Wow!!

I exited Edinburgh's train station and my jaw dropped. Immediately I was greeted by the hustle and bustle of a typical modern metropolis nestled in a wonderous display of historical buildings, the higlight being wonderful Edinburgh castle that watches over the city from high above. It was magnificent!

One could happily spend their entire visit to Edinburgh simply walking around the city, especially the royal mile and relishing the fabulous nightlife. However, I did venture to the national gallery which was very interesting, especially their collection of Scottish artifacts. Also, against my better judgement and trusting the advice of someone I'd met travelling, I visited the British royal yaught Britanica. After paying the inflated entrance fee I got to witness first hand the ridiculuous luxuries of the British monarchy and learn about bizarre rituals put in place so regular people can think themselves more important. I'll save the anti class structure rants for my other blog, but it is apparent that I'll never meet the queen because I don't bow to anybody.

Never trust an alcoholic

Stirling, the gateway to the higlands and once a strategic stronghold of Scotland, has a lot to offer. The city surrounds Stirling castle which was built in the 14th century on top of an ancient volcanic plug. The castle has gone through many alterations since it was first created and when you walk through it you witness first hand the styles of architecture from diffetent time periods.

Because of Scotland's violent past, Stirling is the perfect place to learn about the the history and battles that shaped the country. The locals are very proud of one particular hero named William Wallace who fought a famous battle on Stirling bridge in the 13th century for Scottish independence from the English. The enormity of their pride is clearly evident when you glimpse the really cool monument erected in his honour atop Abbey Craig with amazing views of the surrounding landscapes. If you've ever watched 'Braveheart' then you'll have heard of Mr. Wallace, however, it was quickly pointed out by the residents that 95% of the film's friction. Makes sense really if you consider who directed it.

Just another day

Today began early with a visit to the Eileen Doonan castle, which was used during the filming of the movie 'Highlander'. Not my favorite castle as it was architecturely bland and situtuated near a busy highway which ruined its romatic appeal. I however enjoyed listening to the American tourists ahead of me who couldn't care less about the castle's history or architecture but only the fact that Sean Connery was actually there. Gotta love Hollywood.

After the castle I ventured off to Fort William for the day. It was a beautiful town and reminded me a lot of Banff with Ben Navis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, looming above. Unfortunately, because of the wet and slippery conditions, we adhered to the warnings from the locals and decided it wasn't worth the risk hiking up the mountain especially since we weren't properly equiped. I was really disapointed as I've heard the view from any of the many hiking routes is quite spectacular. After wallowing in light sorrow I decided that there was nothing else for me to accomplish here and so I jumped on the next bus leaving town.

Sammy the tour guide

During one sightseeing day on the island I met a couple of Chinese tourists who decided that since my English was better than theirs and I seemed to understand the cryptic bus schedule, that I should be their tour guide. I explained that during the 4 hour gap when the buses on the island stop running, I was planning on walking along the coast between towns until the next bus could be flagged down. They nodded in agreement.

Our first stop was a hike to the old man storr, a number of wierldy shaped rock pinnacles, which are actually the remains of ancient volcanic plugs. It was a pretty foggy day so the view from the top was unspectaular however the rock formations were really interesting to see up close.

We descended and jumped on another bus to the northern tip of the island where the remains of Duntulum castle sit. It may be difficult to understand why a castle's remains can be interesting. It is a combination of witnessing history, learning about the interesting battles of ownership and remarkable feats of architecture, respecting the accomplishments of extreme manual labour, and basking in the romantic setting of castles on hilltops towering over dropping cliffs and pounding water.

After taking in the beauty I was surprised when one of my companions asked when the next bus would be arriving. After 10 minutes of me responding "no bus" to their query of "no bus??" they expressed their disapointment and frustration and we started our walk. I strapped on my walkman and entered my own world after explaining the concept of hitchhiking. It was interesting wathching them literally stand in the middle of the road and stop the occassional passing car after nobody responded to their original attempts using the common thumb gesture.

I was in heaven. On my right the sun's rays struck the water of the Minch as the waves crashed against the rocks below. To my left the vast hillsides were scattered with grazing sheep. It was perfectly silent and aside from the rare passing vehicle not another soul crossed out path the entire time. It was difficult for me to understand how, with billions of people walking this planet, my two companions couldn't appreciate that for these brief hours we had this piece of untouched glorious nature to ourselves.

Oh the water

I've never come across anything as calming as being alone by a large natural body of water, so I ventured off to the Scottish west coast's Isle Of Skye in search of tranquility. I jumped off the bus at Kyle of Lochlash and walked the 7 kilometers to the island using the newly built Skye bridge. It was an off season sunday morning and it seemed everyone was still in bed so the water and beautiful surroudings belonged to me. It was pouring rain and my backpack weighed 45 pounds but I couldn't stop smiling.

So what's there to do Sunday on an island in the middle of a cold fall day? Pretty much nothing but appreciate the experience of being where you are and revelling in the surrounding natural wonders. I went for a long run along the water, hung out in a local pub watching rugby and observing local fanatics swear, cheer, and pump their fists at the television screen, and chatted with other like minded travellers over a few glasses of red wine.

Pub

After 3 busy days and nights in Inverness and surrounding areas, especially one memorable late night at a pub called 'tits and nannies' (real name, 'Hootenannys'), I planned for my final evening to be a quiet one. Upon returning from a walk along the river Ness I heard bagpipes coming from the local pub Gellions. This screamed picture opportunity so I followed the music. Unfortunately, there was a crowd of people overflowing from the front entrance and I tried, to no avail, to squeeze myself through. I was spotted, the obvious tourist with her camera ready, by one of the locals and suddenly the crowd parted and I was quickly rushed to the front so I could take a picture of the band. Okay, I had my picture, thanked everyone immensly and prepared to leave but my garcious hosts wouldn't allow it. Suddenly I was bombarded with question about my origin and purpose and ended up step dancing and singing with the locals until the band stopped playing. What a wonderful night!

McKhandwala

The Scottish highlands are where you'll get a true taste of local culture. Pubs abound, occasional kilt sigthings, bagpipe buskers, stories of revered and hated clans like the McDonalds and MacDowalls, lush green rolling hills, and grazing lambs and sheep. I unpacked in Inverness, the perfect base for exploring the surrouding highlands. The city's really picturesque with the Inverness castle overlooking the river Ness that flows through. Everyone is extremely friendly and it wasn't long before I was engaging in craig (Gaelic for chat) with the locals at a nearby pub.

My first day started early as I wanted a full day to explore Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. Bused it to Drumnadrochit and walked the 5 km's to Urquhart castle. The country side was so remarkably quiet and peaceful. It happens almost imperceptibly, you're just walking along uphill, turn a corner and come across the spectacular ruins of Urquhart castle overlooking river Ness. The beauty was so incredible that I was frozen for almost 30 minutes and took a million pictures. After absorbing the moment into every ounce of me, I wandered around the grounds learning about the history of the castle and immersing myself into a lifestyle that existed over 300 hundred years ago.

As I watched the sun set over the river Ness a strange thing happened. This large dragon like monster immerged from the water, grabbed the sandwich I was eating and disapeared again. Unfortunately, I had filled my camera's memory card with pictures of the castle and so I don't have any photographic evidence. Was it the famous Loch Ness monster?

If I had a few million dollars

I finally tore myself away from reading Noddy books and a the city I'll hopefully call home someday and jumped on the train to Glasgow. No one brags aboud Glasgow but curiosity wins everytime. The city's a bit to moderm for my liking but still has a few old world charms like the spendid 12 century gothic cathedral founded by St. Mungo, the city's patron saint.

I dedicated an entire day wandering around beautiful Pollock park and admiring the collection at its Burrell museum. Known as one of the greatest collections created by one person, the museum displays only a fraction of the 9,000 works of art collected by Sir William Burrell and Lady Constance Burrell. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the medieval tapestries, European paintings, including works by Degas and Cézanne, Islamic art, and modern sculptures including works by Epstein and Rodin.

As I walked through the park watching children play and people walking their dogs I thought about what pieces of art I'd own if I were ridiculously rich and had the means. It is a very long list but definitely Rodin's 'Thinker', Canova's 'Cupid and Psyche Standing', Klimt's 'Kiss', Munch's 'Scream' and 'Madonna', Boticelli's 'Birth Of Venus' and 'Mystic Nativity', Crivelli's 'The Dead Christ Supported By Two Angels', Picasso's 'On The Beach', Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers', Dali's 'The Hand', the gorgueous erotic sculpture I saw in a Winnipeg gallery, and my science vs. nature interpretation of a wonderful painting by Natlie Marsh that I promise to afford someday.

Beginnings

Thankfully it's been a slow start to my anticipated adventure. After finishing work two weeks behind schedule, the days before leaving were very rushed and stressful. So it was nice arriving to cousin's place in London and having a few days to relax and start planning my journey. Yes, I said 'start', seeing as I only purchased the Calgary to London leg of my travels and left with only a rough itinerary, I figured a little more planning would be in order.

A lot's changed since my visit to Littleton street two years ago. My cousin Nasreen has opened a little eBay cottage and it is fun to watch her wheel and deal, trying to get in a last second bid while seeing to the needs of her children, and entertaining her Canadian guest. Her husband Steve hasn't changed much, still obsessed with sports and makes the most delicious Sunday lunches. I do get a kick out of watching him obsessing over whether the wireless router's unplugged for fear that his family might get cancer or something.

Her oldest daughter Sofi is no longer the quiet girl who ignored me during my previous trips. She's now an adorable little chatter box that won't leave me alone and it is wonderful conversing with her. The youngest daughter, Mari, was only seven weeks old when I was here two years ago. I remember walking around the house with her lying in my folded arms, rocking her to sleep. How strange to see that she's now walking around herself. She's got beautiful blue eyes, loves reading books, has a sweet laugh and is obsessed with Noddy.

I have family spread all over London and it has been great seeing everyone again. Had a wonderful night at Colbeh, a delicious Persian restaurant. It was interesting to watch the waiter make naans and rotis in the clay over that was situated at the front of the restaurant, two feet from our table. I really enjoyed walking through South Woodford and having lunch at my uncle's place. It is where we stayed during my childhood trips here and it bought back a lot of great memories.

The Good Sammy Explained

This online journal captures the adventures of the good Sammy as she travels the world trying to make right the wrongs of her past. While Damo and Nico were travelling through Australia they discovered that the Australians had already been exposed to the good Sammy and posted their findings here. However, after further investigation they unveiled a few secrets of the past and posted the incrimminating pictures here. Hey, everyone makes mistakes.