 3 day pass. Similar to the bus/train system, we need to flash the pass at the sensor before boarding the boat.

I felt really sick afterwards that I asked if we could go back to the hotel for a while. My whole body ached a lot and I felt feverish. End up, I spent the rest of the day in the hotel, resting and recuperating. Poor Bel had to explore Venice on her own and then also packed dinner for me. It’s really annoying falling sick during holiday.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 9

2009-02-26T16:45:00.008+08:00

Tuscany Bike Tour

Monday morning, Bel and I prepared ourselves for the bike tour. The assembly point is at Ponte del Grazie. It’s still early so we went to the street behind to have a cup of coffee. We went to the High Bar where and we are the only customer, again the cappuccino is strong and good. I like the bar setting very much. When time is near, we went back to the assembly point, there were some people already waiting there. We waited for a while and one of our guides came to pick us up. There are 2 couples who showed up without registration. Unfortunately the group that day is already full so they could only book for tomorrow. We were given a brief introduction and then we head out to the countryside in 4 vans.

After about 20mins drive, we arrived at Poppiano, a village on a hill. As soon as we got off the van, there’s strong smell of fermented grapes. Yes, our first destination is to visit the wine breweries. After we filled up some forms, we were divided into 2 groups led by Keith and Andy. Bel and I were in Keith’s group. Keith started off with a proper introduction about himself and how he started out this bike tour business, he also briefed us about our itinerary of the day. He told us some background of this brewery which is inside a castle-liked building. Here, they produce olives oil besides red wine (Chianti). Inside, Keith explained the process of producing the Chianti red-wine and showed us where they kept the grapes and wines for fermentation. Then we were led to the top of the castle for amazing view of Tuscany hills. After the photo-taking session, we went down to the courtyard for wine and olive oil tasting. Everybody gets a glass of the Chianti wine and we tasted the olive oil by dipping white bread into them. Bel doesn’t drink so she just took a sip from my glass. We both find that the wine is very good and the olive oil doesn’t taste oily at all. Of course after this tour and tasting session, we were brought to their little shop where you can buy wines and olive oils at a cheaper rate as we were told (as compared to getting them from the high street).

Finally, it’s time to bike. We were led to the bike shed where everybody gets a bike to suit his/her height, a bicycle helmet and a bottle of water. There’s a pouch behind the bike to store important stuff while other bags etc were left at the shed. Bel got a junior bike while I was assigned an adult bike. After everyone gets their bike, Keith briefed us on the rules and precautions while riding. Then we all head out, still in 2 groups, riding in single file. The initial part is pretty easy as we were going down the hill and on flat road. We stopped at certain points to make sure everyone kept up and also to take photos. We rode through the beautiful Tuscany countryside, passing by grape farms, and wonderful sceneries. After about 20-30mins ride, we stopped for lunch at a residential house which doubled as a restaurant. We started with salad while Keith and Andy took orders for our main dish (different types of spaghettis), dessert and coffee/tea. I opted for spicy spaghetti, tiramisu and cappuccino. Very good tiramisu I must say. Over lunch, we chatted with this Taiwanese couple whom are here for holiday as the husband is working in Middle East while the wife in China. We rested for a while and move out again. There were a few gooses at the yard. The Taiwanese guy was trying to pose with the goose but out of sudden the goose flapped his wings and chased that poor fella for quite a distance. All of us laughed our hearts out while he was so embarrassed at that incident.

We started off again on flat road and Bel was constantly left behind on her junior bike. She needs to work double hard to peddle her bike to cover the same distance by adult bike. She told me that Keith asked her a couple of times if she is OK and can she keep up. Then, at a junction turning up a slope, we saw people coming off their bike, and sat into the van. So we too join in the band and gave up cycling up the pretty steep slope. Bel is done with cycling while I didn’t want to strain my knees further. We went pass others mostly pushing their bike up the slope and arrive at a café. We rested while waiting for the others to arrive.

After all had arrived, we cycle back to the castle and ended our bike tour. After returning the bicycles, we were taken back to the assembly point and greet farewell. This is definitely a good expedition on our trip although we would have enjoyed it more if we were allowed more time to cycle slowly, stop more often for photos and enjoy the countryside. Most of the others tourists seemed to be aiming at getting to the next checkpoint as fast as they could hence making the whole trip a little too rush to our liking. And for Bel, she would definitely had enjoyed it more if she’s riding on an adult bike.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 8

2009-02-26T14:35:00.005+08:00

Street Arts

From Rome to Florence, I had the perception that there are a lot of Italians who are very artistic and talented. There are so many painters, street performers on the street. Their art works never failed to capture my eyes. The painters just sat and draw / paint their work. It is perfectly alright to just stand and watch, and if you like their work, browse through their ready paintings and ask for the price. Otherwise, they will just concentrate on their painting. I especially liked this guys who is painting at the street next to Duomo. I like the bright colors he used and the cute yellow sunflowers. I watched him paint, he made it seemed so easy to paint such beautiful drawings.

There are several street performers who portray themselves as statues in front of the Uffizi. This particular guy posing as a cupid is very lovable and funny. He would make gestures, acts and sound effects (kissing sound) which attracts the passer-by who would want to pose with him. I think he made himself stand out among the others as he is very lively and makes the crowd very happy.

Duomo

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence. The cathedral complex includes the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. We pass by Duomo several times everyday as we need to go pass it to go to other parts of the town. Above the main door is the colossal clock face with fresco portraits of four Prophets or Evangelists by Paolo Uccello (1443). This one-handed liturgical clock shows the 24 hours of the hora italica (Italian time), a period of time ending with sunset at 24 hours.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 7

2009-02-26T13:01:00.006+08:00

Piazzale Michelangelo

Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence. The plaza is a tribute to Michelangelo and contains copies of some of his most famous works such as a bronze David in the middle of the square.

After dropping out of the Uffizi line, we decided to buy a bus day pass since we wanted to go up the piazzale again for the night scene. We scouted around for a tabachi (cigarette/newspaper store) to get our day pass and then waited at a bus stop. While waiting we saw people in red t-shirts running past us, looks like there’s a marathon or some sort. After a while, we saw hordes of people in the same red t-shirts crossing the Ponte alle Grazie (bridge downstream of Ponte Vecchio) and they were actually taking the bus route. This means that the bus we are waiting for is non-operating that morning. So we got no choice but to join in the crowd and walk towards Piazzale Michelangelo. The crowd is very cheerful, singing and talking; most of them are with families and friends making it quite a joyous outing. The red t-shirt they were wearing actually bears the name of Salvatore Ferragamo, most probably the one of the main sponsor of the big walk.

We arrived at the piazzale (it’s not very far away from the town area) and we can get a good overview of Florence from here. The square is actually pretty big and there is an open air café which Bel pointed out it was from the set of the Hong Kong drama ‘冲上云霄’. We didn’t dare to have a cuppa here as we think it’ll surely be expansive. Here, couples and friends sat at the stairs enjoying the view. Later, we went up the pathway leading to a church and cemetery at the side of the piazzale. The view here is equally good with lesser crowd.

The same evening, we went back up to the piazzale for the night scene. There’s still daylight when we arrive but already the square is quite crowded with tourists and lovebirds. In the eyes of the lovebirds, at that moment, there is no one else but his/her lover. Seeing this, I told Bel, too bad she's stuck with me instead of her bf.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 6

2009-02-25T17:10:00.008+08:00

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio, a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. These shops were initially occupied by the butchers but now the tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge left undestroyed by Germans during their retreat of August 4, 1944 during World War II, unlike all other bridges in Florence.

The bridge is always very crowded with tourist, not so much of shopping for the gold / jewelries but more to step foot and take a photo on this historic structure. The centre of the bridge is an open space without any shops but a statue of Cellini. The shops are centuries-old and hence the doors remained as wooden panels. I liked taking photos from the riverside so the photo shows the colorful back-shops added in the 17th century. On Sunday morning we were queuing up for the Uffizi and as usual Bel was left waiting in the queue while I went to take the Ponte Vecchio in the morning sun, I was thrilled to find the Arno river so calm and quite, the sky so blue that Ponte Vecchio was reflected flawlessly on the river water. I quickly took many shots and return to the queue so that Bel can go get her share of photo shots.

Uffizi

The Uffizi gallery is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. We finally made it into the gallery on the 3rd attempt of waiting in the very long and slow moving queue. Our 1st attempt is on Saturday afternoon after the Accademia gallery, we were at the very end of the queue and after surveying the situation, we decided to come back next morning. So on Sunday morning we went and again we are still at the very end of the line. As mentioned, we took turns taking photos of the Vecchio on that beautiful morning. When Bel returns, we thought that it’s a shame to waste this perfect fine day indoors and so we decided to go up Piazzale Michelangelo instead. That afternoon, we came back and waited patiently at the line although again we are still at the end of the line.

There’s a Chinese couple in front of us and from their accent we guess they are from the states. Since the queue is moving very slowly, so Bel and I took turns to go get our daily gelato fix. Bel went first and while she was away, I overheard the couple’s conversation (it’s not exact but it’s more or less like this).

Guy: Hmm this is really taking a long time. The queue is not moving at all.
Gal: Yeah, I wonder how long we need to wait further.
Guy: Well, do you wanna wait further or do you want to go somewhere else?
Gal: Erm… I don’t know. Up to you.
Guy: But do you want to wait any longer? I give you the choice.
Gal: What do you mean you give me the choice? Why do I need to decide?
Guy: Well you are the one who wanted to come here. So you decide. What is this gallery about anyway?
Gal: Well its an art gallery lah… I also don’t know why so many people are queuing to go in. Don’t know what its famous for.

So in the end, they dropped out the line and walked away. I told Bel about this when she got back and we had a good laugh over it as we thought we were bad that we haven’t got a lot information about the gallery but at least we knew we surely out beat that couple ;o)

So we finally got into the gallery and again were very impressed about the paintings and sculptures there without having much knowledge about their painters and backgrounds. And again we try to learn more by ‘overhearing’ the explanations from the tour guides there.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 5

2009-02-25T08:59:00.004+08:00

And then I meet him

The night before we visited the Palazzo Pitti, Bel and I were taking a stroll along Ponte Vecchio and came to the large front courtyard of the palace. Along the way, we saw people with wine glasses and were rather curious as people will normally be carrying a beer bottle instead of wine glasses. Only when nearing the palace we found out that there’s a wine festival going on. So you just need to buy a wine glass from the organizing committee and you can taste the various red and white wine from the many breweries exhibiting there.

Then a street band came marching into the courtyard and made a horseshoe formation and played various songs. The band was very cheerful and this has certainly liven up the atmosphere. People started gathering around the band, a few young children danced to the music. Bel and I too stood to enjoy the music. I was busy capturing the scene with my camera when I felt someone staring at me. I put down my camera, searching for the stare and then our eyes met. We both paused for a moment. Then he started walking towards me. I couldn't resist his handsome look that I pick up my camera and took a photo of him. He paused when I took his photo and continued on walking towards me. There he stood next to me. I knelt down and showed him his photo. I watched his face as he look at the image, waiting for his response. He lifts his face and smiled at me. Oh, what lovely smile he has.

Yes, this little man just melts my heart with his charming smile. I didn't know what language to speak to him. I tried English but I don't think he understand. He just kept looking at his image on my camera's LCD and smile at me. So I just point at him and then on the LCD screen. After about 5 minutes, his father came and walked him away. As they were leaving, his dad asked him to say bye bye and he did with his sweet voice. Well, only if he is much older... ;p

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 4

2009-02-24T18:22:00.002+08:00

Palazzo Pitti

Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace), is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1539 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plate, jewellery and luxurious possessions. Bel was interested in the costume gallery and since it’s free, we did not hesitate to join the short queue into the huge palace :)

We first went past the main palace building into the pathway leading to the amphitheater of the palace’s Boboli Gardens. Going up flights of stairs, we reached the Boboli garden where there’s wonderful view of Florence hills. Taking in the view, I am particularly fond of the trees shaped like elongated ‘spade’ (i.e black spade of deck cards). The Porcelain Museum is also located here with great collection of porcelain from most notable European porcelain factories. Some of the collections are gifts to the Florentine rulers from other European sovereigns.

Later, we visited the costume gallery housing a collection of theatrical costumes dating from the 16th century until the present. It is also the only museum in Italy detailing the history of Italian fashions. Not only they have an impressive collection of costumes, they also have shoes and accessories too. It is definitely intriguing to see how the fashion changes through the era. We also visited the Palatine Gallery contains a large ensemble of over 500 principally Renaissance paintings, which were once part of the Medicis' and their successors' private art collection. The royal apartments, with a suite of 14 rooms, all furnished lavishly with art pieces and gorgeous furniture.

Another thing I noticed here is that if you pay enough attention, you will find quite a number of tortoise statues, big and small laying around the palace. However I’m not sure what the tortoise symbolizes but it's sure is interesting.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 3

2009-02-24T15:56:00.009+08:00

Galleria dell’ Accademia

Early Saturday morning, Bel and I head out to the Accademia gallery. At the turn of the corner, we already see a line building up, waiting. We joined in the queue. Similarly, there are 2 queues, one for independent tourists while another for group tourists / those with pre-booked ticket (of course this is unnecessary this weekend). We were released into the gallery in batches and we almost made it to be in the first batch. We were second in line for the next batch, in front of us is an elderly couple who had been to Florence many times before. Then I notice the scribbles on the wall and realized that was written by tourists recording how long they have waited in line, 50 mins, 4 hours… well consider ourselves lucky as our wait was merely 20mins.

Walking into the gallery, immediately David comes into sight, huge and magnificent. I never thought it would be so huge. I stopped in the middle of the hall way. Admiring. There weren’t many tourists yet, hence I can get a perfect view of him. I inched near slowly. I could not resist taking a photo of him although it was forbidden to take photos inside. I surveyed the area and position myself so I would be covered behind the high poles, hidden from the security officer’s vision and quickly took a snap just in time when the officers started asking people not to take photos. I happily put my camera away and continue on admiring David. This is the original David by Michelangelo since 1873. The sculpture was allegedly brought to the Accademia for reasons of conservation, although other factors were involved in its move from its previous outdoor location on Piazza della Signoria.

Next to the statue is a computer displaying David in 3D view. You can use the mouse to rotate the statue in any direction and also add in the element of light from several directions imitating what David would look like at different timing of the day, while he was located outdoors. Also in this gallery are Michelangelo's four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 2

2009-02-24T09:27:00.001+08:00

After Rome, both Bel and I kind of suffered from ‘gallery / museum exhaustion’ (not sure if this is an actual verb). For a change, we thought of either going for a bicycle tour in Tuscany or a bus tour to Pisa and wine tasting in Tuscany. After some discussion, we finally decided to sign up for the Tuscany Bike Tour. Since the bike tour costs €60 per pax and we’re on a budget, we decided to forego the galleries and museums in Florence and each would cost around €10. We were telling ourselves, Gallery Accademia is only to see ‘David’, Uffizi is just for the paintings; we can do without them.

While walking on the streets, I saw a tourist information office so we went in to get some information. We found out that there are several free concerts every night in churches around Florence. While Bel was asking the tourist information counter officer for a list of free concerts that night, I saw a notice on the counter top… it mentioned that on the 27th and 28th September Italy will celebrate the European Heritage day so all the state museums and art galleries open their doors to the public, with free entrance this weekend. I wasn’t quite sure if I understood it correctly so I asked Bel to read it.

Me: Eh Bel, look at this, am I understanding this correctly? The galleries are free tomorrow and Sunday?
Bel: Hmm… what? Let me read ah………
Ehh… yeah wor… looks like it. Wait let me double confirm with her (the officer)
Excuse me, does this notice means that we can enter the galleries / museums for free?
Officer: Oh yes, you can enter for free but you still have to queue up and since it’s free so I think it’ll be quite a long queue.
Bel: Oh great, but which are the galleries and museums include? Do you have a list?
Officer: Sure, here is the list for all the galleries and museums in Florence and those with the ‘*’ markings belonged to state.

We both quickly checked through the lists and were thrilled to find that Accademia, Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti had ‘*’ on them. Both of us came out of the office with big smiles patched to our faces. Hehe, well its our lucky day after all and it showed that its important to visit tourist info office. Who knows, you might strike ‘gold’ like us.

That evening, we attended a piano concerto at the San Lorenzo church. Here, we saved a couple of euros as you need to pay admission fee when you visit during the day. But as a venue for the free concert, we can enter the church for free. Of course, you can’t really walk around the church freely to admire the church interior, but its more than enough for us.

26th Sept - 1st Oct - Florence, Italy Part 1

2009-02-23T14:48:00.006+08:00

On the morning of 26th, we took an inter-city train from Termini to Firenze (Florence) via Chiusi. Few days prior, we have bought our train ticket from the ticket office after having some fun operating the self-service ticket machines. You can check the trains available after entering the date, the departure and arrival destination. You can also view the type of train available and the price for the journey selected and check if you see the word 'Amica', then it meant there's discount available. But during the course of browsing through the various combination of time, type of train etc (going forward and backwards through the pages), often we had the machine's system 'hang', so we need to find another machine to play with. After confirming the details of our journey, we went to the ticket office to buy the tickets (you can actually buy the tickets from the machine). The ticket costs €15.80 per person, which is very much cheaper than taking the EuroRail. One thing about the train ticket here is that there will not be any time stamped on the ticket itself so you need to validate the ticket (at an orange box on the platform) before you board the train (which we found out on our journey from Florence to Venice) .

After about 3.5 - 4 hours, we arrived at Florence. We weren't quite sure so we asked another Asian lady who is getting ready to go down. She confirmed it and also gave us (first-timers to Florence) advice to look out for the Gypsy woman and their babies. Following the Emerald Field hostel's instruction, we found our way to the hostel reception, but we are only checking in there as our private double room is situated in a private apartment some 5 minutes walk away. The location of the apartment is very good, there are 2 cafe restaurants down stairs, a bus station in front and the Accademia gallery is just round the corner. The apartment is pretty huge with 3 seperate rooms. The whole decor is simple but nice. There are also several guide books about Florence available in the apartment.

After settling down and taking a rest, we went out for a stroll cum exploration. We came to the San Lorenzo market and were quickly attracted to this bustling leather market. The overall market area is quite huge and is crowded with tourists shopping and bargaining with the sellers. Leather jackets, leather gloves, handbags, hats, pashminas, quirky souvenirs, this is definitely a heaven for shoppers. I am not so much into shopping but I still enjoyed it a lot as there's so much colors and objects that kept me clicking away on my D80.

Both Bel and I preferred Florence to Rome, as quite different from Rome, the tourist attractions here are relatively close-by, making it rather compact and dynamic. Hence we did almost all our exploration by foot throughout our stay here. It's one good walking city.

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Vatican City, Italy

2009-02-19T17:11:00.008+08:00

St Peter’s Basilica

Vatican City, the smallest sovereign nation in the world, comprising just 1 sq km on the western bank of the Tiber river. We took a bus towards Vatican City on Tuesday afternoon and walked in through Via della Conciliazione. Upon arriving the Piazza di San Pietro, we saw a pretty long queue of tourist waiting to enter St Peter’s Basilica. We quickly join in the queue. I went wandering around taking photos while Bel stayed in the queue. There are rows of chairs arranged at the Piazza in preparation for the public audience by the pope, tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at 10am. Lucky for us, we needn’t wait too long as the flow of the queue is rather smooth. Dress code and security are stringently enforced, bags need to be put through the x-ray scanners and no drinks were allowed, just like boarding a plane; no shorts, miniskirts, or sleeveless tops are allowed.

Michelangelo was responsible for the design of the grand dome, soaring 120m above the altar and was completed in 1590. The altar in the centre of the basilica is the reputed site of St Peter’s tomb. There are tours you can take to visit the tombs underneath the basilica where all the popes rest after death. There is a souvenir shops further in selling various religious accessories including holy water. Bernini on the other hand designed the Piazza di San Pietro, laid out in the 17th century. The vast piazza is bound by 2 semicircular colonnades, each comprising 4 rows of Doric columns. The obelisk in its centre was brought from Heliopolis and is framed by 2 fountains. There are many youngsters sitting/lying near the centre, resting and chatting; while most of the other tourists choose to rest around the colonnades.

Upon leaving the basilica, my eyes were attracted to the Swiss guards in their unique traditional uniform in bright orange and blue stripes. Originally they were the Swiss mercenaries hired by the pope as part of an army, which later on also became the personal bodyguard of the Pope. Most of the Swiss guards I seen there were actually pretty young. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland, and is restricted to Catholic male (Swiss) citizens.

Sistine Chapel

We came back to Vatican City again on Thursday morning to visit the Vatican museum and also the Sistine Chapel. It is a different queue at a different location from the queue to enter the basilica. Again, there is a long queue. As usual, Bel waited in the queue while I went towards the head of the queue to find out if we are in the right queue. At the entrance, there are 2 queues, one for normal independent tourists like us, the other for group tourists (or those joining a guided tour). Again, we didn’t wait long before entering the museum. We proceed to the ticket counter and got our tickets and also pick up a floor plan leaflet. We weren’t quite sure where to start so we just kind of followed the crowd. One thing I noticed here is that all the signs here will point towards the Sistine Chapel but in order to get there, you’ll first go through many galleries and halls. We took our time browsing through the amazing collections of art and treasures collected by the popes. Take note to not only see what’s there parallel to your eye-sight but also look up to the beautiful paintings on the ceiling and also sometimes the floor.

As we did not join a guided tour nor did we hire the audio guide, we sometimes ‘overhear’ the explanations by the guides nearby to understand a little background / other interesting stories about the art pieces. This is not easy as most of the guided tours are conducted with the tourists having their own earpiece receiving the explanations from their guide speaking softly into his mic via an electronic device (probably a walkie talkie). So only those groups with smaller number of people or those private guides would actually speak louder to be overheard by us. So both Bel and I would compare notes on what we’ve heard and try to match it up to the facts in our guidebooks.

The Sistine chapel is at the end of the standard route through the Vatican museum and its pretty crowded when we got there. Everybody’s head is tilted upwards to admire the wonderful frescoes Creation and Last Judgement by Michelangelo. It took him 4 years to paint the Creation; and 24 years later he painted the extraordinary Last Judgement. It is not allowed to take photos inside the Sistine Chapel so when there’s an occasional flash, you’ll see the officer in charge rush over to the person and request him not to take photos. Since this is a chapel, one is supposed to remain quiet inside. But most could not resist discussing or explaining what they know or what they have seen making it quite noisy. So every 30 seconds or so, you’ll hear 3 claps followed by ‘Shhhh……’ from one of the officer. Everyone will quiet down for a while before continuing on discussing in hush tones.

From Bel’s guide book, we learn that there’s actually a secret exit going out from the chapel leading towards the St Peter’s Basilica. This is actually catered for guided groups so they could actually skip the queue into the basilica. However, you cannot take this exit if you hired the audio guide because you then will not be able to return them to the counter. Since we didn’t hire the audio guide we went on to explore the exit. The exit is on the right at the very end of the chapel (if you stand looking into the chapel from the chapel’s entrance). Feeling a little anxious as we do not know if this is allowed since we were not with any guided tours, we tried to blend in with a group of Korean tourists exiting at that time. Well, asian face, who can tell? ;p We went down a flight of stairs and voila, we are at the main entrance of the basilica. There are 2 Swiss guards on guard there. Since we are already inside, we went into the basilica again for another round and visited the souvenir shop as Bel wanted to buy some gifts for her friend.

Here are the photos from Rome and Vatican City. Enjoy !
Rome '08
Vatican City '08

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy - Part 5

2009-02-18T16:58:00.007+08:00

Italian Pizza and Pasta

Sliced pizza is a good choice if you are on a smaller budget. You just have to choose the pizza flavor and agree on how big-a-slice you want. The pizza will be weigh and you just pay the price and have it on-the-go, and they are served on a piece of paper normally. But if you ordered a pizza in a restaurant, they usually come in quite a big size and thin-crust. There are so many varieties of pizza toppings to choose from and they are yummy.

Pasta here is normally a little too dry to my likings. The sauce is just enough to cover the spaghetti noodle so sometimes I could only taste the noodle and not the sauce after a few chew. It is the same throughout our trip in Italy until I had seafood spaghetti in Venice where the seafood is extremely fresh and there’s a lot of sauce. Then we noticed that the restaurant was operated by Chinese, so I concluded that the foreigners preferred pasta dry while the Chinese like it wet.

I had 2 different servings of lasagna in Italy and I gave up after that because both servings taste the same and they are too salty. The taste reminded me of a type of minced meat can food in Malaysia...

Tiramisu

Belinda found a very good café restaurant while surfing online one night called Pompi, near Re di Roma station in southern Rome, claiming to be the best tiramisu in Rome, so we decided to pay it a visit. I am really glad we did coz the tiramisu are so good that we went back the second day. It is mostly frequented by the young locals. They also have a huge array of desserts other than tiramisu. There are two options for the tiramisu: the traditional one, with chocolate, and the one with strawberry. If you go there around evening time, you could also take up their pasta buffet offer which is quite worth it. You can choose any drink from their drink menu and enjoy the various dishes from the buffet table. I had Whisky coffee while Bel had Rum Coffee and both are really strong. The tiramisu are really yummy and the cream tasted really fresh.

21st - 26th Sept 2008 Rome, Italy - Part 4

2009-02-18T16:46:00.008+08:00

The Italian Coffee Culture

Espresso, cappuccino, macchiato, latte, mocha… you’ll be spoiled or confused with the varieties of coffee to choose from when you step into an Italian café, differentiated by the percentage of the coffee and milk or in some cases with chocolate powder. It’s a totally different experience having a cuppa in Italy. While we are used to enjoying our coffee sitting down in a café, slowly sipping the coffee while chatting with friends, reading magazines or just taking a break, be ready to fork out a lot more money to enjoy the privilege of having your coffee while seated here in Italy. If you look at the coffee menu, there'll be 2 price lists for the same coffee; the first would be the price for having the coffee standing at the bar, and the other is the price for having it sitting down at a table, normally it’ll be double the price at the bar. When you walk into a café, the first thing to do is to decide what you want to have, walk over to the cashier and pay for your coffee, get a receipt from the cashier and proceed to the bar counter, get a spot at the counter and hand over your receipt to the barista, and wait to be served. You might need to squeeze or wait to get a spot at the counter should you arrive at the peak period (breakfast and lunch break). It’s amazing to see how quick the barista work behind the counter, serving the plates, putting in the coffee bags into the machine, changing the used coffee bags, heating up the milk etc. This is definitely not an easy job as you have to be on your foot the whole day, twisting and twirling your upper body while preparing and serving the coffee. One of the barista is even wearing a back/waist support.

The coffee price here is relatively cheap; an espresso costs just €0.70, while cappuccino is €1.10 at most cafés; and there are really good. The Italians have cappuccino in the morning to kick start the day, espresso as a booster to keep them going after lunch, and latte at night to wind down. You rarely see them have cappuccino in the afternoon or at night. It’s easy to identify the locals and the tourist in a café as the locals normally would be out of the café within a minute. After their coffee is served, they will add sugar or milk as per liking, pick up their cup, sip…sip, put it down, say ‘gracias’ (thank you) and walk out of the café.

On one of out coffee break one afternoon, I went in to order the coffee while Bel went to grab us a seat, thinking that we still pay for the ‘standing price’ since we are ‘self-servicing’. This café is famous for their special cappuccino (forgot the name) so it costs €2.20. I paid for the coffee and proceed to the counter. There is quite a queue in front. There were 2 barista working at the counter, one in charge of espresso while the other in charge of the cappuccino. As most people ordered cappuccino, the espresso guy is rather free. He placed 2 plates in front of me and I waited patiently. After a while, I thought I was being smart and placed 2 spoons on the plate first so I can take them out as soon as my cappuccinos are served. How wrong was I! Then came my cappuccinos, the barista brought 2 cups over, stopped, look at my plates with the 2 added spoons and walk away grumbling angrily. I was confused but I did see there were already 2 spoons inside the cappuccino cups. This means the 2 cappuccinos are definitely for me but why did he walk away angry? Just because I’ve added 2 spoons there? The espresso guy was pacifying the cappuccino guy asking him to calm down. I don’t understand a word as they are speaking in Italian. After a while, the espresso guy walked towards me with 2 new cappuccinos minus the spoons, I looked at him with a very confused look. In a hushed tone, he asked:

Espresso guy: Do you want to ask your friend to come in and have your coffee here (at the counter)? Because the price is different to have it outside (seated) and it would be very expansive.
Me: Even if I take the coffee out myself?
Espresso guy: yes.
Me: Erm… OK. Can I leave my coffee here while I go and get my friend?
Espresso guy: OK, sure.

So I went to get Bel and had our coffee inside, standing by the counter. What an embarrassing moment I thought, although I still felt kind of innocent. The cappuccino guy could have just told me and not walked away grumbling angrily. Well, then again, maybe by adding the 2 spoons, I have shown disrespect towards his professionalism? I am confused, still. So lesson learn, do not mess with Italian barista but do enjoy their great coffee.

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

2008-12-11T14:56:00.016+08:00

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

2008-12-11T14:31:00.003+08:00

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

2008-12-04T17:26:00.004+08:00

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

2008-12-02T14:30:00.009+08:00

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

2008-11-27T13:49:00.005+08:00

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...

2008-11-18T19:09:00.003+08:00

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

2008-11-18T19:02:00.002+08:00

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

2008-11-18T18:16:00.005+08:00

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

2008-11-18T16:57:00.006+08:00

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

2008-11-18T16:46:00.004+08:00

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

2008-11-18T15:50:00.005+08:00

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

2008-11-18T14:49:00.005+08:00

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

2008-11-17T18:16:00.000+08:00

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

2008-11-17T17:41:00.006+08:00

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,

2008-11-17T15:30:00.008+08:00

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

2008-11-17T13:57:00.007+08:00

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

2008-11-17T13:39:00.007+08:00

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

2008-11-04T17:28:00.008+08:00

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.

4th Sept 2008 - Ilfracombe (Saunton Sands – Lynmouth – Lynton)

2008-11-04T16:35:00.009+08:00

Day 3

While chatting with Katie the other night I mentioned that I loved the ocean and the beach, so she recommended me to visit Saunton Sands. A 3 miles long golden sand beach, where there seems like no end to it and you could actually walk to a part of the beach and own the beach all to yourself. It’s only about 15minutes drive away from Ilfracombe and luckily the drizzle earlier this morning has stopped although the sky is still quite dull with just a few spots of blue. The carpark costs ￡5 per entry. Indeed the beach is really long and at the very far end I could almost see a blurred town covered in mist or rain. The beach is pretty empty except for some early surfers, those walking their dogs and a couple of odd tourist like myself.

Normally when I think of beach, the picture that comes into mind is sun, bikinis, sandals, sun shades… but here, almost everybody is well equipped with wind breakers, jackets, hats and shoes. Those beach huts for rent does not have any umbrellas for the sun but what they have are plastic mat walls to block the wind. I too am fully geared up with my jacket, a cap and my camera before I brave the chilly winds. It has been quite some months since I step foot on a sandy beach and getting up close to the ocean. So although not going for a swim or go anywhere near the water, I am contented.

While walking, I saw a dead dolphin with quite a big hole in its head lying on the beach. My guess is that it's dead quite recently as the whole body is still well intact with the only obvious wound in the head. Its such a sad scene. Later on, while reviewing the photos I've taken on my camera, a dog suddenly rushed out from the bushes and jumped at me. He really gave me a fright but luckily he didn't jump too high up to touch my camera. He is indeed a hyper active dog and he is all geared up waiting for his master to throw him a stick and play fetch. While at the beach, I spent some time thinking and going over some issues I had in mind. One reason why I love the ocean so much, although it's a totally different temperature and sound (here I can only hear the gushing winds that masked away the lapping waves), is that I just felt so calm and relaxed looking at the ocean and to think things over. Later on, I had my packed lunch sitting at the rocks while more families with children and surfers starting to arrive.

After lunch, I head to Lynton & Lynmouth, about 45minutes away from Saunton Sands. Lynton & Lynmouth, 'where Exmoor meets the sea', also known as England's 'Little Switzerland'. This part of Exmoor is an area of incomparable beauty. Sweeping braken clad coombes (valleys) nestled between stunning heather topped hills and spectacular cliffs. Rivers and tumbling waterfalls wind their way through deeply wooded valleys to the sea, creating an outstandingly magnificent and charming countryside. I started with Lynmouth, a charming little town by the sea which was once destroyed by flood in August 1952, damaging 29 bridges, 38 cars washed out to sea, 34 people were killed and a further 420 made homeless. There's an exhibition at the Memorial Hall describing the tragic event. Lynmouth beach is a pebble stone beach, giving it another type of view and feel. Also, there's a Cliff Railway connecting Lynton and Lynmouth. After Lynmouth, I drove up hill to Lynton. I didn’t spent much time here as it’s just another town. (Yes, I prefer the water more). Hence after a short stroll, I drove back to Ilfracombe and call it a day.

3rd Sept 2008 - Ilfracombe (Torr’s Walk)

2008-11-04T15:04:00.006+08:00

Day 2

Woke up from a dream and it's almost 9am, Katie has gone to school. Went down to have my breakfast and then set off to the Torr's Walk. First, I went up the Hillsborough to take in the view of Ilfracombe town. There's a huge flag pole and also a statue of Ekaterine Frolov, a Russian girl who had tragically fell to her death from Hillsborough on 19 July 2000, at the age of 14.

The starting point of the Torr’s Walk started with a slight slope passing by some lovely cottages and also some fancy big houses. The trail then leads through a thin wood and soon it opens up with the big blue ocean and the rock cliffs to my right. Continued on the winding narrow path up the slope and just loving this magnificent view. It's a great day with blue sky, fluffy clouds and the sun is shining, what a great day for a walk. The coastal path trails were pretty clear with signs markings every now and then. There are quite a lot of wild berries and also several huge slimy 'snails' (minus it's shell) crawling on the path. Soon I reached the viewpoint overlooking the whole of Ilfracombe town. Great views and again all to myself and some sheeps :)There's a sign post at the viewpoint and I could either head back to Ilfracombe or continue on the coastal path towards Lee. Since it's just past noon and the sky is still pretty clear, I chose to continue on the coastal path towards Lee Village. I went past an enclosed field with herds of cows (but there's a public footpath). So I went in to get up close with the cows. The cows were pretty 'curious' about my intrusion. Bit by bit, they inched closer towards me while I'm busy photographing them. There's a young baby cow who hid beside the grown ups secretly checking me out ;p Cute...

I returned to the coastal path and continued walking. Soon, I reached a split road with one of the sign pointing towards Lee Village. Not sure which way I should take, I descended to the village and saw 3 elders chatting by the road. So I approached them and asked for direction. They told me to either take the coastal path or take the 2.30pm bus back to Ilfracombe. Went back to the coastal path and soon I arrived at Lee Bay. Such a beautiful place it is. I went down to the rocky shores and walked around. It smelt of ‘seaweeds’ as there were many washed up on the shore. Families with kids and also couples with dogs playing around the area. Such peace and tranquility to live here. The sky soon changed colours hence I decided to end my walk here and take the bus back. But the bus is not due for another hour. As I waited the rain starts pouring down, I quickly ran to take cover under the narrow roof of the Waterfront Hotel which has already closed down. It rained continuously for about 40mins. My shoes and pants are soaking wet. Finally, the bus came and I board the bus back to Ilfracombe.

Back in hostel, I cooked tomato broccoli soup and also microwave some breaded turkey breast for late lunch. After the meal, I decided to call it a day although its just past 4pm and catch up on my trip report. About 7pm I went down to have some winter melons and watched Hell's Kitchen. It's a tv program, something like the Apprentice but in the kitchen with Chef Ramsey. 16 chefs (divided into men and women team) are competing to become the executive chef in Ramsey LA's restaurant. It’s very intense working in the kitchen (serving real customer on set) and you see chef Ramsey throwing unqualified food, smashing the pans, yelling and reprimanding the candidates without mercy. It just grabbed my attention (I don't know why but I just love these kind of reality shows).

2nd Sept 2008 - Swindon – Ilfracombe

2008-11-04T13:59:00.006+08:00

Day 1

Today is the day I'll be vacating my flat. After breakfast, I put all the remaining stuff I had into my car boot and rearranged the furniture so that they are back to their initial positions. Next, I pop over to the rental agency to return the keys and also the receipt showing the carpet in my flat has been professionally cleaned (costs me ￡30 to hire the carpet cleaner). I stopped by the company to pick up a letter from my boss. and also to bring in some cakes as my birthday is coming up soon. It's a tradition of the engineering team here :)

All set, I drove south west to Ilfracombe. The entire journey took approximately 3hrs. I checked into the Ocean Backpackers Hostel which will be my base for the following 3 nights. Ilfracombe is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the north coast of Devon, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs. The town stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 6 km along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west. Walking towards the harbour bay there were quite a number of boats stranded on the sand as it's low tide now. Several people fishing by the pier where you can also take a boat trip out to the nearby Lundy Island. Next to the pier is the St. Nicholas Chapel, sat on Lantern Hill since 1361 and acted as a beacon for over 650 years. This could be the oldest lighthouse in Britain. Half way up, I noticed the change of sky with dark clouds quickly coming towards my direction hence I quickly descend. The rain poured just as I took cover under a shelter with many other tourists. We waited about 15 minutes before the rain subsided and I walked back to my car for a thicker jacket before going to the tourist information center at the Landmark Theater to get a local map.
The Landmark Theater is an award winning theater in the North Devon coastal town of Ilfracombe. Of unusual (even controversial) double conical design, it is locally referred to as Madonna's Bra, a reference to its shape and that of an iconic brassiere worn by the singer Madonna.

Walking along the High Street, there're quite a lot of pubs around town and one of them claimed to be the oldest, established since 1360. Since the sky has cleared up and the sun is out again, I went back up to St. Nicholas Chapel for a panoramic view of the town. Going back to the pier, it was a completely different view. The place where the anglers were fishing earlier on has now been submerged under water. Ahh… it's high tide now, all the boats on the sand is now afloat on the water and the anglers have relocated to another spot.

Back in the hostel, I boiled some broccoli and also reheated the rice and chicken I brought for dinner. I'm staying in a 6-bed dorm with one other roommate, Katie from Kent. She's actually here in Ilfracombe for teacher's training and since her rented house is not ready until next week, she is putting up in the hostel. She has a degree in Children Psychology and has been working in London for the past 6 years. However, she and her boyfriend loved the nature and the countryside too much that they decided to move to North Devon. Whilst talking to her that evening, she told me that there are quite a lot of difficult / troubled children in this area as there are quite a lot of them who came from poor families relying on benefits and a lot of their parents are alcoholic. Hmm... guess this means its not so safe to go out at night then...

29th Aug 2008 - Back to Swindon

2008-11-03T18:56:00.005+08:00

Day 11
Woke up early, packed my stuff and went down for breakfast. Then I walked to Princess Street to take bus no. 25 back to the Hermiston Park and Ride (￡1.10). When I reached the P&R, I didn't press the bell as I thought it is a mandatory stop for the bus. How wrong was I and by the time I realized and pushed the bell, it's too late. So the bus went on and finally stopped at the Napier University bus stop. Luckily it wasn't too far away so I just walked back.

After settling my luggage, I started my journey back to Swindon and arrived around 4pm. Ahh...it felt good to be home again (although not for long). Another 4 nights and I'll be out of this flat so I'm enjoying every last moments in this flat.

That's the end of my trip up north to Lake District and Scotland. Hope you enjoyed it. More photos of the trip will be up soon (I hope). Next up will be my trip report down south to Cornwall & Brighton. Stay tuned ;)

28th Aug 2008 - Edinburgh Castle

2008-11-03T17:34:00.012+08:00

Day 10

After breakfast, I set off towards the Edinburgh Castle, which dominates the city of Edinburgh like no other castle in Scotland, and Edinburgh Castle is unequalled in the whole of the British Isles. Over one thousand years of history sit on top of the famous Edinburgh rock and over a million visitors a year visit Edinburgh Castle. I joined in the queue in front of the caste entrance and waited for about 15mins before the officer lets us in to get the ticket. All the tourists had to go through a security‘bag search' before entering the castle compound. Paid 12pounds for the entrance tickets, I ventured in and search for the free castle tour commencing at 9.45am. There is only this other Brazilian guy (an economist) joining me on the tour. So we had the tour guide to ourselves and it felt like a private tour. The guide, Jim, is a very informative yet humorous guy who took us through the main sights in the castle, introducing us what's what and why it's important. It's easy to tell that he is really proud to be Scottish from the way he speaks and tell us the information.

After about 30mins tour, he ended the tour and left us exploring the castle ourselves. I went into the Military building first (listing the names of the soldiers n officers sacrificed during wars), then went to the Main Hall. There are 2 Scotts in ancient Army uniform explaining what's it like during the war time, how they operate their musket and also how their armor protects them. Later on they let young children try on the head armor and pose with the musket. Next, I went to see the Crown of Jewels and also the 'Stone of Destiny'. These are enclosed in a glass box and the area is pretty small so as more crowds come in you got to move on. Next to the Jewels, it's the chamber where King James was born. Opposite the Jewels is the exhibition showing the place where they kept the prisoners of war and the prisoners' life during that time. Also there were exhibitions of the crafts and counterfeit money done by the prisoners. Those are actually pretty high quality stuff.

Then I went to the St. Margerat's chapel, the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh Castle, is an example of Norman architecture and the oldest building in Edinburgh, Scotland. Legend had it that St. Margaret worshiped in this small chapel, but recent research indicates that it was built at the beginning of the 12th century by her fourth son who became King David in 1124. The building has been restored and the interior presents much the same appearance as it did when first in use. Next to the chapel is the viewpoint of Edinburgh city. There were some reporters from BBC News setting up the cameras. I later on realized that they are there because the Team GB Olympic medalists (those from Scotland) will be coming up to the castle to be interviewed. Many more reporters showed up and all of them flocked over them for interviews. I too joined in the fun and tried to get some shots of the Britain's Sprint Cyclist Gold medalist in the recent Beijing Olympics 2008, Chris Hoy. After that, went to watch a Scottish soldier perform the bagpipe tunes. Next, went down to visit the military museum showcasing the uniforms, weapons etc of ancient times. As it's approaching 1pm, I went back to the viewing point again to wait for the 1 o'clock canon shot. It's been a tradition that they will fire a canon everyday from the Castle at 1pm. Why 1pm and not 12 noon? Because if they were to fire on 12noon then they need to fire 12 times instead of just 1. So I guess its cheaper. Originally, I had my camera all set up and focused on the canon so that I can capture the firing of the canon. I know it will be very loud but when it was fired it was so much louder that it gave me a fright, causing my hand to shake and the camera went off focus. Also, initially I thought there will be a small troop of soldier (at least 3 soldiers) for the canon firing ceremony but end up there is only a single soldier doing the stunt. Well, fair enough, one soldier for a canon ;)

After exiting the castle, I went into the Weavering Centre to see how the Scottish Kilt is weaved. The machine is pretty old and they are really loud during operation. Next I went to the café as they have free Haggis tasting. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, and most of them have the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. They taste pretty good actually. Opposite the center is the Scottish Whisky Centre. Didn't take the tour but went to the shop to have a look instead. The most expansive whisky I saw in there actually cost a whopping 7250 pounds!!! I got a free sample drum of the whisky there. Hehehe...

Then I went to King IV Bridge road to take a photo of the Elephant Café (where J.K Rowling sat and wrote Harry Potter). Next, visited the St. Giles' Church, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, it is the Mother Church of Presbyterianism and contains the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle (Scotland's chivalric company of knights headed by the Queen). Next to it is the Parliament Hall. Upon entering, I come to a huge empty hall with lawyers and advocates pacing up and down the hall talking in hush voice, quite an interesting and funny scene. It's a tradition so that their conversation will not be heard by others. Later I wandered around and walked down the road (along Edinburgh University) and bought a panini for ￡2.10 and head back to the royal mile. Stopped to watch caricature drawing and was very fascinated by the ability of the artist to capture instantly the most important feature of the person and cartoonized it. Later, sat by the church and wrote my journal. As it’s getting pretty cold so headed back to the hostel to shower. After that organize my stuff and went down to the bar for a beer and internet access. This time I got myself a pint of Millers (￡2.20). It's a type of lager, quite bland, preferred McEwans (the one I had yesterday) over this.

27th Aug 2008 - Edinburgh

2008-11-03T14:07:00.011+08:00

Day 9
This morning I decided to join the free 'Edinburgh Guided Tour' which starts at 10.30am. It's only 8.30am after I had the free continental breakfast provided by the hostel, so I thought I'll just go for a short exploration walk of my own and also check out the University of Edinburgh. Later, I stumbled upon the famous & spooky Grefriars Kirkyard, situated in the middle of the old town, just off the end of George IV Bridge and near to the Museum of Scotland. This cemetery is famous for 2 things but for most people, the graveyard is associated primarily with Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal dog who guarded his master's grave for fourteen years until his own death in 1872. It is also the resting place of the "famous" Scots poet William McGonagall - known as the worst poet in British history! But perhaps its greatest claim to fame is that it is said to be one of the most haunted areas of Edinburgh. Later, I wandered into the Princes Street Garden to find a huge fountain, the 'Ross Fountain' from the mid-19th Century. Figures depicted on the fountain include mermaids and four females depicting science, the arts, poetry and industry. A final female figure stands at the apex of the fountain. It's very nice as you can have the Edinburgh Castle in the background. I didn't stay long in this huge yet beautiful garden as it's almost time for the tour. I was actually a little lost by then and so I had to ask for direction back to my hostel :p

There were quite a number of hostelers waiting at the lobby for the tour guide. About 10.35am, the guide appeared in his red t-shirt and we waited another 10 minutes before proceeding to another meeting point near Starbucks to meet with other tourists from other hostels. There again, we waited for another 15minutes before the guides divided us into 3 groups, one group for Spanish speaking tourist and another 2 for English speaking tourists and finally we are off on the tour. My group was guided by a Canadian guy whom 'has come to Edinburgh and fell in love with this city' hence wanted to share his love of this city with the rest of the tourists. The whole walking tour lasted for about 3+ hours and covered all of the main sights of the Old City of Edinburgh. We were fed stories after stories that had happened in the past. With a city so old, there are bound to be lots... and our guide is quite informative and funny. We finally adjourn in the Princes Street Garden around 2.30pm. The guide do not draw any fixed salary but survived solely on tips from the tourists.

Earlier on while waiting at the hostel, I met this girl from New Zealand who is also staying in the same hostel. After the guided tour, both of us decided to visit the Calton Hill to get a better view of the Edinburgh city. Calton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the east of the New Town. Up on this hill, not only can you get a great view of the Edinburgh City, but there is also several iconic monuments i.e. The National Monument, which is actually pretty huge. Its not easy to climb up there but still many made the effort to climb up for a photo shot. After Calton Hill, we decided to climb yet another hill, the Arthur's Seat which is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 m (823 feet), provides excellent panoramic views of the city, is quite easy to climb, and is a popular walk. From afar, it doesn't seem as easy so we (basically it's mostly me cause the NZ gal is very fit and I'm the one constantly left behind and need to stop for breaks, but luckily she is very patient and accommodating and didn't mind waiting for me) hike up the hill next to the Arthur's Seat instead. Upon reaching the top and after some rest, we thought it wasn't too bad after all and hence proceed on to Arthur's Seat. This is definitely the highest hill among the 3 we climbed today as it is so much windier and colder here. We rested a while and proceed down as the sky is again turning dark and we feared it'll rain soon.
We then slowly make our way back to the Royal Mile again while detouring to some tourist spots along the way. Both of us decided to go back and rest. I sat at the bar, ordered a cold beer and surfed the net while she went up to her room. Later that night, I went out for a stroll and to capture some photos of the night scenes.

Back in Malaysia

2008-10-26T21:56:00.002+08:00

After a 10days stopover trip in Abu Dhabi, I finally touched down in KLIA around 2pm this afternoon. The trip to UAE is yet another interesting one (I shall talk about it in another post). My sister came to pick me up at the airport. After taking a nap we went out for dinner at the Petaling Jaya's SS2 food court and I had my long missed Penang Asam Laksa (but not very nice) and Penang Char Kuey Teow (fried noodle) and also Ikan Bakar (grilled fish). Yummy... more yet to come in the coming days, weeks, months...

Sayonara to UK for now...

2008-10-16T01:20:00.001+08:00

Tomorrow I'll be heading off to Abu Dhabi for about 10days before returning to my home country, Malaysia. Got a few friends currently working there and are very kind to let me barge into their home and private life for that duration. I'll be touching down in KLIA airport on the 26th Oct. A record 16 months away from home, by far the longest time I spent away from home. Can't wait til I get back so I can meet all my friends and family again... and also to tuck in and indulge myself on all the Malaysian food and snacks that I missed o so much....

I shall return again to UK sometime after Chinese New Year 2009. I'm still not thoroughly done yet with UK and also I've barely touched on the Europe portions. So wait for me... I shall be back.

26th Aug 2008 - Isle of Skye - Edinburgh

2008-10-16T01:18:00.002+08:00

Day 8

After a good nite sleep of 10 hours, I woke up at 7am, freshen up and went downstairs to cook noodles. While cooking, I had a brief chat with the elder man who was playing some wonderful guitar tunes last nite. He’s from Ipswich and he plays at wedding ceremonies. After breakfast, I set off to Edinburgh. Soon I was stopped by the highway maintenance guy telling me that the Skye Bridge is closed so I need to take the ferry from Armdale Ferry Terminal to Mallaig instead to go back to the mainland. Reached the terminal at 9.45am and the next ferry is set sail at 10.15am. The ferry cost GBP18.45 for the car and another GBP3.50 for myself. While waiting, I asked the ticketing officer what happened at Skye Bridge only to found that its now opened again after an accident last nite. Bummer... could have saved all that money but then just treat it as an experience :)

Under the instruction of the ferry officer, all the drivers drove their cars onto the ferry and nobody is allowed to stay in the car. Everybody went to the upper deck where there is a lounge and a small cafe bar. You can choose to stay indoor at the lounge or go outside to the open space where there are also some seats. I off course went outside but then it's really windy and cold out there. The ferry ride just took about 30 odd minutes and along the journey, one of the car's alarm went off non-stop. Five minutes before we reach the terminal, all the drivers and passengers were requested to go back to the car and get ready. Upon reaching, once again we were instructed to leave the ferry one car after another.

I continued my journey towards Edinburgh. The weather this morning has been cloudy and grey. At times, it was just a mild drizzle but other times its pouring down hard. The traffic along the route is generally slower as everybody is driving at a slower pace. I welcomed the slow moving traffic as it gave me more time to enjoy the scenery, contrasting with the views a few days ago in bright and sunny weather, the gloomy, misty and wet terrain presents a totally different feeling. There were quite a number of serious cyclist braving the rain, wind and cold at the oncoming direction. No doubt, they have my utmost admiration and applaud.

After about 5 hours, I arrived at the Hermiston Park and Ride site. It's free to park here and I only need to pay for my bus fare (GBP1.10) into Edinburgh town center. This is a very good deal as I heard it would be difficult to find a parking slot in Edinburgh town and not to mention the expansive parking fee. I am now carrying my full-size backpack plus another day-pack and walking on foot now. This is actually the first time on my entire trip that I have to carry everything on my back... and it's definitely not an easy job. Well, I guess this would be the exact situation when I go on my Euro trip next year so I better start getting used to it. Some guessing and asking for directions later I checked in to the Edinburgh's St. Christopher's Inn Hostel located one street away from the Royal Mile. I was located at the top floor (5th floor), OMG !!! But then staying up high has its own benefits as I am now further away from the bar downstairs (not sure what the situation is like for those at the lower floors) and also I get a good view of the Edinburgh town from the window of my room.

After days of grassland, hills, the mother nature with more sheep than human, I am suddenly walking amidst beautiful old buildings crowded with locals and tourists. It's the last day of the Fringe Festival 2008 so there are still some street performances going on. The authority has blocked up the Royal Mile making it inaccessible to public vehicles. I just wandered along the Royal Mile stopping off and on to watch the performances. There was one guy performing at the middle of the road and his performances was hilarious. He did a pretty good job imitating Micheal Jackson's moon walk and I am particularly impressed by his show of the Matrix in 'slow motion'. We all know how the slow motion scenes on movies is done but to see it being performed in real life, that is just incredible. At the other corner, there's a group of people playing various instruments (violins, drums, etc) and there is this crazy lady who put an electric drill through her tongue!

As the sunsets, the temperature drops and I decided to go back to the hostel for shower and also change to a thicker jacket. Later, I got myself a Subway sandwich as dinner and while munching, I heard some drum thumps and also bagpipes music. It's actually a band playing some really good highland music. Their performance were brilliant but too bad I arrived a bit too late as they are doing their last piece of music for the nite and also for the festival. I enjoyed it very much hence I bought their CD album and got them to signed it. I lingered around a little longer after that before going back to the hostel.

梦。 游。 迹