A year passed without me touching my blog. Doubt I would even update it often. But for documenting my latest travelling diaries I think I must
It's been a while since I last took a reasonable long break from work (yeah 2 weeks is reasonable judging the fact I only do it like once every 5 years? (Damn can the next one not be 5 years time?)
This trip is particularly special as it was a trip with someone that holds a special place in my heart.
08.07.2019
Jetted back KL after work.
09.07.2019
One full day to do last-minute packing. Left for the airport by 11pm.
10.07.2019
Jetted off on a red-eye flight and touched down in Edinburgh 14:30 on the same day (yeah time travel mate).
By the time we passed customs and travelled to our airbnb it was 17:00
Our first 2 days in Edinburgh was in a flat on Hillside St, near York Place. Cozy living room and comfy bed. Fantastic host by Estelle and the ever welcoming Tiffin (it's a dog)
The cool living room. Spot the kilt curtains
First stop of the adventure was a hike up Calton Hill. Roughly a 20-minute hike from foot to peak. Nothing serious but some serious pavement walking.
Passed by Greenside Parish Church
Well it was a gloomy day
No kidding folks. Thankfully no rain
Standing on the National Monument
National Monument from far
Nelson Monument
View of Edinburgh city from Calton Hill
The City Observatory atop of Calton Hill
The Dugald Stewart Monument
Little did we know that we spent close to 3 hours walking and taking photos of Calton hill. We had dinner at Leith Walk at a place called Leith Depot. Food was just okay and I wouldn't return for it.
11.07.2019
11.07.2019
Early morning we lugged our luggage bags to be deposited with a hostel affiliated with Macbackpackers Tour as our next 3 days will be spent at the Isle of Skye. Took our time and energy to find the hostel since it's not situated by the main road. Got off at the nearest bus stop and then went up and down hills and stairs to finally reached Castle Rock hostel.
Walking up a hill
Museum on the Mound
Slight drizzle that morning. But we walked down Royal Mile with bagpipe buskers playing the tune, with tartan and souvenir shops flanking both sides of the roads
Had our breakfast at Vittoria on the Bridge. Excellent coffee by the way!
Greyfriars Bobby restaurant with his memorial
Greyfriar's Kirk. It's a *cough cough* cemetery
The majestic National Museum of Scotland!
With a T-Rex skeleton. I always love museums with dinosaur fossils
The streets of Edinburgh
St Giles' Cathedral
The stained glass adorning the cathedral's windows
The intricate carvings of the ceilings
The main hall of the cathedral
Thistle chapel inside St Giles' Cathedral
David Hume's statue
The Hub
Earl Haig's Equestrian Statue in Edinburgh Castle
The prison cells inside Edinburgh Castle. This is the modern WW1 cells. There were also medieval prison cells
Interior walls and ramparts of the castle
The Scottish National War Memorial
The Hub
Earl Haig's Equestrian Statue in Edinburgh Castle
The prison cells inside Edinburgh Castle. This is the modern WW1 cells. There were also medieval prison cells
Interior walls and ramparts of the castle
The Scottish National War Memorial
As all touristy places with ticket admissions closed at 5pm, we head off for a stroll at Princes Street Gardens. Thank God the gardens are not closed at 5!
Bank of Scotland from Princes Street Garden
Scott Monument
After a hard day's walk, dinner thankfully was good. We had dinner at The Dome. I highly recommend coming here
It's called The Dome. Because there is a dome
I had grilled sea bass with mash, while she had duck confit. In the middle shared dish was roasted carrots and parsnips
And that wraps up Day 2!
12.07.2019
Day 3. It was our last stay at Hillside St. We bade goodbye to Esther and Tiffin. Off to Castle Rock hostel to catch our 3 day Skye tour!
Thankfully our previous day exploration gave us insight and we reached Castle Rock hostel faster!
We grabbed breakfast and by 9am we were notified that our tour bus has arrived to carry us off to Skye under The Mackbackpacker's Tour
The first stop on the way to Skye is a small town called Pitlochry. It was our toilet and supplies stop
The tea and scone shop recommended by our guide. Not bad but the staff was a wee bit rude and annoying
We shared one big scone.
Our next stop is at Clava Cairns, which resembled the great big memorial mounds if you are familiar with Anglo Saxon stories. But over time the rain and wind have weathered down the domes into their current forms
To be honest it looks like a destroyed igloo made out of stone
Our next pit stop was at The National Trust of Scotland in Culloden Moor, Inverness. Amazed by the sprawling green green grass
And then it was time to hunt Nessie. Of course, we weren't that lucky. So it was just spending time taking photos of the humongous Loch Ness
Our tour company had a hostel just beside Loch Ness. So its kinda cool. But we weren't staying there as we were heading straight to Skye
For a lake to have waves.. you know its big. Its bigger than the Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan. Fun fact, Scotland has so much freshwater in its Lochs (lakes) that it's more than all the freshwater in the UK (England + Wales combined)
Our hostel for the night is at a small town called Kyleakin, which is situated in the isle of Skye itself
There was this cute garden with a lot of garden ornaments
Dinner was at a bar called King Haakon. I had my first try of haggis. And I think it tasted awesome!
Too bad I did not take a photo of it.
13.07.2019
First stop of the day was at Sligachan waterfall
When it comes to breathtaking sceneries in Scotland, be forewarned that it usually involves some hiking. Rest assured no physical climbing cliffs and stuff. But you need some basic stamina
When it comes to breathtaking sceneries in Scotland, be forewarned that it usually involves some hiking. Rest assured no physical climbing cliffs and stuff. But you need some basic stamina
The rugged path towards the falls
Sligachan Waterfall
Next stop was another sleepy town of Portree. This was a town for our toilet break and meal break
The seaside view of Portree
Our next stop was to hike down a cliff to see the majestic Lealt Falls
All the way down...
Rocky cliffs along the paths
Lealt Falls
-To Be Continued-
