The Scottish say 'aye' with a hearty accent!

O Scotia! my dear, my native soil! For whom my warmest wish to heaven is sent; Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content.
~Robert Burns~

It is great to be updating my blog again. I have just been reading through my entries and can't believe I haven't written about Scotland. If I had to live anywhere else in the world, Scotland would have to be the place.

My first time to Scotland was in early September and just about a week after my tour with Topdeck. This time around I was going local. Haggis, the tour company, was going to show me around the home of bagpipes and short bread. After meeting Nic (our bus driver and tour guide) I instantly knew that this was going to be a great tour! She was funny, witty and clearly had a love for Scotland.

En route to the Scottish Highlands

Our first night was at a hostel in the form of a haunted castle. How cool is that? Not too many people can say they have stayed in a haunted castle! After dinner we went to a pub (as you do) and mingled with the locals. Later that night I was talking to one of the locals and was soon told that it was Rory McCann, a famoust actor.

The haunted castle

Wouldn't it be nice to wake up to this each day?

Although I was only there for a week, I saw plenty of things and am glad I had a chance to do so. If you ever go there you must go to the Highlands. The scenary is absolutely stunning and the people are really friendly.

Fort Augustus

Loch Ness

Isle of Skye

Eilean Donan Castle- as featured in the movie 'Made of Honour'

Along with the scenary, I met great people. Most of whom are on my facebook page.

I loved Scotland so much I ended up going with my sister about three months later for the Christmas Fair.

Dahab

Just when I thought my two week holiday in Egypt couldn't get any better, we found ourselves in Dahab- a small town situated on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. You cannot imagine how excited I was to see a beach and feel the breeze of the ocean. After being in London's harsh winter and experiencing wind burns for almost four months I had almost forgotten what it was like to feel the sun again. Yay, I was finally getting a tan!


I think for the tour group to end our Egyptian Adventure in Dahab was most welcoming as we had been touring Egypt quite extensively. By day ten we had seen endless temples, pyramids and heard lots of stories of Egyptian Gods. Now it was time to relax, sit by the pool and knock back a few bevvies.

Our hotel in Dahab

One of my many breakfast places

Furthermore, Dahab is a great place for those who are more adventurous. Even I took a leap of faith and enrolled myself in a diving course. Diving in the Red Sea was going to be awesome! Sadly for me it wasn't meant to be. I withdrawel myself from the course on day one as I could just not find the courage to pull the regulator out of my mouth while under water. To be honest, I was shitting myself. The next best thing for me was snorkelling in the Blue Hole. Now that was a more pleasant experience.

Leaving for the Blue Hole

Camel coming through!

From Dahab I also took an escorted day trip to the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. You know, the temple out of Indiana Jones? It was a long trip out and back, but it was definately worth it!

Here are some memorable moments in Dahab:
* Walking along the streets with my friend Emma to go souvenir shopping. Out came this big black dog that wanted to play with Emma. It kept jumping all over her. Poor Emma was screaming and all I could do was laugh.
* Our many meals of fresh seafood. I remember having this seafood platter for £20. I thought it was a bargain!
* Having breakfast by the beach every day. How good it is to be a part of nature.
*Visiting a herbal centre in Dahab with a friend. My intention was to only stop there for a few cooking spices, but we ended up drinking strange tea and herbs. What can I say, I was adventurous!

Towards the end of our tour came the devasting news of the active volcano in Iceland. So as happy as I was to be on holiday, I was just as equally stressed as my first thoughts was how do I get back to London? I had work waiting for me and I needed the pounds for me next trip, wherever it was going to be. Luckily for me my then housemate Aaron was there, so between us it took us two days to get back to London. In brief, we left Cairo and flew to Turkey. From Turkey we had to pay for a visa to get through customs, change our tickets, re-enter customs and fly to Rome. I mean I had always wanted to see Rome but not in these conditions! As we couldn't get tickets out of Rome that night we had no option but to sleep in the train station with others. A funny moment came out of it when I woke up at around 1am and Aaron was telling me he had such a good night's sleep. We both burst out laughing when I told him what time it was. From Rome we caught a train through Milan and Paris. Then it was a ferry from Calais to Dover. At the time I was tired and not a happy camper! I can at least laugh about it now and know I have one hell of a story to tell my friends back home.

What has gone wrong on your trip, but now makes you laugh?

Egypt

While all the places I travelled to stood out for different reasons, for me, the best holiday destination would have to be Egypt. I have always been fascinated in Ancient History for as long as I can remember and I must largely contribute this to my then high school teacher, Don Ferguson. So when my housemate suggested Egypt as a holiday for our end of term break I didn’t hesitate in booking my ticket to the land of tombs, pyramids and mummies.

Our trip didn’t go exactly as planned. Flight delays and waiting time from London to Cairo took well over ten hours. Not to mention the two day trek back 'home' due to the volcano in Iceland at the time, but more about that later.

Our trip started in Cairo. For those who haven’t been Cairo is one bustling, busy city. The buildings are practically falling apart and the pollution and humidity is like that of an Asian country. This heat did not deter me as I was very excited to see the pyramids. Now after seeing lots of shows and movies on T.V, I half expected the pyramids to be located hours from the city and in some remote location, however, it was not meant to be as we later found out. The pyramids are only located half an hour from the city of Cairo.

Say hello to my friend!

Cairo Markets- A very busy place. A group of us stuck together fearing that we would get lost and consequently left behind by our tour group.

Let me tell you, it did not take the Habibi Group (the name given to our group for the tour) to get well acquainted. Just imagine about thirty or so people trying to change at a train station while waiting for a train that doesn’t really follow a timetable. Its a case of ‘yes, that’s our train, now hop on!’ This train was our ride to Aswan- a somewhat fourteen hour train ride from the city of Cairo. While our train ride was noisy and ‘Egyptian Style’ I would honestly do it all over again. Sitting by the window allowed me to see Egypt’s countryside. There is just one travel tip I have. Just make sure you take plenty of water and hand sanitisers. The water on these trains are not always reliable, especially in the toilets!

On the train to Aswan

Our breakfast box

I won’t lie to you, accommodation in Aswan is no Hilton or even a Premier Inn, but what it lacks in this department it more than makes it up for the people and their culture. Nothing beats walking down the streets seeing people working hard trying to sell their goods (often than not they’re fake, but still people are working for their money). I remember buying this Egyptian towel and trying very hard to haggle the store owner. Half an hour later and a walk to another store, the guy came chasing after me and sold the towel to me for well under 50%. Another thing that remains in my mind is the smells wafting through the air and circling you in every direction you turned.

Pick a spice, any spice!

Having a drink with some of the Go Bus gang

A view of the Nile from one of our many refreshment breaks. Stunning isn't it?

Aswan was a great start to the tour. While some say dirty, old and dilapidated. I say eye opener, interesting and a way of life that is to be respected. More of Egypt to come at a later date.

The funny side of life

Here I am back in Australia! It has been about a month and a half since I landed on this vast land and not a day goes by where I don't reminisce about my life in Europe. However, I must admit that with work and this thing we call 'life', my memories are starting to fade. I am just grateful that I kept a diary and took thousands of photos. It takes me back to that moment in time where I had no need to worry about bills, car repayments, my health fund etc.

The pessimist in me worries that I will never travel over to Europe again. The now stronger optimistic me knows it is possible and that this time when I go over, I will get paid for it and greet my U.K connections with open arms! Now on every holiday there is bound to be some funny moments. Let me tell you, I had a lot of them. Some of them involve alcohol (actually most do!). I'm sure you can decide which ones they are. Below are some of my funniest moments as a globetrotter during 2010:


* Driving around our Shamrocker bus in Southern Ireland we descended upon a windy, narrow stretch of road to find sheep grazing on the lush, green grass. Suddenly, a sheep 'jumped' off the cliff. At first we thought it had jumped into the lake, but soon discovered there was another level that we didn't see. This sheep was nicknamed 'The suicidal sheep'.

* Crusing the Nile on the felucca allowed us to see Egypt as it should be seen. One night after drinks it was time for dinner. The felucca captains bought out some fried chicken. You should have seen the Australians dive for that chicken like it was KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut all in one. Talk about grease attack! Somehow I mananged to secure the last few remaining pieces. To this day, my Egyptian friends say I stole their chicken.

* Egypt again. We had a bonfire one night which involved dancing and singing, Egyptian style. I made my way back and stepped onto what I thought was my felucca. I lay down only to soon realise it wasn't mine, got off and then walked along a 30cm wide plank to the right felucca. This is with copious amounts of vodka in my system. I then proceeded to try and take blankets off my fellow travellers as it was quite cold. One of my captains was awoken with what I thought was a hiss of, "Ziggy, I need a blanket!". Needless to say I wasn't quiet at all as those on the felucca told me the next morning. We all had a good laugh.

*Bonjour! Paris -the city of love! Our bus driver, who we thought was calm and placid, decided to take us around The Arc de Triomf at a high speed. It just so happens that no insurance company will insure this roundabout as it is so busy. Being timid passengers we asked for another round. In the meantime we had the song 'Lady Marmalade' blaring over the loud speakers of the Topdeck bus.It later turned out that we took this experience and placed it on our souvenir T shirts and jumpers. Just imagine a bus going around the monument and on it are people sticking out their head and spewing their guts out.

* Another funny moment takes place in Krakow, Poland. We had a social gathering the night before we were due to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine . Being the social person I am I couldn't say no to some drinks. Did I pay for it the next day! Here I was stuck hundreds of metres underground in what is meant one amazing architecture and I am busting to go to the toilet (serves me right for not going to the toilet before entering the mine and walking down hundreds of stairs!). Anway instead of admiring the mine, all I can think of is how can I escape to some corner and relieve myself. Luckily for me we came across some toilets about an hour into our tour. Phew!

* Laturbrunnen, Switzerland is scenic. The second night of the tour meant that people were getting to know each other. We mingled with the locals and were soon taught this strange nail game. Conveniently for us it was right next to the bar! I will describe this game as best as I can. In the centre is a wooden stump around waist high. Nails are then slightly placed in the stump. You then pick up what is meant to be a hammer (only this one is rectangular in shape and is hollow which means you only have about 3mm of actual hitting surface around the edge of the hammer) and try to hit the nail so it goes all the way down. It becomes funnier when there are more than two people and those who lose have to buy the others some home made brew or shots.

*Amsterdam is beautiful and just happened to be our last stop of our 24 day tour around Europe. Our cruise of 'all you can drink' ended up outside one of the local night clubs. We staggered in and continued to party into the wee hours of the morning. A group of us walked along the pebbly streets of Amsterdam in desperate search of our hostel. A taxi driver then told us we were only a few blocks away. Not my fault all the streets look the same!

As you can imagine these are only some of my funny and most memorable moments. I will add more as I remember them.

What are some of your funniest holiday moments?