It’s been almost a month since my last update and there has been so much going on that I can hardly be bothered doing and update. So I’ll either get tired halfway through this or it will be a fairly half-assed effort.
It seems like years ago that I went to the British Museum but it was only about three weeks ago. The place is great and full of fabulous things plundered from around the world, with the Elgin Marbles probably being the most notable. I had been to the museum in January with Michael for about 15 minutes and as it happened the only bit we saw, the Egyptian collection, turned out to be my favourite. The Rosetta Stone is the centrepiece and despite being very unassuming when compared with all the sarcophaguses and statues deserves its esteemed position.
I really can't remember too much else about the museum apart from the display of costumes from the movie Troy…which is a bit sad really. After the museum I met up with Aunty Joyce and Sarah and we went for a turn on the London Eye.
Here are Sarah and myself on a bridge over the Thames with a building that looks like a gherkin according to Sarah. I just think it's blatantly phallic.
The walk along the river to the Eye was lined with those stupid buskers that paint themselves a metallic colour and stand still until you give them money. I couldn’t help marvelling at the fact that they’re onto a real money-spinner with that thing. All it does is spin so slowly that it doesn't have to stop in order for you to get off and they can charge something like £10 a go. Nevertheless, the view is really great and in a city like London there is plenty to see. After our ‘flight on the British Airways London Eye’, Sarah and I went off in search of a Japanese restaurant as she had never before had the pleasure of raw fish. On the way to Chinatown via Piccadilly Circus we saw perhaps my favourite site of the trip thus far. Interestingly it has to do with ‘statue buskers’ which had annoyed me only hours earlier. Right opposite the Trocadero, next to fountain of horses stood an Asian guy wearing a military hat, ‘Top Gun’ style sunglasses, checked pyjama pants and a t-shirt with the words ‘Odd Erection’ on it. beneath the caption was an indiscernible blue and white blur (probably/hopefully not and erection). Oh, and in his right hand he held a banana. I don't know why I bothered explaining his attire when I have a photo. Anyway, it was probably one of those ‘you had to be there moments’, but I absolutely lost it at first then proceeded to be completely transfixed. Sarah, even though she was there, couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. I couldn’t resist asking him what the story was as he didn't even have anything laid out to collect money. He tried hard not to smile and apart from a slight smirk managed to remain composed and tight-lipped. And so I was left pondering the mystery of the Odd Erection Guy.
A day or two later I had a little leaving party as I had quit my job the previous week. The job was a joke as many of you may have heard (or experienced first hand) but the people were great and there was always a laugh to be had. The night was supposed to be a simple ‘dinner and clubbing’ affair but it all nearly ended in tears when we rolled up to the bar and found it closed. Admittedly it was a Tuesday night and I hadn’t checked that it would be open, but I was still a bit annoyed. Thankfully the English are a bunch of drunks and a number of alternative venues were quickly suggested. So it turned out to be a fun night without scandal which yielded some nice photos which you can find here.
A couple of weeks ago I finally got to go a theme park. Thrills in Melbourne are definitely thin on the ground and I haven't been to the Gold Coast parks either so I’ve really been wanting to get my fix in Europe. So, Rachel, Sarah, myself and their friends David and Sharon made the trip out to Thorpe Park which is near Heathrow and probably the #2 theme park in Britain. Despite the fact that we went on a Tuesday the queues were still pretty long. It’s amazing how people (including me) are willing to queue for over half an hour for a 20 second ride. Naturally the rides had exotic names like The Samurai, Nemesis Inferno, Colossus, Vortex and my personal favourite X: No Way Out. They were all pretty good and Colossus apparently holds the world record for the highest number of inversions (10).
About a week later I set off for Scotland in the van with my cousin Christine. This is where my memory starts to improve as it was less than two weeks ago. The days leading up to our departure were spent cleaning, fixing and packing the van. I cannot tell you how nerve-wracking the prospect of driving the thing to Scotland was. I’m back in London now so with the benefit of hindsight I can say that it was all good. The whole point of going to Scotland was to do a walk called the West Highland Way. Two of Chris’ friends Brooke and Steve were joining us, as was another friend of theirs, Jacqui. So, the first stop was the city of Chester (near Liverpool) to pick up Jacqui and spend the night with her and her flatmate Maria. The whole group of them are health professionals from Melbourne, apart from Chris who is from Adelaide and me who despite being from Melbourne am not a health professional let alone professional. Chester is a lovely cobble-stoned city surrounded by a wall and with a grand cathedral as a centrepiece. Despite this quaint picture I have to admit that it is quite a happening place. We had a great meal and everyone chatted well into the night apart from me who quickly fell fast asleep probably due to sheer mental exhaustion and van-related anxiety. Along the way to Chester the windscreen wiper which has already been dubbed the ‘bane of my existence’ started to play up again so that caused me some grief and anguish. Thankfully it’s all sorted out now. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention just as poverty is proving to be the mother of improvisation :D
The following day we drove from Chester to the little town of Drymen just north of Glasgow. The West Highland way officially starts closer to Glasgow but apparently the first bit was mainly along roads and really not much to shout about. Starting in Drymen gave us a relatively easy first day to ease ourselves into the walk. By the time we got to Drymen it was evening so we stayed the night at a campsite. Notably, it was the first night I spent in the van and all in all it was quite good.
I wont go through the details of the walk, as it was definitely something that needs to be experienced in the flesh. Even the photos have relatively little meaning unless you have done the walk or intend to. Still, you can find them here.
The West Highland Way is 95 miles long (about 150kms) but we would have walked about 130kms over the course of seven days. The walk took us over hills, along roads and rivers and through forests, valleys, farms and fields. It wasn’t a case of being completely isolated from civilisation as there were towns along the way, but you still feel like you are in a magical place. The highlight of the first couple of days was walking along the banks of Loch Lomond, the largest body of water in Britain. We had the luxury of staying at hostels and bunkhouses rather than having to camp. Only a few places had cooking facilities so we enjoyed a few dinners out. It all felt a bit strange to be walking 20kms a day then chowing down in style at night. Testament to that is the fact that I didn't lose any weight on this walk despite having lost something like 5kg doing the Overland Track in Tasmania. One night I even had scallops with risotto in a crab bisque sauce! We had some pretty good haggis along the way too. Lunches were not as interesting and consisted of the fairly standard camper’s fare of tinned tuna with a bit of bread and potentially some tinned corn. On the third day of the walk I developed a mysterious Achilles tendon injury. It happened just after lunch and I have no idea why. I was fine in the morning, had a very relaxing lunch, got up and couldn’t walk properly.
Walking from Kingshouse to Kinlochleven on our sixth day was something else altogether. I only took one photo the whole day because it absolutely bucketed down all day. I had reluctantly bought a pair of waterproof pants before the walk and hadn’t used them up to this point. Needless to say I was glad that I did buy them. However, the joy was short lived as the tracks turned to streams and we found ourselves walking in shin deep water at times. Despite all the wet-weather gear we were all soaked to the bone along with the contents of our bags. I cursed the ‘waterproof lining’ of my pack when I opened it to find all but one piece of clothing wet. Having said that, I actually really enjoyed walking through the torrent. Once we were all as soaking wet as we could possibly be there was really nothing to worry about. Rather than trying to avoid puddles and streams you just walked through them. It was actually quite relaxing and uplifting.
The day after we finished our walk we caught a bus from Fort William back to Drymen and hoped that our vehicles would be intact and that the van would actually start. During the bus ride we caught our first glimpses of Highland cattle. We were all liking forward to seeing these big shaggy things along the walk and we quite disappointed with all the normal cows we saw instead. Back in Drymen we found the cars as we had left them and the van started first time. Bless the Scots. We drove to Stirling and stayed the night at a caravan park. Stirling Castle was on the agenda for the next day and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience from the archery demonstrations to the tour guide who claimed to be Mel Gibson’s cousin.
Sadly, Stirling was our last stop in Scotland as Christine and I drove back into England and towards the Lake District. I found Scotland to be completely different from England. It may, in part, have to do with my own romantic notions of the place or all the myth and legend surrounding it but yeah, Scotland is soooo much better than England. The people are really friendly, haggis is tasty and you gotta love a good Scottish accent.
The Lake District is beautiful but I couldn’t help thinking that they didn't have the charm of the Scottish Highlands. Add to that the fact that the couple of hours we spent walking in the Lake District were a shambles and didn't involve any lakes. So we ended up leaving a bit earlier than expected and decided to drive all the way to Alton rather than just halfway as was originally planned. Alton, which is near Stoke-on-Trent is the home of Alton Towers, the UK’s #1 theme park. We stayed the night at a caravan park nearby and man was it mondo bizzaro. It was set on the grounds of what appeared to be an old manor. It was clear that the place would have been quite grand in its day but had been left to fall into disrepair. I can't even being to explain how strange it was and I’m not going to try.
So, the next day dawned bright and sunny and yay, we set off for Alton Towers. We were only going to stay til about 3 because we wanted to get to Chester that night to see Jacqui and Maria, so I was determined to cram as many rides in as possible. In the end we got onto six rides and while that doesn't seem like much, Chris and I both had a great time. Most notable was a ride called Air, which was really quite innovative. It is basically a hanging-type roller coaster but the twist is that once you are seated and ready to go, the harnesses rotate 90 degrees so that you are horizontal and facing the ground. Then off it goes and you feel like you’re Superman.
We made it to Chester in good time, had a great meal with Jacqui and Maria and went out for a couple of quiet ones. We had to scoot off early the next morning as the girls had to go to work, but a couple of detours meant that we only got back to London at about 5. Christine has now set off for India and I have the next week to set everything in place for the European tour. It is going to be a major shock to the system and the next time you hear from me I will probably be cursing French drivers, French keyboards and the French in general.
Anyway, I hope people are still reading this and don't be shy to drop me a line from time to time.
Agnes, you will shield your eyes in awe of my vintage Transformers t-shirt purchased through Ebay for the low low price of US$14. Hahaha.