Focus..

Before i get too carried away blogging about my mundane life and risk losing my readers out there..i think i should blog about something more interesting..like my highlands trip..so here we go..

Sunday, 7 August 2005

We continued our tour of the highlands today..din really catch the names of some of the places we passed by..was too busy admiring the views to pay attention to the guide..he was telling us about the history about the Scotland & stuff..in any case, 2 days of listening to the guides is enough to make me realise that there’s this animosity between the Scottish & the English..(btw, for those of u who are still not aware, Scotland & England, & Wales for tat purpose, are 3 separate countries..they have their individual national flags & anthems)

Wat I do know is tat we stopped at Kingussie for lunch..but being a Sunday(& more places are shut on Sundays in the highlands than in the major cities)..the few places tat were open were the pubs & a few high-class restaurants..& me being the ‘sour olive’ went for the cheapest option..sandwiches from the local grocer..bought my tuna mayo & banana & sat outside a church to munch lunch..qiong ren de ri zi..sigh..

After lunch, we drove on..visited Fort Augustus..more of the bitter battle tales between Scotland & England..

Then it’s time to head back to Edinburgh..Ewan tried to liven things up on the journey & saboed a few of them..he’s good..really entertaining & funny..he even managed to convince this american guy take off his shirt & perform a dance on the coach..

Oh, did I also mention our group pooled money & bought some Scottish whisky to share? We paid £2 each & Ewan managed to get us 3 bottles with the sum collected..with some 30 pax among us, we only got about a sip each but it was enuf..the whisky was really strong..din really enjoy it tat much..

We arrived back in Edinburgh at about 545pm..there was some delay cos it’s the first weekend of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival & some roads were closed..Edinburgh has 101 festivals going on in Aug & the city is at its vibran-nest (think it should be most vibrant?)..personally, I think it’s the best time to visit even though it means squeezing with 2000 other tourists for tat glimpse of the castle..

Checked in at my hostel..superb location but I can’t say the same for my roommates..i actually got a shock when I entered the room cos it’s by far the messiest room I’ve ever came across..it’s a 12-bed dorm and to be fair, it could have been quite a spacious dorm if not for the fact tat there were 5 or 6 ang mohs sprawled on the floor with piles of papers & packets of food all around them..

They threw me a look & went back to their own stuff..think they’re performing in the festival..they seemed to be rehearsing for some play..

Put down my stuff & zipped off..meeting my ex-colleague, soon-to-be-Dr Wong..she’s here in Edinburgh studying..yes, u got it..her PhD..

Ah..there she is..still looks the same..maybe a little rounder the face..but more or less still the same..& since she’s not eating, I just popped into a takeaway shop & bought a jacket potato for dinner..

Then she orientated me around the city a bit..the high street is also known as the royal mile..cos it’s..well..a mile long..beginning from the castle to the parliament house..

Since I’ll be hanging ard Edinburgh for a few days, I also asked her to show me where Tesco is..(yes, I’m a loyal Tesco fan)..she even offered her kitchen to me(after I complained about how miserable the hostel kitchen is) should I prefer to cook my meals(cheaper mah..i'm a poor backpacker & she's a poor student)..

After tat we walked back to her hall..oh my, it’s like 2 mins away from the castle..or like wat she put it, she’s staying in the ‘prime district’ or the orchard road of Edinburgh..hee..tat gives me an idea…