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| Dublin
So the next stop on our trip was Dublin. Although Dublin is very expensive…it’s vibrant. There is so much energy that radiates from the city it’s hard not to have a good time.
The French, Scottish, and Guinness
So when we checked into our hostel, we met two French kids who were traveling through the city as well. They were nice and so we invited them out with us to hear some traditional Irish music. They were on their way to dinner so we decided to meet up a little later. Flash forward three hours. We are enjoying the traditional (yet politically charged) music when our French friends spot us in the window. Along with their Scottish friend who was also staying in the hostel, they decided to join us for a few drinks. From that point on, we were the Dublin Crew.
Drinking a Pint of the Black Stuff
So the night continued with the two French kids, Gordon of Scotland, Roshani, and myself…we stumbled from pub to pub living it up and discussing everything from French politics to Irish soccer…it was truly a memorable night. At around 3 in the morning, we got back to the hostel, took 6 hours of sleep, woke up (still drunk) and made our way to the Guinness Brewery. We took the self guided walking tour and finally made our way up to the Sky Bar. At the top of the factory, there is an all glass bar that serves you a free pint of Guinness with a 360 degree view of Dublin. It is truly the freshest Guinness in the world…and you bet your ass I did everything to enjoy it. I even tried to buy some more…but they wouldn’t let us. So we had to reserve to Gordon’s flask of Laphroaig Scotch. It was 11:20 AM in Dublin…and I (along with France, Scotland, and Roshia) was drunk. You have to love a city that makes this behavior normal.
Irish and Scottish Soccer
While in Dublin, we also got to watch a few soccer matches. The first night we saw Ireland play their EuroCup match. It was cool being in a traditional Irish pub, watching a soccer match, drinking a Guiness…just soaking up life.
The second game we watched was Scotland’s EuroCup game. We were in a big sports bar, and Scotland had to beat Germany to get to the second round of the tournament. Just on the other side of the pub, the English were watching their team beat the shit out of Lithuania or something like that. They cheered a lot for a lot of goals….the Scottish mostly bitched that the ref was paid off. It was a cool experience even though every Scot in the pub began drinking heavily shortly after the loss…luckily we were with a Scot…and he assured us that this was our shield from getting jumped as we walked the Liffey River late at night. We asked him how…and he said it would most likely be a Scot who would jump you…and countrymen never mug each other. A twisted code of ethics I suppose.
Keeping in Touch
As Gordon got ready for the rest of his travels…he did something that puts my time abroad into perspective. He gave us his email address, got ours for his records, and promised to keep in touch as long as he had a computer. He almost shed a tear as he left. Strangers 48 hours ago, but now friends via email and experience…neat how things work out! | | |
| Sept. 8-11
Glasgow
So the next stop on our trip was to Glasgow. Glasgow is a very industrial. There is no real architectural beauty in an industrial design: everything looks the same. They have a saying that if you took the people from Glasgow and put them in Edinburgh, you would have the perfect city. For the most part, this is true.
The Heavenly Hostel
The Euro Hostel is hands down the best place we stayed at during our trip. Where as the Caledonian Backpacker in Edinburgh stank of old, we found the Euro Hostel to be nice and fairly new. We got our room upgraded to a private room so that way we could have our own bathroom, lockers, etc. Also, we could just leave our stuff in the room as opposed to having to check it in downstairs in their secure area. No matter how many reason I give you guys for getting a private room, I know all you hear is:
Private Room + Rupe & Rosh = ;)
Now I will stop trying to justify the private room.
Giving to the Poor
So in the morning, Roshani and I decided to go on a walk down by the Clyde River. A romantic walk you think. We thought so too. Didn’t realize that it was where all the druggies and less economically gifted (PC, yea) hang out. So we walk…noticing 12 year old kids drinking by the river, homeless huffing on glue in the park, you know…anything you would want to see on a romantic walk. Well, one of the huffers came up to us and engaged us in conversation. Here is a brief rundown of how that went:
Huffer: Can…..Can…..Can I
Roshani: Huh?
Huffer: Can I have some money?
Roshani: (dead silent)
Rupe: (Silent as well while I jingle coins in my pocket loud enough to where he knows I have some change)
Huffer: Please, I need to eat (as he takes a sip of his beer, his buddies are holding his huffing bag).
Rupe: Still silent as I am feeling around to see what the lowest denomination of coin I have in my pocket….only pound coins…damn!)
Huffer: Please, I am starving and homeless (mind you this is what I thought he said…I don’t know for sure as his accent made it tough. By accent I mean drunkin’-and-high-beyond-belief-to-where-your-words-only-sound-like-random-noises accent. Not the Scottish one.)
Rupe: (Still Silent trying to convert the pound to dollar. 1GBP = roughly $1.62. That’s a lot of money to give to a druggie)
Huffer: Please (getting noticeably angrier as I am still jingling coins in my pocket).
Rupe: Sorry, I don’t have anything.
Huffer: You know liars go to hell…your going to hell you liar.
Rupe (to Roshani): Man, glad we are Hindu!
His declaration of me going to hell, however, did start a theme that would dominate the rest of our stay in Glasgow.
Losing My Religion:
While in Glasgow, we found ourselves spending a lot of time at Glasgow Cathedral. It is absolutely beautiful! It is about the only thing in Glasgow is any real merit in design, so that makes it stand out even more. From there, we went to St. Mungo’s Museum. It was a museum that basically put all (not all but you know what I mean) religions together and went through their traditions, rituals etc. When you look at it all side by side, our displays of faith aren’t all that different from each other.
At night, Roshani and I wanted to have a chill night, so we went to a movie called The Man who Sued God. It starred a Scottish actor by the name of Billy Connelly. He is hilarious, and if you get a chance to catch his stand up routine, then do it. It’s worth the money. The movie was funny and smart…definitely worth watching.
All of this stuff about religion has definitely made me think a lot. I won’t write about that though, I still need to figure it out…I suppose that is why I am studying abroad…to figure things out… | | |
| Sept. 4 – 7
The Truth
When trying to travel through Europe/Great Britain on a budget, I highly recommend the discount carriers such as EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Ryan Air (www.ryanair.com). They offer really cheap flights to just about everywhere you want to go. It’s not a scam either. I didn’t find myself flying on some small twin prop with two goats manning the emergency exit aisle. Nor was there some student trying to get his pilots license in the cockpit. These are legit airlines with real tickets, check in times, and entirely too expensive alcohol. There is a small catch however: the airports they fly out of are a long distance from the city they claim to be in. Here is a little rundown on how we made it from London to Edinburgh on $25 each.
4:00 AM—Wake up and get ready
5:00 AM—Get to Victoria Bus Station
6:00 AM—Take a bus to London Stansted
7:30 AM—Arrive at London Stansted (which should really be called Middle of Fucking Nowhere Stansted)
8:30 AM—Flight to Edinburgh
9:45 AM—Arrive in Edinburgh and catch bus back to city center
An hour of actual flying took almost six hours of work. Anything for a deal (the guju in me is a bit smug)! Luckily in Edinburgh there isn’t any other airport other than the major one, so it was easy to catch a bus to the city center, which was only 20 minutes away.
The Caledonian Backpacker
Roshani and I quickly found our hostel and checked in. Edinburgh is a historical city. In this case, historical means really really old. So when I booked the “newest hostel in Edinburgh” I didn’t realize that meant it was built somewhere around 1912. I can’t complain though because we weren't looking for luxury. The room we booked was a coed dorm style room with 12 total beds. Somehow, Roshani ended up being the only girl in the room. If she was easily embarrassed by drunk dudes in their undies….well... then she would have... been... embarrassed. But she wasn't, so no worries on the decency front.
After checking in, she and I went out and explored the city. On the first day we walked up and down Princes Street, which is the main shopping street in Edinburgh. We also took our lunch on Rose Street, which is basically a pedestrian only alley with pubs and restaurants. I love fish and chips! There is something about the greasy greasy cod and oil drenched chips that leave my fingers slick all day that I just can’t get enough of. Later on, we went into a traditional pub and sucked down a few pints. I had Carlsberg and she had Strongbow. Later that night, we met some Irish kids staying in our dorm. We all hit it off great, and wisely used the rest of the night to get shit faced and talk about where we are from, what we do, what we like, and where to go next. It’s neat because so many of the people we met while on our trip were just there to work and live. They left their homes, be it Australia or Ireland, decided on a city and took up residence in a hostel. They work all day and drink all night. They get to meet everyone who comes in and out of the hostels, which is nice because there is constantly someone new and they really have no worries except keeping enough in their pockets to eat and be entertained. Talk about getting out of your comfort zone.
Castles and Whiskey
The next day, Roshani and I decided to hike up the mountain/hill to Edinburgh castle. It was cool because it was the first castle I had ever seen. We took the tour, learned a little and enjoyed an amazing view of Edinburgh.
After the castle, we went to the Scottish Whiskey Heritage Museum. This was by far the coolest thing we did in Edinburgh. At the museum, we tried several different types of scotch, learned how it was made, about the different regions of Scotland that produce different types of scotches, and what to look for when you are tasting it. Surprisingly, Roshani had a great time with the whole tour. I was really happy that she actually likes tasting all the different types and blends!
The next day was our last day in Edinburgh and we spent it just hanging out in the beautiful parks at the foot of the hill that the castle was on. It was just so beautiful and picturesque, I felt I was in a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie…only were Indian, short, and not superstars. It was just a chill day in a beautiful city, just soaking it all up…it couldn’t get any better. | | |
| September 1st:
Good news
The flight from Dallas to NYC was smooth, as was the trip from NYC to London. Nothing was lost, no one got sick, no “shady characters,” no crying babies.
Bad News
Freakin’ American Airlines stopped giving free drinks away on international flights. This, while very trivial to some of you, was a bit of a big deal to me. I was planning to nab 4 or 5 freebies, and zonk out for the rest of the trip. Instead, I called Ginnie Mac and they confirmed that I could take out a loan for 75% of the all in cost of a few beverages. Fucking high prices! Oh well…there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Random People Met
On the way to NYC, I had the honor of meeting Trisha Farkas. While none of you know who she is…you really oughta’. Trisha has lived in NYC all her life. She is really tall, really blonde, and really loud. She has no problem telling you to fuck off, and she gets shit when she wants shit. Casually striking up a convo with her turned a three hour flight into a 15 minute jaunt. We talked about life and love. She is a hairdresser/stylist, and so we talked about fashion and celebrities. She has worked Tom Green, Drew Berrymoore (via Tom Green), and even Bobby DeNiro. In a weird coincidence, she actually lives in the same building I stayed in while I was in NYC this past summer. The Tribeca Towers in lower Manhattan ain’t a cheap place to live, so I think that evidently she does pretty well for herself. It is crazy how random people are connected in the weirdest ways. Definitely happy to have met her.
Sept. 2nd :
The Low Down
Here we are in London. Guess what: London smells of shit and trash. It is everywhere in this city. It’s like people are physically blocked from putting their used goods in a trash can. Instead they have to mangle it a little, put some sort of goo on it (that way it sticks to your shoes), and then strategically place it on every major walkway on every major street.
All in all though, London is very cool. Roshani’s cousins live in an area called Shephard’s Bush, about 20 minutes by city bus into the center of London. When we arrived, we quickly put our stuff away, got washed up and then went out to see everything. We went to Trafalgar Square, the Texas Embassy (www.texasembassy.com), Oxford Street, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. It was interesting to see how the Indians live in London. For the most part, they seem a bit segregated from the rest of the city. They stay in their tight communities and never really integrate themselves. That’s just my conclusion from what I have seen and I am sure there are those that buck the trend. The kids also seem to be a lot more traditional. All in all, it was very different than what I have known growing up in Arlington, TX, but interesting none the less. | | |
| Hey all...we are in Edinburgh right now...don't have much time to talk right now, but I thought that I would say hello...and let yall know that I am doing great!
More to come in the future...
Cheers
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