Highlands here i come..

Time to clear my backlog..

Friday, 5th Aug 2005

After eight and a half hours sitting next to this jap lady who kept nodding off on my shoulder on the overnight coach, i arrived in Edinburgh.

Stepped out of the bus station..wooh..the crisp cold air reminded me tat i'm now in scotland..a couple of degrees colder than in London..the streets were still quiet at 7.15am..

I had joined a tour to the Highlands..yes, it's a package tour..a bit touristy but i figured it's the best way to see the highlands by myself..not economical to drive and too ulu to risk getting lost/stranded in the mountains(me kiasi mah)..

Check-in time for the tour is 8.30am so i roamed about a bit..not tat there's much to see since the shops are not opened yet..spied a O'Briens & went in for some juice..

Strolled over to the Haggis office at 815am & was greeted wif this looong queue of pple..settled the admin stuff then went out to wait for my coach # to be called..

'Bus #3 pple follow me pls' shouted this guy in kilts..we were led to this big yellow coach..after dumping our luggage at the back, we climbed aboard..this group is bigger than i expected..38 pax..i was kinda expecting those small van kind..a quick scan..hmm..a couple of aunties & uncles..2 china-looking men..3 chinese girls(couldn't tell where they're from..must wait till they open their mouths then i can guess)..& the rest are all ang mohs..

The guy in kilt introed himself, 'I'm Tony & i'll be your guide cum slave over the next 3 days'

When everybody's settled down in their seats..off we go..

This tony guy quite good..can drive & talk at the same time..all the while, he'll be pointing out the places as we pass them..telling us some stories & jokes..basically tok cork lah..some of his jokes quite corny one..sample joke : Wat did van gogh say when offered a sweet? No thanks, i've got one 'here' (one ear) Geddit?

We sort of entered into the highlands after 2 hours of driving..and i began to snap furiously away on my camera..after about 30 mins, i gave up cos i realised i am AMONG the highlands..which means everywhere i turn my head also soooo beautiful..no point taking so many shots..besides dun think my amateur skills can capture the magnificence of the highlands..

We had a couple of stops along the way..some were tea break stops..yea, there were coffee/tea & biscuits provided..others were for us to take pics. According to Tony, scotland accounts for >50% of the coastline in UK despite occupying only about 1/3 of the land area..which means u're never >5miles away from the coastline when u're in the highlands..well, for those interested, can check out the UK map..scotland really does have a very jagged outline..

That nite, we stayed in this town called Kyle of Lochalsh, which is at the tip of Isle of Skye..with not much of choice for dinner..i went for fish & chips..but it was a good choice cos the fish was really fresh & the chips were chunky good..

After dinner, it was a quick shower & then it was off to dreamland..